buggy project

[NWGhiaGuy]

[EVfun]

Perhaps we need a PNW kick each other in the ass thread!

It has progressed a little since this photo, the body went on after that, now off again for wiring. Front suspension and brakes have been updated.

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[NWGhiaGuy]

Hey! Nice to see another local Buggy project back on track. Mine hasn't sat as long as yours, but I too have the goal of having mine street legal sometime this year... and yours is even more "put together" than mine!!

[oprn]

Dual cannon exhausts do not work well with single barrel dual carbs at idle and the lower RPM range. In your case you have very little choice of exhaust because of the fan position if you cannot fabricate your own system. I see you have a set coming but if I were in your position I would have shopped around and bought the system with the longest primary pipes available. That will help a lot to mitigate the imbalance they cause and bring back some of the lost low end torque.

In my case I paired the front cylinders together and the backs together instead of the sides together that conventional cannons do. Made all the difference in the world.

With the cannons the hot air will be mostly confined to the outer edges of the slipstream, the fan will draw from the cool air coming over the tranny and out of the wheel wells over the top of the engine. Some warm air will come from under the engine too and mix in but I found it to only raise the temperature maybe 6 or 8 degrees above ambient at the most. In any case a little rough running is much preferable to cooking the engine. Just tell everyone about the hairy cam you put in it!!
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Our cars get old, we get old but driving an old VW never gets old!

[Kevinwterry]

I cant tell if it is or not. No markings on it. But I'm pretty sure here in washington state you cant have tint on the windshield.

[shermer-high]

How do you know the windshield is not safety glass? My windshield is tinted safety glass, the tint is between the layers of glass. Either way windshields are cheap and new glass is so clear compared to old glass.

[Kevinwterry]

Well here's how it sits as of today.

Punch list of things to do are

---Bend the roll bar. I've got a 12ft piece of 2" tube 1/8" thick to bend. Currently grinding out the 1 1/2 pipe die from the harbor friegh kinker to 2" tube and will try the upper clamp mods as well as fill with sand to make the bends. If that doesn't work then it's off to a metal shop with proper tube benders.

---Mount seat belts. Need to bend and mount roll bar to mount shoulder belt.

---Get wipers working again. Only because I have to
So I can get passed inspection. Seem completely useless in a converterable buggy but whatever. They sorta worked before, now not as much. I tore into the motor and I think I just got a bad armature. It needs help starting. Then works fine.

---replace tinted windshield with actuall safety glass. Not a big deal. Just need to take it to a local glass shop.

--- mirrors. I've got a pair of clamp on mirrors to mount to the windshield frame and a rear view.

--- finish rear bumper and mount license plate frame with light.

---finish mounting the miata seats. They are "bolted" down right now, but I've got them sitting on washers as shims to get them set right. Need to pull the seats and make some mounts based off the heights of the washers. Weld them in place and re herculiner the mounts. Oh ya, bed liner is a huge PITA to clean.

After that should be good to go. Lights all work great. Found those cragers a few years ago. Fronts are perfect. Need to find wider ones for the rear but that's low priority for now.

I've got some cannon exhaust setups coming
Not a fan of the look.


Are back up lights required?

[oprn]

I just took a quick look at your last page. Nice buggy, has potential.

Are you still going to run that exhaust in front of the type 3 fan? My honest opinion is if you go with the system in the last picture you will cook the engine even with the wrap. I cannot think of a worse combination. You need to either change to an upright fan or go to an "over the top" system like Johnny low cash or a Buggy dual system(some are better than others).

This comes from some temperature testing I did on my Buggy with a stock Bus cooling system drawing air in just like your type 3 fan does. This is working well for me.

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Our cars get old, we get old but driving an old VW never gets old!

[Kevinwterry]

So apparently it's been 7 years since I posted about my buggy. I'm the best at getting a project to 90% and then moving on to a new another.

This year I'm trying to wrap up loose ends. Pulled the buggy back into the shop hoping to have it street legal by end of summer.

All I need to finish is legal stuff. Wipers/ mount seats. Need to make a "roll bar" to fasten the seat belts.

And then the paper work. Inspection.

[Rathbone]

The top has some promise.
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(o\_i_/o) what you've just said ... is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul - Mr. Oblaski, Principal

[Kevinwterry]

so i got my wiper motor to turn on with wiper switch. it only turns on with the switch at the very upper setting. oh well. it works enough.

here is the hard top im thinking of fixing up. i need to see if the roll bar will fit under it.

[Kevinwterry]

I think I got it. just need someone to confirm my ideas before I fry my switch or my freshly rebuilt and converted to 12 volt wiper motor.

fused 12v to wiper switch 53a, and wiper motor 54.

wiper switch 53 and 53b (high and low speed) to wiper motor 54d. im thinking both so that my wipers will work at both clicks on the switch.

wiper switch 53e(park) to wiper motor 31b

I was also wondering why my wiper switch has 3 settings. well 4, but one has to be "off". is my switch for a 3 speed wiper? it also has the feature of pulling back on the switch for wiper fluid, but im not using that.

[Kevinwterry]

im having trouble hooking up my wiper motor to my wiper switch. its a '59 single speed wiper motor and im trying to wire it to a 74 superbeatle wiper switch. the wiper motor has 3 terminals. I ground the wiper body and if I hook 12 volts to terminal 54d the motor turns.

so looking at the images below it looks like I need to hook 12 volts to terminal 54. switched power to terminal 54d. what does terminal 31b do?
why does the wiper need a constant 12 volts and power to 54d?

so then im thinking I need to wire 12 volts to switch terminal 53a.
im lost on the rest.

[Kevinwterry]

new lights for my speedo.

so i wrapped the exhaust in an exhaust wrap. makes a bit of difference in the temperature of the exhaust pipes. still hot to the touch, not burn your skin off hot. im currently working on the dash. ordered a vdo oil temp guage, a vdo volt meter gauge, and an auto meter tach. as you can see in the picture ive kinda got a plan on how i want them layout. oil temp guage and warning light to the left of speedo. volt meter and warning light to right of speedo. bottom left will be headlight switch (which you can see dangling at the moment) and the hazard switch which ive ordered from my local napa autoparts. should be here soon. my speedometer is from the 74 superbeetle donor bug so it has the built in fuel gauge, generator and oil pressure warning lights, dimmer light, and turn signals.

before i finalize my dash panel, is there anything im missing? do i really need to monitor my cylinder head temps? or is oil temp enough? i know my exhuast setup is not ideal. but i like it. if the motor is not running cool enough im thinking i could make some sheet metal deal to put between the exhaust and the engine cage to dirrect cool air. kinda like the origanil type 3 setup.

also, i need a little help wiring my wiper motor to my steering column. i completly rebuilt my 59 wiper motor. updated it to 12v. regreased the gear box. every peice of the wiper assembly was siezed. its been a project in itself. so i know how to wire the motor, just not how to wire it to my 74 super steering column. any help would be apreciated. all i have is about a foot of the steering column wiper switch harness.

side note.. fixed my brake situation. still running the single circut system. i ended up rebuilding the original 59 varga master cylinder. cleaned it up, honed it out, and put a 20 dollar rebuild kit in it. works good so far. i know i need to go the dual circut route, but im still on a buget. i was really hoping to have this thing ready this summer. maybe next summer.

[karu]

This reservoir in CB performance????

http://www.cbperformance.com/catalog.asp?ProductID=91

[joescoolcustoms]

[Lo Cash John]

Some suppliers have caught on to the Volvo reservoir trick and are selling what is basically a copy (or maybe old Volvo stock?). I forget who has them but I'll bet someone will chime in with info.
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[Kevinwterry]

I still dont see how it seals. the hole in the master cylinder is deeper than the threads on the switch. I cant see it sealing if I tighten it all the way down.
it was a new master cylinder. the chrome "dune buggy" one. I was messing with it last night and its already taken a dump. blead the brakes. was pumping the peddle by hand to see where the leak was coming from and all of a sudden there was no resistance in the brake peddle at all. I can push the peddle down to the floor with one finger. opened the resivior cap and no fluid movement.

this is rediculous. im going to get a new master. the dual cylinder one. having a little trouble finding a resivior for it though. the volvo one. ive been getting most of my stuff from chirco and berrien buggy.

[didget69]

I stand corrected. Dan is correct for factory German master cylinders.

I have installed aftermarket replacement VW brake master cylinders that most definitely have NPT thread ports for brake switches.

There has been discussion on this in past that I didn't look up until now.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=317329

And some suppliers sell brake switches that have been pre-coated with thread sealer, so someone - somewhere along the way - obviously felt a need to seal the threads.
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I never found the need to impress people with any mechanic certifications, trophies or track wins... unless it was for Mom to post on the refrigerator door.

[dan macmillan]