1961 Bug Rescue and Patina Build - Pic heavy

[cd973]

Where did you happen to find that u joint? I have a 67 and I’m at the same point. Pretty much the same suspension setup minus the trans raise. Thanks for the help

[AirKooledGarage]

Sadly, I sold the car. If I were to do it again, I’d cut off the bottom 1” of the RLR plate, flip the piece 90 degrees and weld it back on.

[[email protected]]

Any update on the RLR trans raise plate hitting? I wanted to do that on mine but not sure about it yet.
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70 bug was my first car
68 bug second car
59 rag top bug third car
54 bug had for years need to restore
66 bug currently driving
70 bug son is restoring into a Baja
73 bug other son restoring stock

[finster]

nice! love the pigalle interior.
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"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[scrivyscriv]

that thing is DISGUSTING.

Great job!!!
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Robert in Memphis
Dünkelgrügen 1967 Java Green bug thread
Engine rebuild thread
If you're ever in the Memphis area, you are welcome to stop by for advice and help.

[AirKooledGarage]

Car is getting the final touches and heads to another show next weekend. Did a seat resto project that quickly go out of hand. Had found a set of pretty gross, but seemingly intact frames, but soon realized this is a ton of work.

Apparently racoons enjoyed this set.

Not realizing the drama it would create, I had the frames sand blasted. This mostly revealed all kinds of issues.

I then ended up disassembling them and priming and painting the components. Only a few of the tabs boke off, so I guess it wasn't too bad

Watched a ton of videos and using the TMO formed foam, I wrapped it with a trash bag

The cover slid on perfectly!

Bases came out great as well (credit to TMI for foam and well fitted covers)

Finished seats and TMI door panes look at home on painted pan.

Next up was rear seat delete and dumb 80's style speaker box. Initially mocked up in cardboard.

Dual 12" subs and 6" mid/tweaters each in their own boxes. All of which have to be accessable to get to battery/air manifold/compressor

Finished system was coated in Raptor liner to match the heater channels.

Love detail stuff and pocked charging port is eactly that.

Made it to a local Cars & Coffee with little drama, although carb is still pretty rich.
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1973 Bus
1974 Long Body Buggy (sold)
1965 Manxish buggy (kids car)
1961 Patina Bug

[AirKooledGarage]

Getting closer. With steering linkage sorted, I needed a tank raise to clear everything. 1" square tube and a few tabs did the trick. Everything now clears everything.

Did a bit of a ghetto alignment to get the car down the road. This should last me through the season, then I'll need to find someone that can do it right.

Hood latch jammed, so had to cut off the original handle. Amazon'd a replacement. Who knew Car Custom was still around?

Blood red seatbelts for the win! Normally carpeted interior area will get a blood red bedliner style paint to top it all off.

Love the RLR trans raise, but hate it hitting the ground. This will have to be modified or replaced before I can do any serious driving.

Fixed every single electrical part in the car. Even the interior light functions. The yellow driving lights just make me smile.
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1973 Bus
1974 Long Body Buggy (sold)
1965 Manxish buggy (kids car)
1961 Patina Bug

[AirKooledGarage]

Finally getting back to this car. Air ride is wrapped. Turbo motor seems to be solid. Struggled with steering linkage (pie cut pan misaligns everything).

Finally found a u-joint that ties is all together.

Started the BMX bike built that will live on the roof rack.

And had an Instagram connection cartoon it.



Next up is slight gas tank raise to help tollerate pie cut, bleed brakes and do some test runs. Front end really needs alignment, but not sure how to make that happen.
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1973 Bus
1974 Long Body Buggy (sold)
1965 Manxish buggy (kids car)
1961 Patina Bug

[AirKooledGarage]

Still moving along.

Lowered cars are stupid. 45 minutes of floor jack square dancing to get it high enough to get under it to reposition the throttle cable

Air system mockup is wrapped. Roughly 4" of range. Needs red carpet in the package tray!
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1973 Bus
1974 Long Body Buggy (sold)
1965 Manxish buggy (kids car)
1961 Patina Bug

[vwuberalles]

I vote red firewall. that thing is looking awesome!
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1973 Superbeetle: 1st car, owned since age 12. Update thread --> https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9919140#9919140
1967 Kombi: Owned since age 17, Dad's retirement project.
1966 Beetle: My new project. (SOLD) Build thread--> https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=678040

[slayer61]

[Lo Cash John]

The firewall color needs to match the wheels. That would looks SWEET!!
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www.LoCashRacing.org
Lo' Cash Racing Team on Facebook
More brains than bucks...Believe it or not!!

My boss told me I need to work on my mutli-tasking. So now when I use the bathroom at work I surf The Samba on my iPhone.

[andybla]

Would leave it as is, looking very cool right now!

[Rome]

[AirKooledGarage]

Took a ridiculous amount of material out of the trans to make the 200mm flywheel fit, but finally got the motor mounted. This was more for mockup than anything else, needed to set rear suspension (want it 1" off ground with bags empty).

Sorting final wiring and some sort of magical throttle cable next. Love the stance, though.

Can't decide what color to do the firewall. Was thinking of leaving it patina and doing tins red, but thinking firewall might look cool red with black or gray tins.

Thoughts?

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1973 Bus
1974 Long Body Buggy (sold)
1965 Manxish buggy (kids car)
1961 Patina Bug

[AirKooledGarage]

Good stuff, appreciate the help. Wideband bung is already welded in!

[Lo Cash John]

If you want some actual boost, change to a smaller turbo like a Garret style T25 or a KKK K03 (Chinese copies from Amazon or FleaBay are fine for mild power boost).

The 1-1/2" primary tubes will work but 1-3/8" would work better for faster spool.

Spend the $200 for a CB Performance Black Box to run the ignition curve. Having a FULL ignition curve off boost makes the engine behave so much better in traffic and just driving around. Worth every penny.

I'm not sure on the jetting and tune-up for the carb but a wideband A/F gauge will point you in the right direction for tuning.
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www.LoCashRacing.org
Lo' Cash Racing Team on Facebook
More brains than bucks...Believe it or not!!

My boss told me I need to work on my mutli-tasking. So now when I use the bathroom at work I surf The Samba on my iPhone.

[AirKooledGarage]

Hey John, it’s fun when smart guys chime in!

I’ll have to dig up specs on the turbo, you are correct in that it’s too big for a 1600.

Header is 1.5” and fuel is in-line pump with a regulator at the firewall.

This engine is as much forced induction experiment as it is bombastic styling exercise. I suspect I’ll eventually wrap everything I’ve learned and built around a much larger long block. Carb being the exception as it isn’t likely to flow much more than a stocker.
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1973 Bus
1974 Long Body Buggy (sold)
1965 Manxish buggy (kids car)
1961 Patina Bug

[Lo Cash John]

What are the specs on the turbo? At a glance it looks rather large for a little 1600 with stock heads.

On the turbo header, what are the primary tube sizes?

What are you doing for fuel supply to that carb?
_________________
www.LoCashRacing.org
Lo' Cash Racing Team on Facebook
More brains than bucks...Believe it or not!!

My boss told me I need to work on my mutli-tasking. So now when I use the bathroom at work I surf The Samba on my iPhone.

[pittbull]

Amazing project, love the progress you doing.
Keep it going!