1970 Fastback "sympathetic restoration"

[akokarski]

[Bobnotch]

[akokarski]

[Bobnotch]

[akokarski]

so looks like I got a set of bars and front stabilizer bar! Now I need to plan how I am going to tackle all of this:
1) all body bushings, front and rear
2) subframe bushings
3) rear torsion bars and bushings
4) front beam bushing
5) front sway bar
6) steering box.

I think engine will have to come out. Which will also be the time to sort out why it is sweating oil and replace some straight fittings with 45s.

I am not sure If I do need to pull the trans, I think I can leave it in as long as I have clutch and shifter disconnected, probably parking brake cables too and maybe brake hoses? I should be able to get new bushings in for the subframe/body.

for tortion bars, IRS arms and plates, I maybe able to pull them out without having to disassemble the axle ends?

Front is a whole another story, I am guessing the beam will need to come out or at least get unbolted to the point where it can be pulled away from the pan to slip in new bushings.. so that means probably getting steering column disconnected maybe even disassembling each side down to spindles?

Cheers!
Anton

[akokarski]

yes, I am back to looking for the torsion bars and front sway bar. Commute is 1hr+ on mountain roads, need to get this dialed in so I can take full advantage of commute

[Bloog]

[akokarski]

I want to be clear on the gas shocks, they made ride really unbearable when going over bumps and deeps. The rebound on those KYBs is unholy, you get bump in the road and rebound felt like it was another punch but even stronger. I don't know how wtf that is possible but that's the impression that had from those shocks.

What I want to achieve is a better handling ride and I think thicker sway bar in the front will do that. I also don't want to have to take everything apart twice hence why I am thinking of going with thicker sways. also adjustable konies should give me some adjustability in the front.

Another thing that is really becoming apparent is how weird the steering on the car is. I think because bushes are shot, the whole thing is moving around enough to have toe out etc change as I go through the turns.

Thanks!
Anton

[Tram]

[akokarski]

finding squareback bars is proving to be more difficult than it needs to be. Looks like I need to buy a complete front beam and rear subframe.

[Bobnotch]

[akokarski]

Are there thicker torsion bars in the front? I thought it was just the stabilizer that was different on the square


I got full set of rubbers from isp

[Bobnotch]

[Scotty D]

[akokarski]

Guys,

Need a bit of an input... I am gearing up to do replacement on all body and rear bushings as I can see that torsion bar bushings have failed and same is likely to be true for the rest. I am hoping to improve some ride quality, steering and cornering. I've acquired body bushings set and torsion bar bushings and wondering while I have it all apart, should I swap rear torsion bars and front stabilizer to a thicker ones from a squareback?

I also have a new set of oil shocks all around which replaced gas shocks as the ride was fairly jarring on a rough road, which I think I maybe better off replacing with gas on the rear and koni's on the front?

I want to attain comfy but better handling ride as I have 6 to 10 miles of fairly twisty road with a 2 mile part on really bumpy surface... hence why I am thinking of deviating from stock torsion, stabilizer bars and shocks.

Thanks!
Anton

[akokarski]

Hi,

Not much has been happening in terms of updates to the fastback. I took a bit of a detour and figured I can get my kitcar in a better shape, it needs quite a bit of work, but I wanted to get it at least fully functional and been spending most of the time on that project...

I recently changed jobs and my office is way out in San Mateo, about 40/45 miles one way commute so I've been staying off driving fastback plus winter. This week however my trucks brakes quickly wore off (never again EBC)... so I had to take fastback. It did not disappoint, my commute is either skyline boulevard (highway 35) which runs along the top of ridge between bay area and coast so even though it's over an hour drive it's over a scenic highway.

Few things for sure, I do need plan on going through bushings and steering and then see how I can get a bit more power squeezed out.

here is my "dreaded" commute

[akokarski]

Hi,

Small update, nothing major happening here other than occasional drive here and there.

a few weeks back I was able to get my AFR gauge replaced with MTX-Pro, turns out the predecessor to this model did have an issue with heater circuit which caused o2 sensors to burn up the heater element. I haven't put on enough miles to rule that out just yet.

Today I did my test drive to work, and we are running 14 on freeway. Down to 11 on full throttle. I think I want to try going back to stock injectors and see how it will behave. There is still a bit of a rich spot on take off.

Funny thing is when I got home, found my coil completely unbolted from the bracket and just sitting on top of exaust. Both bolts holding the clamp to the bracket were gone! May be I need to take it easy, but it rips in 1st lane even uphill!

Cheers!
Anton

[akokarski]

Today my new timing light came in, it’s a innova 3568a. I used it to compare the timing and rpm. Sure enough all my multimeters were way off, hence why I splurged on a new tool.

Here are the readings side by side.

And multimeters are wondering by hundreds not a few rpm while the light is steady just moving a few rpm’s here and there.

My timing was at 10 degrees not 5! I was having trust issues since non of the three multimeters were even close, but this is just ridiculous.

Does anyone know why this is happening? The millimeters are all the same model but different brands and non of them are even close.

[akokarski]

Today I've gone through distributor to make sure there is nothing funny going on. Overall was very clean inside and other than a small mark under the ball it's in good shape.

My injector breaker does have a bit of difference in resistance. 0.1 ohm on one side and .5 on the other

I ended up just cleaning and replacing grease

Vacuum canister lever does drop down under the vacuum but it looks very clean

I was able to give 5 degrees of advance but rpm seems to be wondering. Timing is still spot on though.

Now I am back to getting the stumble out off idle. Right now I am running sealed MPS. Was able to go get gas (20 mile round trip) and it drove pretty well. Although with few backfires when off idle, which sounds like a cracking whip.

[Bobnotch]

I call this the upper arm adjustment, as it'll take away some of the front end shake too. Note; you might have to do it a couple of times (adjust it, then drive, then adjust it) if it hasn't been done in a few years.
_________________
Bob 65 Notch S with Sunroof
71 Notch ...aka Krunchy; build pics here;
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=249390 -been busy working
64 T-34 Ghia...aka Wolfie, under construction... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=412120