1958 beetle, preservation and acceleration

[tisius]

[vwuberalles]

That radio is super cool! Fingers crossed it works when you wire it up to a speaker. Even if it doesn't work it looks amazing in the dash. You can always stash a Bluetooth speaker in your glovebox.
_________________
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

[Chickensoup]

That's awsome! It's even got the correct type of patina for your car! Stay safe
_________________
-'85 c10 5.3 LS, 222 cam, long tubes, x pipe, 3 inch spin tech's
-'05 B5.5 TDI Wagon 17in sport rims ;EGR + BSM + ASV Delete, Stage-2 Tune, straight pipe
'65 Tourist Delivery Build
'66 RIP
'69 RIP
Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"

[Fishynos72]

[Fishynos72]

Finally had some time to do something with my spare radio faceplate.

Not quite finished, as I'm waiting on a replacement VW logo for the hole on the rh side. I think it suits the dash a little better in silver. I'm sure it'll divide onion.

Looking forward to coming out of Covid lockdown in 2 weeks, just in time for the warmer weather.

It'll be the first time the car has been driven long distance, and not under any Covid restrictions.
_________________
Collector of all things Volkswagen, Hazet and Matra.

1972 1302
1973 type2a
1957 type11
2005 Caddy panel van
2006 Golf R32

[pastellgreen]

Seeing this, I'm really surprised that at right hand cars, VW left the ignition key on the left side...

[Fishynos72]

[Fishynos72]

Found some boxes recently, full of goodies I'd put away. It's taken 7 pages of this thread, and roughly 8 years for them to be fitted to the car.

I started with a period can of 'snake oil'

I'm about to embark on it's first test drive, once I've typed this up. I doubt it'll make a notable difference.

Sperrwolf shift lock, I bought off a friend, who unfortunately is no longer with us. I completely tore this down, had the body colour matched to what little original paint remained, then sprayed it in 2 pack. I had the hardware you don't see zinc plated, and the cap, and slide chromed. A new pair of keys matched to the original barrel and the results you see here.

I think the boot is incorrect, but it's grey so it fits the theme for now. I may brush the raised VW logos with a silver paint, still not sure on that.


Last on the list for trinket Sunday, I fitted an 80's Hella red tip stalk, after messing around with it for an hour, I think the bulb is blown. At some point it's been glued together, so I'm not sure how to go about reaching the bulb without it shattering.

I'd love an original 50s/60s SWF version as they're so nicely sculpted compared to the 'reproduction', but the cost is hard to justify.

For what it's worth I'll update this with my thoughts on fitting the Judson 'Magneto' (without changing anything else).
_________________
Collector of all things Volkswagen, Hazet and Matra.

1972 1302
1973 type2a
1957 type11
2005 Caddy panel van
2006 Golf R32

[Fishynos72]

Only had a few trips in the beetle since fitting the Judson 'Magneto'.

It doesn't 'ease with cold starting' as the brochure claims. Car starts and runs exactly the same, if anything hot starting may actually be worse.

I did notice on a longer drive this week, after spending 2 hours in traffic, outside temp above 30C, that in 3rd gear around 60kms under slight load, I heard what I can only describe as the spark breaking down. The car didn't seem to have an obvious lack in power, but wouldn't accelerate through the 'misfire'.

I think I'll be acquiring a new 6 volt bosch coil to test in comparison. The restored original coil performs perfectly fine, but I'd like to rule out any possibility of with a new item. Yes I am aware 'new' stands for "never ever worked".
_________________
Collector of all things Volkswagen, Hazet and Matra.

1972 1302
1973 type2a
1957 type11
2005 Caddy panel van
2006 Golf R32

[Fishynos72]

Long time, no update.

I got inspired a few weeks ago, and next thing you know.....

The engine was out.

So the plan was; major engine service, engine firewall tar board, new engine bay seal, new heater cables, rear transmission mounts and a bloody good clean.

This was all that was left of the old engine bay seal. (Had to chisel it out, nightmare inducing exercise).

Que the cleaning music.

Really happy with how the paintwork cleaned up. Also a good reference to what colour the car is meant to be without the years of sun and abuse.


After an expensive phone call, this arrived. Merry Christmas to me!

So I got cracking

Biggest issue with the car was the original clutch slipping. Thankfully I had one ready to go in.

The final results make me so happy.

Now the engine has a few KMs on it since it's rebuild. I've put some more advance into the timing, and leaned out the fat fuel mixture I was running before. Coupled with a non slipping clutch, it's a lot better to drive now.

I've also re-fitted the original coil as I had poor results with what I thought might be the Judson magneto. I still sometimes get a hesitation just off idle and the occasional pop up the intake. More adjustment is needed, but overall I'm very happy with the results.
_________________
Collector of all things Volkswagen, Hazet and Matra.

1972 1302
1973 type2a
1957 type11
2005 Caddy panel van
2006 Golf R32

[pastellgreen]

Well done!

Happy new year and stay safe!

[Fishynos72]

[Chickensoup]

dude it looks a million times better! job well done mate!
_________________
-'85 c10 5.3 LS, 222 cam, long tubes, x pipe, 3 inch spin tech's
-'05 B5.5 TDI Wagon 17in sport rims ;EGR + BSM + ASV Delete, Stage-2 Tune, straight pipe
'65 Tourist Delivery Build
'66 RIP
'69 RIP
Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"

[Fishynos72]

[keegs]

inspiring ... motivating... thanks for sharing

[Fishynos72]

The little car went on it's first car club cruise this Sunday just gone.

Some very interesting cars in attendance, including Australia's only Peugeot 309 GTI.

36hp didn't skip a beat down the Calder freeway for an hour post our hill run.

The car is happy to sit upwards of 100km/h without strain, just terrible when we get above 10% gradient on hills. I find it strange as I've found 36hp to be fairly torque happy for their size. Might have to look into that
_________________
Collector of all things Volkswagen, Hazet and Matra.

1972 1302
1973 type2a
1957 type11
2005 Caddy panel van
2006 Golf R32

[pastellgreen]

For me it sounds normal. That is why people got lucky when VW introduced the 40hp. And much later with the 1300 F engine, you could get uphill without any notice.
Glad you're driving it!

[Fishynos72]

[Fishynos72]

Hello again,

Been enjoying weekly drives in the beetle.


After a few instances of bystanders and friends passing comment on "how dim the brake lights are". I figured if left unresolved the next person to tell me was likely to be someone whose just run into the back of me.

Que some Samba Classifieds shopping.

Thanks to Chip, I promptly received a beautifully made LED taillight kit.

This is just how the parkers look.

For those (like me) who have been thinking of doing this, please do yourself a favour and go buy a set. They're idiot proof install wise, and dramatically improve the response of your brake lights. I couldn't be happier. Nothing needs to be irreversibly changed, and it took me about half an hour to do.

Here's the link for the kit.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=892796

Please save your vintage VWs and yourself some heartache and be proactive. Get a set before someone doesn't see your brake lights.


Thank you for attending my Ted-Talk.
(This post is not sponsored by Chip, I just genuinely like his product)
_________________
Collector of all things Volkswagen, Hazet and Matra.

1972 1302
1973 type2a
1957 type11
2005 Caddy panel van
2006 Golf R32

[Fishynos72]

Hello everyone,
As I write this Melbourne is back in lockdown.

Not a lot to tell about the beetle lately. Have been mostly enjoying driving it around.

Back in December, I put together an article for my local Vw club magazine. Ive previously served a stint as editor of the magazine, they're always looking for members to write articles.

It was nice to revisit the journey thats lead the car to its current state.

Since my last post Ive gotten married and changed jobs.

Hopefully I'll have some updates, despite heading into winter here.

Cheers
_________________
Collector of all things Volkswagen, Hazet and Matra.

1972 1302
1973 type2a
1957 type11
2005 Caddy panel van
2006 Golf R32