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hopkin Samba Member
Joined: June 25, 2012 Posts: 2480 Location: Ottawa, Ontario
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Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2014 10:24 am Post subject: Re: Resurrection of my 1967 Beetle |
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[email protected] wrote: |
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The front seats are from some other VW (stamped VW/Audi) but they seemed really wide and terribly loose. After a quick check I could see they were just the original floor section cut from the donor car and screwed/welded to my floor. This also meant my original seat tracks were cut off...
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Those seats look like they are from a Mexican Beetle. Do you still have them? |
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Rome Samba Member
Joined: June 02, 2004 Posts: 9638 Location: Pearl River, NY
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Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2014 4:46 pm Post subject: |
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Your fan shroud is called a Puma because it was a factory-made unit for the VW-based Puma sports car from Brazil. The shroud is a few inches lower than a regular one which came on German-built Beetles. The Puma had a lower tail than a Beetle or Ghia. The lower shroud enabled the engine to fit into the lower engine compartment. Here's a shot of two Pumas from theSamba gallery-
And of the engine in place. Yep, dual carbs were standard equipment on Pumas. You can imagine how close the stock Beetle fan shroud would be to the underside of the engine lid; presumably preventing it from closing all the way-
Your shroud does not have the rear-facing snouts for the fresh air hoses. This means that even if you were to fit all other engine cooling tin and heater boxes, you would not have any air going into the heater boxes. I imagine you'll want heat in your area when you drive the car on dry, cool days.
Puma shrouds were also made which did have the two snouts, but those are also quite rare here in the USA and really would not be a functional improvement on your Beetle compared to a genuine German full-height doghouse shroud.
So you could keep the Puma shroud in your parts collection as a "curiosity", sell it, or maybe trade it for a complete set of German Beetle shrouds and cooling tins with the entire thermostat mechanism... |
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Canadian VW Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2007 Posts: 220 Location: Ontario Canada
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2014 3:14 pm Post subject: |
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Rome schooling me on the fan shroud! I appreciate the info and time you took to post all that. I think I will leave it on the car, shows a small difference between it and normal US spec models. It will be a very occasional driver so the heat wont be an issue (I hope).
Those Mexican Beetle seats found a new home in a Mark 1 Jetta I believe. The new owner was pretty happy to get them for the low low price of... free.
Got half the floor cut out and cleaned up.
Next is the basterized driver side. This one is 100% patches of a few different gauges of steel. It will make me feel much better when it's out.
The replacement floors and rockers ready for a new home in my car.
And to my surprise the pan fits sideways in my single car garage. This gives me so much more room to work in a very cramped garage.
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Canadian VW Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2007 Posts: 220 Location: Ontario Canada
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 11:27 am Post subject: |
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I know this all has been shown a thousand times before but I am still going to try and capture as many of the individual stages of this build as I can.
Got the drivers side out and cleaned up. On a quick test of the new floor everything is looking pretty good!
I have a few small patch areas to take care of once I get the welder pulled out and ready to go.
Up next is transmission removal and grinding down the whole frame before welding. |
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Canadian VW Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2007 Posts: 220 Location: Ontario Canada
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Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 5:03 pm Post subject: |
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For a long time I have wanted a good 220V welder in my garage. New plug installed tonight and I picked up a gas bottle. Overall it took some time but it is in and running smoothly. This weekend I will start tackling some rust repair.
First test beads. Picture quality is bad but the welds are flat and have good penetration.
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Canadian VW Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2007 Posts: 220 Location: Ontario Canada
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Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 9:06 pm Post subject: |
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tried out the new welder and fixed up some of the heavy pitting in the frame.
This was the hardest one with multiple bends and a hole.
Prepped one pan half and punched the plug weld holes.
Got the pan almost completely welded in and ran out of weld wire. used a 2 pound roll to do 90% of one side.
This back corner was the only area that didn't fit the way I want it to. I opened it up and will weld and grind it back to normal.
I feel like I finally made some progress after a month of it sitting. Looking to get the other side cleaned up and the pan half in this week. |
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Canadian VW Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2007 Posts: 220 Location: Ontario Canada
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 10:49 am Post subject: |
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Made some progress the last couple days, both pans are in and the frame is now mostly cleaned up. Welded up a few screw holes on the bottom from the previous floor repairs.
Removed the jack points from the new floors. They hang way too low and I dont want to risk catching them on anything.
I also shortened up the pan head 1 1/4" and did a 5/16" pie cut. This is one of those measure 10 times and weld once situations. I am working on some reinforcement plates for the top to help keep everything strong. I picked up a laser level that was so helpfull with the pie cut and keeping everything square.
Here goes nothing.
Keeping all my cuts square.
No turning back now
Remove brake line clips and marking out the 1 1/8" cut with tape. (the zip cut is 1/16" on each side giving me 1 1/4" total)
Used a pipe to help measure.
Bottom welded up.
I'll have pictures of the top with reinforcement plates in the next few days. |
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Canadian VW Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2007 Posts: 220 Location: Ontario Canada
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 10:12 am Post subject: |
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With the shorter pan head and pie cut the frame head needed to be notched for the brake master.
Just a bit of clean up before paint.
Started with the bottom and I decided to use POR15. Prep time was about 3 hours and painting took about an hour. Gloss black finish and 2 coats later we have this.
I will seam seal it all up once it has dried and the top side is done as well. The back half is still bare so I can weld in the air ride brackets. The last few parts for that are on their way...
I also started recovering my seats.I have never done this before and I think they are turning out pretty good. TMI seat covers and the original pads.
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63Ragtop NZ Samba Member
Joined: December 04, 2007 Posts: 895 Location: West Auckland
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 2:41 pm Post subject: |
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Great work on the pan, looks awesome.
dunno if I'd be brave enough to chop the pan head off like that! _________________ If you can't join them, beat them! |
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Canadian VW Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2007 Posts: 220 Location: Ontario Canada
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Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 11:49 am Post subject: |
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The pan head was a daunting task but I am not the first to do it so there is some good information is out there on what to look for.
First seat finished.
My order for Air Kewld is in. Full front beam, narrowed 4 inches with wide 5 Wilwood brake kit and air ride. Everything is looking nice and fresh.
Rear Wilwoods and air ride. Just waiting on 2 parts on backorder then I will be fitting and welding the back.
I'll be fittingup the front end and deciding what size tire would be best. Right now those are 185/65/15s. I will probably go to a 195-40/17....
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Canadian VW Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2007 Posts: 220 Location: Ontario Canada
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Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 3:52 am Post subject: |
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Started getting the brake system worked out. Dual master and every line is stainless. New hardware, chassis spacers and Air Kewld brake brackets.
Tires are mounted. Yokohama S-Drives in 195-40-17. These were not easy to find (in Canada), I had to order them in from the US. Here are the first test fit pictures, I like the little bit of red Wilwood caliper peaking through.
Test fit the new wheels to get an idea of rear camber. In a weird kind of way I like the the broken axle look.... Maybe a transmission raise in the future.
Started digging into the transmission to assemble the rear disks. After a closer look at everything I have decided to send this to a local Samba member for a rebuild. Brakes fit well and in 2 to 3 weeks I can get that rear air ride tacked up and welded.
Lastly the throw out bearing shaft was "customized" complete with terrible welding and home made spring clips. I swear there were a few paper clips on each side holding that bearing in.
I'm going to my first VW swap meet tomorrow to meet up with my transmission re-builder and hopefully find something awesome like rear pop out windows or correct headlight lenses... |
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Canadian VW Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2007 Posts: 220 Location: Ontario Canada
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 6:55 am Post subject: |
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Swap meet was a success and a good chance to meet some local VW owners. Picked up a driver door handle, really clean reverse lights, shift coupler cover and a match to the single headlight lens I have been searching for.
My air management came in this weekend as well. Air Lifts Auto Pilot V2 with 3/8 lines and a really nice all in one digital controller. Running a Viair 380C compressor and an aluminum 4 gallon tank.
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Canadian VW Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2007 Posts: 220 Location: Ontario Canada
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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It feel like everything is starting to come together. I couple big things have happened this weekend. My transmission is back and fully rebuilt. The pan can roll with 4 tires for the first time in months andddddd I just broke the $20,000 mark on this project
That is in Canadian funds but still a shock when I totaled everything up and see where I am overall with the car.
I have set a 8 week dead line to have this thing on the road. The body will still look the same from when I bought it but all running gear will be new. Lets see if I can pull it off.
Progress in the last couple days.
The little stuff keeps coming in from all over the place. I will make a list of all the suppliers when this thing is done.
Transmission going in, rear air ride being fit up and welded.
Next was painting therear part of the frame to match the front with POR-15. Also in the process of cleaning the years of grime off the transmission.
I'm getting back at it so I will update again hopefully with the rear end fully assembled with air ride, brake lines and calipers and some fresh paint. |
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Canadian VW Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2007 Posts: 220 Location: Ontario Canada
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 2:29 pm Post subject: |
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Bought the roller pedal kit and clutch pedal extension kit from Unique Parts.
Out of beer and had to fix up the master cylender push rod from years of use. drilled out the rod and installed a machined sleeve for a nice tight fit. Overall the kits seemed well built, I will know more when the car hits the road.
Body gasket going on with some seam sealer to hold it in place.
Rear air ride, disk brakes and brake lines are run.
Transmission is leaking after the rebuild... not happy. Looks like I will be pulling it back out to chase down the leak. |
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Project_dog Samba Member
Joined: June 26, 2003 Posts: 65 Location: Spokane, Wa
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 2:04 am Post subject: |
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What great build so far!!! |
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Canadian VW Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2007 Posts: 220 Location: Ontario Canada
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Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 4:11 am Post subject: |
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Project_dog wrote: |
What great build so far!!! |
Thanks!
Fully rebuilt the shifter and got my new reproduction shift knob from Vintage Speed installed. Damn that is a small shift knob! Feels like a toy in my hand...
Started fitting up the rear fenders again. Looking to get the bumper brackets and mounts worked out. Its been 6 months since the car had fenders. They have serious damage around the bumper holes, still unsure if I will use these or source new ones.
Another small item cleaned up, working pedals. With my replacement floor pans the pedals position to the stop on the floor was way off. I had to modify the stop to be longer and wider for proper alignment. You can see the roller pedal and clutch extension in this picture.
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Thomas Lindemann Samba Member
Joined: May 07, 2013 Posts: 111 Location: Gloucester, VA
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Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 4:58 am Post subject: |
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Very nice build, are you sparaying the POR15 or brushing it on? |
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Canadian VW Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2007 Posts: 220 Location: Ontario Canada
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Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 5:32 am Post subject: |
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Brushing it on. Prep with the POR-15 metal ready, completely wash it off then brush on first coat of POR 15 (Gloss black a believe) and let it dry overnight. Scuff it with 320ish sand paper and brush on a second coat. The finish isn't perfect or going to win me any "Best Paint" awards but for a street driven car it looks great. |
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Canadian VW Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2007 Posts: 220 Location: Ontario Canada
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 9:33 am Post subject: |
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So the 8 week "get this car on the road" date is out the window. I felt like I was rushed and want to stay away from cutting corners. Also with it being summer my weekends are packed with events and get togethers that I will not miss for a car. With that said I will finally get to spend a few hours in the garage today working on the car. Looking to finally get all the air out of the brakes, replace the axle boots (fingers crossed for no leaks) and tie up a bunch of loose ends. I will update later today with a very anti-climatic afternoon. |
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redbulltj Samba Member
Joined: March 18, 2010 Posts: 18 Location: San Antonio Texas
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 3:25 pm Post subject: |
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Those wheels are beautiful! What kind are they? |
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