JCooper's new project -1972 VW Squareback

JCooper · Last edited by JCooper on Tue May 26, 2015 2:19 am; edited 2 times in total

Not new to VW world, but new to the Type 3 world. I recently sold a 1972 Datsun 521 Pickup and picked this up from the local classifieds. What I know so far is that the previous owner bought it on a whim from a guy who was having issues with his fuel pump. He also informed me that the previous owner had assumed the car had a six volt set up, and not the 12 volt. Well...he was wrong. Currently the Square "fires up with starting fluid..but there are some wiring issues to go over." This was made evident when I looked at the fuse panel and realized all the fuses were blown, the wrong amp, or had at one time too much current going through the specified circuit. Soon I will be tracing each wire to check for melted, bypassed, or simply- botched up set up it currently is in. For now I've just been gathering parts for the build.
Interior needs work as far as upholstery, and I did happen to get the car cheaper than what the previous owner was asking as it appears my left quarter was punched in. Luckily I know a guy in town who can pull this for me.
Currently working on installing bumpers (which I believe are from a 60s model...but I got both for $40 and figured I'd mod the bolt brackets). Let me know what you think. I'll be scanning forums for hints.

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Sqrbckguy38 · Posted: Mon May 18, 2015 6:50 am Post subject:

Looks great. Just keep up with it. The wires are a bit hard difficult at some times, maybe because I'm color blind, but good luck. The fuel pump isn't too hard to replace either, easily modified if yours is bad.
_________________
It's not the fall that hurts, it's the sudden stop at the bottom.
69 Square needs love, even after 15 years
70 Fasty former dd, now my daughter's
67 Beetle, Opal

MonT3 · Posted: Mon May 18, 2015 7:37 am Post subject:

I was wondering where that squareback went. Glad you got it and are reviving it. Where in SD are you located? I’m in RC. Get with me if interested in some interior upholstery as last fall I cut up a 70 and have some disassembled seats and a few other pieces, not much though but they may help you out. I also know some folks that may be able to help as well. Welcome to the community.
_________________
MonT3
67 Squareback
64 Squareback
63 Squareback
Engine rebuild
Trailer rebuild

JCooper · Posted: Mon May 18, 2015 11:34 am Post subject:

MonT3, I'm in rapid city, south by hospital. I'd love to check out interior parts etc!

MonT3 · Posted: Mon May 18, 2015 12:35 pm Post subject:

JCooper

As I figured, my one day off was filled with getting everything else done..and not working on the Square. So, I'll post pictures and keep reading up on things I want to do. I am also waiting on parts from JBugs.com to show up..has anyone else had to wait several weeks for their order?

I have twin Nephews who call the Squareback my Racecar..I have no idea why but to them it "goes fast." They were watching me look over labels on wires on the engine. One was labled "F-Up"..only spelled out more, unsure if this was something previous owner did or what. so I had to explain them that it was Probably french as Cayden tried reading it out loud. ( I did cut him off quickly)

Hard to see in this picture, but the left rear quarter is punched in, fender kinda sticks out. This caused my driver's side door jam to loose its gap. I can still get door open, but its tight. Awaiting to see if I can get this Square running so I can take it to a local frame shop and pull it.

I had a chance to stop in Lead, SD at my in-laws Brewery. They own Dakota Shiver's Brewing ...so if your into good beer and your in SD, stop by and have one. But yes...On the way I stopped at a small..seemingly run down Sinclair station with piles of tires and random VW parts strewn about. I happened to speak with the owner earlier after reading one of his craigslist ads. He has a ton of random parts (same guy I got the bumpers from). His wisdom on VW's is extensive and he told me "I'm just old and I need to get rid of things." The only thing I thought funny was he sold his parts for cheap, however, he wanted a lot for his far from saving rusted out VW bugs- of which he has several on his property. Nice guy though, so I gave him a list of things I was looking for.

Hoping to meet up with MonT3 as he mentioned he was a local. I'm excited as I'm sure most of you all have read up on his build thread. Till next day off-- Cooper

JCooper

Met up with local Squareback owner MonT3 and had a great time looking over his current build and talking about whats in store for both of our restorations. He did inform me of some interior panels and upholstery that he had and would be willing to part with. Also managed to pickup a few FI parts.

Today I set out early to remove the old seats that were torn and leaving piles in my car. I did read up on how to remove the front seats (screwdriver on lever trick) and they came out without much kicking or beating with a rubber mallet- though I had a foot and a mallet available if needed.

The rear bench seat on my 72 come with a locking latch for the backrest and bottom cushion. I ended up just removing the back seat panel and placing it on the metal back plate as the replacement seat back I had did not have the back locks.

As far as the bottom bench, I ended up cutting a small 1 inch by 2 inch hole to fit the floor lock. Some day down the road I will have to see if I can utilize the seat lock mechanism from my old bottom bench.

MonT3 sold me the black front end seat pads and high back seat backs, as well as the bottom metal brackets for each side. I did spend plenty of time cleaning all the pads as they had some old garage grime and dust for cover. The metal brackets were also sanded, prepped, and painted a light gloss black. All in all this project took about 3 hours total as I was working alone and waited for paint to dry in overcast skies. Pretty pleased with the seats for now, drivers side has some minor cracks by headrest and a small tear that I will address in the future. Just happy not having my man parts poked at by torn seat cushions haha.

I will eventually switch the interior panels to black, as I was able to get those as well from MonT3. But after the seats were all placed the rain showed up. GOD DO I MISS A GARAGE!!! Anyways, planning on attacking my wiring this week- till next time.

JCooper · Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 8:49 pm Post subject:

MonT3 · Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 9:25 pm Post subject:

Coop, the interior looks great. Great job on it. Huge gain on that there. Seat bases came together nicely. Don't forget to get the distro part number so I can check on a spare for you.

Items I'm gathering for you:
- Fuse box
- E-brake
- VW Hood logo
- Distro

Oh, found the door panels and well, one is torn a bit. Will set them aside for you to look at when we meet up again.
_________________
MonT3
67 Squareback
64 Squareback
63 Squareback
Engine rebuild
Trailer rebuild

JCooper · Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 9:35 pm Post subject:

MonT3 · Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 9:43 pm Post subject:

JCooper · Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 11:26 pm Post subject:

MonT3 · Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 8:54 am Post subject:

Bobnotch · Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 10:13 am Post subject:

JCooper · Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 10:18 am Post subject:

JCooper · Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 12:40 pm Post subject: My Wiring Fun awaits me.

Today I decided to snap a few shots of my wiring mess. Its been raining non-stop all day (about 2 inches so far), so I figured I'd photograph what I'm working with and consult the wiring diagrams and service manual.

Wiring under the dash appeared okay, with a few random wires appearing to have been cut awhile ago. (Perhaps this was to the radio?) I did notice one wire - which I believe runs with the headlight circuit that is pretty toasted. The plastic covering was pretty melted up, and it appears that the fuse on the panel that ran in that circuit had 'run hot' as the metal clip for the fuse had melted into the plastic itself.

I think I have a switch to fill this slot that MonT3 sold me, will check.

Yeah..well...this will have to be addressed. To wet to crawl under there at the moment.

I observed that the compartment that my ECU sits in was more or less a puddle. I did swap out my ECU when I bought the car as the old one was rusted, and the back panel had been removed, allowing mud and whatnot to coat the inside of it. It appears my rear quarter window will need a new seal soon.

Wiring in the engine compartment was labeled before I bought the car. Some wires were hanging loose and I was able to trace a few to where they might go. First few pictures are upside down..oops.

Voltage regulator and battery compartment wiring appeared okay..but interesting (especially the battery cables. Came across a few random loose wires, and a disconnected ground (?) I will probably end up removing everything to cut, metal work, and prep the compartment as it appears pretty rusted.

Does anyone know if there are suppose to be drain plugs in this compartment?

Well, that's it for today- this should be fun

JCooper · Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 10:34 am Post subject: Squareback Update

Yesterday I purchased a new battery and placed it into the Squareback to see what would happen. Engine turned over and I could hear the fuel pump pumping but no fuel was reaching engine. This was expected as this was the problem the previous owner informed me of. (also I was able to determine just what wasn't working via electrical circuit- no headlights, no horn, no turn signals- but that's okay, will dig into that more).

I ended up reading up the sticky on what to do to get your squareback running after it has been sitting- I believe Tram had a nice list to check off. So I purchased a 25ft roll of fuel injection rated fuel line, the only problem was that none of the autoparts stores had enough 5/16th FI fuel line clamps. (I did place an order for 34 of them). I've determined that at one time a previous owner was messing with the fuel line setup as none of the current fuel lines are FI rated, and most of the lines didn't even have FI rated clamps securing them to their determined connections, or were missing entirely. All of this has lead me to plan on pulling out the gas tank and re-doing all fuel line connections, and retesting the cleanliness of the fuel injectors (as I was informed they were cleaned, but look like they weren't even touched..).

For now I am waiting on supplies. Ordered all new gasket kit for the engine, and also measured out all the vacuum lines that will need to be replaced, and I am still trying to trace out what the heck happened to my wiring (so many oddly labeled wires from previous owner, and some I have no idea what the heck they connect to--more forum reading ahead of me.) I'll try to get some pictures up soon.

MonT3 · Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 8:48 pm Post subject:

Looks like you’ve been busy with tracing those wires out. This past weekend I moved 7 truckloads of firewood over to my buddies so no work on my square was done. Will try to link up with you this weekend if your schedule permits. I have some sanding to do as well.
_________________
MonT3
67 Squareback
64 Squareback
63 Squareback
Engine rebuild
Trailer rebuild

JCooper · Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 2:32 am Post subject:

Mike Fisher · Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 3:56 am Post subject:

Those are nice '68-'69 highback seats with the early chrome trim! You can weld in a Bug battery box patch panel & fab your own patches out of 20 gauge steel. You can fix your left rear fender & rear apron at the same time. Cool

Put Rapid City, SD in your Signature?
_________________
69 FI/AT square Daily Driver
66 sunroof,67,70,71,71,71AT,72,72AT,73 Parts
two 57 oval ragtops sold
'68 Karmann Ghia sold

Society is like stew. If you don't keep it stirred up you end up with a lot of scum on the top! - Russ_Wolfe/Edward Abbey


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JCooper's new project -1972 VW Squareback
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