My Crazy 1974 Super Beetle Autocross Build

[Chad1376]

Cool - another autocross SB Build I'm not sure how I missed yours, but I'll follow now. I have a build going too, but progress is painfully slow.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

[Mikedrevguy]

The empi 8spokes I've seen on supers stick out wider the fender and would appear to rub. I would love to be wrong in this, cause I do like the 8 spoke.
_________________
74 1303 (RevBug): plan for German Look
76 914 with 2260
79 VW Iltis
69 Bwajaja
"The wise speak because they have something to say; while the foolish speak because they have to say something." Plato

Illigitimi non-Carborundum!!

[Walking Contradiction]

[Walking Contradiction]

I thought I'd share some photography my good friend and I have done of the car. Toledo has some interesting scenery for car photography.

-Sam
_________________
Samuel Hartford

1974 Super Beetle

Board Member of the Greater Toledo Volkswagen Club

Member of Northwest Ohio Region SCCA

[Walking Contradiction]

Today I scraped off the front driver's side tarboard. I was happy not to find any nasty surprises underneath, just a ton of rust powder. This pan half seems pretty solid. The other side is going to be a different story.

-Sam
_________________
Samuel Hartford

1974 Super Beetle

Board Member of the Greater Toledo Volkswagen Club

Member of Northwest Ohio Region SCCA

[tuckfran]

Just saw this thread and am really happy I found it, some old vw guys got me turned off to my 73 super and had me wanting an older standard but this thread really makes me happy to own a super!! Keep the updates coming

[Walking Contradiction]

[Chad1376]

[H2OSB]

When I finally get my car done, I'll probably go for something like the Heritage class. I can't bring myself to be too serious about autocrossing anymore, and I refuse to NOT update some aspects of the car like brakes and suspension. More than anything, I want to try autocrossing a Super Beetle for the sake of using a Super Beetle, thus I have no illusions of being competitive.

I have a local friend (who is also a member of Super Beetles Only!) with a '71 Super who has been autocrossing that car for several years now and is quite good with the it. He says the car is pretty forgiving but requires precision to go fast...more so than with other cars. His years in the car has made him really good when he runs more modern cars. Of course, ANY seat time would likely do that so perhaps it's a moot point.

I just think it would be awesome if suddenly Grass Roots Motorsprts had to feature a Super Beetle because they keep popping up at SCCA events.

johnL (aka H2OSB)
www.superbeetlesonly.com

[Lingwendil]

I've been trying to join superbeetlesonly for years, it seems it actually let me sign up this time. still has to be approved?


I plan to do some of the backroads autocross low-key events out here in the Bay Area once I get my suspension on the 73 rebuilt. I've had too much fun reading all the autocross build threads the last few years!
_________________
73 super beetle thread http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=649622 Back on the Road!

Modify your Kadrons for SVDA http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8115884#8115884

Cast iron VJU4BR8 SVDA reference thread- https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

Need replacement filters for original Kadron aircleaners? WIX #42087 is a perfect fit, as is Napa Gold #2087!

[H2OSB]

Lingwend-- Cool, you're not too far from me. When my car is done, I'll probably run SCCA events with the SF group as well as the Sac group.

H2OSB

[Walking Contradiction]

[Walking Contradiction]

Everyone, always trust your gut. For about a week I swore something felt weird with my clutch pedal. It seemed like it was engaging extremely close to the floor. I decided to take the pedal cluster out to check it out, and sure enough, the cable was about ready to break. The clutch hook is on its last leg as well. Luckily, I had a spare clutch cable ready to go, and put it in the night before the opening Autocross event of the season.

No, I did not make that ugly cut in the tunnel. That's another lovely previous owner hack. Although I must admit it did make getting the clutch cable back in easier. You can also see just how unbelievably dirty this car is. I spent a good amount of time with the shop vac after taking this picture.

The hook is pretty worn. The clutch occasionally made a clicking sound when you pressed the pedal which makes sense when looking at this. It clicks as the end of the clutch cable travels over the worn part while under tension. I have a new clutch arm on the way.

Also, the spring that controls the accelerator pedal was snapped, which explains why my pedal was falling forward when heel-toe downshifting. I wasn't even aware there was a spring. I have a pedal rebuild kit on the way as well.

As I was saying, the first Autocross of the year was two weekends ago. It was a gorgeous day for it and I had a lot of fun. I was in a rush the whole day so unfortunately I didn't take much of any pictures. I entered in Heritage Classic Street. I had one other competitor in the class, a modded 1970 Porsche 911. Literally my worst nightmare, lol. He unfortunately had to call it quits early due to electrical issues, but still soundly beat my best time using only two of his six runs. The local SCCA website seems to be down for a bit. I will update this post with a link to the full results for the event when it comes back online. Despite losing I am quite pleased with how I did. I can already feel myself improving.

From this event I learned that I need to get new tires ASAP. The skinny stock size all seasons are practically useless for this sort of driving; they have very low limits and they just wallow when pushed. I am looking to get some Dunlop Direzza Star Spec tires in 195/55/15 size, with wider wheels to accept them. The rulebook allows all DOT approved street tires with a treadwear rating 200 or above for most classes. Star Specs and the similar Bridgestone RE71s are currently the two most competitive tires. I am leaning towards the Dunlops because by all accounts they have only slightly maximum grip than the Bridgestones but are a much longer-lived tire. They also come in a size that more closely matches the stock rolling diameter. I warn you all that it is extremely difficult to find performance tires in a 15" size that are close to the stock rolling diameter; they are all way undersized. By simply fitting better tires and getting some more experience under my belt I am confident I can quickly close quite a bit of the gap on my competition. In future overviews of my autocross events I will try to get into more specifics about the handling characteristics of the car, my techniques, and other information I can gather about using these cars for autocross.

Update: I ran a best overall time of 44.809; my competitor in the 911 ran a 36.204. Also if you scroll through the results page you'll see I was slower than a Lincoln Towncar http://nworscca.com/attachments/results/2017/2017_e1_results_r1.htm

-Sam
_________________
Samuel Hartford

1974 Super Beetle

Board Member of the Greater Toledo Volkswagen Club

Member of Northwest Ohio Region SCCA

[Bashr52]

Just an FYI, I put a set of Dunlop Direzza tires on the summer rims for my daily driver cobalt. Not happy with them, they are out of round. I've had them balanced 3 times, and I still get a vibration out of them around 60 MPH and above. When I put my winter tires back on, everything is totally smooth. It didn't do it with the old worn out set of tires I had on the rims when I got them, just since swapping rubber.

They do seem to stick pretty well, and are good on wet pavement, but the vibration thing is huge to me.

When you get the new clutch hook, put a bit of weld around the area where the clutch able attaches to strengthen it and prevent it from wearing out. No issues with the hook after this mod running my heavier clutch.

[Walking Contradiction]

[Bashr52]

I bought them 2 seasons ago off tire rack, so who knows what the manufacturing date was. I'm sure I can find it on the tire somewhere, but maybe they corrected the problem since.

[Chad1376]

Awesome, keep at it! I'm jealous, since my Super still has 12-18-months before it runs.

I had a similar clutch hook issue on my '64. I tried welding it, then grinding back to fit, but it didn't work very well. I ended up just getting a new pedal shaft and hook, and that worked much better.

On tires, I probably wouldn't worry too much about achieving a similar diameter as stock. The lower profile tires will give you lower effective gearing, which will help acceleration out of the corners. They also would lower the car and it's center of gravity a little. Just make sure you don't go so wide that you're scraping the fenders or other bits.

You'll love good tires. RE71's are pretty much the go-to 200 treadwear tires in my region. I don't think the Dunlop's are quite as competitive, but will still be a huge difference over standard rubber.

To really get the tires to work, you'll want to dial in some negative camber on the front - either with control arm bushings that give you some more adjustment, or better yet, some camber plates. After that, you'll start thinking about all the other 10,000 possible tweaks.

Here - I'm not sure if these are allowable in Heritage class, but if they are..
https://silverproject.eu/en/shop/vw-2/camber-plates-volkswagen-super-beetle-1974-79/?currency=USD

[Walking Contradiction]

[Chad1376]

Right now, I have no alignment - all my parts are still sitting in boxes until the car is farther along. I'll be shooting for around -2.5 or -3 to start, then will need to tweak it once I get a chance to actually drive the darn thing. This will be for track only, though, so I'm not worried about daily driving issues.

I think you'll be happy with the Dunlop's, they will still be a night-and-day difference. I'm due for another set of RE71's for our Mini - they've lasted about 9-months of 2-driver car race-days (say 120 runs), but they only get used on the street to and from the track. I doubt they have more than about 500-miles on them (street+track).

[Mikedrevguy]

I've had the same/similar with the clutch hook and cable. Welded the hook and all's good.
When/if I get there again, ll go with the solid arm with roller bearing

I've been looking at 16" wheels for the possibility of more options.
Keep having fun.
Rev.
_________________
74 1303 (RevBug): plan for German Look
76 914 with 2260
79 VW Iltis
69 Bwajaja
"The wise speak because they have something to say; while the foolish speak because they have to say something." Plato

Illigitimi non-Carborundum!!