1969 restoration :)

[kosti]

Cheers I still keep improving on the wiring bit by bit

[VW_Jimbo]

It is looking good! Keep at it.

The body shop sounds like a good shop, making certain that you are receiving your parts back in 100 percent shape! Good work takes time.
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[kosti]

Put the doors on yesterday. There were some tolerance issues. I knew I had really tight door gaps at the B pillar but dry-fitting was always perfectly fine. Now, after all the paint and I dont know what, the gap got significantly tighter to the point that the passenger door was scraping at the striker plate. There are two ways how to handle this - either adjust the hinges to move the door forward or bang the striker plate back. As I didnt want to hit the newly painted body to bend the hinges and only really needed 2 millimetres, I opted for the striker plate. After a couple of heavy hits with a major hammer, the door is clearing everything nicely. However, the gaps are still really tight. Having put the door seals in, it takes some force to close the doors but I guess it will get better when the seals conform to their new situation. Closing the doors without the seals was really smooth.

I didnt take any pictures of the issues, Ill do that tomorrow so you see where the problem was, but for now, at least a few shots of the car finally with doors on.

I am also struggling with the bumpers, more precisely with the bumper mounts, which do not fit the bumper at all. The angles are just not right and it took some heavy bending to get the front bumper to line up. Ill continue the bracket persuasion tomorrow, hopefully getting the bumpers mounted.

[kosti]

The journey is almost over..but is it ever? The only big thing that remains to be done are the wheels. I need to get a fresh set of rims, new tyres as well as hub caps. The current wheels are only there so that I can drive it to pass the official technical checks to get the car registered after the restoration. I never really planned to drive it much this year. Once registered and on plates, it will sit in the garage until summer comes again. That means I will have enough time to sort the wheels out. Of course, there is a ton of cosmetic details - the non-existent stereo, new headlights (the current ones are so so) and eventually a completely rebuilt 1600 cc engine.

I am currently waiting for the documents to be translated so that I can start the registration process but the weather is getting worse by the day and I dont want to drive the car in the rain if possible.

[VW_Jimbo]

That paint job is gorgeous! I can see the front seat reflection in the glove box door. Really nice!
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[kosti]

Thanks Jimbo. The paint job ended up being really nice, its just a shame that the weather is not playing along. I want to take some nice pictures somewhere outside to get rid of the constant garage backdrop ...

[kosti]

The car is still not registered, waiting for the paper work to get translated from Slovenian as it is an import..in the meantime, I am thinking about how to wire the battery cutoff switch as I dont want to keep pulling the rear seat to disconnect it. I also dont think I need to disconnect the starter motor so I am only putting the switch between the battery and the regulator. Also, I need to decide where to place the fire extinguisher...perhaps on top of the tunnel? I dont like it but it seems to be the most practical place of it.

[joey1320]

Amazing work.
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**1971 Super Project
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[ty151]

Awesome, great work.

[Buggeee]

[kosti]

A few more shots, still in the driveway as I dont seem to be able to find the time to sort out the registration paperwork and visit all necessary authorities. Keep ignoring the shabby wheels....

[Deebs]

Beautiful. The color combination is outstanding.

In regards to your fire extinguisher, I mounted mine under the glove box like so.

I have since removed it due to new carpet being put in, but was having the same debate on a practical spot. I may have to try on the tunnel and see how it feels. Regardless here's another option for ya!

I also tested by sitting in the passenger seat and didn't rub against it with my leg so space is fine.

Let me know where you decide!

[Volktales]

I somehow missed this story previously. Very nice work, and I wish I had the talent to do all the welding/fabricating that you did. My own 1970 Beetle would need the same level of welding to save it, but I doubt I could ever do it. You must be looking forward to driving that when the weather is good next year!
_________________
1974 "Restfalia" Camper 2000 cc EFI 2001-
1970 Beetle first car, rotten, yard art 1985-
1966 Sunroof Beetle, restored 1998-
1964 Ghia, ongoing project 2007-
1962 Beetle Beryl,original paint survivor 2012-
1970 Savannah Beige Beetle 2012-
1992 16v GTI, 100% stock 2006-
1991 "Terseo", wife's old daily 1995-
1969 Chevrolet CST/10 (family owned since new)
1965 Gold Corvair Monza 2021-
1966 and 1965 Monza 2022-

[kosti]

What the hell happened? before today, I already put some 30km on the clock, everything ran smoothly, the engine idled nicely, acceleration was immediate, no hesitation, no pinging, no funny business whatsoever. So today, I decided to finally take the car from my Parents place where it sat for the last two years and get it to where I live, some 50 away.

The ride was brilliant, the car drove nicely, after two years of hard work, that was all I wanted from it - to have a nice joyride once in a while.

Now, some 5 kms before i got home, climbing up a minor incline, doing 90km/h, something went wrong. Suddenly, the engine got louder, started knocking on acceleration but calmed down when I depressed the gas pedal really smoothly. But when I just depress it as one does when driving, there is a definite problem. It almost sounds like one of the exhaus valves is not closing properly and the engine is firing into the exhaust. It comes from the left side, no idea whether no 3 or no 4 cylinder.

Here is a video i shot after the engine cooled down and I adjusted the valves, just for good measure.

I hope you can hear the issue. When I go easy on the accelerator, the problem is almost gone, perhaps even completely, but when I just hit it, the engine misbehaves. You can hear it best from underneath the car.

also never mind the exhaust leak you see in the video, that was there all the time, I need new bolts to tighten the clamps properly.


Link

[kpf]

Is the accelerator pump still pumping? Did the timing slip?

By the way, you’ve done a beautiful job with the restoration! Have you considered restoring the original wheels rather than replacing them?


Good luck,
Kris
_________________
1971 Super Beetle

[kosti]

The pump is still pumping as far as I can tell. The car doesnt seem to have lost power, or at least not much. I also tried to play around with the distributor, but it did not twist and adjusting it did not make much of a difference.

So far, the most likely cause to my mind seems to be cylinder head blow by. I know that one of the head studs did not feel quite right when I was tightening the head on the left side and I suspected that it may pull out from the block.

I will have to check that, maybe try retorqing the bottom studs to see if there is room for additional torquing.

The fact that makes me suspect this is that there is apparent noise BELOW the car that doesnt seem to be coming from the exhaust but is almost coming directly from the cylinder or head from some place.

On the wheels - I got a set of original rims with almost brand new tyres and a set of hub caps so essentially yes, I will be restoring a set of original wheels

[VW_Jimbo]

It is missing on one cylinder. Perform a drop test to locate the hole then check it out. Or pull the spark plugs to find out.
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[kosti]

[VW_Jimbo]

[VW_Jimbo]

With the car running. Pull one plug wire off the cap at a time. Listen to the amount of rpm drop there is. Reinsert the wire into the cap and move on to the next one. Do all four. Which one was the weakest?

That is the hole to take a look at!
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!