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Figment
Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2016
Posts: 218
Location: Connecticut, USA
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 Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2016 11:31 am Post subject: Mike's Yellow '71 Coupe Progress... |
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[intro post]
Hey gang,
I've picked up this '71 coupe project.
Previous owner had it for about 9 years, took it down to nothing and got it most of the way back together again but health issues left him unable to continue so now she's mine.
Floors and channels replaced, body is solid (though I found a hole just behind the right front fenderwell).
Doors are hung but not well.
No interior.
New wiring.
New front suspension.
Disc brakes installed, though state of completion unknown.
Going strictly on appearances, the gearbox is the only untouched element of the car.
Motor came out for some upgrades (dual carbs, electronic ignition, big sump, exhaust) and is in but not running.
I've spent a few days sorting through the heap of miscellaneous parts that came along with the deal, so now it's time to tuck into this thing and get going.
[b]Where to begin?[/i]
My gut tells me to just get the motor to make some noise first, then bleed the brakes and roll from there, but my only VW-wrenching experience is with my buddy's super beetle 20 years ago, so I ask the collected wisdom here.... what haven't I thought of?
Thanks |
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fes
Samba Member
Joined: January 26, 2011
Posts: 999
Location: Prince Edward Island
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| Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2016 1:30 pm Post subject: Re: It's like a kit... some assembly required. |
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Brakes first before anything..It's no good ripping around if you have an unsafe way to stop..inspect, clean and adjust..including parking brake..
" New Disc brakes" Is this an overhaul on the front or a conversion on the rear?
Wheel bearings and steering, (tie-rods and draglink. ball joints)
Grease the front end,have a look at the CV boots in the rear..Try and degrease and clean everything..
Wiring..All brake lights, indicators, hazards and lights work? anything dodgy?
Only after all this stuff is done would I move on to the engine..
Change that gear oil too..
NEW FUEL LINES!! and check the condition of the tank..pull the sender out and look around with a strong flashlight or one of those duct cams you can rent from HomeDepot
Interior..Do you have the headliner in? If not all the glass has to come out to install it properly..Carpet and then seats and door cards.."make sure you do any adjustments on glass regulators before you button this up..
I'm sure I'm forgetting something..
Sometimes I wish I was doing this all over again.. 
Welcome to the cool kids club BTW!
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'68 Campmobile-Pedro
'15 Golf-Stella Blau
'56 Oval-The Turd (for now) |
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c21darrel
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Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8211
Location: San Dimas
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63 vwnotch
Samba Member
Joined: December 31, 2002
Posts: 734
Location: Riverside,CA Econo Motors
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| Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2016 3:58 pm Post subject: Re: It's like a kit... some assembly required. |
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I was talking to parts Haus the other day about brakes, I say I didn't need new lines cause they look new... he made a good point when he took off lines 12 yrs old that looked new.... point he made was the lines will collapse inside and look great on the outside...
Needless to say even tough my lines look fairly new replacing them is cheap insurance...
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BUS WANTED: 13 window BUS any year considered.. |
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Figment
Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2016
Posts: 218
Location: Connecticut, USA
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 7:35 am Post subject: Re: It's like a kit... some assembly required. |
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"new disc brakes"... both. Front replaced, rear converted. All new lines I think but will confirm. The pedal has no feel whatsoever so it may be that he never charged the system with fluid. That's an easy one to bump to the top of the list.
Bearings and links are good.
Fuel tank is new, as are the lines up front. The fuel lines in the engine compartment appear to be the old cloth-covered fuel lines, which is curious. Those will be gone immediately.
The headliner, carpet, and door cards are all new-in-boxes. Absolute last thing on my mind.
Thanks for the feedback. |
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Figment
Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2016
Posts: 218
Location: Connecticut, USA
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| Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 2:01 pm Post subject: Re: It's like a kit... some assembly required. |
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Brake bleed stalled because there is no pedal-stop. Whoever did the floor pan never got around to doing the pedal-stop mount.
Is that mount available as a particularly fabricated part, or should I just weld a nut to some plate and make it happen?
While I'm welding underbody... is the jack point available as a fabricated item? |
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kman
Samba Member
Joined: November 04, 2005
Posts: 739
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 2:12 pm Post subject: Re: It's like a kit... some assembly required. |
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The pedal stop is for sure available but it is a very simple piece that would be easy to make. I've seen a lot of used jack points for sale.
BTW, nice find on the car as long as you paid kit car prices  |
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kiwighia68
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Joined: October 20, 2013
Posts: 2875
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
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| Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 2:52 pm Post subject: Re: It's like a kit... some assembly required. |
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| kman wrote: |
The pedal stop is for sure available but it is a very simple piece that would be easy to make. I've seen a lot of used jack points for sale.
BTW, nice find on the car as long as you paid kit car prices :) |
I have a spare pedal stop - assuming it's the same for left and right hand drive. The postage will be more than the cost of making one. Let me know if you want the precise dimensions or a photo. Or you can cut one from the floorpan of a scrapped Beetle or Ghia.
_________________
Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015 |
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Figment
Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2016
Posts: 218
Location: Connecticut, USA
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| Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 6:23 am Post subject: Re: It's like a kit... some assembly required. |
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Yeah if you have a photo handy that would be great. It should be an easy enough thing for me to fab-up, as long as I have some idea of what one is supposed to look like.
Jack-points.... can I safely assume that a jack point from a beetle will work on a ghia? |
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kman
Samba Member
Joined: November 04, 2005
Posts: 739
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 6:48 am Post subject: Re: It's like a kit... some assembly required. |
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kman
Samba Member
Joined: November 04, 2005
Posts: 739
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 6:50 am Post subject: Re: It's like a kit... some assembly required. |
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| Figment wrote: |
Jack-points.... can I safely assume that a jack point from a beetle will work on a ghia? |
No. They're different. |
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Figment
Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2016
Posts: 218
Location: Connecticut, USA
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| Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 7:45 am Post subject: Re: It's like a kit... some assembly required. |
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No, the pedal-stop I have, actually.
What I need to see is the weldment/support plate for the threaded hole in the floor pan, to which one secures the pedal-stop. |
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kman
Samba Member
Joined: November 04, 2005
Posts: 739
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 8:51 am Post subject: Re: It's like a kit... some assembly required. |
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| It is nothing more than a square nut welded onto the bottom on the pan. |
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c21darrel
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Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8211
Location: San Dimas
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KGCoupe
Samba Member
Joined: July 01, 2005
Posts: 3580
Location: Putting the "ill" and "annoy" in Illinois
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| Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 8:50 am Post subject: Re: It's like a kit... some assembly required. |
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| c21darrel wrote: |
Drill hole, put pedal stop over hole, insert bolt, attach lockwasher and nut, tighten.  |
If it were a "proper" kit, then wouldn't all that be covered thoroughly in the Complete Instructions For Assembly manual that came with it? |
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c21darrel
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Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8211
Location: San Dimas
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Evil_Fiz
Samba Member
Joined: May 06, 2011
Posts: 1049
Location: Jacksonville, FL
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| Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 11:08 am Post subject: Re: It's like a kit... some assembly required. |
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Here is the one I recently removed from my 70 OE pan. The pictures are a bit distorted but the written measurements are accurate.
3 1/8" x 13/16" x 1/8"
_________________
It's not just about what's interesting. It's also about what's helpful, and it's helpful even if it helps just one other guy working on a Ghia.
kiwighia68
See my build on TheSamba at:
The K_R_A_K_E_N_N : a 70 Ghia Convertible reinterpreted |
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Figment
Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2016
Posts: 218
Location: Connecticut, USA
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| Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 12:39 pm Post subject: Re: It's like a kit... some assembly required. |
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OUTSTANDING!
Thanks Fiz.
(where's the fun in a kit that comes with instructions?) |
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Evil_Fiz
Samba Member
Joined: May 06, 2011
Posts: 1049
Location: Jacksonville, FL
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| Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:58 pm Post subject: Re: It's like a kit... some assembly required. |
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| Figment wrote: |
| ...(where's the fun in a kit that comes with instructions?) |
It's only the manufacturers opinion anyway 
_________________
It's not just about what's interesting. It's also about what's helpful, and it's helpful even if it helps just one other guy working on a Ghia.
kiwighia68
See my build on TheSamba at:
The K_R_A_K_E_N_N : a 70 Ghia Convertible reinterpreted |
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Figment
Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2016
Posts: 218
Location: Connecticut, USA
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| Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2016 7:24 am Post subject: Re: It's like a kit... some assembly required. |
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So what am I looking at here?
I assume that the heat gets ducted up into the dashboard vents via that round hole, but I don't have a corresponding hole on the driver's side. (The previous owner's approach to this resto seems to have been to completely disregard the heat system and have it as a summer-only toy.)
Based on that same assumption, I should NOT be able to see the garage floor through that hole, correct?
Access from the bottom seems to require cutting the floor pan and/or the fender, so I think the best approach to repair this is to cut out the piece we see in this photo, weld in whatever to create a new bottom closure, and then weld the top back into place.
Am I overthinking this or otherwise making it harder than it needs to be?
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'71 Ghia coupe |
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