1973 Sports Bug

[CWAVE]

Thank-you! I actually didn't get anywhere near the work done that I had planned this year. A number of reasons took me away from the car for much of the spring/summer. The good news is I'm at it again and am pleased with the progress I've managed to make. A week next Monday will be 1 year with this car! I really want to drive this car next summer, so I'll have a busy winter.

Ideally, I'll be shaking the car down next summer so that it's ready and reliable for when I start teaching my son to drive the following year. My dad taught me to drive in a beetle (74 standard), and I want to do the same for my son (in my favorite model I've ever had the pleasure of owning).

I had not weighed the dynamat, but I tell you that stuff isn't light! I'm sure I will have added a solid 200 pounds to the weight of the car by the time I'm through. So far I've put 5 sheets of the stuff onto the pan. Still probably have another 5 or more sheets to go. In the end, if that means it'll take me longer to go from point A to B, that simply means I get to spend more time in my Sportsbug. Can't see a downside to that!

Here are a few photos from today's effort. I pulled the cross member off the old transaxle, and the urethane bushings look to be in great shape. So I cleaned them up a bit (more cleaning will need to follow) but will re-use those.

Thomas

[heimlich]

That's one way to think about it.

All that dynomat equals the weight of a person. Everyone who uses the stuff swears by it.
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[CWAVE]

I'm back from the bodyshop, and it was a really nice visit. I used to live just down the road from the shop so it felt like coming home...

Anyways, they've taken the fenders and deck lid down to bare metal. They said a little more work, and they'll be putting them into epoxy.

Tomorrow they're taking the body into the shop and will begin work on that. Everything is going down to bare metal and any dents will be pulled. They're going to clear the paint. I'm sure it's going to look great.

Here are some photos of the trip. They did a test spray of the color.

Thomas

[CWAVE]

Well... if I want Continental tires for my sportsbug, looks like it's going to be a 2-3 week wait as they have to get them shipped from the other side of the country. So be it. For the time being I'll have to put on some old wheels till that happens... On-ward we go next weekend.

Thomas

[joey1320]

I like that color a lot. Great work.
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**1971 Super Project
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[CWAVE]

Got out today and did some more work on the pan. Sadly it ended with a pretty big disappointment. Ok, gonna get that off my chest first...

As you recall, I bought a Pro Street IRS transaxle from Rancho a little while back for my Sportsbug. Well, the last thing I was going to do today was install it in the pan then install the CV shafts. Well, much to my disappointment, the transaxle has the wrong nose cone on it. Never even thought to look at that when it arrived, as I had specifically made a point of asking them to ensure they put the correct nose cone on it.

Here's what they sent me:

This is the front transmission mount that I have for the car. Clearly doesn't fit! Looked up the number on the nose cone, and it appears to be the nose cone for a 60-67 bus.

I sent off an e-mail to him moments ago, (UPDATE: they're sending me a replacement nosecone to replace the incorrect one).

Ya I know accidents happen. You know what they say about the best laid plans!

What I did accomplish before this wonderful discovery today was that I installed the reverse light switch in the nose cone (that's going to have to come out again), the two switches in the master cylinder, and the short line going forward off the master cylinder.

Also ran all of the remaining heater cables, throttle cable and clutch cable. Also installed the brake pads on the rear discs.

Then it was all about cleaning up and re-organizing my garage again, and dropping the pan down off the saw horses. The back end has really gotten heavy.

Last week I placed my order for the tires. Got a call on Friday that they're expecting them to arrive on October 31st. So, I'll be dropping off my ET26's as soon as I get a call that they're in, so they can be mounted.

Thomas

[CWAVE]

Looking at the tracking, the nose cone will arrive this coming Monday. They were very apologetic about the situation, and wanted to resolve this quickly. All good now. Just have to install the nose cone when it arrives.

The tires have arrived, and will be dropping the rims off this afternoon, should be able to pick them up tomorrow.

Thomas

[CWAVE]

Hey everyone watching this build!

Looks like the nose cone is still on track for the beginning of the coming week. Plan on getting a bit of something done this weekend. Perhaps the pedal assembly, handbrake, rear shocks and tires...

Yes, the tires are here, on the rims and am very happy with how they look. I had them do the stick-on weights, as I didn't want anything pounded on the lip of these rims.

Thomas

[Tim Donahoe]

The rims look perfect!

Tim
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Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

[CWAVE]

Those rims came from an old friend of mine. He bought his marathon sports bug new back in 73. He didn't like these sports bug rims, so they sat in storage up to a couple years ago (never used). (He put the turtlebacks on his sportsbug instead...) I bought these off him at that point and had them shipped across the country to me here. Had them sandblasted and powdercoated...

That's the history behind the rims! Pretty much as new and perfect as a guy could ever find.

Thomas

[Beetlebaum]

I just read the whole thread. Impressive work! That's the sort of stuff which inspires me to keep going on mine.
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1973 Super Beetle
2003 New Beetle
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[CWAVE]

First off, thanks for the comments! Always appreciated that you guys are enjoying the progress I'm making.

Not too much accomplished this weekend. Some progress, even if only a little, is still progress!

Installed the rear shocks this weekend, rubber bump stops and put the tires/wheels on the back. I still have to clean up and paint the wheel bolts, so I only put a couple on each side. Next week I'm expecting the nose cone to arrive as well as another order from CIP1 with some small parts I'll need for my next round of installations on the pan. So for now, this is where I'm at! No word from the body shop lately, so nothing to report there.

Thomas

[CWAVE]

Another productive weekend behind me. Spent many hours in the garage with my son emparting the joy of working on your VW! We had a great time, and he learned a lot about transaxles, how they work and how they're installed.

So, let's start with some deliveries this week. Got the second box of Dynamat Extreme. Only have three sheets of the stuff left from the first box, and figure I'll need more than that to cover the interior. Also picked up three boxes of Dynaliner. Plan on putting that above the headliner, on top of the dynamat extreme, as well as behind the back seat. There doesn't seem to be that much in a box, so figured better safe than sorry. I'd rather have extra, than run out part way through the job. Also got a few more things from CIP1 (not pictured) like an OG brake fluid resevoir, the rubber seal for the nose cone (that got installed this weekend), and a roll of felt for behind the headliner.

What we did yesterday is replace the incorrect nose cone that came with the Rancho transaxle with the one they sent me. Was a painless install. Last time I did a nose cone swap I was about 17 years old. Gosh... 37 years ago! Geez.

Today my son and I started early, cleared out the garage and got to work. By the end of the "work" day, we had the transaxle installed, new CV shafts nicely packed with grease and installed. Hooked up the new shift coupler to the transaxle (still have to wiretie that set screw), and installed the shifter.

Sadly I discovered the nylon/plastic assembly on my copper hurst shifter is all cracked and loose. If anyone reading this knows of anywhere that sells rebuild kits for these shifters, please do chime in. Going to go on a bit of an internet hunt this evening myself to see what I can turn up. But anyone with postive (or negative) experiences in this regard, I'd love to hear!

I think the next thing I'm going to do with tear the motor I have down to the long block, clean it up, and put it all back together with the new parts I have. I would REALLY like to turn over the motor on the pan before the body returns. Would be nice to have the engine installed already. Save me doing it later in a cramped space over the winter (that's already here). I have tomorrow off, so I think I'm going to dive into that project, see how much of it I can get done.

Wish me luck! I'll keep the thread updated as I go!

Thomas

[joey1320]

Wow, great work on the bug

Regarding Hurst shifter, I couldn't find anyone who sold the plastic housings but I did find a security plate for them. Off of that I made my own. I drove my bug yesterday for a bit and it shifts great.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=689232&highlight=
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**1971 Super Project
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[CWAVE]

Thanks! Great you were able to drive your car still (Your super BTW looks great!). So darn cold here already... I hate winter, but am thankful I have a heated garage (that I keep warmer than the house!)

Thanks for pointing me to the post. Completely jogged my memory. As it turns out a few years ago I must have discovered the broken shifter (and subsequently forgotten about it)... it's not good getting old.

I had a vague memory of ordering one of those plates... low and behold it was sitting there in my junk drawer in my office...

I guess that problem is solved! Heh.

Thomas

[joey1320]

[CWAVE]

Was nice having a day during the week to spend on the VW! Dug out the engine that I'm planning on putting in this car, tore it down to the long block and did my first pass at getting the grime off it.

Next thing I'm planning on doing is install it on the transaxle, throw a starter motor on, and test the compression. Checked the end-play, and could barely detect any movement at all.

Here's a before shot of the engine.

And here's what it looks like at the end of the day.

I'll still have to get after this with some acetone to really clean it up nicely, but so far so good. Hopefully the compression checks out, otherwise I'll be going down a different path!

A side note, the heater boxes seemed to have been replaced not that long ago, as they're in perfect shape. I won't be using them however, as I have a pair of ceramic coated heater boxes that go along with my ceramic coated stock exhaust that will be going on the engine. I'll clean them up too and probably flog them or keep them for my next Sports Bug restoration (don't tell my wife... heh!)

Thomas

[Buggeee]

[vamram]

[ROCKOROD71]

hadn't checked in on this thread in a while and am not surprised to see inspiring work being done here to fully resurrect this Sports Bug. Very nice sir.
Regarding the engine and compression test. I'd suggest removing the rockers in the heads and getting out the torque wrench to re-torque all the head nuts to spec. There is a pattern to do them in, can probably find in any of the manuals or someone will chime in with the answer. I had an old engine that was getting tired so I had a new one built and installed, which was great and totally worth every penny. My cylinder with the lowest compression had two of the top nuts loose enough to turn by hand, that was likely the source of my low compression there! Those top ones don't get checked so often, there is a lot in the way with the engine installed to get to them, its probably impossible to do without pulling the engine.
If you have access to a sandblast cabinet blast and powdercoat all the OG tin, you'll never worry about it again. Even the valve covers and bails, holds up better than paint but will chip from R+R-ing the bails over time. You can use regular powdercoat on the heater box TIN, and it will not flake off, the exhaust pipes themselves not so much. Those need to be ceramic coated or poor-man's version painted and baked with VHT or BBQ grill paint. Muffler too. I have had pretty decent results using VHT on my bus exhaust, and I have a used bug muffler from my old engine I sandblasted and painted with VHT and baked, as well as the pitted chrome tail-pipes, waiting for the day my current setup bites the dust. Comes out nice if you bake it OFF the car in an oven. The on-the-car cure just doesn't work in my experience. Anyways thats a rainy day project for your old exhaust if you want to stash it for future use.
I love the rear disc brakes btw, very cool...
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1971 STD BEETLE- DD-1st car, 1st love. keepin' it stock! 1600DP, Solex 34-3 Mexi Bosch SVDA Dist NOW w/POINTS
1977 WESTY "KrustyKamper" 2L FI