Field find 1954 Canadian custom

[sunroof]

So the car is pretty much my daily driver now. The Honda and the Triumph are mostly just sitting around.

I finally decided to try to do something about the clutch cable being too short, which of course is impossible. I pulled the peddle assembly out and the clutch cable which all came out so nicely, just a breeze. Of course the cable was the correct length so I reassembled it all, again it went together so nicely. Surprisingly I was able to set the clutch up correctly with an inch of free play at the top meaning it now works like it should. Except of course for the mandatory learning experience. The peddles were sticking, hard to push and wouldn't return. I took the stops apart several times to try and figure out WTF, even taking the assembly out of the car again. Eventually I walked away from it for a couple of days. Two days later... reassembled it and it worked. Now everything is as it should be. Phew! Learned: the stop for the clutch has to be on top of the stop for the brake.

On to the transmission: When last I reported, I had drained the oil and found shrapnel on the drain plug. Also it was making a bearing noise in neutral. Well, I went to Canadian Tire to get some transmission oil, which, apparently, is becoming obsolete because all they had was 90W140. Now tell me what uses 90W140 please? Anyways it was all they had so I bought a couple of quarts and put them into the trans. Well the first cool day and it did not want to shift, surprise surprise. I had a couple of quarts of Redline MTL which I paid $45 each and was saving for when I fixed the bad bearing. Today I put the MTL in and it shifts so much better right away. When I pull it apart this winter I will just have to clench up and buy another 2 quarts of MTL.

Shrapnel on the drain plug:

BTW I have 3 magnets in it to keep the scrap metal out of the works as much as possible.

Finally the big one. Both door bottoms need to be done. Passenger side is badly rusted and the drivers side lower hinge mount is coming apart. I didn't want to do the door bottoms but I really don't have a choice about it. I have a welder friend who promises me we can do this without any warpage or distortion. I am eager to learn how this is done.

Destroyed, bent hinge with destroyed bent door:

OTOH I am just loving driving this thing. Totally worth it.

Don
_________________
Better and better mistakes!

[67rustavenger]

Since your pic of the door hinge didn't quite make the post.
I thought I'd help ya a little.

Glad to read that you are enjoying the car this summer/fall.
_________________
I have learned over the years.
Cheap parts are gonna disappoint you.
Buy Once, Cry Once!

There's never enough time to do it right the first time. But there's always enough time to do it thrice.
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo!

[tehillah1]

[sunroof]

[sunroof]

More from the ongoing saga of The Car That Didn't Want to Be: Yesterday I drove to my cousin's place to show him the car. He is a car guy too and has restored a 1952 Fargo truck and a 1973 MGB so I knew he would want to see the bug. He lives South of Winnipeg so I put 142 miles on the old girl yesterday there and back. She was flawless but I think she got a little spooked when we got back to Winnipeg. Instead of driving through the city in rush hour traffic I decided to take the perimeter highway. Well, driving in bumper to bumper traffic at 120 Km/H with about a third of the vehicles being semis must have scared the crap out of the old girl. Today I went to put her in the garage and she wouldn't start. Darn. I pushed her into the garage and after an hour of troubleshooting I discovered that the fuel pump push rod was seized in its bore. In 43 years of working on 36 Hp I have never seen that before. I pulled the pump and put some valve lapping compound on the rod and ran it back and forth until it moved smoothly. Tomorrow I'll put it back together. With this car, I am seeing every single thing that can possibly go wrong. It's a hell of an education!

Don
_________________
Better and better mistakes!

[VW_Jimbo]

[tehillah1]

Thanks for sharing that education, Sensei...each of these processes you share goes into the "I remember that from TheSamba" notebook for future reference when we're experiencing our own blzbug moments.

[markendee]

[sunroof]

It is much easier to work on the door with it off the car. At this point, mounting and dismounting the door was super easy because everything was new.

I'm glad my experience can be helpful to others.

There are some things upcoming for the car: The drivers side door bottom needs to be replaced and there is something wrong with the fueling. It idles so rich you can smell the raw gas in the exhaust and it won't idle properly. Also it backfires through the carb when I am driving along in 4th gear. If anyone has anything to suggest I am open to ideas. I bought a fuel pressure gauge kit so that is the first thing I will check.

Of course we all know from working on British cars that 90% of carb troubles are ignition so I made sure of that already.

Don
_________________
Better and better mistakes!

[VW_Jimbo]

Sounds like the jetting is wonky!

Too fat on idle and too lean on the main.why not try changing jets for the next smaller on the idle jet and go fatter, up one size, on the main.
_________________
Jimbo

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

[Big Bull Shooter]

[sunroof]

From the "HA! I got it!" department:

So as I described previously, the car has not run right since I put it on the road. Well last week I decided to really get to the bottom of this. As mentioned I bought a fuel pressure gauge kit to test the fuel pump. Of course it is designed for injection where pressures are much higher so the gauge goes to 100 PSI. I went on Fbay and bought a cheap gauge that goes to 30 PSI thinking this should do the job. It did!

Ouch, under 1 PSI. The manual says 1.30 to 1.85 PSI for correct operation. When I rebuilt the fuel pump I just did the diaphragm and the check valves. I did not change the spring because the new one was 1/4" longer than the old one and, being an aftermarket kit, I didn't trust it, so I put the old spring back. Ha! big mistake. I installed the new spring and got 2.5 PSI out of the pump. This is too high but adjusting it was going to require dismounting the pump, removing the spring, trying to shorten it and repeating the process until it was right. I am way too lazy for that. So I left it. I took it for a drive and WOW what a difference. It warmed up more quickly, idled much more smoothly, the flat spot was mostly gone, for the first time a real pleasure to drive. It still wasn't quite right though. In looking at it, I noticed the accelerator pump was not making a full stroke so I took that apart. Easy on a 28PCI. I blew out the passages and ran a tiny wire through the jet, which is very tiny indeed. I reassembled the pump and went for a drive. Problem solved. Lots of low end torque, more power, smoother running. It now goes the way it is supposed to. So happy with it now. In 43 years of building 36 Hp I have never had to deal with low pump pressure before so big learning experience.

On another note:

Waaa, look what I did...

Now the whole door needs to come apart to fix this. Luckily....

When I was in Hessische-Oldendorf in 2013 I bought a set of NOS vent window latches for cheap. Of course they are the later ones.

But no problem. I took the latch apart and swapped the handle.

Now I just need to completely disassemble the door and get the glass out to replace it. Which I will do as I am replacing the door bottom this winter.

Don
_________________
Better and better mistakes!

[Riff Raff]

Congrats on getting the fueling issues sorted.
Such a relief when one finally figures out WTF was the problem.

Always nice to have stash of NOS or good used parts for the inevitable care and feeding of the monster once it is back in circulation too.
_________________
The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge
- Daniel Boorstin

[sunroof]

Now is the winter of my disassembly.

Everything will come apart again, again.

With the clutch engaged in neutral the transmission makes a loud bearing noise and of course we all remember this:

Magnetic drain plug covered with scrap metal.

Yesterday I pulled the engine to get at the transmission but of course the engine will have to come apart as well.

All summer, as I was trying to get the engine to run properly, I had the fuel pump off a couple of times. First to solve a stuck push rod problem and then to replace a short spring. Both times I noticed the bottom of the fuel pump was filled with oil and it was leaking a lot out the vent hole. Never seen that before. Also it was dumping a lot of oil out the engine vent tube. Putting 2 and 2 together I conclude that crank case pressures are too high. Now I find out it is pushing oil out the front main seal as well. What could be causing high crank case pressure in a freshly rebuilt motor? I will pull it apart and see what can I see.

Back to the transmission. As I was driving the car, listening to the LOUD bearing noise I was really hoping I was not filling the transmission with scrap metal. Last time I changed the oil I put 3 magnets on the plugs. Today I pulled the plugs and found this:

A very light coating of very small particles, phew!

In the next couple of days I will pull the transmission and split it open. Very curious to see what, if anything, I find.

Don
_________________
Better and better mistakes!

[earlywesty]

Enjoying the progress and lessons Don. You will be happy to hear the 53 is finally getting the love it deserves. Maybe even back on the road in 2023!

Eric

[sunroof]

[sunroof]

https://www.facebook.com/1154452572/videos/10224242275581946

Merry Christmas!

(Video from a couple of years ago)

Don
_________________
Better and better mistakes!

[Dan22]

What did you find out was wrong with the transaxle? Which bearing(s) I guess.

The mainshaft bearings are easy to replace but perhaps the others should be replaced too? I am just wondering.
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[sunroof]

None of the bearings were obviously bad but it was loudest idling in neutral so I replaced the input shaft bearings. As well since I was in there I did the diff carrier bearings. I should have done the main cluster bearings but they spun very smooth. Also since it was easiest to get to I replaced 3rd gear synchro.

Really the only thing I found wrong were worn out 3rd and 4th synchros. 4th doesn't really matter but 3rd was definitely crunchy. Where the scrap metal on the drain plugs came from I didn't find out.

Don
_________________
Better and better mistakes!

[VW_Jimbo]