Future plans and would like some advice

[Wheeljack]

That is very true. Probably just have it as spare square tubing and make an engine and transmission stand. Cleaning up the poor welds will be way too time consuming in my opinion. I would be ahead just starting with a fresh frame, even if I do have to weld it together myself. Or could try to use it as a jig.

The engine on the buggy was leaking oil. One thing I forgot to mention with the extra transmission was the fact that the side covers were bent, so I'll have to buy a new set. The spare engine, one of the cylinders is full of dirt, so that will also get a complete tear down. Both will be resealed, maybe built to 1384cc.

[Wheeljack]

Been going through that Baja Bugs book today and got a lot of good info out of it. Unfortunately I was strapped for time since it was an all day event (6am-8:30pm) to get to the buggy on the farm in Wisconsin, to northern Minnesota, so I couldn't go over anything to get any part numbers or figure out what year it's from, what engine size it actually is, and whether or not it is 6 volt or if it was converted to 12 volt.

What I do know is, carb will need a rebuild for sure. It does have debris in it. Need to figure out the shifter and why it won't go through the gears nicely. The clutch cable and linkage is all messed up. Master cylinder is bad, reservoir is broken. Need at least new tires, but I may get new wheels as well. The old wheels are too narrow I think. Tire size on it are 165SR15, so 165/80/15 roughly. 235/75/15 will not fit well on these wheels, much too narrow. Need to address the oil leak on it. Do want to add an oil filter and oil cooler to it.

The I-beam is welded to the cage and frame. So I'll have to grind that off to reuse it, or I could use the spare I-beam. The rear torsion was also welded to frame under the bench seat.

I've found that while sitting in it, the pedals were way too close to me and I doubt I could have a passenger next to me and be comfortable. I should've done some measuring like I had wanted to, but didn't. The GM lap belts will not suffice for me, need at least a 4 point harness, 5 point will be better, but not sure if that's fully necessary.

[dustymojave]

You say the wheels are much too narrow. So that you know, offroad racers use 33 x 10.50 and even 35 x 10.50 tires on 4" wide rims to race the Baja 000 and other offroad races all the time with no problems related to that.

BF Goodrich even makes tires for that application.

If you are driving it in pure sand dunes, or deep sloppy mid with NO ROCKS, then tires wider than the rims is good. Otherwise for offroad use, Like trail riding, whomping around on the farm, on the street with trail capability, the rims should be narrower than the tires.

The stock VW rims are fine for the front. You do NOT need wide wheels OR tires there. The front of the car should be light weight. Light enough to pick up the front of the car by hand.

For the back, 15x8 white steel wheels are common, although the Centerlines you see on the back of my Baja, and the old steel ones in the black & white pic are 7" wide rims. With that 40hp engine, 15x5 rims would be PLENTY.

Look at all the guys on here that talk about their "Class 11 style offroad Bugs. They mostly stick with stock wheels (as is required for the offroad racing category called "Class 11"). 15 x 4 or 15 x 4.5 wheels. They use mostly 205 to 235 tires on their 4" wheels. 235s will fit on 4" rims JUST FINE. Some knuckleheads working at large chain tire stores think it's not right and won't mount them. They want to sell you wheels and tires too. Don't get suckered in.

The probably Chevy wheels on the back of that buggy are mounted on wheel adapters. Those adapters are weak and often break even on the street. If you want to trail ride. I recommend wheels that are designed to mount to the VW drums.
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[Wheeljack]

What I saw reading on the 235/75/15 tires, they recommend a 6" wide wheel, so that if you end up turning sharp, you don't fold the sidewalls. I plan on driving this on the street and in the woods, no dunes in the foreseeable future.

I understand, lighter front tire to keep it light up front. I was thinking of just running a common size front and rear to keep costs down as far as just running tires. Keep the same size spare. However, that doesn't seem to be very common. So I'll probably run a bit wider in the rear than the front. I'll probably keep 3 of the 5 VW wheels, run two up front, leave one as a spare.

It looks to me with rails that the rear end, ends up being several inches wider than the front on both sides, maybe a foot or so overall. How much does this affect road driving, understeer or is it not really that noticeable?

[Wheeljack]

One other thing, I'm really interested in going with disc brakes, and replace the non adjustable drums. However, EMPI is the only company that I see that makes a conversion kit. Is there anyone else? Is it better to have disc at all four corners for better braking, or should I just do the rear and run a hub instead for the front to run no brakes there? At that, is it best to keep it 5x205 or go with the 4x130 pattern instead?

[dustymojave]

For on the road, having the wider tires on the back than on the front does much the same as having a sway bar on the front. So you don't want to have a sway bar on the front if you have wider tires on the back. It will make the car push.

You don't need disc brakes. You can make the tires lock up easily with the stock drums. You will probably need to adjust the brake balance from front to back though. Maybe by swapping wheel cylinders. Maybe with a brake bias adjuster installed in the lines to the front instead of the lines to the back. Normally on pavement you need more brakes for the front than the back. But a buggy has a substantial weight bias to the rear so it's different than most cars. The effect is exaggerated on dirt.

And who told you that the drum brakes are not adjustable? In fact, they SHOULD BE adjusted about every oil change. They are not SELF-adjusting. they must be adjusted manually.

I get your use on the street and in the woods. My Baja has been dual purpose since the mid 70s. And so was the 1st Bug I converted to a Baja. my '65. Street and dirt.

Those 235 tires are designed for a vastly heavier vehicle. If you have them on a 5,000lb. truck with a 1,000lb load and 400lbs of people inside, and you're driving it like Vaughn Gitten JR. Then you might have some issues of sidewall roll. On a 1,500lb buggy....

Uhhhhmmmm....


NO.

But yeah, 6" wide rims for the back will work If you wanna go out and have a custom pair made up. Not a common size. Especially with a VW lug pattern. That's why I recommended a 5" wide rim. They're commonly available. And closer to the right size than the also common 8" wide rim.
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[Wheeljack]

Yeah meant to say self adjusting. The swapping of wheel cylinders was something that did popup in that Baja Bug and Buggies book in that section as an option. I'll end up rebuilding the front and rear brakes then, because they are pretty well locked up. Master cylinder is shot, as is the reservoir, has a hole in it. But I'll get the larger front wheel cylinders to the rear.

I guess for the front, I'll try to stick with a close to stock tire size, 165/80/15 is the equivalent of the 165SR15 on there currently from some tire calculators I've found. So what size front and rear would you recommend? I'll look at 15x5 wheels for the back.

[dustymojave]

For the rear tires, 235-15 on 15 x 5 wheel would be fine.

For the front, you could go as big as 205-75-15. It would work fine and they will fit fine (no matter WHAT the tire shop guys say) on stock 15 x 4 wheels.

My friend had that combo on the front of his short back rail (like a Berrien Warrior frame with the back of the frame ending above the bellhousing and with a Baja Bug rear bumper cage) for several years. May still have it as I've not seen him for a while.

That wheel and tire combination should work well together.

Once the car is working and registered and insured and you have some miles and experience with it, then consider a bigger engine, suspension modifications, fancier rims, etc.
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[Wheeljack]

So instead of modifying for now, just freshen up the engine then a bit? Need to redo the carburetor since it has a lot of dirt and nut shells from rodents.

[halfassleatherworks]

real Short wheelbase is good with turning brakes, put a flat deck on the front to carrey things like camping gear and deer. its yours now maybe set it up as a hunting buggy and flip it and start new. also from the looks of the intake manifold its looks to be a 1300 to 1600 single port what is the eng code,
_________________
Halfass Leatherworks*****GOT LEATHER Made to order Leather crafts, you can find us on that face book thing

Belts, wallets, mouse pads, drink coasters, Engraving, most things made in leather.

personal items if you want it in leather in Reno Nv, *****

[Wheeljack]

[Wheeljack]

I'm wondering, is it better to have the current generator rebuilt/refurbished or should I buy a newer one? There's a place near my dad's that rebuilds starters and alternators, thinking about having this one redone and maybe having it increased to a higher output.

[mkparker]

Swap to an alternator. Probably less money and better.
_________________
Michael


Pit Boy 6163 Spec Trophy Truck

[Wheeljack]

Are the alternators internally or still externally regulated?

[rayjay]

Internal

[dustymojave]

Whoa there Hoss.

Some alternators for VW Type 1 and early Type 2 engines are internally regulated, and some are externally regulated. I've owned both.

They're not directly interchangeable. Wiring is a little different. Both are also a little different wiring wise than a generator. Not a big deal. But if you put an external regulated alternator in a car that had a generator without changing the regulator and wiring it won't work. Same with an internal regulated alternator. Ask Dale M on here for help with wiring diagrams to cover the differences and changing from one to another.
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[rayjay]

I bet that if he buys a new alternator conversion kit it will come with an internally regulated alternator. Hook the small spade terminal to your incandescent charging light [ not LED in other words ] and hook the threaded terminal to either the battery + or to the batt + post of the starter.

[Wheeljack]

This is why I ask before I start buying stuff.

[dustymojave]

[dustymojave]

Oh, And in his case, neither the alternator nor the regulator came with the 3-prong female plug to connect them.
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.