Another Pickle Post - 1973 Squareback

[Scotty D]

Is there any reason an oval filler neck wouldn’t work for my ‘73? It’s from an FI VW and has the float bowl as evidenced in the photos.

Mine has a round filler neck, not sure if/why it would matter though.

[Scotty D]

Chunk says “Let’s get to work!”

The new Quality Control Manager is on the job.

[Scotty D]

A 19 mm impact socket has the perfect slot for tube bending it turns out. 😉

[Scotty D]

Sent my calipers and MC out to have Jim Adney rebuild them ( thanks Jim!!) so I’ve just got a couple of items in the mail I’ll be installing.

Hoping to have the fuel tank sorted soon, then time to focus on the fuel system.

[Bobnotch]

[Scotty D]

Thanks Bob, I’ll check into it.

[Scotty D]

My car was missing the inspection plate on the front of the tunnel, so I grabbed one from another member. He even sent the gasket and extra screws!

Thanks Manfred! 😎

Got it cleaned up while waiting for my calipers to make it back home.

[Scotty D]

Brake calipers and master cylinder have been rebuilt and returned. Hoping to have them reinstalled and bled this weekend.

[Scotty D]

Finally found some free time. All of the brake components are reinstalled. Started bleeding the system again, only to find the front circuit rubber seal leaking on the master cylinder. Always something huh?

Ordered new seals from ISP, should have them soon.

[Scotty D]

The MC grommets I ordered were delivered today. Decided to grab a new boot for the rebuilt MC I have in my stash as well.

Sometimes I feel like I’m just getting “Punk’d” and Ashton Kutcher is going to walk around the corner with his camera crew laughing at me.

1) Does this look remotely close to the image on the invoice (which is the same as online when ordering)?
2)Do you guys think this boot will fit with a little persuasion?

[Scotty D]

Replaced the leaky grommet without issue. Made a little mess but was ready with a container beneath the MC to recapture the brake fluid. The grommet sits a bit taller on the upper surface, but makes a tight seal around the nipple.

Did a quick (read rudimentary) brake bleeding session and have a somewhat decent pedal now. I really need to get the wife involved and have her stomp on the pedal a bit while I bleed out. 😂

[Scotty D]

Found myself thinking “I’ve owned this VW for 4 months now and have nothing to show for it.” Then I looked back at this post and realized that’s simply not true.

Then remembered it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Thanks for all of the help and responses so far guys. It’s gonna be a fun journey.!🤙🏼

[Scotty D]

Is bench bleeding a newly installed master cylinder an absolute necessity?

Still can’t seem to get a good pedal after bleeding the system (by myself 🤪).

Tried pumping the pedal and propping a 2x6 against the pedal/seat to keep it down, and also tried a hand vacuum pump. Hoping to avoid pulling the MC and starting the whole process again.

[Scotty D]

Took a break from the brake system (😜) and worked on some connections for the new fuel pump. I’m leaving the factory connector just in case someone wants to install an original pump some day.

Also replaced the steering coupler since it was in pretty rough shape.

The new one in place.

[Bobnotch]

That's the big thing to remember, it IS a marathon and not a sprint. I've rebuilt a few of the cars, and I've spent 6 months or more just doing rust repair, before moving onto mechanical work, followed by electrical work. Then maybe an engine rebuild, if I don't toss my spare engine in it. Then I can work on body and paint. It's usually a 2 or 3 year process, depending on the condition I start with. That's not even factoring in wait times for shipping stuff from California either (new parts).
_________________
Bob 65 Notch S with Sunroof
71 Notch ...aka Krunchy; build pics here;
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=249390 -been busy working
64 T-34 Ghia...aka Wolfie, under construction... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=412120

[Scotty D]

[Scotty D]

Spent a couple of hours polishing one of the Empi wheels. Looks good, but not sure I want to do the other three now.

[Bobnotch]

That looks good. Were they originally polished before you got them? If they weren't, then that's a lot of work to polish them. You might want to contact Mag Masters, and see what they'd charge to polish them. Or contact So Cal Imports and see what they'd get to polish them. My son has polished 8 spokes on his car, and he spends quite a bit of time polishing them. But then I'll spend quite a bit of time polishing my 36 spoke Shelby rims too. That's the problem with polished rims, keeping them polished. They look best when polished, but are a royal PIA to keep clean. Sorry, it's just something you deal with when having them.
I use a die grinder with a buffing pad on it, and still spend most of the day cleaning them. Like I said, they look their best when polished.
Are you going to get some screw in lug studs and convert your lug nuts to chrome? That's what I did, but I also carry some stock lug nuts for my spare tire since my rims use a shanked lug stud.
_________________
Bob 65 Notch S with Sunroof
71 Notch ...aka Krunchy; build pics here;
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=249390 -been busy working
64 T-34 Ghia...aka Wolfie, under construction... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=412120

[Scotty D]

Thanks Bob.

The wheel that I started with looked to have been hand polished at some point, it was much better looking than the other three were. I don't think there is any kind of clear coat on the wheels, as a slight rub with polish gets the black result on the rag almost immediately.

I did buy a couple of drill attachments, the foam cone shaped types I found at autozone and harbor freight. I think I'll get some smaller attachments for the tighter spots. I'm used to polishing all kinds of aluminum BMX parts, and even did a few complete frame sets as well. But these wheels are something else, taking lots of patience and repeat passes with the buffer or by hand.

Definitely interested in some type of lug/bolt upgrade. I hadn't considered using lug studs instead of the bolts that it came with.

[Bobnotch]