1975 Super Beetle Project

[Baxsie]

So my son and I are getting going on the 1974 Super Beetle project. These are pics of the 1973 rusted donor car.

This thing is seriously rusted, so it will only be used as a parts car:


There has been some real TLC used on this car:


We will need some of the sheet metal from up here, and it does not seem too bad at first glance. Also, the back side of the dash is still sealed, so I have some hope the fan is functional:


We need the steering wheel, speedo, and this dash is better than some of the dashes I've seen. Still a big crack in it, but only one:




This is the only one I've seen that has the plastic around the fuse holder:


The strangest thing: In this sea of rust, there appears to be good metal in the battery box. I'll believe that when it is all cleaned out:


The biggest thing I was looking for was a motor to use as a core for rebuilding. I wanted the 1973/1974 offset style oil cooler, with the alternator and larger fan, as shown here (not from this donor car):


This motor in the donor car seems to have all that. It can be turned by hand. We connected a battery but it would not turn over. We plan on making it bigger, faster, stronger and better so its condition is not a big issue if the case is still good:

[Baxsie]

This chassis was used by its previous owner as a parts car, and it had been stripped it fairly well. BUT, it seems to be relatively free of rust compared to the other cars we had seen:






From underneath, the (driver's side) pan looks pretty good. There is a hole from an aftermarket seat install, and you can see good metal there:



Of course the battery box is moth-eaten (that grass is _under_ the car, not in it):


The other side and the rest of the interior appears to be fairly rust free:





The engine compartment appears to be relatively clean:




Looking under the right rear fender, there appears to be very little rust:



There has been marginal body work on the right at the door post. This will have to be removed and fixed correctly. There also some bad bondo on the right rear where the body meets the fender (poor damage repair, not rust I hope!):


This area is usually rusted through, but here does not show blistering or obvious repair, just a bit of surface rust (again: I hope):

[Baxsie]

So here is the project outline so far:

• Shop:
  • Insulate (in process)
    
  • Interior finish work (1/2" plywood)
    
  • "Real" floor in the loft, which becomes the insulated ceiling of the shop
    
  • "Reznor" style propane heater.
  
  
• Donor (red) Car:
  • Completely disassemble and catalog all parts.
    
  • Organize & store those in the loft of the barn.
    
  • Put the empty chassis behind the barn in case we need to cut patches out of it.
    
  • This exercise will give my son much needed wrench time
  
  
• "Rust Free" (yellow) Body:
  • Strip this down to "frame off" level.
    
  • Repair any rust
    
  • (do body safety work, below)
    
  • Rust inhibitor, undercoating.
    
  • Take to body shop to shoot interior and jams
    
  • (put body on hold during engine, suspension work)
    
  • Take it to the body shop for final body work/prime/sand/paint
    
  • Install glass (new functional rear defroster window at the minimum)
    
  • 7" DOT LED headlights
    
  • LED inserts in marker & brake lights
  
  
• Body Safety
  • New bumper energy elements (these are "flat" now)
    
  • Custom "Class 11" style roll/safety cage built into body
    • Safety cage extension into "leg" area.
      
    • Strong seat mounting integrated to safety cage
      
    • 5-point harness anchors integrated to safety cage
      
    • Safety cage will be custom fit to make it as unobtrusive as possible (i.e.: follow the contour of the roof metal, not the headliner, gaining 1/2 inch headroom)
      
    • Looking at getting this tubing bender: http://www.eastwood.com/professional-tubing-bender.html
      
    • Already have a mig, torch, stick welder, cutoff saw, sawzall, grinder, etc.
  
  
• Interior:
  • New (custom) headliner with padding integrated over safety cage tubing
    
  • New (custom) door and side panels, accommodating safety cage
    
  • Thermal insulation bonded to inside of the sheet metal in doors and behind rear side panels (it gets cold here)
    
  • Power windows, remote locks
    
  • New carpet with acoustic+thermal pad under it.
    
  • Try to find a solution to the cracked 1974 dash.
    
  • Seats worthy of the safety cage and 5-point harnesses (racing buckets? adjust? comfort?)
    
  • Re-do back seat, match front seat fabric.
    
  • Functional rear seat belts (shoulder tied to safety cage if possible)
    
  • Stereo, speakers
  
  
• Suspension:
  • Replace/upgrade struts
    
  • Swaybar + bushings (and possible other front suspension improvements)
    
  • Front disc brakes (for sure)
    
  • Rear disc brakes or new drums (need to research)
    
  • Rear shocks (and possible other rear suspension improvements)
    
  • Standard ride height (we are not in the city)
    
  • Tires and wheels (need a winter set and a summer set)
    
  • Possible: Look at 1975 style rack and pinion
  
  
• Engine:
  • Probably 92x76 2020cc
    
  • Forged, counterbalanced crank
    
  • "H beam" rods ? (like the idea, need to research)
    
  • SCAT Split-Port Heads ? (like the idea, need to research)
    
  • Good (forged?) pistons (need to research)
    
  • Good cylinders (thick wall 92 that fits like traditional 94?)
    
  • Good rings, bearings etc
    
  • Hydraulic lifters + cam (need to research)
    
  • Conservative compression for regular unleaded gas
    
  • Appropriate carburetion or megasquirt injection
    
  • Electronic ignition / platinum plugs
    
  • Good upgrade oil pump
    
  • External full-flow filter
    
  • Possible additional oil cooler + tstat (use as a cabin heater? remote flow valves?)
    
  • Use standard 1974 offset oil cooler tin (chrome? powder coat?)
    
  • Keep all factory thermostat vanes/preheat
    
  • New heat exchangers (performance loss? ditch for oil cabin heater?)
    
  • 4-tip "monza" extractor or OEM style 4-into 2 header
    
  • rebuild 1974 alternator (polish? powder coat?)
    
  • rebuild starter & new solenoid
    
  • Inspect transaxle (we have 2)
    
  • Dress-up pulleys
    
  • High-tech acoustic insulation on firewall

It will be a busy 2 years Comments/thoughts on any of these ideas are welcome!

[Troy Hobbs]

You've been busy since the meeting! Looks like you found just what you were looking for.

[Baxsie]

[ONEBADBUG]

I couldn't find a price on those led lights? I want.
You know a cage makes rolling up the windows damn near impossible. Really the only reason by baja doesn't have one. Sounds like you are thinking way more engine than you need.
Steve

[Baxsie]

[ONEBADBUG]

Really.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1n7mTGDWxrU

[Baxsie]

Oh man. That looks like JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT of power

I like this video (good stuff at 2:50):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxlupdInTXY

Just kidding around.

But I do want an engine that can keep up with the traffic. I thought my 1990 Jetta was pretty snappy, but in real life the 2000 Sienna van (32v DOHC V6) could toast the Jetta.

And of course either one of those stock cars could totally shame a stock beetle.

So I do want enough power that maneuvering into traffic is not scary, and that climbing hills is not embarrassing.

[Baxsie]

The progress on insulating the barn is going, if slowly. One wall is fitted with R21 loving, ready for the plywood inner sheathing to go up:



I have always loved the Peter Aschwanden "Exploded VW" and "The Dream" illustrations from the idiot books. I tracked down a poster and print from the very helpful Deborah Reade at http://www.peteraschwanden.com/



The perfect art for the shop. Well at in this politically correct world, at least.

[ONEBADBUG]

I like that poster. For blasting the body, Master Blasters in Hillyard has done a good job for me.

[Baxsie]

Master Blasters are great. They did some stripping work for me years ago.

I have two compressors (in parallel to get the volume up for the blasting), a cheapo Harbor Freight pressure blaster rig, and a Harbor Freight blast cabinet. So for starters we will have to see how it goes using that equipment. If it is slow as heck, we can always haul the big parts up to Master Blaster.

I got some corn cob media (supposedly more aggressive than walnut shell) for doing the "gentle" work, and some crushed glass (supposedly very aggressive for taking off thick rubbery undercoating like stuff.

I got those at Abrasives Spokane:
http://spokaneabrasives.com/blasting-media.php

The fellow there was super nice and helpful. Bonus: for walnut shell, Abrasives Spokane is ~ half the price of Harbor Freight.

Second bonus point: He did not laugh at my cheapo HFT blast equipment, and instead showed me upgrade guns that could be used with it for when the cheapo guns wear out.

[Baxsie]

I realize that this shop work is a bit off topic. I guess I'll keep updating until someone is nasty about it.

Here is how the inside wall is shaping up:

We plan to spray the AC plywood with some lacquer stuff once all the sheets are up. Hopefully this will keep it somewhat clean.

Here is a detail of how the plywood is fit:

The window will need some trim, the plate should cover the outlet. Not too bad for a couple of farm boys.

[Baxsie]

So I have been thinking of possible solutions to the headlights. I would really like to have HID, but the good ones are bloody expensive.

I saw a Kia Amanti today and I think its lights could be worked into the fenders of the bug. Here is my horrible photoshop job:



I was thinking if I could find a wrecked Kia Amanti to yank the HID lighting system out of, it might not be too expensive.

Thoughts?

Bleh. Nevermind, it looks like the Amanti only had halogen lights. At first glance I thought they were HID with multi-surface-reflectors.

[Baxsie]

So I have come across a 1975 Super. It is in pretty rough shape. No engine. Once had fuel injection, no engine now. Has rack-and pinion steering. And a sunroof.

I need to go back to it to look at the rust situation more closely.

I would like to get the rack-and-pinion, and the sunroof would be fun. But my wife is not at all excited about a 3rd old bug junking up the place.