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Post by PICTUP on Jan 11, 2020 19:43:00 GMT -8
Don should know all about things that are "stacked" Yes, I have been known to keep an eye out However I don't believe I am alone in this, ahem, distraction....
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Post by magikbus on Jan 13, 2020 11:12:37 GMT -8
You know you are looking at good ones when you risk losing an eye. Always use protection in those circumstances. Stan
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Post by magikbus on Jan 13, 2020 19:13:33 GMT -8
Wait a minute, we are still talking about installing a set of gauges which keep track of various data about an engine, including a nifty tach with a wicked pointy arm, aren't we?
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Post by PICTUP on Jan 13, 2020 20:20:25 GMT -8
Wait a minute, we are still talking about installing a set of gauges which keep track of various data about an engine, including a nifty tach with a wicked pointy arm, aren't we? You had it right the first time
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Post by owdlvr on Jan 14, 2020 10:48:19 GMT -8
Lol, this thread is quickly derailing. I better spend some time in the shop tonight.
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Post by PICTUP on Jan 14, 2020 16:30:32 GMT -8
Lol, this thread is quickly derailing. When don't they? Yes, go spend time in your shop, it is cool to see the build and the thoughts associated with it.
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Post by owdlvr on Mar 28, 2020 9:47:03 GMT -8
Since I'm back home due to Covid-19, it's time to get some work done in the shop! I'll be placing the orange beetle on-hold for the moment, for reasons which should become relatively obvious before the end of this post. First up, was the Rally Bug. The winter season is usually a new big upgrade, but with the orange beetle taking the majority of my time there was only time for one quick up grade. My cellphone mount blocks the oil-pressure light from full-visibility, so I mounted up an auxiliary unit. Should be bright enough! Outside of that it was simply an oil change, nut-and-bolt check, and a brand new set of BFGoodrich tires. Rally Bug is ready to go for the year! The Midget has a relatively long list of items to deal with, the biggest being a transmission swap. It started popping out of 1st and 3rd under load, so I acquired another transmission of unknown quality. Could be risky, seeing as the engine has to be pulled to swap the transmission on a Midget. A lot of work for what could be a simple job! Planning on fixing the tachometer, speedometer, cleaning up the electrical and other minor details as well. Got it back together, ready for adding fluids, when I needed to push it back into a tight space to make some room...for another Beetle! This is the new acquisition I purchased before our economic disaster. On the plus side, I'm pretty happy with the purchase. This car has some pretty significant local history. Built in the 1990's, I gather it won some shows, and was then re-restored in 2000. I guess it had a big turbo motor in around the time it was restored by California Import Parts. I figure I can't paint a car for the price I paid, even though this one needs some serious cut-and-polish. I bought it without engine and transmission, even though it needs a lot of cosmetic work under the skin. The suspension, however, is modified in a way that I closely resembles what I would do if I was building a quick German Looker myself. I'd do a 2" narrowed beam, this one is 3". I probably wouldn't have narrowed the rear end, but this one has a narrowed rear end...which means I don't need expensive wider wings. It has disc brakes all around, same sets that I ran on the Rally Bug until a couple of winters ago. They're light, effective, but don't look big like a German Looker expects. Ah well. I didn't snag any photos, but I'm pleased to say the car already has sway bars front and rear, and the undercarriage looks quite good. The rear brakes use the stamped caliper mount, but I'm pretty sure I have a pair of cast ones to swap out in my spare parts stash. Interestingly enough, the car came with all of the receipts since 1989. The holder on the right is all of the receipts, and the holder on the left is all of the 4x6 photos and all the negatives for the build of the car! I will have to scan some selections, because some of them are pretty interesting to have. After many years of storage, it definitely needs a cleaning! The rear seat padding is on the cusp of needing to be replaced. It's not breaking up like front seats usually do, but the springs have worked their way deep into the padding. I may try pulling the rear seat apart to see if I can save the padding by putting canvas over the springs first. Hoping I can get away with saving it, since the rear seat is used very infrequently for passengers. I typically just end up with gear or event supplies back there. Growing up, I always wanted a Formuling steering wheel. I either wanted the 4-spoke wheel in silver, or this wheel in black. Pretty crazy to finally own one in good shape, even if I did have to buy a whole car to get it. I think I will put this aside for use in my '75 Beetle, which has been in my family since I was 4. There is something about the collection of gauges which screams "80s" to me, but I can't place why. I mean, they aren't that far off from what I have in the Rally Bug. Alas, the dash pad is cracked and the vents are dry rotted. I wish I could remember if I put the "good" or "premium" dash cover into my white '69 Beetle. I'll have to order a dash pad for this one, it's really too bad Carbon Joe isn't around any longer Oh gosh...this is makes me scared to dig deeper Uh oh. Well, this explains why the brake reservoir is empty. The car has (apparently) never had a driver's side door panel installed. The original owner loved to show the car with no panel, to show how nice the paint was on the car. Included in the photos of the car displayed at a show, and yup! No door panel Started playing with wheels. My plan, even before purchase, was to use the silver twists I have...but to be honest, I'm not a big fan of them with the silver. I pulled out a set of twist copies I have, simply to see if the Anthracite grey was a better choice. Then for fun I leaned one of my 16" speedlines against it. Now I have NO idea what to do for wheels. Do I powdercoat the silver twists a different colour? Run the gold speedlines? The speedlines are a rather rare 5.5" wide 16" wheel, originally used for winter rallies with the SubaruUSA team. Either Higgins or Pastrana did at least a stage on these, so they have some scuffs and a storyline. After seeing them on the red car, however, I am tempted to re-drill the Rally Bug. Can't decide if I should do the single set of PIAA lights, like I had on my white '69, or perhaps this smaller set of PIAAs. Or, I could go without. Extra lights does seem to be a "thing" for me though. My Midget build last winter gave up the front bumper, just so I could mount two lights. I've made up some new brackets, and decided i would sleep on it before welding them to the bumper mounts. From there, I stripped out the interior and started pulling out anything on the car I won't be using. Went through my storage shed to see what parts I might have that could be of use, and tomorrow I'll go through the two mezzanines I built in my shop. I have the VW pedals with my modifications from the Rally Bug, and a few other parts that might be handy. I think this car will end up with a stereo and speakers, if I can figure out where I'm going to mount front speakers. I ordered door panels with pockets, so that creates a bit of difficulty. Tomorrow I should start on both the interior and the drivetrain. -Dave
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Post by CrazyBrit on Mar 28, 2020 14:20:14 GMT -8
You even have a gas pump in your yard! I hope it pumps free gas! I really like your collection. The red bug looks like a great addition to the family.
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Post by Volktales on Mar 29, 2020 8:20:07 GMT -8
You won't have a problem with too many projects until you hit the double digits. Ask me how I know...
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Post by owdlvr on Mar 29, 2020 23:29:53 GMT -8
Gas pump dispenses free fuel! Sadly, it's also imaginary fuel. But hey, it looks good Found the reason for the brake fluid loss on the red beetle. Seems whomever added the 2psi residual valve, didn't understand how brake line fittings are supposed to work. That is NOT a compression fitting! Worked on seat mounts today. Reagh had a set of seats that I was able to grab on may through town, so I set out to tear them down in order to get a good set of bases. Next up was working out how to adapt Porsche 911 seats to the mounts. This time around, I basically built the VW bases to allow for mounting anything down the road, and then built a set of adapters to go from the 911 seats to my bases. Welded them all in the car, with the base on the tracks, in hopes that they would still slide following the work. Great news, they still do! For mockup and mounting, I used a set of ratty 911 seats I have that were poorly recovered at some point. My better set is at the upholstery shop, hopefully getting an OEM-ish look to them. As far as I know the guys are still working...so here's hoping! Since this car will have a full stereo, I decided to mount an amp under the passenger seat. Made a mount so that it is up off the floor, and out of the way of any water that might come in. I've got a compact sub and amp combination from a pickup-truck we had a few years back, but I haven't decided where to mount it. Definitely don't want to put it under the driver's seat, so that will be a project for another day. -Dave
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Post by PICTUP on Mar 30, 2020 18:28:41 GMT -8
Run the gold speedlines? The speedlines are a rather rare 5.5" wide 16" wheel, originally used for winter rallies with the SubaruUSA team. Either Higgins or Pastrana did at least a stage on these, so they have some scuffs and a storyline. After seeing them on the red car, however, I am tempted to re-drill the Rally Bug. I wouldn't be tempted at all. Those gold coloured wheels only belong on a Subaru in my opinion. I liked the similar wheels in white on Audis(y'know owd ), but the gold colour would definitely have to be changed. Then that would erase the Pastrana etc history. I think your rally bug is perfect with what I would consider period correct wheels. But don't listen to me, I am merely an armchair cynic... The smaller lights look a tad weenie. Could they be mounted in a different spot? I am partial to the bigger versions, if any, in that location. From there, I stripped out the interior and started pulling out anything on the car I won't be using. Went through my storage shed to see what parts I might have that could be of use, and tomorrow I'll go through the two mezzanines I built in my shop. I have the VW pedals with my modifications from the Rally Bug, and a few other parts that might be handy. I think this car will end up with a stereo and speakers, if I can figure out where I'm going to mount front speakers. I ordered door panels with pockets, so that creates a bit of difficulty. Tomorrow I should start on both the interior and the drivetrain. -Dave Moving right along. Looking great!
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Post by owdlvr on Apr 6, 2020 23:23:19 GMT -8
My first parts order for the car arrived just in time for the weekend, so I went about stripping the body shell down to a spot where I could start. Pulled the interior, and started sorting out the wiring. The car is getting a full six channel stereo system, repairing the wiring for the gauges in the dash, adding a wideband gauge, and putting in a circuit breaker for the entire car. I had a 100A circuit breaker kicking around, and the starter isn't on the circuit breaker, but may need to up to a 150 or 200A unit...we'll see if it trips under normal use or not. By the end of the weekend, I had laid down so many circuits I’ve actually lost count. Kick panels and front speakers. Turns out I most of a "baja" carpet kit in my parts stash, but with no wheel well covers. Saved what the car had, trimmed up the baja kit to fit, and finished off the rear luggage area. The speaker deck was originally in my white beetle, and has been in storage since I sold it to pay for paint on the Rally Bug. Planning on it being permanent, so it's bolted into the firewall and luggage tray with riv-nuts. I machined up the aluminum legs to take up as little luggage space as possible. Dry-rotted bits replaced. Gauges cleaned up, red lighting added, and reinstalled. Had to paint the Autometer wideband trim ring to match, and repainted the tachometer as well. Also installed a new dash pad, and filled my shop with many a four-letter word for a few hours. I bought the mid-grade made in the USA version...definitely should have paid the money for the "premium" version. Recovered the rear seat...really hoping those wrinkles come out after it sits in the sun for a while. Even with putting the covers in the dryer, until they were warm to the touch...ugh. I have another set, I may need to try again. Such a waste of material. I'm digging deep into the parts archives, for sure. These were last in my white beetle eight or nine years ago. A 3D printer was a new purchase this year, and it’s been coming in handy. Whipped up a horn button that will actually work with steering wheel quick release. It won’t be “quick” anymore, but it will technically be removable. And, since it’s late and I think they look awesome…might as well spoil the surprise... -Dave
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Post by Volktales on Apr 7, 2020 11:16:22 GMT -8
Lookin good! Except someone put yer gauges in crooked...
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Post by owdlvr on Apr 7, 2020 11:42:27 GMT -8
Lookin good! Except someone put yer gauges in crooked... ...but do you know why?
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Post by mitchy965 on Apr 7, 2020 13:20:42 GMT -8
i had the tack clocked for redline in my turbo but soon enough put it back to factory after all the ? why it was crooked.
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