Post by Volktales on Oct 18, 2014 11:20:15 GMT -8
Ok it is like this... People that know me, know I am not a great fan of Superbeetles. I know many like them, but they just are not my thing. Especially convertible versions. Especially red ones. So what is this sitting in my driveway???
Arrrgh! Well I have owed Reagh a big favour for quite a while and it is time to pay the piper. The car is actually in pretty decent condition, it just has been sitting for some time. I will be getting this beast running and driving over the next little while...
Most wouldn't like this part, but I don't mind at all. This is a 1976 version so is the second year for fuel injection. I like the fact everything is intact and not screwed around with... The airflow controlled injection system is basically the same design as found in the buses, just the components are in different locations. The system can work very well, but many were converted to simpler carburetors. The first job for this example will be to replace all the old leaking fuel lines! The tank will be removed and inspected as well... Fun times ahead...
So it was time to get cracking... First job was to take a peek under the hood and this is what we see...
The factory gas heater is still in place and all connected up too. This will have to be removed before the tank comes out.
Next the trunk liner was removed to expose the tank. Someone must have been worried about the exhaust pipe from the gas heater getting hot, because that wrapping is not original! Everything else under the hood was however...
Even the spare is the original Dunlop B7 bias ply whitewall tire. The rim is date coded and matches the car. It looks in not too bad shape...
Or not.... Can you imagine an owner from long ago being that dumb/cheap to actually drive long enough on the same tire to wear it like this??? A bonus was finding the original tool kit spread out in different places under the hood. The only thing missing was the screwdriver. It was funny to see the original cheapo plastic bag the tools came in. A far cry from the cool tool rolls from the sixties.
It was pretty grungy under the hood but a quickie shot of purple cleaner followed by the hose helped out greatly. The tank contained bad fuel, but fortunately hadn't rusted or gummed up the tank which looks fine on the inside. The colour is listed as Ibizarot L31 M. Next up is new fuel lines...
Not too much to add yet... Once the weather changes for the worse, then more inside jobs will be accomplished... It has been frustrating getting decent quality fuel lines in the right sizes, and decent clamps that will work too. There are many threads on The Samba about fuel line issues... Anyway enough about that for the moment. Look at this picture and tell me what is wrong...
It lights up and looks ok, doesn't it???
Scroll down...
NOOOOO! How hard is it to get this simple task done correctly? Are body shop people/do it yourself owners that dumb that they can't put on a simple part like this without screwing it up? You would be surprised how often this has been done. And given it took a few minutes or less to correct it, why didn't the person fix it in the first place?? DUH!!!
I actually made so more progress this week. I finished the installation of the fuel pump and associated lines below the fuel tank. This area is confined, and not the easiest to take a picture off...
The factory installation is even more messy than this appears. The lower pump is for the gasoline heater but I chose not to connect it to the fuel system as the heater is damaged. Originally this pump was tee'd into the fuel line and included a separate filter as well. A lot of hoses in a small space. This is where it really shows that fuel injection was added to the Beetle as an afterthought... All the hoses and clamps and filter are new here...
This shot shows the injectors and associated hoses on the left bank. The injectors were pulled out and the "permantly" attached fuel hoses were removed from them and replaced. (more on this later) The sealing rings on the injectors where replaced at the same time. The fuel lines above the transaxles were fun as they were heavily guarded by a LOT of spiders and their babies! In the picture you can see the separate manifolds leading to each port that are much longer then the dual port carburetor manifold. This is to allow the injectors to have their own manifold runner to work correctly. Also visible is the wire leading to the cylinder head temperature sensor... something that Brent knows lots about....
This is the type of clamp I am using that is made for fuel injection hose. Made by Tridon, I am not entirely happy with them. This size is a tight fit on the hose but you have to be careful when tightening them as sometimes the metal band under the screw does not slide under the edge of the clamp like it should and bends up instead. I had to tighten these clamps while holding this band with some needle nose pliers... The next size up clamp looks better and fits better but does NOT tighten up enough on the hose when clamped in place... Very annoying... Anyway the distributor is out and new points are being installed. Once the final hoses are changed and a key is made to replace the missing original, then an attempt to start will be made... One way or another, this will happen this week for sure....
Ok, back to the scheduled programming... again. Lots did get accomplished this week...
I finally completed the installation of all the fuel hoses. Here is the "permanently" attached hose to the fuel injectors. Like most things mechanical, what has been put together can usually be taken apart again... In this case the easiest method for doing this is shown below...
I like to grind away the crimped retainer on the bench grinder. Works good but smells bad. Use some side cutters to remove the remains. When installing the hose and the new clamps, make sure the clamps do not interfere with the injector electrical plugs.
Now here is something interesting... Whenever you are dealing with a car that you have never seen running, you always wonder why the previous owner stopped driving it. This device could be the likely cause of the car being taken off the road years ago... This is the fuel pressure regulator which keeps the fuel pressure at a constant 30 PSI. These are very reliable and I have only replaced a couple in my career. This one looked suspiciously stained. When the small vacuum line was removed, it contained fuel. This is a big NO-NO as there should never be fuel at the vacuum hose connection. The result would have been a poorly running engine that likely belched black smoke out the back. Luckily the Beetle and Bus engines used the same regulator and I found a spare in my stash...
The distributor was in real nice condition with no wear to the bushings. The dual advance/retard mechanism was tested with a vacuum hand pump (in the background) and worked fine. The mechanical advance was tested too, and the mechanism oiled (two drops in the center of the shaft under the rotor). The sparkplugs were checked and were not worn so were left in place. Then the moment of truth, with an old battery connected to the cables, an attempt to crank it over was made. It did crank, but very slooooooowly! I was suspicious of the battery, but took a peek at the starter...
This ugly rusty blob was once a starter. Found a much better one in the pile and installed that instead. The cranking speed was significantly better but she didn't want to fire up just yet. Even though the battery passed a load test, I knew it was 13 years old and tired. Called it for a night...
The next day I yanked the battery out of my truck and hooked it up with jumper cables. Borrowed the ancient but high quality fuel pressure gauge from work to see what was going on. Turned the key (which my friend Pat had got for me via the door handle code), and tried it again. The new battery helped and it fired up!!!
And here is the proof. The gauge shows 30 PSI as required and it ran quite well. The next day I found a proper style used battery and installed it directly to the battery cables. This increased the cranking speed even more, and it started right up from cold. After checking the dwell (OK), and adjusting the timing (too retarded), it ran better then ever. Now that I know it is up and running, I will adjust the valves and change the oil. Also many electrical items on the car were not working correctly, but a quick clean of the fuses and fuse box got most of the systems working without problem. The horn pad has issues and the horn likes to go off by itself however... I will also be checking the brakes but should be ready for a test drive next week....
So continuing on.... I adjusted the valves and this went OK without drama. Next up was to change the oil and some issues arose... One of the 6mm studs holding on the strainer plate was missing and turned out to be broken off in the case. It was not leaking so I decided not to disturb it at this time. Unfortunately another stud next to it was suspiciously loose and sure enough the threads in the case were stripped out. I should have put in a "stepped" stud but for whatever reason used a helicoil instead. It worked fine in the end and did not leak. Next up was checking the rear brakes. I used a torque multiplying tool to remove and install the drum. It turns out the shoes were recent and the wheel cylinders where not leaking or seized. A quick clean and service restored the rear brakes...
Here is the torque multiplier in action. As it says on the tool, 30 ft/lbs torque in yields 270 ft/lbs out at the big 36mm nut. This same tool is designed to remove Beetle style engine flywheels as well including both 6 and 12 volt versions. It really works very well...
Next up was the front brakes. I suspected all was not well on the driver's side and was unsurprised to see a partially seized wheel cylinder that had thoughtfully leaked all over the shoes for some time. Although the shoes where barely worn, the lining was separating from the metal backing and would have to be replaced. The wheel cylinders where too badly corroded to salvage.
Luckily a customer had given me a set of NOS shoes years ago, and wouldn't you know it, they were correct for this car!
There were a couple more issues to go... The left side outer wheel bearing looked like there where flakes of metal stuck too it. After cleaning, it looked OK on the outside but clearly was damaged in some way. After cutting away the outer cage, this was the result...
Look at how nasty that inner race is. This bearing must have been extremely loud in service and took some time to get this bad... Found another set in my stash of used stuff too good to throw out... One more issue to deal with is the right front flex hose. It is a 38 year old original and should have been changed when someone did the left side in the not too distant past. ALWAYS change flex hoses in pairs. If one side failed, you can be sure the other side will too. Hopefully will be able to get new parts for tomorrow...
Arrrgh! Well I have owed Reagh a big favour for quite a while and it is time to pay the piper. The car is actually in pretty decent condition, it just has been sitting for some time. I will be getting this beast running and driving over the next little while...
Most wouldn't like this part, but I don't mind at all. This is a 1976 version so is the second year for fuel injection. I like the fact everything is intact and not screwed around with... The airflow controlled injection system is basically the same design as found in the buses, just the components are in different locations. The system can work very well, but many were converted to simpler carburetors. The first job for this example will be to replace all the old leaking fuel lines! The tank will be removed and inspected as well... Fun times ahead...
So it was time to get cracking... First job was to take a peek under the hood and this is what we see...
The factory gas heater is still in place and all connected up too. This will have to be removed before the tank comes out.
Next the trunk liner was removed to expose the tank. Someone must have been worried about the exhaust pipe from the gas heater getting hot, because that wrapping is not original! Everything else under the hood was however...
Even the spare is the original Dunlop B7 bias ply whitewall tire. The rim is date coded and matches the car. It looks in not too bad shape...
Or not.... Can you imagine an owner from long ago being that dumb/cheap to actually drive long enough on the same tire to wear it like this??? A bonus was finding the original tool kit spread out in different places under the hood. The only thing missing was the screwdriver. It was funny to see the original cheapo plastic bag the tools came in. A far cry from the cool tool rolls from the sixties.
It was pretty grungy under the hood but a quickie shot of purple cleaner followed by the hose helped out greatly. The tank contained bad fuel, but fortunately hadn't rusted or gummed up the tank which looks fine on the inside. The colour is listed as Ibizarot L31 M. Next up is new fuel lines...
Not too much to add yet... Once the weather changes for the worse, then more inside jobs will be accomplished... It has been frustrating getting decent quality fuel lines in the right sizes, and decent clamps that will work too. There are many threads on The Samba about fuel line issues... Anyway enough about that for the moment. Look at this picture and tell me what is wrong...
It lights up and looks ok, doesn't it???
Scroll down...
NOOOOO! How hard is it to get this simple task done correctly? Are body shop people/do it yourself owners that dumb that they can't put on a simple part like this without screwing it up? You would be surprised how often this has been done. And given it took a few minutes or less to correct it, why didn't the person fix it in the first place?? DUH!!!
I actually made so more progress this week. I finished the installation of the fuel pump and associated lines below the fuel tank. This area is confined, and not the easiest to take a picture off...
The factory installation is even more messy than this appears. The lower pump is for the gasoline heater but I chose not to connect it to the fuel system as the heater is damaged. Originally this pump was tee'd into the fuel line and included a separate filter as well. A lot of hoses in a small space. This is where it really shows that fuel injection was added to the Beetle as an afterthought... All the hoses and clamps and filter are new here...
This shot shows the injectors and associated hoses on the left bank. The injectors were pulled out and the "permantly" attached fuel hoses were removed from them and replaced. (more on this later) The sealing rings on the injectors where replaced at the same time. The fuel lines above the transaxles were fun as they were heavily guarded by a LOT of spiders and their babies! In the picture you can see the separate manifolds leading to each port that are much longer then the dual port carburetor manifold. This is to allow the injectors to have their own manifold runner to work correctly. Also visible is the wire leading to the cylinder head temperature sensor... something that Brent knows lots about....
This is the type of clamp I am using that is made for fuel injection hose. Made by Tridon, I am not entirely happy with them. This size is a tight fit on the hose but you have to be careful when tightening them as sometimes the metal band under the screw does not slide under the edge of the clamp like it should and bends up instead. I had to tighten these clamps while holding this band with some needle nose pliers... The next size up clamp looks better and fits better but does NOT tighten up enough on the hose when clamped in place... Very annoying... Anyway the distributor is out and new points are being installed. Once the final hoses are changed and a key is made to replace the missing original, then an attempt to start will be made... One way or another, this will happen this week for sure....
Ok, back to the scheduled programming... again. Lots did get accomplished this week...
I finally completed the installation of all the fuel hoses. Here is the "permanently" attached hose to the fuel injectors. Like most things mechanical, what has been put together can usually be taken apart again... In this case the easiest method for doing this is shown below...
I like to grind away the crimped retainer on the bench grinder. Works good but smells bad. Use some side cutters to remove the remains. When installing the hose and the new clamps, make sure the clamps do not interfere with the injector electrical plugs.
Now here is something interesting... Whenever you are dealing with a car that you have never seen running, you always wonder why the previous owner stopped driving it. This device could be the likely cause of the car being taken off the road years ago... This is the fuel pressure regulator which keeps the fuel pressure at a constant 30 PSI. These are very reliable and I have only replaced a couple in my career. This one looked suspiciously stained. When the small vacuum line was removed, it contained fuel. This is a big NO-NO as there should never be fuel at the vacuum hose connection. The result would have been a poorly running engine that likely belched black smoke out the back. Luckily the Beetle and Bus engines used the same regulator and I found a spare in my stash...
The distributor was in real nice condition with no wear to the bushings. The dual advance/retard mechanism was tested with a vacuum hand pump (in the background) and worked fine. The mechanical advance was tested too, and the mechanism oiled (two drops in the center of the shaft under the rotor). The sparkplugs were checked and were not worn so were left in place. Then the moment of truth, with an old battery connected to the cables, an attempt to crank it over was made. It did crank, but very slooooooowly! I was suspicious of the battery, but took a peek at the starter...
This ugly rusty blob was once a starter. Found a much better one in the pile and installed that instead. The cranking speed was significantly better but she didn't want to fire up just yet. Even though the battery passed a load test, I knew it was 13 years old and tired. Called it for a night...
The next day I yanked the battery out of my truck and hooked it up with jumper cables. Borrowed the ancient but high quality fuel pressure gauge from work to see what was going on. Turned the key (which my friend Pat had got for me via the door handle code), and tried it again. The new battery helped and it fired up!!!
And here is the proof. The gauge shows 30 PSI as required and it ran quite well. The next day I found a proper style used battery and installed it directly to the battery cables. This increased the cranking speed even more, and it started right up from cold. After checking the dwell (OK), and adjusting the timing (too retarded), it ran better then ever. Now that I know it is up and running, I will adjust the valves and change the oil. Also many electrical items on the car were not working correctly, but a quick clean of the fuses and fuse box got most of the systems working without problem. The horn pad has issues and the horn likes to go off by itself however... I will also be checking the brakes but should be ready for a test drive next week....
So continuing on.... I adjusted the valves and this went OK without drama. Next up was to change the oil and some issues arose... One of the 6mm studs holding on the strainer plate was missing and turned out to be broken off in the case. It was not leaking so I decided not to disturb it at this time. Unfortunately another stud next to it was suspiciously loose and sure enough the threads in the case were stripped out. I should have put in a "stepped" stud but for whatever reason used a helicoil instead. It worked fine in the end and did not leak. Next up was checking the rear brakes. I used a torque multiplying tool to remove and install the drum. It turns out the shoes were recent and the wheel cylinders where not leaking or seized. A quick clean and service restored the rear brakes...
Here is the torque multiplier in action. As it says on the tool, 30 ft/lbs torque in yields 270 ft/lbs out at the big 36mm nut. This same tool is designed to remove Beetle style engine flywheels as well including both 6 and 12 volt versions. It really works very well...
Next up was the front brakes. I suspected all was not well on the driver's side and was unsurprised to see a partially seized wheel cylinder that had thoughtfully leaked all over the shoes for some time. Although the shoes where barely worn, the lining was separating from the metal backing and would have to be replaced. The wheel cylinders where too badly corroded to salvage.
Luckily a customer had given me a set of NOS shoes years ago, and wouldn't you know it, they were correct for this car!
There were a couple more issues to go... The left side outer wheel bearing looked like there where flakes of metal stuck too it. After cleaning, it looked OK on the outside but clearly was damaged in some way. After cutting away the outer cage, this was the result...
Look at how nasty that inner race is. This bearing must have been extremely loud in service and took some time to get this bad... Found another set in my stash of used stuff too good to throw out... One more issue to deal with is the right front flex hose. It is a 38 year old original and should have been changed when someone did the left side in the not too distant past. ALWAYS change flex hoses in pairs. If one side failed, you can be sure the other side will too. Hopefully will be able to get new parts for tomorrow...
