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Post by Volktales on Jul 29, 2016 22:04:47 GMT -8
My '62 Beetle has been hiding in the back of the garage for some time. It could not come out for a few reasons, namely tires, brakes, and battery. The six volt battery I bought for it less then two years ago suffered complete failure in one cell. I was not particularly impressed with that, as some of the batteries in my other cars are well over ten years old and still work great. The '62 also has desperately needed tires, as the ones installed on it are now at least 30 years old an full of deep age cracks. The tread is great however and the tires are "Volkswagen" branded "Golden Milers". They will be replaced with very overpriced reproduction Firestone bias ply blackwalls from Coker Tire. The master cylinder has failed as well, and will be replaced with a good quality ATE one and full fluid flush and possible wheel cylinder replacement. Cars don't like to sit around, and this car has done that for years and years given it has only covered 47,000 miles in its lifetime. I at least finally got my hands on a new six volt battery, which took a lot longer then it should have to get it. The master cylinder is already in stock and waiting for install. The tires cannot be put off any longer, and I must fork out for them soon... Further updates to follow... |
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Post by nanaimobeetle on Jul 30, 2016 10:12:58 GMT -8
Oh BOY!! Down memory lane we go. It was fall 1962, just moved to Seattle, WN with young son (1 1/2 years old), wife and Porsche 356 coupe. (See pix under "Pictures of VWs: Yours...: Everything else VW's and related: What is your Dream NON VW?) Unfortunately something had to go, chose car (Hmmmm) and got a Beryl Green '62 Beetle. Looked exactly as above (radio delete). Kept until December, 1968. Plenty of miles and another child to ride in the "bin" behind the rear seat. Thanks Russ for posting this, and every time I see yours I remember.
dg
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Post by Wongai on Aug 2, 2016 8:57:21 GMT -8
Man that is a nice ride. Love the colour.
Take it for a rip!
B
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Post by Volktales on Aug 14, 2016 20:53:06 GMT -8
Sooooo, I FINALLY got around to ordering and forking out for the new tires. I have been thinking about doing this for the last three years...
And this is why. The outer sidewalls of the old tires looked fine. The inners told another story however. Those cracks are deep! Glad I finally changed them...
First impressions of these expensive reproduction Firestones could have been better. You can see the tire molding could have been prepared better when the tire was cast. Given how much these Coker reproductions cost, they certainly should have taken more care, knowing full well these tires are installed on show cars...
This cast ridge was also far too thick, and would not have looked good if installed on the outward facing side. I was surprised to find the tires were quite different side to side. Obviously the same mold is used to make whitewall versions as well. Several details were significantly different between the sides including the lettering size, font, and the "gum-dipped" insignia. Anyway the "back" side was much smoother in appearance, so this was the side installed outward.
The installed outward side is somewhat plainer, but features better quality casting details.
The final article does look nice once on the car and gives the "original" look I want. I won't drive it until the brakes are fixed, then we will see if a new bias tire is any better then an ancient one...
The cost by the way for this was a not so cool $1200 for four tires that will be vastly outperformed by even the cheapest budget radials... It does not matter where you buy these Firestone repros from, they all originate from Coker tire in Tennessee and they set the high price. Jason at Cedar Tire was able to get them for me, and they are able to balance the wide five rim type as well! Now to fix those brakes and get a wheel alignment... |
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Post by 1hotvw on Aug 14, 2016 22:02:59 GMT -8
can he get 5.25x16
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Post by Volktales on Aug 15, 2016 7:22:15 GMT -8
Didn't ask, but if Coker manufactures it, I am sure they can.
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Post by PICTUP on Aug 15, 2016 22:16:30 GMT -8
Jason is ranks65 on the site, just an FYI  Glad you went with the black walled… now get those brakes fixed so you can drive it, LOL  (yes, I know, I am one to talk...  ) |
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Post by ranks65 on Aug 29, 2016 9:23:17 GMT -8
@ 1hotvw. Yes I can get them. Have a quote ready for you. Call me at 722-4799 so I can get your info and talk tires. Russ I am jealous!! Such a nice original ride  |
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Post by busaddict on Aug 30, 2016 0:21:58 GMT -8
I feel your pain Russ, having to make decisions like when to buy what for which car. The Beetle looks great |
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Post by Volktales on Sept 3, 2016 19:28:36 GMT -8
The car is currently in the basement, jacked up with brakes apart... The master cylinder was the 54 year old original and it looked it. I carefully washed the leaked fluid from the frame head area with water, and put a high intensity light underneath to dry it out. It seemed to have worked. The front flex hoses had been replaced recently, but I thought I better check the rears. Both of them had collapsed internally and would not pass fluid. This explained the rock hard brake pedal quite nicely. New hoses are on the way... I also am replacing the bearing retainer nuts on the front spindles. The originals are secured with double nuts and a locking plate in between. These are kind of a pain to deal with as the locking plates should be replaced every time, and the currently available ones are low quality. I ordered a conversion kit that replaces the double nuts with a pinch style nut that is similar to the later model Beetles. I did this on the Ghia in the past and it works very well... More pictures once those parts arrive...
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Post by PICTUP on Sept 4, 2016 10:20:13 GMT -8
No posting without pics Russ! |
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Post by Volktales on Sept 5, 2016 19:41:26 GMT -8
Ok here is a nice picture for you...
What an original VW master cylinder looks like after 54 years of service... Yuck.
The rear flex hoses were original too and thoroughly useless. Check the flex hoses on your VW. If they say "Ate" on them like this, they are original and well overdue for replacement...
Another minor job to do is replacing these grommets. I think I remembered to order them... Hopefully the parts will arrive tomorrow... |
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Post by CrazyBrit on Sept 5, 2016 20:51:28 GMT -8
Does this mean we might see it next weekend, or is it like my bus (staying in hibernation a bit longer)?
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Post by Volktales on Sept 30, 2016 20:15:05 GMT -8
Back on track again...  Here is the new master cylinder, ready for installation. No points for guessing which is the original and which is new. I primed and painted the new one with "cast" paint. Rust is not acceptable... Note the replacement cylinder has the same markings as the original, less the ground-off VW logo. FTE is the manufacturer of the new one, and was the same company that built the original 54 years ago. I think they got their moneys worth out of the molds...  That slimy hose connects the reservoir to the master cylinder pipe. It was replaced with the proper hose material. The original had gone porous and was slowly leaking. The easiest way to change this is to remove the reservoir from the car with the hose and pipe still attached.  I was home alone when I did this job, so chose this method of bleeding. A tightly fitting hose was attached to the bleeder and submerged in a jar with some fluid in it. The brake pedal was pumped slowly up and down until no bubbles of air were visible. This was done at each cylinder. Note that the brake drums were not installed. This is possible with a single circuit master cylinder as found on this car. When the pedal is pumped, fluid is only expelled from the bleeder screw that is open. The wheel cylinder pistons will not move in the other cylinders not being bled. More on this later...  And here is what the new locking spindle nuts look like. CIP had two choices, aluminum or steel. I had the aluminum ones on the Ghia and they seemed to work fine. For the '62 Beetle, I bought the steel versions. They were much harder to tighten in place then the alloy versions, and I wish I bought the alloys instead... Getting back to the brakes for a minute. After bleeding using the method described, I had an OK pedal, but definitely was a bit soft. Sometimes you need to use a different procedure to get the last of the air out. But sometimes you just can wait and do nothing, and it will fix itself. This is now the third VW that has done this to me. I went out today intending on doing some more bleeding, but the pedal felt great! A test drive confirmed it was now completely normal. Nice. I also confirmed those new tires are MUCH more pleasant to drive on then the rock hard old ones... Only thing left to do on this car is get a wheel alignment. I hope the weather is good Monday... |
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Post by Volktales on Apr 17, 2017 20:34:44 GMT -8
The weather has not cooperated yet on the days I intended to get the alignment done. Still waiting for those sunny days...
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(yes, I know, I am one to talk... 
)
