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Post by owdlvr on Jan 11, 2024 12:29:07 GMT -8
The '58 arrives into the shop with a long list of housekeeping items to attend to, after 47,000+ miles in 2023. The biggest issue, of course, being the oil cooler that started leaking about halfway into the trip... Turns out the oil leak was caused by a hamfisted mechanic. Those fittings should be parallel, looks like a little too much pull was put on the outside one, crushing the oil cooler a little. Considering I'm the only one who wrenches on my cars...I have no one to blame The cleanup is going to SUCK, and I'm honestly considering just taking the car down for some dry-ice blasting instead of doing it myself. The oil cooled brakes are an interesting feature though... I purchased a new Setrab oil cooler and compact fan to pop into the car. I tried to buy this unit in the USA, with brackets already made, but there were issues where I couldn't get it in time. So I've done a little R&D (review and duplicate) to copy some mounts. It turns out the 1/2 carb, which was running quite well actually, sucked in some water at some point. The air filter housing bolt had snapped, and the filter was askew a little. I suspect I probably didn't have the ziploc bag fully over this carb when I powerwashed the engine one of the 12 times across the country and back. Whoops! Not sure if I'm going to be able to save this carb body, or if I'll have to pull a spare out of my collection. Four hours in the ultrasonic cleaner and I think I've got most of it cleaned out. I'm still chasing down a strange issue where the front left corner binds on compression. Occasionally you'll park the car and it's sitting lower on that corner. I've swapped out the beam, the bearings, the knuckle, re-did the king and link pins, the only thing that hasn't been changed out is the control arms. Thanks to Terry (stude) I've had a pair waiting since October for the swap. Had to carefully cut an old sock bushing sleeve off the arm, gave them a coat of paint, and into the car they go. About this point I stopped taking photos and just got on with it. I've drained the brakes for a fluid flush, dealt with the oil change and valve adjustment, new CB Performance valve covers to stop the leaks, fixed some light electrical issues, new steering damper, and completely torn the rear suspension apart (again) to see if I can't improve the car even further. I got one half back together last night, and will work on the really oily side tonight. I still have to finish the carburetor rebuild, and put the engine back together. Transmission fluid smells good, but I'm debating on swapping it out since I've basically done 50,000mi on it without pulling the plug and checking for metal. I should have the car back together by the weekend...I mean, no reason I couldn't have it done by bedtime tonight, but it seems I'm working a little slower these days and taking more time for things like meals and rest. Weird. Getting old(er) is annoying Does anyone know the ET of the wide five 4.5" wide factory wheels? I'm likely going to order a set of alloy wheels after my cracked wheel last year, but need to do some math on the tire clearances.
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Post by owdlvr on Jan 11, 2024 12:30:19 GMT -8
Pretty fancy stuff, Dave! So are you pimping out your Bricklin in a commercial on the boob tube for some extra dough? Hahaha, that is my Bricklin!
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Post by 1hotvw on Jan 11, 2024 16:04:45 GMT -8
what about shock condition and or alignment looks like a narrow beam.
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Post by Volktales on Jan 11, 2024 20:21:36 GMT -8
Your '58 is my favourite, of the cars you own. But they are certainly all cool for sure. Would you ever lower your standards enough to have an unmodified car???
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Post by PICTUP on Jan 11, 2024 20:54:17 GMT -8
Your '58 is my favourite, of the cars you own. But they are certainly all cool for sure. Would you ever lower your standards enough to have an unmodified car??? From another thread: I see no holes for side trim. Please tell me he's not leaving it off?! Modify all the cars!! So, in answer to your question, apparently not, LOL!!
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Post by owdlvr on Jan 12, 2024 10:03:55 GMT -8
what about shock condition and or alignment looks like a narrow beam. Problem was there when I bought the car. - I swapped out the beam for a new narrowed beam, which used proper bearings instead of the long urethane.
- I've done the kingpins and link pin bushings on both sides...twice, because
- I've swapped to disc brake spindles, and did the K&L at the same time because I was in there.
- The shocks are new since I bought the car, and they have been swapped left to right to confirm they aren't the issue.
- I've swapped out for new spring packs, just to be sure
The only thing left is the control arms...
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Post by owdlvr on Jan 12, 2024 10:32:15 GMT -8
Your '58 is my favourite, of the cars you own. But they are certainly all cool for sure. Would you ever lower your standards enough to have an unmodified car??? From another thread: Modify all the cars!! So, in answer to your question, apparently not, LOL!! I thought about this one a fair bit before falling asleep last night. I do appreciate an unmodified car, but they definitely aren't for me. The culture around stock Beetles is (in my experience) one in which the cars are handled with trepidation and not used. Perhaps I'll change as I get older, but I have no interest in owning a museum piece that barely leaves the garage. I want to drive everything, and drive everything. I think part of my attraction to modified classics is the fact that regardless of brand or marque, the modified scene has been far more welcoming and more enthusiastic to get out and do things. The all-stock crowd gatekeeps pretty hard, and then at most will drive their cars for a Sunday ice-cream run and maybe to the local show once a year. It sorta turned me off the whole stock scene. I absolutely detest the cal-look for similar reasons. It's not the style, it's the attitude of the people I met who are really into it. I'm not saying there isn't the same bad attitudes in the modified scene. I'm sure I've probably pissed off a few newcomers myself by replying in a way that shot down their snorklestang idea (vs suggesting some, perhaps, different directions). But in general, far more open and inviting...and in the German Look crowd, I definitely found "my people". The German Look style, at it's core, is as steadfast and black-and-white on it's rules like the Cal-Look. It's about stuffing as much Porsche as possible into the car, and you must have Porsche engine, brakes, and wheels. When I first started in the scene, though, I was part of a new wave of enthusiasts that was pushing back on that. Subaru engines started being accepted, different wheels and modifications. German Look, at it's core, is still Porsche based. But it's evolved to be all about performance and improving the breed. I got sucked in full tilt The biggest thing for me, though, is the shop and the modifications is different from work. I always wanted to be an Engineer, but didn't believe I had the math skills. My first job out of university (and the reason I never finished) was Product Development (designing exhaust systems and racing parts) for Vibrant Performance. I'm self-taught in engineering, 3D modeling, and fabrication. The process of working out a solution for improvement, visualizing it, and then working out how to make it is a brain exercise that is so different from my daily job. It's an escape, and challenge I love. I think I see very similar in you, but in a vastly different way. You look at a generator, and I'm in awe of how you strip it down and restore it to be exactly what it would have looked like the day it left the factory in 1965. Me? I just toss it aside and buy an alternator. In comparison, I'm the lame one here. I actually envy your '66 beetle and the way you're being so careful to restore everything with original factory parts. I own every single part that was needed to restore my '75 to factory condition, except for the houndstooth cloth seat covers. I even have two or three original period correct radios, to ensure I can have the best restored and working example. I managed to find an original, German, NOS beam for the car since it needed a replacement. I just don't get the same dopamine hit from restoring a part, as I do replacing it with something that has absolutely no business being in that car...but I made it work. I would love to own a split window or a Porsche 911. If I sold off most of my cars, and just kept a couple, I could probably afford an acceptable example of either. But how long before I think "this could be better?" and start modifying it? And here's the hard truth: Everytime you modify a car, you ruin it in some way. The factory already did this for you, when they built the car; compromises were made to hit a price point, perhaps speed and handling were compromised for comfort, performance may have been compromised for safety. When you modify a car, you ruin it in some other way. The Rally Bug? Brilliant at 110kph, sideways on gravel. If you aren't wearing hearing protection, even for a 5min drive, you'll have permanent hearing damage. The '58? Unbelievably good on a twisty mountain road. It will make you cry everytime you hit a bridge seam on the highway. The German Look turns so wide you can't get into a parking spot in one shot. Each of my cars are brilliant at something, but they also need improvement in some way. I'm getting closer to them being perfect. The '58, honestly, is almost there. If I only owned one or two cars, though, I don't know that I'd ever have the time off the road to make them 'perfect'.
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Post by PICTUP on Jan 12, 2024 23:25:11 GMT -8
What is that saying now...Something like, "When trying to achieve 'perfection', or 100%, one will spend the same amount of time getting to 90% as it takes for one to get 5% more and the last 5% isn't obtainable anyway". I struggle with this one far too much, often resulting in getting nothing done for fear of not getting it 'right', or even the feeling of being judged having not gotten it right. Rather frustrating. I applaud people who can either push past such feelings or luckily have a brain that doesn't hobble them. One reason I like my Saab is that nobody cares what I do with it. Even people who are dyed-in-the-wool Saab lovers don't seem to have trouble modifying them because that in a lot of ways is Saab's heritage in Rallying. Now if I could just improve my driving skill....maybe one day I can afford to get to Dirt Fish.....
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Post by CrazyBrit on Jan 13, 2024 20:51:11 GMT -8
I have a 1957 Bug wheel lying in my garage, if you'd like to measure the ET. I presume the 57 and 58 rims are the same?
Splits are great vehicles, but I think that they're a bit of a pig on our modern highways. That's why I modified mine. It's night and day to drive with the IRS, decent sized motor and disc brakes. It's far from perfect, and my engineering and fabrication skills are massively inferior to yours, but hey, at least I can drive it comfortably and hopefully safely now. With the type of driving that you do, I couldn't imagine you enjoying a stock split.
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Post by stude on Jan 14, 2024 9:51:33 GMT -8
ET=? Please explain.
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Post by owdlvr on Jan 14, 2024 13:00:01 GMT -8
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Post by stude on Jan 14, 2024 13:28:36 GMT -8
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Post by owdlvr on Jan 19, 2024 9:26:26 GMT -8
That was perfect! Thank you. Was able to plug the stock setup into a wheel/tire calculator and determine the new wheels I want to order are going to put me 6mm closer to the inner fender, and 6mm closer to the fender lip. Cheers!
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Post by owdlvr on Jan 19, 2024 13:11:27 GMT -8
Probably shouldn't have sandblasted sections of the Rally Bug...but lets be honest, it was a smart idea. Passenger heater channel which was solid to the wire wheel, didn't survive the sandblasting. Found a couple of spots in the rear quarters too, so the guys started patching it up. Fenders, hood, etc were going to get colour, but are needed to make sure the front apron goes on in the right spot. So...slight delays. Good thing too, I have no room to bring it back into the shop! Back to the '58 Beetle! Brake bits cleaned up just fine. And I upgraded the air filters with the Vintage Speed setup... When I fired up the car there was a knock, that then disappeared, but it was running rough. No adjustment of the carbs seemed to change it, so I figured I'd quickly run it around the block and try again when warm. It made it 500ft out of my driveway and died completely. Couldn't get it to restart. After Bob and I pushed it back home, I discovered it had no spark...and replaced the failed Magnaspark module. Still no start. So the next morning I pulled the valve cover to check the valve timing. Oof. Bottom line, I made a mistake when swapping over to the CB Valve covers. Somehow Ex #4 wasn't seated properly, and it popped out of the rocker and jammed. I damaged two of the pushrods badly, because when I built the motor I didn't have the right pushrod tubes and just used standard ones (which give a hair clearance). I also discovered a broken rocker shim. Was that the start of the problem, or the result of me installing incorrectly? I'm not actually sure, but the damage was done. Fortunately the motor didn't run long. The metal in the valve cover is aluminum from the pushrods. No sparkles in the sump, or the oil. What looks like sparkles in the photo is light reflecting off the casting grains. No metal on the magnetic plug. May have dodged a bullet! Years of breaking my hands and wrists mountain biking and snowboard racing have taken their toll. Between the early onset arthritis, and the cold weather, I simply don’t have the hand strength for some jobs…like installing _good_ spring loaded pushrod tubes. So I whipped up a Delrin guide tool, and then worked out a way to compress and hold the tube. Slide the compressed tube into position, and insert the guide tool. With one hand I could hold the tube in position, and with the other cut the zip tie. The guide tool ensures the tube seats perfectly. Remove the hose clamps, and repeat 7 more times. Reset the carbs, and it fired up and idled without any weird noises...which was a nice change. Itt doesn't appear, however, that I managed to clean out the super-crusty carb well enough. While tuning last night I was struggling with the 3/4 cylinder continuously becoming plugged. So I pulled out the weber parts box, and cleaned up and built up a restored IDF40. I'll swap it out tonight and see if that solves the issue. -Dave
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Post by Volktales on Jan 19, 2024 23:10:31 GMT -8
Ugh, the forbidden glitter! Nobody needs that in their engine. Glad it was something relatively minor and you have dealt with it in your usual way. The YouTube channel "I do Cars" is where the forbidden glitter reference comes from. A fun channel to watch as he disassembles engines in VERY poor condition and explains what likely happened. The Subaru examples are particularly spectacular!
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