What did you do to your volkswagen today?

lol, it looks like the car is rolling on just the rims, with no tires . awsome

what else you need to do to it?

zabo wrote:what else you need to do to it?

not much, need a new alt, exhaust, and gas gauge needs to be hooked up, and brakes need to be figured out (pretty sure its the MC, though) there is enough to stop it but i wouldn't trust it in traffic
moneys the big problem as usual lol, i'll have to take the insurance off the oval for a while so i can put it on the rabbit...

Looking good dude really. Now can we get the Ovals out for a group picture lol!!!

59 Euro Rag wrote:i'll have to take the insurance off the oval for a while so i can put it on the rabbit...

Run antique auto "full replacement" insurance from State Farm on one of them, $110 a year.

Installed my bugpack header. Took forever . I know bugpack isn't supreme top of the line stuff, but do these people even test fit their products??? I could have given some tubing to a gorilla and had him bend it and chances are it would have fit better. The empi header/muffler combo I took off fit 10x better.

I agree Eric, i purchased a Bugpack header for the type 3 and after i cut and welded it back together it fit great! lol! the jigs they use to weld these things up are a little worn out i think, and they dont allow any cooling time before removing them from the jig.

You put too much work in that rabbit to just let it sit in the garage... that being said, I have not driven my mexi beetle for a year and a half... at least it is still tagged and insured so I can at some point.


Yesterday I pulled the plugs in my bus so I could start getting it ready to camp next weekend. I am not certain if the plugs are slightly lean or if they are normal... waiting to have some plugs shipped to me since there are none to be found around here.

Also bought a new head unit for my bus. Pretty excited it has a usb slot so I will finally have a way to charge my phone in my bus! Yeah, I could have used a euro accessory plug in the westy or I could have added an american one... but this is easier and more useful!

Tried to put Ashley's 1300 in Jade so I can drive it back and forth to work but......I just couldn't get it to go in it is a really snug fit.....so I pulled it back out....I think it had to do a little with the jack I have and the rear clip maybe being a little off...oh well on to plan b!

So I started drilling the spot welds on Jade's apron so I can make it a removable one.....got almost halfway....hope to finish tomorrow and get the engine in

Well, I think today was the day of rekoning, and I've been expecting it.

Old Yeller hung it up this morning, heading west on 278. She's not dead, but, I guess she'll be going to hospice care.

A friend (Greg) found me by following the smokey, oily trail. Seriously. It was wierd seeing his car in my mirror, "emerge" from the billowing...uhhh...vaportrail (?) behind me. I had no idea he was following me. (There could have been the bloody Spanish Inqusition back there- I never would of seen 'em.....and nobody ever expects them, right?)
Fortunetly, she still runs, and even sounds ok..... so hopefully nothing major has broken. I've been having a continuing problem with intermitten oil clouds as some of you know (have you followed me lately?) Now she's blowing non-stop, looks like she blew a valve cover gasket (pass. side) this morning, and the exhaust cloud is just getting thicker. Dripping oil out the tailpipe too. It seems to be getting into places in the pass. side head, and burning in/on the exhaust (there is a drip from the rside exhaust manifold to head connection) and smoke is just rolling out the tailpipe.
There are a few other mysteries with Old Yeller, like what keeps beating the #1 spark plug to death (twice now). Looks like some little Mario guy is in there with a miniature sledgehammer- and a suspicious lifter (#3 exhaust side) that has been showing and sounding like it's getting worn. Another little Mario guy- with really sharp teeth just chewing away on the pushrod end.
I think it's time to open her up. At least to check out the heads, and Piston/cylinders.
........to the tow vehicle, Batman!

(where's Jeff Spickoli with his dads tool kit now? Damn good for nothing.....)

sorry to hear that don- hope you get it back on the road soon!

Attorney Isaiah Loophole wrote:So I started drilling the spot welds on Jade's apron so I can make it a removable one.....got almost halfway....hope to finish tomorrow and get the engine in

-please post some pics

zabo wrote:sorry to hear that don- hope you get it back on the road soon!

Maybe she will sit still just long enough for some black paint on those fenders....and.......

attempted to rebuild the calipers on my 78 westy... no such luck... the sticking one won't budge... and only now do i find out how cheap calipers are from o'reilly's... why did they even sell me the rebuild kit? what a waste of time... didn't get the order in til after 3 so parts won't be here til after 11 tomorrow... need to get them installed, brakes bled, test drive the bus and then roll out to camp friday morning! so much to do, so little time...


at least i have new injectors now

n't be suprised if that caliper goes bad soon, lol. I have never had any of the chain store sh!t last on me. I've blown up EVERY wheel cylinder i've even bought from advance or auto zone. I once went thru 4 mastercylinders once. the 5th one worked for about 15 mins, then lost pressure. it wasn't till i bought a new german one that it worked forever . as you may know i work at advance auto, and i couldn't tell ya how many returns, or exchanges i've done on brake stuff, cuz it simply doesn't work.

Apron is off and trimmed....still need to do a little welding.....While I was at it I went ahead and took the decklid seal holder off still a lot of grinding and smoothing left to do.

Bugman114 wrote:n't be suprised if that caliper goes bad soon, lol. I have never had any of the chain store sh!t last on me. I've blown up EVERY wheel cylinder i've even bought from advance or auto zone. I once went thru 4 mastercylinders once. the 5th one worked for about 15 mins, then lost pressure. it wasn't till i bought a new german one that it worked forever . as you may know i work at advance auto, and i couldn't tell ya how many returns, or exchanges i've done on brake stuff, cuz it simply doesn't work.

I've worked at Pep boys, autozone and advance... I never really bought parts from pep boys... I liked their tires though... even though advance and autozone for the most part have the same parts, it seems that the stuff i get from autozone lasts longer. I buy most of my warrantied parts from them. I didn't have an oriellys til i moved to GA 3 years ago. I have recently bought some things from them... rebuild kits, which I seem to suck at doing... and oddly enough, I just now realized the only other things I have bought from them. a master cylinder and a brake light switch, only lasted about a year...

I don't believe that rebuilt stuff is not as good as new anymore... I think I have mentioned my experience with new bosch alternators, of which I replaced twice in a year and then swapped out for a cheaper rebuild with a lifetime warranty which I have yet to replace 6 years later.

The way I look at it is this. The calipers on my bus are 32 years old, they were rebuilt 5 years ago... Knowing how little I drive this bus and the risk of the calipers sticking again, I think it is worth $90 to have a lifetime warranty on them rather than $550 to not have a warranty (or likely a year or something)... It takes less than an hour to R&R the front calipers and bleed the brakes... I'm thinking 5 years is a long time for any new rubber parts anyway... at least my new rubber brake lines only lasted that long... hope my new new lifetime warranty from the FLAPS lasts that long... at least this way I don't have to pay again if they dont!

Mike you got to let off the TURBO when stopping!!! I've seen your ass drive! Trust me!

I've worked at Pep boys, autozone and advance... Top that Mike!

It's been hot at times the last few weeks and I've been watching my engine temps and this year I'm leaving the heater boxes on to see if the air flowing thru them, (not into the car) will help keep the temps down. Also the heater box helps direct air from under the engine (ski slow tins). In the past I'd take the boxes off and install "J" tubes. With the tubes installed there was a big gap that would let air "roll around", if you will, under the car rather than be pushed/directed out. So far the engine is a bunch cooler with the boxes than it was last year with the tubes. I don't want to install my standoffs either! Keeping fingers crossed.
Also found the source of a squeak. Seems the pulley is rubbing the breast plate tin at times. I thought it was the belt when I took off from a stop.

O'Bugga is running strong!

I work for NAPA and have bought several brake components. Rebuild kit for the master and wheel cylinders for my '39 chevy, wheel cylinders for both beetles and my '65 mustang. Calipers and rotors for my wife's old Sebring and my nieces Tracker. The only problem I have had is that I had to turn one of the new rotors, but working at NAPA I turned it for free.

39coupe wrote:I work for NAPA and have bought several brake components. Rebuild kit for the master and wheel cylinders for my '39 chevy, wheel cylinders for both beetles and my '65 mustang. Calipers and rotors for my wife's old Sebring and my nieces Tracker. The only problem I have had is that I had to turn one of the new rotors, but working at NAPA I turned it for free.

So you're rebuilding them yourself? how long have they lasted... these calipers didn't want to come apart!

I use to buy all of my parts at napa... I kept getting bad wiper motors for my rabbit from them and the last one went out after 91 days... they then informed me that it only had a 90 day warranty and wouldn't cover it (it was the third one in 6 mos)... found out that autozone had the same part for half the price with a lifetime warranty.... c'est la vie

Until now they were also never near by... there is one down the street now, but I haven't stopped in... i've thought about it though... Things are probably different now than they were 10 years ago... right?

Napa was used by a lot of professional repair shops, they used to have better parts, but they were more expensive. I don't know about now, though, someone said they were abondoning mechanics and courting do-it-yourselfers.

Took my wheels and tires to Kaufmann tire today, when they were mounted the beads didn't seat and they leaked air between the tire and rim. Kaufmann removed the tires, put a bead sealant on the rims, remounted them, rebalanced them, and dunked them in the tank to make sure they didn't leak.

Welded four of these, two on each side, on the rear quarter panels so I can bolt the apron down

Not directly related to my bus, But I built a workbench for my shop. It soon will have engine parts splayed all over it.

And I borrowed an engine stand from a friend.

finished my 8 hours brake job ordeal... yeah I can r&r both front brakes and bleed them in under an hour... but when you have to make three trips to the same parts store to get a caliper that works right and a trip around town on a just in case rig... yeah... sucked up my whole day. so no radio install...

not sure if the caliper is still slightly sticking or if they are just rebraking everything in, but it still squeaks slightly... sometimes. I got a new one coming in tomorrow too... the first caliper was somehow too small... it was weird, things just wouldnt fit. It was almost a centimeter difference in size. i should have taken a pic!

bus is running great though!

Degreased and pressure washed the engine and underneath the 71. (I really need to fix these oil leaks!! ) Turned out so good I got out the camera and shot a few pics before heading over to Starbucks for the meeting........


Curiously tho, I forgot to shoot any pics of the clean engine...

Finally hauled off the parts single cab to the crusher.....$83.30 more than I thought....metal is at $8.50 a hundred