My new ride...
A 1970 VW Bug!!

(Thank you Steve!)





• Quickie Backgrounder...

So I have a 4Runner.. It's fairly built-up, lotso custom stuff, lotso power, lotso toys; but for the last two years it's been belly-up in the driveway more than belly-down in the dirt. :( My friends have gotten pretty sick of me borrowing their cars, I needed to do something. A few years ago my Bestus-LongestKnown buddy Steve bought the Bug that he had always wanted. He put a good amount of work and $$$ into it over a couple of years, and then... it spent some time in his driveway. Long story short.. Steve made me a deal that I couldn't refuse. :) I found a transport company and had the bug shipped from his digs in VA to my digs in WA. What follows below is a blog outlining what I'm doing to it. (read it from the bottom up to get the right timeline) Like it says above... THANK YOU STEVE!




• Babbling Blog-Type Babble...

  5.17 All hail the Torque Meister! What a great tool - I simply couldn't have done the rear brakes without it. btw, "sometimes you have to get creative when you can't get a grip with your puller": 5.05 Shudder-b-Gone! I replaced the inner/outer tie-rod ends on both sides and we're back to "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!". One of the interesting side-effects of doing this is that the steering wheel slop is gone as well. Now I _know_ that the bug understeers! I got the alignment "close enough for goverment work", and while it pulls a bit to the right, it's easily lived with until I get a real alignment done. Next thing will be to deal with the rear brakes. The front ones are taking all of the braking load, and I'm doing a good job of wearing through the pads already. I couldn't get the rear axle nut off. I've since found out that it's torqued to 200ftlbs. YIKES! But... There's hope. This is the Torque Meister: (image linked from The Samba forum) That little beauty will apply torque to that axle nut at a 9:1 ratio. heh. I should be ordering one this week. :) 4.26 Finally got some decent weather to work on the front-end shudder. Got the new bearings in (thanks AirHead!) and really went through things while the wheels were off. As best as I can tell, it's the inner tie rod end on the left side. There's a lot of slop in it, and I suspect that, with probably an out of balance wheel is what's making things seem so dramatic at the steering wheel. The steering wheel has a lot of slop, but dropping $130 on a new box doesn't seem to be viable at this point. So, $60 on new tie rod ends all around seems like the best thing, and to get the front end rebalanced. :) C'mon FedEx! 4.04 Fun pics! 4.3.2008 So, this _just_ showed up last night... As I accelerate, a get a nasty shudder in the steering wheel at 31mph (GPS!). It will continue on through to about 35-37mph then go away. It only shows up on acceleration, not decel. It doesn't seem to matter if I'm on the power, off the power, on the brakes or not, in a turn or going straight. (edit: oh yeah, it stops happening in a turn...) I pulled the wheels this morning, thinking it was loose lug nuts, nothing. I did the 3-axis push on the wheel/hub and it all seems "fine" given that these parts are 38 years old. There was certainly nothing different this morning than the last time I did this about 2 months ago. While I had the wheels off, I replaced the front brakes, which walked me through looking at the front wheel bearings. I had one pad frozen up and the hub on on side could have used an extra 1/4 turn - which I did when I put it back together. The bearings themselves looked "fine", the races are intact. Though I'm ordering a new set as soon as I'm done here. All that said and done, the shudder's still there. I'm kinda' confused since I didn't find anything blatant.. The steering box, tie rod, struts, hubs, damper, etc. all seem "solid" - again, given that these are original parts and that this just happened for the first time last night. 9.27.2007 oops... So, downshifting from 3rd->2nd has been weird lately. I get a lot of grinding. If I let it grind, just a bit!, it would kinda' pop-in. 1st->2nd seemed to be okay. I ignored it, and of course it got worse. Well, this morning, it bit me pretty hard. Out of the driveway, down the road, turn up The Big Hill... No 2nd. I lost a ton of momentum and dropping it to 3rd was useless, and... I couldn't get it back to 1st. Stopped in the middle of the road. Flashers on. oops. Kinda' played with it for a while, popping it back and forth from 3rd->4th, bashing it a bit up & down (as if to pop into reverse) and I finally got it back to 1st. Chugged up the hill and into a parking lot. Begin the next installment of "This Is Why I Carry Tools In The Bug". From a conversation with "Bob" on Airhead Part's Forums just the night before, I had an idea of what I was looking for. I pulled the rear seat, pulled the inspection plate and confirmed that while the bushing in the coupler were pretty well worn, they were functional. I pulled the shifter apart and confirmed that I could get the tranny to pop into all gears if I mashed the linkage directly, but the tunnel bushing was pretty worn and really sloppy. Good news in general. I looked at the shifter guide plate, and played the game of "hmm, how _should_ this fit, and just how does it guide the shifter in and around the gears - and keep it out of reverse?". "Reverse...", "Grinding...", "Can't get it into 2nd or 1st...". Ummm... BIG BLINKING NEON SIGN. Sure enough, the core issue was that the plate had shifted enough that the shifter was falling into the reverse guide and the grinding was the tranny trying to get to reverse! A bit more looking, a bit more playing with the parts and... I was back on the road! 9.18 Ahh... there we go! 9.13 No news is good news! Not much has been going on 'cept putting on miles. About 1500 now since I got it. Mileage is sitting at 21-22mpg. I dunno HOW the heck I got that 32mpg number a month ago - I think I was wishin' too hard. :) No matter - the truck was getting _9_ mpg. I'm pretty dern happy! Got the WA state title the other day, STILL don't have plates! ARGH! Got some dash lighting issues nailed down. Got a GPS issue worked out; working through some bugs on the XM module. Making plans for a re-paint, probably Novemberish, when the weather turns bad here. Pulling together a list of door gaskets, hood gaskets, etc. Still having a BLAST!!!! 8.26 Door speakers are in! I went with Infinity 4012i's (4"), but in hindsight, those really are 5" holes in the door. No matter, these sound GREAT and the give a whole new dimension to the sound in the bug, They're driven off the internal amp in the Kenwood which is doing just fine for this. I'm REALLY happy I put the door's in. Fun points: Cutting into the original door panels took some guts. :) I used fuel tubing as a runner for the speaker wire between the door and the body The window crank doesn't quite clear the speaker grill (double hindsight; 5" speakers would have been worse!) so I tossed a washer into the crank to get clearance. There's still a "technique" to rolling the windows up/down, but... :). What's fun is that _original_ handles could be tweaked, the ends were cast but the shafts were steel wire. Replacement handles are all cast - no tweaking allowed. :( When people talk about popping out the door handle pockets, it's actually JUST the black plastic pocket - not the chrome metal pull guard. DOH! Insulation and mats are in. FINALLY! It's quieter and just looks nicer! All the wiring's cleaned up. LCD, power and USB. (no more duct tape where the ashtray was! woohoo!) The BIG bummer of the day... I can't run power locks. :( There's physically no way to get to the lock mechanism from inside the door so I can't put the solenoids and pushrods in. dang... Gotta get new pics up... :) 8.25 Krikey! We have power! The alternator's in... 14.17v pumping away into the battery as I drive! WooHoo! 8.24 - part 2 So people around me thought it was funny that I bought a set of tools to keep in the bug. Add that I'm in the habit of having my wiring diagram and a meter with me all the time. I was heading out to grab a sammich for lunch... cruising about 20mph - engine dies. Tunez die. NO power at all. CRAP! Dump the clutch, look quick for a parking lot, cooooooooooooooooast into a spot. whew! Pull out the meter, pull out the wiring diagram... poke, prod, pull the vent duct, pull the tunes. BINGO! The main power lead that runs from the light switch to the ignition popped off. 20 minutes and I'm back on the road! THAT'S why I travel with tools, a meter and a laminated wiring diagram! 8.24 Note to self... If 37yo washer hose gets pinched by new head unit upon installation, there's a good chance that said 37yo washer hose will crack and deposit the contents of washer tank all over said new head unit. oops. But, I've been through this kind of cleanup many times. Rinse with clear water, allow to air dry with slight help from a warm oven, replace blown fuse, life is good. 8.23 Baby got new shoes! WOOHOO! Thank you TireRack! Thank you Omni Brake & Alignment! The alternator retrofit kit is here - VERY straight-forward and a great upgrade. That'll happen this weekend. Also on the weekend list... Insulation and mats Headlights (seemed to have gone out, and it's not a fuse. hmm...) Speakers in the doors Power door locks (tee-hee!) Finalize the LCD cables and put back the ashtray Finalize the XM and GPS antenna location Almost done! 8.19 - update Screw the rain! Screw the migrain! The alarm's in! I can't say enough good about Commando Alarms. This is the 6th system I've installed and they continue to impress me. Wanna pay $500 for a Python? Go right ahead... I'll keep on paying 1/10 that and be JUST as secure as the Python folks. :) The power door locks would have been in as well if I could figure out how to get the finger guard off of the inside door handle. :( While I had the door panel kinda' off, I noticed this nice 5" hole in the door... Looks like I have my speaker mounting solution all figured out! 8.19 Infnity 4012i's are heading for the space up-under the dash in the corners. Mounting them will be interesting, I'll have to get better with my box-building... hmmm. Today was supposed to be Alarm Day, but it's raining. Insert {hope for sun!} here. 8.18 I. AM. TIRED. (and sore). I spent most of the day today working on the bug. It was a GOOD day - but with most of it spent hunched over inside, my back is SCREAMING. So... Subwoofer's in Sound is somewhat tuned (I might just tuck some 5 1/4" rounds up in the kick panel area. It's hard to get clarity up front from the box in the back). The sub KICKS though! I'm really psyched! Wiring is cleaned up ALL ALL ALL (all) of the fuel line is now replaced with modern-day stuff. The "stock" cloth-wrapped neoprene was a MESS. The neoprene insides were deteriorating and the cloth was getting soaked (can you say "FUEL SMELL!"?). I kept looking at it all going "oh, it's fine". And then I finally got to shining a light on it to enhance the contrast - and it was ALL soaked. All better now. At some point an in-line fuel filter made it's way into the engine compartment. That's gone. the issue here is something I learned from a couple of Air Heads. The extra weight of the filter weakens the joint at the fuel diaphragm and it'll pop off, spraying fuel everywhere. The block is magnesium. Magnesium burns WHITE hot. Not good. At some point the stock vacuum advance distributor was replaced. A common thing to do (though in the end it costs you economy) but, when it was done, the vacuum nipple on the intake manifold was plugged with a piece of that cloth wrapped fuel line. Nice Whistle. Nice loss of vacuum. Nice loss of power. GONE! The pre-heater hose was toasted. (literally!) Advil please... 8.17 WE GOT TUNEZ! (yes, the cables will get re-routed clean) So... what to do about the dash vinyl? hmmm... 8.16 Well, the voltage regulator was definitely shot, but... the generator went too. (I think I burned it out letting it spin without a load for a few days). My New Best Buddies at Airhead (these guys RAWK!) have an "alternator retrofit" kit. It'll be here Saturday/Monday. Took out the old radio last night and figured out how to fit the new HU in. Shouldn't be too bad! Gotta take out about 1/4" of sheet metal on the top and 1/16" on each side. I'm hoping to make that happen tonight! TUNEZ TOMORROW! The on-board PC is working pretty well. The only thing thus far is that I'll have to re-mount the USB hub, no biggie. NAV is working well, it knows where I work! I'm still fighting a fuel smell, but I found a new possibility. :) There's a vent pipette on the left side of the tank. The hose was SOAKED. The hose is now gone and the pipette is squished shut. The morning drive came without a headache! OOO! My tires shipped! (I use TireRack.com) I'll be on new shoes next week! 8.14 The Tunes Are Coming! I built the box out of 3/8" particle board - actually repurposed shelves. Screwed and glued and angle bracketed. And... that's real VINTAGE Bug carpet covering it! Speakers are Alpine SPS-17C2's, the amp is a Profile AP1000 (160w), there's a Bazooka 8" sub under the box, and a Kenwood KDC-MP3035 heading for the dash. Not a killer system, but it should kick well enough! :) I should get my new voltage regulator tonight, so I can start looking at powering everything up for real in a couple of days. KICKIN'! 8.13 Via the Washington Department of Licensing... "As of Monday, August 13, 2007 Plate ________ is not available. You may try another plate." YESSSS!!!!! I got my license plate! "What is it?" you may ask. Well, you'll just have to wait and see! 8.12 Ahh, that's better! On the hood: Nextel i455 for Mologogo; Holux GPS236; XM antenna Between the wipers: UT-41 GPS (there're some trials going on with the different GPS units and locations) On the glove box: XM receiver Blue box: PC - Hardware: 1Ghz VIA C3, 1GB, 20gig, WinXP, Software: Centrafuse, WiFi Hopper, MapPoint End result: AM, FM, XM, BlueTooth, WiFi, GPS nav, MP3/WMA streaming... TONS-O-INFO at: MP3Car.com 8.11 Hey... What's that thing under the dash?! and in the hood???!!! It'll all get neatened up tomorrow! 8.10 Fuel smell-be-gone! Replaced an old braided fuel line, then a new sender gasket and filler hose. Fuel gauge works! (sender and vibrator) Headlights aren't pissing people off anymore! Pretty new chrome tail pipes! Tomorrow has some surprises in store! 8.09 Voltage regulator gave up on the way home. Battery charger ahoy! 8.08 The little interior stuff is in - it's feeling more like home Planned, spec'd and ordered Tunes! Planned and spec'd on-board PC! Ordered Alarm! :) 8.07 Ordered insulation, mats, new seat cushions, fuel sender... 8.06 First official day as my new daily driver 8.05 First fuel tank top-off: (45 highway + 62 around-town) / 3.37 gallons = 31.75 mpg! 8.04 Ordered small interior stuff; door handle, glove box knob... 8.02 The bug is officially back in WA (I got plates) Ordered FUN plates! :) 7.31.2007 She's here! Ordered Tires (safety first! yikes!)

  
  

• "Brought to you by (or is it "Bought to you buy"??)..."
  • Airhead Parts
  • BFYObsolete Parts
  • Bug City
  • Commando Alarms
  • Crutchfield
  • Hess 4 Less
  • Prospero's Garage (laminated wiring diagrams)
  • Wolfsburg West

  
  And of course...

  • eBay

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