The Cal-look Lounge

Hey everyone, i thought its about time i did a build thread somewhere. Its been a long time since i posted anything of any substance about my car.

So little history, i bought this car when i was 16 (28now) had grown up going to vw shows so i was hooked from a early age. At 16/17 i rebuilt all the mechanical side of the car, Disk Brakes all around, new lines throughout and a narrow beam, then i sent the car off to have some welding done such as floor pans and respray. Once i passed my test i daily drove it for a good few years and spent many days scraping more ice from the inside during winter.  After a few years i gained a company van so the beetle became my weekend toy/project again.  Its been through a lot of different changes in the time i have owned it, including 4 engines,  1300, 1600, 1776 and now the 2276 ready to be installed its now in a rolling resto type stage.   

Heres a early thread from 2008 showing some of my initial progress in case anyone wants to read   https://www.volkszone.com/VZi/showthread.php?t=434433

First photo was the car in 2014 at DTA end of season meet, Changes up to this point were a 1776 built by Daz Chandler and the original 4 lug sprintstars

However, big things happened next,  Set of Day moulding fiberglass wings, Tbars and the car is currently stripped right down, ready for a new gearbox being built by John Walklett closer 1-3for the strip and a long 4th, set of Jussi's finish Race axles, and a 2276. Repaint again at some point but budget got spent on speed.

2276
fk8 1.4:1 Ratio Rockers
CR 9.6:1
Lightened Flywheel
SCAT SUPER-D 42 X 37 X 94MM
CB performance 82mm

Installing the Hipacs was my second time ever welding, first being the day before practising on a old wing , I ended up reusing the cut parts to fab up some repair sections to the bumper mount and im pretty happy with how it turned out. Learnt alot

Lockdown jobs have included

Stripping the complete rear
Changing the window rubbers due to current ones leaking, also replaced the headliner in this time as the old was taty and torn
Redoing the complete front electrics with a Aircooled Auto elec supplied Blade front loom
Welding in the Hipacs, (first ever time i have welded)
fabricated a repair panel for the rear bumper mount using the metal i cut out for the hipacs and welded it in place
Remounting all my gauges
New Shiftrod bush and coupler

That looks great - I had an orange '70 on sprints about 18 years ago and it was honestly the best bug I've ever owned. The loom looks like an interesting bit of kit. Any details?

Loom was put together by Aircooled Auto Elec https://www.facebook.com/VWAIRCOOLEDAUTOELECTRICREPAIRNW/

They can supply and fit a complete loom or custom build what you need, I had them build me the Front half of a bug loom, and then connected to my existing rear half of the loom via a plug as it wasn't that old just messy looking.   Every circuit is protected inside that blackfuse holder by the more modern Blade Fuses, so each individual circuit is protected and then all labelled up for ease of use.   I had him supply me some extra circuits, for Line lock, gauges and my fuel pump controller, other than that its all stock replacement in the correct colours.  It was very easy to fit, it came pre crimped so its just a case of pushing them onto your switches, didnt even need a pair or wirecutters, and any questions he answered pretty much instantly.   

Bit more progress, still awaiting delivery of the New Gearbox being built by John Walklett, but i have taken delivery of my Race Axles from Jussi.

Installed 26MM torsion bars and Poly bushes, have shot for the Sway away recommended angle for starters will see how it sits once the engine and gearbox is back in.   Hopefully have the linelock fitted tomorrow. 

Nice project !!

Progress on the rear end rebuild has been a bit slow but im getting there now. First time doing pretty much most of it

So i took delivery of the gearbox from John Walklett, and a set of Short axles from Jussi in finland and got it built up and mounted into the car.

Supported by new mounts including the mid mount.  I also opted for a fast fab Truss bar to support the frame horns. 

Awaiting a set of Red Konis for CSP, and hopefully get the engine mounted back in the next week

Coming together, bet your counting the days til you get it back rolling!

Progress has been slow been busy with a house project.

Few updates though, Engine was installed and ran although i had a leak from the rear main so was taken back out again. I also found a issue that was causing the whole engine/gearbox assembly to be tilted at a angle.  I had to notch the Empi gearbox cradle to drop it all down to bring it level, and finally had a leaky hub that was traced to having a later cap installed.    Engines back in now, just waiting for a few parts before hopefully the first drive.

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Great progress. I had the same fun with the empi rear mount. It made getting the engine in a total pain. Swapped to a different rear mount and the engine would slide right in.

So whats been happening recently.

Engine was dynoed made 160bhp @flywheel but ran into some teething issues with a air leak on the manifold cutting short the session.

I changed exhaust for a shorter system than what i was running before, feels butt dyno better but who knows.  It saved some weight and looks cool.

Ran the car on the strip for the 1st time with new setup. It was my 3rd time on the strip in total with this car, 2 previous runs had been with my 1776.
1st run i pulled up to the line and got a soft launch and missed my shift. Ran a 14.4 with a 2 second something 60ft.  Learnt a lot this run though so was optimistic about my second run of the day. This run i staged and launched at 3k pulled good and then immediately shut off, fearing the worst i pulled to the side and got pushed back into the pits. Turned out my Coil had vibrated the screws holding it into to the tin ware loose and it fell causing the wires to pull off. Lost all spark. Reconnected and it started straight back up but annoyingly another air leak at the manifold.  Called it a day after just the 1 run and planned for some changes.   Have refix the coil with bolts to the firewall, and i have the manifolds off the car ready for some work so they sit better on the heads and will tighten down correctly.

Upcoming changes.  Cars heading in for some welding to the chassis, Complete removable rear end to make engine work easier. Possibly paint job on the wings so its back to being a solid colour. Massively tempted to change cam

https://youtu.be/i3BDHLc1K_I

https://youtu.be/mcGNBDRh4M4


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Colour matched wings will transform the look of it I'm sure Jimbo !

I had the exact same thing happen with the coil on one of my old bugs btw. Why do you think you are experiencing repeating issues with manifold leaks? Are you using locking nuts? Or do they maybe need their mating surfaces correcting/ what brand are the manifolds/

What cam are you thinking of changing to? It's always tempting!

The manifold leaks have been on different sides each time, so fingers crossed i wont get any again. Im not using locking nuts that could be a fix as it was not even finger tight when i got to checking it so it did work loose.  The mating surface on both was also off slightly as i could feel it rocking, but i corrected that.  Not sure on brand of the manifolds but i have some coming from Scat to match the porting of the heads so will try those too for fit.  Its been the rears both times so i think its a combination of not being able to 100% get in and tighten it as well as the fronts. 

Been thinking of swapping out the Fk8 for a Web86C and bumping CR to 10.5  Will need to change valve springs on heads and retainers too

End of year update.

Set a PB of 13.7

Winter has been the start of a bunch of changes.  Feel like i have gone backwards but sometimes you must to go forwards.

The car is currently with Jonny Marriage at The Volks Cave, the body has been taken off as i spotted some serious rust issues on the Framehead and Nap hats when installing a set of Front Caster Shims.   While the car is away im also having a bunch of other welding jobs and a complete removable rear end fitted.

January 2022 will see the car head to Jim @ Cotsweld racing for a full Rollcage and seat install, looking forward to this. Will mean i can take part in some Official Races and generally be a lot safer on the track. 

Engine is away with Richie too for some major upgrades. More on this early next year.

Short mention on the engine but like mentioned in previous post will update early next year. 

CB Super Pro heads  1.4Ratio rockers
FK 47cam
CB Super Race case,
DPR wedgemated crank  with type 4 center main
48IDF (possibly changing to EFI in the next 2 years)

 8)

Welding progressing quickly, Framehead and Nap hats a lot stronger now.  Too many small bits to list but here are some photos of a few bits.

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Some more updates, spotted a set of Centerlines 4"fronts and 6" rears forsale on facebook and couldnt pass them up at the price they were listed. I might swap these over to the car and run a nice street tire on them, my plan originally was to have them for a set of slicks but they look great. So will see what happens.    Im going to be installing a set of press in Wheel studs to my disks for mounting them.

Rear end is coming together now, cut and brackets all welded in place by Jonny. He threw a engine he had in so he could get the stinger welded up. Its looking as straight as a arrow, unlike the previous chaps attempts haha.

Things are in paint too, hes keeping this a secret though until its all finished. So potentially the next update i post, the car will finally be 1 colour again.


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Update.

Car is now at Cotsweld Race cars for its Roll cage. I went today for a seat fitting so Jim could take some cage measurements.

Jonny Marriage has put in tons of work getting the welding and paint all done ready for the cage, really has gone above and beyond what i was expecting.   Chassis is now perfect and load of body work has been carried out. Trims gone and the whole rear end is back on the car thanks to the Removable rear end hes made, Keeps it all super tight on the car and giving hardly any panel gap.  Too many small rust repairs to mention.  Once i get the car back from Jim il get some detailed photos up

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 8)  Looking good Jamie :)

Amazing how different it looks minus the trim and with the wings body coloured. Cool car

I've just re-read this thread from start to finish, and it is the very definition of project creep! Does look great though!

Haha sure is its been project creep from the moment i bought it, and it always will be i think. Would've been cheaper to buy a car ready built but this is my car and i know every inch of it and the tinkering/planning is great fun. Have ended up doing a lot of things twice. My first "big" motor the 1776 i was debating whether to just go straight to 2276 like i wanted but decided against it as i didn't have the knowledge on gearboxes and everything that goes along with it even had a garage install it for me.  But the older i got the more i did my research and got my hands dirty, all self taught from books and forums. But now having Richie so close is both a blessing and a curse as hes quite good at being a bad influence from just the few meetings i have had with him haha.   Has always been a goal to do some drag racing though so looking forward to getting the car back and getting it all built up and hitting the track for some practice

 ;D :D ;D   No comment ;D

So a little update at where the cars at.

Cars back from Jim @ cotsweld. Hes done a fantastic job on the cage and seat mounting. Was a bit worried about the seat position as we measured it up on wooden blocks and wasn't the easiest to balance and sit still so he could measure, but hes got it perfect and potentially the first time in my 15 years i have felt comfortable sat in the car and not bumping my knees on the steering wheel when changing gear.  Just got to practice getting in and out gracefully as right now i basically fall in and out.

My first job since getting the car back was the paint the rollcage, Jonny had ordered me more paint than i needed for this exact reason.  I hand painted the whole thing, couple runs in areas but i felt like i was in a bad game of twister while painting inside the car trying not to touch areas i had already painted haha.  Overall though i think its turned out awesome and im happy with it, there are far worse areas on the car than the cage paint  ;D ;D 

Finally got round to installing the new Door panels, i drilled a bunch of holes to lighten the doors but i think this is something il revisit another date.

Also started converting to solid gearbox mounts, rear cradles done and its a much better fit than the empi one i had previously. Still searching for a solid mid mount though.

Jobs planned for this week/weekend are
Finish removing all the old tunnel tar board and repaint tunnel
Install the new gearstick
Move linelock button to steering wheel (currently on gearstick, think i want it easy access on wheel but will sit in car and see whats comfortable with new stick)
Swap to the new steering wheel
Move gage pods so i have a better view of them(sat behind the knee bar of the cage at the moment)

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Well this is overdue an update and there have been a few changes. Bugtech shifters installed and also the momo streering wheel.  Received the new engine from Richie and got it installed and ran in, even managed a trip to santapod for 3 passes to see how everything was running, coming away with a new PB of 13.1 and hitting that 100mph 1/4mile, this was still on the small street tires so hopefully with the M&H and some seat time will see it drop.

As part of the engine install i switched all rubber lines to Braided PTFE AN lines,  I was getting dodgy Oil pressure readings from the VDO gauge/sender still so under the advice of Richie and Rob i plumbed in a oil pressure gauge from a T at the filter so im getting instant readings now.  Fueltech wideband install. Moved the coil inside the car on the rear parcel.  

Brakes/rims,  Machined the disks for Press in wheel studs to fit the centerline rims. This turned into a pain in the ass and still is.  1 rear disk didn't fit onto the hub but a bunch of careful filing made it a great fit. The centerlines needed drilling out to allow the correct Mag lug nuts to fit.  annoyingly i didn't check the offsets of the fronts so they stick past the wings around 7MM but the tire overhangs the rim 15mm.  Current setup is 2" narrow front, with disk and dropped spindles.  Im hoping with a smaller front tire (155/60/r15 installed) and see if i can find a dropped spindle that doesn't increase width i can get them to fit.  Any ideas would be great here....   Rears are fitted with the M&H Racemasters 215/65/15 and fill the arch nicely now, was looking at bit odd before.

Solid mounted the rear cradle and mid mount too.

Made up a set of 43mm Vents for the carbs and im chasing a rich issue too but thats a work in progress.

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Loved this when I saw it at Stanford Hall

https://www.heritagepartscentre.com/de/ac4064-geschmiedete-abgesetzte-spindeln-mit-nullversatz-fur-scheibenbremsen.html

The above might be what you need for your dropped spindle situation.

Cheers

Kurt

Thank You

These seem to be out of stock everywhere but il make some phonecalls this week.  Be worth trying a set see if it helps as i have everything here ready to go just need. Looking around it looks like the ones i have fitted add somewhere between 7-12mm each side. 

You planning on racing the car again anytime soon? shall look forward to hopefully seeing it at the pod soon.