Winter projects...

[Neil Davies]

I know there's an In da Werks section, but just wondering what projects everyone has got on for the winter months. From a complete resto to  just parking it on axle stands, what are you all up to?

I'll start - the brakes in my car need sorting. Think there's a leak between the reservoir and the master cylinder, so that's my job I want to get on with. Then carry on driving it!

[andrewlandon67]

Replacing my mostly stock transmission with a much stronger one and repairing some rust are my biggest plans for the winter. I'm also hoping to have some spare time to fix some cracks/flaws in the rim of my Coach wheel and clean it up a bit. Maybe tinker with my brakes a bit, check all the front end bits, etc. No matter what happens, I'm planning on having my car back on the road and raising hell by March!

[brewsy]

I wish...

Santa will have to bring me a garage first

 

[kafermeister]

I just picked up a '66 Beetle from my dad a few weeks ago.  Like Neil's car, I think there is a leak between the reservoir and the master cylinder.   Other than that it's a driver.  Hope to get that taken care of before spring.   

Meanwhile I am awaiting a rebuilt trans for my '67.  Once that is done I plan to get the fresh 1915 ready for summer driving in the '67.

[Glauco]

Brakes for me as well. Fitted disc brakes in the rear.
Also sorted out the rear suspension, after I took way to long to notice I had some of the wrong parts mounted. Should be all better now. Next is fitting an AN6 fuel line because the stock on broke just where it exits the fork... and mounting a electric fuel pump when the gas tank is out.
Oh yeah, and getting the 40s jetted. And replace the rubber oil lines with AN8 ones..
And maybe if I have a little winter left, try to get the dropped spindles to accept the 944 discs brakes so I can hopefully have some spring rate back in front..

Glauco

[karl h]

i do have a build thread "arctic alice" on mine, but dont felt like posting pics me sanding 
that being said, its finally at the paintshop and i may be able to get the body later today 
the pan is finished and can accept it right away, but yesterday night i disassembled the irs axles because of a suspicious metall ball rattling around in a box i kept the 944 parts in. turned out all the balls are in, but i ruined one of the (allen head) bolts and now have to cut the head off to be able to get it out

[Erlend / bug66]

Start the build on the new back halved racer 2 year project I guess.

[volkskris]

IRS pan, looong ratio gearbox, rear disk brakes, 2.2L engine.

[alex d]

Rebuild the ( stock)fastback's engine, while still hoarding parts for an eventual big engine for the 67

[beetletom]

Fit 2165 motor, change brakes, not a lot but when the car is stored outside, there is no motivation...
Really need a garage

[Good-Old-Ragtop60]

I?m planning to change the Body on my Ragtop Bug.
There?s some work needed on my lightblue Body and I bought a 60?Ragtop Body from a friend.
That one is welded and mostly solid and was cheap. So I thougt I can continue driving the next seasons just with another body. (and have no Change in the Registration) 

[Rome]

Finally finish a top-end rebuild on a sweep-the-floor 1776 engine which I first built in late 2004. Stock non-counterweighted crank, Engle 100 cam, and various dual carbs. I originally used a pair of 1300 dual-port heads with 35/32 mm valves which I bought in a engine parts purchase about 25 years ago. At the time I assembled the engine I just had the combustion chambers bored for 90.5, but the machine shop kept the original 1mm high ledge/step around the perimeter which is from the original 1300 head design. I had removed the engine about 3 years ago due to an oil leak at the flywheel end, so that still needs to be addressed with a new double-lip main seal. The engine ran decently but in the meantime I've read a lot on theSamba and learned a lot. I wanted to redo the heads. Intake and exhaust ports were already done back in 2004 per the "How to Hotrod your VW Engine" book instructions.

So- with the heads off- my original deck height was approx. 0.060" using shims, but with that ledge/step in the head the actual DH was more like 0.100". CR was in the high 7's. After reading a lot about that ledge on theSamba in the last 2 years, I had the ledge machined out last winter, which left me with 43cc combustion chambers after I had already unshrouded the valves back in 2004. I wanted to reduce the DH slightly to about 0.055" with a different set of cylinder base shims, and with a planned CR of 8.5:1 I reshaped the combustion chambers to a target 49cc. Used a carbide burr on a high-speed electric grinder. I looked at many photos of 90.5 heads on theSamba to see the various combustion chamber shapes which were listed at 48 or 49cc, especially those which were modified by pro shops. I zoomed in on a good photo until the cylinder diameter on the computer screen matched the actual diameter on my head. I traced the combustion chamber edge of the worked head onto a translucent plastic margarine lid using a sharpie marker, then cut out the inner section of the shape and also the outer diameter so that the lid fit closely into my head. That gave me a template which I could simply flip over for the outline to show the grinding line on the adjacent combustion chamber. I ended up with a "lopsided egg" shape with most of the material taken off the plug side. I only spend about a few hours a month with all this work in the past 2 years, but I finished all 4 chambers' reshaping last month. Am now smoothing out the rough surface with 100 grit sanding rolls. Next is to lap the cylinders into the heads, redo the rocker geometry since the heads are at least a millimeter closer to the case due to the deletion of the ledge, and shorten the pushrods accordingly.

Target for the completed engine is late winter for a first warm day installation into my '77 Std. Beetle, with dual Dell'Orto 36 DRLAs and 30mm venturies. I only have about 1500 miles on the shortblock so I see no need to get into that.

[karl h]

got the body back fromthe paintshop 
pics later

[leec]

Have garage built at home
Get back on to Notchback after 18 months of house renovations
Buy a large turbo

[andrewlandon67]

Replacing my mostly stock transmission with a much stronger one and repairing some rust are my biggest plans for the winter. I'm also hoping to have some spare time to fix some cracks/flaws in the rim of my Coach wheel and clean it up a bit. Maybe tinker with my brakes a bit, check all the front end bits, etc. No matter what happens, I'm planning on having my car back on the road and raising hell by March!

Oh yeah, I also want to fix my stupid turn signal switch, it used to be difficult to move and it wouldn't self cancel so I pulled it apart and lubed everything up and now it won't stay in position. 
I'm really hoping to have my car just a little more refined for next year all around. It's just a bit too exhausting to drive at the moment, although I doubt I'll be adding any serious sound-deadening for now.

[Jim Ratto]

Keep walking by my car and just no real interest in doing anything. Same with the 84 Okrasa and the Porsche Carrillos.

[Sam K]

Keep walking by my car and just no real interest in doing anything. Same with the 84 Okrasa and the Porsche Carrillos.

I've felt the same way about my 67 for the last couple years. Still love the car but I don't have much interest in it anymore. Nevertheless, I would like to get the alloys detailed this winter and have a set of SB12 headlight rings rechromed for it. The car I'm intetersted it working on this winter is my '65 notchback. I dragged it out of a field a couple years ago where it had been parked since 1983 or so. I've collected most of the pieces to put together a nice 2110 for it as well as a "built' transmission and a set or BRM knock offs. I'm really hoping that if I had a decent VW that I wasn't afraid to drive and leave in a parking lot it may reignite the fires.

[j-f]

Just going back to make something VW related would be the goal.
Man, how could live consume so much time just to have the normal shit done?

[Neil Davies]

That was kind of the point of this thread. Sometimes life does get in the way, sometimes we just have other priorities - jobs, kids, elderly relatives and so on - and sometimes we realise that we're not as young as we used to be when we'd wag a day off because we were too busy Volkswagening or throw an all nighter to make it to the next cruise night or race meet.
The jobs I need to do on my car are relatively simple but I just need time to get it done in a day!

[j-f]

That was kind of the point of this thread. Sometimes life does get in the way, sometimes we just have other priorities - jobs, kids, elderly relatives and so on - and sometimes we realise that we're not as young as we used to be when we'd wag a day off because we were too busy Volkswagening or throw an all nighter to make it to the next cruise night or race meet.
The jobs I need to do on my car are relatively simple but I just need time to get it done in a day!

Same thing for everyone. Family, job, house get in the way, sucking time and money we use to spend on VW. I just need to rebuild an engine to put back in my 68. Whatever make it reliable to go on any drive as it always been and go enjoy it.
I need to finish the inside of the garage of our house to move parts and tools here and be more comfortable to work at home.
I still have the fire, but more on idle than full blown 

[richie]

Nothing really Cal look based but they still are all aircooled VW  
Spare time at moment is used on trying to finish this 1303 I picked up couple years ago but didn't start on until this summer, so far it has gone from stock to not quite so stock, plan is a "normal looking beetle with nice wheels" to anyone that doesn't really know any better then IRS my daily 67 cabrio as I got a good deal on a better geared IRS box with ZF fitted and also race car is getting new rear suspension as well which means also turbo & dry sump tank has to be moved so new intake and exhaust fabrication & bunch of other small stuff that's in way

[j-f]

Looks nice and solid! A bit of polish and it would look really nice as this!

[richie]

Looks nice and solid! A bit of polish and it would look really nice as this!

Yep an unwelded UK 1303 is a rare car nowdays

Polishing is way down on the list

[JerryS]

Put the '61 all back together after rust repair and sunroof installing. Will try to keep the patina and make the new paint blend in. Restore brakes all around, discs in front and 68-brakes in the rear, detail and fit the polished fake fuchs, fit the 2165cc (must get hold of better gear box first) and finally give it the right stance with some rubber rake. I hope it's going to be a long winter 

[richie]

Put the '61 all back together after rust repair and sunroof installing. Will try to keep the patina and make the new paint blend in. Restore brakes all around, discs in front and 68-brakes in the rear, detail and fit the polished fake fuchs, fit the 2165cc (must get hold of better gear box first) and finally give it the right stance with some rubber rake. I hope it's going to be a long winter 

Good to see another one getting saved

[modnrod]

We've just come out of our winter, and mine is going again for the first time in 7 years. 
Not lowered/raked, no Webers and crap paint, it has to deal with gravel, dirt and trucks.
Rego is next, then I plan to drive the wheels off it for years to come.
 

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[Larry S]

Supposed to get the body back from paint in January. I have 2 weeks off at Christmas so I am going to get everything organized in the garage and ready so I can mount the body back on the chassis. I am also going to restore the speedo, headlight buckets, switches, and other parts in preparation for it.

Larry

[dragvw2180]

I got really concerned about driving my car on the street,  boost is addicting , So rather than getting tickets for wreckless driving I decided to make my car into another full fledged race car. I tore my 2387 down and bumped the cam up , freshened everything else inside. I had a brand new set of Super Flow heads in the box so I sent them to my friend Dave Kawell for a little love . While waiting I have rebuilt the transmission and built a new GTX3576R turbo  . Since I wanted to race I decided to lighten the car and remove the torsion assembly and install a ladder bar setup . My race partner John Toomey found me a Wiks front end . I have just finished tacking the new roll cage and ladder bar mounts up and sent my coil overs out for re-valving . Next I am removing the body to weld everything on the cage easier . Hopefully I will have a car which has much more adjustment built into it and is lighter . Mike McCarthy

[Lids]

I have just got back from my last day working on the bus this year.  The car is two hours from me and with family etc, i get to work on it for one weekend a month!  Next time will be January if the weather is ok, in the mean time its a case of collecting a few panels ready for the longer days.

[DaveN]

Nothing, refit the rockers, service it and give it a wash and polish around March