A little help please......

[Worm]

Okay, the rumor mill has it that Worm has gone and purchased himself another VW, for myself this time and not my son.  That way I wont get pissed that he didnt wash it....  Sitting in my garage is a "ghetto" 70 vert.  Its decent but needs a LOT of love.  Never owned a late model before, and its been 25 years since I drove the 63 "pervertable" way back when.
Heres my question.  The former owner removed the plastic dash cover and I want to try and keep the painted dash look if I can.  Would like to not put the plastic dash back on.  Ive seen the re-pop's and Im not stoked on them.  Okay, so now I have these giant vent holes up top and I hear that the Euro cars came this way.  How do I find myself the low profile vent covers?  Please advise.

My gawd this car needs work.  Anywhere that 2 screws are supposed to be there is only one.  Its unreal.  The rear brake line burst in the garage weds while bleeding the brakes.  Heaven help me.......  Ha.  Naw its all fun wrenching away the evening hours.  Im even gonna pass on golf saturday to work on this beast.  What have I done?

Help.  As well, ANY, I mean ANY other siggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Worm

[Jason Foster]

Wow that thing cleaned up nice, looking good.

[ian c]

looking good !!!

same as earlier model
http://www.1800vw.bizhosting.com/0.fresh_air.htm
u.k. market had metal dash but dont know what difference to vents was .... i'm working on it .
will get you a set sent over from england if theyre different ...

[Worm]

Thanks Guys!  I installed the drop spindles wednesday but havent taken pics yet.  Also have a couple old low back seat bare frames I want to install eventually.  The motor is total sh*t.  Thats a whole 'nother project.  Its amazing what 15+ hours of polishing can do to a car.  I must have scraped off 3 pounds of dirt from the underside last night alone.  The pic doesnt show all the nasty bits.  Its in progress.  Hopefully it will be decent enough to buzz by the next night at Nick's.

And your help with my request is truly appreciated.

Thanks again

[ian c]

just found this ...
"Excluding the 1303 which had a black plastic dashboard bolted/ screwed to the bodywork of the car all Beetles post 1957 had fundamentally the same dash until the end of Beetle production as far as I'm aware.......
Yes, the number of dash vents will differ according to year, and the number of holes may be different for switches etc ( there are a myriad of differences according to the year ) but basically its the same metal dash from 57 onwards.......
Cars with a padded dash , like the 1302 and later 1200 models have the same metal dash underneath the padded cover, just with a slightly smaller glovebox lid and dash knobs that are slightly taller, but thats getting into anorak territory ."

and on another thread it says the vents are taller too on a padded dash that was option in u.k.

it seems most have a metal dash , so i just have to find somebody breaking a uk 70 (will be loads )

 

[ian c]

this is complicated 

best bet would be to go into the garage and take a pic of the dash/vents .
its 6am england , 7am europe , so the guys on here should have an answer for you by morning

is yours like this ??

[JS]

Looking very good there Worm, post some pics with the new spindles on! 

[low oval]

worm,
my buddy back in the 70's had a 68.  he put a one piece dash in his and filled the dash vents.  it's so cal, you don't need a heater.

[tomi g]

Here are some pics of my '70 vert. As far as I know all european convertible models came with painted dashboard in 1970. Hope it will help.
tomi

[Rennsurfer]

Cool, Worm... stoked that you're getting stuff done on it. I'm guessing that you're going to have to do one of two things... either fill in the vents and/or leave the center one (since they're available in the States). Or, get all three European spec. ones. The idea of a non-padded dash in the U.S. ona late car is GREAT. I hope that you're able to pull that off.

Let me know if you need any help working on your new toy. I need to get down your way and surf, anyway.

[Sarge]

WORM WORM WORM!!! Glad to see jump back in !! 

[Neil Davies]

You can stilll get the plastic vents - have a look on the VW Heritage site (www.vwheritage.com) as they seem to have the best selection of European-spec stuff! BenSSP on here works for them so he might be able to chime in with a bit of advice too!

[Worm]

Oh my!  Thanks for all the help.  The VW Heritage website seems to have just what I am looking for.  Including the non padded grab handle.  woo hoo.  Now, If I could figure out a few more items and the next thing will be to place an order. 
 
With the drop spindles on and the 145 tires, folks we are a rubbin'.  The tire rubs on the inside top of the fender just going basically straight (slight turns)  No problem if I dont ever need to TURN!   I suppose I have two options.  1. replace the front beem with a narrowed unit ($$$ and not a big fan), or 2. put on 135 tires.  Is there enough meat on a 135 to grab enough street to slow my big ass down?  Will the 135 be much different?  I suppose those are my only options. Yes?  Sucks, cuz I just bought those 145's.  Anyone need a new tire set (slight wear on top wall/face of one tire. ha.) 

Heres a small pic.  You can tell its a tight fit (this is with no one in it).  And again, thank you for all the help with dash vents etc...  !!!!!!!!!

[Donny B.]

Get the narrowed beam it will compensate for the offset of the spindles.  I had the same problem.  Narrowed my beam and never looked back.  CB sells 2in. narrowed beam for a decent price.  Don't go to the 135s.  I actually prefer 155s but they are hard to find.

[vwcab]

Nice lookin' vert Worm, looks good with 8-spokes.

[nicolas]

Nice lookin' vert Worm, looks good with 8-spokes.

so take notes on what you say! 

[vwcab]

Nice lookin' vert Worm, looks good with 8-spokes.

so take notes on what you say! 

         
 

[tomi g]

The cab looks really good with the lowering …
I have 4,5 /ET 34/ sprintstars with 145s and dropped spindles and do have rubbing only at corners with 2-3 people in the car. The 135 or 155/70 tyres and a narrowed beam will work with your 5,5 /ET 22/ 8 spokes without any rubbing.
regards, tomi

[Worm]

Okay wait a minute.... you said, "The 135 or 155/70 tyres and a narrowed beam will work with your 5,5 /ET 22/ 8 spokes without any rubbing."

Im not too smart so speak slooowly.  If, lets say if I take off the 145's and go to the 135's.  Will it still rub?  OR...... do I HAVE to go to a narrowed beam?  I'm just crusing this car around the San Clemente beaches.  Dont ever imagine driving er' to Vegas.  Trying to save some bucks and would like to not have to replace the beam.  I will if I must.  damnnnnnn.

Will the 135's stay under far enough?  That is a cheaper-uh, less expensive soultion at least for now.  If I can swap the beam in a few months/years I can go back to the 145's.

Please tell me it will work.

Thanks Ya'll

Worm
P.S. and yes I know, I know, it has 8 spokes.  Thats what were on the pig when I got her.  Tried my best to make them work.  Its low budget time at the beach.

[Donny B.]

Will the 135's stay under far enough? 

Maybe, but not for sure.  They don't work that well when you jump on the brakes any way.  Keep the 145s and go with the narrowed beam and you will be done.....!  You won't regret it.

[tomi g]

I'm affraid that just switching  to 135s is not enough because of the ET of your wheel. You need both: narrowed beam+135 tyres.  But for cost saving try first with a narrowed beam and keep the 145 tyres. Then you will see and if there's still rubbing you can change the tyres for 135s.
tomi

[LuftsickTero]

1. replace the front beem with a narrowed unit ($$$ and not a big fan), or 2. put on 135 tires.

If you compare a moderate narrowed beam + dropped spindles + 8-spokes + 145s to stock late model with hideous steel wheels, the front tracking measurement might actually be quite close 

[LuftsickTero]

Heres a small pic.  You can tell its a tight fit (this is with no one in it).  And again, thank you for all the help with dash vents etc...  !!!!!!!!!

That 'Vert looks really nice.

[WCB Hitler's Hot Rod]

Looks like you'll need to change the beam.     Diggin' the euro. front bumpers.

[Neil Davies]

Worm, I'd just tweak the ride height UP a little bit. I'm guessing theres adjusters and the spindles on there? Looks a little low in the front as you can see the lack of clearance!

Also don't forget that the spindles add width - about half an inch per side - and the extra width of the 8-spokes is all on the outside too. I think you'll eventually need to go for a narrowed beam - no more than 2", but will make the wheels sit in the fenders like stock.
Like Don said, a CB one is not stupidly expensive and a reasonable quality, although I seam welded the outside of the shock towers on my last aftermarket beam and will be doing the same on my linkpin CB beam too. Worth checking thesamba classifieds for one that somone is replacing for a 6" wheelbarrow frontend?

[javabug]

Nobody has suggested trying some early FV/Rivieras or 2-liter Fuchs?  Offset is better than the 8-spokes, and you might find a used set cheaper than buying a beam.  Ok, maybe not the 2-liters...but somebody local might have a pair with tires mounted you can bolt up on the front for a trial.

[Rennsurfer]

Nobody has suggested trying some early FV/Rivieras or 2-liter Fuchs?  Offset is better than the 8-spokes, and you might find a used set cheaper than buying a beam.  Ok, maybe not the 2-liters...but somebody local might have a pair with tires mounted you can bolt up on the front for a trial.

Yes! Great suggestion. I'm thinkin' that it's gotta be the offset of the eight spokes. Hopefully, some used inexpensive wheels will cure the problem. Other than that, the car looks GREAT, Worm! Let's get some DEEK markings on that and get you out to Drag Day, yes?

[Stephan32]

Hi,

Have you tried different shocks?
That worked for me, running 5,5 *15 with 195/60 tyres on a stock beam!
Stiffen the front up a little, is my vote. Maybe someone in your area can help you out on shocks to test?

Cheers Stephan
 

[Worm]

Okay, again, thank you for all your suggestions.  I would like to say I had no real intentions of keeping the 8 spokes.  They were on the car etc... and Im working with what I have so far.   My ambition was to eventually have Alloys (Fuchs sorry), on it.  As well, I also need new drums all around.  So, will this work?  Can I ditch the spider legs, and install some re-pop Fuchs on it without having to replace the beam?  If I get the 4.5" on the front is it enough?  That way, I get the wheels I really want and I buy the pre drilled 5x130 drums and the money spent (and time and effort) for the beam could go towards the wheels I wanted in the first place. 

This should be my last question about this issue. 

Plus, you guys are pretty crafty about all this. 

Mark, I have donned the DKK sticker.  It is official.  Here's a pic of the dash before and current.  I am still not done (by far), but again, Im working with what I have so far.  Picked up some goodies here and there and its starting to come together.  Once I get the wheel issue sorted, its on to the rest.

[speedwell]

look cool scott