The Story - December 11th, 2022
Sunday 12/11/22
On Sunday morning, December 11th, 2022 I received a text from Frank:
Hey, how's it going? I stumbled upon another deal of a lifetime...
I don't know if you remember Ron W from GE. He and his brother just bought some cars at an estate sale in Torch Lake. One of them is a 1973VW convertible. It's up at Torch Lake and he wants $2500. I don't have room for it, so I thought maybe it could be your deal! The owner (now deceased) was sort of a collector so it was garaged but it hasn't run in a few years.
Here are some pics of the VW. The stuff (model kits) shown in the car have been removed.
The driver seat bottom has some rips. Also there is a rip on the dashboard by the speedometer. Looks like the color is robin's egg blue, white tip, white fender beading.
There was much texting back and forth, a lot of questions but not very many answers as Frank didn't know any particulars. The body looked pretty good in the pictures, what there were. Does it run or is the engine seized? What does the underside, particularly the pans look like? Does it roll? What are the tires like?
I showed Shirl the pictures and she said "Go for it!" Always supportive, even when I want to spend money!
I asked Frank if he was interested in a road trip and he was so told him to tell Ron that I was interested and that we would like to see it. Frank said he would contact him tomorrow.
Monday 12/12/22
Frank sent an email to Ron and he sent me a text telling me to call him. I call him in the evening and he told me what he could about the Bug. He didn't know if it ran. Nothing has been run for at least 5 years because that is when the owner died. His estate has been tied up in probate for that long. He said he was working on getting a title. They hadn't found a key for it yet and it is in a hanger with the rest of the cars at the Torchport Airport across the street from the north end of Torch Lake. I asked him about the possibility of coming up and seeing it and he gave me his brother Steve's phone number. He said he usually goes up there each week from GR wither on Thursday or Friday through Sunday.
Tuesday 12/13/22
I tried all day to get ahold of Steve. It turned out that he was having a medical procedure performed - kind of busy. I finally got ahold of him in the evening. He wasn't sure when he was going to go up for sure this weekend because of the medical procedure. We exchanged emails a couple of times Wednesday and finally settled on about 1:00 on Friday 12/16.
Friday 12/16/22
I packed up some tools and work lights and cardboard for laying on the floor while we climbed underneath and headed off in the van. The weather was a little dicey but it looked like it wasn't going to be too bad so I met Frank at the Taco Bell on Alpine and we headed north on US131. It was overcast and snowing a bit but the roads were clear and dry. Ron had emailed me the night before and asked that we pick him up in Williamsburg which is on the bay, north of Traverse City. We made a pit stop in town at a gas station and called to tell him we were near, then drove over and picked him up then headed north up through Elk Rapids toward the airport. Ron gave us the whole story about this guy that owned the cars and how he had 4 cottages on Torch Lake and was hiding the cars and the cottages from the IRS. He also had a collection of Harley Davidson's and he drove one into a deer 5 years ago and was killed.
On the way to pick up Ron I touched something wrong on my phone and put it in Talkback mode and I couldn't get it out. When we got to the hanger I held back and tried to get my phone operational so I could take pictures. I ended up having to borrow Frank's phone and use google to try and figure out what was going on and how it fix it. Finally did and went back into the hanger. There were several motorcycles, a '47 International Harvester pickup truck, several Corvettes an MG, a VW Thing, at least one other old pickup and several other muscle cars. Back in the right corner was the little 73 Super Beetle convertible. Robin's Egg Blue, with the roof down. It was really wedged into the corner, hard to get to with not much room around it, making it difficult to inspect but Frank and I set to the task.
This is what we found:
- The engine turned freely by pulling on the belt.
- Engine seems to be intact - all the parts seem present
- The hood and the engine cover opened and closed
- Clutch seemed to work and I could put it into all the gears, best I could tell
- Doors opened and closed
- No real noticeable rust except along the passengers running board and a couple little spots
- Rusted through under the battery (under the back seat) (easy enough to repair)
- Except for the battery tray issues, pans and the under side look pretty good
- Another rust hole under the passenger's right foot, in the firewall - filled with expanding foam! (also easy to repair)
- Front left tire was low but others looked OK
- Front driver's seat upholstery was falling apart
- Passenger's seat was just OK but needs work
- Center console seems to be missing parts, heater controls and parking brake
- Both front windows do not go up when cranked - could just have come unbolted to the regulator
- Back windows go up and down
- Roof is in great shape but probably is custom built - no window in the back!
- Passenger's rear window would not go all the way up with the roof up
- Roof frame seemed to be too low to allow it to go up, not sure why
- Spare tire looks to be ok
- Boot area looks in very good shape
- Paint job is acceptable (to me) although it looks like it may have been painted with a brush!
- Nice color
- Definitely not the original color - some parts of the interior are orangey red
- No noticeable leakage spots on the floor underneath it. Its either dry or not leaking.
Things we forgot to check:
- Does it roll or are the brakes locked up?
- Does it have oil?
- Does it have brake fluid or has it all leaked out?
In the middle of all this, I got a call from Shirl. The clutch on the Jeep blew out at the top of the exit ramp off of 31 at Pontaluna. She had to have it towed to Global Auto Works and a very nice guy in a pickup truck gave her a ride home.
After about an hour and a half and a brief tour of some of the other cars from Steve we checked the wheelbase of the Bug against the dolly that Steve had there in the garage that he said I could use and proved that it would fit.
We got back into the van, took Steve home and then hit the McDonalds for some cheeseburgers. Shirl to called to let me know that she made it home safe. Thank goodness. Then we hit the road. Weather deteriorated as we headed back south and US131 was closed around Cadillac. We had to take back roads to get south of Cadillac and then got back on. By then the road was snow covered and slippery. Kept the speed at around 40 mph most of the way back to GR. Dropped Frank off at Taco Bell and headed home. I96 was a little better but only went about 50-55. Got home about 8:00. Bit of a white knuckler.
Here are the pictures from my phone:
Rust on the panel that the running board screws into.
Wednesday, December 21
I ordered a key from aircooledkeys.com (mark1service@comcast.com) from the key code (29M078) that I got from the door handle, hoping it will fit the ignition.
Wednesday, December 28
Got an email from Steve saying he has the title and asking what I wanted to do next. I told him I wanted to leave it there until the weather was better, maybe early spring as the windows don't go up and I don't want to get any rain/snow/ice in it, plus I wanted to replace the two tires I would have to use to drag it home with the dolly as the front left tire was very low. I said that I would send a check for the balance, registration and tax.
Thursday, December 29
Steve sent me another email and offered to move the bug to Ron's barn in Grand Rapids in their enclosed trailer for $50! They need the space in the hanger. He asked me about the tires and I mentioned that he could put the spare on the left front and they should all be good enough for pushing it in and out of the trailer. He told me what the balance would be and I said I would send a check.
Sunday, January 1st
We left for Minnesota to visit Myrtle and Trevor.
Thursday, January 5th
Got an email from Steve. Ron moved the bug to his barn yesterday! Post office has not been picking up mail at Myrtle's the last few days so the check hasn't gone out yet. I figured it would be better to just hold on to it and give it to him when we sign the title over next week. I'm watching a lot of YouTube stuff on working on Bugs. They are very different than Buses in a lot of ways!
Friday, January 6th
Got home from Minneapolis. I sent an email to Steve saying that I am back in town and I can meet anytime next week to sign over the title and hand over the check. I'm hoping that I can also stop by where the Bug is and check to see if the key fits the ignition. Steve gets back from the car auction in Florida Sunday night. Hopefully will hear something from him Monday.
Monday, January 9th
Got an email from Steve, we agreed to meet Wednesday at 2:00 at Ron's barns and we can do the paper work and try the key and he will show us the RandS Restorations operation!
They seem to have cut a slot in the side and welded a foot on the leg that sticks through the slot. Originally the slot cut all the way through to the front of the rail and then after they installed the seat with the foot in the slot, they welded the slot shut in the front.
Wednesday, January 11th
Steve sent the address and after Shirl had her nails done, we headed to the north side of GR to have lunch at Olga's because we love it! Then we headed south to the barns in Byron Center. We met Steve and he walked us back to their very nice trailer. The bug is still in the trailer from the trip down from Torch Lake. The trailer opens up on the front, the back and the side so I was able to get into it and check the key on both doors and the ignition and it fit! The left front wheel, which now has the spare on it, is flat, as Steve reported. I checked the oil - it seems full and looks decent. I checked the shifter and it seems to shift fine. Can't really check the brakes. Everything looks good.
Steve took us into a barn with all of their personal cars - a few corvettes and Ron's Model A. The rest of the barn is filled with Corvette bodies in various states. They deal mostly in '63 and '67 models a couple are rather rare he says. He also has 3 Buick Cascades? His wife likes them and he is making one from a couple different wreaks. Ron showed up after that and said hi and then we went into the barn where they do all the work. The Vette they brought down from Torch Lake was in there as it needs a new master cylinder. Also a brand new chassis with a huge powerful, chrome encrusted engine on it was in the other bay, awaiting a body. The place was full of parts and you cold barely walk around in it.
We went back to the bug and I pulled the flat spare tire out of it so I could put a new tire on the rim and then we headed over to Steve's house a few miles away to fill out the paperwork to sign over the title. Of course I left the tire leaning against the trailer. After we finished up the forms and signed the title and I handed over the check, Shirl and I went back to Ron's and grabbed the tire and then headed to Holland where we had a drink at the Boatwerks before heading home.
Thursday, January 12th
Got an email from Steve saying that when I am ready, he would be willing to pull the trailer to Grand Haven with his truck! A very generous offer. Now I don't have to borrow a truck from somebody. Now I just have to find a place to put it! My two choices are to rent another storage unit or maybe put it in Brooks' garage.
Sunday, January 15th
I went to the unit to run the bus and remove the rear valance to bring it home to work on and I noticed that there were a handful of available units. One seems to be a 10' x 40'. I might be able to get all 3 V Dubs in there! That could be perfect except for the fact that there is no electricity. I need to check to see if there is room in Brooks' garage.
Monday, January 16th
Spent the evening visiting with Brooks and asked him about storing the Bug in his garage. We measured it and realized that it would block the end of his wheel chair ramp so that is the end of that idea. On my way home I went over to M&M UStor and Lock and looked around for available units. There are still a handful of them including the 10' x 40' one. I will call over there in the morning and see what I can get. Then I will email Steve and set up a time to have him bring the Bug over.
Tuesday, January 17th
I got the 10'x40' unit, 437/438 at M&M! I will probably move in tomorrow. Sent an email to Steve to tell him I was ready whenever he is. Excited to get it home finally and start cleaning it up.
Wednesday, January 18th
I dropped Shirl off at swimming at the high school and instead of working out I drove across Ferris to the unit and moved the bus, the bikes, the Jeep back seat and the risers I built for removing the doors from unit 378 to the new unit, 347, 348. I put down cardboard under the bus's spot and in front of the opposite door in anticipation. I then cleaned out 378 and shut it down. I locked both ends of the new unit and went back over to pick Shirl up. We ran some errands, picked up a chi and went home. I noticed that Steve had sent me an email this morning telling me that he had trouble with the Secretary of State processing the title because they wanted him to have a sales tax license and he doesn't want to pay to get one. He asked me to call him. Shirl left to got to lunch with Ginny Kerwin at Olgas in GR.
As soon as she left, I called Steve. He suggested I take the title to the SOS myself and he would give me back the tax and transfer fee that he collected from me. He told me that he and Ron could actually bring the bug over today about 2:00!!! Then I realized that the keys to the unit were in the Van, on its way to GR! I called Shirl and asked her to turn around and I would meet her half way. WE met at Arby's in Spring Lake and I got the keys and she headed back to GR. Very nice of her to do that for me.
I packed some tools up in the Jeep, stopped by the Credit Union to get some cash to offer them for gas, and went over to the unit and waited for them. They showed up just after 2 and unhooked the bug. We decided there was enough air still in the front left tire to get it to roll so we eased it down the ramps with the winch, disconnected it and pushed it nose first into the unit. They refused my offer of gas money and Steve handed over the title and the money and they were off. Of course, the first thing I wanted to do was to jump it and see if it would turn over. It did! I also noted that the headlights, tail lights and turn signals worked. The emergency blinkers worked for a bit but then stopped. I'll have to look into that some day. I then put the new tire on in place of the almost flat one on the front left and called it a day. A very successful day!
Friday, January 20th
Took Shirl to swimming and again skipped my workout to go to the unit to work on the Bug. I pulled the engine lid off to make the engine more accessible then pulled the drain plug and drained the existing oil out. I did a little exploring, looking behind the back seat and trying to understand the tangle of wires under the back seat where there seems to be a voltage regulator and a clump of loose wires. I ran to O'Reilly's Auto Parts to pick up a remote start switch that I had bought on line last night and looked to see if they had the diesel oil I need but they didn't. I continued on to AutoZone and got the oil and Lucas's Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer that Brian in Oceana County suggested for the bus after he rebuilt it. Then I picked Shirl up from swimming and went home. I put the Lucas's in a tub of hot water in the sink and kept it hot for about an hour. It is very viscous and hard to pour unless you warm it up, especially in this weather. Shirl left to take Cris to an appt and I headed up to the unit. I put the plug in place and then turned the Oil Stabilizer over into the oil filler spout and let it drain. Meanwhile, I started up the little Honda generator, plugged in the shop vac and started cleaning things up. I pulled all the carpet pieces up and cleaned things as good as I could. Then I poured in a couple of quarts of oil and let it drain down in to the sump. I added oil until the dip stick read that it was in-between the two lines. Then I called it a day. Thought I would let gravity do its thing and let it drain over night.
Saturday, January 21st
Headed out to the unit in the late afternoon with the goal of disconnecting the fuel line to keep old gas from getting pulled into the carburetor and then squirting good gas down the throat, turn it over and see if it will fire. I thought I would drain about a quarter cup of gas so I had about a 1 cup container. Well, it filled that and two more like it and then a quart mason jar (my good pee jar!) and then my squirt bottle. It just kept coming! Because the gas line comes back through the tunnel and the tank is a little above it you will drain the whole tank. I tried to clamp off the hose with a vise grip but it broke the brittle hose.
I had to disconnect the fuel line going up to the carburetor from the pump and fix it onto the steel tube. It was long enough for me to raise the end up high enough and hook it on the hinge to stop the flow.
I collected up the cardboard and rags that caught the overflow took it home and put it in the outside bin at home. On the way home I stopped at AutoZone (Shirl says "should we be investing in AutoZone?") and picked up a plastic shut off valve and 2' of fuel line so that next time I can put them on and drain the rest of the tank into a gas can.
Sunday, January 22nd
I headed back out to the unit in the afternoon and installed the shut off valve and the extra length of fuel hose, put the end of the hose in an old gas can, turned the valve on and let it drain. There was only about 1 or two quarts of gas left so it didn't take too long.
Once drained I turned the shut off valve off and I put some fresh gas into the squirt bottle, then squirted some gas into the carburetor. I hooked up the jumper cables, hopped in and turned it over. At first I just got an occasional single fire about once every 5 seconds. I put more gas in and tried again with about the same results. I kept trying and eventually got some chugs. More gas and more cranking, I pumped the gas pedal a few times and got a little more response. I let it set a few minutes and let the Jeep charge up its battery a bit and then the engine turned over better and finally all four cylinders fired and it ran for a couple of seconds. I repeated it a few times to prove it wasn't a fluke and then called it a day.
It's alive! Or almost.
Monday, January 23nd
Before we left the house for Diane to clean, I ran my magnet around the bottom of the gas can into which I drained the gas out of the tank to see what kind of rust I would find and I did find some. I imagine there will be more in the tank. I will really need to flush it out eventually.
After we got home, Shirl went to lunch with Cris and I got ready to go out to the unit. First I found the sheet of gasket cork that I have had in the garage for several years and made a new gasket for the oil filler cap.
When I got out to the unit I put it in place and it worked great!
My plan for the afternoon was to replumb the fuel line with the shut off valve and the new fuel filter before the fuel pump and then give it a try. When I had it all put back together I put a couple gallons in the tank and started to crank the starter. I expected to see the fuel pump pull gas into the filter at least but it didn't, no matter how long I cranked it. I separated the hose from the fuel filter inlet and gave it a little suck and noticed that the gas was right there! I connected it back up and cranked it some more but got no fuel flow. I took the hose off the carburetor inlet and sucked again, pulling gas right up to the carburetor. Cranked it some more with still no fuel flow. I tried priming the carburetor with gas, as I had done before, and cranked it, thinking that might prime it but it didn't. I decided the fuel pump was either weak or bad and I called it a day.
That night I went on-line and ordered a new fuel pump, drive rod and flange. I remember we had problems with all three in the bus. I had a hard time figuring out what length drive rod to use and the flange pretty much fell apart!
Tuesday, January 24th
Went back out to the unit when Shirl left for GVSU. I have been keeping Frank up to date with texts and he suggested that it was probably more likely that the carburetor was some how plugged up rather than the fuel pump being bad. Sound advice! I didn't think to bring Gumout with me from home but my plan was to pull the fuel line off of the carburetor inlet, put the hose in the jar and see if the fuel pump pumped anything. I did so and I did get a little flow but it seemed rather sporadic.
Seeing as it was pumping something, I decided to run up to AutoZone and buy a can of Gumout. I got it and came back. They tell you not to squirt it down the throat of the carb unless the engine is running so I pulled the top off of the carb and sprayed the inlet and the float bowl and made sure that the float was working (it seemed to be and the bowl was full of gas). I then put it back together and low and behold after a few attempts and a few sputters and coughs the darn thing started up! I screwed up the video of all of that but here it is running just after it started and continued to run.
After it warmed up and I heard the idle kick down a bit, I shut it down and started it again a few times but it didn't want to idle and stay started. It was getting late (dark) and I didn't want to push my luck so I shut everything down and headed home after reporting the good news to Frank.
Thursday, January 26th
Out to the unit in the afternoon. My main goal was to spray some Free-All on the bleeder valves of each of the wheels so I can add brake fluid and try to bleed the brakes to see if they will work. I took the right rear tire off so I could better see where the bleeder valves are and as soon as I got it off, the wheel started turning slowly! I could stop it with my hand so it wasn't anything that would cause the vehicle to move but its a bit weird. I shot the bleeder valves then put the tire back on. Then I did a little looking around underneath and found this device. Probably a charcoal canister, which is not connected in any way. Need to do some research on that. The bus was supposed to have one too but I couldn't find any kind of a replacement so it got left out.
Also took a look at the master brake cylinder. I think this is it with a steel tube coming out and two brake light wires coming out of it.
Hard to tell what condition it is in...
Tuesday, January 31st
Back to the unit to try and loosen the bleeder valves. I only had an open end 7mm wrench with me so it just kept sliding off the bleeder valve. I need to find a box end wrench to really do this. I also ordered a couple of 4"x6" magnetic mirrors hoping that I can put one on the wheel well so I can see the back side of the brake backing plate like in the picture below so I can get at the bleeder valves without having to remove the wheels.
Also, the steel brake lines to the back wheels are not nice and clean like the front ones. Hope they are in OK shape. I will eventually rebuild the whole brake system but not for the initial "get it running" phase. I really want to just fill the reservoir, bleed the brakes and have them work good enough to get it home in the spring to work on it in the garage.
I also took some pictures of the seat mounts in the floor. These are not stock. After many texts back and forth with Frank, we think that they may have altered the original rails and the back legs of the seats for some reason. At first I thought that they had shortened them, maybe because the owner was tall but comparing them to views in a video I saw on line where a guy was planning on shortening the back legs, they seem to be the same length as stock seats, 5.5". The original rails seem to have been a C channel with the opening to the top and the feet on the back legs fit into the channel.
Stock Seat Leg Profile, as best as I can figure...
Notice that at the back, on top, a brace is welded in place to keep the leg from going back too far.
Wednesday, February 1st,
Did a little more research. The Bentley has a page on the seat mechanism but doesn't really show much.
Turns out that in 73, a "hump" was added with a center track instead of just having front legs that go into rails just like the back legs.
I went back out and took some more pictures of the legs, this is where I realized that all I have to do is cut the little weld at the front of each slot to remove the seat. Rather than weld it back together once I recover the driver's seat, I will build an insert that will slide in an inch or so into the rail with a threaded hole where the slot is so a small bolt can be tightened in to provide a forward stop to the seat.
Here is the center hump with the channel for the center rail on the bottom of the seat to fit into.
The tube sticking out to the right is where a pin fits in to hold the forward/back position of the seat in place. There currently is just a pin there with a locking clip that keeps the pin in place. You have to unclip the pin and pull it out, adjust the chair, put the pin back in place and clip it. Not very convenient. There is supposed to be a metal connector with a spring, connected to these levers on the console that pulls the pin back while you are in the seat and allows you to move it where you want it and release the lever to move the pin back into the slot. The connector and spring are all missing. I'll have to look to see if that is something you can buy.
Thursday, February 2nd
Back out to the unit to try and unstick the door. Last time I closed it, it refused to open again. Something stuck. I fiddled with it a lot and compared it to the other side which was working just fine. Eventually I noticed that you could see the lock and latch mechanism from above down the window slot. I shot a lot of PB Blaster and WD40 down there and watched the mechanism as I tried to squeeze the door latch, which would not release all the way back out. My screwdriver wasn't long enough for me to reach down into the mechanism to try and help it along. Can't see much but a little brass down in there in this picture.
I went back home to get a couple of really long screwdrivers which would reach down in and I tried to force open a lever that moved when I squeezed the handle and eventually the door popped open!
I manipulated it by hand back and forth and it looked like it was going to work now so I closed the door a few times and it worked just great until it didn't. I released the mechanism again and this time I pulled some weather stripping from around the latch so it stuck out and the door would not close. I'll pull the latch and lock and give them a good cleaning when I pull the door off and take it all apart.
Tuesday, February 8th
I went out to the unit with my Milwaukee 2" battery powered die grinder with a cutting blade on it to see if it would cut through the welds on the driver's seat rails.
It made quick work of it! Only took about 10 seconds! I had to do a little more clean up after these pictures but the seat slid right out after the cuts.
Now I can take it home, hit the springs with some rust encapsulator and recover it. It will be nice to have two decent seats in the bug for the first time! I'll do some research and see if I can get the parts for the seat adjusters. I threw the seat in the back of the Jeep.
Looking at the catalog, it looks like we have 74-76 seats, not 73s.
Thursday, February 9th
Went to the unit and took some measurements of the seat rack channels on the floor so I can design some end plugs since I cut the welds to get the seat out so I can cover it. I don't want to have to weld them again. 35mm x 33mm (about 1 3/8ths inches). If I can find a piece of channel with that outside dimension that would slide into it, that would work great.
Really, all it needs is a plate and a bolt that would go through the slot and hold the two pieces together. No need for anything fancy. You can't slide the feet of the seat that far forward when the center rail is in the center channel anyhow so it doesn't need to actually stop the seat, just hold the side of the channel in place. Cut a plate, drill a hole and weld a nut on the back for the bolt to go into.
Monday, March 6th, 2023
I finally got back to a little bug work. While Shirl was at GRSC rehearsal I brought the driver's seat down into the basement and spent the evening cleaning up the bottom part of the seat. Lots of gunk and rust. Then I hit it with some Eastwood Rust Encapsulator. Next step will be to actually recover the seat. Eventually I will need to order the cover for the left side of the bottom of the seat as that was missing.
I also cleaned up the bolts for the engine lid which I had put into Evapo-Rust a week or so ago. Ran them through an M6 1.0 die to clean the threads up.
Wednesday, March 8th, 2023
I got this finished about 10:30 pm, just before Shirl got home from the concert! Great progress!
Monday, March 13th 2023
The day started out with clear blue skies and temps around 40, a beautiful day, I actually was able to walk the pier in the morning while Shirl swam and then, when she went to lunch with Cris, I drove to the unit to put the engine lid back on and called Tri City Towing to have them come out and tow it home! It cost me $70 which was $14 more than it would have been to rent a dolly at Rent-It-All and I didn't have to fuss with picking it up, getting the bug on it and strapped down, towing it home and taking it off and then returning it. Great investment!
How great to have it home where I can work on it without guilt of breaking the Unit agreement!
I did some inspection, first to check out the brake fluid reservoir. Its under the hood on the right and kind of hidden on the fender, a bit hard to get to.
I couldn't see any fluid in it and I had long worried about what had happened to the fluid. Is there a leak in the system somewhere and it all leaked out? I looked for something to shove down into the reservoir to see if it came up wet and I found an unused Tiki Torch wick! Perfect. I shoved it down into the reservoir and it came up with some brake fluid! That was great news. It meant that maybe there wasn't a leak and the system was viable after all!
Thursday, March 9th, 2023
Shirl was working at GH's choral festival so I was on my own for the day. After I walked the pier and grabbed breakfast, I stopped by Home Depot and bought a funnel that would fit into the brake fluid reservoir. I also stopped at AutoZone and bought a new battery.
The funnel was almost too long! I changed into my work clothes installed the battery, hooked it up to the trickle charger and filled the reservoir with fluid. There was lots of glug, glug, glugging as the fluid fed down into the master cylinder. I had put plenty of cardboard down under the Bug so I looked down to see if anything seemed to be leaking and it wasn't. More good news. I realized at this point that I hadn't yet tried to start it. I used the little wooden step stool that I broke my foot on last spring as a seat since the driver's seat is still in the basement and not finished, then sat down on it and tried to turn it over. Nothing. Crickets. Not even a click from the solenoid. When ever this happens with the bus, I need to climb under and whack the starter with a hammer and then it starts fine. With the Bug, you can't get under it at all without jacking it up so I jacked up the left rear, put it on a jack stand, removed the tire and climbed under with a hammer and gave it a few whacks. I then climbed back into the cockpit and tried it again and it turned over but wouldn't fire up. I checked to make sure that there was power going to the coil and there was. I took the air cleaner off and shot a little gas into the carb and tried again. This time a heard a couple of coughs but it wouldn't catch. I decided to put that issue aside for the moment and go back to the brakes which were my primary goal of the day. With the RR wheel off, I was able to set my wrench on the bleeder valve and connect my brake bleeding reservoir up to it and open up the bleeder.
Back into the cockpit to pump the brakes and force the old nasty stuff into the bleeder tool. It came out pretty nasty looking. When I got a good flow and cleaner fluid started coming out. I stuck a stick in place to hold the brake closed so I could go back and close the bleeder valve.
I could feel pressure building up in the brake system which was reassuring. I jacked up the LR side and pulled the tire off and climbed under to hook up the wrench and tube but I found that the bleeder valve had been broken off.
That put a damper on the bleeding process. This meant that I would at least need to order a new brake cylinder for this wheel. I took a look around and decided that I would get two rear brake cylinders, two rear steel lines and two rear rubber lines.
It occurred to me that with only the RR jacked up a while ago, that the reason that the Bug wouldn't start was because there was very little gas in the tank and it was all over in the left corner of the tank and the engine was starved of fuel. With both back sides jacked up it started just fine! Good to know.
I jacked up the front on both sides, removed the tires and checked that there were bleeders on the front wheels, which there was.
I went back to the RR wheel with the intention of taking the axle nut off. I got the cotter pin out and tried to take the nut off with my 36mm socket on my 1/2" breaker bar. The wheels just turned and I couldn't get any purchase. I decided to try the impact wrench so I fired up the compressor. No go. The darn thing is on there hard. I had vague recollections of having to have all four wheels on the ground to do this job so I put all the wheels back on and took it off the jack stands. Then I thought to myself, I've never, ever put it in gear and tried to move it. I have no idea if the transmission works. This would be the perfect time to try it! I moved the Jeep way over on the other side of the driveway, way out of the way, then climbed into the Bug and fired it up. I put it in reverse and slowly eased it out of the garage. It moved! Then I hit the brakes and it actually stopped! Bleeding that RR brake made the system work enough that it stopped. I pulled it back in and it stopped again. How cool was that? Its maiden voyage!
I went inside and put together an order for the parts and did a little research on how to remove the brake drums in the rear so I could replace the brake cylinders and to check on the condition of the brake pads and other parts. The Idiot Book confirmed my memory that you need all four tires on and on the ground in order to try and break the axel nuts free.
With that done, I pulled out my 1/2" breaker bar and my 36mm socket and a persuader (as dad used to call it, a 4 foot pipe). I reefed and reefed on it, actually standing on the end of the pipe while holding on to the car which is what I remember doing when I had this problem with the bus. This resulted in me snapping the 1/2" nub off my breaker bar. Shit.
I went back into the house to do more research. I saw a guy in a video using a 3/4" breaker socket and I said "Wait a minute, I have one of those - That's what I used on the bus". Wish i had a memory. I also saw someone use something called a torque multiplier. It bolts on to the brake drum and has a row of teeth across the top and a gear that engages them, connected to a 36mm socket.
This is supposed to make short work of both breaking loose the rear axel nuts as well as torqueing them down when reassembling. I ordered one.
At that point I pried the hub cover off of the front right wheel and tried to do the same with the front left but it has a cable connected to it. Frank informed me that it is the speedometer cable. That makes sense.
It was kind of dark and I really couldn't see how it was attached at this point. I went back in and did some research and found that it is held on with a circlip.
At this point it was too late to do anything about it and Shirl was almost home from rehearsal.
Friday, March 10, 2023
Got back from running errands with Shirl and I was showing her the nut I couldn't get loose and how I was using Dad's 3/4" breaker bar with a pipe persuader to try and loosen it and I gave it a shove and the nut broke loose! Yeah! Later, when I got a chance, I pulled the circlip off of the FR wheel hub and managed not to loose it. I labeled it and put it in a pill container for safe keeping.
I went to the GR Symphony concert tonight to hear the chorus do the Debussy Nocturns and the Revel Daphnis and Chloe.
Saturday March 11th, 2023
While Shirl was at the Saturday performance, I got started on recovering the drivers seat. When I bought the bug there were some materials laying loosely on the bare springs. I assumed these were materials from the original seat before the seat cover fell apart. I should have taken pictures but I didn't think of it. First there was a white nylon-fiber mat then a pad made up of little pieces of multicolored fabric held together somehow in a nylon mesh. Some of this stuff was under the carpets in places. I used the plyers and hog rings that I had bought for the bus and fastened the nylon-fiber pad to the spring frame. Then I laid a 1 1/2" foam pad, also left over from the bus on top of that, then the multicolored fabric on top of that. I used the hog rings to fasten that also to the spring frame in key spots. Then I pulled the seat cover over all this an tucked it under the seat back and pulled it around in the back. I fastened the back to the frame using the little pointy tabs on the back of the frame and then pulled the front in place and fastened it also, pulling it over the pointy tabs on the front of the frame and pushing the points through the tabs. Then I tied one side of the pull string to the frame, pulled the other side tight and tied it off also. There were a couple of wrinkles in the seat so I used some wire to pull the middle of the back tighter and twisted it to the frame. I used my head gun to try and remove any remaining wrinkles out of the seat then I installed the seat back in the car. In the end, after actually sitting in the seat in the car, there was still a wrinkle but I guess I'll just have to live with that. Small potatoes!
I got this finished about 10:30 pm, just before Shirl got home from the concert! Great progress!
I also had made up some metal clips that will fit over the tracks in the floor and hold them together. I need to also make some inserts to go inside the tracks, probably out of wood, that the clips will push against to hold the loose side panel in place and then secure it with a fastener.
Got the cotter pin off of the axel nut on the left rear wheel. Then I started gluing up a couple of oak blocks to use as stop blocks on the seat rails as shown above.
Then I got the bug insured and went to the Secretary of States office, transferred the title, registered it and bought a plate. Now it can go on the road when it is ready! When I got home from the SOS office, the torque multiplier had arrived in the mail.
I put the torque multiplier together and used it to get the axel nut off of the left rear axel. It took some work but it eventually broke free. Well, actually it never broke free, it just begrudgingly slowly came off. Glad I bought it, even if it was expensive.
I pulled the drum off with no trouble. The inside was caked with dirt. They must have been driving it down dirt roads or something. I cleaned it off and pulled all the parts off and cleaned it some more.
Then I took the oak blocks out of the clamps and marked them for where the screws needed to go and drilled pilot holes. I put them in place and secured them each with a screw. It worked great!
Tuesday March 14th, 2023
In the afternoon I worked on removing the rear brake lines. They came out without too much trouble.
I originally planned to replace the T connector which you can see one connector of in the picture above. It is almost impossible to get to the line that comes through the firewall to the T connector so I decided it was fine and left it in place. The left side was missing the brake line clip that holds the rubber hose to the frame where it connects to the steel line so I ordered one.
I also tried to start it and I got nothin'. not even a click from the solenoid! I'll have to look into that.
Wednesday March 15, 2023
I installed the rear rubber brake hoses on both sides. Still waiting for the steel lines to connect from the rubber hoses to the brake cylinder. Then I tore into the front brakes. Got the axel bolts off, set the wheel bearings aside to be cleaned and repacked, then cleaned things up, took the shoes off disconnected the steel lines from the brake cylinders and removed the brake cylinders. I have not reason to suspect anything is wrong with them but they are cheap, as are the shoes so I will just replace them all. The rubber hoses and steel lines in the front all look pretty good so I will leave them in place and use them.
In the evening, I started to look into why the starter won't turn. I made a jumper out of some old braded cooper wire I had in the basement, bent it into a U and wrapped it with tape for a little insulation and used it to short the +12V line to the starter to the solenoid +12V connector and it did pop the solenoid so it seemed like the starter and the solenoid are probably OK. Spent some time texting Frank back and forth and he suggested maybe it was a bad ground. I cleaned off the end of the grounding strap and the spot on the firewall where it bolts on but still had no results. Went to bed with the Idiot book and did some reading and YouTube searching.
Thursday March 16th, 2023
More consultation with Frank. I had seen something on YouTube that said that if you short the red wire that goes to the solenoid to the +V on the battery, the starter should turn. I found the wire, disconnected it from the connector that goes up to the ignition switch and touched it to the battery +V and the solenoid kicked in and the starter turned. That meant that the problem was in the wiring. I cleaned up the two connectors and hooked them back up and then the key worked fine. Problem solved!
Drained the gear oil out of the transmission then started taking apart the driver's side door to see why the window didn't work. It appears that the crank handle is stripped where it connects to the mechanism. I took the door card off and discovered that someone had done some sever surgery to the door. The videos I have seen on YouTube show that the arm rest is connected to the card and a flange on the back of the card sets into slot on the door. It looks like that has been cut out and a piece with two screw holes for the arm rest has been welded or brazed in! Also, the window regulator is totally different than in the bus or in the videos I have seen with the threaded cable that raises and lowers the window.
This seems to be a mechanism that was used on earlier bugs and convertibles. There is a big gear that rotates and moves some arms that raise the glass.
Monday March 19th, 2023
Started actually taking the mechanisms out of the door. Here is the order I had to take things apart in order to get all the parts out:
- Removed the outside window guide. This took some work as the stud that comes through the inside of the door, to be bolted in place and adjusted is a very tight fit between the inside and outside of the door. With some finagling it will come out the nearest opening in the inside of the door.
- Removed the Vent Window/inside window guide. Remove the bolt at the bottom, then two bolts at the front of the door and finally a screw under the seal of the vent window. you have to open it and pull the seal out of the way. This screw was rusted and would no budge. I ended up having to grind the head off. Turns out it goes into a captured nut under the metal bridge it sits on and the frame capturing the nut got bent and allowed the nut to spin. I will have to repair this somehow. The nut must slide forward and backward in its "capture" to allow the position of the vent window to be adjusted. This will take some cutting and welding. The whole unit must then be turned 90 degrees so the stud can come up through the window slot.
- I undid the winder mechanism next but I think it would have been better to remove the glass first. This is done by removing the very small circlips on the Teflon glides that ride in the slots of the bracket that holds the glass. Then the glides can be removed and the two posts on the winder mechanism can be pulled out of the bracket and the glass can be taken out the top of the door through the window slot.
- Next the three bolts that hold the winder mechanism in place can be removed and the winder mechanism itself can be removed.
- Removed the outside door handle with the one screw in the end of the door
- Unscrew the lock handle at the top of the door
- Finally I took the door latch mechanism out by removing two screws on the end of the door and one screw on the inside face of the door
Monday March 20, 2023
I accidentally ordered braded stainless steel hoses from JBugs thinking they were the rear steel lines. Since these are nicer than the rubber hoses I had previously bought from Bus Depot I decided to use them instead. I uninstalled the rubber ones and replaced them with the stainless steel ones.
I then removed the hand brake lever from the two old brake shoes and the spreader bars and cleaned them up on the wire wheel.
Before:
After:
Tuesday March 21st, 2023
Assembled the rear brakes, putting the hand brake lever on the new shoe and the pads and all the hardware on. I haven't done anything with the hand brake cables as I have yet to be able to brake the bolts free holding the brackets in place. The cables seem free. I just wonder if they maybe stretched such that I can't get them tight enough at the adjuster. May have to replace the backing plate at some time in the future to replace them.
Wednesday March 22nd, 2023
Shirl had a dress rehearsal for the Mozart Requiem with GRSC so I had the evening to install the front brake cylinders (one new, one old - backordered), connect them to the existing brake lines (which are in good shape) and then assemble the front brakes. A little less work than the rear brakes because you don't have hand brake and spreader bar. Just those damn pesky coil springs and retainer clips. They are always a pain.
All that is left is to clean and repack the front wheel bearings and put all four drums back on - and of course, install the rear steel brake lines which are back ordered. I have been trying to save the old ones but I can only get one of them free from the old rubber hoses. I thought I could use them to get it on the road quicker and then replace then when the new ones arrive. I'll keep trying.
When I was finished up, I decided to take a look at the fastener that holds the spring onto the window winder mechanism. The spring had fallen off of it and was sitting at the bottom of the window when I took things apart. The fastener had a slot that held the inner end of the spiral spring and that slot was bent open so the spring would not have been held in place. I thought maybe I could just take the vice grips and close it back up but when I did, the most bent half broke off! I think it must have been a casting and so the metal was brittle. I didn't take sufficient pictures unfortunately. I took the whole mechanism down stairs to the work room to be looked at later and called it a night.
Thursday March 23, 2023
After walking and practicing and logging and blogging, I went downstairs to take a closer look at the window winding mechanism. This is what the front of spring holder looked like after I had broken off half of it.
This photo is from on line:
Again, without taking sufficient pictures, I decided that I needed to drill the whole fastener piece out so I could make a replacement. I started by drilling into it from the back then used the Dremel tool with a cutting wheel to cut the rectangular section off the back to get it out.
This is after I started drilling in from the back. The metal felt rather soft and drilled pretty easily.
This is what it looked like after I had "freed" it.
Notice the flattened edge on the bottom portion. This fits into the rectangular slot in the plat on the back of the winding mechanism and holds the post still and the spring in place.
This is the receptacle after "freeing" the post.
Back:
Saturday March 25th, 2023
Shirl was off helping Megan pick a wedding dress so I spent some time gathering bug supplies, namely Gear Oil and a pump for it because I can't find the one I bought for the bus. Auto Zone only had two quarts and I wanted more so I ordered 3 more and they will have them tomorrow. I made a huge mistake a few days ago, I drained the gear oil out of the transmission before I had insured that I could loosen the fill plug! Its always better to have dirty old oil than not be able to put any new in - if the plug gets stuck. Turns out it was only a little stuck but I threw my back out trying to break it free. Had to use the impact wrench (should have thought of that first). I cleaned both of the plugs and wire wheeled them nice and clean then I pumped about a quart and a half of clean oil in and let it drain to make sure I got as much of the old stuff out as possible.
Then I put the drain plug in and pumped the rest of what I had into the transmission. I figure it has about a quart and a half in it since I started with about half a quart left over from doing the Bus a couple years ago.
I decided to hedge my bets and order the rear brake lines from somewhere else just in case I could get them faster than Bus Depot where they are backordered. I found them at Wolfsburg West way out in California. I placed the order figuring I will use whatever comes in first and return the other.
I also spent some time trying to find a way to build a replacement for the window winder spring post. I tried using a 1/2" solid steel rod and cutting two flat sides on the end and using some metal tape to try and increase the width to make it fit snug in the hole but it didn't really work.
I remember Bob Menegini said he had a lathe. Maybe he would do the lathe work to make the part. I would actually need a milling machine to make the flats but I could do that by hand. I may also look at using a bolt that I could bolt on from both sides to hold the spring in place. That needs more thought. Then the width of the post would be less crucial.
Also, I noticed a while ago that there was no horn or horn bracket on the Bug. I did find the wires. One was broken off farther up the outer insulation. I had to cut it to expose it and cut the tip of my left index finger in the process (of course). I found a hefty steel bracket, 90 degree bend with a hole on each wing and some bolts, bolted the bracket into an available hole under the left front fender and bolted a left over horn from the bus to the bracket, added connectors to the wires and connected the wires and now I have a horn! Yeah!
Monday March 27th, 2023
I spent some time drawing up the part that I need for the window winder. It would be a fun part to make if I had a lathe and a milling machine. I could get by without the milling machine but a lathe would be essential. I think I know someone with a lathe so I thought maybe I would ask him once I drew it up.
After this, I took a look at my hand made solution and thought maybe I could make it work. I think that if I just use a couple of tack welds to hold it in place it would be fine. If it ever needs to be replaced again it would be simple to just grind off the tack welds. It certainly wouldn't be any more difficult than what I had to do to get it off.
In the evening, while Shirl was at her GRSC meeting, I cleaned up the front wheel bearings and repacked them and the drums and put them back together. The only thing I didn't do was tighten down the tightener on the axel nut because I didn't know how tight they should be. Turns out the nuts just go on hand tight and then tightener just gets snugged up with the wrench.
Tuesday March 28th, 2023
Back to the window winder mechanism. First step was to attach the back plate, that holds the post in place, to the mechanism. This was originally done with two rivets but they had come loose. I thought I could just plug weld on top of the rivets, and I did but I felt like maybe that wasn't enough so I put 4 tack welds on the back side also.
Next I needed to cut the slot for the spring in the end of the post. I sat the spring on top of the assembly and marked where the slot should be.
Then I cut the slot on the band saw.
I cleaned out the extra metal in the middle with a cutting wheel on the 2" angle grinder. Then I test fitted the post in the assembly.
Things looked good so I welded it to the backing plate from behind.
Here is the whole mechanism with the repaired spring post and the spring in place with the winder would to the window closed position:
Success!
Just got notifications that the new front brake cylinder should be delivered on Thursday and the rear brake lines with be delivered on Friday! I should have some time on Sunday to install them!
Thursday March 30th, 2023
I cut out a a piece of steel to use in fabricating the vent window attachment panel that I had to cut out because the screw and captured nut rusted and there was no way to get to the nut but cut it out.
Friday March 31st, 2023
Went to Ace Hardware in Spring Lake to get circlips for the window mechanism and a bolt and nut to use in the new vent window attachment panel.
Monday April 3rd, 2023
Installed the new rear steel brake lines. Went in pretty easy. Started to bleed the right rear then went over to the left rear and noticed that the piston in the cylinder had popped out and was leaking brake fluid. At this point I was oblivious to the fact that I should have put the brake drums on! I had put the front ones on but I have had the rear drums off for so long I didn't even think about it. I called Bus Depot and talked to customer service and sent them a picture (after I had pushed the piston back in place). He didn't catch on that I didn't have the drum on either but said he couldn't see it leaking which is what I was complaining about. Said he would look into it. I went to JBugs and ordered another one just in case. After some text consultation with Frank, my stupidity was exposed and we realized that without the drum there to hold it in, the piston pushed out too far. I thought that the springs would keep that from happening but apparently not!
Tuesday April 4th, 2023
I took the left rear brake cylinder apart and carefully put it back together, reinstalled it and put the drums on both the back wheels. I started over bleeding the right rear and then the left rear and things held as expected. I bled both front wheels and then adjusted the brakes all the way around. As of now it is still up on jack stands. Tomorrow I can put the tires back on and give it a little test in the driveway.
Wednesday April 5th 2023
Put the wheels back on the Bug and put the door latch back on so I can try and move it under its own power. Started it up and it wouldn't idle once it got warm. I thought maybe it was low on gas so I took the can up to D&W Quick Mart and filled it up, came home and poured it all into the tank. No improvement. I thought maybe it was the fuel pump after all so I replaced it with the new one I had ordered some time ago when I was first trying to start it. I was unable to get the old flange out to replace it so I just replaced the push rod and the pump itself. Still no improvement. I knew I was grasping at straws but I shot some Gumout into the carb as it ran and that didn't make a difference either. Giving it plenty of gas, I was able to back it out of the garage and into the drive way and try the brakes which seemed to work pretty good.
Frank suggested maybe a vacuum leak but I checked the hoses and they all seemed connected and fine. We did a bit of brainstorming but nothing solved anything.
Thursday April 6th, 2023
I did a bunch of YouTube based research on warm idle issues and lots of possibilities. When I had time in the afternoon, I worked on the carb in-situ to try and solve the warm idle issue. I removed the bypass screw and the mixture screw on the side of the carb and sprayed Gumout into their recesses. I inspected the tiny rubber seals on the ends of the screws and they seemed in good shape. Leakage around the seals could be a source of the problem as well as dirt and rust in the channels. I put the screws back in all the way and then backed them out 2.5 turns as indicated in several of the videos I watched. This had no effect on the problem - it still wouldn't idle when warm. I tried backing the bypass screw out even more, half a turn at a time up to a total of about 5 turns and it didn't seem to change anything. I put it back to the default 2.5turns.
Frank suggested maybe removing and plugging the vacuum line from the carb to the distributor but that had no effect. Put it back the way it was. We also discussed the auto-shutoff valve. I have known for some time that it is broken but assumed the only effect it had was to stop fuel flow when the key is shut off and power is cut to it so I shrugged it off.
Friday April 7th, 2023
I decided the next thing to try was to pull the carb, tear it apart and clean everything as best as I could. I stopped at AutoZone on the way back from breakfast and picked up a couple more cans of Gumout. When I got down to work, I pulled the carb and rigged a bench on the saw horses in the driveway in the sun and started taking the carb apart. It was pretty dirty in the float bowl. I cleaned it all out, removed the drain plug and the jet in the bottom sprayed copious amounts of Gumout into the recesses. I pulled all the screws and jets out that I could find, cleaned them up. I took the wire wheel to the outside, I pulled the accelerator pump and the choke off and cleaned them up best I could.
I got it all back together but I did not have a gasket to put it back on so I sat it aside and went in and cleaned up.
Saturday April 8th, 2023
Got the red bug out of storage and took it for a drive. One stop was Blain's Farm and Fleet in Holland where I picked up a laser tachometer and some Perm-a-Gasket. Also some gasket material from Auto Zone. Later I thought better of making my own gasket and ordered one.
Monday April 10th, 2023
I adjusted the valves to .006" thinking that that may be affecting things. They were maybe a little tight but it didn't affect the warm idle issue.
Tuesday April 11, 2023
Still waiting for the carb gasket to be delivered so I finally added the second fuel filter AFTER the fuel pump and also a fuel pressure regulator as I saw on line that after market fuel pumps sometimes create too much pressure. Pressure should be at about 2.5 psi.
I cleaned up all of the window and vent window parts using steel wool on the chrome parts and the wire-wheel on the metal parts, Windex on the glass. It all cleaned up very nice.
Wednesday April 12th, 2023
The gasket finally came in the mail while I was at lunch with Brion and Roger.
Thursday April 13th, 2023
Coated the new gasket with Permatex Aviation Form-A-Gasket, both sides and put the carburetor back on but it still didn't solve the warm idle issue! Crap.
Friday April 14th, 2023
Thought I would replace the coil and see if that would improve things. It didn't.
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Much discussion with Frank about the carb. He asked if I had considered buying a new carburetor. I really hadn't. I looked at a new on on the JBugs site and they warn you that they are not returnable and give you a list of things to test first, especially the manifold gaskets and the boots. Mine seemed fine but it would really require tearing down the top end to know for sure. I ordered gaskets and new boots to in case. A quick test is to spray WD-40 on the intake manifolds by the gaskets and the boots. If the engine sputters, they probably have a leak as the WD-40 gets sucked in and burns. Mine seem fine. In my frustration, I texted Steve Shelly to see if he is still working on VWs. He assured me he was but it wouldn't have any openings until June. I had him put me on his list. Frank texted me a link to a 34 PICT 3 on Amazon for only $60 with returns for any reason. This seemed pretty reasonable so I went ahead and ordered one. It will be here on Sunday!
Sunday April 16th, 2023
The new carburetor came before we even got back from breakfast! It was waiting on the porch.
I turned the inline fuel valve off, disconnected the fuel line and the two electrical connectors - to the auto shutoff and the choke, disconnected the accelerator cable and then took the old carb back off. Using the same intact gasket, I put the new carb in place and bolted it down, reconnected the electrical connections and the fuel line, the accelerator cable and finally turned the inline fuel valve on.
I pumped the gas pedal a couple of times and it started right up and more importantly, it continued to run!
I watched as the choke opened up and it kept running! 5 minutes. 10 minutes. The choke was completely open and it ran fine. I tried adjusting the by pass by opening it up a bit and measured the RPMs at 1186.
I tried adjusting the mixture screw but it didn't really settle into a specific spot. I guess that is one thing I will have Steve do when I finally get it in to him. It seems to be running fine. Eventually I adjusted the idle speed to about 900.
I let it continue to run and ran up to the Quick Mart to fill my can with gas so I could put more in the tank. I poured the whole can into the tank so I could let it run for a good long time. I let it run for a good hour then I turned it off and tried to start it again and it started up just fine. This is a test that the bus fails! Maybe I will just buy another new carb for it to solve that problem! I let it run some more, then shut it down and started it again. Every time it starts up immediately and runs continuously.
After I reported the good news to Frank, he asked if I had tried to drive it yet and I had to say no! It was a bit drizzly out but once it dried up I went back out and backed it down the driveway and broke several times. The engine ran fine, never threatened to stall and the brakes seemed to be fine if a little slow.
I was very happy at this point and called it a night. I will need to check out the seatbelts before I actually take it out on the road.
Monday April 17, 2023
I put the new plastic cover on the side of the driver's side seat, that covers the seat tilting mechanism. Then I started working on the replacement part for the vent window support. This is the part that I had to cut out of the door because it has a captured nut that a small bolt fits into after going through the bottom of the vent window frame. The bolt and nut rusted together and trying to take the bolt out caused the nut to break the little metal box that captured it. This meant that there was no way to get it out without grinding the head off the bolt. There was no way to get to the structure beneath so I had to cut it out.
A while back I had cut out a small piece of steel to match the size of what I cut out but I still needed to drill the slot for the bolt and make the capture box for the nut and weld it all together.
The slot allows the vent window to be adjusted back and forth to seal against the weather strip on the windshield.
A while back I went to Ace Hardware in Spring Lake to find some square nuts to use and build a capture structure around. They didn't have any just plain square nuts. I had to buy some rather more expensive captured nuts that came already in a bracket. I picked two sizes based on what remained of what I cut out. I cut a slot in the replacement chunk of metal which wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. It would have been perfect if I had a small milling machine. Instead I drilled the two holes at the end of the slot and then used metal blade on the 2" die grinder to cut the space out in between the holes. that made the back of the piece pretty ugly because I had to cut farther than I wanted to to get through to the front side.
Tuesday April 18th, 2023
Pretty nice out so I test drove the bug up and down the street 3 time! The brakes seemed a little loose so I put it in the garage and decided to give the brakes a quick tighten up. I didn't put it up on jack stands (big mistake), I just tightened the adjustment starts a couple of clicks. Problem is, its hard to remember which way to adjust the stars and you have to do it on both sides for each wheel. Without being on jacks you can't try to turn the wheel and feel how tight or loose they are (that was my big mistake) but I figured "what the heck". That's all I have time for.
Wednesday April 19th, 2023
Made the nut capture piece out of a scrap of thin metal that I had, bending it so that it would capture the nut and allow it to slide back and forth to accommodate the slot I cut in the top part. Then I prepped it to be welded - sanded the scale off all the parts .
Monday April 24th, 2023
Worked on the Bug's front running lights and turn signals. I had noticed that the running lights weren't all working and only the right turn signal worked. Similarly, the brake lights didn't work at all. I ordered new brake light switches assuming that was the problem with them. Took both units apart, figured out the wiring and checked all the connectors. The reflective paint on both the turn signal structures peeled off but other than that it all seemed sound. I tried new bulbs but that didn't make a difference. Put it all back together but it was no better. More investigation to be done!
Thursday April 27th, 2023
Worked on the tail lights. Left running light was working but none of the brake lights or backup lights worked. Turn signals were fine. I took the tail light assemblies off of the bumpers and then took the back plates off. Most of the hardware that held them on was rusted and will need to be replaced. The right running light and left brake light connectors had come apart preventing the bulbs from making contact with the copper connectors. The ground wire to the left assembly was disconnected. I cleaned all of the contacts and tried new bulbs but again, that wasn't the problem. I replaced a few fuses even though they weren't burned through, just looked old and decrepit, but that didn't change anything either.
Did some diagnostics on the brake lights and brake light switches. One thing I found was that I was only getting about 11 volts to the rear brake light bulb while the brake pedal was pushed in with the stick I wedged between the pedal and the seat. The bulb didn't light despite the 11 volts. That didn't make any sense. I assumed the switches were not working correctly. Multi-meter readings at the switches didn't make sense either. Spent some time in the wiring diagrams and texting with Frank trying to figure things out.
Friday April 28th, 2023
I removed the wires from the tail light assemblies and and fed them back through the holes in the backing plates so I could clean up the backing plates.
While I was doing that, the new brake light switches were delivered! I removed the old ones (lost a little brake fluid in the process but not much) and put the new ones on the master cylinder. I connected the wires and then pushed the brake pedal down what I thought was far enough using a wooden stick shoved between the pedal and the hand brake lever but the brake lights still didn't seem to work.
(At this point, I should have gotten Shirl to come look while I pushed in the brakes all the way because the switches were part of the problem, along with one of the wires. My stick was too short!) I pulled out the multi-meter and checked for power going down to the switches and I seemed to get inconsistent readings which was frustrating. Not sure what is going on.
I still had some time to work so I decided to adjust the brakes again because I noticed that when not in gear, I couldn't push the Bug which meant that I had gotten them too tight last time when I adjusted them without putting it up on jack stands. I put it up on 4 jack stands and pulled all 4 wheels and adjusted each one so the brake pads just barely touched the drums. I could tell it was right because when I rotated the drum you can feel the amount of friction.
More texting with Frank and searching the Samba, trying to make sense of things.
Frank found this:
VW wiring typically follows a few guidelines:
• Red Wires (including wires with tracers) are Battery Power
• Black Wires (including wires with tracers) are Ignition Switch Power
• White, Yellow and Grey Wires (including wires with tracers) are for the Lights
• Blue Wires (including wires with tracers) are for Indicators (turn, oil, high beam, and flasher)
• Brown Wires (including wires with tracers) are for Grounds
Finally, I found this on the Samba:
I started thinking about how I could build a test harness to go between the brake light switches and the wire connectors.
Saturday April 29th, 2023
I topped off the brake fluid reservoir since I lost a little fluid installing the new switches and I read on the Samba that if the fluid is low it could cause the brake lights to not work but the level was already pretty much up to the mark. Then I checked the voltage coming out of fuse S11 - 12 volts (12 volts as expected).
Then I checked to see if the 12 volts was making it to the T3 connector in the trunk near the reservoir (12 volts as expected).
Then I checked to see if the 12 volts was making it to the B2a terminal (in the Holy Grail diagram). Power was making its way to the rear switch but not the front switch. This is a problem but it shouldn't cause the brake lights to not light up. They should light if either switch completes the circuit. I tested continuity between the T3 terminal, where the power splits into two wires, and the two switches and sure enough found that the wire to the front switch has a short. In the long term it will mean running a new wire in place of the one with the short.
I then made a couple of test harnesses with alligator clips on one end and male spade terminals on the other that will go into the connectors that slip on the same size male spade terminals on the master cylinder.
Now I can use a probe from my multi-meter to test the scenarios described in the Holy Grail Diagram but I was out of time but not before I noticed that the dash brake warning light was not going out after the engine started like it should and it was quite dim. Notice that there is a wire in the diagram that goes from each switch to the dash light. What is going on there?
Much texting with Frank again trying to figure it all out.
Sunday April 30th, 2023
After a couple of hours of testing voltages under different conditions on the test harnesses I was even more confused. I pulled the brake warning light out of the dash and it didn't make much sense either. I started to trace the line that is supposed to go to the voltage regulator and it only has 3 connectors when it should have 5 according to the wiring diagram. The one the brake warning light should go to is not there, neither is the connection to the battery (D1) and the alternator (D-). I also noticed that, like the brake warning light, the generator light is also not going out when the engine starts, like it should, and they are tied together in the wiring diagram!
Monday, May 1st, 2023
Shirl and getting ready to leave on our three day vacation to Suttons Bay. She was swimming and I didn't walk because it was raining so I was pouring over my VW manuals and I remember remarking to Frank back when I was first trying to start the Bug in the unit, that I had to keep it connected with jumper cables to the Jeep or else it would die. The Bus is not like that. Even though its battery is very dead and wont hold a charge, once the engine is started you can disconnect it and it will continue to run. That made me scratch my head but I never stopped to think about it. In reading I had done last night I found that the battery is only used to crank the starter and give the initial power to the coil to get the engine started. Once started, everything runs electrically off of the generator/alternator. While home in the garage, I have left the trickle charger on the battery just for drill, to keep it charged up so I never noticed that the charging system is not working! With only three wires going to the voltage regulator, how did this car ever work properly? (Answer to follow.)
I took another look at the voltage regulator and took some pictures.
In my hand is the three wire connector that plugs into the voltage regulator. Notice that the three wires, red, green and black, come from a four wire plug and one of the connectors are not used. This doesn't seem to be stock.
We left, on our way to Suttons Bay and I thought about this all the way up. When we got there it was snowing and starting to stick on the ground! There was only a small space heater in our little cabin so we cranked it up and sat on the couch and watched it snow out the window. Shirl curled up with a book and I did the same with my VW manuals and the internet on my phone.
Tuesday May 2, 2023
Had a little more time before dinner to chill out on the couch and I learned a few things. First, the wiring diagram in the Bentley shows a generator. The little Blue Bug has an alternator. Sometime in the middle of 1973 VW switched from a generator to a alternator in the Super Beetle. The voltage regulators are different. As a matter of fact, there are two types of alternators. The original ones were pre-internally regulated and utilized a three wire regulator. Later they came out with internally regulated alternators that did not require an alternator. When replacing a generator or a pre-internally regulated alternator with an internally regulated alternator, there is a way to connect up the wires to either a three wire voltage regulator or just to each other for an internally regulated alternator. There is a JBugs videos on the subject of Alternator Conversion (https://www.jbugs.com/product/video-alternator-conversion.html). Unfortunately, this does not discuss the wiring for a three wire regulator. Found some additional videos on YouTube about testing alternators.
Thursday May 4, 2023
Got home yesterday and finally got a chance to take a look at the alternator and the regulator. I started tracing the wires between the alternator and the voltage regulator and labeled all the wires. The alternator has four connectors, B+ (big red wire) that goes to the positive terminal on the battery, a D- (brown wire), a D+ (red wire) and a DF (green wire).
I traced them all back to the alternator and proved that B+ was making it to the battery, then traced the other three to the alternator connector. I found the DF green wire hanging loose, disconnected. This would mean that when starting up, the field in the alternator would not get charged and the alternator would not generate voltage to send to the battery! I plugged the DF green wire into the four slot connector in the slot where the green wire came out the other side and went into the voltage regulator.
I turned the key to accessory and saw that the Brake Warning Light and Generator light were burning bright as they should. I started the Bug and noticed that both lights went out, as they should. Next I tested the battery terminals and found I was getting 14.5 volts which means the alternator is generating voltage and charging the battery! Next I set up my stick on the brake peddle and went around back but I still didn't have brake lights. In frustration, I rigged up a long test lead to one of the 81 wires from the brake light switch to the brake lights and another to ground and hooked them to my multi-meter and set it on the dash while I hit the brakes with my foot. The multi-meter showed 12 Volts! Crap! My brake stick was too short and didn't push the pedal down far enough.
This is the brake lights working!
As a side note, I made a test rig to test my old brake light switches by blowing air from the compressor into the threaded end that goes into the master cylinder with power connected to the 82a connector and tested the 81 connector and found that one only let 3 volts passed and the other let 11 volts past which concurs with the 11 volts I was seeing at the bulb socket at the very beginning of this journey. I still don't know why that bulb didn't at least glow a little.
For some reason now the front side marker work also. The backup lights still don't work.
I got excited and took it for a little drive. I was coming back down 177th just south of Lakeshore when I ran it out of gas! Had to hoof it home, get the ebike and a can of gas, rode to the Bug, put gas in, put the bike in the back seat (very difficult as it is heavy and it didn't fit at all) then drove it home. Pretty funny. I feel really good having solved all those problems.
Saturday May 6th, 2023
Worked on tracing the backup light power wire from the coil, through an in-line fuse to switch on the very front of the transmission, and back. Very hard to get at. Found that one of the wires had melted through the insulation and shorted to the other wire and the return wire had been unplugged from the connector to the lights obviously to keep it from lighting the backup lights constantly.
Plus the in-line fuse was burned out. I built a new wire harness and replaced the melted one and connected it to the switch and the T3 connector on the left side of the engine in the back.
The inline fuse holder wanted a 1" fuse and all the ones I had were 1.25". Ran out of time. Will have to look for fuses tomorrow.
Sunday May 7th, 2023
Stopped at Auto Zone for a 1.25" in-line fuse holder on the way home from breakfast. When we got home I wired in the fuse holder, put a fuse in it and voila! The backup lights work! Took a look at the license plate light, the last light that is not working. Took it apart and cleaned it up. Looks like it has power but the light only comes on intermittently.
Monday May 8th, 2023
Took another look at the license plate light. Seemed like something was shorting out whenever I tightened down the lens so I put a little electrical tape between the light socket and the hood. That seemed to take care of it. Now all the lights work!
Tuesday May 9th, 2023
Took the Bug out for a spin around the neighborhood. Took it up to 4th gear and 45 mph on Lakeshore. It ran really nice. Love it!
Thursday May 11th, 2023
Took it to the fisherman's parking lot to take my walk on the pier. Once again it drove great. Hope to start driving it to my walk every day.
Monday May 15th, 2023
Cleaned up the driver's side out side door handle then put the new rubber seals on it and installed it. Works great!
Here is the old piece with the new piece showing the nut capture piece. Notice the welds on the ends.
Here it is with the bolt in it.
Then I prepared to weld it in place.
Then I welded it in place with a series of spot welds so as not to blow through the rather thin metal. I was using the flux core welder so it wasn't very clean but it worked.
That was all I had time for.
Tuesday May 16th, 2023
First I had to fix the window on Shirl's bug. The clamp that holds the window to the regulator cam undone (again) so I had to pull the door apart and reconnect the clamp. I used a little sealer to hold the bolt in place. We'll see if that works.
Then I started assembling the vent window, the winder mechanism and the end guide post.
Here are the pins on the winder mechanism.
Here are the washers, spacers and sliders that attach the window clamp.
Here it is assembled.
Unfortunately the circlips I bought at Ace Hardware were a little too flimsy and a little too loose and kept popping off.
But if I babied it the window went up and down smoothly. I'll need to find a better solution.
With the window in place, I put the outer scrapper in place using the original screws of which there are 3. Easy-peasy. The inner scrapper is another story. It fits around the lip of the inner edge and is a real pain to get in. I used some WD-40 on the inside of it to help it slide on and used a plastic trim tool to push it into place. It was a struggle but I finally got it on.
Notice that the outside scrapper goes all the way across the window and vent. The inner scrapper does not. I didn't have the piece that goes inside of the vent. It turns out that they just send you the inner scrappers for the back windows (which are shorter than the front window) and have you trim it to fit. I've left this for another day.
Here's the window up and looking good with the new scrappers. Still need, as mentioned, the vent inner scrapper, the plug at the end of the door and the piece on the edge of the windshield. Another day.
Wednesday May 17, 2023
Stopped at Ace Hardware in Spring Lake to look for alternatives for the loosely fitting circlips on the window winder mechanism and found E clips! Much more substantial.
I replaced the circlips with E Clips and they fit better and are stronger.
First trip to the gas station! D&W Quick Mart. Paid 29.85 for 8.36 gallons.
Fell into a rhythm of taking Shirl to swimming in the Honda van then coming home, swapping the van for the blue bug and driving it to the fisherman's parking lot to take my walk on the pier and then driving back home, swapping the blue bug for the van and going to pick Shirl from swimming and then doing either breakfast (fruit, egg, yogurt) or lunch at Melita's.
Friday June 9th, 2023
Ordered a new knob with keys for the glove box (so I can lock my wallet in the glove box when I walk in shorts - it bangs around in my pocket) and a clock/temp unit to stick on the dash. That's handy for knowing what time it is after I finish my walk and need to pick Shirl up from swimming.
Made a bracket to hook the flag pole to the back bumper so we can fly the trans flag at tomorrows Pride Festival - first ever in Grand Haven!
Saturday June 10th, 2023
As promised, drove the blue bug with the Pride/Trans flag on the bumper to the festival downtown and around town. Got lots of thumbs up!
Monday June 12th, 2023
Installed the locking knob and the clock/temp. Also received a new driver's side outside mirror and an oil pressure switch. Installed the mirror but saved the oil pressure switch for latter. Current one has a little bit of a leak. A drop every now and then.
Tuesday June 20th, 2023
Frank Saggio came over in his beautiful "69" Mexican Beetle. We compared notes and looked over each others bug. I noticed that his seat adjustment mechanism is a wire lever that pulls the pin in and out of the center rail so the seat can be moved forward and backwards.
Then drove my blue bug to Melita's Lakeside Eats for lunch then back to the house.
He drove the blue bug around the block and then I drove his bug around the block.
He is having problems with his clutch because it engages way down at the very bottom of the clutch pedal stroke and there is no play when you start to let it out and its hard not to stall it out. I had a hard time with it. We talked about whether it is just an adjustment thing or not. Hard to visualize it. He will need to pull the left rear wheel off and get under it to see where the adjustment nut is. We had a great time, just like last year when he came.
I noticed that Frank's bug has a center console with a cup holder! I've looked on all the parts sites and on Amazon. I can find some with one cup holder but nothing with two and they are mostly expensive. I would really like to have one with two cup holders. I don't need any of the other trays and stuff.
Frank and I traded videos we found on line about clutch adjustments and also about Bowden Tubes which is a rubber tube about a foot or so long that attaches to the end of the clutch cable tube as it exits the tunnel and attaches to a bracket on the side of the transmission. The tube is longer than the space between the two end points so it has a bend in it which is adjustable by putting spacers between its end and the bracket on the trans. I couldn't find a definitive explanation but I believe the tube absorbs vibration in the cable and eliminates the chatter that often happens when you let out the clutch, especially in first gear. I have been having occasional chatter that shakes the car so we are both wondering if our Bowden tubes are adjusted right. We also talked about if Frank might have had a weld break lose on his clutch cable tube and if that might be his issue. I still think it seems more like a cable adjustment.
I promised Frank that when I get a chance I would remove the access plate at the end of the tunnel under the back seat to see if the clutch cable tube rear weld was accessible from there.
Monday June 26, 2023
Shirl had work to do at Blue Lake so I went to the Unit, started the bus up and drove it around the lot then gathered up the chunks of carpeting that I pulled out of the car when I first got it here. I pieced it together and now it is carpeted in the cabin. There is another big chunk that I think came out of the trunk that I left behind. That's for another day.
I also cleaned up the channel on the door where the weather stripping will go and then put a little rust inhibitor on the corners of the door where it was a bit rusty.
Wednesday June 28, 2023
Worked on the weather stripping on the driver's side door. I watched a video on line which talked about starting in the corners and then stuffing the weather strip in place between the corners. They also advised to put it all in place before gluing it. I did a dry fit and it fit so tight in the groove that it didn't seem feasible to pull parts of it out and glue them except the two ends at the top. I glued them with a little bit of glue but left the rest without it. I can't imagine it coming out without someone actually pulling it out. I think it is good enough. If it ever comes lose, I will glue whatever came lose.
Sunday July 2nd, 2023
Its finally time to put the new door panel on! I started by putting the door handle back on. I wasn't sure if it needed to go on before or after the panel but once I pulled the new panel out and looked it over I realized it went on first. (should have done that a while ago!) Then I used some spare packing material I had to protect the connecting rod between the handle and the latch so that it won't vibrate against the metal of the door. I used a piece behind and a piece in front of it.
Then I ran a bead of clear silicone caulk around the edge of the indented area that the panel sits in. Then I cut a piece of drum liner I use for garbage bags - 1.7 mil, and stuck it to the caulk. I used some packing tape on the top to hold it in place until the caulk was dry enough to hold it and then I trimmed it with a box cutter to fit snug.
Next, I poked holes in the plastic where the clip holes are and inserted a rubber boot into each hole.
Next step was to put the clips in the holes on the panel. I was not sure exactly how to position the clips in the holes. Turns out, they need to be positioned as close to the edge as possible.
The clips in the picture above needed to be pushed farther into the hole and up as close to the edge as possible.
This is when I should have held the panel up to the door and determine which of the three sets of perforated screw holes I should have taken out and cut the vinyl for the screw holes. But I didn't think of it. too excited to get the panel on.
So, now I started putting the clips in the boots starting at the upper right hand corner and worked my way around the door. In retrospect, I should have started at the bottom because then when there were clips that I didn't get lined up, it would have been much easier to adjust them from above instead of from below.
I still had some time before Shirl was due home so I started to take apart the passenger side door. The first obstacle was the screw in the window winder handle which was severely stripped. I tried some star drivers and everything I could think of but could not get it to loosen. I tried drilling it out but broke a small drill bit off inside it. Moved to a bigger bit but couldn't get it through the rest of the screw. Ended up cutting the disk in half and damaging the part that the handle fits on to by cutting a slot in it. I figure I could fill it with weld and then drill it and tap it. Might be hard without a drill press.
When I removed the door panel I saw that someone had sprayed adhesive all over the door to stick a plastic cover over it. That made quite a mess. I had to peal all the plastic off and it fell apart as I did so. Then I tried using Goo-Gone to remove the adhesive but it didn't work very well.
What a mess. The bracket that holds the window to the winder mechanism is very rusted and the rubber liner is missing.
I will have to pull it all out and clean it all up. The door in general though seems sound and should only need to be cleaned up and reassembled - except for the damage I did to the handle mechanism. Also, I will need a new handle. I wonder too about the condition of the vent window support that I had to rebuild on the driver's side door.
Here is the damage to the part that holds the handle:
Notice too that it is missing a bolt on the winder mechanism.
Tuesday July 2nd, 2023
Shirl had to go to Blue Lake so got back to work on the bug. I started taking the door components out of the door and cleaning it up. The window should have pulled right out as the sill seal was gone and the glass was so loose in the sill that the window wouldn't roll down. I found that the rear window guide channel was bent in a bit at the top so the bottom of the window where it has thicker metal would not fit through the guide. I had to gently bend the edge of the guide out in order to remove the window.
Next I removed the rear guide channel then the vent window assembly. I had the same problem I had on the driver's side where the small bolt was rusted into the captured nut in the vent window support and the nut capture structure bent so as not to capture the nut. I cut the head off the bolt with the cutting wheel on the 2" grinder which went much easier and quicker than trying to drill it out as I did on the other side. I will have to cut the support out and rebuild the whole thing and weld it back in as I did on the other side - later.
I removed the winder mechanism and found the missing 3rd bolt in the bottom of the door. I cleaned the inside out and then hit the untreated parts with Rust Reformer. Then I started cleaning off the adhesive that someone had sprayed all over the door to glue the plastic on. I had to use Goo Gone and Purple Degreaser and a Scotch Bite pad. Finally got it quite clean.
Next I cleaned off the window which had a lot of dirt and blue paint overspray on it, just like the driver's side.
Before:
I ordered a new sill seal, a new crank handle and a set of crank screws.I can use some from the Bus if I get to it before the parts show up as they are exactly the same.
Wednesday July 5th, 2023
I had about an hour to work on the bug so I decided to go back and put the arm rest on the driver's side door. I spent about 15 minutes trying to get a pry tool under an edge of the door panel without damaging anything. The new panel really fit on tight! Then I realized that I could fit a couple of fingers up into the opening around the door handle and push the nearest clip out of its boot.
This was exactly what I needed! Now I could use the pry tool to loosen up more clips from their boots. I opened up the top and a few clips down the side until I had access to the area where the arm rest attaches. I figured out which of the perforated holes in the panel I needed to remove for the screw holes and with a utility knife I was able to remove the two I needed and to cut a slit in the vinyl for the screws. Then I put the first screw through the arm rest and into its receptacle in the door and just stated it to make sure it was aligned before I put the panel back in place. Did the same with the second screw then pushed the clips and the panel back into place. Finally I tightened up the arm rest screws. It went on perfectly. It looks great!
Thursday July 6th, 2023
I had a little over an hour while Shirl got a hair cut so I started cleaning the door parts. I sprayed the door handle and latch mechanisms with WD-40 and took a small brush to them then let them soak in it. Then I took the rear window guide and the vent window assembly to the wire wheel and cleaned them up good. I had just started to work on the window winder when Shirl came back home and it was time to quit.
Sunday July 9th, 2023
Worked on cleaning up the window winder mechanism on the wire wheel and straightening up the sill portion where the glass is held. I noticed that the glides were held on with what looked like press fit washers instead of E Clips or Circlips and were not removable. I had ordered a replacement set for all of those parts but I decided to leave well enough alone when I tried to remove them and couldn't. I wish I would have known that those parts were available on JBugs when I did the other door. I'll save them for a future date. Luckily the existing gliders and parts all work smoothly.
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Tuesday July 11th, 2023
(Myrtle's Birthday!!!)
I drove the Blue Bug to the Spring Lake Ace Hardware to get a captured nut to use in my repair of the vent window support. This was the first time I've taken it on US31 and over the bridge! It drove great. I just love driving it. So much fun.
Wednesday July 12th, 2023
I cut the vent window support out of the passenger's side door.
I used the cut out piece to mark and cut a piece of metal from the same piece I used on the other side, about an 1/8th of an inch thick.
Then I filed out the slot nice and smooth.
That gave me a pretty identical piece to replace the cutout plate.
I cut the broken (actually bent) nut capture part and flattened it out so I could make a replacement and used it as a template to make a new one. This is much thinner metal.
I did some bending with the brake and with pliers to shape it so it would hold the nut and allow it to slide back and forth enough to allow it to be adjusted.
Now it was ready to be welded together with the first plate.
After welding...
After grinding...
And with the screw in it to show that it can slide back and forth.
That was all I had time for today.
Thursday July 13th, 2023
Shirl had to be at Blue Lake all day so I ended up working on the Bug from 8 in the morning until about 8 at night! I started by doing a little sanding on the belt sander to make the new part fit just right as it was just a little wide (on purpose).
Before sanding...
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After sanding the edge...
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Next I needed to bring the MIG welder up from the basement to the garage since I had taken the flux core welder to the unit for storage. MIG will work better anyway, less blow through. Then I welded it in.
Then I ground the welds down with the Eastwood 1/2" belt sander.
And then a coat of Rust Reformer to protect it.
I also sprayed some Rust Reformer inside the door wherever it was not coated - mostly along the bottom and up near the top. I also sprayed the new support from below, hoping it would cover. It seems to have.
With that done, I wanted to get the difficult inner seals in before I put the glass in as otherwise it is near impossible. The trick is to fold the edge down and get it around the vertical lip and then pull it up over the edge.
Its MUCH easier to do this first. The outer seal is a piece of cake and is left for last.
Next step was to put the door latch back in along with the outside handle and the inside handle with the rod that connects the inside handle to the latch. Positioning the latch into place in side the door is difficult because you have to find the right way to twist and turn it to get it into position. Takes a lot of trial and error. Once everything is together I wrapped the rod with some Styrofoam to keep it the rod from vibrating and making noise.
The next part is also tricky - getting the winding mechanism and the vent window assembly back in place. You have to manipulate them both to get them back into there places because the space is limited and they cross paths. More trial and error and a lot of patience. You have to get the bolt on the side of the vent window mechanism into its hole in the inside of the door while the crank shaft of the window winder is in its hole. not an easy task. Eventually I got them there and was ready to use my new vent window support to screw the vent window in place.
What a pretty new screw!
Next was to put the rear window guide in place. Piece of cake as it has a bolt coming out the side of it like the vent window assembly but there is nothing to get in its way. Then there is just a single bolt near the top through the end of the door.
The next part should have been simple but it wasn't. I slid the glass down into the guide on the vent window assembly and the rear window guide but it didn't go down easily it kept binding up somewhere.
I spent a couple hours trying to figure out what it was hanging up on.
This is looking up, inside the door at the rear guide, the edge of the window and the flange on the edge of the window that fits around the edge of the rear guide.
I found a nick in the rear guide that I thought it might be catching on so I ground that smooth, put it and the window back in - still hung up.
I ground the edge of the rear guide down thinking maybe the window was binding between the rear guide and the front guide on the vent window mechanism. That seemed to help but didn't entirely alleviate the problem. I still had to "help" the window up and down a bit when opening/closing it. I finally gave up and decided to move on.
I had some problems getting the vent window seal back in place after pulling it aside to put the screw into the new support. The pivot at the top came out too. I had to loosen up the vent mirror and pull it up a bit to get it to engage properly with the pivot. Its a bit tricky to loosen and tighten the 10mm bolt because you can't see it but you can get to it with a 10mm box end wrench through the access hole. I had to stick a finger up and find the head and use my finger to guide the box end up to it but once I got it on the first time I was able to manipulate it.
I finally got it back in but the seal just wouldn't go back into place no matter what I tried. I ended up trimming some off to allow the vent to close.
The vent window almost closes now but not quite. I figured I will order a new seal and see if I can get a new one to go in at a later date. For now, it will do.
I took a look at the underside of the bottom of the door and found some surface rust. I sanded it off good, masked the rest of the door with a garbage bag and tape and sprayed it from beneath.
Then, just as on the driver's side, I ran a line of silicone caulk around the inner edge of the door just inside the holes for the clip boots, let it dry a bit and then stuck a sheet of plastic over it and trimmed it. Then, put the boot clips into their holes and put the clips on the door panel. This time I was smart enough to figure out what holes needed to be cut out for the arm rest screws and did that but I wasn't smart enough to remember to poke a hole through the vinyl for the screws to go through so after putting the panel in place, I had to pull it partially off to poke the holes. Oh well. Nothing like dementia.
Next, I cleaned out the weather strip cannel with a bit of sand paper and put the weather strip in place. Had a little trouble with the back edge by the door latch but it finally went in. I didn't, however, glue any of it in place as it was just too darn late and I had been working on it for 12 hours. As I said on the driver's side door, it isn't going anywhere. The only part that would need any glue are the two ends. I'll get to that later. Enough for one day.
The final product:
Looking good!
An interesting after note. On the bottom of the arm rest is the date 17th of May (Mai) 1973. I wonder if that is the actual date of manufacture. Cool.
Sunday July 16th, 2023
Time to deal with the crank handle on the passenger door. The reason it is an issue is because I had to cut the handle off because the head of the screw was stripped and I couldn't get it out. I ended up cutting a slot in the shaft on which the crank handle fits. My first approach was to fill in the slot with Lab Metal, drill it and tap it and put a new screw in. That would have been great if it had worked but I was not able to drill a straight hole in the Lab Metal and I couldn't tap it. I then moved to plan B - drill a hole in the side of the crank handle and tap it for a set screw. I decided to try it first on what was left of the crank handle I had to cut in two. Luckily, that went well!
Next I put the new crank handle in the little vise and struck a point on the inside edge where there is an area of access on the rim.
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Then I drilled the hole.
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And put the set screw in place...
I had to cut a small access slot in the side of the crank handle guard so I could tighten the set screw.
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Here is the final product, in place. I would have liked to have run the drill down onto the shaft through the hole to create an indentation on the shaft for the set screw to go into but there just wasn't enough clearance to do so without damaging the door panel. If it doesn't hold, I will take the door panel back off and try to do so. Another option would be to add another set screw on the other side to get twice the purchase. We'll see how it goes. I don't really anticipate rolling the windows up hardly ever anyway.
Next I put a little weather strip glue on the ends of the weather strip. Here is the finished door!
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