Once I've got the motor in I will slide it out for some side shots...here's the test shot from a few months ago. The wheels I'm running are actually an OEM Tonal wheel from an Audi 100, which I've powder coated black. They were my track wheels, so they have a gloss/semi-gloss finish depending on the wheel :P

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2487/...0f77c51f_o.jpg

-Dave

Well, the first test drive was this yesterday...but it wasn't entirely successful.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4023/...d7cd3a7d31.jpg

Had no problems with the drive to Whistler, hammering on the car pretty good, until I arrived into town and slowed down. MASSIVE smoke show out the tailpipes and all I could think was "*%$@ I blew another one".

Popped off the valve-cover on the 1/2 head, and found nothing but clean oil (first good sign) and then popped the cover on the 3/4 head. WHOOPS! Dumped 3/4 of a quart of synthetic oil onto the side of the highway. Combined with excessive crankcase pressure we figured it was probably pushing oil past the valve stems. Hmmmm. After letting the car sit for a while, I drove it 1km to a buddies place with nothing more then a wisp or two (likely off the oil-soaked engine from pulling the valve cover).

Shamefully parked short of our destination...

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So the theory of the day called for a little testing after work. If I could drive the car at low revs without smoke, it probably wasn't going to be a horrible conclusion...Driving home at 2500rpm or less is a rather painful experience, but completed with out issues. I did get some wisps of smoke at times, but when I jumped out to check, it was always the oil I dumped on the heat exchanger.

In the meantime, it was suggested I vent the valve covers. Test covers were made by drilling and tapping some 1/2" nipples into old covers. I then ran the vent line from the left cover over the trans and into the right wheel-well. Vice versa for the right cover. For now they're just popped into some empty water bottles, so I can see if I'm getting oil, vapour or a mix coming out. Once I know what's coming out of the lines, I can then decide if I put a breather in each wheel-well, or if I need something high on the firewall that can drain back into the sump.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4028/...ce4b7a88bf.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4066/...d6f52748_b.jpg
(excuse the zipties...it is all temporary for testing :P)

With the new vents in place...it was off to whistler again this afternoon...or so I thought. We made it about 10min up the highway before there was a smoke show out the back. Pulling over I found the 3/4 cover dripping oil fairly quickly onto the heat exchanger. Geesh, what now? It's all downhill home, so I was able to coast it almost the whole way back. Pulling the valve cover tonight, things became pretty clear on what the issue was:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4037/...6912a12ac9.jpg

I've used a bit of Aviation 3H to hold down the new gasket, ran the car at idle for 10min and found no leaks...so tomorrow it will be off again to do another short test. In the meantime, I thought the car could use a bit of a pep-talk and reminder of exactly what type of relationship we're supposed to have...

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1293/...08b5da80c5.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/...926061cecc.jpg

-Dave

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/...347ef69b_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4004/...ace0dfbb43.jpg

Success! (on a small scale)

Managed to take the car on a repeat of yesterday's trip, this time without the oil leak issues. Took it around town for a few errands and so far it would seem the movie viewing helped! Now I just need to figure out how I'm going to get the oil out of the heat exchanger. I'll probably have to drop the engine this weekend though, I've got a few leaks likely due to the crankcase pressure.

-Dave

Hmmm. Maybe I should play the movie for my car. LOL

Alrighty! Back for an update :)

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The airsoft beads work like a charm in the tires. No vibrations unless you hit a big bump in the road, or a cat-eye, and then it just takes a few moments for everything to settle down again. The first couple of times it was a bit odd, but you get used to it. I've actually never had a car balance that smoothly before, it's kinda nice. Occasionally on a hard launch the beads appear to "bunch up" and cause vibrations, but a lift off the throttle and back on seems to sort everything out.

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The new engine was leaking badly, so I popped it out of the car and discovered both the cam plug and flywheel seal to be leaking. The resulting oil ruined my clutch disc, but I happened to have a new one sitting on the shelf to put in. It was actually a bigger pain the butt then I anticipated. I pulled the motor on a wednesday evening, as we were leaving on a big long trip Friday morning. Motor came out by midnight, flywheel seal was diagnosed and replaced and I went to bed knowing I had tonnes of time to pop the motor in and spend some time tuning before packing Thursday evening. Motor was back in by lunch, and that's when I discovered my new flywheel seal was either a) bad or b) installed incorrectly. Regardless, it didn't start leaking until the motor was running...which meant I had put everything back together. Sigh. Popped the motor out once more, frantically called around to find a seal and had one delivered for 8pm. Motor was back in by about 10:30, but tuning had to wait until the morning. Woke up at 7:30 for some quick tuning, and then took the car on a 1,000km roadtrip.

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As you can see from the photo, we were a little bit loaded down! Four bikes, full riding gear, spare parts and tools for both car and bikes. Needless to say we spent most of the trip visiting service stations for fuel!

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I knew the 205's were going to be a touch wide for the car... In regular daily use it will rub slightly on big bumps or hard corners...just enough to tell you that the space is toight, but before our trip hadn't even marked the tire. My front left fender is an aftermarket replacement, and about 5mm narrower then the passenger side, with which I have no issues. Fully loaded, you can see the rubbing became a wee bit more of an issue! Part way through the mountain twisties we damaged the fender enough that it was rubbing further...so I pulled out the tools and tweaked the fender to clear. It's definitely going to need a replacement, which is turning out to be harder to find then I expected.

The problem, however, seems to be deeper then just the fender. Camber adjustment on the left side maxes out at -1deg, while the right will go to -3. I have a complete (rim to rim) NOS factory front suspension assembly for my '75, I just need to go about taking some measurements to figure out where the incorrect or damaged parts lie.

Other then that, I've been working on the tuning of the new engine. I swear I have a million photos of spark plugs, taken after an uphill loaded run to determine how each change is effecting things. The plugs have shown a rich running condition from the get-go, and you could see it at idle sooting up the tailpipes. It seemed that my rich running issue was caused by three things: incorrect jetting, too much fuel pressure and the accelerator circuits being miss adjusted.

The fuel pump was putting out 8psi instead of the required 2psi, so I spent an evening with the car parked beside the lathe, slowly shortening the fuel pump rod until I had the correct pressure. I worked on the accelerator circuits tonight, which combined with my new idle jets from a couple of nights ago seems to be ticket. I'll do a bit more testing on the idle side of things, and then move over to the mains.

Biggest thing for the moment is making sure I didn't lean out the accelerator circuit too much...but the car and I made it to whistler today without blowing up...so here's hoping :P

Seriously considering a wide-band to make this easier & faster.

-Dave

Hi

Do you have a adjusters fitted?

When adjuster are fitted or the car is lowered by cutting and turning part of the beam the whole upper or lower centre section can be moved left or right causing the sort of problems your having.

Serious racers down here have the arms bent in a press to gain extra camber.

I had new rear fenders fitted on my sons car made in Brazil or Mexico, they're about 20 mm narrower.

Steve

Standard width beam without adjusters. My drop is done with spindles only. Definitely not the spindles, had the exact same issue with my drum-brake spindles as well.

-Dave

not to get off topic but dude I'm a huge DH rider myself... what kinda Rig you have there?
and all the other looks like nice Dirt jumper/street you have too :)

Chris.

Hey Chris,

I coach downhill mountain biking, and ride for Marin Bikes. I'm running the TeamDH prototype for my DH rig, setup with Fox suspension front and rear, Hayes disc brakes and SRAM drivetrain. In the driveway photo my DH bike is second from the right. The other bikes are all Connor's, as we're loaded up for NSMB's AirPrentice contest. Connor runs a Kona DH, Giant Trance Slopestyle and Kona Hardtail.

Shoot me a PM if you want more.

-Dave

Sweet man I may have to come visit some day and we hit the north shore ;)
pm me some pics of your rig would like to see it :)
thanks

Chris.

A quick update...

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Bought a Vinyl cutter this week...mostly because I've always wanted one. I use to spend a crap-load on decals for the rally car when I was racing and daily driving it at the same time. I don't really need one right now, but it's a fantastic tool to have hidden in the house for when you need it. And, lets be honest, I can now put carrera decals on the car one day, strip them off and put rally decals on the next. Why not!?! :P

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/...f2ff266e_z.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/...4e9fa20f_z.jpg

Finished the black trim on the bug, and it looks awesome. No good photos of it yet, but I will get out for some soon I'm sure.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/...5e7d9a8f_z.jpg

And, lastly, I've been working harder on the tuning. I've got things far closer to correct, but got tired of yanking plugs. So, in went the O2 bung and Air-Fuel gauge...not sure why I just didn't do this from the get-go?

-Dave

What? No Germanlook.net stickers... Maybe you can work with some of the admins on here to get you some business making up some:) I can't use my .com ones now anyway :rolleyes:

YES! That would be great! I want some!

At the risk of spoiling the surprise for Eatoniashoprat, who is going to be at the Great Canadian VW show next weekend...here's my latest update.

Vinyl cutter dialed in...

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http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/...3d490791_z.jpg

For the passenger side I thought I'd try out the red wheel trim I've been thinking of...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4125/...03c2a1c7_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/...ed264a1f_z.jpg
Detail of the Volkswagen decal & red wheel accent.

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Driver's side...will need to redo the door, as you can see I didn't get it to line up just right :P

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/...5b4f84dc_z.jpg
So I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to do the red or not. On the one hand it really makes the wheels pop, but on the other the whole car is black and white...so the red doesn't really fit.

Gonna leave it left-side / right-side for a couple of days until I decide.

-Dave

dude I'll take some GL and a sixsixone maybe a few vw stickers too :) just got a NEW bucket that needs some Sticker
going to rip up some DH next weekend :) btw I like the red it works well with the car and like you said makes the wheels POP

Chris.

I dig the decal work looks good! For the wheels I would ditch the red stripe since it doesn't match the car and go with a thin white stripe instead.

Hmmm...been a while. Time for some updates :P Most of these are pulled from my Motorgeek.com thread, apologies as I jump from post-to-post here.

When I painted the car a couple of years back I knew it was going to be a temporary fix...basically a stop-gap from the body getting any worse. Unless you buy in California, and pay big money, you're not likely to find a rot free Bug. This one is no different, and while we patched up the body I never dealt with the pan or the heater channels. The pan is solid in the usual rust places (leading me to believe they were replaced in the 90's), but the tunnel has always concerned me, especially up front.

The other day I was moving some Audi bits out from under the car and noticed the undercoating was peeling up front. Hmmmm...not good. Out came the wire wheel tonight and whoa @#%&! do we have some issues!

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5007/...b0e419d4_z.jpg

Now, the flash makes surface rust look a lot worse then it is, but still it's pretty bad. This is the front frame head, where the whole front end bolts on. It's a box-section design, and while the top is quite solid and even showing most of the factory paint inside, the bottom is obviously not! By the time I had ground out some of the rust that triangle shaped piece was hanging by the front edge only. Even scarier was the various cracks I found spiderwebbing across the frame head. Yeah, I somehow thing this puppy was in a fairly good hit with a previous owner!

There isn't really a *good* solution to this problem. The repair panels are available, but to do the fix properly (and OEM looking) I would need to take the body off and then remove the front end. Even before I bought the car I knew I'd eventually I'd need to prep a new pan and swap the body/fun bits over (that's the fastest way to do it with the least amount of downtime)...but that brings upon us the problem of the short-cut I took when painting the body. I didn't have the time or money to do the heater channels, which are essentially the structural rocker-panels for the body. At the time they were still "solid enough" and continue to be so for how I use the car. The problem, though, is that they are rough enough that trying to remove the body is sure to tear out a number of the body mounting bolts, which means they will need to be replaced.

Not sure what the long-term plan is going to be yet. I may end up looking for a dry California donor car to transfer all my goodies onto, but that's at least a full year or two away. In the meantime I started welding up the cracks, and patching all the holes. After that I'm skinning over the effected areas with a second layer of steel to add a bit of strength to it. It won't look OEM, but it will act as a band-aid solution for the summer months.

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My last week has been a whole lot of this...

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But I managed to stitch up what factory metal was there, ground down the welds and then put 14 or 16ga steel plates over top (whatever I had in the metal bin).

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5163/...772e5fe1_z.jpg
The flash, as usual, makes the surface rust really stand out. sigh.

Then I ground down all the damned welds again...man I hate grinding on my back...and now its got some factory Audi seam sealer over all my welds, just in case I missed a spot. Not sure why I had a tube of factory sealant, but I do!

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Took the night off tonight, tired of working on my back under the car. With my shoulder I could manage almost an hour at the beginning of the week, but upwards of two hours by the end of the week before I needed a change of position. I'm sure my surgeon is going to yell at me tomorrow for working on the car...meh. Anyways, next up is wire-wheeling the rest of the frame head and pan, and then painting and/or undercoating the car. I was thinking POR15 followed by rubberized undercoat, but POR15 is so watery it's tough to paint upside down.

Even then I won't be done on the underside. The passenger side heater-channel is looking strong, and survived the screwdriver test. The driver's side, though, not so much.

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Not sure yet how I'm going to repair this. The body bolts to the floorpan via the heater channel. In order to *properly* repair this, I have to pull the body off the pan. That's like opening pandora's box though, results in an avalanche of spending and a full restoration. Not at all what I can afford, nor the car I want to invest that into.

Thinking more and more I need to just patch this one up to enjoy it for a couple more years, and divert any funds over to my '75 (which is all factory original). Once I start on the '75, we'll start rallying this one in historic TSD's :-)

Since I wasn't lying on the ground tonight, figured I better put together a hit list for the car..only 19 more items I want to address, should make for a relaxing winter! 109 days until our Spring Thaw Classic Car Adventure...plenty of time to get it all done.

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Well, nearing completion on the pan! First coat of POR-15 complete, and I should be able to get the second on at some point this week. After that, it's on to the driver's side heater channel.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5006/...a9768e6a_z.jpg

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Well, started on the final floorpan repair that I need, the heater channel on drivers-side.

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Those two images are what's left of the bottom panel. New panel is cut and drilled for spot welding, but I've got to wait until tomorrow to put it in. The inside of the channel, as well as the actual heater duct, have been coated in POR15. once that's dry I'll weld on the panel, seam seal it and then POR-15 the whole pan again.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5082/...5734cc17_z.jpg

In the meantime, I've been working on getting my gas heater to work. These things are known to be rather dangerous if you don't keep them maintained, so needless to say I'm being rather careful to check it over before I start cutting my car for it to fit. Can't complain really, the thing is basically brand new. After cleaning the glow-plug and creating a new over-heat fuse holder, it was on to the fuel pump. Mine wasn't working, and you have to use the matching pump to the heater. They put out less then 1L per hour, with slight adjustment available through an adjustable cone on the end. My pump, however, was dead as a doornail.

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I've actually sat on the heater for two years looking for a pump. Turns out all mine needed was a few whacks with a body hammer. So now I've just got to figure out a gravity fuel tank and I can test it completely on my bench. Then we cut sheet metal and install real heat into the car.

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Well, the gas heater works like a charm now. Took me a couple of weeks to determine that you just can't buy a fuel pump for these things anymore, and the only option is to find a working used one. With nothing to lose, I followed a forum suggestion that said beat the crap out of it with a hammer. Well, sure enough it's clicking away and pumping fuel :) Kind of interesting actually, the heater has points inside the motor assembly that send a 12v pulse to the fuel pump every thirty revolutions. The pump pushes a small squirt of fuel on each pulse. If you hold 12v to it, all you get is the initial pulse, nothing else. When the gas heater actually fires up, it sounds like a muffled Jet engine. The heat is so good, if I was able to duct an exhaust out of my garage I would seriously consider using one of these to heat my garage.

So now I'm on the lookout for the correct mounting brackets, exhaust and ducting to fit the thing to my car. There is a guy 40min away from me who has a complete set, but doesn't want to sell. Won't loan me the brackets for a week to copy, and so far won't agree to me coming by to take measurements and drawings for them. ARRGGG. The worst part is I'm missing both brackets AND ducting. If I had one or the other I could fabricate the missing bits. But with both missing there is no way for me to determine how the heater is supposed to sit in the trunk area. I can find photos to ball-park it, but when you have a gas burning appliance in the front of your car, you tend to want to be exact about it's placement ;)

The floor pan and heater channel have been finished, and I did actually get the car out for a spin last weekend. Um, wow. Definitely a change from the 4000 quattro. Will take a day or two to get used to driving it again. In comparison I have the bug set up so it handles on a hair trigger, so you have to focus 110% otherwise it starts darting around on the highway! The ill-fitting hood also means that a winter drive feels like you're sitting in front of an air-conditioner. Geesh, I need those heater brackets!

I've also gone back to working on the tuning. Part of my issue seems to be excessive or inconsistent fuel pressure causing a rich-running condition. The carbs I'm using require 1.5-2psi, and there isn't an 'easy' adjustment for the factory system. You can stack multiple gaskets to change the fuel pressure (which I've done), but I can't seem to get it to stay consistent. I was tempted to go with an electric fuel pump, makes the engine bay neater, but the Accusump is in conflict. Normally (in a carburetted setup) one would wire their electric fuel pump so that the relay is run off the oil-pressure switch. You start the car using the fuel in the bowls, and as soon as there is oil pressure the electric pump starts. With my Accusump, though, I have oil-pressure before the car is even running. It's not really a problem, but somewhat defeats the 'safety' switch. Couple that with a need to be running wires back and forth, and I wanted a different solution.

Enter the Holley Fuel Pressure Regulator. Initially I set it all up for proper pressure (2psi) and then tucked it in beside my left carburetor. I would have preferred to hide it behind the fan shroud, but with my shoulder surgery I can't drop the motor very easily.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5172/...2a66b319_z.jpg

After a night to sleep on it though, I couldn't shake the nagging doubt that I can't _really_ be sure that the fuel pressure is correct in an instant. Still have to pop off the post-regulator line and attach my pressure gauge. After swearing for a few hours at whatever idiot created the NPT system, I have a nice pressure gauge tucked into the side of my engine bay.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/...c2f682e9_z.jpg

I can't say I'm really confident about having it there 24/7. Between the cross-your-fingers sealing of NPT fittings, and the questionable lifetime of a $40 pressure gauge, I will likely keep the gauge in there just long enough to tune the engine and then remove it.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4102/...2c9c3ed8_z.jpg
Geesh this thing needs a cleaning...

I'm also considering a switch to 5x130...and if I do, powdercoating these black:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4119/...d74af852_z.jpg

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Well, back to the gas heater project...

Some buddies of mine were able to donate a few parts to the project. Rob had some ducting for the warm are I needed, and Andrew had a rotten, but mostly intact, exhaust pipe:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5058/...4fb2ed65_b.jpg

I was able to use the top section, and fab'd up the rest of it.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5011/...9c50e0a9_z.jpg

After the exhaust exits the front trunk area, there is a "foot" piece which I gather protects the front tire and ensures the exhaust isn't getting water pushed up it. This is typically missing, but one of the bug forums had directions on how to make one. Now I just need to coat it all in high-heat header paint. With the exhaust finished, and the interior duct pieces I have...I think I have enough to make up some brackets from scratch.

Getting closer to real heat!

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5095/...80d8fb7a_z.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5256/...51e90585_z.jpg

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One of the biggest things slowing me down on the Gas Heater install has been a lack of mounting brackets or ducting. With one or the other I could probably manage to fabricate the other half. Efforts to buy the correct brackets proved fruitless, apparently I need the rarest ones available. I found a guy in Vancouver who owns two sets, but even my requests to come by and measure them went unanswered. Sigh.

Just as I was ready to give up, a buddy remembered that a mutual friend has one installed in his bug...just five minutes away! Ten minutes later and I had brackets. A little bit longer, and I had a duplicate set...

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5139/...7f59e9da_z.jpg

I then proceeded to go overboard with DEI heat shielding products. I highly doubt any of this is necessary (Volkswagen never used any), but my heater won't be in exactly the right place...and hey, why not? At least I went with the slightly-less blingy silver :P

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5177/...5ab5671b_z.jpg

Combine gas heater with random bits found in garage...

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5178/...085224f7_z.jpg

...and then add the factory luggage shield so it all looks stock.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5014/...2ac29f05_z.jpg

I've been working on tidying up the wiring under the trunk, and should have that job finished up with the heater by the weekend. The heater still needs the fuel pump installed, and wiring for the power. Then I'll get back to doing more performance related items. My pile of parts to install has been growing over the past couple of weeks.

-----

And now the GL forum is up to date :P

-Dave

Man, I feel your pain..

I had a bad frame head on my project, and that turned into a nightmare. Sourced a newer chassis only to find out later that it had issues, so went back to the first and got that repaired.

Can only image what awaits with the body.
VR
Alex

For a while I was rather bummed out about it, but then I realized that _everything_ I've done to this car simply unbolts and can be moved over to the next one. My buddy Rob started mentioning rust-free Cali cars, and then the decision to simply make this car last another year or two was easy. So now I look at this one more as a "dry run", if I play my cards right I'll buy the next one in a year, and spend a year getting the chassis body ready, and then swap over my stuff in a methodical manner.

Already creating the dream list...maybe turbo on the next one :D

-Dave

Warwick brought his new winter rally wheels home tonight...damnit, I'm going to have to buy some nice wheels this year.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5220/...93694d5e_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5257/...6cb8afa3_b.jpg

I'm thinking Gold/Bronze might be the way to go!

-Dave

oh, p.s. just gotta mount the fuel pump, add a wiring cover and the heater job is done.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5254/...097cf46d_b.jpg

Like it, the heater looks really good.

I can't help but notice that its been AGES since you blacked out the trim but still have chrome indicators?... :P But hats off to you, it looks great

Chrome sanded down to copper, then primed with etching primer. These should be semi-gloss black by morning.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5094/...078cf0c5_z.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5059/...037c1a06_z.jpg

I think its going to be tough finding black screws, and I forgot to paint the current ones. And I suppose now someone is going to comment on the chrome bumpers and running board trim!

-Dave

Get some black plated screws or have a look at buying a cheap blackening kit :)

Oh and about those bumpers and running board trims... :P

We can get away with some chrome so long as its shiny and not pitted to hell

...it appears I have a wiper problem :P

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5134/...b0e3541d_z.jpg

But in other news...I've finished up the trunk (only to have to tear it all out to fix the wipers), and had to drop the motor again to replace the throwout bearing. I was getting a vibration while sitting in neutral, which I can remove by lightly putting my foot on the clutch, just enough to take up the free-play. New throwout bearing, and the problem remains.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5095/...ae82f073_z.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5256/...cca0be9f_z.jpg

On the plus side though, black wheels are back. Red rings are back on the wheels, and I finally sorted that turn signal housing issue :P

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5092/...df17a972_z.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5188/...ab8b2659_z.jpg

...please excuse the exhaust, just doing some testing with a low back-pressure unit. My goodness is this thing horrible!

-Dave

Updates long overdue, but I'm just gonna leave it at this for a couple of days...

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6073/...c622dbc4_b.jpg

-Dave

Love it! I acutally like the chrome bumbers and black trim too.

Is the bonnet well adjusted? It looks like a lot of seal visible

Bonnet is bent down at the bumper end. That's the best fit I can get on the current one. I did find a perfect replacement, but my paint had hardened so I would need to repaint the whole car.

-Dave

You're driving it hard. Cool! :)

Well guys...I'll be starting a new thread soon, but this one is going to be closed. I spent the last week returning the car to stock form. Engine, interior, trunk are all factory. I've left the black trim, the lowered stance and the disc brakes on the car...as per the request of it's new owner.

The '69 will be retiring into a life as a marketing tool for a local real-estate agent. While I have enjoyed it immensely, it was always a 'test-bed' for what I really wanted. Compromised by a need to be both performance and daily driver, it was never going to be as "hard core" as I wanted. The car actually won't be sold until the end of the month, but after driving it for a day in it's stock form I realized it's no longer "my car". I drove it over to the new owner's house today, and parked it in their garage.

We had a fantastic run together. We still hold the record for fastest stock beetle in the Vegas Beetleball, but it's time to move on. At least I'll get to see the car around town.

-Dave

And the next evolution in my Air-cooled journey can be found here:

http://www.germanlook.net/forums/showthread.php?t=11341

-Dave