GermanLook Forums - Dave's 1971 1302 Not-So-Secret, Secret Project Build

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that looks effing porn!
And so does that shifter!

Wahoo!

So, apologies for disappearing for a couple of months. I popped the motor drag racing on our Big VW show weekend, work has been insane and my new '68 Single Cab allowed me to just take a bit of a break. But I'm back, and super super stoked that Retro Cars chose the car for the cover :-) Retro Cars has been my favourite magazine for the last 4 or 5 years, and throughout the whole build in the back of my head I was working on building a car that "could be worthy" of a feature one day. Anytime I was frustrated, or thinking of cutting corners, I'd ask myself if it would be 'RC worthy' still, or whether I needed to put in the effort to make it perfect. Halfway through the build I was reading an issue, and realized the photographer was someone from Vancouver BC who I had met a few times through our Classic Car Adventures business. A few emails, some photos, and I had confirmation that Retro Cars was interested in the build. It was all looking good, the photos were taken, and then...nothing.

Both the photographer and I couldn't get a reply or answer, were they going to run the car? The VW magazines, which shot the car 5 months later, all printed articles first. I figured it was probably dead in the water...but hey, I got some nice coverage in the VW scene. About 6 months ago I heard Retro Cars had been sold to a new publisher, and suddenly it all made sense. I tweeted the new publisher, got the new editors contact details and sent him some photos. I've known it was going to finally be in Retro Cars since August, the writer and I had some great back and forth emails and cross-the-pond phone call. "It's going to be printed before the end of the year," was the last thing I heard. And then...nothing.

Turns out they were keeping the cover a surprise, and I gotta say, I am over the moon. Building the car, the only exposure I wanted was this particular magazine. The VW mags were awesome, but this one is the pat on the back I was secretly hoping for.

-Dave

Yes, congratulations!

well done getting in a magazine that means so much to you

Dave's 1971 1302 Not-So-Secret, Secret Project Build

Congratulations ,your car is simply brilliant.

Thanks guys!

I'll update more tomorrow about why the car hasn't had much going on in this thread over the last month and a half...but I'm hoping the reason why will be worth photos. In the meantime, I started playing around with a few things tonight. First up, was the Hargett Precision shifter. The shifter is designed to bolt over the-brake handle on a 911, so for visuals the tower begins between the front seats and points forward to the dash. In my case, I want to put the tower starting under the dash rising back towards the seats, as I think it will look visually better. Well, that and the seats are so darned close together in the beetle. The first step is to flip the shift mechanism 180 degrees in the housing, which means drilling some holes.

The Hargett shifter has adjustable stops for the L-R action of the shifter, which are adjusted using two 1/4-20 bolts on the side of the housing. Flipping the mechanism around means drilling two new holes...and the fun task of figuring out where they should be. I measured it up, and then cut two templates on the vinyl cutter. Lining up the holes on the factory side confirmed I was spot on, and then it was just a matter of laying a template down on the other end:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3748/1...2679942d_c.jpg

With that done, I started to figure out where I wanted the actual shift knob to end up. Mounting the shifter is going to require quite a bit of work in the beetle chassis. I'm going to need to create some mounting plates at the front, welding them onto the tunnel to make a flat surface. The e-brake assembly is going to have to be removed, as the shift rod will now travel down on an angle from the shifter to the transmission. The fun part is going to be measuring and figuring out just where the hole needs to be for the rod to pass through the top of the tunnel. I break out in a sweat every-time I start thinking about it!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7394/1...44e19b8b_b.jpg

The Canadian Rally Season is half-done at the National Level, which means wheels are starting to get scrapped over at the local rally shop. I've always wanted to put a proper set of motorsport wheels on the car, but hate the thought of buying them. I'm so cheap when it comes to wheels! The cheapest way for me to get a set of Speedlines is to piggyback at the beginning of the rally season when the team buys a lot of them. Problem is, I need to buy Subaru fitment. Well, now I have a couple of scrap wheels to play with to work out the fitment. These ones are 8" wide, which is far too wide for the bug. Once I know the widths and offsets available to order, I'll cut the back flange off on a lathe and adjust one to be my 'front' tester, and one to be the rear. I have some long-term brake ideas, and will add this project in with them.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7442/1...97b50b0a_c.jpg

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2876/1...e438aa34_c.jpg

-Dave

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3757/1...2eab9482_b.jpg

Well, winter engine build? Hahaha. This is what happens when you side-step the clutch, in error, on the start line of the dragstrip. End of the strip I put the clutch in, and it sounded pretty bad. We diagnosed it as either a loose flywheel or a broken crank...and the car was parked for a month while I travelled for work. Popped it out of the car, found the loose flywheel, bolted it back in and it sounded fantastic. 700m down the road, silence. Seized solid. Main #1 is pretty much welded to the crank, Rod #3 is stiff, the case is trashed. This raises two simple questions...

1) What to build next?
2) How to pay for it?

ha.

-Dave

Ouch! I'm guessing that the dowel has been pulled round in the bearing saddle, but that doesn't mean the case is trashed. I just rescued a 2007cc for someone who was a little overzealous with sealant and blocked up the oil gallery to that bearing and did pretty much the same thing. Oversized the dowel hole in the case, tidied up the bruising around it, and turned up a stepped bearing dowel - worked a treat and saved the case. The crank was scrap as when we got the bearing off it has about 8 cracks all the way round, but at least the case was saved.

If this case wasn't so tired, I would definitely consider it. I've sworn up and down that I would replace the case the "next time" it was opened up...been doing that for at least 3 years, so I guess it's finally time! I have to wait for parts, so I might as well deal with replacing the case now. The new engine plan calls for clearancing for a stroker crank, so better to have a fresh(er) case to begin with.

-Dave

You know, my old turbo 2165 is just sitting in the garage, not that I'm suggesting anything ;)

...Boulder Creek isn't tooooo far away. You know, for a road trip.

PM me a price, I'm not likely to go turbo...but just for fun.

-Dave

Well, I have a bit of an update on my new engine. The case should be cut for the larger cylinders, and full-flowed. My new crank was stolen off the pallet before arriving to it's destination...sigh, so I'll order another one. The heads though, I had planned on reusing from my old motor. NOPE! Darren text messaged me last week "All your valves and guides are toast. 1 cracked, and 1 broken keeper. 1 head cracked. Valve seats pounded out, retainers show heavy wear. Valve float." He then sent another text..."Don't you have a tach?!" Heh heh, well, I guess there will be new heads on the order-sheet as well. Not a bad idea, as I'm going to be upgrading to IDF44's so moving up on the valve size will be ideal for those. I think I'm going to finally get rid of the 914 tach, and look into a better ignition system with rev-controlling capabilities.

While I work out the various engine specs, I'm continuing on with other chassis projects. The factory e-brake has been cut out, as well as the unused heater control lever. I’ve removed the Accusump valve and lines (for now), the Z-Bend shift rod and the shifter setup I had. I’ve also started removing the POR15 from the tunnel. It’s amazing, use that stuff on “used” metal, and I can barely get it off with a grinder and an 80grit flap wheel. Use it on ‘new’ metal (like the floor boards) and it just peels up, as you can see. I’m hoping the surface rust will help it to finally stick!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7405/1...78cd3f0a_c.jpg

I have some personal modifications planned for the Hargett shifter, which won’t improve the performance level at all…but will improve my personal driving experience far more then anything else I’ve done. I managed to rope Stenhouse Racing into giving me a hand, as he has loads of design experience, and a CNC mill. He keeps teasing me with renderings of the shifter…but always leaving out my custom bits!
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2818/1...456574ec_c.jpg

I did realize, however, that Colin’s work would allow me to draw up the pieces I need to make mounts for the shifter. I am going to get the pieces water jet cut, and then weld them to the tunnel. The driver’s side will be closed off, while the passenger side will be open so I can reach whatever hardware I use underneath.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2834/1...b10406fc_c.jpg

I’ve also started working on the handbrake. I spent a lot of time on Demon-Tweeks trying to find a handbrake I liked, which wouldn’t break the bank. Lots of measuring, scaling, and sitting in the car. Nothing fit the bill. I went to Rocket Rally, and found a horizontal e-brake on the wall which wasn’t being used. YOINK! The perfect example to R&D (review and duplicate) from! I have a bunch of finishing up to do on the handle, but I’ve got enough done that I can print out a drawing, cut it from cardboard and test the height & angle in the car. Problem is, I need my shifter back in order to figure out exactly where it will sit! I'll have an option for locking it on, and I've built in a tab which allow me to run a cable to the factory e-brake cables. I wasn't planning on using the cable e-brake setup, but may have to scale back my plans for the winter and keep the brakes that I have on the car for the time being. The cable setup will be more for 'visuals' and 'legal' vs. very functional.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5479/1...0f067f86_c.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7373/1...de7a5d5d_c.jpg

-Dave