Questions about Bill K.s ride
 

Click here for more information on this ride.

Introducing Bill's First Car
 

Hey everybody,

I've been using this site for about a year now and have learned alot from you all. I've always wanted a Porsche. But building a GL inspired bug has proven to be more rewarding.

I'm restoring my first car, a 70 bug, that I've owned for 20 years and driven daily for 15 years. It's something I've always wanted to do. Over the years I just got by with fixing whatever was totally broken. I stopped driving it daily when my twins were born and opted for a safer highway capable rig. Now the bug will be a weekender and evening cruiser. No doubt I'll take the long way to work here and there too.

Currently, the chassis, suspension, brakes, drive train, and body are done. The body is at the paint shop now. My gauges are being restored and electrical systems are on order. In a month I should be into final assembly.

Thanks again for all the great ideas and information. Your questions and comments are welcome.

Nice looking car... :agree:

How do you like your RLR bolt in cage...

RLR Roll/Traction Bar
 

The RLR roll bar is really nice. I don't plan on racing much, it's for my kids (SUV protection).

I went full-on with the chomoly construction, dual door bars, and traction bar. It installed easily without seats in the car. The traction bar bolts onto the curved sides of the rear transmission bracket and to the bottom of the luggage compartment where the rear bars mount (sandwiching the skin). Once installed, the seats drop right in. With stock seat, there is about 1" clearance to the door bar and tilt is a little constricted due to the high sides of the 70 seats. Procar Rally seats have a little more side room, can move all the way back, and tilt further back before hitting the verticle part of the main bar. The door bar takes a little getting used to when getting in and out, but not a big deal. I'm having it powdercoated for a durable finish. I don't have a rear seat. If you did, be sure to warm up and stretch out good before attempting the vault and twister.

Thanks for the :agree:

Cool thanks for the information... I too want a roll cage/bar more for protection against idiot drivers than for racing... For some reason people want to park their cars in my engine compartment... :rolleyes: :laugh:

Rear end safety
 

Rear enders in pre72 bugs can rip the seat off the rails and send you head first into the rear window as the car gets shot forward. Procar seat rails bolt to the original pan rails and are way more robust than the original. The tilt mechanism is also beefier. Reinforcing the rails-to-pan welds is also a good idea.

Another rear end safety mod is a third tail light and rapid flashing brake light module. The blink really caught my attention on a New Beetle I saw with this flasher module.

Nothing beats luck with good defensive driving.

Well my car will be red so I can only hope that people will see me. I thought about the third brake light option. I was also thinking about some LED bulbs for my tailights. Only problem is I don't know if the late 73+ lights have the bulb facing backwards or down like my 69 tailights.

LED Brake Lights
 

Good call on the LED brake lights. I'm considering Custom Dynamics 1157 1.85" clusters for my smoked elephant feet. Spendy though at $50 each. Intensity, wide angle viewing, and high intensity differential between tail and brake modes are the factors to check for when selecting a LED tail/brake light. Good motorcycle info here.

LED's would work in all bug rear light assemblies. They all point straight back. It's the reverse light that points down in the 68-72's.

Hey Boygenius, Right now my super is bright orange, and people still dont see it, I almsot had a new Dodge Ram ram me (Sorry for that pun) and he didnt even slow down, the jerk.... had that happen a couple of times.

It has been too long since I last worked on my bug when it had wires in it. :( :rolleyes:

Final Assembly
 

Today paint is done! Chassis is wired and sound deadened. Trany is hooked up. Engine can't wait to run. Windows are powdered and tinted. Steering wheel and gauges are in the mail. It's time to put it all together and go.

Enjoyin' the ride,
Bill

man you work quick. wish my paint would have gone that quick. then again, very little went/is going right with timing on this car.

congrats! make sure we see some pics of the process.

Here's some of the paint:

Chassis ready for final assembly

Painted body off and in pieces

Porsche Lapis Metallic Blue

Smoothed deck lid and rear apron

Filled hood grill

Wiring next -- Watson Streetworks wiring kit plus GM Weatherpack quick connects for engine and lights.

Zen. Ya it's been a fun year and a half. North Highlands Paint & Body took about 7 weeks and I was out of town for about 3 weeks, so that worked out nice. I love making milestones happen. It's great to do things I've never done before and see it all work out. Having this car 20 years has taught me a lot. I've always wanted to do this and I'm thankful for the support from my family and financial resources that were needed to do it.

Keep on keepin' on,
Bill

Hey Bill, any pictures with the wide CCC fenders bolted up. I'm hoping to run the same tire/wheel combo on my '69 . Our front end set-ups are identical. I'm questioning whether I can go with stock front fenders (and a 2" narrow beam) up front and 1 1/2" wider in the rear.

No pictures yet. But I think I'm going to get a 1" spacer for the front. I'll decide after it's all together and settled. I decided to go with wider fenders so the track would be widened for better handling. Plus I like the wide look. I'll post pictures after I mount the fenders in a few weeks (no spacers yet).

RAT Ready
 

Ready for installation of RAT 2270C. Here's picts of the engine compartment and external oil cooler.

Engine bay wired and plumbed

Wire harness with Weatherpack fittings and fuel line

Setrab fan pack cooler tucked next to RLR traction bar

Next up is engine install, BAS exhaust mounting, oil line assembly/priming, and finally ENGINE FIRE-UP.

I had a hell of a time with the steering column assembly. After figuring out how it went back together, I realized my steering bearing was shot. So I had to find a used one. Now the wheel is slop free.

Wiring has been a challenge. The Watsons kit gives a good foundation, but the diagrams that come with the kit don't account for VW specific switches and relay's, so merging the two has taken focus. Still quite a bit more to do, but ignition works.

I hope to have it road ready in a few weeks.

Fired up,
Bill

Lookin good. I have been debating the last couple of days about the Setrab. There is just no room for this 96 plate since installing the cup brace. Jake has been telling me to go with the biggest I can though. Did you talk with him about the single pack Setrab? Did he feel it would be enough? Oh, and did it come with the fan switch already installed?

I mocked one up and there is just enough room behind the left heating tube and above the trailing arm. expensive little boogers though.

Hey Bill let me know if you need any help with the finally assembly.

Nick

Setrab
 

Jake said that a 72 plate Mesa cooler without a fan would be enough for my application. I tried one, but was not happy with the mounting options. For the best air flow, it would have gone under the sway bar/torsion tube but that was too close to the ground for me. Tucking it above the trailing arm at an angle mounted off the sloped section of the package tray would have worked, but I wasn't sure there would be enough air flow.

Jake said the single Setrab is more than enough for my application. I decided to go for it since oil cooling is such a critical function. I like having the fan, so it'll cool when idling after running hard. It's very well made and really small. The fan cranks. I bought it, the switch (seperate), and the rubber mounts at aircooled.net. I mounted it skewed with the inlet at the lowest point and the outlet at the highest point to ensure complete priming. I used 2 sets of rubber mounts (2 on each corner) because with only 1 mount, it seemed a little wobbly. The brackets are a mild steel, so they flex too.

I don't think the dual fan pack would have fit for me with the RLR traction bar in there. Neither the single or dual would fit over the tranny.

Keep It Kool,
Bill

Nick, got the engine in last nite and could use some help horking the exhaust into place tonite. I PM'd you.

sweet. thanks for the info. i confirmed with Jake just now. he said it should be fine. so i am ordering now with the switch.

keep us updated on your progress...lotsa pics...lotsa tech articles. :D

Fired UP
 

Cranked up my new RAT2270C today after weeks of full-on assembly after the paint got done. Very gratifying to rev it up, feel the heat, and breath the exhaust. Can't wait to feel the G's. Still have a bit more to do before I drive it.

http://www.vwbughead.com/Engine_share/fire_up_1a.JPG

http://www.vwbughead.com/Engine_share/fire_up_3a.JPG

http://www.vwbughead.com/Engine_share/fire_up_4a.JPG

Huge thanks go out to Jake Raby and crew for an awesome powerplant. :bowdown:

Your car looks better every time I see it. Great job Bill... :agree:

you work a hell of a lot quicker than me. so did you follow instructions better than i did? i just discovered (now that the engine is already in) that i was supposed to do some fitting of the front tin BEFORE the engine went in. augh.

looks like i have to decide where i am going with the filter location as well also. i have to find a home for it somewhere for the same reason (BAS exhaust).

I'm really tired -- 8p to 1a every nite for weeks since the paint was done... Running on sisu. The launch down the street this morning helps a lot.

DTM tin -- tricky with or without instructions. I pre-fit before installing, then tweeked some more after installing. I did this after replacing my rear clip and before paint to make sure the engine would fit. I had to clearance/bend the lower lip of the apron for the header to clear. The car had been rear ended, so the body was tweeked in the left rear. The body shop pulled it back into alignment so the deck lid would close right. Now header clearance is great.

Anyway, there is a lot of work to do to the side tin to fit around the intake manifolds. I used a hole saw to rough cut then a grinder to finish fit. Mine ended up a lot narrower at the apex than the kit starts with. Jake says the kits that way for compatibility with other intakes. The engine seal gives a lot of room for slop and Jake said some gaps are fine. I measured my engine bay width, cut a cardboard template and used that to gauge how much to remove from the side tin. When I have the engine out next time, I'm definately going to open up a couple holes and use fender washers to cover up the misfits. The double over lap ones in the rear corners were the toughest for me. The shroud tabs also needed trimming to fit the breather hoses at the heads, so take that into account when installing the nut inserts. Then I had to clearance the corners of the intake manifold flange next to the breather hoses to install the carbs.

You can probably trim the side tin with the engine in. Hopefully you have the rear tin attached to the engine... pull the engine if you don't :bawling:. For me, getting the engine in/out was easy compared to fitting the tin.

Filter adapter -- mounting to the wheel well was simple enough. I had brake line clearance issues to the left muffler when I lowered the car to the ground, but I re-routed the line. I have stock trailing arms with CB disks, so the Porsche setup probably won't have a problem. Just be aware of wheel travel when mounting the filter adapter, etc. I'm going to add 2 +/- inch spacers to fill the +3 fenders, so I'll have more muffler clearance but it's fine as is. On STF, I'm getting suggestions to add a filter rock shield. I'm thinking about a "fender inside the fender" to guard the filter bottom and side while still giving access to change the filter without removing the shield.

BAS -- Mounting the trany brackets is just as much fun as the engine tin. Starter bracket took bending to clear the traction bar and eyes on your fingers to fit the link fastener. Left side bracket involved shortening the mounting stud, dimpling the frame horn, backing the trany side plate studs out, washer shims, clamp welding. At this point I was in another world, so I just took it one challenge at a time always with the "do it right" montra keeping me from flipping out. I used exhaust clamps to hold the three lateral seams together and will monitor for backfires before I commit to welding.

Take it one step at a time, there are no short cuts... The racing starts when the car is done AND your happy with it.
Bill

augh. :bawling: sure you don't want to come over and take care of that for me? ;) i am just so ready to drive this thing. nothing new, but time is running short on me making a show with the car. would rather get it right though and refuse to take too much quality time away from the kids over it. looks like i am a bachelor all weekend so maybe i can make up some ground.

your car is really looking good and coming along nicely. you really belong in the VKG. :D

I so understand.. I ploughed through my BAS install in a day, for which I should have slowed down, but was pressured by a deadline.

Deadlines suck. Keep that montra going! :agree:

Wings on, ready to fly
 

Mounted fenders, doors, and bumpers. Fenders and bumpers are rough mounted for now since I'm sending it back for paint touch-up next week. Rear stance is a little off after switching to 944 torsion bars, but not bad for first try. I'll dial-in the spacers I need this weekend after ripping it around a bit to settle the suspension.

http://www.vwbughead.com/Fresh%20pai...s_1_resize.jpg

More pictures:
Rear end
Front side
Front end

glad you went monotone. looking really good. got my setrab today. so i will be fitting tomorrow. and pulling my engine again. did i say...augh. :bawling: :laugh:

External oil cooler fittings
 

It took me a few trips to get the fittings right for the Setrab install. Here's what finally worked for me:

Oil pump outlet -- changed from Jakes 90 to a 3/8 NPT street 45 with a straight -8 Swivel Seal Earls AN hose end fitting. The 45 helps clear the return line so you can tighten the pump outlet line. Used Permatex 80631 "thread sealant w/ teflon" on all NPT thread per Jakes recommendation -- good seal, but not permanent like loctite 418.

Oil filter adapter -- the "left/left" adapter, fly cut seal surface to get a flat/square seal surface (see AC.net). Mounted in fender well at same height or higher than cooler for good drainage during oil change.

Oil filter inlet -- 90 3/8 NPT to straight hose end fitting. Spin the 90 onto the filter adapter first then do the filter outlet port.

Oil filter outlet -- straight 3/8 NPT to male AN with a 90 hose end

Oil cooler inlet/outlet -- straight 3/8 NPT to male AN with a 45 hose end. Originally, I went with straight hose ends to/from the cooler but did not like the strain that bending the tube put on the fittings, so I went with the 45's.

Case return -- straight 3/8 NPT to male AN with a straight hose end fitting.

Hose -- Auto-Flex, 10' -- had about 30" extra. Protected the hose with 7/8 ID fire braid over the header.

Hope it goes well for you Zen. It'll be ALOT easier with the engine out. Easy access results in better quality.

VERRY VERRY nice!!!!

WHat a great car :D

Do you have some pictures of your roll bar set up?

Randy

No roll bar pictures yet. See aircooled.net for pictures. Just have the rear bars installed because they are mounted to the traction bar. Car is back at the paint shop for touch up today, then I'll install the headliner/windows before installing the roll bar. I'll post some shots then.

The drive to the paint shop was a blast. I love the power and handling. Looking forward to doing some mountain roads.

I had an oil leak at the pipe threads of the filter adapter (made in Taiwan). I had tightened them down like normal pipe threads, but still had a leak. Finally, I torqued the sphit out of them and used Loctite 518. Now it's dry.

Mirrors turned out well. More pictures here.

http://www.vwbughead.com/Mirrors/mirror_7.JPG

nice headlight choice. :agree: :D ;)

Thanks Zen. Your work inspired me in many ways.

Have you been able to fit lenses under the grills. I saw it done in a recent VWTrends, but haven't figured out the lens to get.

yea. i am running some H4 cheapies that i got off ebay. work nice...in my garage at least. here's a pic. not the greatest detail, but you will get the idea. they fit right in to the standard headlight bucket.

http://www.volksport.net/images/projpics/zen30.jpg

Nice.

Got the H4's and standard buckets. What I'm looking for is the glass lens that goes where the grill goes. I've seen both lens and grills installed. The lens would have to be almost flat for the grill to fit over. If you have it, see VWTrends Aug, 2004 pg 33. It's a fluted lens. I know there are different styles, but what's it called?

i haven't ever seen these grilles with glass behind them. i will ask my dad. he is a speedster guy. i actually would have preferred the chicken wire lens covers, but i like these almost as well. that actually may be what you are thinking of. i think one of the major parts houses used to have a close up of one on the cover of their catalog. maybe Tweeks??

I like the wire type too, but that's not what was in Trends. It's the same Mid Amer. Motorworks grill with a fluted glass lens behind it.

bill,

a couple of questions for you:

1. what of the tin did you have installed while putting the engine in? just the front tins?
2. did your nut tabs have #30 holes already in them? the instructions lead me to believe that they should already be there and mine do not have any. seems like that could be pretty tough to drill through while clamped to the shroud tab. jake's on vacation or i would ask him. :D
3. what the heck is a #30 anyway?
4. what are you using for the throttle cable going through the shroud?
5. how low does your left muffler hang down? looks to be below the sump, but is it lower than the pan? i'm debating about just bypassing the left muffler and inserting a straight pipe there. not sure though. main reason being to leave more room for the filter, t-stat and lines.