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

[owdlvr]

For the coil overs I'm going to start with a pair of the QA1 units, since I can completely change the valving. But I've also been looking at a set of Bilstein units...just not sure about getting them to fit.

As for the trailing arm plates...truthfully, I'm not sure if they're going to clear...but I suspect they will. I am only running two widths of wheels on this car, 4.5" wide and 5.5" wide...which gives me more clearance then pretty much everyone else here! My rear brake kit arrives on Tuesday, so I'll finally be able to bolt up the wheels and confirm. Based on how my 6.5" wheels fit on the '69, I'm taking an educated guess that I'll be fine. If not, I'll cut the welds on the spring-plate replacement, bend them, and reweld the tube which mounts the rod end.

Now...you might be asking yourself, 4.5" wheels??? On the German Look forum!?!?

Well, I think the project has moved far enough along and is moving fast enough that I can finally let the cat out of the bag...









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...my hood and engine lid were finished today.
















...and a few weeks ago I started on the decals...







It will be a visual replica on the exterior shell, but interior and everything under the skin will be my own interpretation, setup for the events and driving that I will do. I've been super stoked about the idea since early summer when I decided upon it.

...for those of you that don't know what I'm doing yet...here's the documentation I was able to score off a great guy in Europe. He's been plenty helpful.



-Dave

[72marinablue]

Awesome! I love the video's on youtube of that car, minus the herby soundtrack.

[Mikey]

I like it!

[owdlvr]

Grrr. One of those nights in the garage!

The rear disc brake kit arrived. All my rear wheel bearings arrived. The seal kits, etc. etc. Grease up the bearings, drive the inner wheel bearings in and go to the ziplock bag for the snap rings. Aww crap, the snap rings. Yup, those were missing when I tore this car down. Not a common part carried by the parts houses, not that it mattered when I discovered the problem at 9pm. I've got a VW part number, but ETKA doesn't list the sizes.

I have found a few references that the 944 is the same size, and from there I was able to figure out the snap ring size. Crossing my fingers I can order a pair in tomorrow...going to be super chapped if a pair of missing snap rings keep me from picking up the body this weekend.

-Dave

[owdlvr]

Terrible photo...but I finally found a suitable snap ring and was able to continue moving forward. The first job, though, was to clean up! Moving from job to job and getting stalled on each partway in was causing the garage to get far too cluttered. Not easy, or enjoyable, to work in this...



But once cleaned up I got the main components of the rear brakes installed on both sides, and rebuilt one of the axles. I have been avoiding the axle rebuild for as long as I possibly could...I think between trying to get the circlips off, and that grease getting everywhere...it really is my least favorite job in the garage. I swear if new axles came packed with grease I would just order them ;-)



One of the things I didn't like about my double-shear setup was the fact that I would have a single bolt holding both plates on. I've found some grade 8 studs which will allow me to secure the first plate, and then second plate once I lathe up some spacers. While it's all on the same stud, that extra nut makes a big difference.



The new mounting system also gave me some time to think about, and narrow the spacer a little bit on the mounts. I did have 3/4" between the trailing arm and 'spring plate', but now have that down to a 1/2".





New speedo/rally computer sensor ring:


...and I thought I'd try out the Empi short shift kit, just to see if it would shorten the throws a little bit. Since my shifter setup is using the Type-1 shifter and rod, it was an easy retrofit. Definitely shortened the throws, without making the lateral movement vague. Should work out well. I also stuffed two of the stock springs into shifter. They bind a bit when pushing down for reverse or first, but now when I go into first there is enough spring pressure to snap the shifter out into neutral, and thus second is easy without grinding. Well...theoretically. Won't really know until I get to drive it!



On the bad news side of things, I had to cut down the carbon shaft I'm using for the shifter...I've cut this particular piece three or four times...wouldn't you know it, this time it started to delaminate. I was meaning to buy another one, which matched the weave of the shift knob...but I guess I really will have to now!



-Dave

[chug_A_bug]

Looking Great Dave... So we going to See the Body with the New paint Sitting on that Sexy pan by Sunday
what are you going for the engine you Staying with the Spec of the Rally car or just going Balls out...lol
Chris.

[vw1303]

Loving the rally themed livery. Going to look sweet. Are you planning on running a Kafer Brace in the rear to help support the shock towers/ bracing the frame horns at all?

[owdlvr]

Originally Posted by chug_A_bug

Looking Great Dave... So we going to See the Body with the New paint Sitting on that Sexy pan by Sunday
what are you going for the engine you Staying with the Spec of the Rally car or just going Balls out...lol
Chris.

I actually pulled the 1776 engine out of my 1969 beetle before I sold it. That will be my primary engine, for the next little while since this project ran out of money about...oh...two months ago? :P I've also got a 1600 I'm building up with every trick I can think of, mainly for our club's "stock motor challenge" drag night, but also just in case my Beetleball record falls. Then I'll have a stock motor to go back and reclaim.

There is a type-4 engine in my storage unit, I picked it up last summer knowing that eventually you guys were going to pull me into a turbo setup

Originally Posted by vw1303

Loving the rally themed livery. Going to look sweet. Are you planning on running a Kafer Brace in the rear to help support the shock towers/ bracing the frame horns at all?

Yup, I've got a Kafer brace, but haven't even mocked up the brackets. I figure that these are 'relatively easy' to install with the body on, and I have far too many other important things to nail down first. In order to keep the stock heat, though, I'm going to be running a 3-bar setup. Definitely risky, especially with rallying. Might switch to a 5 bar setup and sort out a solution for the heat. The car will have a gas heater, but they're so on or off it's not ideal in the fall/spring when you just need a bit of heat to keep the navigator from whining too much.

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Today has been a pretty long evening/night/morning in the garage. So many hours, in fact, that I'm really having trouble remembering what it was I accomplished.

There was rebuilding the second axle, installing brake pads, checking clearances, bending brake lines, discovering my clutch cable won't work, hating my bent brake lines and redoing them...anyways, the list goes on.



Test fit one of the rally tires on the chassis. Plenty of clearance for the suspension, lets hope they clear the fenders!



Shortly after dinner time...which reminds me, I forgot to eat dinner. Anyways...I was about to head to Vancouver to borrow a trailer when I called in my buddy Scott to take a look at three of my problem areas. I showed him a couple of issues with the clutch cable, and we discussed the double-plating of the suspension mounts. By the time I got back from the trailer mission, about 2 hours later, Scott had the following ready for me:

Clutch cable adapter and adjuster, in Stainless Steel.


Spacers for my suspension mounts...


And finally, a Bowden Tube extension. Now I can use the factory 911 bowden tube mount, and the factory beetle Bowden Tube. Not 100% this is going to work for me, as the bowden tube does have a fairly significant "s" bend...but if I'm lucky this will keep me from making a custom bracket (which would likely route the tube in a similar S)




So the suspension now has grade 8 studs, set into the chassis with red loctite and an M10 nut. From there I placed the spacer, my second plate and then a second nut, this time with blue loctite. the setup with a stud should be much stronger then just a single bolt with a spacer. If I start tearing these off, I've got much bigger problems!



Pan is dropped on the ground, still needs rear shocks so it's resting on the bump stops. From there I went looking for front suspension parts...I really hope I can find the steering box, because so far I've had no luck at all. I seem to recall the best time to put it in is while the body is off the pan. Found two bad ones, but not the good one.



Well, off for a few hours of shut-eye, then tomorrow it's off to see the paint job!

-Dave

[Steve C]

Hi

Looking good. The steering box can still be fitted with the body on easily, you just need the fuel tank out to connect the coupling to the steering column shaft.

Steve

[owdlvr]

Thanks Steve.

One of my buddies offered up a good box this morning, so I'll be good either way!

-Dave

[owdlvr]

Long story short, trans hits the body so some massaging is necessary. Decided it was easier to bring it all home vs. Working on it in someone else's shop while they have other work going on.

I'm so stoked on the paint....but so exhausted from the last few days. Car can stay on the trailer tonight!

-Dave

[Gerrelt]

That looks brilliant!

[Mikey]

The body looks great. Keep up the good work.

[wrenchnride247]

Like the color... the black hood looks great with it!

[owdlvr]

For the last few days, as friends have been asking how it's going, I reply with "I'm at that stage where nothing fits"...so the body not fitting on the pan was pretty much exactly what should have happened. Turns out I need more clearance for the transmission (somewhat expected) and more clearance on my suspension double-shear plates. Also not sure if I got enough blue into the paint choice. There should be a hint of blue in Polar Silver, but I didn't want too much. Might not have done enough, but it's too late now! Blue tints are incredibly difficult to photograph as well, so in some shots (like the first) it looks perfect...in others, and real life, it's far more white-silver. Not complaining, just keeping record.




The satin hood was apparently quite tough to get "right". They bought some product that was supposed to make the paint satin, but when mixed to spec it was definitely gloss black. It's a custom mix now, so don't scratch it :P


Hard to believe that's the same beat up apron which was on the car when I bought it.




I'm planning a full headliner, so no need to clean/paint the roof area.


...probably should have fixed that radio slot, but was planning on a Carbon Joe Dash...oops!




Problem area.


...should fix the problem :P


QA1 DS402 rear coil over shocks. Wish I had the funds for the double-adjustable (rebound and compression separately), but at some point you just need to admit that you're bleeding way more money then you can realistically afford to. And, while there are a bunch of threads on the GL forums about fitting these...let it be known that it's far more of a B**ch then anyone has made it out to be!


A lot of clearencing of the lower shock mount was needed...


Not sure why I'm going to need spacers here, and others haven't. I wonder if there is a difference between the Type-1 arms that I'm using and the 944 arms that other people seem to be using.


...and I had to offset the lower bolt by quite a bit as well. I'm definitely not happy with the bolt or the amount of material I removed. BUT, it will hold to move the car around and get the pan bolted up to the body. Down the road when I can get it onto a lift I will weld in some support and a better mounting solution.


I'm almost ready to start fitting the body! Just gotta go return this trailer, and prep the lower pan gasket.

-Dave