EJ20G into 67 Bug

[panel]

Got a latest view of the engine (deck lid open) ?

[surfbeetle]

0F36D66D-FE4A-4E23-AB33-8E4709F0B870.jpeg

This pic was taken at the Bob Baker VW show. I’m attaching it from my phone, hopefully it shows up.

[surfbeetle]

I don’t know why that’s upside down. Weird. Update, I fixed the pic.

[surfbeetle]

Just a quick update, engine runs great, the car runs great, the rear disc brakes are still causing me grief with the axle seals leaking. I changed another one last month. I think I'll save up and get a different rear disc brake kit and see if that solves the issues. Like I said before, never had any leaks when using the drum brakes. Even from the beginning when the CB rear brakes were installed, they leaked and the car hadn't even been driven yet. Unfortunately I'm just not impressed by them at all.

[H2OSB]

That's unfortunate. I have CB brakes front and rear and have never had a single issue.

Good to hear the Subi mill is running well.

H2OSB

[Piledriver]

The swingaxle disk setup is totally different vs. IRS.

FJCamper has run the rear discs and has had issues with them, may have some fixes?

IIRC the issue on SA cars is the hub/disc is attached to the axle, and axle has to float considerably.
the caliper attatches to the trailing arm/bearing block... result is feeling of no rear brakes due to pad kickback.
IRS setup everything attaches to stub or hub with ~zero play, or close enough, so it all works.

[surfbeetle]

The swingaxle disk setup is totally different vs. IRS.

FJCamper has run the rear discs and has had issues with them, may have some fixes?

IIRC the issue on SA cars is the hub/disc is attached to the axle, and axle has to float considerably.
the caliper attatches to the trailing arm/bearing block... result is feeling of no rear brakes due to pad kickback.
IRS setup everything attaches to stub or hub with ~zero play, or close enough, so it all works.

On my swingaxle, the brakes feel fine, but my issues are that they eventually leak at the wheel seals as well as an annoying squeaky pad on the left rear unless the brakes are applied.

[surfbeetle]

Long overdue update... Corona Quarantine 2020! I took the car out yesterday, still runs great. I’m getting an oil drip on the trans, too much hard driving. Back in November I picked up a beige 69 bug from the late original owners daughter. It’s got a 1600 cc type one engine. I dropped it out, resealed the pushrod tubes, added a sump, put in a 010 distributor, added a traction bar, and swapped in dual Kadron carbs. These are all parts from the 67 since they aren’t needed on it anymore. The 69 runs great.
We were planning to have my daughters run the 69 at the Powder Puff drag races here in Southern California but as we all know, everything has been cancelled.

B4B4FA97-6833-4162-A38B-7D262C202087.jpeg

So now we’re waiting to see what’s going to happen for the races.
As for the Subaru bug, with all of my new found time, I have ordered some Por15 and Fatmat sound deadening. I’m going to pull the interior out, coat the floor pan (after I weld a few holes up) and install the Fatmat.

[surfbeetle]

Ugh, Covid, Covid, go away, don't come back on any day!!!! A lot of the main LA/Orange County shows have been cancelled. Down here in San Diego, we have San Diego Air Cooled, Locals, & Wolfpack all doing different cruises and events, following covid precautions of course, but things like the Air Cooled Fiesta and the Bob Baker VW show have been cancelled. I put new radios in both bugs, long over due on the blue one since I had the same Sanyo brand cassette deck in it since 1986. Originally, I ordered one off of the Wish app for $18 plus shipping. One review had a VW owner say it fit his 68 bug so I figured, it's only 20 bucks, what the heck. When it came, it was too tall to fit the stock unmodified radio hole in my '69. Also, the '67 dash is uncut and unmodified and I don't want to hack it up. By the time I figure this out, it was too late to return it, plus it really wasn't worth the effort to do so. (Did I mention it was only $20?) I decided to take the radio apart and see what was inside. I ended up taking a grinder/cut off wheel to the top of the radio chassis and trimming off a few millimeters. I was able to get it to fit. I used a support strip on the backside to hold it in place and make it fit. With the padded dash on the 69, it was easier to get it to look nice and make it fit better. With the 67, I ended up ordering the same radio off of Amazon this time. It arrived faster but didn't have a battery in the remote. For this car, it was harder due to the lack of dash padding. I ended up doing more trimming on the radio itself. Yes, I know I'm crazy... I cut the rear of the 67 to fit the Subaru engine but refuse to cut the dashboard to fit a radio. The end result is that I now have bluetooth radios in both cars. I'm now looking at some small round motorcycle speakers to mount under the front of the 69's dash. I could have gotten one (or two) of those retro sound style radios but they cost around $200 and I have not heard good long term reviews with those. So at this point, I have spent a few hours of my time and less than $50 total on both cars. We'll see how long these last.

VWradio.JPG

On another note, I'm interested in getting Air Conditioning. My engine came with the compressor, so at least I know what the new compressor should look like when I get one. I have tossed around the idea of the commercially available kits and contacted Gilmore and they are around $1700 for an aircooled beetle. With the suby compressor, they would charge $1295 and I'd have to get my own compressor. This looks like a great kit but the condenser would be mounted under the transaxle and I'd need to move my gauge console in order to mount the evaporator in the car. At this point, I've been doing some research on https://nostalgicac.com/ and looking to piece together a kit and compare costs. I think one of the main advantages would be that I can place the condenser in front of my radiator, not losing any ground clearance. Also, they have an evaporator that looks like it will allow me to retain my console with the gauges.

Right now, both cars are ready to be towed away as we are waiting to learn if we'll need to evacuate because of the wildfires in our area. My wife and I have lived in CA all of our lives and it seems that now there are many more wildfires than ever before. Stay safe everyone!

[surfbeetle]

Long, long overdue update... In December, I was at a Locals Club meet in San Diego with the 67 Subaru Bug. When I got in to leave, I pushed the clutch pedal in and boom, felt a weird click and now nothing. Must be the throw out arm or maybe the clutch tube? Either way, the pressure plate doesn't disengage. I drove the car home with no clutch and it's been parked since then. Then a week or so later, I was driving my air cooled 69 bug in the Christmas Toy Drive Cruise that Lee Hedges puts on every year and same thing happened to that car.

I chose to repair the air cooled bug first because my daughter races that car in the Powder Puff Drag Race series. I pulled the 1600cc out of that car and found a bent throw out arm. At that point, I ditched the 1600 and put an old Deano Dyno Soars 1835 in the car. I had the pressure plate rebuilt, flywheel resurfaced, new heads and the list goes on... I worked on it after work for weeks to get it ready for drag racing on Feb 28 at Barona Dragstrip.

My daughter took 3rd place out of 13 women racing that day in the Powder Puff class. She did a 10.78 run on a 10.76 dial in (Bracket Racing) on the eighth mile. So now maybe I'll have time to see what's wrong with the Subaru powered bug. I'm kinda hoping that it's the clutch tube in the tunnel or just the cable. I really don't want to pull out the ej20. It's definitely not going to take just 20 minutes like a stock VW engine...

[turboedbug]

That sucks on the clutch issue. I swear it never ends hahahaha.

Man that's awesome on the bracket racing. I would love to get my kids involved in that. It would be so much fun.

[surfbeetle]

Here's a quick update on the subaru bug... I bought seats at a junkyard from a 1988 Nissan 300 Z car and will be pulling the interior to clean up some rust on the pan and then putting in the rattletrap mat and new interior door panels and carpet. I am also pulling out the gauge console and will be getting a combo gauge from Westach to handle the oil pressure and coolant temps. Those will be put up in the speaker grill area. I bought new ones with the gauge holes. The gauges originally in the blue 67 will go into the beige 69. Hoping for some time to tackle this but currently am doing some needed home improvement stuff. It's been almost a year since I broke the clutch arm in the subaru bug but life has gotten in the way big time this year. I was unable to work on anything due to a detached retina in one eye. Word of advice, see a doctor if you have any spots in your vision that won't go away. It's been a struggle. Happy Holidays to all.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

I was unable to work on anything due to a detached retina in one eye. Word of advice, see a doctor if you have any spots in your vision that won't go away.

Been there done that including 4 cornea transplants and cataract surgery. Be careful and don't strain yourself doing heavy awkward lifting.

Lee

[surfbeetle]

I too had cataract surgery in both eyes about 7 years ago. The crazy thing is, I can't pinpoint any specific thing that may have caused the detachment. I'm definitely much more careful now.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

I too had cataract surgery in both eyes about 7 years ago. The crazy thing is, I can't pinpoint any specific thing that may have caused the detachment. I'm definitely much more careful now.

Even sneezing et al can cause a detachment. Sometime it is... who knows. Most of my eye problems are heredity.

Lee