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As we finish up phase two or three of this never ending project I thought it would be helpful to share some of the pictures and lessons learned during this daily driver build.

In 2005 I purchased an all original 83 standard bug with a 1200 and swing axle while stationed in Sicily. It was my sole mode of transportation to get from home to base and back. Like most Newbees I started on the cosmetics and little things here and there. I wasted a lot of money on buying incompatible parts after seeing cars in magazines and on the net. On of the purposes of this thread is that others do not repeat my mistakes.

I think is the color is called Arizona Metallic with dark brown interior.




Most people will tell you if you want a 6V style car buy one don’t try and make something into something it is not. Well either because I’m a hard head or because it was my daily driver or because it had better ventilation, safety features and electrical system then any Oval that rolled off the floor. I did what most Newbees do and started building the car that was in my head although every purest in the planet will thumb their nose I built what I wanted.

Thanks for sharing, looks nice. What is this?

Leatherneck wrote:Thanks for sharing, looks nice. What is this?

I believe its the condenser coil, part of the A/C.

Leatherneck,
Weux is correct. That is the condenser that came with the kit. The idea behind this thread was that although all of us would like to own a perfect Oval or Split the reality is that most of us start off with a later model standard with a 1200. Although purist hate my car many appreciate the effort that went into making my daily work car into something a little more enjoyable.

Looks lovely, great color!

I like it.

Unfortunately the pics are not in order however I hope everyone gets the idea.

Out with the 84 Mexican pan, swing axle, and reliable 1200.




In with the 74 IRS pan with 2110







A few lessons learned along the way.

1. Before you buy something as a newbee ask for advise. I would have saved a lot of time and money if I had done this. I have lost count of the times I have ordered something that is not compatible or not of good quality because I did not ask someone with a lot more experience.

2. EMPI HPMX – do not do it. Take your time and find the webers, Italian if possible. Although Mark Harney did an awesome job rebuilding my brand new HPMX’s I would have saved a lot of time and money doing it right the first time.

3. If you want to go Fuel Injection. Be patient, save your money, do you homework and go FI. I went the HPMX road with the intent of upgrading later. Not the best move.

4. If you want to go turbo see #3. Initial build up is the time to choose cam, heads, compression ratio, and exhausts, not after you just blew $3k.

5. Exhaust, save your money and order ceramic coated. Do not buy a $600 kit only to find it tooo loud for a daily driver and rusted after 6 months. Its cheaper to order one already coated than to coat one that is not.

6. While the car is ripped apart. Be patient redo all bearings and bushings. I did not and may have damaged my new rear disk brakes. More to come. While your at it redo the wiring with something like the Watson kit. I did not and was left stranded on the side of the road three time due to electrical gremlins. For what an Auto electrician cost me to piecemeal my original system I could have purchased a new kit. I would have learned where every wire goes and I would have a lot more attention to detail in the installation. Not the rats nest I have now and still have to order the Watson kit for $350. think of it as insurance, especially if it’s a daily driver.

7. Chalk white Square-weave interior looks cool but is not smart on a daily driver. The TMI Square-weave has started to crack badly after only 2.5 years. I just order the Sand colored tweed kit. I will keep everyone posted as to wear and practicality.

8. Be Patient, Be Patient, Be Patient, ask for advice, do your homework and do it right the first time.

I understand first hand that somethings will be necessity driven that the car has to be back together by Monday morning to go to work but everything I did in a rush has had to be done over.

These are the before A/C and toasting pistons 3 & 4 pics.



Harnesses in the back for my 7 and 9 year old boys.



Square back seats later replaced with my 83 seats with head rests for safety and comfort.



Bare metal headers only look good for about a week.

A few more updates. A/C plumbed and wired. Engine runs well but floods out on hills. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated on resolving this.



Compressor bracket had to be modified to clear the Pertronix distributor.



Original 6” Fuchs mounted, standard up front deep dish in the back. Still need to paint the centers to mach the body LG4U “Arizona Metallic.” We are still trying to modify the flat-4 center caps to work with original Fuchs.



Re-installed my 83 Mexican seats. TMI tweed interior came in I just need to find time to install them.

Below are some updates from this weekend.

Passenger & Driver’s side view of the modified Whiteline “over-the-top” sway bar. In its original form we had binding issues with the front shocks and issues setting both sides to the same tension and height on the trailing bars. In essence we took a solid hexagon bar, drilled and tapped it like a long shock retainer nut then mounted solid bars with pivot ends. The front suspension movement is significantly smoother now without binding.





Every time we ordered a disk brake master cylinder from BBT they sent a larger T-2 model that would not fit. We fabricated a plate that would rotate the cylinder approximately 20 degrees clockwise until it would clear. So far the results have been excellent with the four wheel disks.



There is lot of work here although there is still more to do to make everything flow together. From the picture you can see the foam dash pad has been removed and the holes welded shut and painted. The original dash vents have been cut down to be flush with the dash. (Still looking for the European version because I am not satisfied with the finish)

Old Grundig mounted in stock location with MP3 player mounted in the glove box. Tweeters mounted near dash vents however I may move them to the upper corner of the door panels to be a little more discreet.

Gilmore “vintage” A/C unit painted to match and mounted.

VDO classic gauges mounted in painted to match dash plates. (Still need to modify the face backing of the speedo and A/F gauge to match the rest.



To make access easier and to mount the breather and coil where the stock hinge mounts are we mounted hinge pins. From the photo you can see the NOS-8a Bazooka tube under behind the rear seat. I may be having second thoughts now about this due to all of the “fast and furious” comments from the locals plus I still have to work out where to mount the rear speakers. Mounted the “Sand” tweed door panels however I am a little concerned that it is almost identical to the oatmeal carpet which may be a little overkill after the seat covers are done to match.

This was the first outing in a long time due to the build and rebuild. Still working out the case ventilation problem which needs to be resolved before attacking the carburetion, timing and oil leaks. Although we had fun I have been very frustrated with the overall build between all the gremlins and lack of experience I often feel that I bit off more than I and the locals can handle. I met a local that is going to give me a hand with the timing and carbs once I can fix the case ventilation and oil leaks. At $20 a liter for Mobile 1 5W50 I can not afford to drive the car as much as I would like which is especially frustrating because I built the car with the intent of having a fun daily driver.

Still no luck on locating the Fuchs centers however we will experiment with the Flat4’s



The Scat breather box is leaking and I mounted the CB filler box the morning of the show. The Scat breather box will be used to vent the valve covers while the CB Filler box will vent to the carbs once I locate 90 degree fittings.

Looks very nice, I like it. Keep up the good work, thanks for sharing your progress with us.

The saga continues. Once again the engine is leaking oil all over the place, the carbs are out of sink and she blows white smoke and pings under acceleration . This is after approximately 1,000 miles after rebuild by locals . To say the least I am a little more than frustrated and if it were not for all the money tide up in her, who knows.

On a positive note the front and rear aprons and bumper brackets have come in to mount the bumpers the correct way. More to follow.

Sorry to hear about your engine

keep up the good work, seems like you already now what would be best buy better things from beginning and listening to other vw guys that have built engines before.

Read magzines and how to hot rod your vw engine books there is a lot of knowledge in those books.

I am building a 2332cc engine and it's my first engine build with a stroker crank i have good help from a guy that now's very much about building vw engines.

I'm using old style stuff like Okrasa 84mm crank and Italian weber ida's.

Good luck with rebuild and you have a very nice car

//michael

Some updates

1. I found a stock 1500 sp to drop in while the 2110 is rebuilt for the third time in 18 months . On a positive note at least I am driving again unfortunately I can not charge my A/C system because my compressor was set up for duel cards and the charge valve is now under the stock carb. I may attempt removing the carb while the local shop attempts to charge the system.








2. This morning I installed a thin line sump with lifetime filter on the 1500 and attempted to install my rear sway bar only to learn that the condenser is in the same place where I am supposed to mount the rear sway bar. I guess I have to choose a/c versus slot car handling.

3. When I tried to install my original pop-outs that came off a 69 the window would seat properly against the welt. I noticed that the PO had removed the aluminum frame to install limo tint. Is it possible that he installed the frames wrong? Wolfburg wants $125 for each side. Ouch.

4. Because my body is from an 84 Mexican finding the proper color name has become ever more interesting. So far I have seen “Arizona Metallic” and “Brazil Brown Metallic”. Any ideas.


5. Installed a kill switch for my electric fuel pump so I do not have to pull the relay every time I want to work on the electrical system although I still have to swap the membrane style pump for the rotary pump.

6. Still have to replace the front brake pads and turn the rotors.

7. Installed reverse light