Next Stop - Heater System and Interior Make-over!

Now that the car is drivable, I'm coming down to the finish line by fixing the heat system and then installing new carpet. After that, I'll redo the upholstery.  

My first challenge was getting hot air from the engine, into the heating channels that force air to the heating vents and defroster. There was a complete disconnect under the rear seat. I'll show some before and after pictures.

Over the past few days, I have removed the carpet, fixed the heat connections, and installed sound deadening on the back wall, and on the floor pans. It's all part of getting ready for new carpet.

Licensed and ready to drive

OK, now that my brakes work, I want to get it out on the road and drive around. Well, this takes plates and insurance. So, I got that and I'm now puttering around town (close to home). Once I know if the car is trustworthy, I'll travel farther out. 

I love the plate number that a nice lady from DMV gave me. "007" I'm starting to feel like a secret agent now.

Restart!

Wow, how long has it been?  Well, about 4 years. Yep, As I was working on the car, I had a couple of electrical problems and one major problem with the brakes. Years ago, I reworked all the drum brakes, but the car would hardly stop. I replaced nearly everything, but nothing helped, so I kind of gave up for a while, and the car sat in the garage for a few years.

Well, I'm finally back. I found the rubber brake line hoses were clogged, and I replaced them and fixed a leaking rear wheel cylinder. I was so happy thinking that would resolve the stopping problem. While it was better, the car was still difficult to stop, so I finally broke down and bought a set of front wheel disc brakes. 

It's Alive!

Finally, we got the engine put back together and in the car.  It even runs.  Now we have to set the timing and adjust the carburetor to get in top shape.  I purchased a new electronic distributor, but every one that knows about VWs is telling me that the one I got is worthless.  Just my luck.  I hate points, so I'll probably just install the electronic parts inside my original distributor.

Now we can move on to the last few restoration areas, like the interior and installing disk brakes in the front end.  That should wrap this puppy up.  Then the fun begins.  Daniel gets his drivers permit in September!  I'm almost scared to let him drive this thing.  It's like brand new!  Oh well, it's just a car ... right?  Later

Engine Rebuild

For the last two months I have been rebuilding the 1600 cc Dual Port VW engine in Daniel's Super Beetle. This has been a labor of love, and I do mean a LABOR!  I've rebuilt about 10 engines in my life from all different makes and models, but this is my first VW engine.  I'm not sure what those Germans were thinking! The engine design is simple, but way different from American motors. The good news is that the basic principles are the same.  Thank God for You-Tube!  I've watched a ton of videos to learn the tricks of the trade in assembly.

I spent a lot of time deciding what colors to paint the engine.  When I was a teenager, I leaned towards yellow and black color schemes.  If was different then, but I thought it looked nice.  Now that this bug is yellow, I toyed with the idea of a yellow and black motor, but I finally landed on a silver and black scheme. I think it looks clean this way.  I also installed a newly released galvanized exhaust system.  I wanted to stay stock, but these pipes were better made and they were less expensive.  Ya just can't beat that deal.

Here are a few pictures of the assemble process.  I hope you enjoy the pics.

Power Plant Work!

After fixing the starter problem, I discovered a performance issue with my engine.  The heat riser is a tube that vents exhaust gas under the intake manifold to help the gas from the carburetor atomize before reaching the heads.  My heat riser is completely clogged.  This is a common problem older cars.  This clogged heater makes the car run like the engine is dead cold.  After the choke goes off, the car runs really bad.

To fix the problem, you must remove many major engine components to access the heat riser.  I came to realize that it would be easier to remove the engine than to disassemble it inside the car.  Soooooo, guess what I did all day yesterday?  Yep, I pulled the engine.  The good news is that I had help from a good friend and his two sons, along with Daniel.  It was a team effort, so we got a lot done pretty quick.

Once I started taking the engine apart, I saw that I really just need to tear it all the way down and rebuilt it from ground up.  Sitting for seven years allowed massive condensation to get inside the engine and rust was pretty bad.  Oh well, it a hobby, right?  ;)

Bad Bumpers!

Well, after fighting with the original chrome bumpers and losing, I decided to go with simple T-Bars.  For whatever reason, the back bumper was higher on the ride side.  The brackets must have been bent.  The front bumper, that was given to me when I bought the car, was too small.  It was obviously not for a Super Beetle.

As for the T-Bars, I chose black, since most of the car's color scheme has been yellow and black.  Here are a couple of new pictures.