Stampie said:Did you soak rusty in vinegar or just wipe it?
After I scraped it some more, I dunked some paper towels in vinegar, and draped them on it. Left them there for about 25 minutes while I fixed and ate lunch. Removed them and wiped it down with a wet cloth. The vinegar didn’t seem to take any of the rust off, but it might have softened it up a bit more for the next round of scraping.
My wife and I got the glass in this evening, after reviewing some online tutorials I'd looked at a ways back:
The rear window worries me a bit, as there seemed to be a small amount more weatherstripping than there was window to wrap it around, so it was a tad loose. It's possible this is because the rubber will shrink more than the metal and glass in the winter, so it needs to keep from tearing. It does all appear to have sealed up, though I have not hit it with a water hose . The side windows were actually quite easy, even though we'd never installed glass before.
I also don't think I've had a shot of the patchwork in the interior yet:
Between the sealed up holes and the glass, I'm guessing the interior will be considerably quieter, even with no roll up windows yet.
My father in law is planning on stopping by tomorrow for Take 2 of tuning the car. He may also try to see about patching the holes in the engine compartment.
Knurled. said:It looks weird with Minilites on it instead of those steel wagon-sopoke wheels that probably outweighed the rest of the car.
If you think it looks weird with the wheels, you should see it with the glass in it. Throws the appearance off even more than the wheels.
Looking good. This thread has been motivation on getting my janky baja back on the road.
In reply to captainawesome :
Cool! Been following your build thread as well. I kind of want a Baja Bug, too, someday. Had a chance to buy one with a beast of a motor over the winter, but no place to put it.
My father in law came by over the weekend, we bled the brakes, and oh boy was the old fluid nasty. He also adjusted the brakes and the parking brake. We couldn't do much else, as we were waiting on parts.
Yesterday, after some parts arrived, I started working on sealing up the engine compartment. I learned the engine seal actually attaches to the body, not the engine tin, and it took a while to clean the remnants of the old dried up one out. This did cause another problem, too, though. Since it secures to the engine body, and the sides of the engine compartment had been cut out, there was nowhere to secure it there. I ended up cutting it down and only used the portion that attaches to the rear apron. Ideally, I'd have reconstructed the bodywork, but the rally is less than two weeks away.
I used some aluminum sheet, and trimmed it to fit either side of the engine.
I then bolted them to the engine tin. There is still some gap around the edges, but I think I can temporarily seal it with some tape. Need to leave some slack, though, as the aluminum is going to move some with the engine. Thinking of using som butyl tape or gorilla tape for now. If I keep the sheet metal around instead of fixing it better, I'm thinking some sort of stick on weatherstripping will be a better solution. Also, the engine compartment seal used on the VW Bus is easier to install , so I may buy one when I fix the bodywork.
By the end of the night, though, it was far harder to see the garage floor from the engine compartment.
I have a replacement carb my FIL ordered, but did not get a chance to install it. Tonight, if the right parts come in today, I'll be trying to get the windows and trim work on the doors finished. It's looking like rain for most of the next week and a half, so we need to be able to seal the car up for more comfortable test driving.
Edit: Oh yeah, installed a new belt, as the old one was developing new cracks every time we drove the car.
Well, one more thing to deal with - the right rear wheel cylinder failed sometime since last night. Guess it's better that it did that parked in the garage than out on the road rally.
The aftermarket window regulators do not fit. I think I can use them as a template to modify the factory ones I have. I just need some dry weather, so I can go outside and play with the angle grinder. Still really don't like using one of them inside the garage.
I also pulled the brake drum. Definitely a bad wheel cylinder. I think we're going to replace all of them, and maybe the master, just in case.
Wait, is this what Lori is driving in a couple weeks?
Patrick said:Wait, is this what Lori is driving in a couple weeks?
Yup, if I can get it together in time. If not, they’ll probably take my FIL’s MG Midget.
Haven't downloaded pics yet, but modifying the 75-up window regulator worked. It's not perfect, but it is functional. The driver's side window is installed. I still need to finish gutting the passenger door, and transferring trim pieces over before I can install the regulator there.
Also, my FIL is planning on coming by tomorrow to work on the brakes, since we are running out of time, and the weather will be nice. There's actually an off road parts place in town that had a bunch of what we needed that he stopped at today. I want to visit there sometime, but they are only open when I'm working, it seems.
To give him a head start, I pulled the rear drum on the driver's side. Took way more effort than it should have, lots of tapping it with a hammer, all the way to the point where it came off. Once it was off, I figured out why - it appears there is some RTV on the splines. I'm guessing it was left over from when a seal was installed. Will definitely want to clean it off before reinstalling the drum.
I just realized that one of my background pictures that I use is from an event at Roo's Farm back in the 2013ish time frame (somewhere after the $2012 challenge and before I vinyl-wrapped the back half) and up in the front of the parade lap is the Blue Beetle!
Have I mentioned lately that I am extremely psyched to see this run again?
Had issues with brakes yesterday that are still unresolved. And just dropped the passenger side door window and had it shatter into a million pieces. Maybe can temporarily cut some plexiglass to replace it, but things are not looking good for the rally.
FIL and I spent all day working on the car. The brakes seem squared away, and after some dialing in, the new carb appears good. Still need to make a few higher speed test runs, though - waiting for the rain to stop to get it out. I think tomorrow after work, I’ll make a plexiglass window, and then it’ll be somewhat sealed against the weather. Will try to daily drive it during the week, and hope no new major issues crop up. Might actually make it to the rally.
Took it for a drive last night. Could still use some tuning. I suspect the main jet is too lean, and have some on order, but don't know if they'll make it in time. Couldn't hold onto the oil dipstick after the drive was over, so it is running hot. I need to finish sealing up the engine compartment, and take another drive after work today if the rain holds off long enough.
Been to busy to post updates. Got pics I need to download, too.
Updates:
Still a bunch of smaller stuff to be done, and desperately need to do more test driving (once the carb is tuned better). Running out of days to do this. Then again, for Retreat From Moscow, we had to flat tow the Midget to my garage and fix the fueling system on the day before we left...
Ran a lot better with the 125 Main jet. Still hot, though. My FIL is working on tuning it today, and will hopefully get it dialed in. The place in Dayton dug up a used 127.5 jet, too, but they don't know if it has been drilled. If not, we've got a 125, 127.5, and a 130 to work with, so between that and the 55, 60, and 65 idle jets we have, should hopefully be able to tune it well.
The passenger door has weatherstripping now - makes a huge difference - will try to get the driver's side done tonight. Door interior panels, armrests, and driver's side window winder handle are on, too. Its starting to look like a real car form the inside, as long as you don't look behind the seats.
I apparently have a lower threshold for pain than my FIL. He was able to hold onto the dipstick for 3+seconds just fine. A quick test with an infrared thermometer put the cylinder head temp around 300 after a half hour drive that included higher speeds. Crankshaft bolt was around 190, which I’m guessing is an approximation of the oil temp, maybe a bit lower.
The tune is still not perfect (some popping occasionally when letting off the throttle at high RPMs), but in his opinion, it’s good enough for the rally. If I have time after work, I think I’ll swap in the 127.5 jet and see what happens.
Bunch of little stuff got done in the past few days, and last evening, I drove it across town (including 40 minutes on the interstate at 65 MPH) to my in laws house. Ran great, and my FIL checked the oil temp right when I got there - 194, well inside the safe range. After that, he rigged up a CB antenna, and declared the car ready:
He and eastsideWife took off this morning to get to the start of the rally. If you want to follow along, her instagram account is racingwren.
Kick ass. The Beetle rides again!
Sweeeeet. If they’re coming through here make sure lori still has my number in case of required assistance
Trailer is cleared off and ready to go and the truck is fueled and equipped with recovery gear.
That level of preparation should mean that you won't need it!
In reply to Patrick :
Thanks, I’ll make sure she knows. I think she’ll be passing through that area on Friday.
Just heard from them - they made it to the hotel in Michigan, sounds like no real problems, except Lori not being experienced with the unsynchronized first gear.
wae said:Trailer is cleared off and ready to go and the truck is fueled and equipped with recovery gear.
That level of preparation should mean that you won't need it!
Thank you, I hope you are right!
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