The Classic VW Beetle

As I mentioned in the earlier post – I was chasing down the electrical gremlins with my hand-dandy multimeter. After viewing the Bug Me Videos, I was able to identity a number of wiring issues that enabled me to the wiring system under control. The video answered many questions and things that I simply overlooked.

Which brings me to the brakes.

The brake lights would still not light. After double checking and re-checking the connections, there was something wrong. I used the multimeter and chased the current down to the master cylinder. The current was going in, but not coming back out. Finally, I was able to pinpoint the problem. I was going off the previous owner’s assessment that he replaced the brakes and brake lines, but on closer examination, there was no brake fluid in the reservoir.

So, I filled up the reservoir and prepared to bleed the brake lines. Within seconds, however, i had a nice pool of brake fluid forming in the floor and in the bottom of the hood compartment. I checked the line, and sure enough it was old, worn and cracked. A simple trip to the local auto parts store solved that issue. i reconnected the line, filled the reservoir, and was met with the same result. more brake fluid on the floor. I disassembled the entire assembly up to the master cylinder and inspected everything.

Of course, I should have done that in the first place, as it was the fluid reservoir that was a problem – a nice crack in the side when someone tightened it down to far, breaking the plastic.

Fast forward another few days as I awaited a new brake fluid reservoir like a kids awaits Christmas. Got it, assembled it, the new hose, added the fluid, and everything held. No leaks!!!

NEXT STEP – Bleed the Brakes
I bought a brake bleeding kit, as finding someone to step on the brakes for 20 minutes would be a little difficult. The kit worked wonderfully for the first two brakes, then i dumped the fluid. After dumping the fluid from the first two bleeds, something got into the reservoir on the kit, and it never worked as good as the first time. In fact, it was pretty much worthless. Looking back – bad investment, iIm sure i could have bought something a little more practical and reliable. I did what i should have done. Find a warm body that can count to six and push the brake pedal. It took a while, but it got done.

Next step – be sure your brake lights are grounded. Otherwise, much cursing and second-guessing will happen. Thank you again Bug Me video, for that reminder.

All in all, this part of the project was a tribute to all of the minor detail that were left unattended, and a testimony to how one problem can lead to another, and another, and another.

By the way, the brakes work great. The new brake lights and the upgraded 12 volt system really make then shine bright. This is so much safer than the tiny teardrop lights combined with the old 6 volt system. I never felt safe with this. Especially when some monster truck is bearing down on you when you want to make a left-hand turn.

Since the last post, I have been frustrated at every turn while dealing with the combined projects of re-wiring and upgrading from the 6 volt to 12 volt system. Examining wiring diagrams from all over the net have been somewhat helpful, but never enough to complete the entire project.

As the second to last ditch effort, I dished out about $35 for the Bug Me Video on VW wiring. Within 30 minutes of watching the video, I was able to spot a number of connections that needed to be re-done, and at the same time, the video did a fantastic job of explaining how things worked together. Within the day, I was able to complete the re-wiring. The only remaining issue was the turn signal relay. The relay was one of the most frustrating issues, as the numbers on the relay did not match any of the diagrams, and the diagram on the relay itself wasn’t helpful. (i don’t read schematics.)

Finally, after using a cheap multimeter to track down the current, i saw that the power was getting to the relay, but not coming out. As i was moving around i tapped the lid, and the connection grounded, which caused the relay to start blinking. Of course! A ground! I dug through the electrical diagrams laying around, and found one on the bottom of the pile that showed a ground connection. The same diagram was laying around my garage, but without the ground info. All i can say is that the multimeter has become my best friend in this entire process.

I found some great pics today of an original Kubelwagen (or Kuebel-Wagen as the museum writes) at the Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles in Lexington Nebraska.

This Kubelwagen is a Type 82, and was built in November of 1944 for the German Army. It had a 69 cubic inch engine, with a whopping 25hp.

I don’t think it would win any races.

But it is pretty sweet looking. It is slightly different than the more modern Thing, but still has some differences. The biggest difference to see is the front end, the Kubelwagen is much more sloped than the Thing.

I tell you what, looking for a Volkswagen Thing is stinkin’ annoying. I’m sure everyone knows all of this already, but it’s still annoying.

Things were only made in the US for 2 years, 1973 and 1974. So many others have been imported, or if you want to buy one, you have to import it yourself. I’m not sure i want to get into all of that.

Of the Type 181’s available in the US for sale, I would say that about 90% of them are from California, which is quite a ways from most of the country. Even then, I can’t believe the shape that some of these are in, and yet still demanding more money than many other cars. For a Thing to have rust is like another car having some paint chipped, it’s not that rare.

Now I can handle most repairs and work, but I haven’t done, and am pretty sure that I can’t do, any body work. So I kind of need a Thing that has no, or next to no rust. Of course, those are over $10,000.

Even at the Beetle Barn VW Graveyard, there were no Things.

Why do I have such good, expensive taste?

This is awesome. Just another example of how these classic VW’s can be modified, customized and just simply changed in any way you can dream of.

This Volkswagen Bus has been chopped and lowered so that it is only 3 ft 1 inch tall.

Done any modifying of your own? Let us know.

I love the VW Thing, but I admit, it’s not really the ultimate off-road vehicle. It’s got good hight, but not a lot of power, and it’s only two wheel drive. However, these videos are showing a comparison of the VW Type 181 to the Land Rover Discovery, supposedly one of the best off-road vehicles available.

This is in German, and is kind of long, but wait till you get to about 4 1/2 minutes into it, and see the Thing whup up on the Land Rover.

This second part of the video shows the Land Rover beating the Thing up a steep incline, but only by a tiny bit.

Unfortunately, in the end, the Thing has to be pulled out of the mud by the Discovery. However, I think that the fact that a 30 year old, 2 wheel drive, VW Thing could hang with, and even beat in some instances, the brand new 4 wheel drive Land Rover Discovery shows the awesomeness of the Volkswagen Thing.

This last experience was some of the most interesting. Looking for advice online is akin to asking monkeys for directions. As one person put it, “The internet is proof that a million monkeys typing on computers will never reproduce the works of Shakespeare.” How True.

6 volt starter
I got completely befuddled by all of the advice on the starter and keeping the 6v starter vs replacing it with a 12v starter and adding the bushing to make it compatible with the 6v flywheel. The upgrade kit that I received from MidAmerica Motorworks had the bushing, but no parts for upgrading the starter or flywheel. A few calls to the helpful people there, and I realized that i was just reading too much. I just needed to stick with the program and do what I was doing.

The 6 volt starter will work just fine in a 12 volt upgrade in a 1200 air cooled engine. Though the main advice was not to grind the ignition, as the starter will hit the flywheel harder with the 12 volts surging through the line. I saw where some people complained of teeth breaking off the flywheel because the starter was hitting it hard, but some simply replaced the flywheel and didn’t have any more problems.

The alternator came out very easy – really, it’s a matter of locating all of the bolts and keeping a note of where they came from. The shroud was amazingly dirty and oily – i had to wonder when the last time this beetle had thorough maintenance. At points in the project i had to wonder how this thing still ran.

I had to go to Harbor Freight, my new favorite hardware store and get a set of large metric ratchets. The bolt on the old alternator was 36mm, larger than anything I had, and the bolt on the steering wheel was 26mm – time for new ratchets.

Removing the Alternator
Simply by holding the fan and using the monster ratchet I got at the store, everything came off surprisingly easy. I used my miter saw box as a platform for holding the alternator upright, and it worked out OK, as the miter box was bolted into the workbench. The fan got a nice bath and cleaning, and then it was ready to go on the new 12volt alternator.

Oil Filler and Breather
Meanwhile, i was stumped on the alternator stand, as the Oil Filler and Breather was attached to the old stand, and it somehow had to come off and join the new alternator stand. The new stand was threaded, and I could barely budge the filler to twist off. I noticed that the inside of the oil filler was notched, and fortunately at that time, my engineer brother showed up in time to to save the day. Looking over the shop manual, they recommended the VW 170 tool to remove the cap. Right. I’ll run right out and get a VW170 shop tool to remove this thing, which I’ll probably repeat when?

This is when having an engineer brother comes in real handy. First we tried clamping the stand to a workbench – didn’t work out well, but, since it was an old workbench, we simply screwed the stand to the bench through the existing bolt holes – genius!

After reviewing the notches in the oil filler, we realized that we only had one tool that was wide enough to hit the notches – the crowbar. My brother took the end of the crowbar and put it on the grinder to take off the taper and make as much of a wide edge to grab the notch. It looked to work well, but still tough going.

Funny enough – he asks me for a torch. I looked at him odd, which i think he expected. He tells me this is what “the guys in the shop do.” He heats up the oil cap with the torch, takes the crowbar and easily twists off the cap. Amazing.

So much for the VW 170 tool. Putting the cap back on the new alternator stand was just as easy. Screw it on, heat it up, tighten it, and that thing was on.

As the previous post mentioned, I combined two major projects into one – mainly because i was pulling the engine apart anyway.

1. Replacing the wiring harness
2. Upgrading from a 6 volt system to a 12 volt system

I spent most of the time in the past few days dismantling the engine. I quickly realized that simply removing the hood would make life much easier.

I have two manuals: The original shop manual for the VW Beetle, 1960-1965, and
How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-By-Step Procedures for the Complete Idiot
. The difference between these two books is shattering. On one hand, the direct no-nonsense German engineering text, on the other: “Dude, like remove the carburetor, but you’ll want to rest first . . .” OK, it’s not that extreme, but it is fascinating.

My biggest complaint on the shop manual is that it isn’t cross-referenced. Step one of removing the alternator/generator is that I had to remove the carburetor. So, i had to flip through all 500 pages to find the carburetor removal instructions. Hardly efficient. The two manuals do make an interesting compliment each other. The Complete Idiot Manual lets me know when something will be especially difficult and where I can expect to skin a knuckle.

On the technical side, I was surprised at the amount that i needed a ratchet extension, though in thinking about it – it made sense. The process went fairly smooth. Removal of fuel line, air line, electrical connectors, carburetor, clutch assembly, and then the alternator. I kept all of the parts in marked plastic bags so that i know where they go later.

The fan shroud came out very easily. remembering to feed the clutch line back through it was important, as I realized. but after so many years – this stuff was dirty!

When I moved into our current house, the owner left behind a couple of galvanized steel tubs. I often wondered what to do with them, and couldn’t bring myself to throw them out, but now they have come in very handy as a safe place to wash down all of these parts with de-greaser.

Aircooled – heh, it’s 90 degrees. I’ve considered placing the window air conditioner in the garage while we work on this project. The work lights alone put off an immense amount of heat while working under the hood. Blech!

Two projects are in play:
1. Replace the wiring harness
2. Upgrade the bug from 6 volt to 12 volt

and yes, i should have done this in the winter . . .

Someone asked me why I am wasting my time with the harness, as it is a tough job. well, i got the answer as I was pulling the wires under the hood. there are more splices than wires, some of the insulation broke off in my hands, and some of the insulation was just melted to other wires. Not a lot of stuff to keep you confident. No wonder i got stranded a couple of times when the bug wouldn’t start.

Now that the wires are cleaned out – it looks much better. I also ordered a wire cover for when this is all done.

Yeah – the original cardboard glove box. I think this is getting replaced, as it is kind of moldy on the inside.

The hard part is removing the steering wheel. I need to buy another wrench, as my set stops at 20mm. Crud.

A couple of Meyers-Manx dune buggies at the MidAmerica Motorworks Air-cooled Funfest.

The main buggy in the movie has a Subaru engine installed in the rear. The body had to be totally reshaped to accommodate the air intakes. Turn up the speakers and the sub-woofer for this video.

The next shot is from the Dune Buggy build-off. A team of people were building a dune buggy from the ground-up in less than three days. MidAmerica was helping them with parts throughout the process, as some were found to be damaged during the build.

The music adds to the excitement of the whole thing – don’t you think?

and of course, a few seconds of a really nice dune buggy mod – i love the sound that this one puts out. Loud volume works well on this one too . . .