Cheers guys. Hammy is good Damo - back to surfing so I'm happy 🙂
Octa we had to sell the suby a while back to help fund the setup of my business (Pacific Hearing - plug plug)....the repayments are a lot less for the outlander than they were for the liberty! I loved it though and would own another one some day.
Back to work now 😵💫
Well tank went back in today and fired her up. Fixed the drivers door check rod and a quick running repair to the passenger outside door handle. I had a good condition oval era handle to replace it but I guess the 54 is different to other models 🙁
Brakes are causing me frustration - after installing the new m/c and bleeding the whole system, I still don't get any pedal pressure (ie. the brakes don't work at all). Possibly a wheel cylinder is busted - may have to do some more research on that problem.
So now I have to get the tail-lights working and horn - slowly but surely getting closer to having it rego'd.
check your hard lines as they can clog with gunk. ran a pipe cleaner through mine and also your rubber hoses also can swell shut with age. you probably have already done all this but can't hurt.
Customer service is not dead in Australia.
Always after HAZET & MATRA & VW factory tools
Try flushing from the furthest point back to the reservoir, use a 50ml syringe and push the fluid back up through the M/C. Then do all the closer ones. Flushing up through the system usually removes more bubbles. The best other tool if you dont have access to a syringe is a cheap pressure sprayer modded to squirt the fluid under pressure. Have to be carefull not to froth the fluid though.
Luck
kkk
ps nice work on the BRM's
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Looks good with the BRMs and being lowered.....
Check all the hard brake lines for any oil spots (leaks) and replace all the hoses (if you haven't already) as the old ones will swell due to age when you put pressure on the pedal. You only need the smallest leak or smallest expansion of the hoses to get the feeling of no pressure on the pedals. When checking for leaks, check all your mechanical joints on the system for any "wetness" and also look on the back of the brake drums around the slave cylinder mounting points... S#!tty job but you gotta be able to stop unless you want to be the lead car 😂
That was the original rego, hadnt been unregsitered til i sold it. I have the original rego plates in the shed. Looking good, cant wait for a ride...
Good stuff Bruce - hopefully you'll get a chance to have a drive soon!
Cheers for the pointers on the brakes guys - I might try changing the rubber lines and see if that makes any difference.
063bug I had a good look for leaks as that was my first thought - no evidence of any drips etc inc the main line inside (front to back). I'll let you know once the problem is solved!
Alan
Of course when you try to do things on the cheap, it costs you more in the long run.
The plan was to try and reuse as much as I could (brake wise) to get it on the road then upgrade to discs/type III rears soon......but despite stuffing around with the brakes for a solid day, I ran out of time and had to get the beetle towed to a veedub shop on the coast.
Obviously I can do this type of work myself but in this case I've run out of time! So now all 4 rubber lines had to be replaced, both front wheel cylinders and most likely one new front drum....it should hopefully be fixed. Touch wood I'll get it towed back home tomorrow - registration and roadworthy by Dubs by the Pub is looking more unlikely unfortunately. 🙁
come on AL "you can DO it!"
Customer service is not dead in Australia.
Always after HAZET & MATRA & VW factory tools
Great stance. I dig the heart tail ights. I hope you get it back soon....
'We teach best what we most need to learn'
VW no more... sigh.... well, at least it's a cousin
Beetle is back - wallet is lighter but at least the brakes work. Hindsight is a wonderful thing I guess but I should have just shelled out for the discs straight away. Ah well, thems the breaks.
Few little things to sort out now like horn, tail or brake lights not working (despite getting voltage to them), left headlight parking light not working, rust hole in LHS a-pillar needs to fixed....I doubt I'll get all this sorted in time for roadworthy this week (considering I am away from home two days for work), but I'll try. If not, I'll scab a lift with blup58 in his ghia (to dubs by the pub).
Just finished work for the night - seatbelt are in (almost - need to get a couple longer bolts tomorrow), licence plate light is working again, side view mirror is on etc.
Alan
thems the brakes? ha
nick
hehe 😁
Well after a mammoth effort last night (11.30pm finish) I had completed the welding on the lower LHS a-pillar and did a quick fill and prime/rattle can paint. Also installed the 3 point static seat belts, fixed the brake lights, reinstalled the front shocks (needed a shorter bolt) and miscellaneous other jobs that I have forgotten.
Today I took it to the servo for the roadworthy and it passed (just). A quick trip to the dept of transport 10 mins before it shut meant I finally have a registered VW again!
Now just to sort out all those other niggling jobs which I put on the backburner whilst getting it ready for rego :duh
Eventually I'll loose those beautiful indicators but they'll stay for now....I'll wait for stage 2 of the upgrades once the funds recover again.
Alan
Good effort Alan!
Hope to catch up on Sunday!
westi wrote:That's mad Alan.
yep, unreal you have managed to finish in time, I am coming up from Sydney in Peach , '54s are gonna be pretty common there, really looking forward to meeting you ,
except for BRMS it looks just like the car I grew up in
Please, I need drivers side window regulator (winder mechanism) for my '54
Cheers guys, looking forward to catching up with you both on sunday = lets hope the weather is better than currently predicted!
Congrats Alan. Good to see........... I'll keep my eyes open around the coast !!!
Da Time For The Aircooled Revolution Is Upon US.
Brothers & Sisters Lets Hit The Streets, Roll As One. And Feel The Power Of The Aircooled Storm.
caught these on the return trip from dubs today.
congrats on the rego.
nick
the front on view isnt so bad considering it was taken in the rear view mirror lol
sweet ride
Hey Nick - thanks for the pics mate! I was hoping you wouldn't crash whilst snapping the photos - I know my bug was getting blown around a bit (not to mention I haven't had time to get a wheel alignment yet).
Here is the bug before I left the goldy:
Here is the oval at the show:
Nice chatting to all the folks I crossed paths with, sorry for those whom I didn't get around to saying g'day to!
The oval made the journey to and from the pub incident free - can't wait to get some more power though 😉
Very nice mate!
Really makes me want to get into my 56 that's sitting under the house...hmmm, to many projects 😀
Reub
You can never have too many projects Reub...as long as they see the tarmac eventually, and Purple Haze?...Top stuff mate, individual and creative engineering at it's finest. Which is not to say that Alan hasn't had his moments of genius either 🙂 , VERY NICE OVAL mate, I have enjoyed seeing the progress and finished product shots of your VW's over the past couple of years, how long before you are at the bank managers door again? Good luck with the Notch if you still have it 🙂
How many is enough?
Cheers mate, no notch anymore unfortunately - had to sell all my other cars (blue bug, notch plus motorbike) whilst the business establishes itself. I regretted having to let the notch go, but you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes! Short term sacrifice for long term benefit 🙂
No exciting updates, just bolted (sort of) up the extractors to see how much modification is required.
I reversed the direction so the collector now faces forward from which a single pipe will be routed up and over the g'box to facilitate the turbo.
You can see the interference with the crankcase - I will extend the primaries slightly to solve the problems.
I'll tack the extensions in place and then have it tigged by a pro - just need to buy some pipe first.
Last pic for now
Nice pipe work Alan, Is that the same handy work that did your (old) rag top exhaust? If so... may i have their phone number please?
How many is enough?
Yeah mate this is the type IV engine (and exhaust) out of the old ragtop - I sold it with a type I 1916 in it.
CES Racing certainly do fantastic work - not cheap but it's been said a thousand times, you get what you pay for.
www.cesracing.com.auHey mate, why above your gearbox when you could run it under your rear apron and not have the servicing hassles. Adam Debiasi ran his on the drivers side and it worked great, Air cleaner under your guard out of the hot air stream and the exhaust tucked in under the apron. Saves you cutting the crap out from behind your back seat. PWR coolers fit almost anywhere and you could run it after the TB like me. I personally dont like the turbo low and in front of the engine, just seams like a hassle, long pipes and not really streetable. The hot air also blows back over the engine. What about behind the drivers side and intake exiting through the innner of the rear guard to a PWR mounted water to air intercooler under the rear guard and then back up into the tb and then into injection manifolds that Rod Penrise has for sale at the moment? Could be possible. Just make it as easily accessible as possible. I tried but it has bakfired in a few ways and now I wish I had done it a little differently. This would also save stuffing up those beautiful extractors. Also give you room for oils coolers and filters under the pass rear guard. Just have a reallt big think b4 you go ahead.
If you got any questions let me know,
heath
T54
C'mon kids gather round,
there's a new sensation hitting town,
It's moving straight, low to the ground,
it'll pick you up when your feeling down.
Cheers Heath - that is certainly why I have held off for so long before cutting up the extractors....I am always open to ideas and advice!
I originally thought of having the extractors run in their current configuration (ie. merge facing backwards) however I had concerns of the turbo height in relation to the case for oil return....I was hoping to not have to run a pump for the oil return.
So with your suggestion, at what height would you envisage the turbo placement? Hypothetically, would I run a pipe from the merge towards the rear apron, then position the turbo kinda like the placement of your setup? I think I asked you the question before but can't remember, where are you running the oil return line to (and feed from) - considering I don't have a deep sump, I am unsure if this would be a problem for me?
Having the exhaust in its current config (before mods), would make life easier. I was planning on using one of the PWR barrel intercoolers (4x6) - PWR are based one suburb away from me on the gold coast which is handy. I was planning to run a radiator (small) next to the tranny and an oil cooler on the other side with the intercooler reservoir behind the rear seat, along with the surge tank (possibly unless I find a better location).
I'll have to think this through further, cheers for the suggestions.
PS where did you see the efi manifolds from rod penrose - are they type IV?
Alan
This will kind of picture how the extractors sit in their unmodified form....
The oval won't be as low as the ragtop was so ground clearance will be okay. Thoughts on turbo placement if I rant it backwards as you suggest?
