Heres my trouble plagued (for the timebeing) oval named Belle. She's slowly getting fixed with various transplants... engine and gearbox will be coming. Will be converting her to 12V during the changeovers too.nn[ Edited on 12-7-2005 by oval TOFU ]
[ Edited on 18-10-05 by oval TOFU ]
[ Edited on 19-2-06 by oval TOFU ]
[ Edited on 19-2-06 by oval TOFU ]
[ Edited on 10-4-06 by oval TOFU ]
[ Edited on 19-3-07 by oval TOFU ]
oval TOFU ·
some more picsnn[ Edited on 12-7-2005 by oval TOFU ]
BUGBOY ·
love seeing another oval out there.
What year is it? 54-55?
oval TOFU ·
MY54, auctually manufactured around June/July 55... still got the orig reg from 82!
(I messed around with the contrast so you can see the faint print...)nn[ Edited on 12-7-2005 by oval TOFU ]
*did* ·
Let me know when you need some help to get that baby on the road 🙂
oval TOFU ·
thanks mate!:thumb
I'm aiming for around the end of this month...
type_one ·
Looks good mate. I know the safety people amongst us will probably disagree but are you getting the correct rear tail lights and maybe a set of semaphores. It's a very nice looking car. Trynig to get mine fixed at the moment. Rusty Sils.
oval TOFU ·
thanks guys, I'm tempted to get a set of oval taillights but I think I'll hold out untill I can get some proper heart ones to match the year.. I also have semaphores but they need a bit of a re-condition. It seems as if there is too much resistance in the soilnoid (or whatever) of the semaphore to actually raise the thing from its resting position. I want to install them though. They're the bees' knees!
kroozzn63 ·
im slowly going to get mine back as close to standard as poss which may leave a rat rod after taste he he
oval TOFU ·
good stuff! Keep it orig or only change things that you can put back to orig condition... I might get some more comfortable seats in the future and lower it a bit..
PHAT BUG ·
You didnt buy this one from up near Bendigo did you?
oval TOFU ·
PHAT BUG wrote:You didnt buy this one from up near Bendigo did you?
Yeh... I did. I think we both know who it was from 😉
How are the towns people doing now? have they all been relocated coz of that #$%^! freeway?
oval TOFU ·
my my my hasn't it been a while.... stay tuned for some new pics.. well, the only noticable thing will be a change of background! - I finally started her up last night and will be taking her for a test drive today! so keep watching this space...
Turbo54 ·
Got a complete Oct 54 floorpan and speedo if interested. Nice by the way, leave it stock but aint the rims red.
T54
Che Castro ·
Wow pretty nice oval mate. Looks great as it is already 😀
oval TOFU ·
This is her first wash in 20 months! She wasn't that filthy as I kept a car cover on her during the resto, and dusted off the crap with one of those "Dri-Mop" things with parifin oil blah blah blah...
I'll be giving a few areas some 1200 wet and dry and polish as the last respray by the previous owner didn't go on too smootly..
I reckon I'd paint the rims red if I lower it...
Thanks for the comments
oval TOFU ·
Where does it say the date on my speedo?
VWFOOL ·
hey bro
its stamped on the back of the speedo, looks like its up side down in ur pic and says something/60. wat mile does it go to? ovals go to 80mph, later goes to 90.nn[ Edited on 12-7-2005 by VWFOOL ]
oval TOFU ·
I notice the early speedo's have the semi clear arm too on the face...
60's? dam.....
oval TOFU ·
mixing it up with the 'rich'...
65busser ·
nice Chris..... can feel a cruise coming on.
Anthiron ·
i would have said the date was 9th of november 1957
oval TOFU ·
Anthiron wrote:i would have said the date was 9th of november 1957
wah???
...I was going to try to drive home with the wiring like this when the starter's solnoid was playing up... I think it's a good thing that I didn't get the chance to try it out, though it would've been a good story/triumph! (thanks VWCOOL!)
BLUE_62 ·
Mate, thats a tidy ride.,
Love to see em in original trim....
Always pondering on whether to run wide rears on mine
when its back on the road. Had wides on the back it was
taken off but dunno, plenty of time to decide and plenty
of inspiration lookin at rides like yours :thumb
oval TOFU ·
BLUE_62 wrote:Mate, thats a tidy ride.,
Love to see em in original trim....
Always pondering on whether to run wide rears on mine
when its back on the road. Had wides on the back it was
taken off but dunno, plenty of time to decide and plenty
of inspiration lookin at rides like yours :thumb
Thanks for the kind words - I never would have thought my ride was inspiration for anyone...!
go the Wides! In a way, it's for safety's sake..
oval TOFU ·
front bumper will be back after I find a suitable R/H bracket - the old one was bent and caused the bumper o rub on the fender :duh
oval TOFU ·
more
oval TOFU ·
here's an original 1950's scan of the interior...
nn[ Edited on 21-7-2005 by oval TOFU ]
oval TOFU ·
just kidding.. FotoSlop all the way...
karmannghia60 ·
Very nice Chris and well done
Fossil ·
That's certainly a nice one
*did* ·
go chris!
nbturbo ·
that's a nice tidy one-are they not a thing of pure beauty???
VWFOOL ·
wats ur plans chris?
oval TOFU ·
Thanks for the encouraging words guys - it really helps when you think that you're never going to finish what you want..
First, I have to sort out the muffler problem coz its being obscured by my non-cutout rear valance - going to get some dog-leg sections fabricated at an exhaust shop and whack the pee shooters onto it to quieten it down! (it's unbelievably loud at the moment - it actually annoying and gives me a headache from the reverb in the cabin) Fix an oil leak from the engine, find out why its hard to get the gearstick OUT of reverse... New front tyres to replace my cracking x-plys. I've got some accessories I'm going to install - yellow foglight & RACV plate for the front bumper (after I can source a R/H bracket thats not bent), Hella reversing light and DDR plate for the back bumper. I've got a mesh sun visor on the way too. I might be installing a set of oval tail lights in place of the 60's ones I'm currently running, an accompany them with a pair of Harley blinkers. I want to get rid of my front fender blinkers too..
Long term - lower it (not stupidly low at this stage, but we'll see) wooden slat roof rack with a MTB attatchment. Lots of sound deadening insulation for the interior... lots.
Thats it so far...
VWFOOL ·
im so jealous of ur interior
oval TOFU ·
heh, maybe I should clean it up a bit more and leave the exterior ratty? 🙂
Turbo54 ·
Hey about your speedo, this is what you need!
This is a spare I have at home and I might sell it if interested.
Perfect month for your car. This is where your numbers should be stamped. U2U me if interested.
Thanks
T54nn[ Edited on 31-7-2005 by Turbo54 ]
oval TOFU ·
I added some semi-bling parts recently, thought I'd flaunt them here... tell me what y'all think...
- fog light with self-made custom bracket
- RACV badge on custom bracket
- Hella reverse light
- DDR badge (my fav!)
- rear gravel guards
poor girl... needs to be lowered... anyone care to donate an adjustable K&L beam? :kiss
[ Edited on 30-9-05 by oval TOFU ]
YIOughta ·
nice ride - DOWN in front!!😉
type_one ·
Quote "Poor girl need lowering."
I'd say the poor thing needs those parasites called blinkers removed off the fornt guards and a correct set of rear tail lights to really make it look trick. You know you want to.
Nice car.
oval TOFU ·
I got the oval tail-liaghts wating in the wings for a set or Harely bilnkers to take over the task of indicating... Same goes for the front blinkers... I need to reco my semaphores too - anyone know of how to go about doing this?
When I take off the fender blinkers, what should i do about the gaping holes?
ruckus ·
You don't want to make up some brackets for my driving lights do you? 😀
Sweet ride man
winerot ·
damn thats a nice bug, the interior its original is it looks great
oval TOFU ·
ruckus wrote:You don't want to make up some brackets for my driving lights do you? 😀
Sweet ride man
I can if you like 😉 If you come along on sunday, you can have a sticky beak...
ruckus ·
Cool. I'll be in the pug, not the bug though. Bit less noisy for lng trips!
oval TOFU ·
👍 I''m taking my ear plugs:thumb - makes trips much more pleasent!
toecutter ·
DDR👍 Good Sh*t!👍
Turbo54 ·
Looking cool, just loose the towel rails.
Should run 54 bumpers, just the overriders,
goto www.cpi1.com.au
They are cheap and Ive still got speedo.
Did you retrim the interior?
T54
The interior was retrimmed by the previous previous owner. I wish the seats were as comfortable as they are good looking!
oval TOFU ·
Get my Conti's today - excellent service and a 3 hour turnover! I had to get them balanced at another garage - though they didn't charge me for it coz they said my rims were a bit buckled anyways and it wouldn't be ever truly balanced... suits me!
Now, I REALLY need to get that front end down to use up that foot of vertical space in my front guards... The tread width is pretty much the same as the 5.60/15's cross ply's they replaced - they are much more comfortable in terms of feedback from the road and they ride a bit softer too. But if anyone is considering getting these for their ride, I reckon you'd seriously have to think about slamming your VW into the weeds to do it justice... I'll be driving 4 hours to Beechworth from Melbourne on the weekend, so I'll report back how they feel and handle on a long drive..
Is it just me? I love the smell of new rubber on my rims...
[ Edited on 18-10-05 by oval TOFU ]
ruckus ·
Awesome! What size are they. Can you u2u me following up our u2u rampage from the other day? Looks like I'll have to go to the same place as you I think.
oval TOFU ·
one step ahead of ya mate! 😉
oval TOFU ·
I forgot to say: they're 145/55/15's
[ Edited on 18-10-05 by oval TOFU ]
empi ·
Way cool Chrissy,
Love the 145s, lets do some lowering.....
Where is the all important Pikaju???
[ Edited on 19-10-2005 by ash logan ] - normally people whinge about not being able to post pics, i cant even post a dammn link... stupid internet
[ Edited on 19-10-2005 by ash logan ]
*did* ·
go rake
killakornkobb ·
nice one chris!
65busser ·
Aahhh.....that's better
Mr Bubble Head ·
I'm glad you took my advice, The contis look unreal yeah once you lower the front its going to look "The Don " :thumb:thumb:thumb😵💫
nIck
Mr Bubble Head ·
seeing your pics it reminds me of a Gasser look from the seventies. nostalgia here we come
oval TOFU ·
Thanks for the compliments peeps! I don't mind a bit of rake - esp with the phats on the rear. Not sure whether to keep them or not... for 'the look' (whatever that may be...)
I've got some 'adjustments' in mind that I would really love to implement in the near future - as soon as I can raise the moolah.. I could post pics of my what I have in mind, but I'd rather keep it a suprise and BAM!- show it off when it's done... 😉
PHAT BUG ·
Lookin good Chris!!
oval TOFU ·
Thanks Rhett! Got many people coming up for the PHATBUG Camp-out? I'm gonna try to make it..
I installed my extractors and baffled hotdog muffler yesterday and - I can hear myself think whilst driving now! Previously, I had a stock muffler with no tail-pipes, so the exhaust and noise half dumped onto the rear valance of the bug - pretty much tuning it into a speaker box of white noise... On any trip longer than 10 kms, I would wear earplugs! But now, it seems under control.. I still need to add the 'secondary' (even though the air hits them first) heat exchangers to the headers to fill in the two holes in the tinware - otherwise, i'll probably cook it from the recirculating hot air from the extractors entering the engine bay...
PrettyBlueBug ·
Looks good Tofu!! 😀
oval TOFU ·
I went up to Beechworth on the weekend, so I took some pics..
PS: excellent bike track up there!
oval TOFU ·
was I sitting at the traffic lights? or sitting on 110? you decide...
oval TOFU ·
just getting arty farty in the city..
oval TOFU ·
It's been a while since I've updated this thread, I suppose that's coz nothing's really been done to the bug or nothing has gone wrong... so, that's why I'm writing this now...
After a trip to Geelong, I notice that the clutch seems to be less modulated when taking off from the traffic lights. Then I start to hear a clunk when taking off at a 'normal modern car pace'. Long story short, it turns out to be a sheared front tranny mount. Great.
Here's a photo of two mounts. See if you can pick which one is the buggered one...
oval TOFU ·
Just so you don't see which is actually sheared, I'll go onto what else I did when the engine was out in order for me the change the frount mount:
- for some reason, I did the valve clearences when the engine was still in the car - MUCH easier to do the gaps with the engine out!
- fixed that annoying oil leak (I hope) It seems to bave been a leaking rocker cover gasket - I used bearing gease as a sealant. I high idled the engine for abnout 20 mins to get it warm... and there was no leaking! sweet! It had better stay that way...
- removed the engine without much trouble. Still wish I had a removable rear apron though.
- discovered that my left head was only being held on my 7 of the 8 head studs. The inner lower right stud's nut was wound out all the way. The only thng stopping it from dancing with the rocker gear was the shaft that the rocker arms hang off. Turns out it was stripped. So in goes a nice strong 10mm self tapping stud. Worked fantastic! Torqued it up to 23lb/ft and she's all good!
- 'PE' or 'PM' "German" axel boots were already cracking after 11 months of use (3 pairs in 3 years), so I opted for the Empi Silicone boots. They feel more plyable, so hopefully they'll last 10 years like I've been told.
- in the process of lowering the bug, so I replaced the rear wheel bearings with sealed units. It was a bitch to get the old ones out, even though they were in perfect condition. LOTS of hammering and profanities. oo bad there wasn't lots of beer. While I was at it, I used new oil seals too. I had to file a bit off the end off one end of the rear axel shaft due to the 'mushrooming' effect of hammering the end of it trying to remove the bearing race without a puller. I mangled one 36mm retaining nut - luckily I had a spare lying around the garage. Had to use a small hacksaw to create a thread too...
- The bug's rear end is 'lowered' now. I'll find out if i did it correctly when I take it for a drive and let the suspension settle a bit. After rolling it back and forwards under my carport, it still looks too high..
- The front end is coming... You should be able to check it out at the Jamboree or the cruise the night before!
[ Edited on 17-2-06 by oval TOFU ]
oval TOFU ·
If you said the new mount is the replacement for the broken old one, YOU"RE WRONG! Well, half wrong. The new on was the replacement for the crusty old one, but after about one year, it sheared apart. As you can see, there's no oil contamination or anything. JUST CRAPPY QUALITY...or luck..
It's all been replaced bny urethane mounts, front and rear. I'll let you know how the ride is with the extra vibrations from the harder mounts..
oooo it's been fun and games..
oval TOFU ·
You can have first dibs on da effalent ears when you figure out how my fix my semaphores!
oval TOFU ·
No bits missing, just seems to need more current to get em to stay up.. .... an electric Viagra....
oval TOFU ·
update time!
The new gearbox mounts have been good. But as expected, they transmit an increased amount of vibration to the body. You can especially notice it when your left foot is resting on the tunnel whilst waiting at the lights...
karmen ·
take ur foot of the clutch
maybe the front mount can do with renewing.
the wide tyres at the back make it so much nicer and safer to handle...better cornering and less chance of the rear end visiting the front (oversteer)
i did flip mine around at aboy 80 mph in the wet but missed the tree and fence BUT DID N O T ROLL due to rear widies only.
oval TOFU ·
Well, we all know something needed to be done about my altitude sickness.. Poor Belle's so high and dry
So I began to fix this delema...
[ Edited on 10-4-06 by oval TOFU ]
[ Edited on 10-4-06 by oval TOFU ]
[ Edited on 10-4-06 by oval TOFU ]
oval TOFU ·
before.....
after....
and with the 225's. All with 3mm of clearence. No scrubbing - even with 5 bums in the car. (thats gluteus maximi, not hobos off the street)
As I was going to fill her up with petrol, i managed to run dry! Luckily there wasn't much traffic as I splittered most of the way up a hill to the let lane from the right. Then I had to push it into here...
[ Edited on 10-4-06 by oval TOFU ]
oval TOFU ·
When I took off the spring plate covers, this is what I found in one of them...
spider corpses..
and sedimentry rock (well, nearly)
oval TOFU ·
It took me about 5 trials to get it to the correct ride height. I employed the spline-by-spline method as i didn't have a vernier protractor. I marked the original position of the torsion bar in the tube (still attached by the inner splines) and used a plumb line to obtain a reference point. I then pulled out the torsion bar - not easy when it's been in there for 50 years- cleaned it up and grease it and slid it back in at the appropriate angle.
So now, for the front..
[ Edited on 10-4-06 by oval TOFU ]
oval TOFU ·
karmen wrote:take ur foot of the clutch
maybe the front mount can do with renewing.
the wide tyres at the back make it so much nicer and safer to handle...better cornering and less chance of the rear end visiting the front (oversteer)
i did flip mine around at aboy 80 mph in the wet but missed the tree and fence BUT DID N O T ROLL due to rear widies only.
I DID the replace the front mount! That was the one that sheard off! So I got urethane all round now. and my foot aint on the clutch.. that's why it's resting on the tunnel :P
Yeh, the fats on the rear make the bug stick like poo to a blanket, but they're gonna go.... stay tuned..
oval TOFU ·
I gotta fix the this problem up at the front end now:
So out comes the fuel tank. It only had about 5 litres in it at the time, so it was easy to remove. It's only held in by four bolts. I make it a point to store all the nuts and bolts and other misc parts I disassemble, in labled little zip lock money bags. I 'aquire' them from work as they have hundreds of them.
Here, I behold the task that lies ahead: lots of degreasing!
53racer ·
yummy. personally I'd a had the front hella lower than the rear. like you im getting the 7" rears on, as you know :P but im keeping the 165's on and lowering the front only. give it the nascar look 😀
all the degreasing looks fun, kinda like my car.
oval TOFU ·
So first, I un did the tie rod ends. It was a mixture of the sealed versions and the older style ones with grease nipples. The one latter were encrusted with filth due to the grease that leaks out around the sides of the seals. It took a bit of hammering to get the ends out of the pitman arm and the stub axel axels too.
Next I unbolted the 4 pinch bolts on the torsion arms to release the link pins... Everything needed a liberal blast of WD40/RP70/CRC to free it up from all the crap that had accumulated over the years.
mmmmm old think gelatinated grease that doesn't really do it's job anymore...
oval TOFU ·
so I proceed to undo the six bolts holding in the front beam: there's the four horizontal ones that hold it to the frame member, and don't forget the two next to the brake fluid resevoir that attaches it to the body...
There's nothing that's nor filthy on this oval!
Supporting the beam with a jack
Had to just give it a bit of a wiggle and shake and a bash to get it to release it's 50 year old grasp from the chassis. I would've taken the steering box out to facilitate an easier removale of the the beam, but it was too difficult to get access to the bolts without getting crud in my eyes. http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i47/Endoism/Lowered/007.jpg
oval TOFU ·
old beam
new beam
steering box: before (there's a steering box under there somewhere!)
steering box: after
steering knuckle : before
and after
notice the how coagulated the grease channel is in the link pin bush. This is why my bushes and pins were so worn - because grease wasn't getting into the lubing points. In the small hole that feeds the channel, grease had just solidified into an un movable (by fresh grease) plug. So all the routine greasings at each car service (we all do this don't we?!) the joints weren't actually recieveing any new grease.
[ Edited on 10-4-06 by oval TOFU ]
oval TOFU ·
This is what worn link pins look like..
Due to the wear, I opted to get new link pins and bushes while it was all apart. Might as well do it all now and do it properly. Do it once, do it right!
Compare this to the old bush... now grease can do it's job.
oval TOFU ·
new beam in place.. got a bit scratched, so I'll have to touch it up...
nice and clean with new tie rod ends and tie rods - both are adjustable now. With the old ones, the shorter righ hand tie rod was of a fixed length. I don't know how you'd do a proper alignment like that...?
all bolted back up
notice the castor shims. I think they'll be needed as i'm dropping the front by about 3.5" AND have a bit of rake.
Brakes back together - note the early style with the diagonal shoes and 3 retainer springs - not horizontal and two springs
[ Edited on 10-4-06 by oval TOFU ]
oval TOFU ·
and now...
:thumb:thumb:thumb
Still got some small adjustments to make coz i'm anal. Shocks still need to be installed (need new upper bolts), brakes need to be adjusted and bled, a wheel alignment done and then it's off to someone to get checked over.
Can't wait to get her back on the road...
[ Edited on 10-4-06 by oval TOFU ]
PrettyBlueBug ·
Awesome! Bet all those changes will make driving the Tofu soooo much better! :P
karmen ·
now fit a sway bar from 61 onward too
easy now u have done all the hard yards...good pics
oval TOFU ·
Thanks Laura! It'll look heaps better, that's for sue! I got a couple rolls of sound insulation that is waiting to be installed next.. that should make long drives more tolerable with out ear plugs...
now fit a sway bar from 61 onward too
how much of a difference do they make?
empi ·
Lookin good Pikaju killer.. and about bloody time too.
Come on over fo a beer some time.
Ad
Turbo54 ·
With the non-adjustable tie rods, all 54's should be like this. That is how they came out. Looks good lowered. keep up the good work
T54
karmen ·
ok dudes here is a way to reduce noise esp the whine of the fan harmonics at certain speeds.
change the fan to a 40 hp or later it has a few more blades should also cool better.
i tried lining the lid in my 55 in 66 and made the thing too heavy
reckon checkerplate etc will be an option
pete wood ·
looks good. is that beam narrowed or standard width?
oval TOFU ·
Thanks for the kind word guys and gals. It IS about bloody time I got her off the high heels innit? The front end will probably ultimately end being a bit lower, after it settles down and has a full tank of dino juice and the spare tyre...
I can already feel the street cred surging through the car when I sit in it under the verandah and make dakdak noises...
54 drums are thinner than 60's ones - combined with smaller tyres, the beam looks looks like it's been narrowed 😉
I'm running a 40HP already, so it's 'quieter' than a 36HP.. Still pretty noisey though. Hopefully the 1/2" thick insullation will help somewhat. What's checkerplate gonna do besides weigh the car down Karmen? 🙂
PrettyBlueBug ·
Hahaha, the thought of you 'playing cars' in your driveway and 'dak-dakking' made me laugh! :P
weapon ·
MAN, that looks tres wicked. exactly the ride height i had in mind for the 56. now youve had some practice when would you like to do mine?:P:P:P
oval TOFU ·
weapon wrote:MAN, that looks tres wicked. exactly the ride height i had in mind for the 56. now youve had some practice when would you like to do mine?:P:P:P
lol, it's really not that difficult. I'd say removing an engine from an oval more of pain in the @$$ than doing a beam swap. There's only lots of crud to deal with if it's dirty... with the engine, there's more rocking this way... rocking that way... jack it up a bit more... slide it... watch out for the clutch fingers... ouch my fircken finger!.... dam, we DID need to take that off first to get the engine out...
you know I WOULD love to help... pity you're so far away...:P
VWFOOL ·
chris you know im proud of you doing that all by yourself, good job, but mate i wont be happy till that gap is gone above ur front tire! slam it i say! now its time to get rid of those front blinkers and whack on a set of oval tails.
oval TOFU ·
Thanks Sam. It does feel great to be able to say that you did it all yourself - which ai literally did! Balancing a beam on a trolley jack and moving it into place, all by one's self is a baich!
If I can get out my my driveway with no scraping, I'll lower it untill I touch the concrete...! It's my daily remember!
The exile of the front blinkers and rear 60's lights will be the next project.. and my sound insulation..
*did* ·
awesome dude! well done 🙂
bond ·
you got another 3cm to go on the front 🙂
i wouldnt go "tres" or "hella" sick, but getting there lol
i quite enjoy the nascar look too - a nice, tidy looking oval - and well done on the lowering job!
nick
oval TOFU ·
bond wrote:you got another 3cm to go on the front 🙂
i wouldnt go "tres" or "hella" sick, but getting there lol
i quite enjoy the nascar look too - a nice, tidy looking oval - and well done on the lowering job!
nick
yeh yeh yeh... that's what VWFOOL is telling me too... :jesus LOL
We'll see..
I did my final inspections on all the nuts and bolts, greased all the nipples and joints and bled and adjusted the brakes (nearly drove out the driveway without adjusting the brakes coz I was antsy to get it on the road!) And everything seemed to be ok. I took it out for a drive tonight - even though it was about 1230 at night.. And all was fine. The steering doesn't return to the center very well, even with my castor shims installed. But with more diving, it led me to believe I've got excessive toe-out. I nearly brushed the keb going around a round-a-bout that i'm used to only using a flick of the wrist to get past. I knew I couldn't get the alignment correct by myself, so it's off to the tyre shop tomoro for a proper alignment.
:thumb:thumb:thumb I'm stoked! Now it just have to drop the right hand rear spring arm one more fractoin to get it level with the left side, and I'll be all savvy!
Am i in the Lower Class now?
65busser ·
Great result Chris. Good on you for doing it all yourself and documenting it. Pics are exc too. It's come a long way huh?
bond ·
savvy! haha thats awesome!
blutopless2 ·
good stuff chris... now all we need is a cruise organised so we can all see your handywork up close!
PrettyBlueBug ·
Did someone say cruise? 😉 I'll be in that!
Should have a few more chromey additions to my Bug over the weekend, so she'll need showing off sometime soon after that! 😂
blutopless2 ·
well we are up for a cruise for sure... just got our oval back from mechanics and she's running shweet now... 😂
oval TOFU ·
Yup, in the words of Fatboy Slim, "You've come a long way baby!"
Who's up for another Dandy Cruise? I wanna take you through a special way this time too.. KKK knows what I'm talking about.. maybe this time, Laura and Eden will get off thier butts to join us!
VWFOOL ·
your cars so hot right now
PrettyBlueBug ·
I'll be there for sure, and I'm sure I could entice Eden to bring his Almost-Evil Bug along too... :P
oval TOFU ·
VWFOOL wrote:your cars so hot right now
Mugatu: "Hansel, he's so hot right now. Hansel."
blutopless2 ·
would be up for another Dandy cruise for sure!
oval TOFU ·
sweet!
Just had my wheel alignment done: 28mm toe-out on the LH and 11mm toe-in on the RH. LOL that was all done by the ruler from the old tie rods... not very accurate was I now?! Drives very well now. It drives straight, steering is light and it pretty much returns to the centre after turning a corner.
I haven't been this excited since April O'Neill changed her clothes in the cartoon TMNT series!
oval TOFU ·
more...
With the front end lowered now, the muffler has some clearence when i back out of the driveway now.. no more scraping for me.
just because...
boristherat ·
Wow! Just beautiful! An absolutely gorgeous ride! Top job mate!
oval TOFU ·
Thanks Boris!
Avi: "Why do they call him Boris the Bullet Dodger?"
Bullet Tooth Tony: Ludicrous look on face- "Coz he dodges bullets, Avi...
karmannghia60 ·
Looks great, well worth the wait for sure
GASBNR ·
Nice to see it down, good work Chris.
oval TOFU ·
Thanks Raf and Ol... It's certainly been worth the wait! I get a massive grin across my face each time I even look at it, let alone drive it. It's been a pretty long journey and so many people have helped me get to where I am now - you all know who you are.... Thanks guys
SOHC ·
Looks cool, hopefully i see her one day, gee! the rego is even hell long b4 i was born
PrettyBlueBug ·
Definitely looks awesome Chris! :thumb
I smile when I see my Bug too, it's so nice when they make us happy! :P
killakornkobb ·
nice one bruh.. room in the carport for adolf now eh? come round when ya free, i wanna ride in the tofu
weapon ·
one super sweet, well wicked, bad as, awesome, kick ass oval. love it.
rob
I smile when I see my Bug too, it's so nice when they make us happy! :P
Yeh, it's about time she returned da love!
Damo: Yeh, there's room for Adolf now..:thumb I bet my dad will be impressed when there's another beetle in the carport.. meh.
Thanks again for the comment guys and gals, it really makes it all worth while in the end...
*did* ·
killakornkobb wrote:i wanna ride in the tofu
tasty
oval TOFU ·
I just spent about 2 hours custom fitting my bamboo parcel tray in. I had to unravel 3 sections of bamboo away to get to the 'core' and whittle away at it so it would fit under the dash. It was just way too tite to be abel to get it to fit properly... so stay tuned, pics coming...
oval TOFU ·
Being the anal person that I am.. (not in the date-pushing sense) I lowered the right rear suspension 5mm to even it up with the left side. Here's how I did it. This is MY way of doing it. There ARE other methods..
First, with the car on the ground and the handbrake up, crack the wheel bolts (alternating sides like in the way you would draw a 5 sided star on paper without lifting your pen off), then jack the car up until the tyre is about 10mm off the ground. THEN take the bolts off all the way and roll that wheel outta the way.
Now you have a nice clear view of the spring plate and stub axel, it's time to mark where these two join up. This is very important as it attributes to your rear wheel alignment. Use a cold chisel and bang in some indentations - I did 3 per end bolt.
To be extra accurate, I lightly sprayed the stub axel and spring plate with some contrasting silver paint to mark exactly where they meet.
For some (like me) you won't have to undo you're brake line. You'll be able to swivel it back and out of the way of the spring plate. You can loosen the axel boot on the axel tube slightly so it'll rotate without having all the stinky gearbox oil pour out onto the floor. if you can't achieve this, un bolt that brake line to give yourself clearence.
So undo those three bolts holding the stub axel to the spring plate and the lower shock bolt too.
Next, undo the four bolts holding on the spring plate cover and also the 4 bolts holding the front part of the guard to the body. You'll need the room to withdraw the spring plate and torsoin bar.
Normally when you're suspention is at stock height, it'll sit tightly on that lip. You'll need to hammer it off the lop from behind with a hammer. It's a good idea to get a jack under the end of the spring plate so it doesn't give your arm or shin a nasty suprise if it's too close when you dislodge it from the lip. I found, as long as you keep your limbs out of the way, it's not going to cut anyting off you body. When the plate is off the lip and unloaded, note where it's resting in relation to the mount, or whatever you wanna call it. In this pic, you can see where I oriignally scribed a line to mark the angle of the torsion bar when it was under no load.
Now some people use a protractor and a plumb line, I used a plumb line on the end of the torsion bar splines. I marked the vertical line on the top and bottom of the bar. (note the two dots where the plumb line sits - same goes for the bottom)
Next, slowly pull the torsion bar out. If it hasn't been moved for over 20 years, chances are that it'll be sliiiiiiiiiiiiiightly stuck. It'll need some convincing with an adjustable wrench and hammer. Otherwise, just wiggle it out slowly until you can [just] feel it come out of the splines in the torsion bar housing. (The edges of the splines are chamfered, so you'll feel the torsion bar drop slightly when it comes out of the inner splines.)
I only needed to rotate it clockwise one inner spline (and counter clockwise one outer spline - this will result in an approx 5mm drop)
Liberally grease up the bushes with specialised rubber grease. Normal stuff will break down the rubber and turn it into a Slurpee. Not good for your suspension or ride quality.
..with the spring plate back on. You'll see that the plate is only raised very slightly on the lip. This will translate to much more at the end of the spring plate where the stub axel as bolted. so don't fret that it's no much.
Now bolt up that stub axel back to the spring plate. tighten up all the bolts until theres only a 0.5 mm gap, then tap it into alignment with the chisel marks and spray paint from earlier. Remembe to do this accuratly. You may have a small flat section on the lower shock mount. I think these were cast to facilitate the hammering of the stub axel to align it properly. Torque it all up to 70lb's. Reinstall the lower shock bolt too - 30lb would be enough. **Don't forget to tighten up the axel boot too! Make sure that it's not twisted.**
Bolt up the guard and wheel to the drum.. drive around the block and over some speed humps to settle the suspension and hopefully... you'll have done it properly! It initally took me about 5 tries to get it correct. I can now do this whole proceedure in under 45 mins. That's because every is greased up and compliant. When it was the first time, it took about 2 hours per side as those torsion bars can be a real bitch to remove!
Sit back and enjoy the sunset... a beer wouldn't hurt either...
[ Edited on 15-4-06 by oval TOFU ]
[ Edited on 15-4-06 by oval TOFU ]
[ Edited on 25-4-06 by oval TOFU ]
pyr0 ·
that was an awesome little read that last bit you sound copy and paste it into the tech section so it can be used by all for further reference 👍
oval TOFU ·
oh, and remember to tighten up your shock munting bolts properly - I just lost mine on the M1 somewhere.. only the bolt - not the whole shocker luckily!
BUGBOY ·
Mate shes looking good!
they must be wide guards on the front?:thumb
Volkswagenboy ·
I'm assuming narrrowed beam.
-Staggers.
oval TOFU ·
BUGBOY wrote:Mate shes looking good!
they must be wide guards on the front?:thumb
😉
I took some more pics to see whether I like the fat tyres on the rear, or the skinnys...
And this is for VWFOOL....
and
VWFOOL ·
you amaze me mate, well done on the DIY.
ps. skinnys for sure
BUGBOY ·
Go the skinny mate.
Looks sweet, hows she turn? no problems.
65busser ·
Skinny. Just so sweet. Great pics too.
oval TOFU ·
Well, i've been a slacker - nearly a whole year without updating this thread. Well, plenty has happened during this time (in my mind anyway) but thankfully, nothing bad...
I'll let the pics speak...
Somewhere on the Great Ocean Road...
on the way to DOTVW 06
there...
poseurs...
Random...
there should be more to come when i can scan some of my film...
Enjoy. Not Emjoi.
killakornkobb ·
i love belle 🙂
CAFFINEPUSHERMAN ·
looking good wang!! see ya soon when we catchin up for cafe ass master
jhp1 ·
Hey mate the Black and red Beetle with the scallops is that from Bendigo Im sure Ive seen it before, either way it looks cool as does yours.
rupewrecht ·
jhp1 wrote:Hey mate the Black and red Beetle with the scallops is that from Bendigo Im sure Ive seen it before, either way it looks cool as does yours.
That'd be mine. I'm usually up in Bendigo every coupla months to see a few mates up there!
Or to get parts off Rhett/Phatbug :thumb lol
edit: Ahh so that's your Commo Ute with the 20's! Nice!
[ Edited on 20-3-2007 by rupewrecht ]
oval TOFU ·
CAFFINEPUSHERMAN wrote:looking good wang!! see ya soon when we catchin up for cafe ass master
That's Mr Wang to you!
I'll be down in GTown much more at the start of April.. we'll toast some roast then yeh?
jhp1 ·
Nice one rupewrecht. Yeah that'd be my ute and stato you've probably seen parked on High St out in the Square.
Nice looking ride mate.
Cheers
Jase
killakornkobb ·
this threat needs a revival 'yo
hey chris u got any more piks from that shoot with dan? them was some good times
oval TOFU ·
killakornkobb wrote:this threat needs a revival 'yo
hey chris u got any more piks from that shoot with dan? them was some good times
Wow, that's going to take some serious grave digging of some photos! I know I have them somewhere....
When are you getting your semi back on the road mate?
EgeWorks ·
Hey old school thread. Old school people. Once I sort the Fasties issues we need an old school cruise.
oval TOFU ·
EgeWorks wrote:Hey old school thread. Old school people. Once I sort the Fasties issues we need an old school cruise.
Kewl Mcgool! Belle needs to stretch her legs...
killakornkobb ·
oval TOFU wrote:When are you getting your semi back on the road mate?
christ only knows mate, with the wedding plans, and europe and reno's at kristys pad... i'd like to squeeze it in this year.. but maybe 2011 will be the year adolf rises again!
oval TOFU ·
It'll be the year of Mein Kampf... 🙂
oval TOFU ·
EgeWorks wrote:Hey old school thread. Old school people. Once I sort the Fasties issues we need an old school cruise.
Hey Eden
You got your orange bug on the road still?
What needs to be done with the fastie?