Well its been nearly 6 years now since ive last had a readers ride thread way back when avd first started so heres a new one
i got my 74 Lbug 8 years ago after i totalled my 71 Sbug and well its changed somewhat over the years since then
for those that have been following the supercharger saga the 1776 is back in now
i havent been game to leave town and really open it up yet but i did a quick blat down a "drag strip"......
hard to see with my shakey camera action but it pulls 0-100 in 7.5secs at 8PSI without really beating it too hard still needs abit of tweaking tho
Well anyway heres my bug in past lives
The Evolution of DUB74L
it was an innocent nanna bug when i got it
100% original even the paint cept for gaurd repairs and came with all the logbooks and papers etc
it had lived in canberra since new so it was rust free except for a hole under the battery
something thats highly unusual for a 70s bug specially an Lbug that still had its roof
so i snapped it up
circa 2000
Herbie look
this was just for shits and giggles for the first herbie parade in 2001
it was rather embarrasing so was very short lived
Resprayed in 2001 and back to stock.
my boy racer phase
Aww my gawd how embarrasement.....
18" zeptors, the token colour coded mono wiper, twin 4" cannons, under car neons and a $2.5k sound system that was 3.7dB LOUDER than a jumbo jet at 30metres
Im sure it impressed 🤪🤪
wedding car time and time again:
present day:
ive done every single bit of work to this car myself with the exception of the paint and gearbox rebuild
ive painted a few of my other cars i hate spray painting and vw gearboxes are like a rubix cube once u get them apart
the only part left on this car that hasnt been tampered with by me is the dash fan lol and it needs to come out for new brushes
i had it resprayed in the original crystal white but in 2pac, i couldnt bring myself to change the colour as much as i wanted to paint it in ford shiraz or nissan electric blue
interior is just something i made up
front seats are gen5 celica,i redid the rear seat and door panels to match, leather Momo corse wheel, tarted up dash with carbon fibre dash panel, oil press, temp, boost, Air/fuel ratio gauges, white face indiglow speedo and a monster tach
a jvc mp3 head with MTX/vdo amps, alpine and kicker splits and subs and a 1.5F capacitor under the seat and a few other toys like remote keyless entry, alarm, quick shift and im installing power windows soon, im sick of breaking brazillian winder handles
ive put a fair but of work into the suspension and running gear
the engine is a supercharged 1776 with dhla dellorto, tighe cam, lightened flywheel, headwork yadda yadda ya....
its putting down about 100hp at the treads at 8psi, so its nothing real special but it cranks along very nicely
and is good for embarrasing all these dickheads in there falcodores and jap riceboxes
all she needs now is to be lowered 2" all round thanks to the smaller 17" rims not filling the gaurds like the old 18s did, but im not doing that till i get my new stainless A1 zorst
eventually she will be rolling on 18" porsche cup 3 turbo twists 😵
front end ive made up my own custom narrow coil adjustable struts and strut brace, koni inserts, whiteline swaybar rear is pretty stock, gearbox is a fairly stock freeway flier with a 0.89 4th which sux when i run a stock motor lol
i dont think it will ever be classed as finished
im always finding something to change
Over the coarse of 8 years its had:
6 different engines, 3 different gearboxs, 4 different interiors and about 8 different stereo systems and god only knows how many sets of rims
my fully hektik home made strut brace
The cockpit
Bass in ya Face YO!
Subwoofer kitty approves.
Joel ·
70 rota bug
ive had this 7 years now it was an old cal looker back in the day
it had 6volt gaurds and engine lid, massive rake, black and chrome porsche fuchs and a 13B rotary POS in it
its been pretty reworked underneath and the usual cal tricks on the body
my plans were swap it to EJ20T do up the body and go racing, it was gonna be a german look track car
well i got as far as doing the body work and giving it a quick paint job
im trying to find someone who;ll finish it off atm cos ill never get a chance to
heres my 73Lbug and 75 1300 pov model standard bug
the red one i was gonna baja but just never got around to it
its pretty solid and original, has an almost perfect interior and wait for it........
yes it had a 61 model stale air 40hp 1200 what a speed demon.....
the Lbug is ratty but very solid too
it was a bit rough inside thou 🤪
Lbug convertable
i had some very big plans for this one
i was gonna turn it into something really special and have it ready for dubs by the pub 07, yep last year.....
well as it goes with convertables it just had to many hidden sins and ive raided to many bits and pieces to do what i want
so its still in the planning stage at this point in time
A good mate of mine picked this ol girl up from freinds way out west of moree where it hasnt rained for the last 5 years
its been out there most of its life so its rock solid, just severly sunburned
i wanted to make a rat out of it but theres just to much work in getting it back on the road
i was thinking put its body on the black bugs floorpan but thats ruining 2 cars
so for now shes sitting in the back of dons shed patiently waiting for her moment
heres my first daily
i decided on something sensible
i was looking at a WRX but my family and freinds threatened to disown me if i got it
and my inability to drive sensibly in anything with too much power would have surely ended in heart ache
i wanted something that has all the toys and gadgets a new car should, has plenty of balls but runs on the best part of f**k all fuel
i looked at a few ST N16 pulsars but i found this and fell in love with it
it still drives and smells like a new car, the spare tyre has never even been bolted onto the car LOL
so heres my first green mazda that thinks its a ford
i told myself to keep it standard for a daily driver but like all things with me it snowballed
first went on the rims, then to compliment that needed some lowered springs, then the extractors and sports exhaust, tint, stereo....... and on and on it goes
more Bass in ya face YO!
this is my other green mazda that also thinks its a ford.....97 festi, also FUCT 😂
i needed a little pussbox for my little brother to learn in cos hes not going anywhere near my others and mum or dad dont have the nerves to teach him
he gets it once he has his Ps
it parks anywhere and runs on the sniff of an oily rag but geez chuck in 5 ppl and crank the A/C is like kicking it sqaure in the balls 🤪🤪
i think the stereo pumps out more KW than the engine
yep even more bass in ya face....
this is the work hack/VW recovery vehicle
03 D22 navara turbo diesel tipper
Camo ·
Holly sh#t. Firstly, I have never had a car that long and the amount of changes over the years, wow. AND, what about how many cars you have?? I wish I had a few cars and the space to put them. Would love to come see how your s/c motor goes, and well done with that. I use to have a s/c toyota with that s/c and you have addapted it well.
Keep up the good work and look forward to the next version of your car.
Kev
liltimmy1300 ·
Lol hopefully one of them will be mine verryyyy soon :P. Love the s/c 74 joel. will have to take me for a ride in it one day.HOT
Bizarre ·
very impressive Joel
That s/charger is just brilliant 👍
NUMNUTS ·
your a big fan of the fatgirls Joal.....can I have your oval ?😵
trickysimon ·
Those new rims really set it off. Very nice ride!
Simon
Joel ·
hopefully wont be to many more changes now
ill have to call it bipolar bug
im slowly culling the car count down
but yeah heres a few more past and present
this is the old mans VW
its a 1997 bon trike
its fully imported from germany
it was one of the first batch brought over b4 they started building them here
its only 400 odd KG so it doesnt need much power pushing it
engine is a 1600 just with a few hand me down go fast bits from my bug
and this was the bug that kicked it all off
it was my christmas present from my parents when iwas 13
i spent a few years doing it up for my licesnce
but yeah typical P plater
drifting in the wet one night a tree jumped out at me
RIP Lucy
theres been a few other bugs come and go too
that ive wrecked and parted out over the years
yellow 1300 was daisy the funbug LOL
i scored for $100 with a reco 1600 engine, rebuilt brakes, new shocks and solid panels and a set of hotwire mags. just had rooted floors
its gone to VW heaven now
76bug ·
hi dub 74l do u have any details on how u built your ustom coil adjustable struts??? i would like to make some for my 71super thanx
Joel ·
PM sent
kroozzn63 ·
cool story dude, imagine if everyone did there own story ?it would take weeks to look through ,but very cool
Joel ·
yea thats me always gotta be different 🤪
so yah apoligies to ppl on dial up LOL
jo_tas ·
Interesting to see them all!
I didn't know about that ratty oval.. pretty cool!
Joel ·
same old story when it was forsale noone wanted it when it isnt u could sell 500 of them
JEN056 ·
Nice work Joel
Your car has gone through many changes by the looks😂
I like the way it is now. Nice and neat with a touch of toughness. Nice work👍
Joel ·
wow old thread
been a few more changes since, ill do an update later
its funny this thread wasnt all that long ago but since then ive sold all the other bugs so for the first time in nearly 10 years theres only 1 VW in the shed
paladin ·
Great story, mate. I actually find all this stuff really fascinating - especially the changes people make that they end up not liking. I'm really looking forward to seeing this car one day.
Joel ·
not really much to update
as u can probably guess by the title ive been playing around with LEDs
ive replaced every single bulb in the car now with LEDs with the exception naturally of the headlight bulbs but im planning on installing some 8000K HIDs and the oil and charge light need to stay normal bulbs to work properly
it took some hunting but i managed to find LEDs for every size bulb in the car
one of my pet peves with VWs is really yellow parkers
u can see b4 and after the difference white LEDs make there not really as blue as my shitty camera makes out
ive also done all the rear lights and front indicators as the coloured bulbs were ruining the effect of my new clear lenses
LEDs also only use 10% of the power that a normal equivelnt bulb does so its taken a real load off the electrical system
aside from that havent done much really
i did an illegal tint job (15%) on it a few months ago, got my power windows installed, german look mirrors on and finally set it at a ride height im happy with and is somewhat functional when it comes to speedbumps and driveways
ive got a few new gadgets still waiting to go on
as many of the SBO members know i got a rack and peanut front end waiting to go in
plus a few various engine goodies to play with, the most exciting being a new hair drier
and a rear disc brake kit also waiting to go in too
staul777 ·
hi Joel,beautifully presented dub,just looking through old posts,and saw the black 70s rota bug,recognized it from ebay last year ,is it still for sale ifso im interested
i just live up the road at cawongla ,good to see vdubs alive and kicking in lismore regards Steve
Joel ·
Hi Steve
good to see another local on here
let me know if your interested in the northern rivers Klubvw, we have our next cruise on sunday
it killed me to do it but had to part with the rota bug after 7 years of inactivity
its now down in sydney with another forum member being finished off
staul777 ·
Thanks for the quick reply Joel im interested, do you hold regular meetings and runs ,how many members .Just started doing up a 64 bug ,early days yet,im doing a ground up rebuild ,severe rust in a pillars,built a type4 2lt with dtm fan shroud for a buggy i built and then striped "sold the body and chassis to another aussiedub member " philsmanx
and kept all the good bits , anyway it should be about 6 months"more like a year" till she's up and running,so ill definitely be looking at coming to a meet then.
keep an eye out and ill post some picks soon
Joel ·
Hi Steve
yep we have club runs every 2 months
currently we have about 35 members but always looking for more
if ur looking for parts one of the members has a 67 beetle theyre wrecking thats been in a light roll over
ian.mezz ·
come on Joel where r u hiding your wrx bug😂
Joel ·
dont laugh mr bad influence but i was talking to a guy yesterday in byron who is parting out a subi and jokingly said to him how much u gonna sell me the engine for??
dont know why i had to go and do that cos now i cant help myself specially at the that price
maybe a talking to from the old man will snap me outta it
dAVo ·
Looks good man. I like it a lot. I love seeing the work some people put into their cars. I wouldn't have the patience.
71-BEETLE-SEDAN ·
Hey nice ride. i like the stages its been through.
I myself are going through the boy racer stage and as wondering how you ran the dual cannonns and where you got all the led lights?
Joel ·
hey josh good to see ya found the place
the cannons were a similar setup to dads trike only mounted lower to clear the body work of a bug
they were painfully noisy, had sweet FA ground clearance and killed low down performance so i took them off
Now as most know the subaru conversion is underway so i should be out driving it heaps enjoying the last few weeks of VW powership but as usually its tucked away in the shed under its blankee and hasnt moved for over 3 weeks
dangerous ·
Oh no.
Another dude whose "changed teams".
LIFE IN THE LOW LANE ·
Batting for the "other" team....🙁🙁
such a sad day.......
Joel ·
HA! the irony
yea yea its true,
my engine bays lookign alittle japanese influenced these days
say konichiwa to engine #7
bajachris88 ·
Man all these cars and $$$... what do u do for a day job?
🙂
Joel ·
pimpin pays well dogg.....
nah still here managing the farm
i swear ill still be stuck here doing it till the day i die
shouldnt complain, love it and wouldnt be doing anything else, just wish i had a bit more free time
been out there all day fixing flood and storm damage plus it gives the old man something to do
this threads abit old
i was paying half the national debt each year in regos and projects i was never gonna finish
funny, for the first time since way back when i was 17 im down to just 2 cars again,
so now its just the green goober and the bug
im sure that will change tho
having 2 cars both ride height challanged and the yerning to be out 4WDing with mates is gonna get me into trouble
dAVo ·
I'm not sure but I think I like it more with the bumpers on. But that's just me.
Either way the car looks sweet mate!
Joel ·
im not a fan of Tbars on supers either
i was just respraying my bumpers and wanted something on there for protection
my original chrome bars are burried deep somewhere and the Tbars were handy
colonel mustard ·
Id love to see your collection of stuff joel. I recon I could get everything I need from your pile Rather than a shop!
Joel ·
welcome back custard,
thought you'd gone MIA on us 😂
colonel mustard ·
Nah. I was just in normanton for 3 weeks doing some youth/community work. Didn't see a vw further north than blackall. Saw a 68 herbie there that belongs to the local mechanic. Good times. I don't want to be in a bus for another 6 months.
1303Steve ·
Hi Joel
Looks like a good fit.
Steve
Joel ·
yeah i'm stoked with how well it fits
looks like its meant to be there
best move i made so far was getting one of John shermans fibreglass valances
i had one on the black bug and it makes life so much easier even with a VW engine
EJ bolted straight up without even having the bug jacked up
still deciding what to do with the front though
would love a US style vented A/C one but dunno if i can face unstitching another valance
back was fiddley enough, front looks like it would be worse
1303Steve ·
Hi Joel
If your going to keep your front Kamei you might as well cut a hole through it and your front apron like Jak did.
Steve
Joel ·
the mate i sold my red bug too is a fibreglasser, i was gonna see if he could mould some sort of discreet scoop into it
then i can carve a hole in my valance and put some fully heckit racer mesh in to keep the bugs and rocks off the rad/condensor
1303Steve ·
Sounds like a good plan, when you do the scoop make sure really duct the incoming air all the way in
colonel mustard ·
does the valance bolt in? does it line up well..... Looks like a good idea, I want one without the exhaust bumpouts anyway..... looks good. Love the white tinware, love it. (let me know if you want to let it go in the future.......) do you have any other photo's of it????
Joel ·
yea i got a whole folder full of pics on removing it
just keep watching this space
when i get a chance ill do a full thread in Non-vw engine section on the whole conversion
its just a mould of a stock EFI style valance
looks stock when installed
just bolts on using the stock gaurd bolts
makes engine work a breeze
engine in or out without even lifting the bug off the deck
colonel mustard ·
I only ask cause mine got smacked up the back and i guess getting a fiberglass once is better than getting a metal one cut off a car - no one wants to work with the reproduction metal ones for some reason. I just have to have the rear quarter straightened, and then one of these bolted in I guess. Looking forward to seeing a thread about it 🙂
71-BEETLE-SEDAN ·
Hey Joel
The white engine ware looks great.
I have a few questions bout the subi conversion.
How long has it taken you to get to the stage your at now and how much longer do you think itll be before your finished?
Also how much do you think itll cost to complete?
Cheers Josh
colonel mustard ·
hey Joel, sorry bout all the questions, but what re-inforcement is behind the fibreglass valance... is the metal backing bolted in there also??
Rural Baja ·
Mate,
Fantastic story and pics, Sure to make any VW bloke very envious. 🙂
What sort of horses are we looking at comparing the supercharged dub engine to the subi engine?
Shame about Lucy, looked a real neat looking bug. 😢
Cheers will
Joel ·
71-BEETLE-SEDAN wrote:Hey Joel
The white engine ware looks great.
I have a few questions bout the subi conversion.
How long has it taken you to get to the stage your at now and how much longer do you think itll be before your finished?
Also how much do you think itll cost to complete?
Cheers Josh
hey josh,
hard to say how much time ive actually spent on it cos i just work on it in dribs and drabs as i get time or parts arrive
i got the engine nearly 3 months ago but i spent quite a while just gathering parts and designing things first
i reckon about 20 hours so far has the valance removed, engine prepped and installed, fuel lines run, intake made up, throttle setup and today ive started building a zorst system
one of the guidelines with this conversion was to do it cheaply but also not cut any corners and show ppl that its not always big $$ involved to do an engine conversion if your not afraid to get your hands dirty and have a go
i grabbed a few more parts for it today but so far ive put just under $1400 into it all up
ive been extremely lucky with the cost so far, i was able to take anything from the Liberty i wanted for $500 without having to take the shell and i fluked alot of new parts very cheaply thro ebay and various forums
im fairly confident ill come in under $3k even if its abit over that im still more than happy as its well under what my 1776 cost to build and half of what an N/A vw of 145hp+ costs
some things i splurged on tho, i had aluminium header tank and surge tank tigged up when i could have just run a plastic one from a new corolla/echo or falcon and some ppl swear you dont need a surge tank...
i;m doing everything myself as i like the challange and satisfaction involved however, the one luxury im treating myself to is Al's doing my loom
an extra $250 will be money well spent considering it would take me around 25-30 hours to do it and whilst im right at home doing auto electrics its very tedious work, the ECU alone has nearly 70 wires coming out of it
once the looms back i have to install and wire it up, finish making the muffler, setup the fuel tank and pumps
ive already got the radiator and header tank but still need to get coolant lines as i havent decided yet which way im going with the lines
so if all the parts were here probably another 2 weekends solid work as the front still needs to be cut up for the rad
and another side project im doing with it is installing A/C but that will happen once the engines in and running
so i wont make my goal of klubfest but i also hadnt planned on having to spend so much extra time getting the farm back in shape after the flooding and wild storms devastated it.
ive taken a shitload of photos of everything ive done so far and as i said earlier i plan on making a really detailed thread in the other section at some stage
i tried to do heaps of reading about the conversion before i started, a few ppl like jorg and brad had threads with bits and pieces but noone has done any real in depth ones for EJ22 into a beetle
Joel ·
colonel mustard wrote:hey Joel, sorry bout all the questions, but what re-inforcement is behind the fibreglass valance... is the metal backing bolted in there also??
Jason questions are what forums are for
theres no reinforcing behind the valance, you could make something but it really isnt necessary
theyre pretty thick fibreglass and have strenght similar to the standard steel one
my black bug was pretty solid in the back and it didnt even have bumpers, the bumpers bolted up make it very solid
im building a sleeper style zorst which will just have 2 tail pipes coming out in the stock cutouts, so now that i've gone to the effort of getting one of johns valances, after seeing how well the standard one went back on and the fact i need cutouts ive decided not to use it and keep the stock one on
so if you or anyone else wants a fibreglass valance let me know
Joel ·
1963 Empi Radar wrote:Mate,
Fantastic story and pics, Sure to make any VW bloke very envious. 🙂
What sort of horses are we looking at comparing the supercharged dub engine to the subi engine?
Shame about Lucy, looked a real neat looking bug. 😢
Cheers will
cheers will
a stock EJ22 has 100kw stock which is around 140hp
by the time my intake and exhaust system which are better flowing than stock are in it may pick up another 10hp or so
my tired and abused 1600 that i built over 10 years ago with the blower was putting down 85hp at the treads
my 1776 was never dynod with the blower on but i had it pegged for about 100-105 at the wheels which is pretty much spot on what the EJ22 should be good for
EJ22 are very torquey engines but still wouldnt match a blower but im not fussed what is loses on swings it gains on the merry-go-round
yea it really broke my heart when i wrote lucy off
but i have noone to blame except myself for driving like a total Fwit
but in nearly 12 years of having a license its the only prang ive ever had, well if u dont count falling asleep and running off the road clipping a wing mirror
71-BEETLE-SEDAN ·
I am still in school and will probably be until end 2010.
So at the moment i only work in the hols.
I have been thinking about the subaru conversion alot and have pretty much got my mind set on it now.
I plan to do alot of the pulling of he stock engine and putting the new one in myself the only thing i dont want to do is the electrics of it all.
I also have searched for indepth step by step guides so ill be waiting for yours.
Cant wait till its done so can convince mum and dad that ill be able to finish it not just leave it in the garage.
Joel ·
the electrical side of the conversion is by far the biggest part of the job and it will either make or break the conversion
i love auto electrical work, ive worked in car audio/aircondition and can handle chopping down the loom but even im not going to attempt it
Al at AM auto does this stuff day in day out and for an N/A subi like mine that doesnt have fly by wire throttle is charging me $250 to turn my loom into a plug and play jobbie
i consider that great value for money for whats involved
just to scare you heres my loom-o-doom as pulled the liberty to show you the sheer size of it
it was a GX heritage or something so had electric everything but the really late cars are far worse yet again
colonel mustard ·
Are you putting the air con / heating into your bug Joel??? that would be sweeeet!!!
in regards to the valance, You have PM
71-BEETLE-SEDAN ·
There is no way ill be doing the wiring of this, ill run the wires or watever but shotgun not sorting that mess ouut.
Cant wait till your done.
Joel ·
colonel mustard wrote:Are you putting the air con / heating into your bug Joel??? that would be sweeeet!!!
in regards to the valance, You have PM
yup A/C for sure but i was thinking i can live without heat, i took the heaterboxes out ages ago cos i never used them but having 2nd thoughts on that now with how cold its been here the last few weeks
oh yea let me know if you still want those tombstone taillights, had a look today theyve survived the hail storms untouched and the lenses are new plus the housings havent got the bottoms rusted out per usual
just need the 300 layers of paint taken off
poor old sonic had been painted about 5 or 6 different colours over the years 😂
colonel mustard ·
yep. want them. Will pm you
Joel ·
i took this pic 10 mins ago.....
if i didnt know any better i would swear there was never a scooby in there
if the weathers is nice i might go for a blat up the road for perv at wintersun, havent driven my bug for over a month
getting to used to wipers on the left 🤪
and on a totally unrelated note
it only took 18 years but the old mans camry finally hit the big 100 today
it was grandfathers baby from new
had 72,000kms when he gave it to dad 2 and half years ago after he gave up driving
its the strangest sensation driving an SV21 that still drives like new as most of them have been to the moon and back several times over with the rattles to prove it
colonel mustard ·
Hey, random question, the number plate light stickout part on the decklid, do all of them have like a dimple, or part where it feels like its been dropped.... you seem to have bugs everywhere, is this just how they are...?
Joel ·
if ur talking about right in very middle on the top what looks sort of like a hail dent.....
yea alot have that but no its not factory
its caused by the middle bolt that holds the number plate light housing to the decklid being overtightened
71-BEETLE-SEDAN ·
Hey joel.
Just wondering how the conversions going.
I see you havent added any more pics for a while,.
Let us know how its going cause it looks like its on the way to finished.
Cheers
Joel ·
its not far off but its gone on the backburner for a while as ive had a mates bug for a couple of weeks for a heap of work
i got it finished and out the door on saturday but as is a typical joelism, ive started another project before finishing this one
bit of an impulse buy yesterday morning picked up another project car..
hellbugged ·
had to dig down a bit for this one Joel.........should be motivated after the winter break meet.....and only 7 weeks to Warwick!
oh and you have one turbo charged PM to look at.........you know what i mean 😉
Joel ·
dang... there go my top secret plans 😂
noones gonna beleive me a its a 1600 with an ebay electronic supercharger now
colonel mustard ·
Joel is going TURBO!!!.... sorry, just trying to start rumors...
colonel mustard ·
love the video! good stuff 🙂
trickysimon ·
Now do one leaving valance on with twin carbs and sidewinder 😂
Joel ·
lol why do u think theres a poxy granny spec engine in it when i got a 1776 is sitting right there
colonel mustard ·
because im coming to "borrowwwww..." that 1776 :P you just took it out for me. 🙂
Joel ·
for those that dont really head into the darkside forum its been up and running for 2 weeks now
ive got just over 100kms of city and highway driving on it so far and its running like clockwork
the cooling system is working like a charm, the only problem ive had is my crappy homemade speed sensor didnt like open road speeds but all thats doing is makeing the check engine light come on if im coasting along at speed without accellerating, it still drives fine without it
i may need to quiet down the muffler abit, ive been asked twice already if its a WRX conversion.
its not loud but it has that typical choppy WRX note and theres a slight sound of a turbo spooling which i initally thought was an air leak but its just an electrical whine from the alternator i think
im stoked with the power, at nearly 150hp its already 20-30hp up on most hot 1916 VW motors but its 100x smoother and more economical and the best part....quieter
and if i do manage to kill it which is hard to do with these engines another one is only $500 away
oh and i didnt have to baja the back of my bug to fit it or spend $4k on a gearbox to be able to enjoy the power
i couldnt go through it again but im glad i took the plunge
its taken from march to get it from this to running in the bug but i didnt exactly work on it consistantly
71-BEETLE-SEDAN ·
Feel like doing another one in a little while?
1303Steve ·
Hi Joel
I couldn't find your speed sensor information, could you cut down the number of magnets to slow it down for the open road?
Steve
Joel ·
steve it was more the fact it was just a simple reed switch designed to tell if a house door was opened or closed
although thats all thats in the subi dash clusted with a bunch of magnets on the speedo cable input
ive ordered an inductive proximity sensor which will be much more appriate and can handle speeds over 200km/h, not that i intend on going that fast but its handy to know
Joel ·
yay first show in nearly 18months
hasnt been to one since valla 08
thanks judy for the great pics
makes poor herbie look like a skinny school girl in high heels 😂
1303Steve ·
Hi Joel
It must feel good to be out in a bug again. CIP have the correct US air con aprons in now, I just bought a spare.
Steve
Joel ·
ive nearly hit 300kms in just over a fortnight, just havent stopped driving it,
the engine has just given it a whole new lease of life and just made it so enjoyable to drive now
that apron will do for now, i dont have the energy left at the moment to unpick it
plus talking with my mate the fibreglasser on friday hes got all these plans for my kamei which will cover it up anyway
1303Steve ·
Hi Joel
I know what you mean about a new lease of life, every time I changed something on my 1302 or Davids car its like driving a new car again or is that the Alzheimer's. A bit power makes the car feel like its lightweight.
Steve
71-BEETLE-SEDAN ·
It does look sick. My conversion is going on the backburners. It will begin in november 2011.
You have to take it to the nationals next year joel.
Joel ·
i've been doing a computer clean up this morn and came across this timewarp pic
Its my first 71 sbug , my ted bundy bug daisy, and my current Lbug when she was rolling on hektik hotwires and original patina
gotta love +6et rims on a 2 bolt strut bug 🤪
ian.mezz ·
Joel wrote:ive nearly hit 300kms in just over a fortnight, just havent stopped driving it,
the engine has just given it a whole new lease of life and just made it so enjoyable to drive now
that apron will do for now, i dont have the energy left at the moment to unpick it
plus talking with my mate the fibreglasser on friday hes got all these plans for my kamei which will cover it up anyway
300Ks a few more and you be selling it.😂😂😂
PS iAM upto about 10,000 in my super and thats a lot when you own and drive 7 cars.
ian.mezz ·
and I am that stupid that I have been driving my super around on those 42deg🤪 days to make sure the Radiator is working ok.🤪
Joel ·
nah, i did too, works well 😂
i had the same problem, back down to only 2 cars on the road again now so gotta use the bug more
its only done 55,000kms in 10 years ive owned it
dangerous ·
Good to see you out enjoying your car Joel.
How are the rpms at 100km/h with those tyres?
Aside from being much more quiet and smooth,
how would you compare your out right power/acceleration with your supercharged 1775?
Joel ·
to be honest the 1776 once i decompressed it only had the blower on for a short time and it was that long ago that its hard to make a good comparison.
no matter how much i twigged with the jetting and timing the blower and cam just would not play nice together.
it was so choppy down low but once it got over 2k it really threw you back in your seat up till the blower ran outta huff at 5k.
but seeing as the subi happilly winds out to the 6500rpm revlimiter it has a alot more topend power
it sits about 2900-2950 at 100km/h so the gearing hasnt actually changed and thats not much more than what a subi does in 5th gear
both my engines were from autos but i cant say i got the donor fast enough to see what it was turning at 100km/h
all the tyres looked like they only had about 4.5psi in them 🤪
Joel ·
well now that ive finally stopped playing around with the driveline of the bug its bout time i got done some of the bodywork jobs done i;ve been wanting to do for ages
after 8 years of being painted it has a few battle scars
in particular the rear left gaurd better known as the guard of doom just keeps copping a bashing time after time
after less than one month of being painted a young kid on a BMX crashed into leaving a small dent and few scratches on top.....shit happens
about 6 months later my ex's mother either backed into or ran over something which tore a 1" rip in the bottom of it where it meets the valance, she denies all knowledge....shit happens again.....
and 1year ago a bogan in a falcon ute backing out of the park next to me managed to hook the corner of his bull bar under my guard and crumpled the hell out of it....shit hap.... oh comeon, this is getting beyond a joke
ofcoarse he did the usual thing and drove off with no details left,
witnesses got his numberplate and i gave it to the police but nothing ever came of it
it did look pretty tradgic and was fairly badly pulled outta shape but i did some panel beating and got it back looking alittle less battered
after putting up with it for a year now its time to do something about it
also while im in a panelbeating/spraypainting state of mind ive got a couple of spots of rust developing to fix, Ive always wanted a 76 bumper on it and also a non vented decklid.
Now I'm too much of a tightarse to get a panel shop to do the work and its not worth doing a $1million job on it anyway as im doing a full respray and colour change on the bug later in the year and it will probably get a set of aero gaurds anyway
i've only ever painted 3 and half cars before and they were certainly nothing to boast about but as its only temporary thing i aint bovered
the 76 bumper Ive actually already painted and filled in the original guard mounts several months back
after years of searching i finally found a good original german 76 one that was rust and dent free
there was no way in hell i was putting one of those mexi POS on it
one person resting their foot on it is all it takes to buckle one of them.
a small fender bender were a german bumper would get no damage, the mexi ones usualy bend or kink and end up hitting the body making more work to fix
I can jump up and down on this one and it doesnt flex abit
i was lucky enough to have a mint condition 68 decklid which has no vents.
not a spec of rust, not a single dent and even just the original layer of factory savanah beigh paint with only the odd stone chip here and there
i;ve always like how clean the body looks with them, its just unfortunate that a twinport engine cant get enough airflow with no vent decklid vents
but now that i dont have a vw fan and pair of twin webers fighting each other for air, and do have a computerised engine with lots of electrical that doesnt like to get wet its perfect time to make the swap
firstly i degreased the 42 years of vw grease from underneath as i plan to paint the inside as well
nothing bugs me more than different coloured panels that dont dont get painted on the inside
as i was going for the clean look i wanted to shave the badge
those pin clips are a PITA
so many people break the pins off the badge or the clips trying to get them off
trick is to grab them with pliers and just keep rotating them off with gentle pressure
amazing how well factory paint buffs up
cos it was in such good condition all i did was knock the paint down abit with some 240grit followed by 400 and hit it with 2 coats of primer
the damaged guard is repairable but im too lazy and have a stash of good gaurds still so i just pulled one outta my stock pile
its off my ted bundy bug
it was in really good shape and had the original wattle paint as well
so first thing i did was knocked down the paint with some 180 grit
i wont show a pic of me after finishing that, but if you ever wanted to know what i looked like as a simpsons character, that was the day to find out
the only work it required was a few rocks thrown up off the back wheel had put outward dents in it
block sanding over them baremetaled any high spots
delicate work with hammer and dolly gets them as close to flat as possible
then a very light skim of bog over the to
the less the better
knocking the bog down with 80grit on a block sander will soon show any low spots which will need filling again
once all thats done a quick run over with 240 then 400 and its good for priming
its a good idea to cover up near by vws so the overspray instead hits the parents washing on the clothes line
im to cheap to use my own power so my compressor is in at mum and dads 😂
nothing like killing penguins and making baby jesus cry from the comfort of your own back yard 🙄 or parents for that matter
after 2 coats of primer its wet sanded with 800
and ofcoarse after just 1 coat of vw crystal white on them both i ran outta paint....
so now i gotta wait till next week so i can get some more paint mixed up
i just hope it matches my left over paint thats been sitting in the shed for 8 years
i've also got some rust spots starting to come through
this was a canberra car nearly all its life and didnt have a spec of rust in the body when i got it
it had the original paint which was very aged and had bad gravel rash so i had the car sandblasted before it was resprayed
as soon as you break through original paint is when rust starts
over the last 2 years or so despite being garaged 99.9% of its life this has started to develope
to fix the rust in the windscreen scuttle is going to require the hood to be removed
and the rust in the gutters needs the back gaaurd removed to gain proper access
good thing im replacing that gaurd anyway....
Oh joy....
what ever happened to "i hate aeros, stock guards look better" hmmmm????
Joel ·
i said probably 😂
gotta find some rims to fill them out first
anywayz it already got limo tint, lowered, hecktik subwoofers. the chromies are just hiding under the house away from public view lol
i guess 205s on 7s can be considered a stretch 😂
STIDUB ·
go for my option, pre au falcon, works perfectly, failing that go 4x114.3 & find some hektic old skool 86 corolla drift wheels, they tend to be in the lower offsets, though most are 13-15"
you comin up next w/e for dubs @ pie?
Joel ·
yeah should be
Joel ·
well finally a day of lowish humidity
such fun not owning a spray booth lol
anywayz got the painting done but im not gonna bother making a start on the rust till after dubs by the pie on sunday which means not swapping the guard yet
oh well but decklids on and i think i got a winner
well reaction guys think so anyway
its all good, another low class Joel spray job on the road
will look abit better with a buff
but im happy enough
and if it does prove to be restrictive in summer well i can just paint up a number plate housing for the old one or chuck on my old stand offs
1303Steve ·
Hi Joel
I'm not sure about the no vent look. Have you noticed any difference in motor temperatures?
Steve
Joel ·
well so far it hasnt even been off the farm yet but its not getting hot doing some paddock work 😂 so we're sweet
i doubt it will have any effect, the only thing that needs air in there is the air filter and theres plenty coming up over the gearbox not to mention off the roof from back window vent
besides theres plenty of early bugs getting around with subis with no probs
would be alot more heat under micks decklid than mine
JVLRacing ·
are u thinking gettin rid of that red stripe from the bars?....
Joel u will need to get as much air as possible around that engine.
Jak Rizzo ·
The vents in the decklid let hot air out, plus I think it looks better with the proper decklid.
regards
Jak
colonel mustard ·
But the lid without vents is good for keeping out rain..
Joel ·
so i had to head into town this morn to run some errands, its 20km in, about 5km of round town running about and 20km back out here
as i expected absolutely no change in both coolant and oil temps
what people have to bear in mind is this isnt an aircooled motor
all the heat exchanging is done up the front in the radiator and underneath in the stainless pipes
you can see in the subabeetle thread when i pulled the heads off the old motor how thick the blocks are
the little bit of extra air coming in through the vents isnt going to have any cooling affect
VW only started punching the vents into the decklids in 70 when they brought out the twinport doghouse engines ( which we didnt see in aus till start of 71) cos the doghouse fan is wider and sucks in more air than the rear window vent can supply.
the old singleport fans though get adequate air just through it though which is why all bugs before 70 have non vented lids, except cabrios which is another story
the other thing to remember to this isnt sealed into the engine bay with tinware like a vw engine so theres all the road draft from underneath coming up over the gearbox as well
a vw engine will run cooler with either the firewall tin removed or ducting into it like Daimo made
problem with removing it is the shit that comes up off the road gets sucked into the fan
i've just had to remove all the tinware off dads trike to replace some damaged tins and i found plenty of grass in the fins thats been sucked into the fan
the vw engine is sealed into the engine bay so all the hotair stays underneath
the fan pulls in fresh air through the back window vent and decklid vents on twin port cars (not letting hot air out) and then blows it all out underneath through the cylinders and heads
thats why its important to keep all original tinware in place and not have holes in it
the only thing that needs a supply of air on this EJ is the air filter and im sure it would get adequate cold air coming off the roof and dumping into the vents below the window which its right in the stream of
the decklid swap was a few reasons
firstly for looks
i think it keeps nice cleaner lines without the vents and badge
but also it was a weather thing as well, theres lots of electronics on these engines that dont like getting wet, especially coil packs and AFMs
i havent had any probs yet after a few wet trips and washing it a couple of times but i know ians bug is allergic to water which was why he put the rain tray inside the decklid
colonel mustard ·
Good explanation joel!. your trip on sunday will probably be the best test of how it will perform and the difference in temps on 'long'ish trips.
where is the list to add my name to for gettng a spin in 74L on the weekend 😀🙂
Joel ·
as long as the weathers ok
the rainfall forecast for sunday has 1-5mm predicted in that area
JVLRacing wrote:are u thinking gettin rid of that red stripe from the bars?....
funny you should mention it
i've never given it much thought, its had them for a few years now, abit of a trademark i guess.
it pops up from time to time in germanlook videos and picture threads so alot of people know it by them
but some french mob have just built a track bug.....
NOT HAPPY JAN!
anyway ive been thinking about changing over to the eurospec rubber impact strips like this just for a change
Bizarre ·
"anyway ive been thinking about changing over to the eurospec rubber impact strips like this just for a change"
And where ya gunna find them???
Joel ·
i have my sources 😉
only need a back one really,
the 76 bumper still had one when i got it
although it decided to shed several of the clips when i removed it and it is looking abit rugged in spots
jacky_moo ·
Holy crap joel!!
Awesome collection
lovin the subie engined one though.. gives my lil piggy something to aspire to :P
Joel ·
The Rim Whore at it again
Last weeks rims were soooooo last week....
Going by my usual philosophy of why pay $160 each for new tyres when i can get 4 good second hand ones for $400 and as a bonus they came with some perfect Lite-7s
so the bug is now on rim set number 11 i think this is
I've always liked Lite-7s but there a more upmarket lightweight rim and at $1699 with tyres new theres not many of them out there for cheap so when i came across these for $400 i jumped on them
dated 2007 and not a mark on any of them I'm stoked
about the only aftermarket rims ive got that the center caps clear a vw axle nut
still deciding if i like the colour, its rally gold but its some kind of pearl, they go gold in the sun but are silver in the shade
they came off a drift car so theyve never seen gutters or dodgy weather etc
jacky_moo ·
white spokes and leave the dish machined!!
Joel ·
dunno bout white bit too much on a white car
if i go anything itll be gun metal grey
contrasts nicely on a white car
but seems a waste to paint them theyres not a mark on any of them
STIDUB ·
...& now make the wheels feel at home & go hektic sideways round your nearest... roundabout 😉
Joel ·
what do I look like? a boostcruising member? 😂
last i checked my bug wasnt kebab spec
colonel mustard ·
Freaking love it Joel. Looks sooooo good. those wheels suit super well and the center cap is a mega bonus. the gold is quite an interesting contrast. i agree, its a shame to paint it since there is no marks on them.
VDUBXTC ·
You've probably mentioned it Joel. But what stud pattern are you using?
hellbugged ·
🙅.....put the tyres on your other wheels Joel
Joel ·
Jace, its 4x100 and Daimo that would be to easy and sensible, as people have probably noticed i dont mind a change..... every 7 days
1303Steve ·
Hi Joel
Those wheels look hot.
I went rim shopping this week as well, got my dream wheels on Ebay, 18 inch Siimmons OMs.
Joel ,
soon there wont be anything on your car that is Volkswagen😂😂😂
Joel ·
i plan on keeping vw glass, can't speak for much else though
colonel mustard ·
The less you can buy.... up.... the more cash you have for some sort of EJ20 turbo turnkey package.
Joel ·
Well while all the grass is nice and mowed (Thanks Dad!!) and the dams full but not spilling over figured I'd get a couple of glamour shots as the bugs moderately clean
I havent really taken any decent ones since swapping the rims or raising it back up
chameleon wheels going from silver to gold 🤪
Seems like only yesterday those trees were only 2 foot high babies and falling over at a birdfart 🤪
cesiumfrog ·
yeah..wheels look good .
nice pics...so green!
1303Steve ·
Hi Joel
Are these wheels 18s, if so what size tyres are on them?
Steve
STIDUB ·
boostloosing photowhore 😁
looks like ur back left could afford to be pushed outwards about an inch, could be the angle though but it seems to sit way further into the guard, lookin good though 👍
Joel ·
i havent swapped that back guard over yet, its still the old one which is pretty badly pulled outta shape which is why theres a gap on that side
Steve, I vow never to own another set of 18s again, rolling on those 18" mako rims the other week reminded me why.
roads around here are too rough, i feel every bump and rutt in the road, but thats with 35 series tyres which are like fanbelts.
the 225/40s i originally had on them were better but just to wide for stock guards
the new Lite-7s are 17x7 running falken Ziex 215/45 on the back and 205/40 on the front
1303Steve ·
Hi Joel
I'm looking into 18 inch tyre size choice, I've seen some very bad sizing on bugs with 17s & 18s, I want to get it right. Luckily the roads aren't too bad around here and the Pacific goat track is getting better all the time.
Steve
Btw those photos are really pretty, you should do calendar LOL
Joel ·
cheers, they came out ok for a low $$ camera
tyre sizing is so frustrating, ive been through so much trial and error trying to get it right
old cal looks look awesome with fat rears and skinny fronts for that gasser look but i prefer matching tyre size front and back on a germanlooker
215/40 all round looked good and filled the gaurds out nicely but i was getting rubbing when cornering hard under brakes and the steering gives alot more feedback on uneven road surfaces i guess due to the wider footprint
205/40 on the front is perfect but look to small on the back so i compromise.
the difference isnt too noticable and i was so stoked when these new rims allready came with those sizes
Joel ·
to anyone who's been hanging out for a new subabug vid not real exciting but its bout the best i got time for at the moment
just ignore the random rambling at the start
if you got a speaker system with a woofer crank the volume for that bassy subi rumble 🤓
Paulc1964au ·
love the car and video, if your ever in Sydney would love to do a photo shot of the car
Joel ·
thanks, but my bug is far from photoshoot material, moreso now that im using it abit more, usually nice and mudded
ian.mezz ·
Joel wrote:to anyone who's been hanging out for a new subabug vid not real exciting but its bout the best i got time for at the moment
just ignore the random rambling at the start
if you got a speaker system with a woofer crank the volume for that bassy subi rumble 🤓
Sounds like your been putting something else than sugar on your weetbix😂😂
Joel ·
yea a pinch of sarcasm never hurts
DylanTheDubber ·
Why Did you remove that video Joel , thats a Heaps funny good video. From Dylan
DylanTheDubber ·
1303Steve wrote:Hi Joel
Those wheels look hot.
I went rim shopping this week as well, got my dream wheels on Ebay, 18 inch Siimmons OMs.
Steve
good Choice steve there my dream wheels too.
From Dylan
Dyno ·
ian.mezz wrote:
Joel wrote:to anyone who's been hanging out for a new subabug vid not real exciting but its bout the best i got time for at the moment
just ignore the random rambling at the start
if you got a speaker system with a woofer crank the volume for that bassy subi rumble 🤓
Sounds like your been putting something else than sugar on your weetbix😂😂
throwing in the rice and seaweed, coming out with california rolls!! what are are the deck lid stand offs for?😂😂
Joel ·
if your talking back on page 1 they were for clearance around the supercharger
Joel ·
Ok so I've gone for a very subtle look change
but presently the jury's having a tough time reaching a verdict as to whether it stays or not, so just wanted to get others opinions
i wanted to go for a more simple, clean german look
so it was looking like this:
most noticable change is it's lost its token red bumper strips for rubber impact ones
also all the blacked out trim is swapped back to original chrome, germanlook mirrors gone, original running boards and stock tail lights
I'm giving it a week to see if i like it, presently it just seems a bit plain, i dunno...🤪
might leave the taillights and bumper strips but put the blacked out trim and colour coded headlight rims back on
what people think? yay or ney?
Bizarre ·
Yep - like it now
Just reckon the wheels need to be darker
Joel ·
i bought the rims about a month to early, there's currently the same set but in charcoal upfor sale, but if i come home with one more set of rims i think i'll face the firing squad, its already like a bobjane showroom around here
Bizarre ·
mmmmmmmmm...................... spray em??
Charcoal would be neat
Joel ·
that was my original intention when I got them but there only a few years old and dont have a mark on them so I've been umming and arrhring
the colour they are now is really unique cos they switch between gold and silver
but charcoal would look good
tough decisions
71-BEETLE-SEDAN ·
i dunno reckon it looks mad with the black bumper strip
but i like the first few pics, with coloured trim. etc,
trickysimon ·
Black trim and mirrors back on and get some smoked taillights (same as mine) 😁
Craig S ·
Chrome headlight rings 👍
Chrome trim 👍
Original Running boards 👍
Black bumper strip 👍
Mirrors 👎 I'd go back to what you had
taillights 👎 I agree with Simon, smoked would look better
colonel mustard ·
buy the charcoal... and sell me the gold for cheap.... 🙂 .....
colonel mustard ·
i prefer the white head light surrounds.
smoked tail lights looked better.
definatly looks better with the indicators in the bumper.
still think you need to do something about the rear end. even though, it feels like such a nice ride when you go in it.
Joel ·
the vitaloni mirrors probably wont go back on
they look the part but i dont like them, theyre too small
but i do still have my old black brazillian mirrors still
they're ok, big and clunky but more functional atleast
the clear elephants feet are doing the typical brazillian thing and just starting a hint of yellowing, and this car lives it life undercover so stock lights will stay this time
but will probably swap the trim and running boards back
colonel mustard ·
so... your rejecting my offer? :P
Joel ·
consider it rejected
colonel mustard ·
Joel wrote:consider it rejected
darn.... one day you will cave, and i'll be waiting! haha. 🙂
nah mate, I like the wheels... I can't see why you shouldnt paint them... or like a powdercoated black..
cam070 ·
While I am a big fan of the Vitaloni's, I think the the new/stock trim suits your wheels better. But I do think smoked tail lights will look better.
Drop me a line if you want to sell the Vitaloni's!
rose ·
have you fitted the a/c yet???? you will be needing it soon on those foggy mornings.
Joel ·
it was 11c in the shed on saturday morn when i jumped in it to go get the paper.
i got bigger priorities at the moment with things like heaters and door seals with no gaps 😂
JVL, i know what you mean, some wider rear gaurds and rims would go well, its on the to do list
need to get the back dropped a tiny bit
but getting it down about 1.5" is going to be a mission
ian.mezz ·
Volkswagen Beetle Stainless Steel Front Grilles and Bumpers.
Take your VW Beetle Interior to the highest level of quality and function with our full line of Dash Trim Accessories
oh yeah just what i need to hide my radiator intake
that ones already been blasted in bastards and abortions thread
ian.mezz ·
😂🤪😂🤪😂🤪😂
DylanTheDubber ·
I Thorght it was a twin to but not as good as the Origonal SUBA-BUG , = ]
Joel ·
I think I've reached a happy medium.
stock running boards and taillights have stayed, brazillian mirrors and blacked out trim
Black just seems to contrast better to white than chrome
well atleast i think so
someone has now dubbed it barbie bug cos I'm apperently playing dress up with it 🙄
Joel ·
gotta love an arty farty shot
thanks J
STIDUB ·
just needs the charcol rims to match now 😁
in that last shot, the green bug has a problem...
the control arm isnt horizontal😏
Joel ·
This is really starting to shit me.
The second one I've hit this year
the other was in the mainstreamer and managed to smash my headlight and blinker.
But the Bug faired up abit better than the jap scrap
bumper took the impact, luckily its a german one so all thats happened is my 3 week old impact rubber on the side has entered orbit somewhere and i have some nice marsupial intestinal splatter up the side and a few scratches which should polish out
I came around the bend about 90km/h and the wallaby was just standing there dumbfoundered as to which direction to head.
the 4 wheel disc brakes did their thing well on a wet road and slowed me down but i still hit it doing about 40km/h
I swear it must have been hitlers bug or something
only car I've ever known to unintentionally hit
2 crows
1 possum
1 goose
and several bunnys
bajachris88 ·
free meal 👍 and it would already be tenderised....
I take it the toyota's didn't take the battle against teh roos to well prior? 😂
and a goose 😂 Well, i'm sorry to hear about the damage mate, particularly when its wet, theres not much u can do to counter manouver.
71-BEETLE-SEDAN ·
Oh well, at least your car is okay. And that road doesnt seem like one that 90kms is the legal limti
colonel mustard ·
Frig! stupid animals!
I hit a possum the other night in bellboring.... was coing down the hill in the pitch black no street lights, going about 90.... went stright under the car, but went sky high on the way out...
good that you are ok mate, and minimal damage is a plus. they can be nasty!
Joel ·
I live out in the sticks, the speed limits 100.
I was just taking it easy cos it was wet
Chris the 'yotas didnt actually have a taste for killing, although i did hit a blue and white pidgeon in the AE92 but nah the wallaby i hit back in feb was in my KN laser
poly-carbonate headlights just shatter on impact
DylanTheDubber ·
Your very lucky , cause it dosent even look like it happened. dads old mustard 73 L Bug had a roo hit before we got it and it damaged the front apron bonnet and put both gaurds out (the right one more than the left) Also your bug is looking realy good , love the new look.
STIDUB ·
careful, greenpeace will have your head for that 😂
im guessing you have been busy lately, theres not much chatter happening on msn lately, or perhaps thats cos im actually doing things to mine for once haha
Bizarre ·
should get some "kill" stickers for the side of the car
Joel ·
STIDUB wrote:careful, greenpeace will have your head for that 😂
im guessing you have been busy lately, theres not much chatter happening on msn lately, or perhaps thats cos im actually doing things to mine for once haha
Sorry I haven't answered your texts or been on MSN, to say I have alot on my plate at the moment would have to be the understatement of the year
You probabaly saw the tornado that slaughtered Lennox Head this morn, I didn't cop that luckily but the winds from it and flooding have done some damage here
265mm was in my raingauge from overnight
I spent the morning without power, there were trees down everywhere.
Dad tried to drive out here to help but all the roads were cut by floods
We got some small hail this morn and shitloads of wind and rain but I got off lucky, house is still in one piece.
There's so many homes demolished all through Lennox
it's more the entire crop washed away, the shed now full of 2" deep sludge and the mess that both farms are in Ive gotta deal with that sux
Craig S ·
🙁
jjwebb123 ·
What a great thread joel.
Sweet pics.👍👍👍👍👍😵😵😵😵
Bizarre ·
WOW.............not good
That Part 2 is heartbreaking
What is the crop??
Macadamia??
Joel ·
was....
I'll have a better look tomorrow once the waters gone down fully but unfortunately this farm has a creek through the middle of it and both side slope down towards it so that much water has carried them all away.
Ive lost about 15 tonnes
All the neighbouring farms are in the situation though
Bizarre ·
🙁
colonel mustard ·
Far out dude!!
that sucks so hard man 🙁
STIDUB ·
"ive got waterfront property" classic!
other than that, ouch dude, that looks pretty bad
so... shovels, rakes, gloves & dub meet at joels? (unless its still raining)
steph says DB has to bring muffins though 😁
bajachris88 ·
count me in if i didn't have exams and 3 inanimate garden ornaments in the front yard. Sorry to hear bruz, I was tripping alone just hearing about the tornado on the news this morning. particularly when Lennox is one of my fav spots, macadamias me fav nut. The agricultural industry is a hard job, paritcularly with mother nature against ya. My grandfather was happy to retire from teh banana plantation at coffs.
Hope things get back on track asap.
Joel ·
Guess I can hijack my own thread
STIDUB wrote:so... shovels, rakes, gloves & dub meet at joels? (unless its still raining)
shovels?
i think an excavator is called for.....
clusters like this all along the creek
along the western boundary all my nuts have gone under the fence into the neighbours place
but there's 5 other maca farms that share my Eastern and southern boundry and they lost theirs onto my place 🤪
I gotta be carefull walking on the debris thats scattered everywhere, I went to step on stick that moved, was actually a red belly black snake. 😂
colonel mustard ·
STIDUB wrote:dub meet at joels?
Lets do this thing!
Man joel! that is some serious damage. it sucks cause they are still green, and being soaked in water must mean you cant use them.....
I hope that the water can be turned into positive in some way, for some people...
Joel ·
Well my poor dash was well and truely overdue for some attention.
I first gave it a make-over when the bug was resprayed back in 2001 and aside from constantly changing gauges it hadnt really been touched since and had held up amazingly well, it was mainly just the dirt that made it look shit.
I had a few changes I wanted to make to it so I got stuck into it this weekend
First up it needed cleaning and recolouring, I went abit lighter this time, trying to avoid that batcave feel of a dark Lbug dash and tinted windows
And as a few people know already Im starting to fit A/C aswell.
Lbugs are a pain to air condition, there's no room for an underdash consol which look like crap anyway and there's no room behind the dash for some mainstreamer car evaporator to be fitted.
They were actually designed to have integrated A/C from the factory and a very large percentage of them were sold in the US with it, nearly all the late 70s cabriolets had it which always seemed like an oxymoron to me.
But the LHD system isnt easily adaptable and the only RHD part of the world that sold superbeetles with A/C as a common option was Japan
So aside from an original RHD setup which are as rare as rocking horse shit the only other alternative was sell a kidney and get a Gilmore system which suits a RHD Lbug, but I'm too mean for that
With a big thanks to Kuchster who parted out what i suspect was a Jap import bug I now have what can safely be said is probably one of the only original RHD Lbug A/C setups in the country and one of only a few left in the world truth be known.
although Im only using all the outlets and dash ducting from it, as I'm going to run a new modern evaporator unit, the originals were way too undersized.
So heres how my dash looks refreshed with the A/C ducting in.
All neat and factory looking.
The original middle vent is replaced with a bigger fold out style outlets and the 2 outside vents fit where the factory indentations were
so some of the other changes......
I"ve gone back to the original Lbug switch panel which Ive modified to have just 2 gauges
and then carbon fibred.
and yet another gauge swap.... this makes gauge set number 4
I wanted to minimalise my gauges and get rid of the tacho on top
so Ive got a pair of DEFI style 2" tacho and water temp.
the water temp is good cos i can set a warning on it so as soon as it hits the temp i set it for it starts flashing red and beeping
I'll make a new center consol for the oil temp, pressure and voltmeter gauges later on.
I also ditched the indiglo speedo face, too bright at night.
so the new view is much less cluttered.
I also went back to Lbug rocker switches.
I needed an extra switch for my new heater fan so a second blank hazard switch will do that job
Ive wired up the night glow illumination on them both too which makes them just glow faintly when switched off but the lights are on.
I've also fitted a Porsche 944 headlight switch, it has the connections for the eurolight system and also has night illumination backlighting as well
and now Im using the bug abit more as a daily driver i wanted a lighter socket back in for my phone charger
so another reason for putting the original hazard switch back in as it was in the lighters spot before
OEM lighter
trickysimon ·
Man slow down. You're making the rest of us look bad 😂
ryana89 ·
trickysimon wrote:Man slow down. You're making the rest of us look bad 😂
X2
Took me a good proportion of a week just to convert some switch light bulbs.
And you've knocked this over in what looks like no time at all!
Joel ·
too many years practice pulling Lbug dashboards out 😂
Ollie ·
"Well my poor dash was well and truely overdue for some attention."
I wish I had a dash that looked that good 🙁
jacky_moo ·
trickysimon wrote:Man slow down. You're making the rest of us look bad 😂
+1!!
looks awesome joel!
Tim Meier ·
I bought an A/C system from the US for my L-Bug but never bothered attempting to install it as it wasn't suited for RHD......so it still sits under the house. Certainly isn't a 'neat' accessory as it requires holes to be cut in a number of places.
Joel ·
As people know I love to tinker with electronic gadgets in my cars and intermittent wipers has been on my to-do list for ages
Up till the engine conversion the bug has always just been a fair weather toy but i use it alot more regularly now and given the stupid amounts of rain we've had here recently it was really starting to shit me not having it
I've probably just been too spoilt by the mainstreamers having not only intermittent but variable delay as well, hell even the cruddy 95 S coupe had variable
Last time i priced the universal kits by hella they were $180 which is a joke for a relay and an ugly remote mount controller
Lbugs had the option of intermittent in the US so i figured i could adapt something from a newer car and make it work
It took alot of frigging around but I now have the Bosch/VW "Easytronic" system in and functioning
and heres how it works
be sure to turn captions on for extra lols
But for the people who don't Youtube its the programmable intermittent setup from most upper-spec early 90s onwards VW and Audis
I got mine out of a MK4 99 Polo
heres the little black box that performs the magic
I had one spare relay spot left on the fuse box
My bug only had the 2 standard relays (headlight dipper and indicator flasher) when I bought it, poor thing now has 14
I was also lucky the new wiperswitch I bought a while back had the intermittent provision too
Before anyone asks it was a pain in the arse job and unless you have a pretty good understanding of how auto electrics work I would do some real research before having a go
It would have been only a moderately fiddly job if I had of settled for a toggle switch to turn on the intermittent but me being fussy wanted the stock intermittent function on the wiperswitch to do the job instead which was where it really got tricky
The standard bug intermittent works totally the opposite of what the modern stuff does
The new relays just need 12volts to the int terminal to turn on the timer where as the original bug ones have ground there to keep it off and go open circuit to start the timer
Also the new relay has the wash/wipe function as well but the washer contacts again did the opposite to what i needed and would create a dead short so i had to remove the contacts and add a micro switch
But the end result is i have intermittent that can set from 2-45 second delay and a wash/wipe function without having to add any extra switches or controls
just move the wiperlever down one click now and its in intermittent
The stock delay is 6 seconds but its changed by turning it off, waiting the amount of time for the delay and turning it back on
I bet alot of new VW owners dont even know their cars have this feature
ian.mezz ·
you will need to turn up your boost to get more power to carry all this extra weight🤪
Joel ·
Yea, all that extra weight is really ruining my fuel economy
Only averaging 8.7L/100km..... Such a fuel guzzler 😂
ian.mezz ·
fuel economy, who cares about that sort of stuff when you own a old vw.
its all bout more power🤪😂🤪
Joel wrote:Yea, all that extra weight is really ruining my fuel economy
Only averaging 8.7L/100km..... Such a fuel guzler 😂
Joel ·
Are you kidding?
I love rubbing into dad that his 1600 VW only has 1/3 the power and averages 10L/100km 😂
Still trying to convince him to let me put an EJ18 in it so i dont have anymore VW engine maintance to do, just a couple of oil and filter changes a year
colonel mustard ·
Hey Joel.
Looks great!
I have a feeling that you could sell this as a kit, and maybe make some $$'s 🙂
btw... I know where you can get a cheap ej20tt for your dads trike.... 🙂 Just dont know where you would mount rad + cooler... haha.
Joel ·
I think 255hp in a 460kg vehicle would be a bit to much of a handfull and probably not even legal in NSW but would be fun
Karstens the guy who originally built them had one of Pobjoys 1916 steroid motors in his and could carry the front wheel in the air for over 100m
I got pics some where of the engine showing how worn his crash bar was from dragging along the road
May still end up with it in my bug, dunno yet depends how much longer it sits around
colonel mustard ·
Joel wrote:I think 255hp in a 460kg vehicle would be a bit to much of a handfull and probably not even legal in NSW but would be fun
Karstens the guy who originally built them had one of Pobjoys 1916 steroid motors in his and could carry the front wheel in the air for over 100m
I got pics some where of the engine showing how worn his crash bar was from dragging along the road
May still end up with it in my bug, dunno yet depends how much longer it sits around
When I looked at how much cutting it would require, and then the vacuum control stuff.... it will be sitting there for a while... you also then add a fair bit of wight with a cooler, more exhuast... its fun stuff. I'd go for it, if i want a poorby and considering getting a waterpumper for a bit more reliability..
I'm liking the dash by the way! Had any luck moving the 1776 on??
Joel ·
nah not in a mad rush to get rid of that one
Dads eyeing it off for his but im trying to get him to go EJ18 or EJ20 instead
anyway ummm lights....
Living out in the the sticks and doing alot of night driving where I regularly come up against roos, koalas and the occasional escapee cow so I need really good lighting on my cars
I've got a set of f@@k off spotties on the mainstreamer but really dont wanna ruin the look of the bug with spotlights on the front
I had a pair of 7" narvas on the front of my first Sbug and they just ruin those classic beetle lines and below the bumper is just too low to throw forward a good beam, especially on a lowered car with rake.
I already had exceptional headlights on my bug, they crap all over most new car lights that aren't projector or HID Xenons lights
For people wondering how a vw with good headlights is possible Ive got new semi-sealed style lights that the 75-93 bug, kombi and golf used with 100/90w super platnium bulbs and relays with power running straight from the battery
I've had them on it since 2001 and was really happy with them but there was one major problem with them when on low beam
Can anyone pick it from this pic?
Being from overseas they had a LHD pattern lense so on low beam they threw a side beam up at oncoming traffic
obvious mirrored pattern difference when compared to an original headlight
But the lenses after nearly 10 years were starting to get some stone chips and the obvious other problem so it was time for an upgrade.
You only have to look around to see that 99% of new cars now come with projector headlights
Projectors for those that dont know are basically magnifying glasses for the bulbs
nearly all cars with 7" headlights all use the same mounting system and all those replacement inserts are a universal fit and fit everything.....except vws of course
I loved the look of those crystal prism inserts but lets not even go into how shitty those are and to fit them i had to adapt some sealed beam mounting buckets from another car
I used Lucas ones from a Morris Minor, but Minis, early holdens etc have same layout or if moneys no issue you can buy new setups from hella and narva
Anyway all bugs from 67 in the US all had sealed beams so all gaurds after that had the mounting points in them but in aus bugs they just bent them over flat
they look like this once there bent back out
The bucket mounting plate screws to them
I forgot an inbetween pic but the cradle part bolts to that, the insert sits in then the retainer over the top to hold it in place
I had to go back to my original plastic headlight rims, the brazillian metal ones i had just wouldnt clear all the mount parts
Low beam with these new lights isnt too crash hot, beam is a bit scattered
but still lights up well
currently they only have some cruddy stock 60/55w bulbs i got outta one of the tractors, but ill probably fit some platnium plus or even the 6000k HID Xenon kit i have laying around i may try in them not sure yet
But High beam it pretty impressive
real definate pencil beams
My camera sucks at night time photography but they have an excellent range probably around the 250meter mark
Each of those trees is 5meters apart so that should give you an idea of the range
jacky_moo ·
Awesome Joel!!!
Loving the Highbeams.... but 55w 4300k HID FTW
cam070 ·
So Joel, you just lft off a couple of key details for us followers. What brand are those nifty new lights and where can we get them?
Joel ·
You mean my LOL lights? 😂
The brand is Neolite and i got them through Ebay but something fishy was going on with the seller
I first spotted them about 6 months ago, he seems to list about 20 at a time but they sell like hot cakes and I missied out first time.
None were relisted till about 2 months later, exactly the same listing but a different seller, I picked some up this time and all went well but about a 2 weeks after he was no longer a registered user and relisted them again after that on even another different seller account... go figure
There is a slightly different set from another seller but theyre based in the US but postage is only $30
Exactly the same as mine but have the crystal prism reflectors instead of the dimply ones like mine
Joel ·
As I said in the last post I was going to upgrade the bulbs, the current ones were just ordinary 60/55w H4s so were fairly average and left one of the tractors with no eyes.
but before I get into that here's the missing pics I forgot to take while I have them apart again.
This is the cradle part that bolts to the bucket by the 3 brass screws which are actually the adjusters.
There's 3 square cut outs around the rim, those are for the locating lugs on the back of the inserts.
All sealed beam inserts and most semi-sealed use these exact lugs to make sure they mount in upright
Then the chrome retainer ring just sits over the insert to and screws to the cradle
So for the bulbs I was originally thinking of going for platinums again but then overkill sounded good, and as they say you can never have too much overkill
Lighting the way now are 130/90w H4 halogens
And before anyone pipes up yes I know theyre not ADR approved but neither are any HID kits which are not factory installed either which is why I havent bothered fitting mine
The cops around here really pick on people with illegal HIDs cos they are really annoying and dangerous to other drivers
I forgot to mention that these projectors are ADR approved
I need to wait for a nice foggy night again so I can tweak the adjustment alittle bit further but all I can say so far is they are f@@king awesome
Camera really does not do them any justice at all
Even lowbeam now is acceptable, but could do with some more spread, might have to put my projector foglights back on
Ive set the cutoff height just above back bumpers on most cars at 6meters, which is not dazzeling to on coming cars
Also have my white BA9S LED parkers in them too
Boss Lady ·
going to get a strobe light kit for the parkers too? thats what it takes to be hektic this week, no wait that was months ago, ahh well, looks good though, good thing to mention about the adr approval of the housings too 👍 hopefully people care/pay attention to that
EDIT, grrr its not her its me, thats it im signing her out
Doctor ·
I've been sussing headlights lately to put into my square when it gets rebuilt. Might have to get a set of these instead of what i was considering previously... They look good!
DAM! thanks for the heads up on the HID stuff... thats a pity.
There was a second hand complete HID kit from a skankline that was at 99c with $20 postage on egay. Wouldn't have climbed more than that... and you can pick up new kids from australia on ebay for $99....
ah wellz... I'd probably just fit a set of H4's or sumfin...
Joel ·
Heres a good video explaining it.
Its a pommy vid, but the laws are the same here.
I've got one of the H4 hi/lo drop in 6000K kits and found in my laser its exactly like the video shows,
The only safe way to run them is with projectors, but nearly all the projector HID kits are LHD layout
Joel ·
Doc, it depends what kinda lighting you're after
theses are good for a long range beam down the road but not much side spread
the stock semisealed VW lights that you can get from places like classic that bolt straight in tend to throw good wide spread beams but dont have good long distatnce range on them
Also, I've yet to see a pair of those 3 chamber lights (which arent really chambered) that has a RHD pattern lense
bajachris88 ·
that was a good vid, cheers 👍
that makes complete sense. what happens though if you transfer the HID light housings from a stock HID car.. like the whole lot including projectors, such that you, well for 'instance', fit new bmw mini HID headlights to stock vw fenders?
I spose it would be the same deal though, unless some auto light technician can somehow give a stamp of approval...
I guess really though the gains wouldn't be worth the effort.
Joel ·
Its been done, Steve Carters doing it with his Lbug using Audi headlight assys I lights think
One of my mates has got those aftermarker projector HIDs that are for LHD and modified the shutter inside so it suited RHD but sounds like fiddly work
Theyre a pain to fit to most headlights cos you have to break the seal and open up the light to fit them
Joel ·
How often do you see a site like this in your normal everyday running about?
2 superbeetles and a pretend beetle in a row 😂
Joel ·
Well I seem to recall saying no more weddings but hey, how do you say no to a freind for one of the most special days of her life 😂
The brand is Neolite and i got them through Ebay but something fishy was going on with the seller
I first spotted them about 6 months ago, he seems to list about 20 at a time but they sell like hot cakes and I missied out first time.
None were relisted till about 2 months later, exactly the same listing but a different seller, I picked some up this time and all went well but about a 2 weeks after he was no longer a registered user and relisted them again after that on even another different seller account... go figure
There is a slightly different set from another seller but theyre based in the US but postage is only $30
Exactly the same as mine but have the crystal prism reflectors instead of the dimply ones like mine
Joel ·
Ah yeah same ones just without the projectors.
wonder if they have the narrow beam pattern or if its just due to the projectors focusing the beam so much.
I ended up putting my projector foglights back on, they give a really wide low spread beam.
A fellow SBO member in germany is sending me an original factory Lbug foglight rocker switch which matches the headlight and hazard switches but untill that gets here I managed to score a Porsche 914 foglight switch on ebay which uses the same style knobs as beetle so looks right at home.
may even leave that be
cam070 ·
Looks factory!
colonel mustard ·
giving away a few ac secrets there joel!
STIDUB ·
got a recent exterior pic? rumours around that your up to something mr, im out of the loop on nightshift 😢
Joel ·
Wouldn't be a secret then would it?
rampage rob ·
love your car dude, thanks for the info thus far keep up the good work
ryana89 ·
STIDUB wrote:rumours around that your up to something mr,
Like changing fan belts😂
Joel ·
Ah yes my pet hate, bet you woulda never guessed? 😂
Joel ·
I was sitting in a que at a servo on friday when the bloke at the bowser in front of me who was clearly an old car buff judging by the beautiful condition of his XD falcon was looking rather puzzled at the front of my bug.
After he paid he came upto my window and said you got a subi in this thing? cos you got a radiator leak.
A look under my car revealed a tranquill waterfall cascading out underneath, but thanks to the 20000% humidity it was just my A/C drain
It reminded me I was gonna write up some info about it.
Till then anyway its quicker for me to put up a youtube vid explaining till I sort through all my pics and write soemthing up
Sorry about the low quality, it takes elebenty million years to upload a vid that lenght in HD.
I finally got the time lastweek to get it evacutated and charged up
I really need a hot day to try it out good and proper but buzzing down the highway at 100km/h on friday it was getting the interior temp down to 15c, with an outside ambient temp of 24c so I'm happy
Smiley ·
"It's getting f*&king cold in here!"
Nice work Joel looks like an awesome setup. 15°C is way colder than you ever need to use anyway.
Smiley 😎
Joel ·
Cheers, all those years working on commercial air conditioning taught me the temp that keeps everyone happy is 21c.
Cars with digital climate control generally have a lowest setting of 18 sometimes 16c, and manual control cars are generally fixed at 20c, any lower than that tends to start icing things up
Notchbacktastic ·
Super-fridgie eh?
ryana89 ·
Is that a mates workshop of do you actually own a shed with alll that equiptment🤪!
Be nice if my A/C worked.
Joel ·
I would be the worlds happiest panda if I had a car hoist of my own.
Nah sadly that's a mates workshop
STIDUB ·
i see room for forced induction on the upper left of that engine bay, make with the sneezing joel u know u wanna, & dont say you dont need it cos ur cool enough already 🙄
Smiley ·
STIDUB wrote:i see room for forced induction on the upper left of that engine bay
Seconded!
Smiley 😎
pancake ·
good work!
Joel ·
There's finally been enough hot weather to test the A/C out in all conditions like open highway, roundtown stop/start and bumper to bumper etc and it's working well but also during damp humid rainy days its keeping the windscreen and door glass defrosted well too.
I originally looked into A/C back when I was doing up my first SBug in the 90s but it's taken till now to do something about it, kinda funny considering I worked as a fridgy for several years and dad did it for 30 odd years.
A/C in aircooled VWs was never common in Aus, I've seen the odd baywindow Kombi with an overhead console and a few imported cars like the 76 Jap import bug around here with original A/C but it was actually available since the early 60s in bigger and hotter markets like the US and Japan.
In fact Superbeetles which were created for the US market were actually designed to fit A/C, in particular the 73 onwards 1303 Lbugs like mine so they had a vented front apron for the condenser and the dash had provisions for the outlets.
I've been Lbug mad for nearly 20 years now and whilst I'd seen several LHD US import bugs (mainly cabs) with A/C I'd never actually seen a RHD with it till the bug that my setup came from which I'm fairly sure is a Jap market 1303 was being parted out about 6 months ago so I got all the dash stuff from it.
Funnily enough since then though I've seen 2 more in aus, one was a RHD converted US cabrio so may have just been the original LHD setup hacked up to fit but the other was an actual European spec 1303, possible another jap import
I didnt even notice it was a euro bug till I saw the VW1303 decklid badge
but it also had a 1300 engine, vented valance, 4 wheel drum brakes, Euro speedo and euro wipers not the aussie trico ones.
Sadly it had suffered the aussie tradition of being turned into a convertable and all the A/C stuff had been ripped out but the tell tale signs of it were still there, the different fan shroud with offset left heater outlet, compressor mounts, pipework holes in the body and extra dash outlets
Damnit I'm pissed now, I thought I might have had the only one in Aus 😂
Anyway for those that have never seen an original Lbug system, a freind from the US sent me these pics of his before and after he ripped it out LHD obviously.
The condenser tucks up behind the front apron and seals to the bottom of the spare wheel well.
Lbugs with A/C are bad in one respect, in that abit of space is lost as the evap and fan sit ontop of the fuel tank but thats no loss to me as I never keep anything except a few tools in there
It's actually good in another respect as the flat screen beetles all have it mounted under the dash and it's very intrusive.
I'm not an overly tall person but that setup is in the way of my knees.
The kits that were sold in the 60s for early bugs weren't as bad
The Compressor
I was lucky in this area in that my engine is already equipped with a compressor, although mounting one on a VW engine is no real challange
They originally came with piston style compressors which are huge old things
Mainly old York and tecumsie ones which are very innefficient by todays standards and load a vw down like dragging a boat ancor behind.
That 76 bug jap bug has an old original york one which worked till a few years ago but its a fuel injected engine and changing plugs is a job for a contorsionist
Most people just retrofit modern rotary and scroll compressors which are heaps smaller and far more efficient
I actually had 2 subi compressors already as my donor car had one, and so did my replacement engine but the donors being 1992 was on R12 (the old gas) and even though the other replacement one was on R134A (the new gas) it hadnt been sealed when the engine was removed.
Cleanliness is next to godliness when it comes to refrigeration as the refrigerant oil is hygroscopic and moisture in the system causes big problems.
I had just planned at this stage on using the donors compressor and doing a naughty and running it on R12.
R12 vs R143A is exactly like leaded vs unleaded fuel.
12 actually works much better but only because of all the nasty shit in it, which is why it was replaced with 134A. if you ran todays car A/Cs on R12 they would probably give you hypothermia.
Dad has still got his car running on 12 even though it could have been converted through insurance after a front end accident several years back, just because of how much better they work on 12.
Anyway I went and saw an old contact about making up the hoses for me and he mentioned he had a brand new genuine subi compressor that was supplied with the wrong size pulley that I could have for some beer money
Well that was easy.....
I just pulled the pulley and clutch off one of my old ones and swapped it over
This did bring up one problem though.........The aluminium hardlines
I wasnt aware till I went to bolt everything together that Subaru (or Nippon-denso to be exact) changed the compressor ports when they switched to R134A so my original donors ones didn't fit the new compressor.
Oh well easily fixed by getting some from a 97 outback from the subi boys.
Sweeeeeet
For people wondering about the non connected electrical crap on the side, thats part of a saftey system I dont have hooked up.
The sensor on the top is basically a motion detector, all it does is make sure the compressor is spinning at normal speed.
It's purpose is if the belt is loose and starts slipping this sensor will detect that its not spinning at the right speed and disengage the clutch so the belt doesn't burn out
It also dropss the clutch out if the compressor siezes up, which they often do if a hose bursts and they dump all the oil.
The Condenser
This is probably the most challanging part of an A/C conversion in a VW, finding somewhere to put it thats got good airflow, is well protected and doesnt take lots of hacking to fit
I was lucky with my watercooled engine i was able to just mount it infront of the radiator like a mainstream car.
But with the original kits for aircooled motors, obviously supers have one that sits behind the front valance like in the pics above but there has been a few different layouts for standard bugs.
The 76 bug here has 2 condensers, a primary one over the fan shroud intake on the engine, and a secondary one with a fan up under the wheel well infront of the beam, which the owner has managed to damage hitting a gaurd rail.
I don't like that layout, you're already loading up the engine with A/C without making things worse by preheating the fans cooling air.
The old 60s kits were better thought out and had twin condensers that sat either side of the gearbox,
The new Gilmore kits use the same layout.
The obvious downside......fine on a city car at stock height, but totally useless on anything lowered or that travels dodgy roads like I do.
Like a radiator, the most important thing is to make sure they're big enough for the job
I went with a Jay-air universal replacement condenser thats to suit a SWB Mitsubishi Express van/Starwagon.
They have 3x the interior space of a bug so it will never struggle to get rid of the heat
I've mounted a single 12" S-blade fan to it.
It was a piece of piss to mount, just tabs welded to my radiator supports top and bottom.
It runs into a universal Jay-air drier that I've mounted to the strut tower using an old Coil clamp
Theres a sight glass on the top and a safety pressure cutout switch so that if the system ever loses its gas or the head pressure gets to high it cuts out.
Original super ones mounted under the left gaurd where they rusted bad and were suseptible to rocks
The Evaporator
I've pretty much copied the original Lbug system but just used a universal Jay-air formula evaporator
It's the smallest one they make but at 11200 BTU its ample for average sized sedans and stationwagons so a bug with 20% window tint it creams it in.
Its got twin squirrel cage fans with a 3 speed motor that pumps out 190cfm which is shitloads and is self contained with its own drain pan, TXvalve, thermostat probe and has 4x 2.5" outlets.
As it was being mounted in the boot I had to seal it into a box though so I could duct interior air into it
I made the box out of waterproof ply so like the radiator cover it is well insulated.
I've ducted in return air same as a standard system, through a big hose from the back of the glovebox, and just a smaller one on the other side.
The outlets are run into the cabin through the firewall inside the fresh air box like original into standard Lbug A/C ducting
I also removed the stock defroster fan and ran one of the spare outlets on the evap into the the fans original ducting
THis allows me to turn the windscreen knob below the radio and direct A/C onto the windscreen for demisting and it also connects to the little round vents on the dash that demist the door glass.
As I said the unit moves a crapload of air, the only let down to the system is the Lbug ducting and tiny vents are alittle restrictive.
Not enough to be an issue, its moving enough air to work well but it will be better once I finish off a new project with better ducting and vents.
Overall I'm fairly happy, it takes up less room than an original...
Looks a bit neater too, Ive still got some finishing off to do under the hood, the rad box needs carpeting, a cover over the ducting and tidy the wiring up better.
The Hoses
This is the most expensive part of the conversion, A/C hose is specialised high pressure stuff and runs at abit under $20 a meter.
Liquid line, Discharge and Suction
Mine has taken 10.2meters all up
I ran flexible all the way but Dad had suggested running aluminium rigid stuff under the sills to help with heat transfer but I was trying to keep joints which are potential weak links to a minimum.
I've run the discharge from the compressor to the condenser under the drivers side sill and the suction from the evap back to the compressor under the passanger side sill
Held by special insulated clamps.
Then it was just a matter of using fittings to suit.
Its a fairly specialised bit of gear that crimps the fittings to the pipework, I was lucky he had a little portable Hydraulic one that made life easy
Straight fittings are no problem but you dont want 90 degree ones twisting the hose so they were crimped once the hoses had been run
Putting it all together was pretty easy like lego for grown ups, they're all O-ring fittings
It's been nearly 8 years since I worked in the game and I wasn't confident on my rusty skills
But after an a hour on the vac pump
VACUUM.......We like it alot
OMFG.....no leaks
Electrical Crap
The Jayair Formula kits like I've used just come with a fan speed control and electronic thermostat
I've mounted them in my center console
I really like the electronic thermostat idea.
Unless you have a car with digital climate control, 99.9% of manual control cars have fixed temp thermostats that are generally set around 19-20c
If thats not cold enough then too bad and if its too cold then turning the temp knob up just introduces heat from the heater core rather than changing the A/C temp.
Kind of an oxy-moron in my books
If A/C is too cold then you make it work less, not make it work harder by introducing more heat
The coldest my thermostat has got down to before cutting out is an air off of 3.7c and a cabin temp of 15c
I still havent been able to determine the hottest setting yet but at 32.2c the other day it was still cutting out but only just so its probably 35c
Lets see who knows their car trivia....
The A/C control button is my own addition.
Can anyone pick what its from?
It actually had a painted matte silver finish originally but I scratched that off but the manufacturer used it in several models from the mid 80s up till the late 90s
I added that because the system normally is always in A/C mode whenever the fan is turned on
If you need to stop the compressor running the whole system needs to be turned off.
Adding the button means it can be treated like a mainstream car A/C, just flicking the button off means the fan can be left running and thermostat setting doesnt have to be disturbed but its no longer in a/c mode
Handy for steep hills and last minute overtake manouvers.
Although I must say I'm quite impressed by the way the engine handles a/c load, infact the only time I'm even aware of it running is rolling down hills I can feel it cut in by the engine braking
Even lugging up a steep hill at 2k in 3rd or 4th gear when it cuts in I cant even notice a drop in power, but then again it is a 100kw engine, I'd be pissed if i could feel it cutting in
I had to add the red LED light to the fan switch so I could actually tell when its running.
The engine computer controls when the compressor clutch pulls in
this is for a couple of reasons, firstly its so that it can rev the engine up a bit before it engages the clutch so it doesnt want to stall at idle and is probably why I cant feel it cutting in while driving.
It also drops the clutch out when at full throttle so max power is there and it prevents the clutch from pulling in till 5 seconds after the engine has started if the A/C has been left on.
This just gives the engine a chance to start easily and settle without the load of the a/c
Also on a very hot day if the car has only been turned off for a very short period the head pressure can still be very high so the compressor is very hard to turn over which loads the starter motor up even more.
cam070 ·
Cool write up....how bad a pun is that!
Top work though. Your projects always inspire me, but are often beyond my skill/comprehension level.
STIDUB ·
excellent write up, so when i find room to put a/c in mine your all good to do it for me? swap you a guard rolling job for it 😂
Joel ·
Hell, I didn't realise how long that post was till i had to scroll through it.
That oughta kill my photobucket bandwidth for the month 😂
CHeers guys,
There;s a reason it took me more than a decade to do it, its pretty frustrating trying to air condition a car that was never really meant for it
Trying to run the lines was around suspension and engine parts was the worst aspect.
Trust me you all dont wanna see the chaos that is waterlines, a/c lines, electrical loom and kafer bar above my gearbox 😂
I did design one thing into it though, I can just suspend the compressor by the decklid hinges if I ever drop the engine out, so that it doesnt need to be evactuated again
Craig S ·
Joel wrote:Hell, I didn't realise how long that post was till i had to scroll through it.
I thought you were trying to break a record!!!😂
Excellent work, I can only dream of doing that sort of stuff myself.
ryana89 ·
Excellent job there, the amount of problems and hold ups when doing these types of jobs can be a real PITA.
Could you educate me on the importance of a Reciever dryer in a system that is (should be) pressurized at all times?
Thankyou.
Joel ·
The Drier actually has a couple of jobs.
Obviously by its name one of the main ones is to act as a moisture absorber.
You really cant have moisture in a refrigeration system
Obviously because it can freeze up the system but also the oil that lubricates the compressor which is hygroscopic is pumped around the whole system and with moisture in it its not going to be a good lubricant so compressor seizes, end of story
But its also filter and acts as an accumulator/storage tank
Any time the systems been opened the drier should really be replaced, they're not even expensive either, universal ones like the one I got are $30
Joel ·
Guess noone can pick what the A/C control button is from 😂
Heres a biiiiiiiiiiiiig hint
remember it was painted silver before
cam070 ·
There is more and more Japanese stuff infiltrating your car every day!
Joel ·
Yeah you're right, need something pommy to help balance things out
Good ol prince of darkness aint so bad with some decent halogens
cam070 ·
What happened to those ebay ones you installed? Did they get the flick in favour of the Lucas jobbies?
Joel ·
Hell no,
Lets just say paper may beat rock, but rock sure beats glass....... thank you mr anonymous Camry driver.
The Lucas inserts were just the ones that originally came with the mounts I got from a mini.
It literally took 5 mins to swap them over where as to put vw lights back in would mean removing the mounts and re-aiming so theyre just in it till I work out what I'm doing
STIDUB ·
i was wondering about that too, happy enough with the projectors to buy them again?
Joel ·
mmm probably not, they are great on highbeam but the projectors cause too many shadows on lowbeam
Joel ·
I made good use of being stuck at home thanks to another rainy day
I know, rainy day?? around here???...... GTFO
Can anyone guess?
Excuse the messy shed.
Well it's only been a whole year but I finally got that left rear guard I resprayed in feb last year on to replace the crumpled guard of doom.
Whenever I had guests over they were quite amused by the beetle guard sitting in my spare room.
Was the only place I could keep it where it wouldnt get scratched to shit.
annosL ·
good work, love the upright white toolbox with stickers!
Joel ·
You mean my beer fridge? 😂
You're right it is actually a toolbox these days, my real beer fridge is hiding on the other side of the bug.
Ollie ·
looking real good joel! Love the single exhaust and 67 (I think) Decklid!
STIDUB ·
about time, coming to dubs by the pubpiefish dent free?
feeling the urge to roll your guards to lessen the scrubbing issues yet? 😀
and was the pic made too look wallpaper worthy on purpose or just happened that way?
Craig S ·
STIDUB wrote:was the pic made to look wallpaper worthy on purpose or just happened that way?
Ditto, that lighting is either very flukey, or you had the big silver umbrellas and some lights shining into them.
Great shot either way though.
Boozo ·
wow youve done alot to this thing over the yrs. looking good man, hope ta seeya at dubs.
ill be in my girls new(ish) 68 🙂
Joel ·
I thought it was a pretty shitty pic actually.
maybe with a better back ground.
OMClarke wrote:looking real good joel! Love the single exhaust and 67 (I think) Decklid!
Whoa that's wierd that your the one that mentioned it.
It was a pic you took and posted a while back of that green subi bug that made me swap to the fibreglass valance and single tip.
I got the fibreglass valance 2 years ago when I started the conversion but I wasnt sure if I would like the look so I never fitted it.
After seeing that pic you took I thought I'd give it a go when I built my new exhaust last year.
Really happy with how it turned out
colonel mustard ·
valance changed hands a bit too....
Craig S ·
mustard is alive!!!!
Ollie ·
Craig S wrote:mustard is alive!!!!
hah x2
Yeah I think it looks 100 time better with a big single out the back. My mate's 2276T has a similar looking set-up and it just ads a little bit of mystery to whats hidden underneath.
Also, IMO I think it just cleans the whole rear of the Elephant-light models up.
p.s. What year decklid is that?
colonel mustard ·
hellllllo!!!
that be a 68/69 lid. 🙂
Bizarre ·
Craig S wrote:mustard is alive!!!!
Who??
Never heard of him 🙅
🤪
😂
Joel ·
OMClarke wrote:Yeah I think it looks 100 time better with a big single out the back. My mate's 2276T has a similar looking set-up and it just ads a little bit of mystery to whats hidden underneath.
Also, IMO I think it just cleans the whole rear of the Elephant-light models up.
It only takes hearing my car for 2 secs to know whats in it 😂
I love the bulgy EFI valance and single tip exhaust on late cars, like you said really cleans it up
Just wasn't sure if it was gonna work on mine but turned out fine
It's the way all the last fuel injected bugs in the US and japan were.
cam070 ·
Joel, you haven't changed wheels again have you? Those don't look like your Lite-7's
Joel ·
That pic was taken a few weeks back, I just had to chuck the Boost-R's on for the pinky.
Front tyres on the lite-7s aren't worn to the wear blocks yet but not the most roadworthy tyres either
monkney ·
Very nice bud, makes me wanna go 🤪
Joel ·
I better win some frigging trophies tomorrow at dubs by the pub cos I've put in SO much effort
yes... I spent 10 mins washing it 🤪
I'd forgotten what it looked like clean
I 'ave come to clean ze bug.....
Well it is actually a huge effort, I don't normally wash my cars this time of year, it's just an exercise in futility.
Living out in sticks during summer means my cars all constantly look like I've driven through a locust swarm
damn bug guts sets like superglue 🤪
ANyway I'd be happy to receive the most number of stone chips award
Or; best polish job applied by a cat
[end/ random post]
STIDUB ·
guess ill be seeing ya tomorrow then 👍
lou0060 ·
nice work Joel. you need an old school bug screen!
Joel ·
While I mope about the house with some painful holes in my head where my wisdom teeth used to reside heres some other stuff I can crap on about that I've done to the bug I havent really bothered bringing up.
A few people have spotted I have yet another new set another new set of headlights, this makes set number 5 or 6
So let there be light.....
I think I mentioned a while back one of the LOL projectors copped a rock and once the glass breaks on sealed beam style mount lights the retainers have nothing to hold them in with.
I just shoved the lucas inserts that came with the mounts in which worked ok but they're almost 20 years older than what the bug is and looked like shit.
Plus the old curved shape lenses look rediculous on a Germanlook bug, makes it look like those people that can pop their eyeballs out of there sockets.
So I did some shopping around for new lights.
I wanted to stay with the clear lense, prism reflector style lights.
Look around car parks, every car built in the last 10 years has this style of light, they just look really clean on the front of a modified bug, out of place on a stocker though.
There is 100s of them availble on EBay, most look pretty as in pictures but are absolute rubbish in reality.
99% of them are plastic polycarbonate lenses that go yellow after 5 mins in the sun like modern cars that live outside, and also have plastic polycarbonate reflectors which mean running UV cut bulbs or they melt and go yellow.
I ended up finding these ones from Autopal.
They have nice thick glass lenses with metal reflectors so I can run my 130/90w bulbs without melting them, a parker light fitting (most don't) that actually uses modern T10 wedge bulbs not those crappy B9S bayonette bulbs like VW headlights
and they are proper RHD E-code headlights.
E-code has been around since stock VW headlights in the 60s, its that trapezoid shape on the right, it throws a beam up and to left to light up reflective signs on the side of the road.
All the cheap nasty plastic ones don't have this and don't meet ADRs.
I was also getting the shits with not having a glovebox light, the I-bus connection for my Ipod is in my glovebox and is hard to find in the dark so I stuck one of those LED strips in there.
I've got the switch from the subi glovebox I need to wire in so it only comes on when its opened.
I also wanted to do something about the crappy inadequate dash lighting.
I've always hated how poorly lit VW speedos are at night.
I tried BA7s LEDs in there but they lit it up worse than stock bulbs as LEDs are too directional.
I did keep all the bulbs out of the subi dash cluster which have these green frangers on them for an alien like green glow, and these seem to fit nicely on BA7S bulbs
Still hopeless but atleast it had a cool green tinge.
Those that have speco gauges will know the backlighting bulb is moulded into a rubber plug and cant be replaced or swapped for an LED, but the green frangers also fit those bulbs to, so they got the same treatment
Before and after lol
I decided a different approach to improve the speedo lighting was needed.
This is the dash cluster of my Laser, you can see why modern car clusters light up well, its because the numbers are translucent and the light shines through them instead of just relying on the light reflecting around from 2 crappy 2w bulbs like a VW speedo does.
So I had Brent that made my old white face gauge make a new black one with white translucent numbers
And stuck one of those LED strips in the speedo
That's better
I also had him make it without the white ring around the center, just tidys it up abit.
cam070 ·
Joel, always the innovator. Can you tell us where you got those headlights from?
Craig S ·
Yep, link for the headlights please.
Gauges look the goods as well.
Joel ·
Cheers guys,
I got the lights through Ringwood auto parts on ebay
this would be them
He also sells an original looking version as well that has fluted lenses like stock.
To fit them to a VW needs some sealed beam mounts out of some other car but they're easy to get as pretty much everything with 7" round headlights uses them.
Smiley ·
Great work as always Joel. I always enjoy reading your little tech improvements.
This comes at a good time as the 'el Cheapo generic Narva headlights in my Baja have started to die. The chrome is peeling off the inside because they have been full of water too many times while offroading.
Have been looking around to see what to get to replace them, I think these are the go 👍
Smiley 😎
Joel ·
Cheers Smiley,
These may do the same given time, hard to say but the quality seems pretty good especially for the price, I was actually pleasantly surprised by them given the low cost.
I've done plenty of wet weather driving since they went in and no dramas or visible moisture inside yet.
the bulbs they come with could be junk, I didn't use them but normally a pair of 100/90w H4s are atleast $30 alone.
The only thing I would do with them is on the back there is a rubber boot that sits over the bulb more for dust proofing than water proofing but there is 2 holes where the bulb shield/deflector thing clips in place.
It's under the the rubber boot but wouldn't hurt to smear some silicon over them just to prevent moisture getting in.
Hard to see the hole in pics as it's not that big.
water drops are all on the outside.
Smiley ·
Joel wrote:Cheers Smiley,
These may do the same given time, hard to say but the quality seems pretty good especially for the price, I was actually pleasantly surprised by them given the low cost.
I've done plenty of wet weather driving since they went in and no dramas or visible moisture inside yet.
the bulbs they come with could be junk, I didn't use them but normally a pair of 100/90w H4s are atleast $30 alone.
The only thing I would do with them is on the back there is a rubber boot that sits over the bulb more for dust proofing than water proofing but there is 2 holes where the bulb shield/deflector thing clips in place.
It's under the the rubber boot but wouldn't hurt to smear some silicon over them just to prevent moisture getting in.
Hard to see the hole in pics as it's not that big.
water drops are all on the outside.
Yeah, I think I would go to the effort to seal them better than the ones I have currently. And mine don't get wet from wet weather driving. I mean they literally fill up with water while fording and the water level is over the headlights. 😂😂😂
Smiley 😎
Joel ·
MMM, just be liberal with the silicone and you should be right.
Smiley ·
Just another quick question.
What do you get the LED strip lighting from? Jaycar or Old Dick Smith??
Smiley 😎
DubCrazy ·
Smiley wrote:Great work as always Joel. I always enjoy reading your little tech improvements.
This comes at a good time as the 'el Cheapo generic Narva headlights in my Baja have started to die. The chrome is peeling off the inside because they have been full of water too many times while offroading.
Have been looking around to see what to get to replace them, I think these are the go 👍
Smiley 😎
You can get them from Repco young man. i just got a set for my 68 😎
steff..................
Smiley ·
DubCrazy wrote:
Smiley wrote:Great work as always Joel. I always enjoy reading your little tech improvements.
This comes at a good time as the 'el Cheapo generic Narva headlights in my Baja have started to die. The chrome is peeling off the inside because they have been full of water too many times while offroading.
Have been looking around to see what to get to replace them, I think these are the go 👍
Smiley 😎
You can get them from Repco young man. i just got a set for my 68 😎
steff..................
That's where I got the crappy ones that are in it. Might have to go down and see the old man and see what else they have in stock.
Smiley 😎
Joel ·
Smiley, I've bought them all through Ebay through various sellers.
Just look for LED strips.
I've got 3 different kinds around the car, they're cheap and effective.
beetleboyjeff ·
I change all my guage back lights over to blue LEDs. I had to adapt the fittings for some of the guages to take them though, and I added 2 exra to the speedo (total 4).
DylanTheDubber ·
Jeffrey and Joel you superbug Boys with your mean 1303's always on the same wave lenth as me looks great guys keep it up. L.E.D's all tha way = )
From Dylan
aussie260z ·
Hey Joel,
What model Beetle did you get your wiper switch from that had the intermittent functionality build into it?
Did you have to cut open your steering coloum and ignition barrel to suit the switch's new travel downwards instead of just going upwards?
Joel ·
It's just the standard replacement one, they all come with the intermittent provision now, its a direct fit.
It's exactly the same as the original, just the original didn't have the contacts in it.
Joel ·
I really dislike driving lights on bugs, makes them look like they are wearing a pair of monocles but I finally bit the bullet and put some spotties on mine.
People who can remember back to Valla in the late 90s may remember I had some 7" Narvas on the front of my old Sbug but they really do ruin the look of a bug.
But unfortunately the days are getting shorter and I encounter a bit of wildlife on the roads where I live and most of you have seen what happened to Jeffs bug a couple of days ago as a result of a roo encounter at night.
I'm pleased as punch with the performance of the new headlights on the bug but even the best car headlights are still no match for a pair of pencil beam driving lights.
And I'm spoiled everytime I drive my other cars as both of them have spotties so I fitted some to the bug aswell.
While they are all clean and in order of ride height 😂
I like to be able to see about 1/2km ahead of me and normal car headlights just don't have that kinda range
I have struck a few roos on the road at night around here but cows are the big worry, all you see is the eyes at the last minute.
I've fitted some Hella 140s and am quite pleased with them,
They aren't huge f**k off spotties but the range is still about 350m.
And they don't stand out too badly,
especially with the covers on.
mactaylor ·
hit an emu the other day in the truck and it looked like someone threw a pillow in the wood chipper! rolled a ute evading a calf, bent the shit out of my straight as vh commie hitting a wombat, put a small hole in the front guard of my 68 from a kookaburra beak. but never have i hit a crow! and i try and get them! good lights make the world of diffrence!
cam070 ·
C'mon Joel where are the night shots showing us your light patterns?
Joel ·
mactaylor wrote:hit an emu the other day in the truck and it looked like someone threw a pillow in the wood chipper! rolled a ute evading a calf, bent the shit out of my straight as vh commie hitting a wombat, put a small hole in the front guard of my 68 from a kookaburra beak. but never have i hit a crow! and i try and get them! good lights make the world of diffrence!
I learned very early when still on my Ls never swerve for animals.
I came over a crest and somebodies big fat domestic pet goose was in the middle of the road.
I was in my first 71 Sbug and swerved, got 2 wheels off onto the loose stuff and nearly came a cropper.
That was all it took, unless it's something big like a cow or I can safely swerve I just clobber and hope for the best.
I've hit 2 roos 1 possum, 2 crows and about 3 million bunnies and all have only done minor damage.
I must admit though the spotties have dramatically improved my game of splat-rat.
Out of the 38 properties down my road 18 of them are other macadamia plantations so you can imagine there almost needs to be traffic lights for the rats going across the road at night.
Cam, once there is a night where I can see more than 4 foot in the fog I'll light them up 😂
cam070 ·
Maybe you need to add foggies as well, and then some DRLs and you'll be all sorted. VW's version of a Christmas tree
Joel ·
I actually do have some projector foglights but they only fit without my kamei on and these new lights work that well I don't need them.
That and the poor old subi alternator was starting to load up abit with 130w high beams and 55w foggies without adding 100w spotties aswell, especially so if it was raining so the wipers were on and the a/c to keep the windscreen clear.
cam070 ·
It might be time for a new challenge for you. You've upgraded all the VW stuff, might be time to start upgrading the Subi stuff? 🙅
Joel ·
cam070 wrote:might be time to start upgrading the Subi stuff? 🙅
Funny you should say that
keep watching this space 😉
ryana89 ·
Joel wrote:That and the poor old subi alternator was starting to load up abit
Put a proper 120A Bosch alternator on there haha.
You know, I think it's about time for this car got featured in VWMA.
Just a thought.
Joel ·
The stock one is 85amp, just this one is getting abit tired, the Liberty was pretty loaded up with electrical toys plus all my crap like the stereo, power windows, a/c etc work it fairly hard
dying 4 year old battery isnt helping either.
It's far from magazine material.
I wouldn't want a show car, I can't see the point of owning a car you cant drive at any time without paranoia of scratches etc.
Murphys law has it the more effort you put in make it pretty the more soccer mums and their bastard little kids open doors and hit with trolleys.
Joel ·
Nissan speedo needles fit VW speedos
A neighbour of mine has a bunch of cars sitting on his farm going for scrap shortly so I had a scavage around seeing if anything good was worth grabbing.
I was curious to see what KMs a Nissan van had and saw that needle.
I thought hey, you match my tach and water temp gauge needles perfectly.
Low and behold it fit my speedo needle spline 🤓
cam070 ·
More rice for your bug!
Joel ·
Small doses of oriental are good for you.
Thought you knew 😉
cam070 ·
I'm of Chinese decent, not sure how I should take that LOL
Joel ·
Oh goddamn it foot in mouth much 😊
DylanTheDubber ·
Joel!!!!
You Should have told me earlyer boii bout the speedo needle! 😂 P.s i got a nice screw to make that speedo look mint and clean it up nicely (will hit the post shorty).
From Dylan
Joel ·
It was only a recent discovery
as in 8 hours ago
Yes, tip for the day people, speedo face screws are very easy to lose.
DylanTheDubber ·
Oh Shit, far out and you got it installed already far out. looks amazing, just matches soo well looks mad.
From Dylan
SebastienPeek ·
How hard is it to take out the speedo Joel?
Want to do what Jeff did and have blue LEDs behind the stock tacho.
I haven't seen anything involving your door panels, are they just stock or what's the go?
1303Steve ·
Hi Joel
Is the speedo still accurate? I understood that the weight of the needle is crucial to accuracy.
Steve
DylanTheDubber ·
Sebastian i can help you out here. Im another one o the superbug boys and have done alot of work with L Bugs. The speedo is held in by a rubber seal that secures the speedo to the dash. Once you lever the speedo out with a screw driver or something simmilar (be carefull not to damage the dash) Then you will see the little bulbs behind and they slide out and they are a round holder with a single wire coming out the back. So if you want blue LED bulbs you do what Jeff did and went to Auto barn and borght the bulbs but then had to buy new holders im pretty sure because they are a different holder called (wedge type holder) Good Luck with it mate, Shame your not here on the North Coast of NSW us Superbug boys Joel, Myself and Jeff could Help you out.
From Dylan
Joel ·
1303Steve wrote:Hi Joel
Is the speedo still accurate? I understood that the weight of the needle is crucial to accuracy.
Steve
Well spotted.
yes that needle has a brass weight 100x bigger than the one the stock needle has.
When I first put it on to stock alignment position which works for the stock needle it was a good 10km/h fast.
But after some tweaking around with the positioning and running up and down the road with the GPS I've got it pretty well spot on now across the board.
well upto 110 anyway haven't been over that yet.
Ollie ·
Back tracking a little, but I think the spot lights look pretty good Joel!
Joel ·
SebastienPeek wrote:How hard is it to take out the speedo Joel?
Want to do what Jeff did and have blue LEDs behind the stock tacho.
I haven't seen anything involving your door panels, are they just stock or what's the go?
As Dylan said they just push out from behind.
Look in the tech section my sticky of Lbug dash removal, theres pics in that.
You can get LEDs that fit the stock bulb holders.
BA7S are the ones you need but I've tried them and they lit up worse than stock because LEDs are too directional and dont distribute the light evenly enough.
You would need to do like Jeff and add a few extras or do what I did which you can see on the previos page - add one of those LED ribbon strips inside.
Re. the door panels I've just made them from scratch.
Its Velour from Statesman or Calais cant remember.
It was the closest match to the Celica seats.
Import toyota upholstry is unobtanium it seems.
I'm replacing them soon starting to look abit ratty and a few holes from speaker pods, power window switches etc
Joel ·
OMClarke wrote:Back tracking a little, but I think the spot lights look pretty good Joel!
Bahaha, ongoing contentious issue.
It was shitting me everytime I saw the front, so much to fathers amusement I played a game of musical spotlights with my cars.
It now has the square ones off my Navara mounted under the bumper, a little less invasive.
Only trouble is being that low down they don't quite get the range and sure as shit I will take them out on a kerb.
Should have just swapped them back and kept my mouth shut 😂
Ollie ·
AH I love those too. I'm partial to a set of foggies. My mate had a pair on an AE86 and surprisingly they looked pretty good
STIDUB ·
86's have factory fog's in that spot though, shame they are sooo bloody small inside for the size of car, i was tempted to buy one awhile back before they were considered as superhektic like now 🙁
oh joel, attempt to find a germanlook roof rack lol, then mount them to that 😁
careful mr, retrim today, vwma show car feature tomorrow 😂
STIDUB ·
oh and if you havent already, vote in my motorsport poll, if it happens the way im thinking u can crash at mine on the night between driving & show day, you know just to twist your arm into driving up & entering 👍
ian.mezz ·
Joel, you need to get a hobby 😂.
cam070 ·
Joel wrote:
OMClarke wrote:Back tracking a little, but I think the spot lights look pretty good Joel!
Bahaha, ongoing contentious issue.
It was shitting me everytime I saw the front, so much to fathers amusement I played a game of musical spotlights with my cars.
It now has the square ones off my Navara mounted under the bumper, a little less invasive.
Only trouble is being that low down they don't quite get the range and sure as shit I will take them out on a kerb.
Should have just swapped them back and kept my mouth shut 😂
Musical spotties, how about musical wheels. What happened to the Lite-7's?
Joel ·
ian.mezz wrote:Joel, you need to get a hobby 😂.
Open to suggestions 🤓
Dave, make it for 3 years time, I may actually have the latest project finished in time 😂.
and Cam, one of the Lite7s had a puncture and I've just been too lazy to do anything about it.
Got plenty of others to wear out first.
cam070 ·
I reckon that shed has a sign out the front that says something like bob Jane with all the wheels and tyres you have.
I'm curious as to what headlights you deem the best, currently mine need to be replaced as am having issues.
Open to suggestions from yourself and others, and if you could send me links or something I'll hunt them down.
Thanks!
Joel ·
Stock works well if it's all good nick, just after 37 years the glass is chipped and reflectors are pitted, adjusters buggered and poor wiring.
I'm really impressed with the ones I have now but you need all the mounts for them out of some other non vw car like an old holden or ford.
hellbugged ·
square lights look wierd.......my vote goes to the round hellas, even with the covers on they look sweet
and while i'm being an opinionated prick, you haven't bettered the wheels since the ones in ya avatar!
will see ya at Sawtell this year?
love ya youtube vids from around the farm
Joel ·
Wouldn't miss Sawtell for anything, even got the same cabin booked again.
Yep I'm thinking of going back to the Hellas, under the bumper is too low to be usefull.
Funny you should mention those Schneider rims, I was looking at them on the weekend thinking why did I take these off again?
Oh yeah that's right they are a bastard to clean.
Nice work on the Kempsey hill climb vids 👍
Speaking of my Youtube channel you probably noticed my new wall paper.
Seeing as my Youtube channel is a mix of farm and VW stuff it seemed appropriate 😂
Funny it makes those trees look bloody tall.
I can remember when I used to be able to step over them without even getting a branch in the nuts 😂
SebastienPeek ·
Alright Joel,
I'll take a look at the lenses and see what's going on.
Also, how hard is it to add those HELLA lamps to mine?
Wiring and such?
When it is darker tonight I'll take a photo of my current light pattern and show you the weirdness.
Joel ·
It's not real hard to add spotlights.
You can mount them straight to the bumper but if you're like me and don't want to drill holes in your bumper you can make brackets and bolt them to your bumper mounts.
I'll get a pic of mine next time I see my bug, it's in town at my oldies place at the moment.
They're reasonably simple to wire up, you do need to use a relay and run some wires and a switch but there's lots diagrams on the net showing how.
If your beam pattern is all wonky I'd bet your headlights are probably assembled wrong or the lense is in the wrong orientation.
I found my yellow bug had one in sideways so instead of dipping up and down it was dipping left to right 🙄
good thing the lights were so crap no one noticed anyway 😂
SebastienPeek ·
Alright, sweet!
I;m assuming each brand will supply their own wiring diagram, good thing I have a mate that is willing to help out with all the wiring for lighting and a mate that does sound system installs as well, so that is always a good thing!
I'll have to take a few photos and chuck them up on my thread instead of adding them to yours so you can tell me what is wrong :P
But you're right, no one other than myself has noticed the weird light pattern unless I point it out to them, and then when I turn the highbeams on and off, Zelda enjoys to wink at oncoming traffic...
Joel ·
Nearly all spotlight kits come with a diagram, relay, switch and some wiring.
You need to assess though whether spot lights are overkill if you live in suburbia, how often do you actually get to use highbeam?
I live 20kms out of town and might only pass 2 or 3 cars but a shitload of animals once I leave city limits so that's why spotlights are worth their weight in gold to me.
SebastienPeek ·
Easy then!
My grandparents live about 150km out of town and a few mates live about 50km.
I won't always need to use them, but when I do make trips out to them then I'll need to use highbeam as I enjoy taking the back way, especially at night.
I'm thinking about doing a road trip with mates once we're out of school to Melbourne, so they'd definitely come into use if we drive into the night.
I feel as though I'm not much of a P plater, I'm one of THOSE people that turn their lights on at 4pm. :P
Joel ·
Finally another job off the to-do list.
Ever since I've fitted the 76 front bumper I've notice a higher instance of people pulling out infront of me particularly on roundabouts.
I think I know what it's down to.
Look around and you will notice 95% of the cars on the road are under 20 years old and of that probably 80% are under 10 years old
Whether it was regulation or just the style at the time Most manufacturers in the early 90s began putting the indicators up next to the headlight assemblies and finally inside them and also fitting side repeaters.
I reckon that people miss my indicators being down so low as most are just used to modern cars with high indicators and side repeaters so I've been thinking of putting side repeaters on it for a while now.
I really like the idea of them in the mirrors, Joe Sabas old 1303RS bug has the same Vitaloni mirrors with them in and it looks good, but the logistics behind getting the wiring from in the mirror, down the stem, through the base and into the door put it in the too hard basket.
So on the quarter panel will suffice.
I've been looking around trying to find some that I like, i wanted some clear ones not amber and the current Swifts have some good looking ones, as do the current Hilux.
But the trouble with OEM ones is they need a big square mounting hole carved into the side of the car.
Then I came across these
The beauty of them is they look exactly like the swift ones but they stick on and only need a single 10mm hole drilled.
So they only took a whole 15 mins to install
Very happy with the fit and finish.
They are very unintrusive and barely stand out like amber ones would
I've yet to see them out in normal daylight but they're look ok so far.
Now the other good part about them is they have 3 Surface Mount LEDs fitted so they place no extra load on electrics, they will probably outlast the car and they are nice and bright.
Not to mention very visable from all angles.
1303Steve ·
Hi Joel
Great idea. I had the same issue with people not seeing the blinkers on my old bug as it had blinkers in the front bar like your car.
How many photos did you have to take to get one with the blinkers were on?
Steve
Joel ·
Just those ones, slow shutter speed 😉
SebastienPeek ·
Joel, what a great idea!
I have yet to have people turn out on me, but I can understand why they would with the euro look bumper mounted indicators, as they sure are low.
Saw a German look bug the other day while driving, your's is by far a lot cleaner!
ryana89 ·
I don't know why they put indicators so close/in the headlights now.
Its impossible to distinguish the headlights/indicators on some cars at night.
SMD's FTW.
Joel ·
Yes current generation VWs are shocking for it.
It get's me the amount of people with early bugs that run the US style lights and use the parkers as the indicators 🤪
That cant be legal.
SebastienPeek ·
I highly doubt it is legal, but it astounds me that people still do it :P
Birdman ·
Very nice Joel, those lights look perfect.
Please be a gent and share where they came from?
Joel ·
Good ol' evilbay.
They're on special at moment, $20 and free postage
Time will tell how they hold up but for $20 and only a 10mm hole I'm willing to take a gamble.
SebastienPeek ·
Seems you have those fog lamps back on!
You never showed me how they were mounted, really interested as like you, I don't want to go drilling into the bumper 🙂
STIDUB ·
3mm thick flat bar bent & twisted to suit or angle iron, bolt thru the bumper bracket, drill a hole for the light mount on the opposite face and your done 👍
Joel ·
STIDUB wrote:3mm thick flat bar bent & twisted to suit
yer, something like that 😂
I had the same setup on my white Sbug except I welded them on instead of bolting.
Bolts work just as well and can easily be removed later on.
Joel ·
I noticed a couple of people caught my post here the other day before I calmed the f**k down and removed it so I didn't look like a total raging psychopathic VW hating knobhead.
I just had one of those days where everything that could go wrong did but I put this down to VW gods Karma'ing my ass for VW cruelty.
My poor bug has been sitting unused and unloved in the back of the tractor shed getting covered in dust, bird and insect shit and my cat been climbing all over it chasing rats and scratching the paint.
I was gonna get it all cleaned up for Action day and go for a cruise up the coast as it was such a beautiful day last sunday and my new engine needs some highway KMs to bed in the new rings.
I didn't think anything of the puddle of cat piss sitting in the back rim where my cat had pissed on it (yes he is nutted before anyone pipes up lol)
Drove into town to fuel it up and quickly discovered my brakes almost non existent
The puddle of cat piss was really brake fluid.
Anyone order a caramel sunday?
Thats brake fluid mixed with all the grease from the handbrake mechanism
And here's the source of all my problems.
A $1.25 O-ring which had turned to jelly
Now to put the jigsaw back together
Ahhhhh fahrvergnügen restored 🙂
Joel ·
Big momentous occasion today, I finally made a start on one those jobs that's been on my to-do list for years now.
Ever since I tinted the windows on my bug about 4 years ago the one thing that has stood out like dogs balls is the smokers window frame and scraper trim still being chrome.
I've been wanting to black them out but it just looked like such a prick of a job (and was!).
I had to replace my outer scraper and bailey channel so it seemed like a good time to do it
It's amazing the difference such a small detail makes
I say made a start because the passenger side is still waiting 😂
I had a new scraper trim and spare smokers window that I already painted up for the drivers side so it was a quick swap over but the passenger side I still gotta pull apart and paint.
Anyway while it was all apart there was one other thing i wanted to change.
The 20% tint looked awesome and seemed like a good idea at the time but about half the KMs my bug does is at night and it's a pain in the arse to see through in the dark.
Luckily modern metalized tint doesnt age badly so the old stuff just peeled straight off
I got the shits and ripped it out a few weeks back.
If there's any professional window tinters reading, now is probably a good time to look away.
I redid it with 35% tint this time, still looks tinted and helps makes the A/C work more effeciently but doesnt block too much out at night
cam070 ·
Looks heaps better with the chrome blacked out. Care to share how you painted the chrome?
Joel ·
Cheers Cam.
All I did was rubbed the chrome back pretty thoroughly with 80/120/400grit and then etch primed before painting.
Same thing I did with the bumpers, chrome strips, handles etc and they've held up fine for 4 or so years
Craig S ·
Joel wrote:Cheers guys,
I got the lights through Ringwood auto parts on ebay
this would be them
He also sells an original looking version as well that has fluted lenses like stock.
To fit them to a VW needs some sealed beam mounts out of some other car but they're easy to get as pretty much everything with 7" round headlights uses them.
Gravedigging a post here.
Back on page 9 of this thread you replaced your headlights, and now my Beetle is home, I thought I'd copy you, because my lights need some lovin', but you are overestimating my abilities re your comments about some sealed beam mounts out of another car to fit them.
Are you able to expand on this so that even the thickest of us might have some chance of success??
Cheers
Craig
Joel ·
Hi Craig,
It's fairly basic setup, pretty much all cars with 7" round headlights (including VWs just not in aus) all use a common headlight insert.
Idea was if you busted a headlight you could go to any parts shop or wrecker and get a replacement and they didnt have to stock 100s of different models.
VWs in the US got this system just not here or in parts of Europe.
Anyway cos I'm a cheapskate I just got the mounts for this setup out of a car originally fitted with them (Morris Minor in this case) cheap of Ebay.
But you can buy them brand new to suit VWs same as US cars had from Classic VW.
Companies like Narva and Hella also sell universal ones aswell.
You'll find in your headlight buckets the 2 tabs near the top that are usually bent over flat and one at the base to mount these.
Then just find a pair of 7" headlight inserts you like.
The choices are huge but it's generally a case of you get what you pay for.
ALot of the cheap ones are all plastic and turn yellow real quick and melt with higher wattage bulbs.
Better ones have metal reflectors and glass lenses.
Hope that helps.
Craig S ·
Cheers Joel,
That explains it!
lou0060 ·
hi Joel,
looks good blacked out.
how's the new motor going? suppose it is all run in by now.
lou0060 ·
hi Joel,
looks good blacked out.
how's the new motor going? suppose it is all run in by now.
lou0060 ·
hi Joel,
looks good blacked out.
how's the new motor going? suppose it is all run in by now.
Joel ·
Cheers Lou, bit of a studder there 😉
Not quite run in yet, around the 5000km mark beds the rings in apparently, I've just hit 3000 this morn.
I was bummed I couldn't make Warwick this year to see yours in action.
Anyway, on a slightly more comical note, even though I also own a 4WD ute and a 4 door family sedan, I seem to find myself using the bug things Volkswagen never intended like removalist truck and farm car lumber jack duties....
Amazing what you can fit in a bug with some determination.
cam070 ·
Haha, table let me introduce you to chainsaw
Joel ·
Well got my latest toy gadget installed.
Possibly the first bug in the country with Digital head up display speedo and I couldn't be more stoked with it.
I've been looking around at digital speedos for a while now,but I didn't really want to replace my existing speedo as that means I have to fit some sort of fuel gauge and all the warning lights externally so it turns into a huge job.
Steve Carter came up with a good solution in Davids bug but I wanted to do something abit different.
Then I came across this Speed alert/HUD from Bluewire Motorsport.
I don't know why HUD never really took off until recently as it's technology that's been around for decades.
A good mate had a 94 SSS Bluebird which was about only one of the mainstream cars we saw in aus with it till BMW started to dabble a few years back and it was a great feature.
I went with this unit for a range of reasons.
Mainly to get an accurate speedo.
The old cable one is a bit jumpy at certain speeds after 37 years and it's just not accurate due to my tyre size.
I know its about 5km fast across the board but its frustrating not be able to do anything about it.
This one works off my speed sensor and is calibrated to suit the wheels on the car so it's 100% accurate and if i change tyre sizes it can easily be recalibrated to suit.
its also a head up display so it's a safety device, by projecting the speed up onto the windscreen in your normal line of vision it's reducing how far you have to look to monitor your speed.
And finally it's also a speed alert.
Now normally I hate those fecking things with a passion, dad used to crack the shits when he'd get in his work hack after i'd been driving it and the speed alert setting was cranked upto 140km/h so it wasnt going off all the time.
This one has a dual stage alert.
The first one just gives 3 short beeps when you go over the first speed setting which i've got at 105, and a second stage louder longer 2 beeps and red warning light i;ve got set to 115 as I do alot of motorway driving.
Alot of speed alerts dont shut up till you get back under the set speed which is why I like this one as I usually gain a bit of speed overtaking so it gets annoying.
LAst thing you want when overtaking is a gizmo beeping its nuts off at you.
It was easy as to install, just 3 wires but i did have the speed sensor already for the subi engine.
They give you a piece of tint for the windscreen but I just used a peice of ordinary tint as I knew I would probably move it around.
This was spot on as firstly I had it alittle too much in my line of vision lol
so I moved it down lower and more to the center of the car.
Much better.
I'll put the proper tint in eventually.
It also has a light sensative sensor on it so its nice and bright during the day but dims at night so it doesn't glare.
There's a heap of settings to play with, beep volume, brightness, you can alter what speed it starts working from but I just have it set to work all the time
And it also displays battery voltage when the ignition is first turned on.
Now unfortunatley for most bug owners, I think an Lbug is probably the only bug that it would work in.
Flat screen bugs have a too steep windscreen angle and no dash to mount the unit on.
If anyone else wants to suss it out I got it from Bluewire motorsport.
Camo sent me a PM last night with links to HUD devices that do tacho as well, but my main problem was figuring out speedo connection. He suggested that I could be the first Aus Beetle with HUD, but you've no taken that title.
Looks great, and now I'll go back to my dashboard ponderings with even more ideas.
1303Steve ·
Hi Joel
Great work, a fantastic solution to the 1303 speedo problem, I set the one in Davids bug and my bug to read a few ks over.
It gets frustrating when you follow someone and they are well under the speed limit and you have very accurate speedo.
Steve
ian.mezz ·
good old jOEL GOING old school , I remember that from the old nissan blue birds .🤪
Craig S ·
One more question Joel (and probably Steve as well), how do you find the digital speedo?
They have obviously been around on various models for years (I think the VK Calais had what was described as 'Donkey Kong' digital instruments), but having only ever had dial gauges I'm nervous about how distracting they might be with the digits flickering all the time.
Joel ·
Ah Craig, good old synchronicity 😂
If they were big 2" high digits it may be distracting but it doesnt worry me, I just glance across occasionally.
I would say the stock speedo needle jumping around having a fit would be more distracting lol.
Those 80s LCD dash clusters bring back memories,
Mums old man had a TN magna Elite and my exs first car was a series 3 TRX bluebird with the LCD dash.
But I think the award for the worst 80s LCD dash goes to Subaru Vortex.
Anyone remember those?
My Music teacher from primary school had one back in the late 80s, I remember thinking it was so futuristic at the time.
Now it just looks like a terrible 80s Atari game
Craig S ·
Really I don't think it was the 80s unless there was a graphic equaliser on the stereo.
Is that a genuine three speed auto in that picture?? Can you imagine the tyres it tore up.
All in an attractive shade of brown.
1303Steve ·
Hi
I first found that looking at the numerals was was a pain, no I'm used to it I appreciate how accurate it is.
Steve
vvwbeetle ·
Hi all,
I use my iPhone with the awesome HUD app in my beetle.
I just have a windscreen mount as I have a flat screen.
It reads the same speed as my Tom Tom.
It works well enough for me so far.
I have tried it out in my Xtrail and works well projecting onto the windscreen as well.
Flintstones ·
Craig S wrote:I'm nervous about how distracting they might be with the digits flickering all the time.
I drive around in a SSS bluebird currently and love the HUD. (you don't notice the numbers change unless your looking at it)
I find it so annoying when I jump in another car and have to look so far down to read the speedo🤪
Cheers
D
Joel ·
I finally got me one of them fancy new fangdangle cranky starter kits.
The New Semi-auto starter motor I got last year does the job of starting the Subi, and has always fired it up every single time but when the engine is nice and hot after a long run you can hear it hitting all the compression strokes.
A freshly rebuilt 2.5 twin cam 16valve engine with a 10.4 compression ratio was abit more than Bosch intended for it to crank over, so I'm surprised it handles it so well.
But playing it on the safe side I took the plunge and set about fitting the starter designed to actually go with that engine.
My concern was a clearance problem between the starter and the Kafer bar.
I didn't want to drop all that coin on one only to find out it didn't fit.
My Semi auto starter was very close to the Kafer bar already, I had to even shorten the B+ terminal to get it to fit, but it was unusually long for some unknown reason (over 1" for one cable 🤪)
But thanks to Sides putting up a pic of Jezebels Cranky kit and Kafer bar I was abit more confident about them playing nicely together.
I never realized there were so many different types of Subaru starter motors till I started poking around trying to find the right one.
Turns out the one for the cranky kit is early Liberty Automatics.
They are also a tiny little unit despite being alot more powerful than the VW Bosch starters
Here's a comparison, stock Bug starter at the top, Semi-auto starter in the middle and the EJ one at the bottom.
Now Cranky kits are a nice simple installation in a VW normally.
The really really really I mean really ironic thing is having a Subaru engine in my bug complicated fitting a Subaru starter......
THe reason for that is the cranky kits are designed to use the standard VW D head bolt.
Simple...
But with the Subi engine fitted there's no way to fit a nut on the other side as it's inside the bellhousing/adaptor plate.
So EJs are fitted using a bolt that threads into the adapter kit and the cranky kit leaves no room for the bolt head.
Nothing a little creative engineering couldn't fix though.
The only mod the car needs is the old stud removed, they tell you just lock some vice grips on them, but it's no effort to lock 2 nuts together and unscrew it out.
atleast then it's not ruined
Only fitting issue I had was the casting on my case interfered and didn't let the flange sit down flush but lucky mag being so soft I was able to clean it up easy as.
Flange fitted up beautifully
Look at that, stacks of room
This thing cranks it over so much faster because it's a geared starter unlike the direct drive VW one.
I just have to get used to it having that modern car starter motor sound now.
ian.mezz ·
i Think that you need to get some subaru badges and stick on you car.😂
Does your insurance papers say extremely modified .😊
cam070 ·
ian.mezz wrote:i Think that you need to get some subaru badges and stick on you car.😂
Does your insurance papers say extremely modified .😊
I reckon he could rego it as a "hybrid".
Joel ·
ian.mezz wrote:i Think that you need to get some subaru badges and stick on you car.😂
Does your insurance papers say extremely modified .😊
Modified yes but not extremely.
I have got the grille badge of my donor Suby, for shits and giggles I have a pic some where of it on the hood where the VW badge is on flat screen bugs.
56ovalrat ·
cool
Craig S ·
Hi Joel (and Merry Christmas),
I'm copying your headlight arrangement, (and now can as I got given them for Christmas), and I think I've got it figured out, but have one question:
Have you put anything in the gap between the headlight and the chrome (or in your case painted) ring?
I never noticed in the photos previously that there is a gap, but when I started looking at fitting them up I noticed the gap, came back and looked at your photos, and sure enough there's a gap.
I was thinking of using my old chrome rings and tapping out the inside rim to meet the glass.
Cheers
Craig
Joel ·
Gday Craig,
I'd just bolt it all together for a little while and see if the gap bothers you.
I had a really big gap at the top of the headlight when I had metal single screw headlight rims, I think they were Brazilian, chrome went rusty as shit in no time.
but since I've gone back to the German Hella plastic ones (75onwards bug and kombi) they seem to close the gap abit more and made it even around the headlight.
ian.mezz ·
I think that you should get rid of the pod air filter and make a boxed in one and drill a hole in your RHR guard and make it cold air intake.😊.
Joel ·
What the hell??
You been tapping my phone Mr Mezz?
Or just peeping into my shed? 😂
Thats one of my projects between projects, similar setup to Jaks.
So far I just have a guard sitting in the back of the shed with a hole punched in it.
Was hoping to get it done over chrissy/new year but hardly had time to scratch myself let alone work on cars.
69bug ·
updates love your car joel!
also the head light stuff has been monumentaly usefull....
Joel ·
Cheers.
I guess while this threads been bumped
Bug got its first detail in about 3 years for Dubs by the pub so while its looking all purrdy and not covered in splattered cane toad guts and macadamia nut borer moths.
Scrubs aright for a fatchick.
I still haven't got real far with my cold air intake but I did have a play around with it
Decided to use a late beetle air box, it's about the only thing I have room for.
Just have to modify it to take the Subaru AFM.
THe intake will connect to 2.5" flexible duct and an intake frenched into the top of the guard same as Jaks.
Joel ·
God damn it, I mow down skippy and the bug barely cops a scratch just some roo guts and a missing bumper strip.
I run over a pissy little bandicoot just now and it's carnage.
I'll have a better look in day light but it snapped my spoiler in half, put a bend in my A/C condenser and folded my radiator scoop under itself.
Joel DISLIKES this 👎
I'll assume Mr Bandicoot has bit more than just a slight headache.
Anyone else every cop alot of damage from something small or do I get the honors of being a first?
69bug ·
Sorry to hear joel......
Crash bandicoot maybe? Aha
Craig S ·
Bummer, problem is probably that Mr Bandicoot (RIP or maybe not) is smaller so went under the bumper whereas Mr Skip tends to go over and to the side.
Better than emus, they tend to end up in the windscreen.
beetleboyjeff ·
In the late 70s, I had my 69 bug re-sprayed, and I was then going from Port Macquarie to a do in Moree, leaving Port about 5pm on a Friday night.
I was going between Bundara & Bingara sometime after midnight, and came over a ridge to find a roo standing in the middle of the gravel road. I locked up, and he jumped as I slid towards him. He slid up the bonnet almost to the windsceen as the car came to a halt, then slid off and onto the road and bounded off. The only mark on the car was a small dent (from his tail I reckon) about 50mm in diameter on the RH front guard, just above the headlight.
I got going again, and after about 20km had just about stopped cursing and swearing, when suddenly a pig (I think) raced out of the scrub and straight into the side of the RH front guard, pushing it in onto the wheel.
Took a while to stop cursing and swearing then. :-(
Bizarre ·
Saw a HQ ute hit a wombat once
Tore the the whole diff / axle off
Joel ·
Yes pigs and wombats are one thing I never want to run over.
Wombats are like a brick shit house, they would stop a Sherman tank in it's tracks.
Dad said on his way out here this morning the bandicoot was still sitting very much splattered in the middle of the road.
Bug doesn't look half as bad in day light, the Kamei is split but meh it was getting due for replacement.
The mesh siliconed in is holding it together 😂
The bend in the condenser is less than most new ones come out of the box with and the radiator scoop should be easy to straighten.
Bizarre ·
a whole new meaning to Crash Bandicoot
Turbo54 ·
Sad to hear it, Hopefully not too much damage. Looking great with all the blackouts.
I hit a Koala in a very hot supercharged V8 ute. Needed new bumper, water injection bottle, air condensor, and a wheel alignment after replacing bent steering rods. Solid little f--ks.
T54
BTW, have you any pics on hom the radiator pick up air from under the front. I need to mount a air condensor in front of the beam on my 54 for the intercoolers and want some ideas/inspiration.
Heath
Jak Rizzo ·
whoa yeh! that looks great Joel, the black wheels really suit it. Have u always had that front spoiler?
Jak
Joel ·
Cheers Jak,
It was due for its weekly rim swap, I wanted to try it on 215/40 all round now I've fitted stiffer front springs.
Rides much nicer.
THe snow plough would be about 6 years old now
I just didn't have it on when the Subi first went in till I sorted air flow out but it's been around for a while
kaiisons ·
sleeeeeeeeeeeeeper
Shuffs ·
Joel wrote:Cheers Jak,
A lot of water has been under the bridge,since that photo was taken 😂
Joel ·
Over the last week or so I've started experiencing that all too familiar gearstick rattling under acceleration and just being generally sloppy.
I had a look at my shift rod bushing how to thread, just been 4 years almost to the day.
I just quickly pulled the gearstick out hoping maybe the bushing has just popped out of the hanger....
Well.......Shit...
Split in half where it rides in the hanger.......AGAIN.
I would have thought I'd get abit more than 4 years and 60,000KMs out of it but that's the downside of inferior repoop parts.
I swung by Dak Dak Motors on the way into town hoping Peter may have one as I'm driving up the coast for a wedding tomorrow.
Nope, sorry haven't sold one in years.
The one other garage left in the area now that used to do VW work I didn't hold much hope for either but to my surprise, the last one left way in the back of the store room.
$18.....bleh
Now here we go again, 3rd time lucky?
or do people wanna start placing bets on how long this one lasts.
Maybe this time I'll do a video guide on the swap for youtube.
Joel ·
Timewarp you say??
Yep, I haz1
TorxKiwi ·
Mine shit itself last week. I reckon I split it putting it in a few months ago and it only just managed to hang in there for this long. Might try a little harder to remain calm this time ....... unlikely at best. Worst job ever.
Ollie ·
Joel wrote:Timewarp you say??
Yep, I haz1
That's soooo cool 🙂
SebastienPeek ·
Agreed with Ollie, that time warp photo is amazing!
Joel ·
Cheers guys, I found that old pic a few weeks back and thought I know what I can do with this 😂
Dean, the bushing may be fiddly but it's not so bad, you think it's a shit job, try replacing a clutch cable. 😂
TorxKiwi ·
Shite load easier the second time around Joel. Stuffed up one of the early steps in your 'How to' guide last time. It's amazing how quickly you gain experience with these cars. A little over an hour start to finish, not to bad. Better yet that annoying as all hell rattle has gone ... Was sick of driving with my leg slung out against the gear stick!!!
Joel ·
I replaced mine a few weeks back but only just got the vid up on youtube yesterday.
I didn't worry about the string method this time.
every time though its been split in the groove where it sits in the hanger. as that is the thinnest spot.
be interested to see how long this one lasts.
beetleboyjeff ·
Joel,
I replaced my shift rod bush about 18 months ago. I had replaced it at 465232km on 9-4-04, and was doing a few things on the bug so replaced it while I was at it (I wasn't having any problems, but did it while I had things apart - they are cheap) at 584234km on 1-1-11, but when I took the old one out, it looked fine. I even tossed up whether to replace it or not, but seing as I had then new one, and already had the old one out................
I wonder if your holder in the tunnel is a bit sharp, or bent?
Joel ·
You could be right Jeff, who knows how long it spent with out a bushing before I got it, it was at 369,000kms when I bought it (still with factory engine and trans too) so it may have worn the edges, although they feel fine and it's not a loose fit.
You have the same rear disc kit as me 😉
beetleboyjeff ·
Joel wrote:You have the same rear disc kit as me 😉
From John Sherman?
I have another set on my trailer - 6 wheel disk brakes.
Joel ·
That's the ones although mine have a handbrake mechanism and the hose attachment and bleeder nipple are the other way around.
beetleboyjeff ·
The one's on the car have the handbrake mechanism, but I told John not to worry on the trailer - there was no point.
Joel ·
Here's a few more oldies from the vault.
I actually had to scan these from 35mm film,
The youngins probably have no idea what that is anymore 🤪
Anyway a little cross country adventure in 2001,
Northern Rivers to Adelaide and back, 4400kms in 6 days
The folks at the Wilcania servo hadn't seen a bug for years.
I actually wanted to take a few pics of it with the iconic vegemite painted bugs at the Silverton Gallery which was not far from where this pic was taken but I was running short on time.
And here's a couple that were on the same film from during the respray in 2001
Were you taking the Hotwires back to Adelaide to get your money back? I had them on my 1302 in the 70s, I thought that they were really cool
Steve
SebastienPeek ·
Or you could just do this Joel 😉
Oh, and it also works in Zelda.
Using a GPS antenna for the speedo, have tested and works great.
Just need to finalise the fuel gauge sender and then it's done. Woot!
Might as well update the thread. Been a while!
Joel ·
Steve, I've got the OBD connector still but mine is OBD1, don't think theres room for any more toys though.
Those hotwires were a bargain, payed $100 for them....... but that also included a reconditioned 1600 twinport, and a complete 74 1300 bug 😂
Days of finds liike that are long gone.
Seb, that is going to look awesome, I had all hopes and dreams of making something similar but its all still in the works at this stage.
Anyway here's one other little upgrade I've just done I thought I'd share.
After 38 years and half a million KMs worth of starts my poor ignition barrel which still has the factory issued keys was getting a bit worn.
I did replace it a few years back with this brand new Brazilian knock off.
But ended up putting the original back as it worked better.
But I had a lucky score recently and got this
Its the barrel from a very low mileage 77 Golf.
It has no wear or slop, both the keys are the factory AKS originals and have no wear either, and with such little use it even still has the factory dog tag with the key code on it.
These are exactly the same as the 72 on beetle ones on the bottom so fit straight in:
But the beauty is the keys have a symmetrical profile so they work either way, its annoying with bug keys that you have to make sure they go in the right way.
I'm really happy with how well it works and it operates my key in accessories position perfectly.
The only downside is the old bug key was still needed for the doors
Not a huge deal as I have remote keyless entry but I am fussy and like things to work right and I do use the keys in the door periodlically.
I found out the hard way in my jap scrap that the lady I bought it from never used the key in the doors or the boot, she always opened them by remote so when the battery died on me I couldn't get in as the door locks and boot lock were all jammed up from lack of use.
but where there's a will there's a way and it wasn't even difficult.
Mk1 Golf use the same door lock barrels as 68 on Beetles so all I had to do was pull them from the Golf door handles and fit them to my bug handles.
1303Steve ·
Hi
Good work on the key & barrel.
Now you need to list what isn't modified or changed on tour bug
Years ago we had an Audi 200 as our daily, both front door handles needed to be replaced over the time of our ownership amongst other things, I don't know why but I kept the old door handles after swapping barrels, so I did the same as you and swapped them into my bug handles after a bit of fiddling with the wafers in the locks.
I fitted them to my 1302 and I kept them when I sold it and put them into my new 1303.
Steve
Joel ·
Don't laugh but the only external part that is unchanged is the radio aerial.
Even the windscreen washer nozzle is painted and from another bug.
I didn't want to modify any of the original external parts so they are all in storage and what's on their now is all from other bugs I've owned
cam070 ·
So Joel, does the Golf ignition switch have an accessories position, whereas the bug one doesn't? Is that what you are saying?
Joel ·
Hi Cam, it's only the key barrel from the Golf I'm using, still have the stock bug switch but Mk1 Golf use the same switch anyway.
Its an accessories position of sorts I created.
It was some legislation in the US that 70s cars had to have a reminder buzzer if you opened the door and left the key in the ignition so you didn't lock the keys in.
Bug ignition switches from 1971 have this provision but only in the US was it hooked up.
I hooked mine to a late 90s BMW chime module for shits and giggles a while back but it started driving me nuts.
There's a terminal on the ignition switch marked S (SU on some models)
This is live as soon as you put the key in but don't have to turn it on (works in ON position too) then goes dead soon as the key is pulled out.
Normally it would power a buzzer if the door was opened.
So works well for a stereo Accessories position as you can't leave it turned on and flatten the battery once you take the key out or like mine which stays in standby mode if it has ACC power all the time.
Some ealier up to 73 cars apparently have SU but I haven;t seen it on aus bugs and it does the same thing but is a ground instead of a positive so just needs to trigger a relay.
I did notice though on a few of my 70s 1300 bugs though the S terminal is missing, just an empty slot but new ignition switches are cheap and it often doesn't still work on old ones anyway.
hellbugged ·
Joel wrote:That's the ones although mine have a handbrake mechanism and the hose attachment and bleeder nipple are the other way around.
I'm surprised you have not broken the brake hard line at the other end with that connection with the rubber line un-supported.....maybe unlike mine, there is not enough weight/movement to cause problems
Always interesting Joel, thanx for keeping us updated with your shinanigans throughout the years.
Joel ·
Well spotted, it's on the to-do list to make a more permanant mounting.
They were cable tied to the bumpstop brackets until I did the seals late last year.
hellbugged ·
Cool.......i broke a few lines until adding support.
The front brakets are nice and long on early pans. Easily cut off with enough length left to weld em on your trailing arms there.
matberry ·
Well spotted!!!!!......dude, it's a case of who would leave a brake hard line flapping in the breeze and wiggling around on every bump your trailing arm goes over......FIX it NOW before you kill someone.
Appologies if I am being harsh but sooooo important and yet so often overlooked. And you Joel normally set a good example.
Joel ·
hellbugged wrote:The front brakets are nice and long on early pans. Easily cut off with enough length left to weld em on your trailing arms there.
You Sir are a genious 👍
I've been trying to come up with an easy and effective method.
Matt, that's not being harsh at all, brakes/suspension/steering are the most important parts to keep safe and legal on a car, if not for your own safety, for everyone else on the road.
Its just been one of those out of sight out of mind things gone completely forgotten about.
I'll be stuck in the shed for a while with the weather like it is, no excuse now 😂
SebastienPeek ·
Joel,
Very curious about your electric window install...
Do you have any photos of behind your door cards?
Did you buy a kit or what's the go?
Joel ·
Hey Seb,
It's just a universal kit you can get off ebay.
What I did was split open the section on the winder mechanism where the winder handle spindle is and reinstall it the other way around so the winder handle spindle sticks into the door cavity instead of through the door skin like normal.
This made mounting the electric motor easier and let me sit mount the door panel as normal and mount the switch panel over the old hole.
h ·
Joel u bringing to Valla?
always good to see it in the flesh 👍
Joel ·
Yup, haven't missed one for bout 10 years 🤓
SebastienPeek ·
Thanks Joel!
Ran into issues on the weekend, was going to grab a mechanism out of a Mercedes 190e.
But, low and behold, there would have been no room for the glass. Damn the doors on beetles are skinny!
Will try and find a kit similar to yours, hopefully I can install it as soon as possible in the new doors and get the doors finished.
beetleboyjeff ·
I used the same kit as Joel, and just got it at Autobarn.
Joel ·
You need to make sure your window winder mechs are in good working order and not stiff or worn out otherwise the motors will struggle winding them up and can strip the plastic gears.
69bug ·
Joel will the golf key and barrel work in a 69 beetle steering column? Thanks
Joel ·
Not straight in, you would need to get the housing from a 71-73 beetle/type 3 like this:
Joel ·
Volkswagen Mobile X-ray team checking in....
After a couple more night time run-ins with animals including narrowly missing a cow I decided to further increase my light power.
My standard highbeam on it's own is actually very good, modern headlight inserts, good globes and direct battery voltage through relays puts them on a par with alot of modern cars.
My crappy point and shoot camera doesn't really do night time photography too well but they work well.
Turning on the Hella driving lights makes a big improvement too.
I had a 6000K HID kit laying around which I did have in the foglights on my daily but took them back out for the reason most HID kits are removed, they were just dazzling too many oncoming cars.
I hit on the idea of putting them in my Hella driving lights as about half the KMs my cars rack up are at night.
Suddenly I'm turning night into day 😂
This is where HIDs really shine, excuse the pun.
My driving lights worked well with standard 100w bulbs but the HIDs are 3x the light output yet only draw 35w.
Because they are on the highbeam circuit too they are perfectly legal and not effecting other drivers.
Kicking myself for not thinking of it ages ago.
cam070 ·
That's incredible!
You really are the master innovator.
Joel ·
For Todays show and tell I have this.
Bugpack have finally answered the prayers of 73 and later Beetle owners and have just come out with a new retrofit early style Urethane front mount that gets rid of that stupid mounting cup and fits like the pre 72 style front mount
A Berg style mid mount would have fixed my problem but not so easy as it interferes with my coolant lines and I had one on my black beetle and they hang down low and catch speed bumps.
cam070 ·
I was just thinking this thread had been a bit dormant, but was expecting something a bit more serious like a new motor, given the long silence.
So what is wrong with the cup style gearbox mounts?
Joel ·
Cheers Cam,
They flex too much and flog out too easy, epecially when they are trying to hold triple the HP they were designed for.
Joel ·
Well as a few people know already Friday night saw the next round of SubaBug vs Animal.
The downside of living in the sticks and doing a lot of night driving means I just keep barrelling animals.
On the exact same stretch of road that I skittled the bandicoot that smashed my Kamei spoiler a few months ago I hit a fox or a dog.
This time no spoiler to smash although Ironically my mate rang friday morning to say he'd fixed it from the bandicoot incident so glad it wasn't back on yet.
Made a nice mess of my A/C condenser.
Luckily modern aluminuim condensers are very forgiving so it's not leaking and still working fine which is a god send,
It was 44c here yesterday and about the same today and it still kept the car at 20c inside
the old Copper condensers of yesteryear tear and crush alot easier.
It straightened up nicely.
Something I should have done along time ago was make a skid/bash plate to protect it.
So I sweated my arse off in the shed today welding up and shaping a piece of 4mm thick angle to cradle the bottom of it.
Nice and strong and should give it a bit more protection for the next roadkill carnage.
Kent ·
Love this thread ! amazing 🤪!
Joel ·
And for my 9000th post here's a couple of pics I took yesterday playing around with my new camera.
nils ·
Nice one Joel. where are they taken? It looks familiar
Joel ·
Thanks Nils, it;s the Lismore street art in the back alleys of the CBD
Smiley ·
Looks awesome man!
In the 3rd picture down it looks like the art is licking the passengers window! I bet it was tasty!
Smiley 🙂
baghall ·
Love the art work for the background but very nice looking bug Joel.👍
SebastienPeek ·
I re-read this build thread way too often.
Can't believe you keep hitting animals. I hit an eagle in the Subaru a couple of months ago, that was an interesting experience.
Can't wait to join you in the land of EJ powered bugs.
Joel ·
Thanks guys,.
With the amount of night driving I do and living out in the stick road kill is just a regular occurance unfortunately.
hellbugged ·
How's the new gearbox?
Joel ·
Aside from being few hundred KMs overdue for its first oil change (sorry Dave!) I couldnt be happier with it,
That new gearing works out perfectly, its much happier on the motorway now.
Ant_T3 ·
Very interesting read. Cool to see how you can go about adding mod cons & gadgets to the old beetle.
I think in the latest pictures it is looking its best. Overall the style just flows well. Funny you went back to the red strips & fogs, I like them!
Boozo ·
looking good man, crazy amount of work and mods 🙂👍
Joel ·
Thanks guys,
it's getting about due for a new look 😂
bugzla ·
have to ask joel where did you get those mirrors from
cam070 ·
I sourced some of these from the UK a few years back. Just Google Vitaloni California UK. Places like VW Heritage and JJC Race and Rally carry them. Can't remember the place where I actually got mine, but thought it was called GTI Autosport or something like that.
Joel ·
I picked mine up from some Hot-rod supplies shop in Sydney.
was about 7 years ago now so the name of place escapes me but it may be on the box which I still have somewhere.
There is this guy in Melbourne but sounds like he only has the RHS
thanks joel ............... I have to say your car would have to be one of my fav as it is daily driven and always evolving a inspiration to all veedubbers hope your at the nationals joel this year as I hope to get there from the long journey from Townsville cant wait
cam070 ·
bugzla wrote:thanks joel ............... I have to say your car would have to be one of my fav as it is daily driven and always evolving a inspiration to all veedubbers hope your at the nationals joel this year as I hope to get there from the long journey from Townsville cant wait
Second that!
cam070 ·
bugzla wrote:have to ask joel where did you get those mirrors from
