She was rescued from a car lot at Revesby in November 2007.
As you will note from the photos from the lot she is pretty stock standard and shows her 34 years in places.
When I got her she was running on two cylinders and the clutch was more than on the way out.
Unfortunately her master (Craig) doesn’t know anything about mechanics or restoring (I’m an office worker), so she’s going to have to put up with the mistakes I’ll make!
I got her for two reasons:
1. So I could learn about the wonderful world of mechanics and restoring
2. So I could participate in low level club motorsport events.
My aim is for her to eventually be a bit of a sleeper, neat and clean exterior and interior, but packing as much horsepower as I can afford under the lid. I should mention that I’m in no rush, and expect this to be a long and continuing process (but who on this site couldn’t say the same thing!).
There was a bit of delay in progress on Gwendolyn because I live in Blacktown and not long after she was brought home our asbestos garage roof got smashed to pieces by hail, so it was a no go zone until that was all sorted.
So far it’s just the little things that have been done, new tail lights, indicators, ripping out the interior etc.
She’s just come back from visiting my new friends at Klaacks, where she got her pink slip and a new competition clutch.
Obviously there are all sorts of grand plans and I’ll be posting plenty of questions when the money tree grows enough leaves to make further progress.
But first things on my list are:
- Rear sway bar from whiteline
- New rear shocks
- Gene Berg shifter
Meantime any obvious performance / handling improvement suggestions you can make would be very welcome.
Cheers
Craig
Craig S ·
one more photo, showing the glorious interior
thugbug ·
Hello G M. Nice to have you on board. I have same as yours but red. Liverpool area. Novice also but being on here you`ll get to know a lot of what not / what to do. Like the idea of a sleeper. Just did front shockies on mine. Big difference. Ok. See you around here. cheers
badkarmann ·
nice looking ride happy dubbing
h ·
noice..
there is also another aptly name car on here n its a notch back from tazwedgia..
h
Bizarre ·
Welcome to the world of Supers
GREAT cars
A little bit of work on the suspension and you will have a wonderful car.
Slow down before you go putting sway bars on
A set of Type 3 rear torsions, KYBs on the rear, either lowered struts or at least new inserts and a poly kit through the front and your Super will be on rails
If you want to go motor sport DEFINITELY have a chat to Richard at V Force - LOVES his Supers. http://www.beetleracing.com/
Has all the bits and knowledge to get a Super super 😂
Snotty (1302) came 13th in a field of 54 cars at a Porsche track day
Here is Snotty
Craig S ·
Hi guys,
Forgot to say why she's called Gwendolyn, it because her number plate starts with GW, and a friend of mine insists that cars be named based on the numberplate, with no cheating by ordering special plates!!!
Took her out this afternoon for a bit of dirt practice, and the old girl behaved very nicely🙂. She does have a tendancy to want to find Reverse when you're looking for second, but that's driver error to a large degree😊.
The urgent need is for new seats and some seatbelts that haven't stretched beyond all usefullness (as well as new shocks).
Cheers
Bizarre ·
Gwendolyns Master wrote:She does have a tendancy to want to find Reverse when you're looking for second, but that's driver error to a large degree😊.
No - that will be a shot gear shift coupler and gear shift bushing
This is a small jo the guaranteed will need to be done.
This will change you shift changes unbelievably
thugbug ·
Got a set of Sachs for mine. Also a quickshifter & bushes to fit in this week . About $50 for the bushes and $80 for the shifter. Didn`t want too fancy a one. (Not like a Hurst will make it go any faster !! haha).
pete wood ·
enjoyed that bit of "private road testing" GM. you've almost got the hang of that handbrake. 👍
Craig S ·
Decided I should dredge up this old thread, and keep one build thread, rather than many.
In some ways the old thread is a bit embarrasing because so much has changed in my thinking and what I want to do with her.
Since I bought Gwendolyn a few years ago there have been some long periods where not much has happened, and for the last little while it has been all about saving money to do stuff.
In the meantime she still gets driven every week (usually to and from work) and at various times when my (or my wife's) boring daily drivers have failed us, she has been pressed into periods of daily driverdom.
It also has some seats from a Proton Satria in it which are better than the standard vinyl worn out ones that were in it, but also not that flash.
Apart from that a lot of rust has gone to meet its maker and a few other bibs and bobs sorted out (inertia reel front seat belts for instance).
But now, having saved some bickies, it's time for a sudden spurt of action before returning to my shell to save more money.
I have been talking with Brendon out at Production Automotive at Penrith, and Richard at VForce, and hopefully over the next month or two the suspension and brakes should be sorted, along with some new seats, new steering wheel and inertia reel seatbelts for the back seat to keep the kids safer.
To that end, I bought Gwendolyn a present today, a photo of which is below.
I always thought that Gwendolyn would end up looking something like Joel or Steve's Bug, but in the end the wheels will be like one of Marty's incarnations.
They are 2 x 16x6 and 2 x 16x7
Richard reckons they'll fit perfectly under an L bug, and who am I to argue!!!
The place that was selling them was a specialist Porsche place doing race prep. I had to stop myself from drooling, and the work shop was absolutely immaculate. It was quite something ducking beneath cars up on hoists worth more than my house 🤪
Anyway, that's all for now. Hopefully over the next few months there'll be more to report and some photos of Gwendolyn's altitude adjustment.
Cheers
Craig
helbus ·
I like those wheels
SuperOwen ·
So do I!!
Joel ·
There was a tidy 75L on them at actionday on sunday
As much as I love twists its good to see something different
Craig S ·
Thanks guys, the look is growing on me.
BTW Does anyone have any leads for finding a space saver spare wheel?
Drawn a blank on ebay so far.
SuperOwen ·
I took me a while to find one on ebay at a reasonable price, have patience they do pop up. I ended up getting an alloy space saver from a 928, I just leave it pumped up and it just fits in the spare well.
hellbugged ·
Gwendolyns Master wrote:Thanks guys, the look is growing on me.
BTW Does anyone have any leads for finding a space saver spare wheel?
Drawn a blank on ebay so far.
try Nick via Volksbahn......."avwboy" on here
ian.mezz ·
Gwendolyns Master wrote:Thanks guys, the look is growing on me.
BTW Does anyone have any leads for finding a space saver spare wheel?
Great to see you've rekindled the passion and have some really solid plans. Can't wait to watch Gwendolyn evolve. 👍
Wheels look great by the way ... but you already knew that 😁
Kris.
Bizarre ·
Great choice of wheels 😀
There is a bloke that gets to the swap meets that always has them
Boris's picnic day is coming up and I will be amazed if he isnt there
He is the bloke with the 3 legged dog
Otherwise - just keep watching ebay
Exotic and the like are 3 times the price
What tyres you going to run
Craig S ·
Thanks guys,
I'll have to make it to Boris' picnic day and try my luck, and keep scouring ebay. Saw one space saver on one of those sites Ian put up and it was only $50 shy of what is spent on the four wheels 🤪
Damien, is that Volksbahn at Pendle Hill? I sent my wife there today to buy some stuff.
In terms of tyres they came with the following already attached:
Silverstone FTZ Sport
2x225/50/ZR16
2x205/55/ZR16
The tread is still good on them so unless there is a compelling reason, I'll stick with them for the time being.
There is a problem with the photos Joel posted, it's too high up 😁 I think I'll need to go lower.
Price came in to do all the brakes today, and whilst it is about what I expected, and more than reasonable for what would be done, the total for all work is now well outside what I've saved to date, which means either I have to delay for a few months to increase the savings or I'm about to have to do some significant grovelling. Working in my favour are three things:
* It's cheaper than buying a new car.
* It's for brakes, which are a safety feature, and I take the children in the car regularly
* We have friends who own boats, so anything I do looks comparitively cheap
Wish me luck with my beloved 😵💫
Craig
Bizarre ·
2x225/50/ZR16
2x205/55/ZR16
That is what I am running
They will fit fine
The "only" things you nrrd to do is either "dome" the front Porsche caps or fit a 2mm spacer (I have some if you want them)
I went for a "flat" aftermarket cap that fits fine
You need to belt the grease caps flat to get max "flatness"
You will also need to drill a 6mm hole in the centre of the passenger cap for the speedo cable
You "may" need to turn the 3 bolts around on the spring plates so the head is on the outside
Thanks Barry, I'm glad that is 'all' I need to do.
I suspect I might be leaving it to Richard to figure all that out.
Where did you get your aftermarket caps? I'm kind of thinking of keeping the originals somewhere because it is likely to be the only genuine porsche stuff I ever have 🤓 and around here they are likely to be souvenired by some bogan.
Still to speak in depth with the minister of finance, but negotiations have been commenced and the general concepts floated to allow her to get used to the idea.
I'll probably try and go and have a more in depth chat with Richard some time next week if work would slow down for a bit.
hellbugged ·
Gwendolyns Master wrote:Thanks guys,
Damien, is that Volksbahn at Pendle Hill? I sent my wife there today to buy some stuff.
:
Craig
yep
Craig S ·
Well yesterday I fixed the oil leak from the sump plate due to my inexperience when doing the previous oil change, so hopefully people at work will no longer say "Hey Craig, Gwendolyn's dripping a bit isn't she".
I am going to get a new steering wheel (BTW is there enough room behind the dash to drop the speedo down to sit more or less on top of the steering column?)
So I pulled the steering wheel off and took the following photos.
It is therefore fair to suggest I have a late spline, which means I can now get the right boss.
And, just to be ABSOLUTELY sure I am saying the right thing (better to look stupid and be sure than order the wrong thing and pay for it because I wasn't), this photo confirms that I have a 2 bolt Super.
Fortunately permission appears to have been granted by the boss to go ahead with the current planned work. So I'll have to find a location to take some before photos so I can go back and take some after photos.
Craig S ·
The Bentley Manual has this to say about the change in strut:
"The revision of the steering knuckle and its mounting moves the steering axis outside the centreline. The revised steering geometry improves handling and stability in the event of a sudden tire blowout"
I guess that means I'll be better off if I ever have a tyre blowout then. 🙄 Let's hope I never find out. 🙅
Craig S ·
OK, So I have my new steering wheel, and I've tried to install it. Boss fits fine, it all looks the goods (although the speedo will be severely obscured until I move seat or speedo) but I can't get the blasted horn to work. I've tried a few different things and failed, so got myself a multimeter to try and figure out where it is going wrong, but I'm no autoelectrician, and I'm stuffed if I can figure out what's going wrong.
Here are some photos of my results so far:
First photo is merely to prove that it should work:
This photo shows the connection from the boss touching the copper connector on the steering column and then a connection being made from the bottom ring on the boss (which would normally sit on the column) to the spline. Again all good.
Next we prove that the boss itself is providing a proper conduit for an earth. The top of the boss is sitting on the spline and I'm making the connection in where the spline would normally sit. Happily this is all good as well.
So turn it around, sit the boss on the column, and things go wrong from there..
In this one I make the connection to the top of the boss
In this one I make the connection to the spline
In both cases the connection is no good.
Now the copper tang on the column is sitting up high enough that it SHOULD make a connection, but I can't think why else it would be going wrong.
I guess either it's not connecting properly or it's leaking somewhere.
Any one got any bright ideas???
Also given that I've never used a multimeter before, any suggestions for other things I should try would be most welcome.
Thanks
Craig
ian.mezz ·
You can put a smear of grease on that ring and turn wheel and you should see Marks in grease where making contact. You may have to bend that copper tab up.
You dont need a meter, just touch that black wire on the steering shaft and the horn shoiuld work.?????
vwsteve ·
if all else fails and you cant get the horn working, just use your finger😂
sorry, just kidding
Joel ·
The horn wiring on these cars is really basic
I'm guessing it worked fine with the old steering wheel?
A positive 12 volts goes straight from the fuse box to the horn and the horn button just earths on the steering shaft to complete the circuit.
Like Ian said touch the black wire on the boss to test, the horn should work if everything is sweet, you'll need to do up the boss nut to make sure you have a good earth on the boss to the steering shaft though.
If touching the black wire doesnt do anything and the boss contact ring is touching the one on the indicator switch put the meter in continuity mode which is the one at about 5:00 with the diode and soundwaves symbols to the left of the one that says temp.
touch one lead on the boss and another on something that is a good earth like the door checkrod or door interior light switch.
If the meter beeps it means all is well and the boss is earthed but if not it probably just needs the air gap between the boss and the column adjusted.
The bolts that hold the steering column to the body are slotted for adjusting
Now you just need the horn button which usually grounds itself to the boss to send earth down the black wire, thro the contact at the base of the boss and through the contact on the indicator switch
Craig S ·
Thanks for the help!!
Joel wrote:The horn wiring on these cars is really basic
Not as basic as my skills though 🤪
Steve, the middle finger idea is good, but too many people own 4wds around here and wouldn't mind a beetle as a bonnet ornament.
Well the good news is that it is now all working. Turns out I was just being too wussy with bending the copper connector on the column. Once I moved it a really good amount it was all good and much happiness reigned down on my little garage. The neighbours must think I'm nuts with all this pipping of the horn emanating from the garage.
So here is the finished product....
More goods news:
Finally managed to plonk my bottom in some Recaro seats at a shop and decide which one I like best. Even better news is that my beloved was with me, heard the price of said pews and hasn't raised a single objection (I think because we were away last week with friends who have a boat and regular mention was made of the costs involved in boat ownership), so all I have to do is convince myself they're worth that much money.
Thanks again.
Craig
1303Steve ·
Hi
There is a small amount of adjustment in the switch housing to allow it to slide back & forward, this may have helped with the copper tang contact.
There is an Allen key under the housing for this adjustment and the 2 securing bolts also need to be loosened as well.
Steve
barls ·
looks good mate, what size wheel did you end up going with.
Craig S ·
So quick update,
I pick up my new Recaro seats later in the week, and the brakes and suspension are currently being put together. Hopefully the new look and feel will be done by Christmas. 🙂
Then I go back into my cave and start saving for an engine and a thousand other things. 😵💫
Whether I have the capability of putting together the other engine that is sitting in pieces in my garage to have fun with while I'll continue to save is another matter all together. Only time will tell. 🤓
68AutoBug ·
EXCELLENT PICS...
You are learning Fast.....
but tell Me why the face of Your stereo is sticking out on one end??
I've never taken My face off....!!
cheers
LEE
Craig S ·
Firstly, in answer to the question of Barls a few posts up, the steering wheel is 350mm. Smaller, but not too small. I'm loving it, it is sooooo much more comfortable than the original, but badly cracked, skinny ships tiller. Of course it completely obscures the speedo, so it's a bit of a guessing game as to the speed, in fact if anything it makes me listen closer to the revs because I can estimate reasonably accurately what my speed is based on the gear and the amount of noise I can hear. Guess I shouldn't do any sound proofing until I fix the speedo situation 🤓 Actually I can see below 40km/h which means I'm all good in school zones.
Secondly, in answer to Lee, the stereo has been wired (by the previous owner) such that the face is always fully lit even when the car is off and it is turned off. Whilst it wouldn't draw too much power, sometimes the car does sit for a week or more, so given that I can pop the face off and save the drain I just do it. The stereo is one of the things on my long list of things to replace, but it comes below stopping, turning and going faster 🙂
Have to drop the car off early this week so the engineer can have his pre-work inspection, problem is I'll be away with work for the remainder of the week and weekend, so rather than cause inconvenience in the workshop my wife might go and pick Gwendolyn up. Given that it has been about 2 years since she last drove her (and pre CSP shifter and smaller steering wheel), after we'd finished taking some "before" photos of the car I got her to drive her home.
Now my wife is a country girl, so has been driving since she was tall enough to sit on her dad's lap and steer, so she's not a bad driver, but it was just like sitting next to a learner. We had bunny hopping, gear crunching, sailing through intersections due to lack of brake application, wipers going on instead of indicators. The kids found it hilarious. Fortunately we all lived, but if she does go to collect it I'll be checking my mobile every 5 minutes to make sure she's made it home it one piece.
Craig S ·
Oh, and I also picked up a few boxes yesterday..
I wonder what's inside....
(actually they better be worth it!!!)
STIDUB ·
german wine glassed to bribe the other half to approve your plans? 😂
Craig S ·
No bribes required, she knows she's lucky to have me 😁
Her sister was over yesterday and said "Those are nice seats, how much were they", to which my wife answered "$400 each weren't they?"
In that instant I had the opportunity to minimise the perceived cost (despite the fact that on the brochure we got the price is written in her handwriting), but my thinking went along the lines of "O what a tangled web we weave...." so I fessed up. Fortunately she didn't bat an eyelid 😎
Craig S ·
When I got Gwendolyn there was a bit of a mess behind the back seat, that I sort of tidied up, but never did a proper job. So anyway I decided I should get in there, get rid of all the old crap, take it back to bare, and then start over.
So this afternoon I spent some time communing with various implements in an attempt to remove as much crud as possible. Having got most of the glue, I'll now get stuck in with the wire wheel, and once that's done, then the primer will be put to good use.
Anyway, a couple of questions:
Photo 1, the glorious foam that sits between the vertical and diagonal sections at the back. Should I get rid of it all now? Do I need to replace it with something?
Photo 2
After getting the stuff off the bottom of the parcel shelf, I found two small holes through to the wheel well / engine. The is some nice corrosion around the holes, and the little metal plates that original covered them became one with the sound proofing sometime over the last 36 years.
Do these holes serve any purpose, or should I just fill them?
Photo 3
I took away the headlining up to the first join just north of the rear seat belt. Behind there are a myriad of holes. Obviously there are the ones that (in theory) connect to the half moon vents, which (depending on who you listen to) I should delete at the earliest opportunity.
After poking around with a screwdriver I couldn't feel any foam in the pillar. Should there be some there?
And what of the holes. What are they all there for? Do they serve any purpose, should I fill them, or just leave them to be covered over again with lining sometime soon?
Thanks for your help.
Craig
cam070 ·
VW filled that section down the C-Pillar with foam at the factory as an acoustic insulation. I think you will find everyone who has a later model bug has cursed VW for using this foam as it has been the source of much rust for all these cars. If your car lacks the foam, it may be that someone has done you a favour and removed it, and hopefully repaired the rust at the same time.
You will usually find it down the lower section of the pillar, through the round hole and lower.
Also, congrat's on getting Recaro's. I have them in my car, similar to your seats, but much older. In my opinion, best mod you can do, seats and steering wheel. recaro amd Momo, can't go wrong, my preferred combo as well!Exactly what I am running.
Joel ·
Here's a good shot showing how the crescent vents connect to the inside ones, and that nasty death foam
When I redid my headliner about 9 years ago I covered the inside vents over, the plastic trim that fit in each one was disintergrating and I figured my 70 bug doesnt have them so why not cover them over.
I've only just cut them back out in the last month and first thing I noticed is how much easier my doors shut when the windows are all closed.
Also My ears don't pop as bad if I wind the windows up while driving.
But there main purpose is to help out the heating system, because the heater is always introducing outside air to the cabin, an equal amount of air must be expelled and considering most people have the windows up when the heaters on this was why the flow through ventilation system was introduced in 70s bugs.
Also the same situation exists in Lbugs when you have the defroster fan running
I managed to score some NOS german vent trims for the inside. I didnt realise till I got them they actually have little flaps on them so they stay shut normally but release the pressure when the heater is on, the doors are slammed shut or the fresh air fan is running
Craig S ·
Wow, great photo Joel.
I gather the only way to get rid of the foam in the pillar is by cutting metal 🙁
Good job on the NOS vents, the ones I removed yesterday disintegrated upon touch.
Cam, I can assure you that the previous owners didn't do any work back there, it was all pure 1970s headlining on that part. More $ will escape my wallet in due course to get the foam out.
I guess I'll continue my clean up and go from there.
1303Steve ·
Hi
The group of 3 holes is for pop out windows.
You can get a lot of foam out with a long bit of rod with nasty hook on the end.
After seeing what is behind the 1/2 moon vents I elected to keep them.
Steve
cam070 ·
Craig S wrote:Wow, great photo Joel.
I gather the only way to get rid of the foam in the pillar is by cutting metal 🙁
Good job on the NOS vents, the ones I removed yesterday disintegrated upon touch.
Cam, I can assure you that the previous owners didn't do any work back there, it was all pure 1970s headlining on that part. More $ will escape my wallet in due course to get the foam out.
I guess I'll continue my clean up and go from there.
I cut metal from the inside. I figured a not so neat repair could be hidden behind the headlining. Not sure how I am going to tackle the rust though.
Craig S ·
In between keeping the kids entertained (my lovely wife has had to work the last three days) I've been hiding in the back of the beetle with a drill and various nasty implements.
I sat in there for about half an hour each time before my back insisted I get out and stretch and I contemplated how much more room there would be in a Kombi.
Anyway, still more to do, but I've made some good progress, and should hopefully get it finished on the weekend, and get some primer on it.
One question though: The evil crud that VW put along where all the metal seams meet, once it's removed, should I replace it with something before I put primer on? Should I weld these seams up? It's nasty stuff and difficult to remove.
This is the evil crud, which I've grown to hate:
Once I've finished the parcel shelf areas, then I'm onto the front footwell and after that a bit of a tidy up in the boot.
ian.mezz ·
I think its called, drip check or seal sealer.
Craig S ·
Well now that the temp has dropped below 40 I've headed out to keep doing work.
After digging away at stuff I managed to lift up some more sound deadening and found, surprise, surprise, more rust.
You can see in the photo that the previous owner has commissioned a fairly dodgy repair job higher up the pan, but clearly they decided it would be best to only fix the visible bits. So much for the rest 🙅
Anyway, whilst cleaning up I noticed that there are a number of wires that seem to have no purpose in life:
Any idea what these are supposed to be for????
Anyway, better get back to it.
Craig
ian.mezz ·
looks like wires off of a voltage regular that some beetles have under the seat.
Young JOel will know for sure 😊
Joel ·
😁
The bunch on the left (yellow and browns) is just part of the dealership computer diagnosis system.
Those ones went to the sensors on the battery,
all redundant now which is why someone has chopped them off.
If you find the other ends in the engine bay at the computer plug theyre great for running gauge wires to the engine.
The other ones as Ian said are the old regulator wires, obviously your bug has been fitted with a new internally regulated alternator
Craig S ·
Sweet 🙂 thanks guys.
Waiting inside now while the storm passes over.
BTW, should I be worried that the chassis number of my rego has the last digit wrong?
Joel ·
I'd plead ignorance cos they will probably make you pay for an adjustment of records to change it.
My first Sbug was the same, rego papers were 1 digit off, got sorted when I blue slipped it though.
they also had the engine capacity as 181.0cc 🙄
Craig S ·
Well I've been doing stuff on the car this weekend, which has been a nice change, given that the last few Fridays something has always come up which have all unfortunately been more important. The goods news is that this Friday only one thing popped up, and that only cost me about 3 hours. 🙂
So, the inevitable happened, and there were some very small patches of surface rust where I had cut it back to metal 🤪 , so out came the wire wheel again and I gave it all a good tidy up, cleaned everything back, sealed all the seams again, and then started hitting it with rust preventing primer and then a thin coat of white stuff to make it look pretty until such time as sound deadening and a parcel shelf makes an entrance.
So the final result is this:
While I was out there I had a look at a few other things. It's funny how getting one thing done gets you motivated, but then when you look around you find a thousand other things that need doing, and all of sudden you're feeling down about it. The truth is that the only way to deal with rust and all the attendant issues is to do a body off resto, but I'm afraid that until I somehow mysteriously acquire a million dollars, I'll just have to keep doing it bit by bit. 🙄
Anyway, after all the dire talk about the airboxes in 1303s, I thought I'd better take mine apart and have a squiz. As expected it was full of leaves and gumnuts etc, which must date from before I owned it because it spends 99.9% of its parked life sitting in either my garage or the underground carpark at work.
But, the good news is that it doesn't look too bad. Clearly I'll have to sort it at some stage, but there was nothing too horrible to contemplate (unless of course I'm missing something, and please let me know if I have):
I was trying to figure out where it drains to, so after ducking my head underneath I saw a little plastic tube with a T connector on the end. Is this where it is (supposed) to drain to, or am I barking up the wrong tree?:
Thanks in advance for any advice (and I hope it isn't telling me what I've done wrong with my painting of the parcel shelf 🤓 )
Craig
Bizarre ·
Craig
In your air box I can see black tar paint at the join
In the 3rd pic I can see rust peeking through - not bad but If your diggng round I would dig all that black stuff off and see what is under
There was no black tar from the factory - that has been added
It is to the left of where I have marked that is the problem
It drops away from the drain
If the car is facing uphill this point is lower than the drain
Once it fills with leaves and dust, a wet mud sits at the seam and eats through
As far as I remember the drain comes out in the frame head - as such you cant see it
Shove a hose in the hole in the air box and see what happens
Craig S ·
Thanks Barry,
I figured that I might have to dig around sooner rather than later. Looks like I get to pull out the wiper motor and the fan to have some fun. Anyone want to start a book on me not getting them working again on reconnection?? 🤓😁
I also thought I should shove a hose down the hole and see what happens (that sounds worse than I intended 😊😊😊 )
Best wait until I have someone to yell stop if it starts pouring into the cabin. 😵💫
My shopping list of things that need new metal or filling is getting longer and longer. I did sort of promise myself that I'd learn to weld and do some basic fabrication this year, but it hasn't gotten any further than a nice idea. Perhaps I should do more than just think about that. 👍
Joel ·
Craig S wrote:I was trying to figure out where it drains to, so after ducking my head underneath I saw a little plastic tube with a T connector on the end. Is this where it is (supposed) to drain to, or am I barking up the wrong tree?:
Wrong tree, thats the breather hose off the fuel tank.
You cant actually see the end of the drain hose, it comes out just behind the steering damper right in the center of the car.
Craig S ·
Thanks Joel 👍
pete wood ·
wow, looks like you got all inspired. well done mate.
BTW, if you want to borrow a grinder and a flapper disc next time, just give me a call. wire wheels are good for some stuff. but the grinder is SOOO much faster. 👍
Craig S ·
As part of my plan for world domination Gwendolyn is currently in the workshop having some major surgery done.
The surgery basically involves all the suspension, steering and brakes, as well as some other handling things like a kamei style air dam and a strut brace. Also the shift rod bushing is being done, and my Recaro seats are going in.
So all in all it should be significantly more German Look than previously, but more importantly it should ride and handle much, much better.
Unfortunately funds don't extend to the engine side of things, so I'll continue to potter around in the wheezy 1600 until I can save more funds.
Anyway, enough talk, everyone likes photos, so here are a few of the work in progress:
New Seat frame
The back end
The front end
Hopefully more photos aren't too far away, plus some before and after photos of the new look and feel
Cheers
Craig
Bizarre ·
WOW..............noice 👍
A well handling 1600 will eat a poorly set up 1916 for fun any day
Just save for a set of Dells and that 1600 will come alive
hellbugged ·
👍..........you've gone the best way to do things.....suspension and brakes THEN bigger engine! 👍
looks good!
Craig S ·
Bizarre wrote:Just save for a set of Dells and that 1600 will come alive
Well here is a tech question, that perhaps I should post separately, but I have a set of Italian made Weber 36 IDFs that need reconditioning, (came off an Alfa) and I have a few questions:
* Are Dell's that much better than Webers to justify buying them
* Are 36s too small? At what size engine do they begin to struggle, and would I be better off with a set of 40s or 44s?
Yep, the work looks good and it should go around corners like a cat on carpet and be heaps of fun.
Craig S ·
Well, it’s been a while, but I now have Gwendolyn back in my garage. She’s spent the last few months being V-Forced and I’m pleased to say she’s all the better for it. There’s still a bit of tidying up to do, and a Kamei style spoiler to be added, but it’s almost done until my wallet can be replenished.
In summary, the work that has been done was a complete refurbishment/replacement of all the suspension, brake and steering components, as well as installation of new front seats.
In summary:
• New front struts with Bilstein gas 944 inserts and 150lb springs
• New Bushings all round
• Porsche brakes up front
o Boxster calipers
o 911 alloy hubs
o 911 25mm vented disc rotors
• Second hand boxster wheels (6x16 up front, 7x16 out back)
• New Steering box
• New gear shift bushing
• New rear torsion bars 27mm
• Bilstein rear shocks
• EA/EF Falcon brakes out back.
• Lowered all round
• Strut brace
• Gene Berg gearbox mount
• Install new Recaro seats
I haven’t had too much of a drive yet, and it was a bit greasy on the drive home so didn’t want to explore the limits too much (besides which I’m still in the process of getting the insured value increased), but first impressions are that it’s great to drive. The ride is firm, but I didn’t lose any teeth, it corners beautifully, grips nicely, it had no shimmies on the freeway, and the seats are fantastic. Once I was on a quiet street I jammed on the brakes a few times to get a better feel for them, and couldn’t lock them up, but did come to a very prompt halt.
Also good is that the 944 space saver spare I picked up a few months ago seems to fit nicely both front and back and clear everything based on some trial fitting this afternoon.
The pictures below were done in a bit of hurry, so I’ll probably try and do better later.
Now I just have to go and hide in a cave and save money to make the interior a nicer place to live, but much more importantly save lots of money to pay for an engine that will do justice to the handling.
Camo ·
Wow! As soon as I saw your car at the top of the members ride, I thought to myself that I hadn't seen much from you in recently and now I know why. you had your car hidden away getting a makeover and wanted to reveal all at once. Bit of money spent there, but it will be worth every cent I'm sure. There should be quite a difference in driving the car now and I'm sure you will soon see the benefits.
Well done and keep saving. Oh, by the way did anyone tell you Christmas is just around the corner 😢😁👍
Kev
hellbugged ·
👍 great stuff!
Joel ·
Hell yes
Craig S ·
Thanks Guys,
Yes, it's great to have her home, took her for another spin today, and learnt some more of what she feels like, gave her some stick through a couple of corners that I like to play with and I got the back to step out in one corner, but the correction was simple. Showed her off to some friends, and some of their kids thought she was alright, which means my 12yo son no longer thinks she's quite as desperately uncool as what he has indicated to me over the last few days. My revenge will be the photos I have of him wearing what he currently believes to be fashionable. 🥷
Kev, you're quite right, a bit of coin has been spent, and I've just started the list of what's next to be done, and it's already getting longer than I want to think about. Fortunately some of the things are being suggested by my wife, so that's more habitable for her, which helps loosen the purse strings, but she hasn't mentioned the engine yet (and probably never will).
I think given that I'm going to take a loooooong time to save for what I'm ultimately after (2.1 litre efi), I should get the 36IDF's I've got lying in the garage fixed up and stick those on with a decent exhaust for a little more fun while I save.
Perhaps that can be my Christmas present 🤓
Bizarre ·
Great stuff
A set of 36's and an exhaust and that baby will realy sing
Love the wheels .... and seats...... and ........👍
ian.mezz ·
cool
Keep the bits and pieces of different cars theme going and put a Subaru in it.😊
Craig S ·
ian.mezz wrote:cool
Keep the bits and pieces of different cars theme going and put a Subaru in it.😊
Did I mention the Webers I have came off an Alfa?
The temptation to go Suby is always there, but for the foreseeable it will be staying air cooled.
Craig S ·
Well as observant people may have spotted, I bought an engine the other week.
It's a Pobjoy 1916 that has come out of a Squareback. Whilst it is not what I would put in if money was no object, the reality of me saving my pennies for a few more years versus the fairly instant and relatively cost effective method of buying a second hand engine made the decision an easy one. If in the future I become stupendously rich I can then buy my dream engine and drop this one in a second project.
I'm currently pulling it down to a long block to convert it to upright. That means I've been shopping and been spreading the love between VVDS, CVD and Vollks.
Beyond the essentials for the conversion I've also been picking up a few other things like:
* A heated rear windscreen
* New headlights
* All new rubbers
* POR15 so I can paint the pan on both sides
* and other things I've forgotten at the moment
During the engine swap the plan is to make the rear valance removeable and also put some carb access holes in each side to make things easier in the future.
Given that I've stretched my wife's good will with the engine purchase, anything not totally essential to getting the engine in the car and working will probably be put to one side whilst the money tree regrows.
Once that happens I'll get the windows tinted and my new back window installed, along with the new rubber. While they're out it will allow any rust in the sills to be sorted.
So there will be a bit more action over the next month or two before I go hide in a hole again and save. BUT, Gwendolyn should be an absolute ripper to drive after this 😵😵😍😍
Joel ·
Good to see it'll have the GO to make use of all that WHOA you've just added.
Are you gonna swap to taller type1 manifolds?
You will probably find the linkage wont clear the alternator with those shorty type3 ones.
Craig S ·
Yep I have new taller CB Performance manifolds. I have no idea how anyone with the short manifolds could change spark plugs with the engine in the car!!
When trial fitting the new manifolds last night last night I spotted that the stud coming out of the heads wasn't long enough to clear the gasket, manifold and washer and still have the nut screw on.
Either I somehow need longer studs in the head, or I need to remove some material from the manifold to give enough room for a nut to be sufficiently tightened.
cam070 ·
Craig all that work looks fantastic. Porsche, recaro, bilstein all the good gear. Am very jealous.
hellbugged ·
engine in yet?
Craig S ·
Not yet, I've been slowly collecting bibs and bobs for the conversion, plus a few improvements, like a CSP bellcrank linkage etc.
Hopefully not too much longer because I want to have fun 👍
tayloredvw ·
hey mate, just wondering what you did to get the seats in there?
Did you take out the original runners and bolt new fabricated ones in and then put the recaros on top of that?
Craig S ·
tayloredvw wrote:Did you take out the original runners and bolt new fabricated ones in and then put the recaros on top of that?
Yep,
The original seats were no longer in situ, having been replaced by a set from a Proton Satria, which were too big, and necessitated the removal of all the original mountings.
So when the new Recaro seats went in the mounts that had been put in for the Proton seats were removed and Richard at V Force fabricated a new set of frames, on top of which was mounted the Recaro seat runners that I bought with the seats.
I have to say I'm VERY happy with the Recaros and the seating position and the runner mechanism