I just picked up this 74 vw superbug, the guy i bought it off has owned it since 1979, it's got a smooth running 1600 which has been converted to run on unleaded. it's an original car complete with completely rusted out floor pan and all it's original log books.
My plan for it, although at the moment very hazy is to turn it in to a street baja, sounds weird i know but i am thinking of using some baja styling but keeping it low and fast. The plan will inlclude rear disc converion and an ej20 or ej20 turbo converion.
I would like some help on which way to go with suspension and some help sourcing interior trimming and floor panels and baja kit locally.
Also if anyone is interested in any of the original parts (fenders, hub caps, complete engine aseembly, running board chrome trims, bonnet, deck lid, bumpers etc please let me know.
here is some pics !
TorxKiwi ·
Where are you?
Bizarre ·
G'day
A baja kit for an L Bug will need to be a custom jobbie of a stangard kit.
Are you wanting to lower the car??
lowered cups on your struts is the easiest answer and if you are going for baja guards you wont need to worry about offsets
ian.mezz ·
not a bad looking vw, your off to the good start , the first thing every body seems to do when they get a old bug is
to start to pull them apart 😊😊😊
spamwell ·
i'm on the sunshine coast in qld, i have started tearing her down originally because of the smell of the rotten interior, and now well it's to repair the floor lol, next step will be rwc then after than the modification will begin.
i was wondering if there was differences in the baja kits, what sort of mods where you refering to ??
it's quite a solid little car other than the floor. everything thing is there and the body (other than floor) is rust free.
spamwell ·
also lowered cups ?? my standard struts are buggered so i will need to replace them
definitely lowering it
h ·
welcome to here
lowering it is so passé
everyone one has one of those
Baja'ing is the new black, as the beach is in our back yard 😉
do whatever you like and enjoy your new vw
'converterted to run on ULP' best to run it on 98 ron, the motor will be happy up here in the heat
look forward to seeing it about on the road soon
where on the sunny coast are you at?
cheers pauly
Bizarre ·
spamwell wrote:I was wondering if there was differences in the baja kits, what sort of mods where you refering to ??
.
Baja kits are for standard beetle and they have a pointier hood.
You will have to cut and widen the hood.
thanks for the info guys ! i might try make my own mods to the standard fenders.. any examples of that going around ?
and paul i am in kuluin 🙂
spamwell ·
more looking around i do the more confused i get, the plan was a "street baja" i'm trying to find a good example on the net somwhere, i don't want to use it offroad i just want it to look tough
need to find an example
spamwell ·
ian.mezz ·
so you want it to go like stink
.
spamwell ·
it's name has come from a few things, i wanted to use the sb from super bug, and then i got an sti ej20 turbo, and then one night it stunk the house out leaking stale fuel, so STInk Bug lol 🙂
STIDUB ·
Got the gear to bolt the engine to the box?
spamwell ·
Luckily my dad is currently researching making an adapter plate and flywheel etc, I'm not too keen on the off the shelf prices. Trying to do something awesome on a budget lol 🙂 he works in the manufacturing industry.
have you got any suggestions ?
looking in to brakes at the moment as well.. thinking the ea rears and a similar setup to the one on here that uses falcon 5 stud on the front.
ian.mezz ·
here is another video.
johns subaru kits are ok priced and they work .
Joel ·
spamwell wrote:Luckily my dad is currently researching making an adapter plate and flywheel etc, I'm not too keen on the off the shelf prices.
Not trying to kill your dream but if you're worried about the cost of an adapter plate it will shock you how much all the little things you need for the whole conversion add up.
And you will need to budget minimum 1k for gearbox upgrades if you staying with VW.
A stock one will last 2 secs with that engine unless you never hit boost.
As Ian says just get an adapter kit from SHerman, you can't beat them for quality.
1303Steve ·
Hi
Don't forget to budget for hose clamps, a subi conversion sucks them up.
Steve
Joel ·
x2,
I bought a box of 20 and still didn't have enough.
STIDUB ·
Hope you understand the beer economy when getting favours done by people then!
And I have ford brakes on mine, well that's the easy explaination.
spamwell ·
STI DUB what ford brakes did you use up front ?
I'm not new to conversions so i understand the effort and extra costs which go in to them. I'm definitely up with beer economy lol 🙂 I'm just saying if i was to go and buy the bits of pieces all straight from the shelf it would cost a fortune. My budget is not tiny, things will be done right i am just going to nut out my options and save where i can.
Also Joel would you mind elaborating on gearbox upgrades ? in more specifics and what the weak points are ?
STIDUB ·
See the box in your beetle? That's your weak point with turbo Subie bolted to it 😂
Brakes, see VWCOOL, thread will be a few years old now tho...
Subarugears ·
Well if you want to do your gearbox correctly, then consider putting in the Subaru 5 speed that was designed to go with your engine.
This will take the power of your motor and allow it to operate in the correct rev range where you make maximum power and torque.
Plus it's got 5 speeds so that you can cruise around comfortably. More expensive than an adaptor plate but also has many benefits.
spamwell ·
what have you done in your setup STIDUB ?
spamwell ·
also ive been doing some reading of different forums and even considering quotes from joel and subaru gears on other forums i think the standard box will do the job for me, if i love the car and the build goes the way i want, maybe one day in the future my gearbox will explode and i will consider other options then, seeing as i am making up the adapter plate and flywheel with dad which probly isn't going to cost anything i really have nothing to loose. If the setup doesn't work i can upgrade 🙂
anyways, the last few nights i have spent getting the motor up to scratch so i can set it aside knowing it's ready to drop in. New timing belt kit has been installed, oil pump removed, cleaned, tightened and re installed. I have re sealed the rocker cover gaskets and replaced the oil filter. Test fitting of all the original parts such as intercooler etc etc.
We have started cutting out the floor pan for repair and are starting to draw up plans for the body modifications and also i'm plotting my suspension and brake setup 🙂
Can anyone lead me in the right direction is australia to get all the replacement parts like running boards and interior parts, window rubbers etc ??
spamwell ·
lookin sad
holy floor batman !
engine just hanging out
16*7 ford wheels i am hoping to use
ian.mezz ·
my stock vw tran is ok, mines done about 20000Ks
just remember to check the gearbox oil level , you would be surprised how many people fix up their rides and never check the gearbox oil 🤪 doesn't hurt to even change the oil 😊.
spamwell ·
she'll get new oil 🙂 i've got to do the output shaft seal in it anyways
SebastienPeek ·
Good luck with this, would love to do this conversion myself but I think it isn't for me, just yet anyway.
Will watch this thread closely to see what problems you are faced with so when I do end up doing a conversion, I know what to expect.
Good luck and have fun!
spamwell ·
and here she is as of a couple of days ago
spamwell ·
Joel ·
Good to see you stuck it out and kept going with it.
You wouldnt believe how full my inboxes on the VW forums and youtube are with messages from people who start out similar projects and then bail when they find out whats involved or what it's gonna cost.
Any reason you haven't moved the gearbox forward at all?
it's the best way to get the timing belt covers to fit under the back guards.
spamwell ·
we had alot of panel work to do in the back anyway so we decided to keep the driveshaft angles standard and just do it our own way. To be honest didn't really think about moving the box forward just went ahead and made it all work lol 🙂
There are just two small humps which go over the cam covers which i think will not look out of place. The whole rear end of my car is welded together so all i have to do is unbolt the guards and about 10 bolts and the whole rear apron and rear guards with bumper and tail lights attached comes off as an assembly.
spamwell ·
so what does everyone think about my widended standard wheels 🙂 ! i think they turned out awesome
1303Steve ·
Hi
Looking good. What's happening with the radiator? I hop your not cutting holes in the bonnet, it gives the game away.
Steve
ian.mezz ·
1303Steve wrote:Hi
Looking good. What's happening with the radiator? I hop your not cutting holes in the bonnet, it gives the game away.
Steve
yer that radiators way to big .
spamwell ·
you won't see the radiator at all, the air comes up through holes in the spare wheel well, it is all shrouded in there so he air that comes up is sucked through the radiator by the thermo fans and forced out more holes in the spare wheel well.
The radiator isn't too big. It is a standard subaru radiator with it's factory thermo fans.
Althought there is not direct flow to the radiator it should get a decent amount of flow with the way we have shrouded it, also underneath the car the coolant pipes are aluminium which should also dispell alot of heat.
It sits in the shed idling and gets up to temp and stays at temp beautfully. The thermo fans come on at 90 deg which only happens when i rev it alot while it's sitting still.
spamwell ·
spent all tonight dynamatting the firewall etc, starting to move on to the floor soon
spamwell ·
also thanks for the kind words guys 🙂
ian.mezz ·
good job,
sounds good if your taking in to account the amount of extra water that the cooling pipes hold and you calculations come out the same amount of litres as the factory Subaru cooling holds you shouldn't have the temp gauge going up and down all the time, the fan hardly ever comes on in mine.
Just remember that heat rises and the fans need a good vacuum to suck hot air out .away from the fuel tank.
the boost is so much fun.😊
Joel ·
Ha! my radiator is 1/3rd that size and even mine holds triple the amount coolant than a stock subi
Unless my A/C is on my fans never come on, that's the joys of having heaps of coolant in reserve.