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Thu May 26, 2016 4:36 pm

Let me know how that works out. I'm just doing the nylon bit for now. The 58 doesn't have one 😬

Sat May 28, 2016 10:01 am

About 2 hours start to finish this morning. Got the coupler and the bushing changed. Did not have to remove the bumper. I read through this thread to about page 9:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1...mp;start=0
Gave me a few good ideas for sure.

And the result? Holy poop! I've never driven a brand new Beetle before until now! Wow, is about all I can say. I should have done this a long time ago. The pattern is tight, shaped like an H and does not slide into reverse when downshifting to 2nd gear.

Was it easy? Yes and no. It had its moments and trying to fish the shift cup out of the front inspection hole was daunting to say the least. But, I was working alone and still got it all done in 2 hours.

Sat May 28, 2016 4:06 pm

Did you watch the cool video where they use a piece of pvc pipe to slide the rod in and out ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=410XrXNrPQ0&feature=youtu.be

Sat May 28, 2016 4:38 pm

grandpa pete wrote: Did you watch the cool video where they use a piece of pvc pipe to slide the rod in and out ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=410XrXNrPQ0&feature=youtu.be
Damn!!! That's a great idea. I wish I would have heard that one before I replaced my shift bushing carrier. You should have seen the Rube Goldburg setup that I concocted to get the rod out and back in to the tunnel. What a pain in the A$$.
Have a great weekend.

Sat May 28, 2016 5:01 pm

Wow, Pete! I didn't know you were "That Guy". You know, the one who shows you the jam-up, easy-peasy way to do the job....AFTER YOU'RE FINISHED!

Just kidding, That's a cool video, but I dunno; it wasn't that hard a job.

:wink:

Sat May 28, 2016 5:58 pm

flyboy161 wrote: Wow, Pete! I didn't know you were "That Guy". You know, the one who shows you the jam-up, easy-peasy way to do the job....AFTER YOU'RE FINISHED!

Just kidding, That's a cool video, but I dunno; it wasn't that hard a job.
:wink:

My intent was to help the next guy . That 16 page thread is a little overwhelming .

Sat May 28, 2016 6:10 pm

I know, Pete. I'm just messing with you. That's what this thread is all about: Ideas for other people. I appreciate all input to the thread.

Sun Jun 05, 2016 7:47 pm

flyboy161 wrote: Un re-touched photo

U got that shinning like a new quarter. Looking great.

Sun Jun 05, 2016 8:00 pm

Thanks! It's just the camera distance, haha. It's a good 20 footer. Good for a daily driver

Sat Jun 11, 2016 6:11 pm

So, kind of a cool thing I discovered. Of course the car had seat belts when I bought it. And they have this funky course weave on the belt portion. But turns out these were a 1964 set of Hickok Belts. Number 12171-1. Mr. Hickok was the great-nephew of Wild Bill Hickok and is credited as the father of the modern seat belt. Hmm, who knew?

Sadly, the decals were in such bad shape, the driver's belt all white and was unrecognizable. The passenger side was all scratched pretty bad. The castle was visible, but not the wolf. So.... I painted them. I'll put clear coat on them tonight. That'll smooth it out

Wed Jun 15, 2016 9:44 am

If you've read my threads, you'll realize that I'm kind of a stickler for keep it original. Especially when it comes to wiring. We'll just call it my penance for a mid-spent youth hacking up VW's. I have repented now and I won't judge those who alter their cars. So now, it's "keep it stock, keep it original" for me.

However, if I had been a VW electrical engineer, I would have made one change. For some reason, they decided to make the coil positive wire un-fused. A long time ago in a state far, far away....I shorted that wire against the fan shroud. You see, battery power travels around the door drops down to the ignition switch and then goes to fuse one. On the same side of that fuse it continues back along the same route and ends up going through the rear quarter panel to the coil. And then on to the electric choke.

un-fused!!! I think I was doing a choke adjustment with the key on, during a routine tuneup, when the unthinkable happened. The loose terminal for the coil jumped off the choke and hit the fan shroud. In the ensuing mayhem, which lasted all of about 3 seconds until I could get to the key, that black wire melted every bit of insulation off itself and every other wire it touches along the way. Yeah, I was that guy.

But I learned a valuable lesson: Don't do choke adjustments with the key on. But also, in retrospect and after a few years of reading the Samba posts, I achieved Nirvana, and you can too.

It comes in the form of a VW inline fuse holder, used on cars with back up lights.

I go up where the fuse block is under the bonnet. Cut the black wire going to the coil, about 6 inches from the fuse block. Put female spade terminals on each cut end and plug in the fuse holder. Done. Now all that wiring is protected against short circuits in the future.

Some folks put big 70amp fuses from the battery. I am not one of them, but I don't judge.

Thu Jun 16, 2016 6:23 pm

So here's a question. Why would my March '64 Beetle have a period correct speedometer that has a 11.70 date code stamped on the back?

Thu Jun 16, 2016 6:56 pm

flyboy161 wrote:

un-fused!!! I think I was doing a choke adjustment with the key on, during a routine tuneup, when the unthinkable happened. The loose terminal for the coil jumped off the choke and hit the fan shroud.
.
I had the same thing happen a month or two ago. The caveat was that the PO of my car was a sharp guy and had already installed the inline coil fuze near the fuze block. But you wanna a talk about a pucker factor moment, that was it. I thought that I had really f*cked up. Until I remembered that fuze holder under the bonnet.
Keep up the great work on your car.

Thu Jun 16, 2016 7:41 pm

Its unreal, how much damage that short circuit can do in short order.

Thu Jun 16, 2016 7:48 pm

flyboy161 wrote: So here's a question. Why would my March '64 Beetle have a period correct speedometer that has a 11.70 date code stamped on the back?

Someone updated the speedometer back in the day it would seem.

Thu Jun 16, 2016 8:34 pm

oh no.

It is a genuine VW part...perhaps the dealer did it and set the odometer correctly. I can only hope. :roll:

Thu Jun 16, 2016 8:43 pm

flyboy161 wrote: oh no.

It is a genuine VW part...perhaps the dealer did it and set the odometer correctly. I can only hope. :roll:

Is it the correct year style for you bug or is it a complete 1970 bug speedometer? It seems odd but plausible that VDO would be making the older style speedometers in 1970 still? Maybe it was a repaired unit and then reinstalled and date stamped from the repair?

Thu Jun 16, 2016 8:53 pm

It's definitely correct for '64.
Looks just like the one out of the owners manual
And this is it:

Thu Jun 16, 2016 8:57 pm

The back side with date stamp visible

Fri Jun 17, 2016 6:25 am

glutamodo is a contributor in this section as you probably know. Andy is his name and he REALLY knows a ton about 60's beetles and has all kinds of manuals and literature. Maybe PM him and see what he knows?

That speedometer looks correct. The more I think about it, my bet is VDO was still making brand new speedometers that fit the early 60's VW's. That style speedometer was used between 60' and 67' so I guess it would make since that VDO will still make some new ones of that style to replace broken ones.

Having that speedometer is kind of a cool detail for your bug.