1974 Baja Build **pic heavy**

[MIBaja]

Hello All,

Long post so hang on!!

I have been reading these forums ever since I first saw my first Baja back when I was in High school. I have always wanted to buy one but never really had the money or space to work on it. Well fast forward a few years, Graduated from college, got married, and bought my first VW projects. I found an ad on craigslist for 2 beetles 1963, and a 1974 baja. After taking a look at them I ended up buying them both, well a whole bunch of parts that should make about 2 beetles. The guy happened to live less than 5 miles from my house so I got them home fairly easy. This is the start of the project so here goes my build. I plan to use this mostly as a way to document my progress and also to figure out some of the many questions that I have about the build.

My initial plan is to get the 1974 Baja up and running and possibly build the 63 as stock ish beetle, later on. Both beetles came from NC, the PO moved them up to the Detroit area, he sold them to the guy I bought them from, who moved them across the state. However both of them had/Have their fair share of rust.
Here are some pictures of the day I brought it home. 1 rolling chassis, 2 shells, and a ton of parts some old, while many still in the original packaging just waiting to be installed.

I started by pulling the body off the Pan. Welding in the missing pan in.

The car was originally from NC, the tunnel was full of sand and rats nests

A little cleaner.

After some prep work I painted the Pans with POR15

When I got the beetle I was told the trans and the engine were rebuilt, well after looking into it the Trans appears to be freshly rebuilt, the engine however was harder to tell but im guessing it was rebuilt just not as fresh as I was thinking.
I installed the trans using the 63 trans mount and urethane bushings. (came with)

Replaced the shift coupling with urethane bushings that came with it.

I installed the CV joints… more than once. Did it once and figured out that CV grease was different than wheel bearing grease. Took them apart, cleaned repacked the bushings with CV grease.

Installed the seat mech assembly

Rebuilt the master cylinder and installed some break lines

The pedal assembly I got was very pitted and rusted and stuck together. I spent some time and finally got the clutch pin out, got the brake pedal off. The accelerator pedal pin was stuck well, I ended up hitting the pin with a hammer and the mounting assembly broke in two… So if anyone knows where to get a pedal assembly (prefer used in good shape over new) please let me know. This is before I got it apart.

I installed the engine as it came to me, I decided I will install it as is and learn more about the engine prior to rebuilding it. I would like to drive it this summer and will probably rebuild during the winter.

I have put new plug wires on it and started running some of the vac lines.
I have started on some of the body work, the 74 the previous owner has cut out the rust and welded in new heater channels and other various panels. There were some small scratches and dings so I have started a thin coat of bondo. The doors have been touched where the damage was and I think are ready for paint. I will continue to work on the rest of the body before painting. Here are the pictures of the progress on the doors.

I found a new exhaust ( I believe from brazil) at an auction near my house. I won it for $32. Installed it and fit just right. Are the 2 heater connections supposed to be loose? I assume so as there is no attempt to weld them at all.

That is my progress so far over the past few weeks. Working mostly after work and on the weekends when I am home.
As I mentioned I wanted to use this as a way to document progress as well as ask questions and learn more about VWs as I am new to them. So here are my first few questions. In the picture below what is the thing in the middle with the rubber hose and metal plug coming out of the top? Where does it connect to? Or is it supposed to be just capped off? My next question is there appears to be a port behind on the middle of the carb( looks like it might be a vac line?) what is that for? Where does it connect to?

Hope you all enjoyed reading as much as I have enjoyed building. Thank you in advance for all of the help with question answering and knowledge you have given to me through reading the forums. Feel free to give any criticism or if you notice something that doesn’t look right let me know.

[Outatime]

Off to a real good start !

I believe those 2 were not far from where I live. I watched them on CL last fall as I recall. I'm in the northern burbs of Detroit.

I'll be following your progress.

[MIBaja]

Thank you,

My parents are from Birmingham, but I live in Grand Rapids now.

[dustymojave]

Not a recommended exhaust for a Baja Bug. The sheet metal across the engine and under the crank pulley should be removed. It will be needed for the full body sedan. In a Baja, it's just a mud, rock and leaf catcher.

In spite of all of my years of working on VWs, I aint never seed one a dem dar thangs. It's near the location for a fuel pump, but doesn't look like any I'm familiar with and it stands up AWFUL high. It DOES NOT connect to the 1/2" tube in the underside of the air cleaner. That should connect the crankcase vent hose from next to the oil filler cap. There is a fuel pump underneath the whatzit visible in the 1st pic I linked to above.

There should only be a maximum of 2 vacuum lines on this engine. They should both connect the carb to the distributor vacuum advance and retard pot.
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[MIBaja]

Thank you for the feedback, The exhaust is just temporary until I can get the one I want. I was just wanting to have something on while i test the engine.

I will remove the sheet metal as well thank you, I guess I thought it would help protect things in the enigne.

As for the mystery thing I found a better picture from someone elses engine that has the same thing.

It can be seen here with the metal tube that runs out near the bottom of the engine metal. The metal tube doesnt appear to be connected to anything so I wondering if it was something for the emissions possibly? Is it something i can remove?

Thank you

[dustymojave]

It may have been an aftermarket 1970s emissions thing. There were some pretty hokey, some not so hokey, add-on emissions equipment back then. For most of that stuff, once it needed repair, replacement parts were not available and the original wasn't available anymore by that time either. According to my father, who was the head of the Toyota US Emissions Lab in the 70s, most of that stuff had more negative effect on emissions than leaving the engine stock anyway.
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[MIBaja]

Well didn't get alot of work done this weekend. I ended up going to the Indy 500. While down in Indiana I did manage to find a place that had a pedal assembly for me. Ended up getting the pedal assembly and I have pulled the whole thing apart. I have ordered the parts to rebuild it but they wont be here till later in the week. I will update with pictures when they get here, in the mean time I will refinish the pedals.

[MIBaja]

Ok after some looking I found this sheet. It appears that the mystery part might be the exhaust recirculation system. The details of it can be found on http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/74emissions/1974_Emission_Control_System.pdf
Page 7.

So it sounds like I dont really need it for anything, I will probably just leave it capped off as it is for now because I believe I would have to cap off the riser otherwise.

[oldschool5er]

You beat me too it lol. It is a stock EGR valve. Personally I would get rid of it completely instead of letting it look like it was disconnected for obvious reasons not to be mentioned. I am not sure about any Michigan emmission inspection requirement, I guess it depends on the year the vehicle is titled as to what they would expect the engine to be and look like. I used to install 36hp (exempt) engine in Cali and then put my big motor back in after lol. Not sure how guys do it now when they run big motors in inspection states.
_________________
HRE in Westerville,Ohio

Full machine shop with all types of CNC. Rapid prototyping available, CNC Plasma cutting, 3D printing and Laser engraving.

[MIBaja]

So its been a little bit since I posted, but I have done some work.

I got a new pedal assembly, disassembled it all and used a rebuild kit to get it back together.
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Michigan does not have emissions but to make it look cleaner I decided to remove the EGR. I made a little plate to cover up the hole, hopefully that will not effect anything.
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Does anyone know what to do with the vacuum post in the middle of the engine? ( can be seen above) do i just cap it off? or does it hook up to something else?


Today I received a few large packages. I bought a rear fiberglass cowl, and a rear bumper kit (some welding required)

So here is the rear of the car how the PO had cut it.
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This is me holding the cowl in place.
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My question is how much of a gap should there be between the body and the cowl? Im wondering if because he cut it in a different way than standard it doesn't fit as well as it should. Here is a picture of the gap between the body and cowl.
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Let me know what you think. I was planning on welding 4-6 studs on the body and use acorn nuts to hold it on so It can be removed easy. If anyone has pictures showing the gap that would be appreciated.

The Other package had a double tube bumper. I had to weld small spacers to the lower mounting hardware because of the trans mount that I used.

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I then tack welded up the lower portion of the Bumper.
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Im guessing I will have to place to body on to get the fit right for the top bars. If anyone has any tips on welding it up without putting the body on that would be great. Im also thinking about how to attach it so it can be removed to pull the engine off. Do you guys think I could drill 1 hole through each of the mounting tubes and through bolt the bumper on? I was hoping to make a way that I would not have to remove the lower trans mount bolts to remove the bumper. Im not sure how the bumper is designed to be removed, as it like everything else didn't come with instructions.

I have done alot of sanding to the body, and cleaned up the welds from the previous owner. I would like to get to the painting soon. Does anyone have a good process for painting. I have sanded the whole body with 60 grit. Plan is to continue with 120 grit. Primer the whole car. (do I sand here again? what grit?) not sure how many coats of primer 2? 3? Paint, 2 or 3 coats. It is going to be a cobalt blue. wet sand with 500? Clear?


That is it for now. As always your thoughts on everything are welcome. Also I know about removing the pan under the Crank pulley, but I dont have a puller yet so it is going to stay on for a little longer.

Thank you

[oldschool5er]

You vacuum block off will work that way but over time you should make sure you don't form vac leaks there if you don't weld the port shut. Your egr plate looks good but same as above make sure it is vacuum tight with a gasket behind it, looks like you did that.

Now for the rest..... You have a welder and you weld that is your best friend. So much can be done with a welder while your body is off and it stripped down like this. I personally hate those type of bumper mounting brackets and would replace them all with a flange setup. A simple solution is to just trace the frame horns with some 1.5" x 120 wall tubing ending it in a flange and then weld a flange to the bumper end. The problem with that style of thin wall mounting attachment the bumper comes with is that they are damaged easily or rust in place requiring you to eventually having to use a hammer to get it off. There are some pics on flange mounts on Samba and there are many ways to put them in. Research pics online to give you an idea. The added benefit of welding to the frame horns is adding strength to them if done right. Don't rush on all of this since you have it all apart. Make sure you have made a decision on what your actual use is going to be. A street Baja or real offroad use. Welding supports, cages, and a ton of other mods now while the body is off is really cheap insurance for future offroad use and will prevent the car from coming apart, cracks etc. for decades. Welding is just time but is the least expensive method you have that will do the most good. Basic support structures will go a long way. As far as upper mounts I have seen Firewall mount and upper shock mount styles work really well if done right. The upper shock mount style I liked had tubing welded to it and then to a flange. The biggest question you need to ask yourself is if you ever plan on running dual carbs or just center mount carb only. That impacts on if you mount the upper bumper mounts to the firewall or go wide to allow future use of dual carbs. Take your time and research all this out online and let people give you some examples. The Baja's and Buggies books will give you some good info, although very dated and vintage it's information is still valid and useful for guys starting out building a recreational offroad Baja. BTW I like your pan and body shells they actually look good to me compared to most East coast rust buckets.
_________________
HRE in Westerville,Ohio

Full machine shop with all types of CNC. Rapid prototyping available, CNC Plasma cutting, 3D printing and Laser engraving.

[MIBaja]

The EGR plate does have a gasket that I made for it.

Thank you for the advice.

I was planning on using it as a street vehicle with trips offroad as well. I will look into adding extra support and bracing to the frame horn. I have read the baja and buggies book front to back many times, and have been trying to take some advice with many things.

I Believe the body had some rust issues, that the previous owner had done most of the hard work, cutting out and re welding in new metal in its place. So that helped me out alot.

Im still trying to figure out if i need to cut the rear of the beetle more to fit the fiberglass.

[oldschool5er]

It looks like you cut it correct, but it depends also on how your fiberglass fenders are. if you want the kit look put one of the fenders on so you can see how it matches up to the fiberglass cowel cover. He cut out the vents but you can leave it as is and just mount the fiberglass over it. Yes it will look like a big gap which you can not prevent without welding back in vents, other then that it looks normal. It's a baja everything is open anyway, yes you will have a big scoop funneling air/rain to the engine, nothing wrong with that as it is open anyway just like a rail buggy would be exposed. I removed all my vents also just because of my engine setup and planned usage so for me it is no longer a purist issue on my current Baja. Others will probably feel different lol.
_________________
HRE in Westerville,Ohio

Full machine shop with all types of CNC. Rapid prototyping available, CNC Plasma cutting, 3D printing and Laser engraving.

[MIBaja]

I have been busy working on the car. A little teaser until I get a chance to start getting things back together.

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Yep its all painted.

[heywebonya]

Looks great, keep up the momentum
_________________
If I knew what I was doing; I wouldn't be building a buggy!

[Outatime]

Looking good, keep your foot on the floor.

[MIBaja]

Lets try this again. Pictures are not working as I was trying to use Goolge photos instead of photobucket as photobucket is not the greatest to work with...

Ok so it has taken me a while to get back on here, Not making as much progress as I would like as I seem to keep running into issues.

Here is how it sits right now.
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I got a new Exhaust and got it painted and installed. (is it supposed to be welded or anything together or does the Trimill exhaust just push together. It looks like it just pushes together so I have not welded it. One thing that is really frusterating is nothing you buy for beetles come with any sort of instructions to see if you are doing things correctly...

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However the rear bumper hit the exhaust so Im going to have to move the top tubes around to make them both clear and look right.

I got the pan fully bolted to the shell. This was a big hurdle for me. I found it best to buy a Tap and run it through all of the bolt holes. It took me a while to realize that would help so I wasted alot of time trying to get the bolts in.

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I did treat the gas tank, I used a product by northern tool, You pour some cleaner in there shake it around, then pour a prep in then pour a thicker substance that coats the inside of the tank. Before I did it there was some surface rust on the inside. I think the Cleaner got most of that out. I also found there must of been some small pin holes or just thin areas on the bottom of the tank. As small amounts of the cleaner was seen on the outside of the tank. After the last treatment I think the liner has taken care of those holes.

So here is the main point I am stuck at. The steering wheel. I Installed it and after I tried to turn the wheel and it was very hard to turn. I looked at it and noticed that as the steering wheel goes through the front "firewall" area. It was hitting the top of the metal really bad and made it hard to turn. So I tried to adjust the steering box thinking that it was not adjusted properly. ( It was already installed when i got the car and have not touched it since) So i turned it down and tried some different things and it got better but it made the line from the steering box to the steering wheel not very good. It was also still rubbing. My only thought is when the previous owner had it I think he cut the front head of the pan off. when he installed it he Installed it about an inch or so further forward than it should of been. Here is a picture of the area. If anyone has a solution on how to fix it I would really appreciate it. I was thinking cut the firewall area, but Im thinking it will just cause it to hit the gas tank when that gets installed.

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This has been holding me up for a few weeks as I dont want to put the gas tank in until I figure this one out.

I have spent alot of time building our bathroom that we are adding to our house. Since I cant figure it out.

When I get this solution solved I will add fluids to the trans, brake fluid, bleed the brakes and give the engine its first chance at starting since I have owned it.

I still have to wire the car up which I am not looking forward to. Does anyone know of a post that has alot of pictures of the connections and where they go. I have a few wiring diagrams, but as a mechanical engineer I do better with pictures to back up the wiring diagram. Electrical has never been something I have loved.... I do have a new wiring harness which Im guessing is the bugpack dune buggy harness, which the previous owner bought. I also have a hard start relay. I plan on having toggle switches for things like lights, but would like turn signals stock still.

Anyway Like I said Ive hit a slow patch and would really like to drive this before the snow hits. So any help you can offer is much appreciated.

[dustymojave]

The fact that the beam bolts to the body mounts tells that the beam is pretty close to correct stock position. Not forward. There should be a rubber pad between the body and beam on each side. If left out, it could affect the height of the body to the beam and steering box.

Try loosening the pinch bolts on the steering shaft on both sides of the rag joint, and loosen the steering box to beam clamp bolts, then let everything set into place before tightening up one item. While it's loose, check for free operation.
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[MIBaja]

Thank You. I will try loosing things up and check it. I do have the rubber under the front beam mounts. The reason I feel like it was not welded in the correct part, is if you look at the inside picture of the beetle you can see the front of the body is a little off of the beam. All the rest is together but that area is slightly off. If loosening it up doesnt work do they make a Universal Joint that would work possibly?

Thanks

[dustymojave]

Yeah. VW shops carry steering shaft u-joints. Super Beetles used a short section with a u-joint at each end. Replacements for that shaft section with joints are readily available.
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.