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H2OSB
Samba Member
Joined: April 14, 2013
Posts: 1291
Location: Modesto, CA
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 Posted: Wed May 25, 2016 10:44 pm Post subject: Re: New to VW, New to Vintage Mechanics. 1974 Super Beetle |
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Gratz on the Super Beetle ownership. Frankly, your car is in outstanding condition for its age. The "trouble spots" on the body are not trouble at all. You do need new running boards, but they're relatively inexpensive.
This may be putting the cart before the horse, but if you like offroad, Beetles have quite a history of racing from back in the day. They were big is rally racing. A member here (and many other VW sites) Dave Hord built a replica of a known vintage rally Super Beetle that he uses for rally racing. Do a Google search of "Dave Hord, rally Super Beetle" and you come up with many pics of his car. The closest in style of modern racing would be Class 11.
Anyway, welcome
johnL (aka H2OSB)
www.superbeetlesonly.com |
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Tim Donahoe
Samba Member
Joined: December 08, 2012
Posts: 11740
Location: Redding, CA
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| Posted: Wed May 25, 2016 10:45 pm Post subject: Re: New to VW, New to Vintage Mechanics. 1974 Super Beetle |
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That vacuum hose connects your carburetor's vacuum to your distributor can, via that metal tube (it's called a Shepherd's Crook). Get new hose for it, since you need the partial vacuum advance, provided by those parts. Also, without being connected, you now have a nice vacuum leak.
24 thousands is okay for the gap on carburetor models.
Do you have a Bently, yet? If not, you might want to buy one soon.
Tim
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JCrimson
Samba Member
Joined: May 18, 2016
Posts: 71
Location: Northern Indiana
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| Posted: Thu May 26, 2016 8:19 pm Post subject: Re: New to VW, New to Vintage Mechanics. 1974 Super Beetle |
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Today, I only spent a handful of minutes working on the Beetle before picking up my girlfriend's daughter on her last day of school. I managed to get the car jacked up, jack stands slid underneath it, and I unhooked the fuel line to drain into a container. As I notices from being underneath it for the first time, some of the lines are original still. Here are some pictures I took of the undercarriage.
Also, I got the rest of my parts in today, minus the ignition coil which will be in tomorrow!
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1974 Super Beetle |
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Tim Donahoe
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Joined: December 08, 2012
Posts: 11740
Location: Redding, CA
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| Posted: Thu May 26, 2016 9:24 pm Post subject: Re: New to VW, New to Vintage Mechanics. 1974 Super Beetle |
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Looks like the right tie rod boot is split in the picture. Put jack stands under the front and have someone turn the steering wheel left and right--just short turns. Watch for play in the tie rod ends and ball joints.
Some of the "fuel lines" you showed are actually vapor lines. The one fuel line, coming from the tank is not the original German one.
Tim
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andk5591
Samba Member
Joined: August 29, 2005
Posts: 16757
Location: State College, PA
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| Posted: Fri May 27, 2016 3:56 am Post subject: Re: New to VW, New to Vintage Mechanics. 1974 Super Beetle |
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When you get to this, as Tim mentioned, you need to go over all of the tie rods, ball joints etc. Split or dry rotted boots need replaced if the ends are still good. If not then you will be replacing the ends. I cant stress enough going over the front end well before you put the car on the road. Had a 73 come into the shop last fall for a new transaxle and the car was not many miles from a catastrophic ball joint failure..... Not sure if I mentioned it, but if you find several things needing redone, just get the entire kit from Topline and do it all and be done. Going to set you back around $400 but then your entire front end will be good for another 80,000 miles..
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D-Dubya Manx clone - 63 Short pan,1914.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Cindy's daily driver.
Max - 73 standard Beetle hearse project - For sale
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them... |
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JCrimson
Samba Member
Joined: May 18, 2016
Posts: 71
Location: Northern Indiana
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| Posted: Fri May 27, 2016 10:30 pm Post subject: Re: New to VW, New to Vintage Mechanics. 1974 Super Beetle |
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| H2OSB wrote: |
This may be putting the cart before the horse, but if you like offroad, Beetles have quite a history of racing from back in the day. They were big is rally racing. A member here (and many other VW sites) Dave Hord built a replica of a known vintage rally Super Beetle that he uses for rally racing. Do a Google search of "Dave Hord, rally Super Beetle" and you come up with many pics of his car. The closest in style of modern racing would be Class 11.
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I actually caught Dave Hord's Super Beetle in an article on Petrolicious. It's currently the wallpaper on my desktop.
| Tim Donahoe wrote: |
Looks like the right tie rod boot is split in the picture. Put jack stands under the front and have someone turn the steering wheel left and right--just short turns. Watch for play in the tie rod ends and ball joints.
Some of the "fuel lines" you showed are actually vapor lines. The one fuel line, coming from the tank is not the original German one.
Tim
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I'll be sure to do that. Most of the bushings and boots looked pretty shot underneath the Beetle. Also, I'm not sure why I didn't notice that the vapor lines weren't actually fuel lines (not that I would have known the difference) but they clearly were not connected.
| andk5591 wrote: |
When you get to this, as Tim mentioned, you need to go over all of the tie rods, ball joints etc. Split or dry rotted boots need replaced if the ends are still good. If not then you will be replacing the ends. I cant stress enough going over the front end well before you put the car on the road. Had a 73 come into the shop last fall for a new transaxle and the car was not many miles from a catastrophic ball joint failure..... Not sure if I mentioned it, but if you find several things needing redone, just get the entire kit from Topline and do it all and be done. Going to set you back around $400 but then your entire front end will be good for another 80,000 miles..
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After I get it started and running okay I'll be diving into the suspension components. Judging by the condition of some of the parts I've already replaced, I'm not sure how much has actually been changed on the car. I haven't managed to find any receipts in reference to anything mechanical. Mostly just old registration and vanity plate applications. I won't be streeting the car anytime soon, still have to finish payments and get it registered. Though the Topline kit does seem like the way to go.
Tonight, I managed to get a little bit of work done after work. On the way over to the garage, I picked up a fuel filter and some line closest to the 5mm and 3.5mm ID I could find, and found during research. The only problem I did have was the line leading from the fuel pump to the metal fuel line, as seen in the pictures. Clearly it's not clamped, but I did contemplate clamping it with the line I've already got which is not much bigger.
I did get the new coil installed, the old one was the stock Bosch unit I am pretty sure. My oil screen gasket came in today, as did my valve cover gaskets. I've got to get it ready to run by Monday because that's when my uncle will be in town and is able to help me time it. I may leave the condenser and the points for when he comes into town as well.
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Tim Donahoe
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Joined: December 08, 2012
Posts: 11740
Location: Redding, CA
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| Posted: Fri May 27, 2016 11:11 pm Post subject: Re: New to VW, New to Vintage Mechanics. 1974 Super Beetle |
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The fuel line you've been "contemplating" appears to be leaking fuel at the end which is connected to the fuel pump. Replace the line and use clamps.
Tim
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Lingwendil
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Joined: February 25, 2009
Posts: 3988
Location: Antioch, California, a block from the hood
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Maddel
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Joined: February 12, 2013
Posts: 935
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| Posted: Sat May 28, 2016 1:07 am Post subject: Re: New to VW, New to Vintage Mechanics. 1974 Super Beetle |
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Nice Bug and an quite a good read... 
There are loads of posts about the risks of putting a fuel filter in the engine bay.
According to the pics you posted there already is a fuel filter close to the tank underneath the car.
IMHO it's a good idea to keep the one at the front (if any) and completely remove the fuel filter from the engine bay.
A few examples here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/search.php?search..._chars=200
| Lingwendil wrote: |
| get that fuel filter out of the engine bay! |
Lingwendil you beat my by a nose...  |
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Cusser
Samba Member
Joined: October 02, 2006
Posts: 31361
Location: Hot Arizona
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| Posted: Sat May 28, 2016 7:20 am Post subject: Re: New to VW, New to Vintage Mechanics. 1974 Super Beetle |
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| Tim Donahoe wrote: |
| The fuel line you've been "contemplating" appears to be leaking fuel at the end which is connected to the fuel pump. Replace the line and use clamps. Tim |
"appears" ? Dang thing is leaking !!!
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297 |
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JCrimson
Samba Member
Joined: May 18, 2016
Posts: 71
Location: Northern Indiana
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| Posted: Sat May 28, 2016 8:59 am Post subject: Re: New to VW, New to Vintage Mechanics. 1974 Super Beetle |
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| Maddel wrote: |
Nice Bug and an quite a good read...
There are loads of posts about the risks of putting a fuel filter in the engine bay.
According to the pics you posted there already is a fuel filter close to the tank underneath the car.
IMHO it's a good idea to keep the one at the front (if any) and completely remove the fuel filter from the engine bay.
A few examples here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/search.php?search..._chars=200
| Lingwendil wrote: |
| get that fuel filter out of the engine bay! |
Lingwendil you beat my by a nose... |
I was actually just reading a post the other day about someone's Beetle burning down. I'll definitely be removing that filter from the engine bay. I also saved some images of safety wired fuel lines so I'll be working on that as well.
The fuel line from the fuel pump actually is not leaking, the reason it looks as though it is, is because when I pulled it off the pump and tested out the newer line, it was leaking out a tiny bit of fuel. To keep it from spilling out more, I put the old line back on, and the cloth absorbed some of the fuel.
I'll be picking up some hose clamps today, and hopefully getting the oil drained and the strainer changed.
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JCrimson
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Joined: May 18, 2016
Posts: 71
Location: Northern Indiana
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| Posted: Sat May 28, 2016 7:57 pm Post subject: Re: New to VW, New to Vintage Mechanics. 1974 Super Beetle |
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Today I changed out the oil, replaced the strainer, gaskets, and fuel lines. I also deleted the rear fuel filter per suggestion. When I pulled the bolts/caps off to drop the strainer, some of the caps came out with the threaded rods attached and some did not. Is this a normal occurrence? Upon filling with oil, I made the mistake of trying to pour far too much oil in the fill hole at a time, resulting in a bit of spillage. Luckily though, there were no leaks after!
It was my first time underneath the rear end of it, so I took some pictures of any abnormalities that I could think of, or light rust areas. I checked the odometer again, for some reason I was convinced it was an 80,xxx mile car. But its actually a 43,XXX mile car with most likely original suspension components throughout.
Not sure if anyone is a fan, but I also adorned it with its first sticker, a mightycarmods vinyl, followed by an ironic "chopped" key tag on the Beetle keys.
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JCrimson
Samba Member
Joined: May 18, 2016
Posts: 71
Location: Northern Indiana
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| Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 10:43 am Post subject: Re: New to VW, New to Vintage Mechanics. 1974 Super Beetle |
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As of today, she runs! My uncle came over, helped me replace the points + gap them. The condenser I had purchased, did not fit, so I'll be looking for another one with the square style plug. After finally figuring out the firing order, and marking the pulley with some pastel to time it, she fired right up. With some adjustments by my uncle, I drove it with him to a nearby gas station to put a couple of gallons in her. She's a lot peppier than I thought she'd be! Cruised around 40, very nicely.
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andk5591
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Joined: August 29, 2005
Posts: 16757
Location: State College, PA
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| Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 1:50 pm Post subject: Re: New to VW, New to Vintage Mechanics. 1974 Super Beetle |
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| Quote: |
| t was my first time underneath the rear end of it, so I took some pictures of any abnormalities that I could think of, or light rust areas. I checked the odometer again, for some reason I was convinced it was an 80,xxx mile car. But its actually a 43,XXX mile car with most likely original suspension components throughout. |
Unless you have documentation, you cant believe the odometer. Look at the condition of the pedal pads. If the amount of wear looks like what the odometer is saying, then maybe yeah. Not sure how old you are, but turning mileage back on used cars was the norm years ago. My Dad's 65 bug magically lost about 30,000 miles from the day he traded it until he stopped by the dealer a week later. A late Super takes a bit longer to change the speedo, but I can swap a speedo in a standard bug in a few minutes. Give me an hour and I can clean and lube it as well as set the milage to whatever you want it to be.
_________________
D-Dubya Manx clone - 63 Short pan,1914.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Cindy's daily driver.
Max - 73 standard Beetle hearse project - For sale
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them... |
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JCrimson
Samba Member
Joined: May 18, 2016
Posts: 71
Location: Northern Indiana
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| Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 2:50 pm Post subject: Re: New to VW, New to Vintage Mechanics. 1974 Super Beetle |
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| andk5591 wrote: |
| Quote: |
| t was my first time underneath the rear end of it, so I took some pictures of any abnormalities that I could think of, or light rust areas. I checked the odometer again, for some reason I was convinced it was an 80,xxx mile car. But its actually a 43,XXX mile car with most likely original suspension components throughout. |
Unless you have documentation, you cant believe the odometer. Look at the condition of the pedal pads. If the amount of wear looks like what the odometer is saying, then maybe yeah. Not sure how old you are, but turning mileage back on used cars was the norm years ago. My Dad's 65 bug magically lost about 30,000 miles from the day he traded it until he stopped by the dealer a week later. A late Super takes a bit longer to change the speedo, but I can swap a speedo in a standard bug in a few minutes. Give me an hour and I can clean and lube it as well as set the milage to whatever you want it to be. |
The only reason I'm assuming it's original, is that it's a two owner car. My cousins grandmother bought it brand new in 1974, and "drove it" until she died in an assisted living home around 2002. (She also owned a 1987 Mercury Cougar that was gifted to my own mother upon her death, with around 60,000 miles on it.) In which it was gifted to my cousin, who has never driven out of town in it, and for the last 8 years has had it stored in her garage. Before that it was stored under a cover in her car port and rarely driven except for on nice cool days. I'll definitely be interested in seeing the title though.
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JCrimson
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Posts: 71
Location: Northern Indiana
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| Posted: Tue May 31, 2016 11:51 am Post subject: Re: New to VW, New to Vintage Mechanics. 1974 Super Beetle |
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Today I awoke to the phone ringing, my cousin was trying to get ahold of me to tell me that the Beetle puked it's fuel all over the garage floor. I quickly got up, ran to the auto parts store for some absorbant, entered the fumey garage, and pushed the Beetle out into the rear parking spaces. The only fuel line I hadn't replaced on the front, seemed to be the one coming from the fuel tank. I attempted to clamp it with some vice grips, resulting in a larger rupture, most likely from the original leak point. Granted, the Beetle wasn't leaking when I had parked it.
I managed to unbolt the tank, plug up the leak while I ran to the store for some more fuel line. This time I purchased 1/4" instead of 5/16" which seems way too big. I managed to get the hose replaced after a bucket of fuel had already spilled. I tightened the clamps, and took it for another drive. Again, no leaking upon returning. I backed the Beetle in and put some cardboard underneath the front just in case.
I also finally took a look at the spare. I've been considering painting the rims black underneath the chrome hub caps. The spare makes me wonder if they've painted the color they are now.
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beetlenut
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Joined: May 27, 2009
Posts: 2983
Location: RI
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| Posted: Tue May 31, 2016 12:57 pm Post subject: Re: New to VW, New to Vintage Mechanics. 1974 Super Beetle |
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Welcome to the 74 Super club! That thing will look great after you compound and wax the paint! Lots of pics in my Gallery of the hidden spots on that car, and if you have specific questions, PM me.
Congrats on the purchase.
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scrapyards are for quitters
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| Wetstuff wrote: |
| ... I spend more time shaking it than directing it?! I get a pretty decent blast for 8sec. then have to shake it again. |
- Words to live by right there!
My 74 Super rebuild thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6507104#6507104 |
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vwuberalles
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Tim Donahoe
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Joined: December 08, 2012
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Location: Redding, CA
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| Posted: Tue May 31, 2016 7:44 pm Post subject: Re: New to VW, New to Vintage Mechanics. 1974 Super Beetle |
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The proper-size fuel line is 5mm--a tad larger than 1/4 inch.
It's strange, the hoses in your pictures look just like the ones in my hometown in Southern Indiana (next to the Ohio River). But I haven't lived there in about fifty years; yet, the houses look the same.
Tim
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sjbartnik
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Joined: September 01, 2011
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Location: Brooklyn
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| Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2016 7:34 am Post subject: Re: New to VW, New to Vintage Mechanics. 1974 Super Beetle |
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| JCrimson wrote: |
| Today I changed out the oil, replaced the strainer, gaskets, and fuel lines. I also deleted the rear fuel filter per suggestion. When I pulled the bolts/caps off to drop the strainer, some of the caps came out with the threaded rods attached and some did not. Is this a normal occurrence? |
It's not that it's normal, but it is relatively common - it's due to people over-torqueing those small cap nuts when installing them. They should be torqued to 5 ft-lbs. which is barely past snug.
You can find proper metric-sized fuel hose from some of the online parts vendors if you can't find it locally. I have a problem with using incorrectly-sized fuel line when the right stuff is readily available.
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