LostDog's 64 Bug - Cut-Weld-Drive Forums

LostDog · June 6th, 2007, 08:47 AM

After looking around for weeks, I found a bug that met my needs, and my budget. She has a 1600 single port, and is already converted to 12 volt. I picked her up in Long Beach, and, after overheating in Compton and Hollywood, she arrived home via towtruck. So far I have charged the battery, removed the cd player (there were no speakers anyway), and taped up the driver seat with some fancy black duct tape. Total cost of repairs: $6.49 plus tax.

LostDog · June 9th, 2007, 02:23 PM

I spent most of the morning pulling out the back seat and seatbelts, and removing what was left of the carpet in the luggage area. I also pulled the antenna (no stereo in the car anyway), and the side skirts.

My anniversary was yesterday, and my awesome wife got me a 33 gallon air compressor. So, I now have an air cutter to help with trimming the wheel wells once I get the fenders off.

I'm trying to keep the car road worthy since I only have a one car garage and want to keep our Jetta in there. So, my plan is to order headlights and taillights. Pull the fenders and mount the new lights. Then I'll move on to the beam extension.

I'm also considering a Subaru engine swap. So, I'll try to figure out how to fit the radiator up front with the beam extension. If anybody has done this, please let me know.

LostDog · June 13th, 2007, 11:19 AM

A box of parts showed up today. I've got a fresh air hose to replace one that was missing, some J tubes since I don't need heat, and some spring plate bushings.

I read up on lowering the rear end the other day, and I've got an adjustable beam in the front. So, I'm gonna pickup a jack and jack stands on Friday and lower both ends this weekend.

LostDog · June 15th, 2007, 09:38 PM

I got the front end lowered and the J-tubes installed. Man those exhaust nuts are hard to get a wrench on.

I also picked up some chain and an angle finder, at the suggestion of bmweuro, to lower the back this weekend.

LostDog · June 18th, 2007, 02:43 PM

Both ends are lowered. The front maybe a bit too much. I snow plowed the driveway pulling into work this morning.

I also ordered headlights and taillights. Fenders will go when those arrive.

Oh, and I wrote up this: Tips for lowering rear swing axle suspension

LostDog · June 24th, 2007, 07:34 PM

I ended up raising the front an inch or two to prevent fender rub when turning. My taillights are here, but no headlights yet. I gave up removing the pistons from my swap meet connecting rods. I planned to use them to mount my headlights to the beam. I found another set, minus the pistons, on eBay.

I also picked up an angle grinder and some Rustoleum this morning. There were a few primered spots on my bug that were rusting through. After some grinding I found that the primer was covering bondo, and the bondo was covering some giant rust holes.

In front of the windshield there were even a couple pieces of galvanized steel under the bondo because the holes are so big.

A quick spray painting will have to do until I save up cash for a welder and learn to use it.

LostDog · July 1st, 2007, 03:30 PM

I barely made it home on Wednesday. My clutch was acting up. I thought maybe the cable was binding somewhere, but I wasn't so lucky. The clutch lever on the transmission was stuck. So, I decided to pull the engine out and have a look. I've never done this before, but it was pretty straight forward. I also decided to lose the fenders and chop the apron off while I'm at it to make pulling the engine easier. Once the engine was out, it was obvious why the clutch lever wouldn't move. The throw out bearing was totally jammed in there. There were also bits of metal in the bottom of the case. I think the fly wheel and starter gear need to be replaced.

Before

Fenders

Leftovers

Empty engine bay with apron removed

Dirty engine

Jacked throw out bearing

Crud in clutch case

Jacked fly wheel

I'll update again when I get it back together. Then I can pull the front fenders and do some more cutting up there.

LostDog · July 20th, 2007, 08:18 PM

I finally got the engine back in. The 12v starter sounds so much better than the grinding sound the 6v made. I threw the deck lid on for the first time since cutting off the rear apron. It looks good. I'll post some pics soon. Hopefully get some

done on the front end tomorrow.

LostDog · July 21st, 2007, 07:24 PM

Bug chillin in the garage after a day of cutting. Hung the fenders on the wall to keep em out of the way. On the right is my parts getter.

Frontend minus fenders. Needs a beam extension!

Kept the stock fuel tank and brake fluid locations. Remounted the horn to one of the fuel tank bolts.

I have headlights and taillights waiting in boxes. Might spend some time on those tomorrow.

LostDog · August 6th, 2007, 09:06 PM

I successfully drove it a few blocks today.

I tried to get to Autozone on Saturday, but the engine quit about half way there and wouldn't start back up.

My wife picked me up and I got a new in tank fuel filter, and new fuel hose. We towed it home with the Jetta and I put in the filter and hose yesterday. Only took me about 5 tries to get the gas tank to sit right with the hose connected.

I also have the headlights and taillights mounted. I hooked up a trailer adapter get the two bulb tails working. I put in a new 12v turn signal relay, but something is goofy. It works sometimes. I had planned to run some turn signal adapters in the headlights, but they aren't bright enough.

On deck I have new spark plugs and wires, distributor cap, rotor, and points. I also ordered 10 inch beam and steering extensions from PegLeg.

LostDog · August 11th, 2007, 06:52 PM

Car runs great since I fixed the in tank fuel filter.

I adjusted the valves and put on new valve covers today. I also put in new spark plugs and plug wires. Then I took it to the car wash and cleaned up the engine.

Here are some updated photos.

Current

Planned

I'm also gonna order a dual exhaust from the bug shop on Monday.

LostDog · August 18th, 2007, 05:05 PM

Picked up the dual exhaust yesterday, and mounted it today. It sounds soooo much better. I also moved my headlight mounts from the lower part of the beam to the upper part for about a 5 inch difference. Before I kept worrying about hitting my headlights on a curb when parking.

I've had problems the last couple days with getting the tranny in gear. I think the clutch cable is backing out of the wing nut. I'm gonna try throwing an extra nut on there to lock it in place.

I'll take some pictures of the new exhaust and headlight setups tomorrow.

LostDog · August 22nd, 2007, 06:00 PM

Took some new pics after I drove her home from work.

The headlight setup now that I've raised them up.

The new dual exhaust!

Check out the progress!

Before

After

LostDog · August 28th, 2007, 09:52 AM

Saturday - I took all the bondo off the driver side rear quarter panel. My entire garage was covered in white dust.

Sunday - I scored a donor quarter panel at the Pomona Swap Meet for $20.

Today - I got the tracking number for my beam extension!

LostDog · September 4th, 2007, 02:59 PM

My beam extension showed up today! I also picked up the rest of the parts I needed like steering cushion and a new master cylinder with a screw on reservoir.

On Saturday I trimmed the front sheet metal a little bit more and pulled the beam. Don't forget to disconnect the speedo cable like I did. Also, have someone help you lower the beam so you don't almost drop it on your foot... like I did.

I'm gonna primer and paint the extension before it goes in. Only thing slowing me down now is finding someone local to shorten my steering shaft.

LostDog · September 9th, 2007, 03:23 PM

Everything is pulled apart. I'm just waiting for the paint to dry before I put it back together. I found a couple local welders too, so I'm gonna take the steering shaft to be shortened and welded this week.

Front end with beam removed

Painted beam extension

Front beam on the floor

Bus master cylinder and fluid reservoir

Steering shaft. Do they all have those plates, or are those just for column locks?

Empi U-joints with couplers. Are those bolts from Tinbeater for the couplers?

Rear quarter panel minus a few pounds of bondo

LostDog · September 10th, 2007, 08:23 PM

We have extension! (But no steering, brakes, or gas tank.)

Make sure to clear some room for the tierods.

I was surprised by how low it is. About 4.5 inches clearance under the bulkhead.

Good night

LostDog · September 23rd, 2007, 06:19 PM

I got everything back together today.

I added a new crossbar of 1 inch square tubing to support the front of the fuel tank, and hold the front of the body together. I used another piece of 1 inch tubing to raise the back of the tank the same amount. My wife, Sarah, helped me bleed the brakes. I raised the adjustable beam about an inch to prevent the tierods from rubbing the body. I also used a tape measure to roughly adjust the alignment to about 1 inch toe in.

I wanted to point out that so far I have not done any welding. The only welding needed to get the car to this point was to shorten the steering shaft. I had a machine shop do that for $40.

New cross bar, steering linkage, and brake lines

Pie cut on hood to clear steering box

Now I need to resolve my turn signal issue and get my horn working so I can do some

LostDog · September 23rd, 2007, 06:24 PM

I wanted to post a couple comparison shots.

Before

After

Before

After

LostDog · September 27th, 2007, 10:54 AM

I fixed the turn signals yesterday. I replaced the front ones with some motorcycle signals from Cycle Gear, and everything worked. I think the cheap Pep Boys lights weren't grounding well. So with that taken care of I drove all over town.

It doesn't feel much different than before the extension. Just turns a little wider when I'm trying to park. I still need to fix the horn, but that won't stop me from driving.

LostDog · October 20th, 2007, 03:58 PM

Last weekend I built a new mount for the front license plate. It extends off the headlight mount so there's room to open the hood, and turn the wheels all the way.

Today I adjusted the steering box, and installed a set of Scat spring loaded push rod tubes. My old ones were leaking oil, and my apartment complex didn't like that.

Tomorrow I'm going to look at a used welder.

LostDog · November 22nd, 2007, 09:55 PM

I got a used Miller MIG welder. I started a little patch on the roof after ripping out the headliner. I definitely need more practice.

I also found some old wide 5 rims that are 8 inches wide. They match my front wheels, and even have hubcap clips. I got the wheels for $10 and had the old tires removed for another $20. The wheels need sandblasting, paint, and some new tires.

The push rod tubes I put in leak oil just like the old ones...

LostDog · March 8th, 2008, 09:30 PM

Well, I sold my bug. I learned a lot, and had a good time with it, but I lost motivation on the project. So, I found a good home for it. Here's one of the last photos I took.

Looked very different from when I got it.