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 Let's jump right in. I had a 1997 Subaru Legacy Outback. It was a good car. It drove me to and from work; the air conditioning was excellent; it had four speakers and a modest stereo; it had cruise control; it didn't leak oil (much); the head gaskets were brand new; the paint and interior were in excellent condition, especially for having 183,000 miles. After awhile, though, I got bored with the Subaru. It had a seeping power steering pump that dripped onto the exhaust, causing smoke after a long drive on the highway, and the alternator was getting weak. You guys from the Subaru thread may also remember my pants-on-head crazy in-car DOHC head gasket job from a few months back. I was just getting tired of the car, reliable as it may be now. I threw it up on craigslist two months ago for $3800 (way, WAY too much money, but you know how craigslist goes with haggling), and endured the onslaught of "BRAH ill trade my xbox one and my bong for your car!" or "I need a car to get to work, I'm a single mom with two kids. If you can donate your SUBARU OUTBACK LEGACY $3800 OR BEST OFFER please contact <TEMPORARY TEXT-ONLY NUMBER FROM PHISHING SITE>, it would really help me." After a few weeks of just listing it, I decided to actually contact everyone selling a Beetle, asking if they'd trade their Beetle for my bone-reliable Subie. I had a lot of no's, a ton of "WHAT gently caress NO WHEN I SAID POSSIBLE TRADE IN MY AD I MEANT CORVETTES ONLY, loving IDIOT!" (this one happened MORE THAN ONCE), and a few people who initially said "yes," but then dragged me into weeks of searching for this or that or, my favorite, suddenly losing the title after two weeks of talking and me planning my work schedule around driving three hours south in the early morning. After two months of trying, with me literally sitting there on the Craigslist account page, pondering deleting the ad, I get a text from a gentleman who lives a few mere miles away, asking if the Subaru was still available. He had a 1972 Super Beetle (flat dashboard, old-style bumpers), and he was looking to upgrade. YES! That day, I drive the Subaru over to him to give it a look over, but he doesn't like the fact that it smokes with power steering fluid, even though my ad clearly stated that it did so and it wasn't detrimental, just annoying. Even so, he was a very nice guy, looked like he needed the upgrade for his new job, and I really liked the look of his Beetle. I asked him if he'd still be interested in the Subaru if I fixed the power steering pump (something I've been putting off because new pumps start at $150 with $100 cores). He said that he would still do the trade straight-up, so I headed out to an Orelly's auto parts and picked up the pump. When removing the old pump, you have to loosen the alternator to loosen the P/S pump belt. The entire alternator rotates through a curved cam, like on old Ford pickup trucks, so the procedure generally involves loosening the tensioning bolt, then tapping the alternator down with the butt of your socket wrench/a rubber mallet/your thick skull to rotate it into a loose position. While doing so in the parking lot of the parts store, the cover of the alternator shattered. Welp! Beetle-guy is going to get a brand new P/S pump, and a brand new alternator; two jobs I've been putting off myself because of cost. I'm technically buying parts for the Beetle before I even take ownership! Long story slightly shorter: The next day I drive the Outback over, papers change hands, a lot of signing this and that and bill of sale and release of liabilities blah blah blah ORANGE BEETLE IN MY PARKING SPOT    I will update this thread as I feel like it with potato-quality pictures (seriously, how can an LG Optimus G's camera be worse than my SGII E4G's?) and horrible, hilarious modifications and botches. Because, while we may now be in Arizona, this Beetle spent most of the Queen_Combat fucked around with this message at 03:40 on Jun 4, 2014 |
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May 26, 2014 20:15
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The second I finish the post to go back outside to look at the car, the Beetle makes the first move! Richard, WHAT DID YOU DO?!  There you are!  I had it parked up on the curb so I could crawl underneath, and it cracks a line to the evap canister (at least, I think it's the evap canister).
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May 26, 2014 20:26
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You are truly AI. Air cooled is one thing, air cooled in AZ is another. Air cooled in Phoenix is downright insanity! Looking forward to updates!
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May 26, 2014 20:44
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With its territory marked, the wild Super Beetle strikes out in search for its favorite prey, dollars.
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May 26, 2014 21:42
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Seat Safety Switch posted:With its territory marked, the wild Super Beetle strikes out in search for its favorite prey, dollars.  E: I should state a goal for this car, then maybe post it in the projects thread. I just need a daily driver that doesn't leak oil, can hold a charge, and that I can play me bangin' tunes on (though two tiny 6" speakers an a bluetooth JVC stereo) Here's a picture dump of some...pictures...that I just took. It may not be the Civic, but I submit a small-car challenge!  Side view. All four hubcaps in great condition:  I have already replaced the sun-cracked original german lenses with replicas from SoCalVW (don't buy anything from them!)   (one of them arrived cracked, they essentially went "gently caress you file a complaint with UPS kthxbye." Worth the $7 to find out who to avoid forever in the future) Ugh, halfway between repainting completely, and just getting a really good buff and wax and leaving the imperfections  Pretty good rear seat:  Front seat bottoms are destroyed, so they have horsehair covers for now:  This looks like cancer (and usually is - VW put foam on the inside with the vents and it collects moisture right there) but it's very hard, not spongy at all. Never seen paint bubbles this tough   The other side is fine:  What the living hell?  JB Weld over screw holes? I don't even  Has the redesigned louvers:  The Engine Bay:  I have NO IDEA what this is for:  Kind of makes the 55 amp generator kit I bought a bit redundant, but I may keep it anyway if this one proves to be weak:  Disconnected, don't know where it goes to:  The front is fairly straight. Besides some dents in the lower grille/thing below the bumper, I'm impressed!:  I spent the first hour cleaning a really bad oil leak at the oil screen (PO did the oil change himself, but didn't torque down any of the seven bolts. Like, at all. It was gushing oil. Came outside half an hour later and found this, thought the worst:  Turned out to be the breather tube (phew):  Also, I can't get the air cleaner top off without removing either the entire cleaner, or the rear fan shroud tin. Queen_Combat fucked around with this message at 22:36 on May 26, 2014 |
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May 26, 2014 22:02
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Take a look under your rear seat for one of the special tools that often find their way into new hands. If your car still has it's original, it could be worth things beyond your wildest imagination.
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May 26, 2014 22:24
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Hope it doesn't develop a coolant leak. Also, if you don't take advantage of the desert climate and put on a swamp cooler you're a madman.
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May 26, 2014 23:07
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Geirskogul posted:I have NO IDEA what this is for: That's your diagnostic connector. Think of it as OBD-0 - instead of having an on-board computer that monitors and measures everything, it's a collection of probe outputs that could be hooked to a primitive computer at a VW dealer. Kind of cool considering the era, but these days it's a historical curiosity. Pinouts are here, if you're interested: http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/htm/plug.htm
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May 26, 2014 23:55
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Forgot to say, your rear fenders are '73 only if you need replacements ever and want to keep the elephants feet lights. '74 had impact bumpers with gas shocks, and '72 had the flat bottom arched top lights that were used from either '68-72, or '71-72 (I forget if the '68-70s had ever so slightly smaller lights. Tube on the fan shroud should go to the charcoal canister in the right rear fender, and s second hose goes from that to the air cleaner. Also protip just because you can fit early bumpers and fenders doesn't mean you should (I'm looking at you, terrible late model attempts at passing yourselves off as early '60s).
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May 27, 2014 01:31
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Wait, this is allegedly a 72 but it has 73 fenders and lights?
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May 27, 2014 01:41
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Elephant's feet started in '73, it is possible it's a '72 build for a '73, or maybe they were swapped later. Look under your rear seat for a chassis number stamped on the tunnel. It should start with 212 for '72, and 213 for '73. There should be a matching number either stamped into the metal in the spare tire well or on a tag somewhere up front in the trunk with an identical number on it, it will confirm the chassis is from the same vehicle as the body. It's also possible that the same number may be on a tiny tag riveted to the dash pad but I don't recall if that's correct or not. But those rear fenders are definitely '73 Only. e: it's also possible you have a sticker on the driver's door jam with a production date, it'll be silver in color. My dad's '72 has it but if it's been repainted it could be gone, or just peeled off from age. INCHI DICKARI fucked around with this message at 02:33 on May 27, 2014 |
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May 27, 2014 02:13
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The tags say 213, but I thought 73's had a curved windscreen and deep dash, whereas I have a flat dash (just removed the pad, actually). Must be a carryover/no hard line.
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May 27, 2014 02:47
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Also re: air cleaner. You should be able to pop all the latches in car, what's the issue? Rear fan shroud definitely doesn't need to come out. Also don't be surprised if it's filled with oil, it's an oil bath air cleaner. They work well, and should come out easily with loosening the bottom clamp and the hoses. Take it out, scrape it out, fill with 30w oil to the division line around the bottom and add checking that to your 2-3k tuneup check of valves, points, and oil change. edit: '73 supers had a flat dash, but elephants feet lights. '74 started the curved dash, I could probably find the exact chassis number on the Samba.
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May 27, 2014 02:47
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Congrats on the car swap slash puzzling lifestyle decision. I admire the fortitude of anyone who swaps to an aircooled, non-air-conditioned vehicle at this time of year.13 INCH DICK posted:deep loving beetle knowledge Jesus god man, do you just know this stuff off the top of your head? You're like the Rainman of VWs.
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May 27, 2014 02:51
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Stardotstar posted:Jesus god man, do you just know this stuff off the top of your head? You're like the Rainman of VWs. 
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May 27, 2014 02:58
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Got everything wired up for the stereo, but my dremel died halfway through cutting the opening bigger. Now I have to think about emissions, too.
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May 27, 2014 04:14
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Stardotstar posted:
new here aren... oh. yeah. I had a 74' autostick reg in the same loving color. Rockon dude, your balls are bigger than mine, because after 4 acvws I can't keep the fuckers running.
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May 27, 2014 04:27
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Also get loving rid of the fuel filter in the engine bay. route enough line through a grommet in the hole and tuck it in the rear above the axles if you have to, but there should also be an inline filter under the front gas tank between the front suspension and also a bronze sock in tank. the tank pulls out with like 4 or 6 13mm bolts from the top I believe, and watch out for things living underneath it (seriously, not even poking fun every VW I've ever had had......visitors under there).
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May 27, 2014 04:34
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Geirskogul posted:Now I have to think about emissions, too. You can pop the vin into myazcar.com and see the previous test results. Should give you an idea of how easy it will be.
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May 27, 2014 04:38
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IOwnCalculus posted:You can pop the vin into myazcar.com and see the previous test results. Should give you an idea of how easy it will be. Does this work on pre '81 cars with the wacky nonstandard VINs?
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May 27, 2014 04:58
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It works, and shows that it passed first try, but I remember the seller saying something about how "his guy" (he has a guy) did something beforehand and had to change it afterwards. Retard the timing? And about the fuel filter, is that for a fire hazard or vapor lock? Reserving thread title change to "a spanner with a hammer" for when I gently caress something up horribly Queen_Combat fucked around with this message at 05:40 on May 27, 2014 |
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May 27, 2014 05:31
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Geirskogul posted:It works, and shows that it passed first try, but I remember the seller saying something about how "his guy" (he has a guy) did something beforehand and had to change it afterwards. Retard the timing? And about the fuel filter, is that for a fire hazard or vapor lock? They have a habit of cracking due to engine heat and vibration and happily dump gas all over the coil and distributor to predictable results. There are 2 factory filters, and a better location behind the firewall over the rear control arms and they're only put in the engine bay out of laziness to even jack the car up and do it properly.
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May 27, 2014 06:04
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You have to pass emissions on a 1972/1973 car? Finally, something some state has emissions wise that is more difficult than California!
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May 27, 2014 06:09
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Stardotstar posted:Jesus god man, do you just know this stuff off the top of your head? You're like the Rainman of VWs. This is the level of commitment that these cars appear to demand. Imagine, you're on the side of the road and your car bursts into flames. In a Japanese car the problem solving procedure is something like this: 1. Oh poo poo oh poo poo oh poo poo 2. Holy loving poo poo what 3. Collect insurance cheque The ACVW problem solving procedure for the same issue is something like: 1. It's 9am already? 2. Beat out flames with bare hands while still inside the car, ideally through engine fire access hole in cabin 3. Car wasn't moving when it combusted, therefore you only need to check the most common fuel leak locations - 16.5 through 37 - in the owners manual.
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May 27, 2014 14:22
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No poo poo, two weeks ago as an EMT we responded with Scottsdale Fire to a car fire on the side of the road. It was a beetle convertible, and after fire sprayed down the engine bay to put it out, the guy tinkered with it a bit and drove away. I guess he had a roll of fuel and vacuum (same?) line, and maybe some spark plug wires.
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May 27, 2014 15:22
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Yesssss
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May 27, 2014 18:18
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QUIT BLUEBALLING ME I NEED THIS THREAD
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May 29, 2014 20:32
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Sorry, I work four 18s, then I have three days off in a row. Though I finished dremeling the hole out for the stereo in the ambulance parking lot today. I'll see if I can get pictures. Trust me, I need this too. Saturday is stereo and new bumper day, and I'll run new wires for the front parking lights if there's time. Queen_Combat fucked around with this message at 21:00 on May 29, 2014 |
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May 29, 2014 20:58
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"I'm going to rely on a 41 year old aircooled Volkswagen in Phoenix to get me to my job to save people's lives." 
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May 29, 2014 21:37
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13 INCH DICK posted:"I'm going to rely on a 41 year old aircooled Volkswagen in Phoenix to get me to my job to save people's lives." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABcckOTVqao
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May 29, 2014 21:45
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Hey, as a backup I have my 50s era, 13hp British motorcycle that leaks oil like a sieve 
Queen_Combat fucked around with this message at 22:30 on May 29, 2014 |
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May 29, 2014 22:17
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Came for the Beetle, stayed for the 13" knowledge drop.
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May 29, 2014 22:39
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I never compared the emissions test on our old Opel but they really don't give a V8 much more room on emissions. My GMC has to fit under 450ppm HC on both idle and load, and 5/3.75% on CO. That said, your Beetle is much cleaner than a catless LS1!
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May 30, 2014 05:41
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e: I'm an idiot.
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May 30, 2014 09:34
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poo poo, STR posted, so I need to get moving on the stuff. After work tonight, I decided to try to figure out why my front market lights were blowing fuses. Did a ton of poking around with a multimeter, got nowhere. Then, on a whim and because I had fuses, I tried plugging them in again. They worked just fine! Panicking that I had an intermittent short, I tried plugging in the license plate light as well to "stress" the circuit, and the fuse immediately blew. Turns out there was short somewhere in the license plate light circuit (it piggy backs off of the marker light fuse) this whole time, but I forgot about it during my troubleshooting. Also turns out that 1.7 ohms for all four of the front marker lights in parallel is just fine. I thought it was a short, hence two days of troubleshooting it during breaks and and before work. 84 watts and 7 amps or so if I think about it, which seems right. The stock 8A fuse is pretty damned close. (I think the LED upgrade I have planned is well deserved) Hell, after the LED upgrade I could probably run the stereo on the same circuit, as I never crank it loud (I won't do that, I'm better than that, but just sayin')
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May 30, 2014 10:25
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Another picture dump! The Beetle in the parking lot at work:  Speakers? What could these be for?   Midway through cutting:  It didn't really need much taken out, but still necessary. All that work for a sliver of metal:  Old and busted:   New hotness:  You can even choose your colors for day and night mode!  (tapped into headlight circuit for dimming trigger) I mounted the microphone behind the screen to the left, by the wheel:  Fixed the dome light! Doesn't pop fuses anymore, and isn't a broken piece of poo poo plastic. I found a brand new dome light cover underneath the rear seat (excellent call, 13 INCH):   New reflectors in the turn signals, and new wire covers between the signals and the trunk (old ones rotted away, leaving open wires to the elements in the fender):   I need to tackle the poo poo wiring. I've given it a once-over, and there's no immediate short or fire danger, but I'd like to clean it up and maybe label things. I did "acquire" a dyno label maker from my last job. The PO was a fan of electrical tape and butt crimp connectors, and I hate both of them (shrinkwrap and soldering for the win):  For now, we'll cover it up with the blower motor box! I did get it working again (PO had disconnected it) by hitting it a few times and cycling the switch. It blew out a couple of leaves and probably dead mice dust, made a whine, and now it blows air strongly. Too bad I don't have the side ducts connected back up yet:  What is this hose? It's connected to the valve-like object in the background (thermostat or something?) on the air intake:  Does it connect to one of these that the PO blocked off?  I found the missing evap canister hoses, and reconnected those up, and removed the fuel filter in the engine bay, as 13 INCH suggested:  Yeah I don't know what the gently caress:  This is a temporary fix for the cracked to poo poo tail light lens until my newish ones arrive in a few days:  Next on the list: Fix the license plate light. It was what was causing my right tail light and license plate light fuse to blow constantly. I've left it disconnected for now, and I've regained my right tail light, so I may not have as high of a chance being pulled over now. Hopefully.
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Jun 1, 2014 02:21
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The worst thing about the beetle? No petcock.
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Jun 1, 2014 16:52
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Which is more improbable?
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Jun 2, 2014 19:58
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CostSavingMeasuresThatCostMoreThanLifetimeReplacements.jpg (aka: the CFL -> LED house bulb conversion math)  In reality, it's to save on running wattage. I've put a voltmeter on while running and I'm noticing a low dip around town at night with the headlights on (PO did a higher-wattage headlight conversion, I think it has silverstar ultras in there now, they're awesome). Of course, when I put the 55 Amp alternator on there, maybe this is all for naught. I do like how the turn signals "snap" into view instead of fading on like an incandescent bulb, though. That's got to grab more attention, and is the primary reason I did the conversions on both of my motorcycles. The bulbs there now for the turn signals are some 1156 LED garbage bulbs I had laying around. If I stick with this I'll put some 3 or 5 watt Cree LEDs in there for more brightness.
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Jun 3, 2014 01:26
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The star shaped ones are like little hippie flowers.
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Jun 3, 2014 04:15
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