shin2chin
Part of things
Making curse word cars slightly better
Posts: 820 
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Jun 28, 2020 16:54:36 GMT
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Took the kids out for a drive in the 924 and Beetle today which they love. Took a few pics and I've got to say I'm happy with how it's looking which has boosted my moral a bit more     I also picked up a rear seat locally for £3 which has to be bargain of the build so far. I have a day off tomorrow so I'm going to be making some door cards and fitting my new custom mirrors which will either look amazing or absolutely ridiculous. |
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Last Edit: Jun 28, 2020 16:59:01 GMT by shin2chin
1977 PORSCHE 2.0na 924
1974 VW Beetle 1600
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shin2chin
Part of things
Making curse word cars slightly better
Posts: 820
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Jun 30, 2020 14:52:01 GMT
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Got my new mirrors and door cards fitted today. Wasn't too keen on the chrome mirrors, they were a bit tatty and weren't very stable so kept moving whilst driving. I had a look at alternative beetle mirrors but nothing caught my eye. Hunting around I saw some motorbike bar end mirrors which looked pretty cool. They looked like they could be made to work and for a tenner were worth a punt. I removed the expanding part that fitted into the handle bar and cut down the bolt and mirror body a bit.     They're convex so give a good field of view and I love how they look. Definitely different. The beetle came without door cards so I thought I'd make some Porsche RS style like I have in my 924. I made some templates out of card then transferred it over to some hardboard. Covered with finest Ebay faux alacantra with some red webbing door pulls.   And the postman brought me something to keep me busy  I got 2 sets for a bargain off Facebook as these carbs are centre pull throttle and it will make splitting them less of a faff. |
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1977 PORSCHE 2.0na 924
1974 VW Beetle 1600
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shin2chin
Part of things
Making curse word cars slightly better
Posts: 820
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Lashing it down today so decided to have a play with my carbs. Nice and easy to split, just 2 threaded bars, rather than replace I cut them down and cut a new thread on. Each pair of carbs in the 4 has its own fuel inlet so again nice and easy, no making unions and t's like I had to do on the zx9r carbs for my 924. The choke slides were trimmed down and everything bolted back together giving me my matching pair.  I'm glad I got 2 sets of carbs as it's saved me loads of hassle and given me lots of spare parts too. Next I need to give them a good clean. I've got a pair of inlet gaskets so will cut some flanges out and I've worked out my angles and spacings so will get some bends ordered. It's going to be much easier to have unequal runners on the manifold so will have to live with that. It's more about the sound and throttle response than power anyway. It is a 1600 beetle engine after all! |
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Last Edit: Jul 1, 2020 18:02:48 GMT by shin2chin
1977 PORSCHE 2.0na 924
1974 VW Beetle 1600
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Those mirrors look great. Despite not being a beetle fan, this thread is now bookmarked, just because!  |
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shin2chin
Part of things
Making curse word cars slightly better
Posts: 820
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Cheers George
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1977 PORSCHE 2.0na 924
1974 VW Beetle 1600
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shin2chin
Part of things
Making curse word cars slightly better
Posts: 820
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So not a huge update but took my longest drive in the Beetle today. I've been a bit cautious up to now and kept local whilst I iron out issues but today I thought I'd give it a go.
I took a good 40 minute drive on A roads and a bit of traffic and got home with a big smile on my face.
I definitely need to get used to the gear change but it was all good. The VW rocker covers have stopped the horrendous leaks I had with the chrome ones. No smoking or horrendous noises. I stopped for petrol and it started up 1st turn so all in all a good afternoon.
Just waiting on some crimp terminals to turn up then I can fit an old Porsche rev counter I had in my golf as I think idle might be a spot high.
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1977 PORSCHE 2.0na 924
1974 VW Beetle 1600
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shin2chin
Part of things
Making curse word cars slightly better
Posts: 820
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Jul 18, 2020 17:01:35 GMT
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I've been slack updating this of late but have actually got loads done recently. Most importantly I've got the bug starting and running beautifully (crossed fingers) following a carb strip down again, an increase in main jet size and soldering up the hole in the throttle butterfly. I think I've posted about my door cards and carpet but I've also overcome the lack of headlining by painting everything black which has turned out really well. I do have a headlining kit but might give the stress and gluey fingers a miss.  The Porsche seats fitted were seriously dry and cracked so I've been slathering them in leather food for the last week which has really transformed them. I'm trying to soften the leather before I take off the base covers to re sew the seams.  I've gone through the wiring removing all the scotchlocks, dodgy crimps, splices and dead wires. I now have working lights and indicators which is always useful. I've fitted a mk1 golf washer bottle as I had none fitted and also an old Porsche 924 tacho from my dusty spares shelf.  Note my patent pending soil pipe bracket gauge holder! Staying with the interior I've also dyed the brown steering wheel black and polished the centre.  Today was headlight day. They were candles at best so I fancied an upgrade. I ordered a set of 7" landrover crystal Headlights and some led h4 bulbs. 1st step was getting rid of all the crimps and replacing with ceramic bulb sockets and wrapping the loom.  The current lights were the globe bulb type so I started taking it all apart    I had the modify the new units slightly but all went back together without incident.     They don't look much different but the light output is unreal compared to the originals. Next job is to fit a battery cut off switch and a couple of USB charging points. But now I think I deserve a nice JD and coke. Cheers! |
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Last Edit: Jul 18, 2020 17:04:29 GMT by shin2chin
1977 PORSCHE 2.0na 924
1974 VW Beetle 1600
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Sophers
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 342 
Club RR Member Number: 80
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Jul 18, 2020 18:22:15 GMT
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Nice bug!  Mine has a 1641 engine and is my daily driver. I love it |
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shin2chin
Part of things
Making curse word cars slightly better
Posts: 820
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Jul 18, 2020 18:30:40 GMT
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Nice, looks a great colour.
This is on the way to being a daily now it's running well. It makes going to Tesco a bit more of an adventure.
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1977 PORSCHE 2.0na 924
1974 VW Beetle 1600
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shin2chin
Part of things
Making curse word cars slightly better
Posts: 820
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Jul 23, 2020 19:11:26 GMT
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Managed to score a set of original steel wheels for free from marketplace this week and managed to collect today from the delightfully named village of Quorn. Bit rusty but two of them handily have good Continental 145/65 tyres which I want for the front. Got home late afternoon and quickly set about hosing them down. Gave them a good sand then out with the playing cards and Lidl Grey Silver metal paint I picked up in the week. I was hoping this would be a good match for the colour of the new 6" steels I got from Just Kampers. This is before  and after a few coats  Just letting them dry over night then I'll be up before the kids in the morning to paint the insides. |
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Last Edit: Jul 23, 2020 19:12:08 GMT by shin2chin
1977 PORSCHE 2.0na 924
1974 VW Beetle 1600
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shin2chin
Part of things
Making curse word cars slightly better
Posts: 820
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Jul 24, 2020 18:25:30 GMT
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So up bright and early and painting the inside of the wheels at 6.30am.  Nice and hot here today so the paint was dry by 7pm when the kids went to bed so nipped out and got them fitted.  That is definitely the look I'm going for. I did think I might need to wind the beam down a bit but looking at the clearance and the fact I couldn't get my jack out once it was dropped I think I'll leave it as is. |
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1977 PORSCHE 2.0na 924
1974 VW Beetle 1600
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That's a great look, stance is spot on!
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Current:
1983 Volkswagen 1200 Mexico
2021 Kia Niro Hybrid
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Former:
1989 Volkswagen Jetta
1990 Volkswagen Golf Madison
1996 Volkswagen Golf Wagon Happy Hour
2006 Fiat Panda 100HP
2006 Toyota Avensis Wagon
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shin2chin
Part of things
Making curse word cars slightly better
Posts: 820
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Jul 26, 2020 11:12:47 GMT
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Thanks, it's come a long way since delivery in May   |
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Last Edit: Jul 26, 2020 11:16:00 GMT by shin2chin
1977 PORSCHE 2.0na 924
1974 VW Beetle 1600
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shin2chin
Part of things
Making curse word cars slightly better
Posts: 820
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Jul 27, 2020 13:31:06 GMT
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Rained off for work today so sorted out my last bit of wiring. I removed the kickboards under the rear seats and used them as a template to make some MDF replacements. These were to mount a battery cut off, 12v charging points and bootlid pull cable.   I had the 12v sockets lying around from my old defender and decided they would be useful. I added a 4 way blade fuse box in case I want to add a sound system at some point.  The wiring in this area was particularly bad, lives insulated in Christmas tape and left flapping about. This was all tidied up and I loom taped the remainder.  The battery got a better earth and tidied the wiring a bit. The bootlid has been smoothed and had a bit of cable tucked up under the valance to open it. This was fine when the engine was cold but when the exhaust was red hot not so much. I used a cheap t-handle control cable threaded through from my new kick plates and no more burned hands. Another job ticked off. |
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Last Edit: Jul 27, 2020 13:32:28 GMT by shin2chin
1977 PORSCHE 2.0na 924
1974 VW Beetle 1600
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shin2chin
Part of things
Making curse word cars slightly better
Posts: 820
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Aug 25, 2020 18:09:08 GMT
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I've managed to get lots of little bits done recently, fitted VDO oil temp and pressure guages, made up steel fuel line and got a working horn which I will write about when I sort the photos. But I just wanted to show a few pictures from today. I took my daughter to the cinema and took a few snaps as we were leaving    I'm really pleased with how it's looking and driving now, I've wound down the beam a touch as you can see from the front view so it's looking nice and low whilst still not catching on Northamptons many, many speed humps. We're all ready now to go to VW Action at Santa Pod next week.  |
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Last Edit: Aug 25, 2020 18:18:16 GMT by shin2chin
1977 PORSCHE 2.0na 924
1974 VW Beetle 1600
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Aug 25, 2020 20:22:09 GMT
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Will keep an eye out for you at Santa Pod then And looking good |
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Aug 25, 2020 20:55:26 GMT
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The new wheels and beam adjustment really have set it off nicely.
Enjoy watching this develop.
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zeberdee
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,042
Club RR Member Number: 2
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Will keep an eye out for you at Santa Pod then And looking good Will also be keeping an eye out at pod . You’ve done a good job on it so far . 🤙 |
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Looking good, will keep watching for further updates. Enjoy Santa Pod.
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Currently driving a '68 Karmann Ghia as my daily. Don't ask about previous cars - there have been way too many and I stopped counting at 160!
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shin2chin
Part of things
Making curse word cars slightly better
Posts: 820
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Aug 26, 2020 12:36:32 GMT
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So a couple of pictures of the bits done recently. I found it a bit unnerving only having a speedo and an oil warning light so I managed to get a brand new pair of VDO gauges for less than £20. Why so cheap? I think they're from a tractor or generator but the ranges are about right and they match my Porsche 924 tacho.  I fitted them in a spare dash vent piece I had and ran the 2 sensor wires back to the engine with the tacho wire I'd ran recently. There's lots of stuff online about the best place to put the sensors but for ease I put a T piece where the existing pressure switch is in the block.  I used a generic temp sensor and a VDO type twin pole pressure sensor so I could retain the dash light. I had a good drive yesterday and they don't leak so all is good. The other job on my list was the fuel hose. It came with new hoses fitted but from the hard line out of the tunnel to the pump it was hose through the firewall with no grommet. I decided to get some 6mm cupro nickel pipe and run this to a short length of rubber hose at the pump end.  I ran it under the inlet manifold wrapped in some heat blanket and secured with a rubber p clip to the tinware. I feel a bit safer with this setup now. I might run a hard line from the pump to carb too then again should be getting the bike carbs sorted over the winter so may leave it. So that's it really for now. It's solid, water tight, cavity waxed and rustless. It's running and driving well so will be driving it up till winter then taking the seats out to re sew and then trying to get the carbs on. My big plan for next year is another DIY respray (see my 924 thread) |
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Last Edit: Aug 26, 2020 12:37:22 GMT by shin2chin
1977 PORSCHE 2.0na 924
1974 VW Beetle 1600
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