Steering cunnumdrums

1st September 2012
I had not used my buggy much in the last month as there seemed more important pressing matters that made having time for this very difficult. I also was aware that my steering box seemed to be acting rather oddly when it was turned full hard lock to the left . I had thought this was because of adjustment of the box but further examination proved that the front bearing on the box was shot. This had not been a new box I refurbished and the wear on it was an unknown factor. 

I knew I would have to remove the Steering box and examine this further. The steering box was removed from the car by first undoing the steering column bolts on the universal disk. This released the column from the box. The tie rod ends where then undone and knocked out whilst the box was still bolted onto the beam. This made the process much easier. The box was then removed by undoing the two big bolts that hold the clamp around the beam . With the box removed I could see clearly that the box was unusable without serious repair:

 

The Video shows the extent of the wear on the main spindle of the old box.

 I found my original steering box that I took of of the beam during its restoration. This seemed in much better condition and started to clean it up so that it could be fitted in place of the warn one. I cleaned the box down with a wire brush attached to my angle grinder . This took most of the rust of and was then able to paint the box with Red Oxide and then Hammerite.

The box once painted was re- assembled and the top removed and filled with grease. The newly painted box was then fitted into the car. This was in principle exactly the reverse of removing it. With the box in situ .The bolts was all torqued up and I took the buggy out for a tentative run. It was apparent from my first run that the box had to much play on it and the top nut on the top of the box had to be screwed in to adjust this.

Making a battery box cover

22nd April 2012

Last week I successfully relocated my battery so that it sat in the middle of the rear seat panel.

I knew that the battery was just lower than the edge of the box I had created and had intentionally made it this way so a lid or cover could be attached over the battery securing it  from fingers that may be on the back seat.

I started designing the lid by measuring the aperture in the top of the box. When I created the box I had noted that the two corners that I had used that was already joined flared  out slightly and had made my two new corners to look the same. This meant I had to measure the inside area allowing for a 2mm tolerance. You can see in the diagram to the right the sizes marked up. Once I had my measurements I made a paper template this size and put it through a plastic envelope heat sealer to make it plasticized. I found a piece of flat Stainless a tea tray and laid this on the surface so that I would be able to put the fibreglass on top and gauge the size I needed. I layered up four sheets of fibreglass with fibreglass resin  this took longer than normal to set because of the weather so I used a paraffin heater to raise the temperature in my workshop.

The matting I applied was just larger than my paper pattern that sat in the A4 plastic heated liner. This is the same machine that does plastic badges. This stopped the fibreglass sheet sticking to the tray. I left this over a day to dry and cure. Once hard the fibreglass was turned over to expose the pattern on the other side. I used an angle grinder to cut through the plastic and fibreglass around the edges of the template pattern so that the sides were clean cut and crisp.

I then removed the template which peeled of leaving a smooth surface The fibreglass panel was then sanded on the opposing side until the thickness of the fibreglass was consistent all over the panel. Once the panel was smooth I painted the rougher side with black Hammerite hammered paint. This sealed the surface on one side. So that I could concentrate on the other. I used Car under seal to spay the other side leaving a rippled effect . This was the same process I had used inside the car.

The underseal surface dried quite quickly leaving a slightly textured surface. This need no further preparation and I was able to spray m 1k black paint onto the surface . This sealed the under seal and fibreglass . I knew I had run out of thinners and would have to buy some more . I wanted to finish the panel and decided to try making up the 2k Lacquer and hardener and adding the gold leaf with a view to using a large brush to apply it.

 The finished lacquered panel looked amazing and you really could not tell it had not been sprayed  with a spray gun. The panel was then checked for size and it fitted neatly into the top of the box. I had purchased some stainless fixings to secure the top from a boat chandler I offered these onto the lid so that I could gauge how they looked against the finished surface. They fitted in four places and I was able to decide were they would fit.

I attached the eccentric / pull over fastener to the panel with M5 countersunk bolts I used these as I did not want them to interfere with the battery and to be pulled in flush to the fibreglass. Once these were all bolted in place I offered the panel up to the box and marked the positions of the stainless box to locate the eccentric keeps. I fixed theses to the rear of the box through my body bar . I used self tapping screw's to fix the front eccentric keeps.

The lid was latched in place and sat neatly over the battery . The eccentric / pull over  latches had little loops on them that either a wire and a single padlock could be used or four separate padlocks could also be used to secure the battery from theft. I was very pleased with this as it made the rear seat area a much safer place to be. I was also wondering whether I could build a seat to go on this new area.

Moving Battery to a Battery Box

12 April 2012

Two weeks ago I replaced all my convertible roof studs but two as I needed to get longer bolts that i could tap out. Unfortunately the latest revisions came out for the 2012 UK MOT a condensed two page document that has created work for all V.W owners. My existing battery location became foul to these regulations as it was not totally secure and was not covered.

Having seen buggies with a recessed battery box in the back seat where the back seat was a long bench, I decided that it would be interesting if I could recess my battery into the rear seat area and release the space that the battery had previously occupied. I started looking for large pieces of stainless sheet .
I  measured my battery  which was 205mm x 175mm x 175.  I made a paper stencil to check the size of a box dimensions which would contain the battery and allow for the battery to be secured and the wiring to all fit . The dimensions of the box top I arrived at was 230mm x 190 . The template I made was very useful as it allowed me to place the template on the rear parcel area and check that it would fit. I had already decided that I really wanted the battery in the middle of the seat and was pleased that it appeared as if  I had enough room to fit the battery here.

I discussed this position with a friend Jon as I quickly realised that it would quite successfully free up two passenger seats. The outcome of this discussion was the question was whether the box would hit the gearbox. I measured the distance between my highest point on my gearbox near the new battery location and this was 190mm . Luckily my 80mm lift kit had given me the extra height I needed. I quickly worked out by drawing a flat layout of the box that I would need a piece of stainless steel minimum 1m x 400mm . I checked various metal stock companies and realised that the cheapest i could find this was on eBay at some £69.00 GDP. Clearly this was too expensivet and I would have to source the Stainless Steel from a different source.

Fortunately the solution was not to far away. For several years I had been storing my Welding spares in this stainless Steel tin . It was made from 1.2mm Stainless and looked quite adequate in size to be cut down . I started marking out the two opposing corners one with a floor and the other without . I used pencil to mark the outline and cut the two sections out with a 1mm angle grinder blade. The resulting parts were then chased along the edges to debur any sharp edges. The two parts were then assembled to see how they would fit together.

The resulting box was not bad and the two pieces fitted well clicking together to form a strong small box. I decided that I would have to bend the top mounting plates over . I used two pieces of right angle iron in a vice to clamp the stainless sheet along the line i had drawn to indicate the fold. I then struck the stainless steel with a rubber mallet to bend and fold the stainless along the angle iron at a right angle to the two irons in the vice. I repeated this for all four of the sides.

 I took the two box sections to Fullers Steel fabrication to have the two parts TIG welded. The resulting box was strong and gave me the dimensions that I made a template up from . This I stuck the the back centre parcel shelf of the buggy with tape . I used a Starret hole cutter to cut out the corners and used an Angle Grinder to cut between the four holes . This made a hole in the rear seat area directly over the  gearbox.  I drilled some holes in the box supports and made a rubber seal from an old rubber mat. The box dropped into position.  I used a rubber mallet to bend the sides to fit the profile of the seat and cut the front down to sit flush on the front of the rear seat area. The battery was then placed in situ and the new battery placement could be seen for the first time.

I enclosed the battery in the old fabric cover and connected up the battery connecters and went out for a short run in the beach buggy to see if the gearbox knocked the box out of its position. My route I chose was a very bumpy one that I knew would make the suspension work hard. The trip took about 25 minutes and I was soon back in the garage happy as the box had remained in position. I looked underneath and had a good 25mm clearance


between the box and the gearbox. I removed the battery and old cover and knocked the box out of the hole. I cut two holes in the top back section of the box for the new routed cables to come through . I then fitted these with grommets another UK MOT 2012 item which seemed very obvious. I removed the old earth wiring from the chassis bolt and threaded the positive supply from the alternator out of the chassis and back into the battery box. I shortened this and fed the earth wire alongside it. The wiring had now all been removed from the back seat area and with the old battery mount removed I was able to see for the first time how the new seat areas would look.

I mounted the battery in the box and reconnected the new supply lines . It was immediately noticeable how much new space I had created on the rear seat area. I started to think about seating types and even new speaker placement positions that had also been created. I knew I had to secure the box and I also had to secure the battery to the box and create a lid to enclose the battery from the elements I was in two minds what to make this out of. I liked the shiny stainless but also felt fiberglass would look fantastic as it would match the car paint. I was very pleased with the new position and was beginning to wonder why I had never seen this done before as it looked so natural. The box was secured in position with some cut down flush Allen bolts .

I made up a stainless right angle battery holder that was the same size as my battery box I drilled two holes in each end 10mm and used two 10mm eye bolts that I purchased. I cut two holes in the box side walls to allow the eye bolts to go through . I cut one side away from the bolts to make a hook. I used this to secure the battery into the battery tray. The bolts and angle bracket fitted neatly onto the shoulder of the battery. I bolted the battery box in position and went for a run . I decided that I would try going for a longer run than I usually do. and set off to the town of battle some 20mins away. I soon found that the car ran better after it had a sudden  boost on the open road. I returned to the garage happy that there must have been a blockage in the carburetors. I still however had not got the buggy over 60mph and was wondering if it would make faster speeds I also happily noted that the speedometer was accurate at 40mph & 60 mph.

Paris SWB Beach Buggy Conversion to DOT fixings

1st April 2012

The Paris conversion had been pretty much successful but it was noticeable that the fixings to the body would come unlatched at high speed.

I had seen some different fittings that looked stronger and hopefully might hold the roof on more securely. The Link the Dot fixings I found seemed to have a different latch mechanism . I luckily had a small fragment of the roof material I had previously cut off. I purchased some of these DOT fixings and fitted them alongside the existing popper to test the strength of each of the fixings. Several tests was performed and the results where all in favor of the Link The DOT fixing holding more securely.

The original popper fixings was removed from the hood with a HSS metal drill, that was used on the underside of the popper to drill out the riveted section. The popper fell apart easily after this. I used a hole punch to make the hole slightly larger the DOT fixing was then placed over the hole to align its position. I used a rubber mallet and placed the fixing and hoot on a piece of wood. I struck the fixing with the rubber mallet to get the fixing to penetrate the hood. This allowed the fixings tabs to pass neatly through the hood. The tabs then was pushed through the back retaining piece . This enabled the cloth fixing to be secured well onto the fabric of the hood. I used a small pair of pliers to bed over the tabs onto the backing piece. This held the backing piece firmly in place. The pictures show the cloth hood with the front and back view of the new fixings. The rear surface of the hood fittings seemed quite able to scratch paint and I knew I would have to raise the fixings on the back of the buggy to ensure that they would not rub.

I bought 32 Link The DOT 5mm threaded studs. These went in to the dash frame easily. I tried drilling out the holes in the body work to take a sheet lock nut these although expensive and made from stainless did not secure into the bodywork successfully. I decided that I would have to put a fixing through the fibre glass and then fix the DOT stud to this.



I decided that there was two options for fixing the DOT stud one was a brass bolt and the other a Stainless Steel A2 bolt, the latter being more favorable I took an M8 bolt x 30mm and drilled the end 4.5mm x 12mm to take the Link The DOT stud. This proved to be a very good fixing and I was able to bolt the M8 bolt through the body work with washers . This had the advantage of raising the DOT stud up from the body work. The only issue was that I had to make 19 of these to fit around the back. I started making them and found it took me five hours to make five. This got harder as I broke my 5mm tap and managed to make every small drill I had blunt. I ordered a new 5mm Dormer High quality tap and a new Dormer Cobalt Jobber drill A777. The seven fixing I have mounted on so far look good have been working slowly on them. The new fixings look a lot stronger the bad weather that was forecast has put a temporary end to the sunshine and I must complete the other studs.

Brake locking master cylinder issues

25th March 2012

I had been becoming more aware that it was not so much my engine carburetion problems that was preventing my buggy running correctly , but the brakes being applied whilst driving without the pedal being depressed. This was more noticeable whilst traveling up hills as the buggy would slowly come to rest with all four wheels locked. I could tell this was a hydraulic issue as If I bled the rear brakes. The brakes seemed to release and the buggy would roll again for a bout 5 miles before the problem repeated.

I decided that I would have to take the plunge and purchase a new master cylinder even though my previous master cylinder had seen little wear. GSF sell to different quality replacements and I went for the German. I decided to paint the Master Cylinder before fitting . I painted it with red oxide primer and Hammerite Hammered finish black paint. I left the bungs in place whilst I painted to ensure that the paint could not ingress into the internal parts.

The front wheel was removed to allow access to the M/C . The three brake lines was then undone with an 11mm spanner. Oddly no fluid came out of the MC before I put in the the bungs. I then undid the two 13mm bolts in the drivers side bulkhead and allowed the M/C to be removed. The general outside condition of the unit was fair. I drained off the brake fluid from the reservoir to a Jam Jar that could be taken and dispersed of properly. I removed the reservoir from the M/C as it is just a press fit and cleaned it thoroughly. The Brake fluid that came off the car seemed noticeably stiff. I took the rubber washers out of the old M/C and reassembled them into the new M/C. The Volvo reservoir was just pushed back into the grommets till it was seated.

The refitting process was pretty straight forward. I removed the M/C rubber hood and thoroughly greased the inside before replacing the cover. This whole unit was then passed through the bulkhead onto the activation shaft. Once in place it was propped in place and bolted through the bulkhead. The brake lines was then attached and the whole brake system was bled with a one man bleed kit.

Running engine up after jetting

25th Feb 2010.


My starter motor was now working and I was able to start my engine after the jetting and the new 28mm Chokes had been fitted last month. This was the first time I had been able to check this as my starter motor failing had meant I could not determine if the changes where better and the engine would run. My first tests with the faulty starter motor indicated that it would not fire.

The results can be seen from the video I think its a definite improvement and took the car out for a test driver. It was quite noticeable that the car had acceleration but also had a small acceleration hole just after you pressed the throttle. I also had problems climbing up a steep hill so returned to the garage and jacked up the rear of the car up and found that the rear wheels where very stiff to turn. I left the buggy for an hour over lunch and returned to find that the wheels turned freely again. I presumed this was the brakes sticking and although I tried to emulate this again could not get the brakes to stick . I subsequently took the car out two more times without any problems.

Replacing A VW Starter motor bush

24th March 2012
I knew my starter motor had failed with a broken winding and thought that it was likely that this was due to a worn starter motor bush that had caused the windings to hit one of the magnets.

There are two types of starter motor bush one which is a 12v bush and another which is a 6v bush that converts to a 12v starter motor. It is important to get the correct one.

The starter motor is fastened by only two bolts top and bottom the top goes right through the engine casing whist the bottom is a short stud. It is very important not to loose the top bolt as it has an unusual D shape end. Once removed the hole in the gearbox can be seen and the bush contained in the centre. A 12mm tapered tap can be wound into the bearing by hand so that it starts to bite I used a pair of grips on the end of the tap so that it could be turned in the small space as the tap handle did not have enough room to turn. You need to keep turning the tap until it bottoms out on the hole. This need quite a few turns to complete but eventually the bearing moved up on the tap and out of it hole.

You can see from the picture right that the bearing has been wound onto the tap with the depth of the tap protruding from the end of the bearing being the depth of the hole from which it came from. I tried the new bearing on the end of the tap and noticed that it slipped easily on and off without interference. I decided that I could use the tap to replace the new bearing . I greased up the new bearing and slid it onto the tap. I removed the adjustable and sat the whole assembly in the hole. I used a rubber mallet to softly tap the end of the tap and the new bearing into place. The tap was then slid back out to leave the bearing in place see picture right. This whole procedure took a very short time and to be honest I would recommend replacing this bearing if you are replacing a starter motor. The replacement starter motor was refitted . It can take a little time to mesh the gears when refitting this may involve using someone to turn the engine or you will have to move the starter gear and replace the motor until it goes completely in. The two bolts were replaced and torqued up. The wiring on the back of the solenoid was reconnected and the job was complete.

Dismantleing a VW Starter motor

23rd Feb 2012

My starter motor had been sourced from Volkszone and seemed to be taking some considerable time to reach me due in some part to the snow and late posting.

I decided that I would remove the old starter and see if the damage was repairable . The starter motor is fastened by only two bolts top and bottom the top goes right through the engine casing whist the bottom is a short stud. It is very important not to loose the top bolt as it has an unusual D shape end.


The starter motor can be took part very easily. The end cover is secured by two small screws . This covers the main shaft which is held in place by a U shape washer and several shims. The Shims are very important as they set the amount of float on the starter motor. Once these have been removed the two larger bolts can be removed allowing the outer casing to be withdrawn from the main shaft. The four carbon brushes could then be inspected in the starter motor cover. Mine was in very good shape and I knew this could not be the problem . I turned my attention to the main shaft and the copper windings and the contact areas on the commutator . It is noticeable on my copper windings that one of the copper windings is broken and does not make contact with the starter motor. I had found the reason for the motor failure. Several days past before my replacement starter motor eventually turned up . The package was split open and the delivery agent for Parcel Force stated it was not suitably wrapped. However the item had not suffered any damage and power up from a battery and starter cables quite successfully.


The starter motor was painted but appeared to be rusting underneath the paint. I decided to clean the starter motor down with and electric Wire brush. The paint and rust stripped back quite easily leaving a smooth bare metal appearance . I painted the Starter motor and refitted my old solenoid to the side as I knew my solenoid was newer. I tested the starter motor again and it all functioned correctly.

My starter motor windings had failed and I knew I should replace the starter bush before replacing the starter on the car.

Jetting Delorto DRLA 40 Twin Carburettors

3rd Feb 2012
My 40mm/28mm chokes had turned up from Italy and I was very pleased to see that when they arrived they were in fact the correct parts I had ordered. I had been previously trying to cure the jetting problems of my carburetors where my engine was idling well but had a lack of acceleration that could be resolved by pumping the throttle. I had believed that this was because of the size of my idle and main jets but had been told by both VW Heritage and Dellorto UK that it was more likely that my chokes being 40mm/32mm where the wrong size for my engine and was likely to be the cause of the jetting issues.

To fit the chokes into the DRLA40 carburetors is a fairly straight forward procedure, First the cross bar linkage needs to be removed . This is best achieved by unscrewing one of the ball ends that attach to the carburetor linkage plates. This has the result in making the bar shorter in length and able to be removed. The connecting rods then need to be removed from the carburetors so that it can be pulled out. You can carefully pull the bar out of the way to gain access which is the route took. To change the chokes you need to disassemble both Carburetors, it is usually safer to do this one at a time and rebuild so as not to muddle up parts. The Dellorto DRLA 40 carburetor is built up from the top . This means first the linkage bar plate needed to be removed by the four screws that held it in place. After this has been removed a gasket can be easily removed from the top of the Carburetor to expose the four inlayed bolts that hold the top of the carburetor on. Great care should be excorsied as the top plate holds the gasket and the float assembly . When separating the top from the body of the carburetor ensure that the gasket does not get trapped. It is sometimes easier in tight positions to remove the fuel line first.

With the top removed the DRLA 40 Auxiliary venturi can be removed . These are held in with two screws and a clocking nut at the front and back of the carburetor. Pictured right the screw hole with the top positioned on the carburetor . Once the nut has been loosened a screw driver can be used to undo and remove the bolt once these have been withdrawn the Auxiliary venturi pictured right can be removed. It is important to notice that the Auxilary venturi are handed and have different opposing sides . When re inserting the Auxillary venturi you must ensure the face with the o ring is positioned towards the centre of the carburetor otherwise the acceleration fuel jet will not be able to work correctly. When you have removed the Auxiliary venturi the chokes may be withdrawn from the carburetor twin barrels.


The barrels of the carburettor should look similar to the picture left. You should check the throats of both barrels are clean with a lint cloth. The 40mm/28mm chokes can then be lightly lubricated and placed back in the carburetor one in each barrel with the size stamp facing upper most . Once these have been seated . You can place the Auxiliary venturi back in the to throat above the choke it is important to ensure the rubber o ring on one side of the venturi is facing towards the main jets. With both venturi in place the securing screws can be re inserted and tightened to hold the venturi in place . It can bee seen that if teh screw does not hold the venturi tightly then the venturi is reversed and will need to be removed and fitted correctly with the o ring towards the main jets.The locking nuts can then be placed on the venturi securing screws and tightened. The top of the carburetor can then be refitted ensuring that the gasket is trapped correctly between the two parts. This can be a fiddle as there is a little spring that sits on top of the choke unit that can interfere with the refitting process. Once the top is positioned it can be re bolted back together with the four bolts. The gasket can then be placed back on top and the linkage plate can then be positioned on top with the washers , spring washers and nuts. The Air Cleaner can be re fitted and the other carburetor can then be attended to in the same way.

The linkage kit can be fitted into the linkage plate on one side and the ball joint tightened to remove any play.

Current DRLA 40 jets
Chokes 40mm/28mm Ventri
Main 112
AC 180
Emulsiontube 9164.4
Idle 60
Pumps 35

I was unable to test my new installation as I discovered that my Starter motor had failed.

A New lease of Life

16th January 2011

I returned to the garage today after purchasing a new battery with 420 amps of starting power in an 63 battery format. I had a great deal of problem explaining to the retailer that this was a heavy duty version of the 63 format and was available . He spent quite a wile trying to tell me all the 63 format batteries where only 330 Amp stating current until he found one on his shelves. :-)

My Perseverance was rewarded as i returned to the garage and found that the battery indeed turned the engine over much better. The engine however would still not start and there appeared to be a lack of significant ignition. I removed the distributor cab and looked and the point working with the ignition in first position. The spark was very week and fragmented. I decided that I would need to replace them and managed to purchase a set from my GSF store along with a new condensor . I put this into the distributor and set the points on the square of the distributor shaft too .016". I put the distributor back in the engine and connected up the ignition leads . I noticed my no 2 cylinder spark plug was not tight so places some oil on it and tightened it up. I then ran up the engine:




The most noticeable thing was the engine speed was very high. I would have to look at this another day as my throttle was not returning as it should allowing the engine to idle. I was not sure whether I needed to lengthen the throttle cable unscrew the stops or fit stronger springs.

On the whole I was very pleased with the day as my new battery was much better and the points and condensor had only set me back £6.00.

Next time I would try to get the Idle speed down to a better tick over and see if the buggy still had its acceleration problems that had dogged me last year.

Battery, No reason for not starting

13th January 2012

The troublesome Friday 13th had arrived for some but this year I was given a lovely surprise and thus has become a lucky day for me for different reasons and is certainly one i will be noting in my diary.

Since my new year visit to my garage I had been experiencing problems with my battery not providing enough power to start the car and turn over the engine . I had wondered if this was because of the high compression with the new 1641 Barrels and Pistons. However in these austerity times, needs meant I had to locate a battery from a different source I had not realized although I had bought a higher amps battery that although it was a 60 amp battery it only had 335 amps of starting current( As seen in the picture above.). I was researching higher Capacity batteries and discovered quite by accident that most VW Beetle batteries where rated at 420 amp starting current or even 440amp. This clearly was the problem as I had more resistance due to higher Psi in my heads and a weaker starting capacity.

I rang my local dealer and he told me the Bosh 63 batter was rated at 44 amps with a starting current of 440amps . I would have to buy a different battery to solve this.

I also turned the buggy round in the garage so I could get better access to the engine.

2012 New Year

2nd Jan 2012

I wish to say happy new year to the readers of my blog . Not much activity or time has been spent on the buggy in the last couple of months as the weather has been seasonal and not permitted it. I ventured up to the garage today as the weather was fresh and sunny. I took the dust cover of the car and checked the car over. The fuel pressure was not showing on the dial so I new that the buggy was not going to start today. I hooked the car up to the buggy battery with jump leads and ran my car to ensure the battery had a stable load. Electrics and fuel do not ever seem to like coming through the winter . I turned the ignition over several times until I got the fuel pressure gauge back up to 3 psi . The buggy still would not start. I used some Carburettor cleaner down the throat of the Carburetors and tried again . Eventually the Engine started to fire. However I the engine stopped firing and the battery started to take a beating. With the fuel back up to its pressure I decided to leave the buggy for a day for the fuel to permeate the carburetors and free up the gantries.

I would try again on the next available day.