74 NovaMan's 65 Convertible VW Beetle

[Monster]

My old 70 had a 1640,dual port heads, 010, Engle 110 cam and a Zenith 32 NDIX carb. I had a blast beating up small block V8 with auto trans.

Yep, lots of fun smokin' V-8's in a Bug. I had a '61 Baja that looked like crap with a hot 1835cc and twin 40mm Dellorto's, shifting by a smooth Hurst short-throw shifter that would tear 'em up light-to-light. Great stuff !!!

[Deaf Bob]

Best thing I done to my 40 hp VW was the headers.. You can get heat attachments on headers.. The better ones have them, it is needed!
The shift points increase too.. Just richen/jet up if you put on headers..

[74NovaMan]

Today's safety tip: Recheck wheel bolts on freshly powdercoated wheels!

[74NovaMan]

Tried to drive the bug to work today. Cruising along at 70 on the freeway and everything was smooth until I felt a wobble and seconds later the wheel let go entirely! Got it to the side of the road with minimal carnage. Wife picked me up and we sourced some loaner wheel bolts and went back to pick up the bug. Bolted the tire back on an drove home. Drum is a bit shaved and was pretty hot by the time I got it home, so I'll have to dig into that when I get back to it. Seemed to drive just fine though. Tightened up the other 3 wheels on the side of the freeway and they were all not exactly tight. Strange thing is, I did not have to go looking for the wheel. It was still in the fender when I stopped.

[Deaf Bob]

Seems wheel bolts need a bigger tool?
I remember old Pontiacs and Buicks had long lug wrenches. That got shorter when they went to nuts?

[74NovaMan]

Seems wheel bolts need a bigger tool?
I remember old Pontiacs and Buicks had long lug wrenches. That got shorter when they went to nuts?

I think the powdercoating got me. There was at least 1 coat of primer and 3 coats of black. It's pretty thick where it is peeling off from today's antics.

[DanStokes]

Bummer Dude! Glad the damage wasn't worse.

Dan

[74NovaMan]

How hard can it be to get wheel bolts for this car? The 5 I got to get the car off the road originally came from a local VW shop that was kind enough to pull them off a customers car they were working on, so those had to go back right away. My buddy who works at the Chev dealer parts counter got me new ones that same afternoon (Wednesday last week). Unfortunately, when I went to put the wheel back on Friday night they turned out to be 14mm bolts that are used on the later models. My 65 takes 12mm bolts. Spent some time Saturday trying to source them locally without luck, so I ordered them from JBugs right away Monday morning. I discussed quick ship options with them ($30 for next day and $20 something for 2 day with Fed Ex). "Standard" shipping was $6 so I went with that. I was happy to see that they shipped it with a 2-day USPS flat rate envelope when I received the shipping and tracking info with an expected delivery of Wednesday this week (yesterday). When they failed to show yesterday, I checked the tracking again and somehow the bolts are in New York. Go Figure!

[STINEY]

WIsh I knew you needed early wheel bolts. I have several old coffee cans full of them.

[tardis454]

You will soon learn (the hard way) that factory VW lug bolts suck balls. Do yourself a favor NOW and invest in wheel studs.
I bought a stud kit for our buggy when I noticed missing, stripped, and new lug bolts (from father in law, the previous owner)
3 out of 5 lug holes on the left front drum (high five bolt pattern) were stripped so I had to buy another drum.
Locktite (permanent) the studs in, put the wheels back on, and never worry about them falling off again.

http://www.cbperformance.com/Product...oductCode=4218



Also, I saw you were running, or going to run a Pertronix kit. Keep a points distributor handy (in the car) you'll need it.
The VW crowd says Pertronix kits are 50/50, one minute they work, next minute they crap out, usually on the freeway.
I bought a 009 points distributor for our buggy, and I have an OG 019 distributor waiting on the shelf in case the 009 craps out..

I bought this Accuvance 009 from CB Performance, Made in Canada aye..

http://www.cbperformance.com/Product...oductCode=2006



Points are reliable and easy enough to swap out, Pertronix... you'll be calling AAA.

And don't forget to adjust the valves next oil change. My father in law never did and trashed the motor.

[74NovaMan]

WIsh I knew you needed early wheel bolts. I have several old coffee cans full of them.

I wish I had thought to ask. Good news is that according to USPS tracking they are in town (my town) and scheduled for delivery today.

You will soon learn (the hard way) that factory VW lug bolts suck balls. Do yourself a favor NOW and invest in wheel studs.
I bought a stud kit for our buggy when I noticed missing, stripped, and new lug bolts (from father in law, the previous owner)
3 out of 5 lug holes on the left front drum (high five bolt pattern) were stripped so I had to buy another drum.
Locktite (permanent) the studs in, put the wheels back on, and never worry about them falling off again.

Also, I saw you were running, or going to run a Pertronix kit. Keep a points distributor handy (in the car) you'll need it.
The VW crowd says Pertronix kits are 50/50, one minute they work, next minute they crap out, usually on the freeway.
I bought a 009 points distributor for our buggy, and I have an OG 019 distributor waiting on the shelf in case the 009 craps out..

Points are reliable and easy enough to swap out, Pertronix... you'll be calling AAA.

And don't forget to adjust the valves next oil change. My father in law never did and trashed the motor.

Tardis - Thanks for the input - I think I'll try to use the bolts for now but I'll definitely keep a close eye on them. As far as the distributor goes, I will likely stick with points for now. Thanks also for the note about valve adjustment. Do you know how often that is recommended?

[STINEY]

Every 3000 miles.

Its not coincidence, they really did intend for an adjustment with every oil change. By doing that you can tell when an exhaust valve is stretching (the clearance goes away and it always needs loosened) and dropping a valve head in the cylinder while running can be avoided, valve replacement is lots easier and cheaper than a new engine.

Did you know that the oil drain covers without a plug was an attempt to force owners to change or at least clean the screen? The thought was that if you had to pull the cover to drain the oil you would pull the screen too and clean it.

Lots of neat design history in the beetle.

[74NovaMan]

Every 3000 miles.

Its not coincidence, they really did intend for an adjustment with every oil change. By doing that you can tell when an exhaust valve is stretching (the clearance goes away and it always needs loosened) and dropping a valve head in the cylinder while running can be avoided, valve replacement is lots easier and cheaper than a new engine.

Did you know that the oil drain covers without a plug was an attempt to force owners to change or at least clean the screen? The thought was that if you had to pull the cover to drain the oil you would pull the screen too and clean it.

Lots of neat design history in the beetle.

Thanks for the info. The design stuff is very cool. I love discovering how things work in this car.

Lug bolts made it to my door today! Time to bolt the wheel on and go for a spin.

[74NovaMan]

The Bug is on the sale block:

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/wsh/cto/5092303123.html

I have not gotten any response from the Craigslist ad. Any one have better ideas on where to list it? Am I grossly overpriced?

[STINEY]

I'd say you are actually more than a little low.

Check out TheSamba.com........that's the go to place for all things VW. The classified section is extensive and productive.

You have a good solid bug there, good luck with the sale, and thanks for taking us along for the revival.