Changed plugs on my DD 2005 Saab 9-5. Was running a touch rough
What are you working on? (11 Viewers)
- Thread starter crawlin40
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Nice - similar to the Meyers Manx? My almost-4-year old is absolutely obsessed with VW beetles right now. I've showed her new beetles, and old beetles, and she favors the classic ones - I'm hoping that sticks so I have an excuse to buy another project car
I've secretly wanted am air cooled VW for a while. At the speed I restore cars, I'll need to buy one soon if I want to have it running by the time she's 16.
brian
SILVER Star
I think the beetles are cool and could see myself driving a type1
Yep: Berrien Buggy by Acme - https://berrienbuggy.com/
The owners actually just ran NORRA in a Manx bodied (to qualify for the Manx class), GM Eco-Tec powered, Berrien chassis with a VW bus transmission.
Acme Car Company | New Cumberland PA
Acme Car Company, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. 7,413 likes · 123 talking about this · 616 were here. Acme Car Company, specializes in several specific, but related areas. The areas are; Air Cooled Volk
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If you like Type 1's, here's a '56 project car I'm trying to straighten out for a guy.
Air ride suspension, turbo, fuel injection, electronic ignition. Previous owner got into the project but (clearly) had no idea what he was doing. Current owner bought it as an almost finished project. Ummm... No... Previous owner threw enough of it together to make it look "complete but unfinished" - everywhere I look there are issues. Basically tear it all apart, plan it all out (clearly never done), and put it back together so that it actually works...
caz
Keystone Cruisers
Is Gary the owner?
100% want a type 1. My Daughter would lose her mind. Good slow car for a 16 year old someday. Though knowing me, I’d drop a Subaru flat 4 in it and make it extra death trappy…
I love that the buggy still qualifies as a “Manx”
For the type 1 - how does one mess this up? It’s basically a lawnmower engine it seems like it would be tough to mess up… it’s about the only car I can think of that’s less complicated than a 40…
Yep: Berrien Buggy by Acme - https://berrienbuggy.com/
The owners actually just ran NORRA in a Manx bodied (to qualify for the Manx class), GM Eco-Tec powered, Berrien chassis with a VW bus transmission.
View attachment 3011726
Acme Car Company | New Cumberland PA
Acme Car Company, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. 7,413 likes · 123 talking about this · 616 were here. Acme Car Company, specializes in several specific, but related areas. The areas are; Air Cooled Volk
If you like Type 1's, here's a '56 project car I'm trying to straighten out for a guy.
View attachment 3011731
Air ride suspension, turbo, fuel injection, electronic ignition. Previous owner got into the project but (clearly) had no idea what he was doing. Current owner bought it as an almost finished project. Ummm... No... Previous owner threw enough of it together to make it look "complete but unfinished" - everywhere I look there are issues. Basically tear it all apart, plan it all out (clearly never done), and put it back together so that it actually works...
I love that the buggy still qualifies as a “Manx”
For the type 1 - how does one mess this up? It’s basically a lawnmower engine it seems like it would be tough to mess up… it’s about the only car I can think of that’s less complicated than a 40…
Been busy with land clearing and getting the driveway cut in and house site ready. Layout and excavation in the next few weeks then foundation.
If anyone wants/needs firewood, let me know
Also took the FJ40 out for a spin and it is running like a top with the new intake and sensors I installed.
If anyone wants/needs firewood, let me know
Also took the FJ40 out for a spin and it is running like a top with the new intake and sensors I installed.
Manx never built their own chassis - either used a VW chassis or others built chassis for them. They did the bodies. So this is about as much Manx as any of the others competing in the class.
Take a Type I engine, add a turbo, add fuel injection, add electronic ignition - but don't bother to plan or figure any of it out, how each interacts with the others, and so forth... The oil lines aren't attached to the turbo because they'd have to go through the exhaust to do so - and a section of the exhaust is out because it would go through the bumper bracket. Somehow an oil filter has to be stuffed in there.
Instructions say not to put the fuel pressure regulator in the engine compartment because the heat will affect it - yep, it's in the engine compartment. Instructions say not to use teflon tape on the oil lines because it will get into the turbo and destroy it - yep, everything is teflon tape.
He's got two separate wires backfeeding into the fuse panel and blowing fuses. He's got a 40A circuit to run the two compressors for the air ride wired with sections of 14ga wire - with 8ga between them - AND running through a 5A switch that is properly melted...
Need I go on?
Oof. Nope that clarifies.
This thread led me down a rabbit hole of looking at Mazda Rotary Engine swaps in beetles last night...
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brian
SILVER Star
i've always wanted a vw engine from the sports car division in one.
Quite simply, he bit off more than he could chew. I think he did the bodywork first and then started on the air ride. Other than the wiring on the air ride and leaks in the plumbing, it isn't too terrible up to that point. But then he got the engine from a sandrail, added the fuel injection, changed turbos because the original just wouldn't fit, and then tried to stuff all the parts into a Beetle. I think he realized that he was in over his head, so he sort of gomblycocked (I created that word just to try to describe this situation) everything together to make it look kind of like it was all there and sold it. At least that's my current understanding of things.
As someone who bought a gomblycocked FJ40 and inherited all the PO’s mistakes, I feel your pain. Though sometimes I wonder if I’m just adding to the gomblycockery…at least you get to spend someone else’s money to fix it!
Thankfully, it's a Beetle, so the idea of pulling the entire engine, all the wiring, and going through every inch of the air ride plumbing doesn't put me into the fetal position.
Heck, even pulling the body from the chassis isn't a jaw dropping suggestion...
By the way, pretty much any task on a Beetle starts like this...
Heck, even pulling the body from the chassis isn't a jaw dropping suggestion...
By the way, pretty much any task on a Beetle starts like this...
- Pull engine
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Isn’t the engine like…200lbs? I don’t want to unpack the humor too much here but since I might go down this path someday - does the engine get pulled for accessibility issues?
Roughly. It is a real pain trying to balance it on a floor jack to line it up and get it stabbed back onto the transmission, but two people can pick one up by the exhaust on either side. Disconnect wires, fuel line, throttle cable, rear tin, heater ducts and controls, and it's three nuts (two lower studs and a floating stud at the starter) and bolt (behind the clutch arm) to pull it from the transmission. Lower the floor jack and then raise the car on a lift so that you can pull it out from under the rear apron.
As mentioned, getting the lower studs and transmission input shaft lined up while it's balanced on a floor jack and you're trying to position it around the rear apron takes a certain amount of swearing.
For being small and simple, everything can be hard to get to. Depending on the intakes, you can have issues even getting to the front (#1 & #3) spark plugs. If you're doing any amount of work to it, it's easier to pull it and put it on a stand than to try to work around things in the engine compartment.
As mentioned, getting the lower studs and transmission input shaft lined up while it's balanced on a floor jack and you're trying to position it around the rear apron takes a certain amount of swearing.
For being small and simple, everything can be hard to get to. Depending on the intakes, you can have issues even getting to the front (#1 & #3) spark plugs. If you're doing any amount of work to it, it's easier to pull it and put it on a stand than to try to work around things in the engine compartment.
brian
SILVER Star
if im going to pay for brake pads, im going to use the brake pads........./notices that the front brake fluid rezzy is getting pretty low, contemplates about checking on the state of the front pads.....waits another two weeks before doing so.
So I got some new to me 60 series springs from Spotts56, who happens to live close by and just put new springs on his JDM right hand drive, diesel HJ61 (think that’s what it is). The stock rears from that are 8 leaf, fairly stout. I took them apart, as I needed to pull leafs to make them work under the lighter 40. Ended up the two bottom short leafs, left the next with the side bars, then pulled the next longest. So they’re 5 leafs. Hit them with the wire wheel and smoothed them a bit with the flap disc, then a few coats of black before they went back together. Took the new-ish poly bushings out of my old springs, greased everything, put them in.
Truck now sits slightly nose down instead of slightly nose up, much better. I’ll have to see how they settle in, if any. Been around the block but that’s about it. But it’s ready to wheel again and see how they stretch out.
Truck now sits slightly nose down instead of slightly nose up, much better. I’ll have to see how they settle in, if any. Been around the block but that’s about it. But it’s ready to wheel again and see how they stretch out.
Also, got tired of the straight through glasspacks, they sounded cool but were just too loud all in all. Replaced them with some thrush turbos, much more mellow while still putting out the proper grumble for a V8 truck. In theory this is killing some power, but my butt dyno really dosen’t feel it. My 8 year and 5 year old girls approve, and they suck up pretty decent between the frame and rocker guards while still being 1”+ from the floors. May have to put some heat shield up there, or wrap the passenger side as I’m slightly concerned about heat near the gas tank.
I see your transfer case has a substantial orientation clockwise is that correct?