Tuesday, September 30, 2014

If you can accept losing, you can't win.

JB came over last Sunday for a couple of hours to help make some progress on the car.

We attempted to solve two issues:

  1. Bleed the brakes via every known method.
  2. Eliminate the gap between the steering wheel and turn signal arm and fix the 'warp' at the steering coupler.

TL;DR:  We did not accomplish our goal.

The brake bleed started off on the right foot.  We did a bench bleed-removed air from the system, gained about 2/3 pedal which was fairly firm.  20 minutes later, the same pedal went to the floor...no pressure.  There are no leaks at the wheel cylinders, hard lines or at the master.  There's no brake fluid inside the car (rubber mat is out) and the fluid level in the reservoir is not changing-which would indicate a leak somewhere.  There's just no pedal.

We switched off to the steering column and trying to resolve the issue of the gap between the column and the steering wheel.  The system isn't terribly complicated but the only thing we managed to do was make the gap larger.

So, victory, for now, belongs squarely to the car.

Friday we are going to start from scratch and go over every little detail to ensure that all bases are covered.  We have a lot more time so I'm hoping that we will prevail in at least one area.  The plan is to pull the 'new' master cylinder and replace it with the one that was in the car to determine if the issue is with the master cylinder or if it's somewhere else.  We are going to replace the four outer hard lines and if necessary, replace the inner line as well.  The front disc conversion is going to be replaced by an Airkewld disc brake kit with Wilwood pistons.  I'll likely put the EMPI kit in the classifieds as I don't plan to use it on a future car.

Redesign #58 has been executed on the garage work space.  I put the cabinets up on a stand that was built mostly from reclaimed/random wood scraps and better utilized the space.  I found a few additional parts that I will post up for sale in the classifieds.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Loose screws

Turns out I installed the wrong grommets for the wiper assembly-which is why it was such a bitch to install.  I now have the proper grommets and the wiper bearing covers as well.  They're not easy to find-I've been looking for quite a while.  One set for now and two pair for the finished restorations.

There were quite a few other parts in the box as well but the screws and the wiper parts are what will get me closer to where I want to be.

Monday, September 22, 2014

You are the ocean and I'm good at drowning

I spent some time in the garage yesterday in an effort to accomplish...something.  Since I tend to be overly ambitious when I plan out my 'list', I decided to not plan anything and just go with it.  I got the generator, NOS chokes, turn signal relay and headlight relays installed and then I did some light cleaning before stopping a couple of hours later.

Haven't touched the brakes.

I figured out, later, that I didn't quite install the wiper shaft seals correctly so I'm going to have to go back and do that part over-good thing I didn't put the glove box, vent controls, etc. back in the dash.  I want to make sure everything works before I install the rest of it.

I bought some Gates Barricade fuel hose and have to install that, buy a battery, and figure out the brake situation before I can drive the car.  I'm getting close-one tiny task at a time.

So now, the updated list:

Tail light bulbs
License plate bulb
Hatch cargo light bulb
Chokes
Generator, strap and seal
12 volt outer fan shroud
Coil
Starter with 6 volt teeth
Voltage regulator
67 only 12volt wiper motor
Horn
Electronic signal flasher
Headlight relay
Battery
Dash bulbs
Sidemarker bulbs
Headlight bulbs
Turn indicator bulbs

In theory, I'm a battery and a brake bleed away from driving the car again.  I should be more excited than I am about the relative 'closeness' of being able to drive the car...but I'm just...not.

Then there's the issue of Ferris...

Thursday, September 11, 2014

One road, many journeys.

I had an online chat with Greg Skinner about the push button dash assembly in regard to a diagram for it.  The inner workings are a bit of mystery to most and a rather large source of frustration when they stop working.  VW did, as Greg reminded me, replace the push button assembly rather early in life and in the middle of a model year.  The push button assembly was ended mid-April 1964 at VIN 0423139.  There had to be good reason for its replacement and I can only surmise it was because of its inherent complexity...one that the Germans, who tended to over-engineer many things, found to be too complex and fragile.

So in my quest to upgrade the electrics to more modern equivalents, I searched many threads, read a very wide array of potential contributors to my 'desire'...now 'need'...to use modern electronic flashers/relays while retaining most of the original features not found on later cars.  With the help of another, more knowledgeable individual, I believe the issue has been solved.  The only way to really test it out is to hook it up and see what happens.  I'm hoping to do this very soon.

The 4 way flashers were another thing I intended on installing since I am under the dash and most of the guts are out.  As mentioned previously, I bought and intended on using a 9 pin flasher...then found the idea of using a DPDT relay and two standard flashers (lots of wires and connections but easy to find replacement parts) before Greg mentioned something in his reply to me that, I have to admit, was so simple that 1/2 through reading his reply I thought "Why the f**k didn't I think of that?"  It's the Jokon 4 way flasher accessory.  It's still a load sensitive system which won't work with LEDs but if that modification was made necessary, I would modify the Jokon relay and not the wiring on the car.  I found one on German eBay and bought it.  It should be here near the end of the month.  I will have the parts and diagrams for all three options so I just have to decide which one makes the most sense at the time of installation.

The car will still be sitting, waiting, so there's no rush.  I'm burned out on working on this car right now.  I'm focusing on little things that I tend to ignore vs. attempting to tackle large scale tasks.

The best thing to do when I'm stuck is take a step back, contact more knowledgeable people and collect opinions about how to resolve issues.

I've got what's likely to amount to my last parts order for a while, coming from Germany in the next 10 days.  In that order are the studs for the transmission mount for Ferris-which will allow me to get the rear sub frame assembled and start to put brakes on the axles, assemble a front beam, etc.  If I can get a little more space in the garage I can start to assemble Ferris.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Ambitious containment

The roof rack has been put to use...although not quite in the way I expected.

I am at a fork in the road with regard to progress on the car so I decided to 'detach' and start pitching old parts that I'm not going to use.  Ever.

Banished from existence are 9 pairs of heater bellows (under the seat), 2 sets of heat exchangers with various amounts of damage, 2 back seat frames/seat springs and a 5 gallon bucket of random shit that's so rusty that it should have been tuna cans long ago.   I hate realizing that piles and piles of stuff that I've held on to for so long isn't really usable.

There are a few more random items that have to go but I managed to get a lot out of the garage.  Putting the second engine together is going to free up quite a bit of space so I'm now aiming in that direction.
The starter, hard start relay and ground strap are installed.  I'm going to spend some time working out what has turned into quite the challenging wiring change before I do anything on the car.  It's got the original wiring harness and 99% of it is unmolested-I'd like to keep it that way-so I have to dig into how to best accomplish what I want.  I bought a 9 pin flasher relay but I may not wind up using it given that I'll just have to make changes if I use LEDs in the signals.  I'm exploring the option of using a few electronic flashers but that's going to require an extensively detailed wiring diagram that I've only just begun to piece together.

I have some wiring to figure out on Nigel before I go much further forward so I'm taking a break.  My certification course, in week one, is quite intense.  I have over 200 pages of material to read, absorb and test out on by Wednesday before I can proceed to the next week's work.  It's only 8 weeks long and I'll be focused on that until the course and testing are complete.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

The hoarding continues...

...and this is why my parts hoarding process will never end.  I find stuff like this while trying to find something else.

I received the rebuilt generator and pulley today as well as my parts order with the flasher relay, a correct speedometer cable (shorter) and a new breather hose to replace the crumbling piece that's in the car now.

In addition, I bought two sets of NOS 12 volt chokes so I can put the Ferris motor back together.  I'm a starter away from firing that engine up now.  It's looking a lot like I'll be able to fire up both motors at right around the same time.  As I lose momentum on the car, I swing over to putting stuff back on the Ferris motor until an ordered part arrives.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Looking for one thing and finding another

I was looking for techniques to 'solo bleed' the brakes on my car and stumbled into a Camaro forum along the way.  I then found www.speedbleeder.com which are brake bleeders with an internal check valve.  I think I'm going to figure out the front caliper bleeder size and buy a set.  The rear bleeders are tiny and I doubt they have them...but I'll check anyway just in case.  It would be nice to redeem myself after two failures in brake bleeding.

Another conversation today brought up the topic of 'bench bleeding' the master cylinder-a term this brake bleeding noob has never heard before today.  It's supposed to ensure that the master cylinder isn't dry between chambers and that all air is out of the system at that point.  It's also supposed to make bleeding the rest of the system easier.  Yet another technique to try out in an effort to get a solid pedal.

I didn't do shit today but I did learn a few things...that's progress in my book.

I feel like I've just crawled out from under a rock.

Monday, September 1, 2014

"Everything you do shows your hand. Everything is a self-portrait. "

Spent another two hours working on the car tonight.  Pulled the exhaust, the intake bellows, the outer shroud and replaced it with a 12 volt version.  Replaced the intake bellows and the exhaust.  The generator I was going to use is not functional so I ordered another one and it should be here Friday or Saturday.  The only thing that's really left after that is the starter replacement and that shouldn't take long to swap.  I'm now looking at the optimal size battery for the space and looking at the Optima line.  Looks like I want a group 41/42 size battery which isn't easy to find.

I found the wiper parts and, oddly enough, have the one part that kept me from installing the replacement pieces so I can get back on that at some point.  I'm looking to have this car at least running on 12 volt by the weekend if all of my orders arrive as expected.  It's a real pain in the ass working on a car when nearly every part that I don't have requires an order to ship to me vs. having a place to go pick it up.  Slows things down quite a bit.

I adjusted the brake pedal lever and got the pedal within spec (1-2mm of play) but the brakes are still super weak.  That's about all I did with the brakes today.  I'm still contemplating my next move.  Something is out of whack but I don't want to make it worse.  I had a chat with a guy at AutoZone and he suggested bleeding the brakes at the lines on the master cylinder to make sure there are no issues with the master cylinder...might be worth a try while the gas tank is still on the garage floor.

I'm starting a certification course this week-it's going to limit my garage time quite a bit over the next two months...but somehow, I've got to get the car running and out of the garage and into storage before it starts snowing.  That's the new goal.  Get it fully functional so that I can send it off to storage for 6 months.

Make a plan...then welcome distraction.

I spent two and a half hours in the garage today-working on the 12 volt conversion process.  All of the bulbs are swapped, the old wiper assembly is out and the new one is almost ready to go back in - I discovered some broken pieces upon removal and these will halt the assembly process until I get them replaced.  The wiper motor assembly came out fairly easily once I removed the ashtray, glove box, heat control sliders and drain hose cover.  I pulled the original 6 volt horn and it turned out to be rather clean on the inside face.  Once I get it all pulled, I'll post up ads for the parts...I've got quite the array of bulbs as well.

While the dash is apart, I'm going to replace the flasher unit with 4 way flashers so that part is now on order.  It should show up at the end of the week.

I pulled the brake pedal rod to adjust it but didn't get it back in as I stuffed the boot and have to pull it back into shape.  I couldn't find anything to use so I just stopped before I did any damage.

I have to pull the muffler to get the shroud replaced-which will then allow me to install the generator and close up the engine bay work.

I bought a small piece of flat steel to mount the solid state voltage regulator a little further from the side wall of the car.  The two main power supply wires are within 1/8" of the side wall of the car and I didn't feel comfortable with that small gap.  As long as the connections are solid and I get a good ground everything should be fine.

The front brake reservoir project has found new life-I bought a test piece of 6mm supply line at AutoZone which I will use to practice the ultimate bend route for the reservoir to master cylinder and reduce the hose required.  I may have figured out a way to eliminate the adapter but I'll have to put that theory to the test prior to getting too excited about it.

The starter is next on the list for replacement.  I thought I'd have time to get to that today but with the brake pedal rod distraction, I lost the time to get to the starter.