Thursday, May 19, 2016

The most difficult thing is to recognize that sometimes we too are blinded by our own incentives.

I found a stash of 40 NOS door bolts yesterday after cross referencing the partial part number with the book...so those will be arriving in about a week or two.

I haven't spent much time on the car - most of my time has been spent working on the yard planting things for the season - but I'm looking forward to getting a few hours together to see how well I can lean out the carbs and have a listen to my valve adjustment results.  I need to get a timing light so I can do the final tweaks to the timing and get the car set 'just right'.  It's real close but I want it to be right.

The other parts I was waiting for have arrived so I can put the horn bar back in the car, fit a new horn...pull the fuel tank while it's low (bought a new, larger gas can) and adjust the play out of the steering box (or swap it out if that doesn't happen).  I think that once those two things are done, the car will be drive-able for more than just around the subdivision.  I should swap out the driver's side pop out window with the slightly better condition frame with seal to prevent any water leaks...but I'm kind of avoiding it for now.  I wasn't able to get any of the other sets apart successfully so I'll probably just pull the glass and scrap the frames.  I'm not going to spend the time drilling out the tiny screws for frames I don't need.

I've got plans to pick up the pan for Ferris on Monday - so there's likely to be more action on that side for the next week or two.  Two cars to work on but barely time for one.

Sunday, May 8, 2016

"Realists do not fear the results of their study"

The parts arrived last week but we had some excitement around the house so I didn't get to work on the car until yesterday for a short while.

I tried several chemical options - brake cleaner, carburetor cleaner, MEK - all of which evaporated too quick to have any real effectiveness.

I wound up going back to using the Dremel with brass wire wheels - which was very slow but it worked.  I went through 7 wheels before it was done but it worked...so, mission accomplished.  It's odd at how complicated it was to do something so simple.
Part of the work involved adjusting the rear brakes, parking brake cables, and, of course, putting new oil in the car.  I pulled the crunchy 'road draft tube' but couldn't get the new one in place due to diameter differences.  I'll try that again another day.

Another thing on my list of stuff to address - the torsion arm bushings - I noticed that the torsion arms are near the cover plate which is an indicator that the bushings are probably due for replacement.  I'm considering waiting until this car is pulled apart for restoration.

I didn't get to attempt adjustment of the steering box yet but that's next on the list of things to do.  The front is still a little more squirrely than I prefer...although some of that could be due to the substantial difference between my DD and this car.

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

My timing is, sometimes, good...

Just happened to pop on to TheSamba.com at the right time to snag these window cranks!

No news on the car just yet - waiting on receipt of the replacement parts to get started on the fix.

I'll clean the bottom of the engine, replace the strainer/cover plate, then check the valves and put the oil back in and see what happens.

Somehow, I've got to figure out how to get the car leaned out a bit once it's back to 'running' status again.

We've got a lot going on around the house this next week so progress may be slow for a while.

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Everything's fine today, that is our illusion

I wound up using the pop out that has decent seals for now - I haven't been able to get the screws loose on a set of frames.  It took a while to get the pop out into the frame but I got it - using a plastic putty knife, pulling the windlace and having patience.  The left side is still the old frame.  I'll get to that later this week.





I screwed around with the carburetors again today - wound up with the same result: running rich but running well.  I drained the oil after a short drive around the neighborhood only to find that the strainer and the two paper gaskets are adhered to the engine with Permatex adhesive.  After some work with the plastic putty knife, I was able to get it off.  The strainer is covered in Permatex and the engine still has half of the gasket stuck to it - working out how to get that off in the next couple of days.  I want to make sure I don't do any damage to the engine case trying to get this shit off.

I tried to use a degreaser on the strainer before I do it on the engine and it didn't work.  The photo here shows the strainer (a good thick one) after soaking and a first round with a paint scraper - doesn't look like I accomplished much because I didn't.  I may experiment with a few other methods so I know what to use on the engine case later.

The cover plate required cleaning with a wire wheel on my bench grinder - it's clean but I discovered that it's also warped and the drain plug is damaged...so all of these parts are due for replacement.

Of course, I don't have any spares of these parts so I had to order the parts.  I have placed more orders in the last two weeks than in the last six months.  I'm hoping that this rash of ordering will come to an end soon.

The 'up' side to all of this is that I can pop the valve covers off and check the valves - one less thing to check in the near future.

Teach a man to fish...

I bought a pop out rubber kit from ISP West.  I pulled the right side pop out off of the car to assess the situation.  They're pretty well toast.  I have a pair that has decent seals in the event I cannot get a frame pair apart without a ton of effort.  I'm probably going to wind up replacing the window seals soon-ish and then, potentially, again, when the car is fully restored - depending on the condition of the seals when I get to the car.  I'm hoping to start this car in 2-3 years.
 Adjusted 6 spare linkage rods plus the two already in the car - so much easier when you have the right tools!
On top is the connecting rod as it was on the car and the bottom one is adjusted to the proper spec using VW 691 tools loaned to me by Jack.

The car idles better, it idles lower and, although it's running a bit rich, it's running smoother.  I'll get to the running rich part very soon.  Great progress for a rainy day.
I pulled the Koln column apart to send a couple of pieces to Jack - who was kind enough to loan me the tools to adjust my carburetor rods.

I noticed that the back of this ignition switch is black vs. the more common brown.  I looked closer and noticed the Koln logo (circle K).  The wires will need to be replaced because they're kinked but the switch is in great shape.

The contact plate has been cleaned, screws are contained and bagged, the column head is completely stripped down.  Next up is paint removal and preparation.  I also need to remove the high beam button from the NOS turn indicator I bought because the wires are damaged.  I'll have to replace the wires with OE style wire, paint the lever and reassemble it.  It'll be nice to get one of these back together!