finally posting

NEW SEATS!

Spring B-)

The BRM wheels were just perfect. Even complete strangers praised how perfect they are -> they had to go :)
They found a new home under a split screen somewhere...

So it was time to do some Googleing, clicking and passing credit card numbers and a set of Ercos were on their way from Huntington Beach, California to Northern Finland. Again the service at Vee Dub Parts was fast and friendly. I wish I could say the same about the Finnish customs...

The set is spun aluminum Ercos made who knows where. Front wheel pair is 3 1/2" wide with '0' offset. (these are the bubble type wheels). The rear wheel pair is 5 5/8" wide with 3 1/2" backspace. ´0' offset is excellent when lowering the front - lots of fender clearance. Tires are now 135/80 and 205/65.

3,5" backspace of the rear wheels with 205's made the use of a hideout exhaust impossible. I had to bolt in the hottest thing from the 90's - Street Tubes. Now I do not have ground clearance but maybe the rear end should be lifted back up anyway...

Hi-Fi, Low-Fi, No-Fi is just fine with me...

Suitcase Sound System:
(Idea from Hoodride)

- Old suitcase
- Speakers
- Stuff




I had an old amplifier so I put it in. Few ventilation holes, cables... and there you go.









Plug in a media player and you can watch movies with No-Fi audio quality. Talk about bringing the bug to this millenium :)











Tip: The suitcase is easy to fasten to rollcage :)

Merry Christmas!

Bling bling

Souvenir from California... flake steering wheel.
These are not Grants anymore but products of Moon.

Winter gear

It is getting difficult to find studded tires for bugs. The smallest size for 15" rims is 185/65. Original rims are too narrow for those and it is challenging to fit them in fenders in a lowered bug.

Rear is not a problem - I have outside widened (welded, 6") rims and those fit just nicely. Front rims should be widened inwards.

Anyway I managed to find a pair used 165/80 tires for front and I'm sure those will last the few kilometers I drive in winter...

Another important winter accessory is the electric engine heater. Must be pretty rare in California B-)

Is this cool or what!

Waiting to get rims for stud wheels from sand blasting then get those under the car and start drifting :)

Brother's 2007 New Beetle

Only 42 years newer...

Inspection ( ~MOT)

No complaints what so ever!

Now it is time for stud tires and vwinter fun:)

Over optimistic VDO

Looks cool, though ;)

New engine installed

Now that the summer is over and the car almost ready drive I have finally time to post. Nothing special in 6V -> 12V conversion (you can easily find details of that in thesamba.com). One tricky issue was to find a correct power resistor for the 6V wiper motor in 12V system. After few tests 2R2 seem to work ok.

Grinding the gear box to accept the bigger 12V flywheel is not a big job - if you have correct tools...
Ended up istalling the oil filter to next to alternator. Planning to make service hatches for the Solexes - maybe I will put the filter inside the fender then.

Next: inspection :(

Not much has happened in the garage... Found a VDO rpm gauge from early 60's. Fits nicely IMHO. The red bug is the other '65 in the family.

Finally got the rollcage in

I ended up sanding and painting the floor and putting new carpets in. So it took more time than expected. Also painted the cage ivory to better match the interior.

Things to do before summer

- 6V to 12v conversion
- Old skool engine with single Solex carbs + slip-ins
- Roll-cage


Why? WHY NOT?

Finally out...

Just had to take it out for a spin (literally...) since it is in one piece again :)

Up with stocks

This is how it looks with suspension set high with old cross ply 5.60 wheels.
Can reach the 50cm lmit :)

Adjusting the beam - low

Stock 4" + 5.60.

and with 4,5" BRM's + 135/70.

Finally the new beam is installed. Had no problems what so ever.
All the bolts and nuts came off easily and there were no surprises like rust damage and such.

I shortened the stock torsion bars by one inch from both ends. The measurement is not that crusial but obviously you need to be very carefull when measuring and drilling holes to bars for spring fastening screws. One inch inner than the original ones.

The stock anti roll bar went in easily, too. It mounts nicely of the outer side of the rail arms. Also the stock tie rods fitted perfectly. As a summary I'd say that there is no need to buy the shortened accessories on sale for the 2" narrowed cb front beam.

I adjusted camber with the instructions found from www.volkkaripalsta.com and alligned the front wheels and installed caster shims. I will get it to shop for checking, though.

Here you can see few pictures about the result. I am happy - with the suspension set high the car is too high (can reach 50cm from the lights to ground with stock wheels). And when adjusted low it is too low... Perfect :)

Next: roll bar...

Installing the the front beam

Despite being driven in Finland in snow and on salted roads in winter time the under carriage has survived well. There is no rust damage and all the bolts and nuts are coming off easily when needed. This is due the intensive anti rusting with some oil+stuff mixture periodically. Naturally whenever I need to do something under the car it gets messy... But it is a fair trade-off.

So I decided not to remove the fuel tank this time (it is full) but just tilted it as much as possible. Unfortunately the 41 years old fuel tube underneath didn't like the twist and started to leak. I didn't notice it until the next day by the aroma of gasoline ouside... There was a good pond of 95 octane and the above mentioned antitrust on the floor. Luckily the air compressor didn't go on during the night producing sparks.

Lately I've been mostly ventilating the garage and blogging...

Now

This is the current moment and the Seeblau65 is in the garage waiting for the new adjustable CB 2 inch narrowed front beam from www.customspeedparts.de (talk about customer loyalty...). The front does not need to be any lower than it is right now but there is too much air between the tire and the fender. Since the increased trach width due drop spindles I had to get a narrowed beam to fit wider wheels too. Let's see what happens.

CB spindles installed

So this is what happened after I installed the spindles: due the increased track the stock (almost: 165) wheels hit the fenders and there was no way fitting the new fake BRM's with smaller ET :(

I ordered a pair of 4,5 inch rims from www.midlandwheels.com and 135 Continentals. Still the tires scratched the fenders when cornering...

I also dropped the rear by one notch from the outer end of the springs.

Daily driver

I bought the car in mid 90's and it served as our only car. I spotted it in a small car shop near Tampere and bought it believing the total less than 100000km according to the service manual. I still do but it really does not matter it is still in excellent shape and never needed any welding.

The engine has changed to hipo 1300cc :) at some phase. Otherwise it is original - just nicely patinated.

For some reason on spring 2006 I started to think of some chages to it. You know customizing. On a business trip to California I bought a pair of CB drop spindles from www.JBugs.com and it was a start for something no one knows where it is going to end.

Anyway, I'm more of a bolt-on builder since I accept my limited skills...

In this blog I try to publish those little things I do in the garage and maybe someone finds it interesting and/or helpfull. Propably not :)

LapTop background

A bit artistic, I know... But looks better than in nature :)