"Poundingsand" (Poundingsand)
05/14/2015 at 14:21 • Filed to: None
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"Poundingsand" (Poundingsand)
05/14/2015 at 14:21 • Filed to: None | 20
| 27 |
Full disclosure: This part happened over three years ago, but the process is ongoing. And I’m aware I’m not much of a writer, so apologies for that.
After several years of sailboat ownership, and realizing that I enjoyed working on it as much as (if not more) than actually sailing it, it was time to sell the boat and find another project. Monthly storage fees and a long drive convinced me that I need something that would fit in the garage and cost a minimum to own (if not maintain). Enter the Baja bug. Never mind that I knew little to nothing about VW Beetles, and even less about Baja bugs. I was inspired.
I sold the boat, and immediately drove an hour north to look at a bug I found on Craigslist. For the price, it had a lot of things I wanted, and a lot of things I figured I could easily change. It would fit in the garage, close to the tools and the beer, so I could enjoy a cold one or two while wrenching, and not have to drive afterward. Win-win!
The good:
It had a decent roll cage, 1776 motor with dual carbs, wide five hubs, tapered body lift, rear disc brakes, suspension seats and real bead lockers. Long ago someone had taken the effort to build a desert-worthy car, and put some pride into the work. It may even have been raced at some point. After that, someone else got their hands on it, and took it in a whole new direction.
The bad:
Wrong front wheels (Chevy five lug adapters?), crap suspension components, lots of things welded to the car that were unnecessary (including to the roll cage), and with the tailpiece and the paint it looked like a bumble bee at a masquerade party.
The first thing was to head to the Automotive Bookstore and buy Jeff Hibbard’s guide to building a Baja bug. Read it front to back multiple times.
Head to the garage and figure out where to start. Best place? Remove everything I didn’t want or need. My intention was to build a play car that mimics a Class 5/1600 baja. Grab the sawz-all and grinder and start cutting.
First, the winches. The front had to be cut off in the parking lot when I bought the car, because it impeded the tow bar. The rear winch disappeared once I got it home. Also, the piston which the PO had welded to the engine cage. My only guess was it was his version of truck nutz…
Next, the car went up on jacks just to check things out. The first thing I found was an oil level that was twice the amount required, with a nice creamy consistency thanks to at least a pint of water. Someone didn’t bother to cover the stinger exhaust during the rainy season…After two oil changes with a warm-up in between, on to investigate the rest of the car.
Grab the front wheels at six and 12 O’clock, and give them a shake. I find at least a half inch of play. Toasted bearings? Not exactly. Barely finger tight bearings is more like it. I thanked my lucky stars I didn’t throw a wheel on the tow home, and wonder what other surprises the PO had left for me. Tighten them up and things are feeling a lot better. I drive the car around the block a few times, getting used to the extremely sloppy shifting (“H pattern? What H pattern?”) and stiff steering. The car needs a good tune, but it runs fair and stops well.
The car is now starting to look more like my vision…time to see what I can do to get it to perform. For me, step one is the suspension. For an off-road vehicle this makes all the difference in the world. I can go faster through bumps with twelve horsepower and decent suspension than I can with 150 horsepower and no suspension. This seems the logical place to start.
The PO had thrown some crap EMPI “coil-over” shocks onto the rear of the car to give it some lift, rather than utilizing the proper method of adjusting torsion bars. Nothing had been done to the front. I had done some reading about suspension tuning, and learned that it involved no real initial cost, but was quite labor intensive. Re-indexing torsion bars is a lot of work, and dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing. They are under a LOT of load, and can easily shatter bone if released too quickly.
It took me two days and three tries to get it right, but I finally got the ride height where I wanted it. Using a degree gauge is helpful for this process (to set the preload before re-assembly), but old torsion bars have a way of settling after a short while, so it was trial and error.
I moved the crap coil-overs to the front for some temporary lift until I figured out how to proceed.
Time for the first parts purchase for this car. I picked up some new Bilstein shocks for the rear to fit the existing mounts after indexing. I also added a muffler, both to keep the rainwater out and appease the neighbors.
I wanted to replace the crappy 13” wheels in the front (partly because I couldn’t find large enough off-road tires to fit 13” wheels), so I had some 15” Centerline style wheels laced up by Saco.
At the last second I also bought a light bar, because nothing says legit Baja bug like a $30 light bar.
Finally, a rattle can paint job. I opted for matte black, because it could be touched up without needing blending. Add a few decals for that Class 5 look, and we are looking a lot better.
Phase one complete!
Coty
> Poundingsand
05/14/2015 at 14:24 |
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Nice writeup, dude.
For Sweden
> Poundingsand
05/14/2015 at 14:24 |
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This is Best Oppo
CalzoneGolem
> Poundingsand
05/14/2015 at 14:27 |
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MASSIVE improvement!
SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> Poundingsand
05/14/2015 at 14:28 |
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Cool frunk scoops, bruh.
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SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> Poundingsand
05/14/2015 at 14:30 |
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The roll cage is unnecessary?
Jedidiah
> Poundingsand
05/14/2015 at 14:35 |
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Looks much better.
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Poundingsand
> SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
05/14/2015 at 14:47 |
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Haha, not at all. I built this car with safety foremost in my mind. I’ve also since added window nets in case of a rollover (or a branch to the eye).
But some of the tubing coming off the rollcage was unnecessary. It didn’t lead anywhere nor support anything.
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SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> Poundingsand
05/14/2015 at 14:49 |
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Ahh, that makes sense. When I read “lots of things welded to the car that were unnecessary (including to the roll cage)“ I was thinking that you meant the entire roll cage. Sweet build.
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Poundingsand
> SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
05/14/2015 at 14:50 |
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No doubt! I think the fiberglass hoods came in two models (aside from the original style); this one and the indented version. I personally like mine much better.
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Poundingsand
> Jedidiah
05/14/2015 at 14:51 |
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Thanks! It’s come a long way beyond this...if there’s any interest, I’ll write about the progress from this point to present day.
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Poundingsand
> SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
05/14/2015 at 14:53 |
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True, it was a bit vague. I was trying to refer to the piston hanging off the engine cage. Like I said, I’m not much of a writer. :)
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Poundingsand
> CalzoneGolem
05/14/2015 at 14:53 |
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Thanks!
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Poundingsand
> Coty
05/14/2015 at 14:55 |
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Thanks man! I wasn’t sure whether to post it; I’m not sure even I would be interested in reading my own writing, but I figured the subject matter was at least fun...so I said hell with it...and ended up writing a LOT more than I had originally intended!
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SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> Poundingsand
05/14/2015 at 14:55 |
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Ahh, so it’s not even a frunk scoop. The way he painted it made it look like you were ventilating it.
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Coty
> Poundingsand
05/14/2015 at 14:58 |
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I have two Beetles, both are slammed, but one has kind of a Baja flair to it. One day I’ll have to break down and get a real one.
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Poundingsand
> SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
05/14/2015 at 15:01 |
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Nope, just s horrible paint job...with a house painters brush, judging by the streaks!
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Poundingsand
> Coty
05/14/2015 at 15:05 |
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In retrospect, the best way to go might be to find one that’s been in a front end collision, and cut the tunnel off. Build the front beam to the cage and go from there. Mine was in a similar situation from the looks of it, so I ended up with the best of both worlds; the rear is IRS, and someone welded a king and link front tunnel to it. The K&L is superior in dirt - stronger and allows more travel than the BJ front end...
I’m loving it. It’s a blast to drive, to break AND to fix...everything is exposed and thus super accessible. And AC VW’s are so easy to work on...
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Poundingsand
> Coty
05/14/2015 at 15:05 |
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Also, would love to see pics of your bugs.
RallyWrench
> Poundingsand
05/14/2015 at 15:06 |
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Excellent. I have a feeling I’ll find my way into a Baja in the next year. The want is building.
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Coty
> Poundingsand
05/14/2015 at 15:10 |
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This is the one I was talking about before. ‘67 Euro (thus being why you don’t see the ‘67 US-spec headlights), swing axle obviously.
‘61:
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Jedidiah
> Poundingsand
05/14/2015 at 15:12 |
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Keep us posted. Right now it looks like Herbert the Hate Bug took some roids. It’s pretty awesome.
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Poundingsand
> RallyWrench
05/14/2015 at 15:26 |
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Where are you located? If you’re in So Cal and you DO get one let me know. There are a few good clubs out here to go on runs with. Rule One is always nobody gets left behind. Trail repairs are common, and almost as much fun as the runs themselves...as long as I’m not the one needing repair! haha (Although I usually am.)
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Poundingsand
> Coty
05/14/2015 at 15:28 |
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Very cool!
Man, that is insanely low! You weren’t kidding about “slammed”!
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Poundingsand
> Jedidiah
05/14/2015 at 15:29 |
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Thanks! Perhaps next installment will be about the front suspension upgrade...then the rear...the runs...and the breakdowns...
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RallyWrench
> Poundingsand
05/14/2015 at 15:32 |
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I live up in SLO, there’s loads of them around here with Pismo so close.
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Poundingsand
> RallyWrench
05/14/2015 at 16:48 |
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Indeed! If you get one and decide to play in the desert sometime let me know!
rico
> RallyWrench
07/11/2017 at 16:01 |
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curious, what year is it?