My 66 Bug Project Thread.

Those ones with the bars crossing the roof that way will definitely "sing" for you.

So dont go changing wheel bearings, pull the rack

type 4 wrote:

So dont go changing wheel bearings, pull the rack

Been there, done that.......

Yah, I had one on a previous bug and it didn't bother me!! It can sing all it wants!! LOL I like the looks of them.

They not only look fantastic but they actually serve a purpose.

Yah, it's going to hold my old Coke ice chest when we go to meets or shows! LOL That is if we ever get to take it to one! LOL

I love the old Coke ice chests.

Well, I am totally bummed today.

We got the underside all done. So no need for the lift anymore. I went to start it yesterday and it was a no go. I had dash lights, but it wouldn't turn over at all, not even a click. So I figured the battery was dead because hubby forgot to turn the key off the other day. ( Also figure the points are shot, but haven't got there yet) So I ran an extension cord out and charged the battery all night and half of today. Went to start it today and got the same response. Bob figured it was the battery connections. They were tight. I even tried to move them a bit with pliers but they wouldn't budge. We tried a jumper box too. Still nothing. Because we work actually working on other things, we haven't had a chance to go any further on the investigation of why it won't turn over.

It was just kind of a bummer because I was so excited to have the underneath done, so I could at least drive it a bit, even though it needs seats and the carb cleaned again. LOL

Hopefully we can figure it out soon. I was looking forward to putting around in it for a bit. Even with the ratty seat with the blanket for a seat cover! LOL

I will update when we figure it out!

It could just be a bad ground. I am sure you guys will figure it out.

Keep your chin up! You can still drive the '64 Bus to the meeting on Thursday!

Today we went out and jacked the car up in the rear and Bob climbed under it and tried to turn the motor over by using a screwdriver to arc the starter. That did it. I tried the key and nothing. He turned over via screwdriver again, then I tried the key once more and it turns over with the key. His conclusion is that the starter is not getting enough juice to it. He say's we can ad one of those relay things that Fords have to it and that will allow it to start via the key all the time. I guess my Westy has one, he saw it when he was under it one day. I guess if it is good enough for Wes, it is good enough for the bug.

Now we wait for the lift again. LOL Although, if it starts with the key the next time I go out , I may just have to take it for a drive around the neighborhood!

I've done the relay system on my starter. It really helps.

I use a relay, I like it.

justcruzin wrote:

Today we went out and jacked the car up in the rear and Bob climbed under it and tried to turn the motor over by using a screwdriver to arc the starter. That did it. I tried the key and nothing. He turned over via screwdriver again, then I tried the key once more and it turns over with the key. His conclusion is that the starter is not getting enough juice to it. He say's we can ad one of those relay things that Fords have to it and that will allow it to start via the key all the time. I guess my Westy has one, he saw it when he was under it one day. I guess if it is good enough for Wes, it is good enough for the bug.

Now we wait for the lift again. LOL Although, if it starts with the key the next time I go out , I may just have to take it for a drive around the neighborhood!

It may be a bad starter solenoid. I would check that first. If he jumped across the starter the power is there. The problem is between the ignition switch and the starter.

60herbie53 wrote:

justcruzin wrote:

Today we went out and jacked the car up in the rear and Bob climbed under it and tried to turn the motor over by using a screwdriver to arc the starter. That did it. I tried the key and nothing. He turned over via screwdriver again, then I tried the key once more and it turns over with the key. His conclusion is that the starter is not getting enough juice to it. He say's we can ad one of those relay things that Fords have to it and that will allow it to start via the key all the time. I guess my Westy has one, he saw it when he was under it one day. I guess if it is good enough for Wes, it is good enough for the bug.

Now we wait for the lift again. LOL Although, if it starts with the key the next time I go out , I may just have to take it for a drive around the neighborhood!

It may be a bad starter solenoid. I would check that first. If he jumped across the starter the power is there. The problem is between the ignition switch and the starter.

Yah, I realize there is actually something else causing this, like maybe what you said, or maybe the starter is just starting to go out. The thing is, sometimes we just have to go with the flow, meaning if hubby wants to try adding something, that is what one has to do. LOL

My thinking on this is, VW made the car with out one of those Ford parts, so it should work with out it. LOL Oh well, just going with the flow on this one! LOL

You're absolutely correct. I would definitely check the solenoid and the ignition switch. It may save you some money in the long run. Most auto parts stores will test your starter for free. Like I said if you jumped across the starter you have enough power to it.

^^I agree!

Today we finally got the car back on the lift. After a few debates on "if VW intended to put a Ford part on it, they would have's" , we started looking for what could actually be causing the starting problem. We found a loose wire on the starter cylenoid, fixed that. Tried to start the car and nothing. So we ran a wire from the cylenoid to the battery compartment of the car that would act like a screwdriver to the cylenoid. After touching the battery a few times and still didn't start, it was decided to change the starter. Did that. Hooked it all back up, and still nothing. Had bright lights including dash lights, even had good spark from the battery.

We then decided to try adding the jumper box to the mix again. It had been charging for a couple days, so we knew it was good. Hooked it to the battery and bang, car turned over. So all this hassle, and all we had to do is test the battery to begin with. We didn't think it was bad because we had it on the charger overnight when we tried it a few days ago. It also appeared to have good spark, but it ended up being the problem.

So now I am still looking for a battery for my Westy, LOL, I ended up having to use the battery hubby found for it, for the bug.

I took the bug for a test drive, but only made it to the end of the street and turned around. It was acting like it was running out of gas. I decided to clean a different carb for it. The one that is on it now has been taken off and cleaned twice now. It runs good for a short time, but then starts running like crap. I want to try the carb that originally came off this motor. I will get it cleaned up tomorrow and will have my fingers crossed that it will work better then the one that is on it now.

Once I can get it running like my 64 bus runs, I will be all over the town with it, even if it only has a driver seat right now! LOL Till then, I am a neighborhood driver! LOL

I'm hoping it's lights will work better then the bus though. That way I can drive it to the monthly meets. The bus has an issue with it's lights. (Probably the charging system) They tend to be fine one second, then go bright, then back to normal. People probably think I am flashing them! LOL So my poor bus is not a night car for now.

Today I got some stuff done to the bug. I needed to switch the carb to one that I had torn apart and cleaned. I did that and it turned out to be a dud. It just squirts gas out the top. So we cleaned up the original carb and reinstalled it. When cleaning it we found out the float was the problem with the flooding out. ( kind of figured that from the get go) We tried for about 20 minutes to get that darn thing dialed in, but it just didn't happen. It wants to idle really high, but if you try to adjust it to idle down, it dies. I have come to the conclusion that I don't like carbs. Seems like every car/bus/Pinto, I have has carb issues. Well, except for the 64 bus. It runs really well. If I could just get my other to VW's to run as good as it does I would have it made! I don't know where we are going to go from here. Have to see what tomorrow brings.

On a good note, I got all my lights working. My little parking lights that are in with the headlights didn't work, so I took them out, cleaned them up, and reinstalled them. All is good now! At least I can sit out in it at night and see. Can't go anywhere, but I can see where I"m not going! LOL

Did you try the old spraying WD40 or starting fluid around the intake manifold connections with the motor running trick?

If you do this and the motor picks up while you spray around each of the gaskets and seals you can tell if there is an air leak around the intake manifold.

A leak around the manifold connections can keep it from idling properly.

If you can eliminate the manifold, then you can focus on the carb. I assume it is a PICT, which one are you using?

Of coarse you could just throw a set of Webers on it and be done. I am a fan of the dual carbs.

Mateo wrote:

Did you try the old spraying WD40 or starting fluid around the intake manifold connections with the motor running trick?

If you do this and the motor picks up while you spray around each of the gaskets and seals you can tell if there is an air leak around the intake manifold.

A leak around the manifold connections can keep it from idling properly.

If you can eliminate the manifold, then you can focus on the carb. I assume it is a PICT, which one are you using?

Of coarse you could just throw a set of Webers on it and be done. I am a fan of the dual carbs.

No,haven't tried that yet. I will try that next!

As far as dual carbs, I have problems with one carb, why add another to the mix! Lol I dont like dual carbs. I would be happy with a nice 1776 with a single carb. That's what is in my 64 bus and I love it. Just need to find to more 1776's for the bug and Wes! LOL Hubby has a a "built up" 1776 but I didn't like how it wouldn't idle. It runs great though. It is one that really should have the dual webers and because he doesn't like them either, he was using just a single carb on it. It was pretty strong in my 64 though. I'm just the type that likes to have one foot on either the brake or the gas, not one foot working both at the same time at stops! LOL he had dual webers on it when it was in our old dune buggy, he broke two trannys with it! LOL

Hey, I finally have an update on my bug!!

I finally got back to it, kind of, lol. In between working on my bus, I decided to take my carb off the bug and tear it apart, again, and this time soak it in carb dip. I planned on soaking it overnight. Well, 2 days later I finally got back to it. LOL That was today. I cleaned it all up after soaking in the dip, then reinstalled it back on the car. I am thrilled to say, the car started right up. Even stayed running. Now I just need to have it fine tuned (the carb). I am hoping the carb dip did the trick.

I still need to do all the interior, but that has to wait till more funds come in. I kind of went a little overboard on the bus. LOL

I will update on the carb once I get it fine tuned. Hopefully it will be a good update! I would love to start driving the bug on nice non rainy days. I only have one wiper right now so driving in the rain is out. LOL

Props for working on two of them at the same time! That's alot to deal with.

Bob and I were talking today. We know of someone that has a couple bugs that we made an offer on, but never heard back. I was telling Bob how I really didn't need them anyway so I'm not to upset about it. He then told me, "yah, but it would be nice to get ahold of the motors, your bug needs one". Backing up a bit on this, Jack had done a valve adjustment and torqued the heads. I guess my head bolts are pulling out of my heads. I don't know why there wasn't a big deal about this before. They let me install the motor and even have let me try to deal with getting it running better, dealing with the carb and all. I'm thinking he didn't want me to get discouraged right away on this project. He knew I was pretty excited about it and I think he felt the motor would be ok for now.

Anyway, after all that speal, I am now going to pull my motor out of my bug. I plan on starting on this project in a couple days. Bob wants me to strip it down to the case to see if we can salvage anything. He does have another bottom half of a motor, so he wants me to build one out of the 2.

Since my bus is running and drivable, I plan on focusing on the bug. I figure this would be a great winter project for me. Might as well take it out now when it is cold and (eventually) raining and build a good one, then to wait till next summer and have my motor fall apart! LOL

At least I am pretty good and taking motors out and apart! Did it 3 times on the bus! LOL Nice thing is, I don't have to pull the bumper or the apron to do the bug! LOL

Well, I have some progress to report!

I (well, Jack and Bob did, lol) took the motor out about 2 weeks ago. I stripped it down right away and then it was all about waiting on Jack and Bob to do the case savers.

My pile of parts! LOL Looks kind of familiar except this time it is all painted purple and black instead of being all red and ugly! LOL



This last Friday Jack installed the case savers and the motor went from this,



To this,



I had planned on putting the rest of the stuff back on the motor today, but I ended up installing a blower fan in Wes instead. LOL Tomorrow I plan on putting the motor back together for sure. Then hopefully next week we can get it back into the car. Then hopefully, just hopefully it will run great and I will be able to move on to the interior. I want to be able to drive it as I do the rest of the work to it. Kind of like what I do with Wes. Drive for a bit, then do a couple things, then drive again! At least (once I make sure the wiper works) I can drive the bug in the rain! It doesn't leak like Wes does! LOL