Project : Baja Bug

[BeevDawg]

Hey guys, I'm putting together this 1969 Baja bug with a 1776 motor, and this is the list of things i need so far, I've put attachments into this post so u can confirm or if u see anything else i need. So far, i have it down to a fuel pump, rotor, generator, oil filter, oil cooler, and belts. See anything else? I will be posting y progress in this thread every couple of days with pics.So just post your opinions, advice, etc... We should have the engine turned over by the end of this week. I'll keep yah posted, later.
-Daniel

i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

second pic

i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

third pic

i got a bug, its tight

[JasonHutter]

I would have to say more bracing on that rear bumper to protect all that purdy chrome!

Jason

[BeevDawg]

Yah, im getting that done also, the guy at weldtec said only $100. I cant wait to get this thing running.

i got a bug, its tight

[Kritter]

THat chrome is going to be ruined after one good rompin in the dez. I would sell that off to somebody who has a street bug and buy something other then chrome.

Kris
"I was thinking the exact same thing about you..."

[ntsqd]

I know they're not nearly as nice looking, but the late model stock fan shrouds have far better ducting in them than any of the aftermarket shrouds I've seen. If you're really going to hammer on it in the dez you might want to change it. Failing that, I would see if you can trade that shroud for one w/o the heater ducts. You can plug those holes for use w/o heater boxes, but I wouldn't risk it. Black cooling tin also radiates heat better, chrome tends to keep it locked in.

Where you coil is mounted is directly in the air flow out of the oil cooler. This will make the coil run really hot when you're working the engine hard. Wouldn't surprise me if you have coil failures from this. Mount the coil somewhere in cool air. Cruise this page's various articles and the mags' articles on off road buggies & Baja's for ideas on a location. Also, Bosch Blue coils really prefer to be pointed down. There is a resistor in them right under the terminals. If the terminals aren't at least a little downhill from the can, the resistor can overheat & fail from not being immersed in the oil inside the coil.

Those aluminum ignition wire seperators can cause crossfire. Plastic is better. I use the stock VW parts on the shroud, but good ole zip-ties ala NASCAR also works.

The small diameter crank pulley will be fine if you're going to keep the motor rev'd up. If you're going to be going slow much you'll wnat the stock size pulley so that the fan turns faster at slow engine speeds.

Put a hose clamp around the muffler brace on #1's exhaust tube.

VW's use their engine oil for cooling far more than h2O pumpers. I would go full flow on the oil filtration and put a decent sized, stacked plate cooler in the system. The tube & fin types don't reject as much heat and appear to be a little more fragile. Try afcoracing.com for the cooler.

I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just pointing out the potential problems I see. I think that's what you were asking for. Some pics of my 'glass buggy are here: http://photos.yahoo.com/ntsqd

TS

"It only seems kinky the first time"
-- Bumpersticker seen in Lost Wages

[BeevDawg]

Well, we got the oil cooling kit from Johnson's Bug Machine, and an electric fuel pump(tho manual is better), and a belt for the pulley. I still need little bits and pieces here and there. The headers are too close for me to get to one of the allen bolts and i dont have an offset allen, so we have to take the header off on one side to take off the shrowd so we can tighten the hose adapters on. Not really any work done today, but we should have it running soon.later.
-Daniel

i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

Well, i put the throttle linkage in today, and we are gonna pull the engine soon to mount the oil cooler.

i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

Ok, here are the mods it has on it just so u guys get an idea.

tri-mil exhaust system, weber carb, k&n filter, irs tranny, hurst shifter, fiberglass, full cage, everything basically chrome or aftermarket one way or another, new starter, new door handles, new e-brake, new 4 wheel disc brakes, centerline rims, and a bunch of other crap i cant remember.

Stuff that needs to be installed or put in as of today.

Oil Cooler, seats with seat mounts, upper rear cage, floorboard crossbar supports so i can mount my seats, need to install some distributor parts, need alternator parts, need to mount fuel cell and hook up fuel lines, need possible new steering column and steering wheel, all of my lights, battery, gauges, pulley shims, front and rear bumper, all window glass, and electric fuel pump. Im on my way though.later.
-Daniel

i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

Ok, here are pics of what we got done today. We stripped down the engine and put a new fan shrowd in to cover up the hole where the stock offset oil cooler went. We had some trobles to get it to fit, but now its very snug. We mounted the electric fuel pump and painted the dash. We had to install a different filter that came with the linkage kit, so now im selling a brand new k&n filter and a chrome fan shrowd. We also hooked up a fuel sending unit to hook up a gas gauge. Check out the pics, were getting there.
-Daniel

i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

the battery is gonna be mounted to the left of the fuel pump.

i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

the dash after it was painted. I still gotta swap out that steering wheel and get a grant one, i gotta get a new blinker assembly, put in gauges, and install my ignition. This is the part where it gets real tricky, i know nothing about electrical, but its cool cuz my friend's uncle used to have a bug and he is gonna do all the wiring for me. I still need to buy lights also, what company makes offroad/onroad lights that work fairly good. I think PIAA makes some, but i dont know for sure.later.
-Daniel

i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

Ok, i have a problem with the suspension.I can already see the problem in the suspension with my bug. When it is going to bottom out, it will end up ripping off my fenders in the front and the rear. Ive been thinking about which is most logical to fix the problem. I was thinking shave the fenders cuz they need to be shaved a bit anyways. Getting shock hoops with some bilstein 7100's(friend said it would lift it a bit), extending the front end and rear end which i would like to do anyways, or a body lift. I am really unknown to bug suspension with the CV setup and pins and all that crap, so a diagram and some much needed info would be greatly appreciated guys.

i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

Well, here is the engine in its near final state. We got that fan shrowd on, u can see the newer filter we got, the fuel line is ready to go with the fuel filter and pressure regulator hooked up, you can see the fittings coming out for the external cooler. You can also see the cooler im using and oil filter. All i need now is the brushes, cap, and a second screw for my motorola 12v generator. Almost ready to bolt back up.

i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

new shift coupler(that is gotta be the only rust on the car, but im putting a carpet kit over it)


i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

We also took out the heater ducts and blocked the holes they left.

i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

We got a lot of things done today, i guess i will just let the pictures speak for themselves. We got all of the gas lines in and the gas tank in. We also did some other odds and ends to get this **BAN ME****BAN ME****BAN ME****BAN ME****BAN ME** together.


i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

chrome e-brake (harder to assemble than it seems)

i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

you can pick this 20 gallon gas tank up for $100 at Fibertech.

i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

a view of how we ran the fuel lines from the tank.

i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

a great view of how everything got setup.

i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

this is the platform we used to mount the gas tank. We put that rubber sticker stuff around the edges so friction of metal to metal doesnt occur.

i got a bug, its tight

[rdc]

Looking Pretty good, what about the body, post some exterior views. Looks tight though.

<font color=green>That which is, cannot be that which is not except in the minds and hands</font color=green>

[BeevDawg]

Ok, here is the pics of the body. I wasnt gonna post one until i had all the fiberglass on and shaved, but here it is anyways, i got the 7 piece bugpack kit, i still need to put the rear fenders and filter cover thing on. I also still need to put the front bumper on that i have, but i guess that gives you guys an idea.

i got a bug, its tight

[rdc]

what color are you going to paint the body. what kind of shocks are you going to run? that is goign to look tight when it is all done. i like all the engine crome.

<font color=green>That which is, cannot be that which is not except in the minds and hands</font color=green>

[BeevDawg]

Im planning on painting it all either jet or midnight black and im gonna run bilstein 7100 series shocks with the resevoir. I also am gonna put a 3 inch body lift on it so i can have clearance for the tires cuz right now the fenders will get ripped right off when i bottom out.

i got a bug, its tight

[rdc]

thats cool, if you run a coilover you could lift it without a body lift and you would get more performance i think. but either way that is goign to look badass when you are done, be sure to post some pics.

<font color=green>That which is, cannot be that which is not except in the minds and hands</font color=green>

[BeevDawg]

if i run a coilover lift it will change the camber of my cvs and the tires will bow in and give me twitchy handling. Body lift seems the most practical.

i got a bug, its tight

[rdc]

oh alright.

<font color=green>That which is, cannot be that which is not except in the minds and hands</font color=green>

[AZmiik]

Have you looked in to high mount race fenders? They mount higher than stock so that would give you clearance with out raising center of gravity of the entire vehicle. You might be able to just mount your current fenders up higher as well. Just some ideas looks like it coming along rather nice.

Mike

[elcaprerunner]

You could also get a one piece glass front end and that will give you alot more clearance in the front.

DIRT'S FOR RACING, PRERUNNERS ARE FOR GETTING THERE!

[BeevDawg]

i already have the 7 piece fiberglass kit so im not gonna invest in new fenders, im just gonna shave them up a lot or possible remount. Its just got like rancho shocks or sumthin on them so im gonna switch them to bilstein 7100s with shock hoops front and rear.

i got a bug, its tight

[vwguy]

My baja bug has 31's on it and when it bottoms out it doesnt hit fender. What size tires are those? Do you have irs or swingaxle? Balljoint or link pin

how ironic is it that most people slow down for speed bumps yet almost all of us here im sure pin it

[BeevDawg]

umm, i havent really checked the tire size, but i think only the rear tires will bottom out. I have IRS, but i think it also depends on what kind of fenders you have, im just gonna save mine up a lot, they will look better anyways. I also think it is ball joint but im not 100% sure, ive basically been looking at the engine if you know what i mean, heh. I would go look at it now, but im working on it at a friend's house cuz he has all the tools. BTW, how old do you guys think i am for taking on a project like this, im just curious...later.
-Daniel

i got a bug, its tight

[singlehanded]

I would hope you are at least 16 or you might have to wait a while to test it out.LOL

midnight landscaper working overtime and I'm full throttle I'm full throttle tonight

[BeevDawg]

Heh, i got an oil pressure and tach gauges for my bug today for free from a friend, i got a vdo gas gauge, so all i need is the speedo, im still waiting on my wiring harness, here are the pics, nice autometer gauges. He gave me a water gauge also, but i dont need it. BTW, im 17.


i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

Well, as of now i am boycotting JC Whitney, they ship stuff horribly, if you order more than one thing, they will ship it all in seperate boxes and they lost my wiring harness and window weather stripping, so they re-shipped it so i gotta wait like another week. We are basically down to the last few things which will get a little strenuous on us. I just got my gas hose a side filler mount from Jaz the other day(see attachment), so i will have that installed soon. I should be getting a lot of parts next week in the mail and going and getting some. We are deciding on ripping out that dash and fabbing up a new one which will be a lot nicer. As of now, the only parts i need to buy are some lights, a windshield, seats and seatmounts, and the blinker assembly and we should be finished. We still have to install the wiring harness, gauges, fab up the dash, seats seatmounts, body lift, and then take it to a fab shop to get a brace welded in so i can mount the seat mounts. Well, i guess that is the recap of what needs to be done, later.
-Daniel

i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

Here is the pic of the engine in its present state, i finally got my wiring harness yesterday, so i can start putting that together.

i got a bug, its tight

[bajaruner11]

Looks good so far you have come along way in a short time. The last minute changes where all good moves. I wanted to point out one small problem though, your fuel pump will not work where you have it mounted. The "Facet" pump as most electric fuel pumps is designed to push fuel, not pull it. You need to mount the pump at or below the bottom level of the fuel tank. I would suggest mounting it beside the tank at the base.

[BeevDawg]

Another shot with the brushes on the generator and other things.

i got a bug, its tight

[BeevDawg]

Ok, It's been a while since i last posted, but here is a recap, we pretty much havent done anything since i last posted, ive been very lazy. But i just spent 2 hours grouping and categorising my wiring harness. Here is a recap of what i gotta do to finish it.

Parts i still need:
-lights, relays, seat mounts, a bit of wire, 3 inch body lift, horn

Work still needed to be done:
-hook up all the wiring, install all my glass, remount the fenders, 3 inch body lift, install seat mounts and seats, fix e-brake, install steering wheel, fab up new dash, hook up gauges, install carpet kit, install mp3 player and sound system.

Im at the final leg of the project, i now just need to do it, i know i will run into trouble with the wiring because i dont know how to set up the tach, speedo, oil temp, and gas gauge. Everything else is just going out and doing it, which im losing the will power to do it, lol. Im still minus a car because of this, but the mom is being nice enough to let me drive her car. Heh, tomorrow is my b-day, finally 18.later.
-Daniel

i got a bug, its tight