Bub: the Buggered Up Beetle

I've been busy fettling and fitting the last few days and with the roll cage due for delivery on Thursday or Friday and a new exhaust on order I have lots to do but none particularly interesting ... except for one ... get Bub running again With an alternator conversion, twin Weber 34 carbs and a 009 distributor, new plugs, leads and lots of pissing around ... will it start and run? Jobs done twin carbs and linkage fitted (lots of fettling, they were well battered) manifolds needed  fettling to get them to fit linkage mounting bolt threads were stripped, drilled, tapped (one helicoiled) and sorted linkage adjusted and balanced alternator fitted (need more shims to adjust the belt correctly) remote charging regulator removed main charging wire connected to Loom and battery charging lamp re-routed LED indicator ballasts fitted (no more disco flash) Jobs still to do fit the new halogen headlight conversion fit fan belt and cover fit the exhaust fit the roll...

Bub is being built for few reasons I want to It's an easy and relatively uncomplicated project It's easy and relatively inexpensive to make something completely mad I like having a project However , my excuse for doing it now is ...... http://www.rust2rome.com/rust-2-the-sahara.html And I'm reminding you all now because I'm looking for a co-driver. Yes, for only £2287 you can share a lunatic car, with a mad petrolhead for nearly 3 weeks on a genuine trip of a lifetime: The cost of £2287 covers your entry fee as per the website cost of fuel, road tolls, food, drugs, drink etc is shared between us I cover the cost of the car, tax, insurance, MOT, recovery etc the cost is based on the 2 of us sharing a room but I never snore and only fart rainbows  Preparing the car for the trip, choice of music, stickers, radio, Mad Max accessories is a joint activity I can't sign up until I know I have a co-driver (you don't have to drive but you will be...

A quick one this (Saturday) evening .... I’m hating my engine plan. Nothing fits, it’s all battered and bent so it’s being left to have a word with itself - aircooled engines are a plug n play option so not a big deal. So, what did I do? Wired up the rear lights Fitted and fettled the headlights Wasted hours on the 1500cc engine Tidied the garage a bit went in and watched a film What did I find out? The hazards work perfectly  The rear indicators need ballasts to stop the double speed flashing A corroded fuse will cause a headlight to glow in a romantic way My new headlights need different chrome bezels I need to totally re-evaluate my engine options ... That’s it... for tonight. 

Are you seated comfortably? Then LED me begin Thursday afternoon finished the mounting plates for both seats including re-learning how to use my TIG welder made brackets for the rear LED lights and fitted them Sat in the car and made vroom vroom noises went out for dinner not the best photo but you get the idea The new seat mount plates welded in relearned how to Tig weld - messy but effective The rear light bracket clipped in place And bolted in It looks askew but the body isn't straight either! Note to self: tidy your workspace I'm sure there's something missing   Seats in situ

With a huge pile of parts on their way (headlights, service parts, brakes, fan belt cover, engine oil - all at 60% off flash sale) I thought I'd better get busy ... so standby for a few mini Bubdates Tuesday evening: Get the seats sorted cos the cage is coming (or so I'm told) The seats were dismantled, covers and padding removed, brackets cut off, ground down and smoothed flat plate welded across the underneath of the seat frame seats bolt in using M8 bolts Rear plate will be welded in once I'm happy with the seat position relative to the roll cage

I'm planning a big push to get most of the basic work finished so the car can be road test ready by Xmas. Surprised? Well, the design work is done and the car was pretty good to start with ... Here's the list, it looks huge but it's essentially 5 or 6 days work if I had all the parts and bits to hand and thanks to a flash sale from GSF at 60% off, I'll have 90% of what I need to get Bub ready. Who doesn't like to save £230? Once its done I can test drive it and see what else is needed ... drive, break, fix, repeat. Electrics headlights: replace with halogen units (old ones are nasty anyway) change bulbs in front indicators horn fit rear LED lights (might need a ballast to correct flash rate) numberplate light to be fitted once I know where the plate is going to go new battery mount new earth straps new main +ve cable from alternator to starter motor to battery new, larger capacity battery Brakes check all pipes and hoses, replace if at all suspec...

Where have I got to? Yes, that's right, the chopping and cutting has been done, the fixing of problems (so far) has been completed and now the actual building can start ... exciting. This week the parts to finish the fuel tank breather arrived as well as the lovely Gaz coilover shock absorbers. HT leads and a few other wee engine bits came as well but that's for the engine rebuild in another Bubdate. Let's recap: When I got Bub it needed new [big] tyres a fuel leak identified and fixed the arse cut off rear wings sorted the torsion bar rear suspension re-indexed new shock absorbers windscreen wipers didn't work  new seat belts Also roll cage (coming this week) bigger engine (being reassembled soon) bucket seats  lots of lights silly horns and sounds system other crazy shit when I get the urge What's been done since the last Bubdate? The 1300cc engine has come out and it is in a state so the 1500cc is going straight in and the 13 will ...

Recently I've found myself with a little more time on my hands than usual (I'm working from home 4 days a week now) and have got most of my smallholding chores done so I've been pottering away at Bub with a little more focus ... First thing I got busy with were the 'shorty' wings I bought from a fellow VW Baja Club member. They're steel, 3" to 4" wider but stop pretty much at the firewall so I'd need to figure out a different rear light solution .... probably LED 'hamburger' light clusters The interior has had its first pass of wire brushing to prepare for painting,  the seat frames have been de-bracketed ready to weld mounting plates for the bucket seats  the fuel tank has been refitted with the new seals, breather pipes and a fresh fuel filter the electrical gremlins have been identified as either a dead wiper motor (good used one sourced), knackered relay or simply bad connections - all of which will be fettled in due course ...