A 73 down on its luck

hercdriver · 13 March 2008, 16:13

Hi you all,

I've been reading many of your posts and posting a few of my own. In hopes of getting my 73 super on the road again. By the way the forum has been incredibly helpful.

I bought it the week of christmas in 07 and would like to have it running by this summer. The body is fairly solid, the interior like new, but the drive train has it's issues. Several have asked for pictures of the project so I thought I'd post them on this thread as things change. These first three were taken shortly after I towed it home. Enjoy.

As you can see many of the parts are disconnected, loose, or missing. It also had a lot of insect and animal debris throughout the engine compartment. The large vacumm lines are filled with mud. From what I can only imagine was a mud wasp trying to build a home.

Bookwus · 14 March 2008, 03:39

Hiya Dave,

Yeah, they can be a mess to start with.

But actually, your car looks like it has potential. At the very least, it looks as if most all of your components are there and in pretty reasonable shape.

Keep the pictures coming. I want to be able to compare your engine compartment when it's finished with the pics above.

68autobug · 15 March 2008, 04:53

Hi Dave

yes, I agree with Mike,
it does look pretty good...
a bit of rust here and there..
but all the autostick bits and original distributor etc...
are still there...

best to replace all the air, fuel and vacuum hoses

make sure the ATF tank has ATF in it before You run the engine..
probably best to replace the ATF too...

cheers

Lee

http://community.webshots.com/user/vw68autobug

hercdriver · 20 March 2008, 23:24

Here are some of the engine tins that I could save. The one on the left has a replacement that will also get redone. The change is dramatic, but all told this piece took about 20 minutes to bead blast and another to paint ( I used a high temp ceramic primer and semi gloss black by Dupli-color).

Bookwus · 21 March 2008, 01:14

Hiya Dave,

Nice job!

I did the same with the tin from a dual port I disassembled a few months ago. However I did not bead blast the tin. Instead I tried something I been reading about to remove the rust - electrolytic rust removal. If you have not done this you owe it to yourself to give it a try. It was actually kinda fun and the results were amazing.

You might want to check it out here...................http://www.instructables.com/id/Electrolytic-Rust-Removal-aka-Magic/

Chris the Eagle · 21 March 2008, 03:54

Great job on the tin Dave. I can agree with you that the first look at my engine was much the same. But as I disassembled the parts I found most of them just had some enviromental wear (mud wasps, water in the oil, dry rot...). But your engine looks to be in fair condition. I do have a question, what is the steel line that comes up from the lower left hand port on the pulley tin? My 69' engine did not have such lines. Later model changes?

Chris

68autobug · 21 March 2008, 06:38

Yes, I agree with Chris
the tinware looks excellent...

and the pipe on the LHS that goes up to the carburetor must be some sort of pollution gizmo..??

where does the bottom of the pipe go??

Lee

hercdriver · 21 March 2008, 17:30

It's part of the EGR (exhaust gas recirculation?) system they put on in the 70's for pollution control. The line runs down to a filter that ties into the exhaust.

Chris the Eagle · 22 March 2008, 04:04

No wonder I didn't recognize it. Mine was made before the environment started going downhill...

68autobug · 23 March 2008, 04:43

Quote from: hercdriver on 21 March 2008, 17:30
It's part of the EGR (exhaust gas recirculation?) system they put on in the 70's for pollution control. The line runs down to a filter that ties into the exhaust.

Hi
We never did get any of those pollution controls on Beetles sold in Australia...
although Japanese made cars back then did have some pollution controls on them
I used to disconnect them... the dashpot on the carburetors used to drive Me crazy...

I hope you can keep that nasty rust away from Your beetle...
I'm still amazed at the amount of rust and the things that rust on beetle engines...
and on the bodies... I would have nightmares...
chipped paint over here does NOT mean its going to rust away...
[unless you drive in salt water maybe]

cheers

Lee

Keep up the good work

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