69 Squareback

[beetlejessica]

Here's our new buddy upon arrival in NY:

rsz_squareback.jpg (5.76 KiB) Viewed 70875 times

Many more pics & posts to follow as we figure out the fuel injection & electrical wonkiness!

[Raj]

Yeah!

More pics please!

[D-A-N]

We were so wrapped up in looking at, cleaning, evaluating, etc. that we didn't take tons of pictures but here's a few.

Still on the truck....weird to think that a Squareback is only 7" longer than a bug b/c design-wise it takes up a lot more space.



Look who's happy to ride it off...



A bit dusty but still looking decent



Nothing like the first beer in a new car. It's kind of awesome that you can sit while doing some engine work.



The FI harness has some shoddy hacks and some questionable connections that we'll have to fix/replace but it's looking pretty complete except for a missing connector to the air cleaner.



Electrical confusion anyone? We still don't know what some of these are for. 1 is the VR, one is for FI, one is for defrost but the other 3?

Also, I'm still struck by how damn CLEAN it is back there.....not "the seller just vacuumed the car clean" but "this car really hasn't been on the road since '83!" Look how clean the relays, wires, connectors, and general area are:



It was impossible to get a good enough picture but that's the VW logo b/w the top two holes on that oil screen. I haven't been around long enough to see a genuine VW replacement oil screen.



In person, it's not actually as RED as this picture makes it look. But not a bad dash.....funny aftermarket cassette player that ONLY has FF and EJECT functions.



Not sure what I'm doing here but dig the OG strap that allows the engine cover to hang from the body




That's it for now....more to come after this weekend...

[Big_kid]

That does look clean- congrats!

[Raj]

Great pics, thanks. She looks super solid. What's the history on it? Where did it come from and how did you find it?

[D-A-N]

Great pics, thanks. She looks super solid. What's the history on it? Where did it come from and how did you find it?

Well...we got the car from a guy in Minnesota. He got the car from his aunt who got it at an esate sale and registered it in 2004. Turns out the guy I bought it from lent her the money to buy it but she couldn't pay him back so he took the car 2 years ago.

The car was never driven in the time either of them owned it.

It was originally from Texas and hasn't been registered since 1982. While it has a Minnesota plate, the window sticker is from Texas and expires in 1983.

I should get a picture of the perfectly preserved VW dealer service sticker on the door from 1970 when the car had 6,000 miles on it.

If all this is true, then the car hasn't really been on the road since 1982.

I first noticed it on the Samba about a year ago but figured since it was a roller it wasn't worth looking into. I posted about a couple of T 3's I was interested in on the Samba T3 forum and a few people convinced me this was the car to get. Emailed with the seller a bunch and now it's ours.

[Raj]

Wow.... Great story line on this one. I'd def take a solid lo mile car over a rotted runner all day. Mechanical work is more acheiveable for the average hobbyist. Keep us posted!

[AoT]

A bit dusty but still looking decent

Looks like a great pick, solid shape. Good luck getting it on the road and having some fun!

[Kermit]

Really cool. The engine is so...squished. I sorta love the dash.

[D-A-N]

Really cool. The engine is so...squished. I sorta love the dash.

The whole engine is only a few inches higher than the case which is the same as Type 1 and 2 but everything either lays on top of the case or to the sides and front. I've never actually measured a case but "fully dressed" a Type 3 engine is probably only 15"-18" high. Folks call it a "pancake" engine.

This is what a carbureted one looks like out of the car...this one doesn't have the air filter on but even that's not more than two inches high and it stretches from carb to carb. Notice that nothing is higher than the bellhousing tin.

[Kermit]

Not to mention the different fan placement/shroud. Hope parts aren't too hard to find!

[D-A-N]

Not to mention the different fan placement/shroud. Hope parts aren't too hard to find!

Depends on the part....overall they're hard-er to find than bug parts b/c many aren't reproduced but there are a few sites and also a big market for used parts. Plus, the Type 3 forum on the Samba is MUCH smaller than the bug ones and the folks on there are often trading, selling, offering, etc. parts needed for various projects.

[ObnoxiousBlue]

Dan, I found a beautifull 66 fasty around the corner 2 weeks ago... Have been keeping in touch with the current owners (an old couple) and hope to buy it "soon"

We're gonna take this from a type 2 club, to a type 3 club! lol

[D-A-N]

Dan, I found a beautifull 66 fasty around the corner 2 weeks ago... Have been keeping in touch with the current owners (an old couple) and hope to buy it "soon"

We're gonna take this from a type 2 club, to a type 3 club! lol

No shit! That's awesome....is it a blue one I saw in a pic somewhere on this site? Are you having to "ease" them into selling it?

And lucky for you it'll be dual carb so no FI wiring and its related mayhem....

Now let's see if we can get a Notchback and a Type 34 on the scene and we'll be in business!

[D-A-N]

Well, we got the thing to start up and idle for about 10 seconds before it flooded out.

In other words, we replaced the points, rotor, battery, negative ground strap, cleaned up some connections, and got it to the replicate the problem the PO said it had.

We're making progress!!

Today we'll be buying a "noid" light to test the injectors and see if they're staying open and causing the flooding.

In the meantime, I thought this was a cool pic of when the car got some VW dealer service back in 1970. How the hell the pencil didn't fade over 42 years is a mystery to me. I also like how it got "greese".

[D-A-N]

Now we're really getting places

[Raj]

sweet! Idles nice... any issues during acceleration?

[D-A-N]

sweet! Idles nice... any issues during acceleration?

It's definitely cool but I should have added some qualifiers with that video b/c we don't got on acceleration yet.

That's how it runs on 3 injectors. Plug in the 4th and it idles like poop, coughs, and eventually dies. Still figuring that one out.

Plus, we've got what's probably a loose head on 1/2 side which is causing a hiss you can hear in the video along with gas leaking down onto the pushrod tubes, the thermostat, and the ground below the car.

I'm not worried though b/c I'm actually looking forward to pulling the motor and having a look around. Might even have to do a rebuild which I'd like even more actually as preparation for building a motor one day!

[D-A-N]

Since it's been quite a while, here's a looonnng update in case anyone is curious about what's up in Squareback land..

After some family drama, we wound up having the car towed out to us in Brooklyn where it now lives on this somewhat less frequented street (fewer parking spots + fewer parking regs = no tickets for not having an inspection yet)

Home for now:



We've found the Type 3 community on the Samba to be extremely helpful and the resident FI guru has been kind enough to send us 2 boxes of FI parts at no cost until we figure out what we'll need to get things running.

So far we've had to replace the:

-ECU (bad ground to fuel pump relay)
-MAP sensor
-pressure switch
-both temp sensors
-distributor
-battery and trans to body grounds
-all fuel and vacuum lines
-a bunch of crummy male and female connectors

We've become quite adept with our VOM as we've had to check all the wires in the FI harness for continuity, check the resistance on countless parts, build jumper wires to ground the fuel pump relay, track wires from the engine up to the dashboard, etc.

We had to repair a huge exhaust leak in the muffler (someone got Sawzall happy I guess)



The muffler is so old it still has a VW logo on it so if anyone has a lead on a Type 3 FI muffler, don't hold back. I was told either Glenn or someone named "Mr. Breeze" might have a lead...



After fixing the exhaust leak there, we found another one out of a block off plate that was making the insulation on the heater boxes smoke and char. Closest we've come yet to catching a car on fire. The gasket was shot so we're putting a new one on today.

We're having a hard time getting the idle and timing spot on b/c we still have a number of vacuum leaks. Today, we're heading out to cure a few leaks in the intake manifold and in the Auxiliary Air Regulator. Then we have to fix our accelerator pedal which shat out its pin so when you floor it, you can go about 3mph max.



Finally, we have no turn signals and only one brake light. No hazards either. We had turn signals and brake lights when we got the car but not at all since tons of water got into the car via the fresh air boxes during a rain storm a few weeks ago. I'm afraid of a shorted relay since they were sopping wet. Got some backups in the mail.

We've been working our asses off in this heat and it's starting to take a toll.....brain feels like oatmeal after a few hours out there and the work gets sloppy so we've had to be careful to take breaks, drink tons of water and Gatorade, and rest.

We're hoping to be able to get the thing inspected by the beginning of next week at the latest so we can park it somewhere and go away for a few days.

Then, it's on to the brakes!

[Raj]

Great update Dan..... these t3 Fuelies are unchartered territory for me so I'm learning as you go along and post. Many thanks

PS.... i love the past tense of the word 'shit'

Then we have to fix our accelerator pedal which shat out its pin so when you floor it, you can go about 3mph max.

[AoT]

You guys have been real busy. So many of the issues you're working on I have been doing as well for the bus inspection (lights. horn, etc.) but it sounds like you're making good progress.

Working out on the streets in this heat would be tough, take it easy!

[D-A-N]

Well....after 3 tickets for not having the car inspected (some diligent traffic cops in our neighborhood) we got it done today....had to fix the e-brake on the driver's side so we got to pull off the hub and clean about 40,000 layers of grease off the drum....adjusters were frozen so once we got some penetrating oil on, we were half way there. The other half was needing to adjust from the brake handle.

We'd also been having a weird problem of the 1/2 side running MUCH hotter than 3/4 and also we had a funny smell whenever the car ran. We thought maybe spark was off or only 2 injectors were firing so one side of the engine was cooler or whatever and that it smelled funky b/c it hadn't really run for 20 yrs. Well....we had to take off the intake runners today and followed a trail of fuzz up under the tin to this



It wasn't just that heap of stuff. If you look close enough, you can see how EVERY bit of space in the cylinder and head fins and all the space b/w the cylinders is covered with rodent nest material, nuts, seeds, bits of rubber, etc. It took hours to clean this today using brushes, screwdrivers, a bent up wire hanger, and a whole lot of cursing. But it sure as hell runs a lot cooler now.

[AoT]

Well....



It wasn't just that heap of stuff. If you look close enough, you can see how EVERY bit of space in the cylinder and head fins and all the space b/w the cylinders is covered with rodent nest material, nuts, seeds, bits of rubber, etc. It took hours to clean this today using brushes, screwdrivers, a bent up wire hanger, and a whole lot of cursing. But it sure as hell runs a lot cooler now.

That is nasty! Talk about air pollution!! That's what a seat of rear seats i redid had inside when i removed the covers. not sure how they manage to find their way in!

Good job, Mr. Watson!!

[D-A-N]

That is nasty! Talk about air pollution!! That's what a seat of rear seats i redid had inside when i removed the covers. not sure how they manage to find their way in!

Good job, Mr. Watson!!

Thanks!!

It sure would have sucked to finally get the FI working right only to cook the engine on the first long drive....

[Raj]

nice Dan. This is super common with the old VW's. These crap gets into all the nooks and crannies and can really mess up your cooling system.