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74 Beetle

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 5:46 pm
by Glenn
Long term is right, i've been working on this car for 35 years.

In the beginning... it was stock. Here's a picture the summer of 1974.
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It was my daily driver until June 1997 when I had to either fix the body or junk it. In the years between I put over 450,000 miles and when through a half dozen engine ranging from the stock 1600DP to a 1904 with dual Dellortos.

Here's what it looked like when I finally took it apart.
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Pretty sad looking.
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Rot was the word....
In the heater channels
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Many of the fender bolts were gone
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The rear quarter panel was hit years ago and not fixed correctly.
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Rot by the rear window.. .big surprise.
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Rot everywhere
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Finally... in paint.
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Home again
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Gotta drop the front.
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Before
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After
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Transmission... Berg 5 speed
3.78/2.06/1.58/1.21/0.89 with a 3.875 r/p
Basic kit
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ZF Limited Slip... Posi baby
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Tranny cross member
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Rhino case
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2180cc engine
parts arrive
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Berg 1-5/8" merged header
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Berg 1.5qt sump
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Berg pulley
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Genuine VW vented valve covers
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Berg linkage
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48 IDAs
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cylinders, pistons and rods
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Seasoned AS41 case
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Weismann SLR treated lifters
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Forged 8 dowel German flywheel
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Case clearanced for 82mm stroker
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5.4" H-beam rods
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Bottom end with helical gears.
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92mm Thick Wall cylinders and forged pistons.
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Steve Tims Stage 2 heads 42x37.5 with dual springs
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It's a longblock
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Engine tin mockup
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Canton Mecca oil filter
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Berg welded fan
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Fuel line pass through mod
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Type 181 fan shroud
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Stock flaps
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Ready to go in.
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Type 181 lower tins that close off the gap left by J tubes.
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It's in
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Tires/wheels
Porsche Pedrini 5.5x15 alloys with Pirelli 195/60-15 tires
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Interior
Dash
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Recaro KR seats with Schroth 4 point belts.
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Done
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Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 6:52 pm
by BradleyVW
Wow,like reading a short story. cool history

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 7:45 pm
by Glenn
Brad... you remember the crap I got when everyone said "when are you going to paint that car".

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 8:19 pm
by Tom
I love the VW DeadHead sticker .

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 8:21 pm
by BradleyVW
Yeah, I remember the rust holes too.

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 8:25 pm
by Glenn A
What are the valve covers from ?

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 8:28 pm
by Glenn
They're OE VW valve covers with vents added. You can see the VW stamped in the metal.

Most aftermarket valve covers leak and i've never had a problem with OE valve covers and bails. Genuine OE bails are made from spring steel and aftermarket are not and leak.

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 8:32 pm
by Glenn A
Duh . I'm asking the hard question . What model VW had vents ? Is there a part # for vented covers ? Or did you have these made custom ?

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 8:32 pm
by Glenn
Sorry... the vents were added.

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 8:34 pm
by Glenn A
I love all the sneaky stuff ! That tranny mount is the shiznit !

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 8:35 pm
by Glenn
It's required because the Berg 5 speed is 2" longer.

The do make a 4 speed version.

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Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 8:42 pm
by Glenn
Take a short ride... The street was too narrow and curvy to risk keeping my foot in it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ozZ5nd7C04

And it cruises all day at 75mph.
http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r172 ... 7_8756.flv

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Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 2:10 pm
by Glenn
I washed it yesterday.

And two months ago I did a valve adjustment. Last November i did a oil change.

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 3:09 pm
by Glenn
Sorry nothing new other than turning 470,000 miles.

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 3:11 pm
by ObnoxiousBlue
GR, love the african red avatar... :-)

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 3:17 pm
by Glenn
ObnoxiousBlue wrote:GR, love the african red avatar... :-)
;)

It's actually a "cut" from one of the pictures.

BTW.. .Fall is coming and we need to schedule a early Sunday cruise along the North Shore.
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Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 3:18 pm
by ObnoxiousBlue
LOL thats funny, I was just looking for the color swatches on TS, and the color didnt look right on thier charts at all, so I cut it from a picture too lol.

Obviously, weekends are tough for me because I work now. But Im taking off for Etown, and can try to get a day to cruise.

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 2:55 pm
by Glenn
Old shoes.

I took the alloys off so they can be powder painted and new tires installed so I put the old Michelin XZX fronts and X Snow tires on the rear for the winter. These tires date back to 1980... they're older than Mike.

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Sure is a tight fit. 165-15
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Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 3:02 pm
by ObnoxiousBlue
And theyre less used too!

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 12:07 am
by Glenn A
I got to say it might be fun to take that thing out for some street racing with those steelies on there. The looks would be priceless.

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 7:38 am
by Glenn
So I should slap on some hub caps and roll with them?

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 8:39 am
by BusBq Bill
Some "Spinner" Hubcaps from Pep Boys! :P

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 11:15 am
by B MAN
ride spinners! they don't stop! :lol:


seriously Glenn... you've done a fantastic job with that car, if i had 1/4 of the skill, patience, knowledge you have... i'd be a head of the game by far!!

I didnt even know diff's/posi was an option for ACVW's!

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2010 10:16 am
by Glenn
Dropped the rims off to be powder painted. Once they come back i'll have to find someone to mount the tires and not scratch them up.

The tricky part of mounting them is the rims are different front and rear and so are the tires.

There are two style of Pedrini alloys, early and late. The early only fit drum brakes and the late fit both drum and disc so the lates have to go on the front. The tires are two different sizes, 195/55VR-15 front and 205/60VR-15 rear. Also the tires are directional so each of the 4 will be specific to a location.

Re: 74 Beetle

Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2010 11:28 am
by Glenn A
Have you done any reading about powder coat and loose lug nuts? I've read that powder coat needs to be removed where the lug studs seat. The coating cracks under the seating surface and causes the lugs to become loose.