Electrics?

Well, I looked at the wiring today. Boy, that looks like a major mess. I mean, everything is there, and then some. It looks extremely chaotic, really dusty and old, and basically FUBAR. I told my mom that the thought of pulling everything electric related and redoing it in an organized manner had crossed my mind. She didn't think that was a good idea. Whatever. So the battery is in the buggy, and it took me like 15 minutes to figure out which was negative and positive on the leads (the black one is positive - remember what I said about it all being FUBAR?). Overall, what I did today was undo what little I had done on taking the engine out, and fiddle with the ignition switch. Nothing happened with that. Again - I think that rewiring the entire car might be a good idea. It is also far more work than I'm likely to complete, and way above my head as far as skill.


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Progress? No.

So I've been waiting on the keys - no luck there as of yet. I'm thinking of hotwiring it and seeing what kind of condition the starter is in. I might also bypass the ignition and check out all the electrics - hook up the battery and try everything. See if anything catches on fire and such :)

So that's all that's happened with this so far.




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Excitement is an understatement

I got the engine to turn over!!!! I'm very happy. It took a lot less work than I thought it was going to. The theory was that my mom and I would roll the buggy down the slight incline leading out of the garage. The buggy would be in second gear and I would pop the clutch out, and that would jar the engine enough to break it free. The only problem with this, we found, was that the clutch was stuck (or worn out, haven't decided yet). That put a wrinkle in the plan. What we ended up doing was putting it in 4th and my mom pushed while I sat in it and rocked back and forth. That worked! It only took a second, and then the engine freed up and I rolled on down the hill. I can now turn the engine by hand :) :)

Today I also picked up the battery that ended up having to be special ordered. That was $98 (!), which my mother paid for (thankfully). So, the next thing is to get the keys, and see what kind of shape the electrics are in, and if the motor will catch :)



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Wheee!

Well, the plugs are out of the engine, the cylinders are soaking in PB Blaster, a 6 volt battery is on order, and I got new spark plugs. Things are progressing . . . I hope :)

Some pics of the spark plugs I pulled out of the engine-



The new plugs that I got -


A comparison -

So while this is going on I have another automotive-ish project that has come up as well. My Volvo 240 has some minor rust issues around the wheel wells, and my mechanic recommended that I sand off the paint and rust, Bondo it smooth, and paint it again. This made me think some, and I took a few pictures of the car to see what different paint schemes would look like. Here are the base pics. I haven't modified any yet, but when I do, I'll post them and see if anyone reads this by asking for opinions :)

Yay!!

I got the spark plugs out!!! It's amazing what the right tools can do. After struggling for about an hour with the old rusty Volkswagen sparkplug wrench and bending bolts trying to turn it, I went out and got a spark plug wrench attachment for a ratchet. It took me all of 15 minutes (including the time it took to get everything together) to get them out with that. Amazing. So, I drowned the cylinders in PB Blaster, and am going to do so again tomorrow morning. After that, I'll let it sit for a few days, and then see if I can turn it over. My mom had an interesting idea - I should just connect everything and see if I can start it. Unfortunately, due to the fact that I don't have a key, I'd have to hotwire it, but that would certainly jar some things loose, or show me that I have a lot more work than I first thought (if nothing happens, lol). Certainly something to think about. For now, I'm just glad that the plugs are out, and the PB is working its magic.


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From whence it came

So I felt the need to post something, despite the fact that I have done nothing on the buggy recently (work and life kind of cramp working on a project). So I decided to post some pics I took when I went to pick up the buggy.

When I first saw it :)



The interior, with only the dingy taken off.


Dragging it out.



On the trailer.



And that's that. Check the previous posts for the pics of it in the garage, and it nice and clean :)



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Why the wheel didn't move :)

When I took the right front wheel apart, I got a few pictures. Here they are :)

What the brake looked like after the drum came off.

What fell out of the brake when the drum came off.

The drum itself, with included mouse nest.

The order of the wheel bearings.


So, that's why I was having trouble getting the wheel to move. Hopefully today I'll be working on getting those goddamn spark plugs out :)


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So here're the basics

For my 19th birthday, I recieved a 1963 Volkswagen based dune buggy. The original owner of the beetle was the one who converted it to a buggy, and was the one who I bought it from. It has 36,ooo and change miles on it. It had been sitting for 20 years, and was a little bit disheartening to look at when I first saw it.


It has 36,xxx miles on it, all put there by the original owner. Here are some pictures of it when I got it back home the day I got it.






When I got the buggy home, the right front wheel was extremely stuck. That took a long while to break free, and only after taking it all the way appart and shifting the brakes back, did it turn freely. Also, the engine is currently stuck, although the PO (previous owner) said it might just be gummed up. His suggestion (and that of a bunch of guys on a VW Forum) was to tke out the spark plugs and ut penetrating oil in the cylinders. Well this has been easier said than done - the spark plugs are stubborn SOBs and as of today have not been taken out. However, today I did get a new set of spark plug sockets for a socket wrench, which should really help. Also today, I managed to convince my sister to help me wash the entire buggy. Some pics of it dried off and outside my house :)









And here's the clean interior!



The best engine picture that I have as of yet



And that's pretty much it so far. I have taken off the rear bumper (a job in itself, talk about unwilling bolts) and the engine is currently almost ready to be dropped out if I need too (everything disconnected, and most of the bolts loosened). However, I'm hoping that I won't have to do that, and that the penetrating oil in the cylinders will be enough :)

Future plans? There are a few fiberglass cracks, the wiring is going to need some major attention, and hopefully I'll be able to take the body off and get everything all stripped down and painted up nicely. Unfortunately that won't be for some time due to my lack of work ethic and a small thing called college. So that's about all that's been done. I'll do my best to keep this updated whenever something changes :)



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Intro?

This is just the introduction to this blog. I started this to chronicle the work I do on my 1963 based Volkswagen dune buggy. More will come later.


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