17's???

thinking about stuffing 17's under there... not sure if there's room... i like the 17 BRMs...

or 17 raders...

manifold madness...

so, in my few spare minutes here and there, i've been working on cleaning out the preheater tubes on the intake manifold...  got a good technique off the samba using a drill and a snake... i also used a cut up clutch cable... i got it pretty clean i think...

cleaned, primed, painted and ready for install...

had some free time yesterday, so i figured i should get started on the install...  i forgot tom (you know, bigger, stronger older brother tom) couldn't get the generator nut off when we dropped the engine... i couldn't budge it either... but there was a broom hanging in the garage with a metal stick, to i took the end off and made a cheater bar... 

and liberal use of WD-40....

and it actually worked!!

lifted the fan shroud up and started to pull out the generator and fan, but it was still hitting the manifold and carb...

so, the carb had to go, and i had to detach the throttle ring behind the shroud to get it high enough to get the generator and fan out...

and it worked... you can see the throttle ring behind where the fan was...

got a little nervous with all the parts and fasteners laying about...

wiggled the manifold out of there... had to move the starter...

here's what i found at the back of the manifold...  the hole is in the preheater tube, but i guarantee it is rusted through between the preheater and the intake... you can see my attempt at JB welding it, but i couldn't see back there so i didn't know there was a hole...

the worst part about this whole experience is that it appears as though my big brother was right... again... an air leak in the intake somewhere, probably sucking air from being rusted through to the preheater tube...

i suppose i should start listening to what he says....  at least when it comes to volkswagens....

stripped out racer!!

started getting ready for carpet... pulled out all the seats except driver...

pulled out what was remaining of the original carpet up front...

and out back...  the original tar board insulation was a pain...

the rubber tunnel was so dried out, it cracked off in pieces...

backed it out to clean the garage...

got my wolfsburg west carpet the other day too... it's super nice and is going to look sweet!!

One more pic

Never mind Swiss cheese manifold, Swiss cheese car

Another week thrash on Buzz Saw. With the occasional interruption for school x-mas parties and birthday parties, i got a good bit done. 

- moved peddle assembly forward 2", shortened 2" .. so I can drive the car
- installed gas tank with gas gauge, fuel pump and filter
- installed remote oil filter and cooler
- installed seat belt anchors
- fixed steering column
- final rendering of colors and graphics
- raise rear shock mounts 3"... otherwise it would bottom out
-  supper dupper pretzel exhaust re worker

interior

got some work done on the interior.. finished up the door panels, and installed the rear panels...  that's original carpet and sound deadening in the rear...

heard tom took the week off and worked on the buggy... no proof though...

swiss cheese manifold...

so, i think the more i seal up the manifold, the more holes are made/found...  ran it on wednesday and it was idling up and down again, then noticed some liquid on the fan housing behind the manifold, stuck my finger on the backside of the manifold and it was all wet...

so, i think there are weak spots all over and every time i seal one up, it blows another hole in it some place else... so, i bought a manifold on the samba and i guess i'll replace it at some point...

here's some shots of the damage area from the left side of the engine near spark plug number 4 down the back of the manifold... the arrows point to where the holes were...

so, of course, i slathered it in JB Weld...

ran it on sunday and it settled into a decent idle again...  i am sure it's only a matter of time until it blows another hole out at a weak spot... 

however, i did get it out of the driveway and down the street...  i adjusted the brakes a few weeks ago, and they are better (the right front doesn't lock up when i tap the brakes)...  the clutch seems to be better, no slippage in 3rd...  the tires are rubbing on the headlight buckets in sharp turns, but i expected that... might raise the front a tad...