My Baja Bug Rebuild

[Edmond]

didn't really check what torque the nut starts turning. When I did the final tightening to what should be 400Nm the nut turned about 1/6 of a revolution from its initial position when i snugged it down, I also used red loctite on the Gland Nut

[Tony Z]

Red loctite? Wow, I hope you never have to take that flywheel off.

[Edmond]

Houston we have a longblock!

At long last the engine looks like a beetle engine, I have built it up to a longblock, heads, sleeves and pistons went together well.
I adjusted the tappets but couldn't seem to set them properly, eventually figured out I put the distributor driveshaft 180° out, once I figured that out the tappets set properly, I still need to remove the distributor and drive shaft and install it correctly but thats a job for next time

The tinware got a good cleaning 9 years worth of caked up grease and oil, once I locate a pulley tin the whole lot is getting sent for powdercoating in satin black.

Next time I work on the car I need to sort the distributor issue out, flush the oil cooler, clean up the carb and intake and fit the fan on the alternator but will first wait until the tinware is powdercoated so I can assemble all the tin on before all the ancillaries can go on.

I still need to sort out a dent in the SS 4 in 1exhaust, anyone know how to remove the dent?

[retrovan]

Yes sure, you weld a bolt to the dent, pull out the dent with the bolt, cut off the bolt and grind flat back to smooth, coat.

Herman

[Edmond]

Engine Tinware finally sent for powder coating R292 for sandblasting, zinc spraying and powder coating satin black for all the tinware if anyone is interested I can provide the Powder Coating companies name btw they do all of Beamish Buggies/ Beetle Bits tinware powder coating so they know the story

[Edmond]

Distributor driveshaft is sorted out made a wooden wedge and hammered it into the driveshaft rotated it anticlockwise as i pulled it out, came out no problems orientated it correctly and back in it went, also cleaned and fitted the oil cooler.
Done a trial fit of the fan on the alternator but the fan seems to wobble a bit too much for my liking, it seemed fine when it was fitted on the generator though, used the fan hub off the generator as well, im suspecting the alternator shaft is slightly bent

[GERHARD73]

Wheres the pics

[Edmond]

Will take some pics next weekend when I go work on the car again as I can carry on with assembling the engine ancillaries(tinware, intake + carb, exhaust, ignition system)

Tinware is ready at the powder coaters 2 days lead time absolutely brilliant service just hope they look good when I collect them tomorrow, then after payday I need to collect a few items(gaskets, brush holder for alternator, alternator stand)

[Blitzkrieg]

Engine Tinware finally sent for powder coating R292 for sandblasting, zinc spraying and powder coating satin black for all the tinware if anyone is interested I can provide the Powder Coating companies name btw they do all of Beamish Buggies/ Beetle Bits tinware powder coating so they know the story

Please provide details, where are they based?

[Edmond]

B & G Premier Coatings, 24 Nourse Avenue, Bofors Circle, Epping
Tel 021 534 6950 Speak to Brian

BTW I got the tinware back, it looks absolutely stunning.

[Edmond]

Most of the tinware is on the engine, had a lot of bending to do to get it to fit but it all fitted nice in the end

Cooling fan wobble is sorted, there were some raised burrs on the fan hub surface from when i removed it from the generator, filed down the surface of the hub and all is good now

I still need to get a alternator stand/pedestal but have managed to find a 3 pin brush holder at Beetle Bits, just need to collect it still

[Tony Z]

she'll be on the road in no time... keep at it

[Edmond]

Got the scarce Brush Holder and a air deflector for the right cylinder head at Beetle Bits, also picked up a sports steering wheel and hub

[Edmond]

Some more progress, engine is almost finished, carb and intake fitted, distributor and plug leads all hooked up, alternator installed, all tinware on.

I was busy fitting the exhaust but noticed the one j pipe has a cracked weld at the flange so need to get some SS welding rods, also want to try and source some flanges to weld on the connections where the j pipe and exhaust connect, maybe FFR can help me, i need to pay them a visit next weekend anyway

I need to get some fuel hose and some new oil lines for the full flow oil filter system so I can finish hooking up the fuel and oil systems.

Also sprayed the front suspension beam bolts with some penetrating oil so hopefully they will come loose easily in anticipation of replacing the front beam with the good s/h one I picked up from Dawie a few years ago

[Edmond]

After a bit of a break, I made some good progress on my Baja. Managed to get the front suspension out and strip it of the steering gear and brakes in 1.5hrs, the penetrating oil(Q20) I applied last year worked it's magic and all the bolts came out with no problems.
I have stripped all the steering gear off the old beam and started cleaning and inspecting the parts, looks like 2 tie rod ends need to be replaced but the steering box is still good it was replaced it 2002 with a brand new TRW unit just needs a good clean and paint.
I have also started to clean up the replacement beam by scraping all the old grease off and wire brushing it, it looks in good nic even the king and link pins are still good just need to paint it.
Framehead has some rust stains on t but is absolutely solid just needs a clean and repaint
Full Flow oil system is also all plumbed with 300psi oil hose