Aircooled VW South Africa

Dutch_Diver wrote:You have so much patience you are an inspiration to us all. 3 hours for 2 bolts!

Sounds easy when you say 2 bolts... I had 3 vice grips setup on each side to hold things in place while taking out the longer bolts that I used to pull everything down together and then install the high tensile bolts to take the load and clamp down. All the time knowing that if things let go I prob would have ended up with a broken hand or finger....

ZeroAxe wrote:Ahhh, that oil cooler is so cute and small!!!

Seriously, did I miss the info of where you bought it? The oil cooler I installed years ago on the Fastback is bigger than that(on top of the gearbox with EVERYTHING still in the car. FFS, did I struggle to get in there )

Things look good. Here is the morla support "Keep at it buddy!"

That Kaffer brace, is it ally?

The oil cooler is a type used by the Nascar teams. For its size, its expensive, but it has a better cooling capacity than the 11" x 11" cooler that EMPI sells and is only about R200 more once you add in the cost of the fan for the EMPI cooler.

Yes, the Kaefer cup brace is aly. With mild steel mounts.

Tom Bishop wrote:Looking Good Z.

While you still here you may want to swop those urethane mounts. They Crap (break).

If you have power and want to launch hard you looking for a set of Rhino Mounts. Dave R can help you.

Thanks Tom. Thats the first I have heard about the Urethane mounts breaking... any more info?

I hadthe same problem with ure mounts before but with out a mid mount brace and strap
But with the mid mount fitted and the strap on a buggy they managed 180Kw on the wheels

Well, its been a while since I did an update. Plenty has happened for good and for bad.

After all the effort of installing and welding in place the kaefer cup brace - when i put the engine in, the exhaust hits the brace. No time for another plan to be made up otherwise I wouldnt have been able to make the George show. Plenty work involved in this little mod.... will have to find some help with this one.

Engine and gearbox went back in with a bit of effort.

After having done plenty of thought about the stock oil cooler and its method of operation, I decided to remove it from the system altogether. A oil cooler bypass is now installed and the cooling tin has been modified - and some bling added to it. The oil now passes through a thermostat and a thermo-switch so it is fed to the cooler when needed and the fan is only used when needed.

The thermostat fits onto the exit from the oil filter, diverting the hot oil through the cooler and then to the engine or when the oil is cold, sending it from the filter straight back to the engine. My oil temp now sits about 20degC cooler than with the stock oil cooler - and I still feel this is due to the design of the stock system, not its capabilities.



The fan housing which is now looking pretty damn good even if I have to say so myself



The engine bay has been cleaned up a little.


This whole mag, disc brakes and gearbox change and all the other bits I decided to do along the way took me around 3 weeks of pretty hard graft to complete. The aim was always to make it to the George show.... the final date was starting to loom pretty close. Finally on Thursday eve at around 1630 the car was ready to test drive (departure for George show was Friday morning). Test drive went well, so I decided to go visit a friend 30km from where I live. He takes one look at the car, jump in, presses the clutch and the cable snaps. DAMMIT. So we tow the car back to my place.
Next morning, I go buy a new clutch cable and go fetch my trailer which I hired for the show. After some cursing and swearing my buddy and myself manage to get the beetle onto the trailer and all tied down to go to the show.

As soon as we get to the show, we get the car off the trailer and pull out the pedal assembly. One look at the clutch pedal tells us we dont have to worry about the cable, its the pedal hook which broke off.
Some desperate phoning around and I source a replacement pedal assembly, which arrives at the camp site at 2000. Work starts and by 2300 we are test driving and waking up the neighborhood.

This is how she looked while on display in George. Note the badges I have had made up to match the Porsche Replica mags. It was a little bit of a rush job and they dont fit 100% but for now its all good.


Then the drive home.... the trailer decided to demolish one of my drive shaft seals. So once I got back home, the car was pushed off the trailer and into the garage. The next day resulted in me replacing both the drive shaft seals and topping up the gearbox oil.
While the car was lifted up on the one side, I also decided to remove the stock fuel pump and replace it with my Holley blue pump, pressure regulator and 2 new steel fuel filters (standard push on FI filters). This resulted in plenty cursing and swearing, along with all new fuel hoses and the mounting of the (MUCH BIGGER) fuel pump and pressure regulator. Pics of which I dont have at the moment.

Those wheels!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tony, I have to say that your car is just stunning! Those wheels just look right. Where did you find them, as I have been checking tyre and wheel websites and haven't been able to find anyone that sells them anymore. Are they 5/100 pcd 17"?

Where did you buy the oil cooler setup? I seriously need to put an external cooler on the bay. These AC cars were definately not designed for our heat and traffic. I just want to buy something decent. I don't have a lot of faith in the quality of the Empi stuff. The oil cooler looks OK, but the oil temp switch looks like real crap. I can just see it packing up when you don't need it.

Keep the pics coming!. BTW I take it the hatch under the rear wing is for access to the carbs?

Here is the secret....

Suicyde looks like crap!!! Its just cause the DarkSide is parked behind it that it looks so good!!!

Vader, Please show the guys here your secret door locking system.

beetlefanatic wrote:Tony, I have to say that your car is just stunning! Those wheels just look right. Where did you find them, as I have been checking tyre and wheel websites and haven't been able to find anyone that sells them anymore. Are they 5/100 pcd 17"?

Where did you buy the oil cooler setup? I seriously need to put an external cooler on the bay. These AC cars were definately not designed for our heat and traffic. I just want to buy something decent. I don't have a lot of faith in the quality of the Empi stuff. The oil cooler looks OK, but the oil temp switch looks like real crap. I can just see it packing up when you don't need it.

Keep the pics coming!. BTW I take it the hatch under the rear wing is for access to the carbs?

Thanks BF

Yes, my "windows" are to get to the carbs and the plugs.
The cooler I sourced a few years back but never installed it until now. The thermostat is a CB item and the thermoswitch is the crappy EMPI unit.

The mags are no longer made. They were made locally by A-line in 5x100 7.5J 17". You will have to source a set of second hand ones...

Looks cool, T_Z!

Hi Z , now that i saw your placement of the oil filter and cooler i have a better idea of where to hide everything , although i still have to hide a turbo as well. . My oil cooler is bigger as well. Might have to do a little body modification as well.

Tony,

I looks real good! Nothing better than seeing the results of your hard work! I had a thought the other day, but forgot to post it here. But now that the thread is up top again..... I thought that the chicken wire looked crappy, however I understand why you have it there. So I thought if you paint it black from a BBQ rattle can, at least it wont look that obvious and it will actually look good. If you dont give a rat's about looks UNDER the car, it can stay silver

ZeroAxe wrote:Tony,

I looks real good! Nothing better than seeing the results of your hard work! I had a thought the other day, but forgot to post it here. But now that the thread is up top again..... I thought that the chicken wire looked crappy, however I understand why you have it there. So I thought if you paint it black from a BBQ rattle can, at least it wont look that obvious and it will actually look good. If you dont give a rat's about looks UNDER the car, it can stay silver

I know what you are talking about... problem is access - I should have painted it before I put it in. I even have some of that paint but didnt even think of using it at the time.
Getting the cooler out now just to paint the mesh is a massive job. Its also something you dont see unless you really look for it. Remember, those pics are taken with the wheel off and the car jacked up.

Tony Z wrote:Remember, those pics are taken with the wheel off and the car jacked up.

Yup, just the point I was making about "if you are not bothered about the look under the car" (iow: hidden) If the install was anything like when I installed the cooler on my Fastback, then you have my sympathy! There is nothing that sucks as much, as trying to install something in a tight spot where you NEED to get the drill in, but there just aint f'n space(the drill doesnt FIT) and you cant get in with any kind of hand tool to ''drill'' either, because there aint no space for leverage I was swearing like a sailor, and I had a dealine to have it done for Spa!!! I worked until about 2am that morning and f'n bleeding knuckles all over!!!!

So yes, now that it is in, leave it alone!!!!!!!

Very Nice Tony, the engine bay, looks great, very neat and tidy
I'll have to come for lessons on neatening, and of course, love the wheels