Over the past few months, I've put in a quite a bit of work and now its time for a catch-up post. Previously, I finished work on sandblasting, sealing and painting the chassis. Restoration of the front and rear end is next.
New Equipment
Engine Stand
To bring the front beam to a workable height, I decided that I would use an engine stand. I was determined to not buy one new, so I was able to acquire one at a scrap yard for $40.
Parts Washer
I was able to repair and upgrade a defunct parts washer we had laying around the shop. I installed a new pump and filter system and it works great.
The front end axle beam was completely disassembled...
Axle Beam and Brakes
The front axle beam that was on the car had a "EMPI Select-a-Drop" conversion done on it at some point. After reading about them and seeing that most of the feedback was negative on ride quality, I concluded that there are better and more modern options currently available for an adjustable front end. If I was going to replace it, I wanted to do it now, so I decided to upgrade to a modern adjustable beam with "Puma" style adjusters.
I disassembled, washed and bead blasted the spindles and king pin carriers. All appeared to be in good shape, as they were replaced relatively recently in the car's history.
After bead blasting, I primed and painted all of the above.
The bushings on the new front end needed to be reamed just slightly. Without a reamer that I did not want to spend the money on, I used a 1.5" dowel and some emery cloth to clear out just a little bit of material so that the trailing arms would not bind.
The torsion springs were removed from the old front end, washed, re-greased and installed. these were also replaced relatively recently and were in good shape.
After painting, the trailing arms were polished, greased and installed.
I polished the link pins and connected the newly cleaned and greased spindles to the new axle beam.
The front brakes will be upgraded to discs. After a few pretty scary close calls trying to stop the car in the past, I knew that this was one upgrade that I definitely wanted to do. The old drum brakes and rotors have been removed. CSP Disc brakes ordered from Germany along with a new larger master cylinder.
New master cylinder installed, brake lines installed.
Out with the old and in with the new...
Steering Box and Tie Rods
Steering box - removed, disassembled, washed, blasted, rebuilt and painted. New seals installed. New bearings are hard to come by for this, so I installed new bearing balls, assembled and made adjustments. After some research on suitable oils to use in the box itself, Corn Head Grease appeared to be the best modern alternative, superior to oils used in the past for this purpose. The professionals use it. Its officially for the cutting heads on corn harvesters, but its properties are also perfect for VW steering boxes.
Tie Rods - These were in good shape, but the ends were worn and needed to be replaced. The rods were blasted, primed, painted and the threads were cleaned out. New ends were installed and the steering system is in new condition once again.
Pedal Cluster
Pedal cluster is in overall good shape. I had to drill out the clutch pedal pin in order to disassemble it. The hook at the end of the clutch pedal shaft was warn almost all the way through, so the shaft and hook were replaced.
disassembled, washed, blasted, prepped, primed, painted, greased, reassembled and installed.
Transmission
In 1963, highway speeds were lower, so the stock transmission in my '63 had a relatively low gear ratio that was appropriate for the time. In modern times, this causes to engine to rev pretty high and get pretty loud cruising at modern highway speeds (over 55mph). However, the fact that the car had no sound proofing or carpet installed at the time I was driving it did not help either.
So, I wanted to upgrade the transmission for a more comfortable driving experience at higher speeds.
I reviewed several gear ratio setups and calculators online to determine what I had in the car before (what I remember driving on the highway), what VWs came with in later years, and what is offered today in rebuilt transmissions for current traffic speeds.
This brought me to the subject of air cooled engine RPMs and effective cooling. Air cooled VW's were never meant to be effectively cooled at low RPMs as the cooling fan is directly related to engine speed. Higher engine RPM = higher fan speed = better cooling.
Researching transmission options brought me several ideas. Aside from the high-flying ideas of converting to a Porche or Subaru 5-speed transmission, the two that I considered seriously were the Berg 5-speed kit and a rebuilt freeway flyer with a higher gear ratio. The Berg 5-speed kit was designed for closer gears 1-4 and a 5th gear with a stock 4th gear ratio of .89, originally meant for street racing. This, along with the price tag of $7,000 for a rebuilt transmission with a Berg 5-speed installed turned me off to the whole idea.
I determined that a swing axle transmission with a later model year gear ratio would accomplish what I was after. Rancho Transaxles, a reputable and highly rated vendor located in Fullerton, CA, offers a transmission with a ratio the same as the '68 model year and a 3.88 ring and pinion. Reviews on these transaxles are high and people seem to be happy with them.
New rebuilt transmission has been ordered from Rancho Transaxles and will be ready in December 2021.
As the new transmission will not come with axles, the original ones will be used. The axles were removed from the original transmission and shrink-wrapped. The axle tubes, drums and backing plates have been washed, bead blasted, sealed and painted.
More to Come!
