'73 Volkswagen Squareback

[conigirl]

Ahhh sean you make me feel bad for letting my 73 bug sit outside in the snow....my daughters friend has a 71 standard bug kinda was a project car, so some stuff done....she is off to college and wants to get rid of it.....??? if you know anyone....

[Seanz0rz]

all of my friends think i am absolutely crazy for buying an air cooled vw, so i dont really know any one specifically.

put it up on the classifieds on www.thesamba.com it should go pretty quick if you want to get rid of it.

taking a break for lunch. the engine compartment wiring is nearly done, just a couple of connectors left to crimp.

here is my writeup for today:

Today I set out to finish the engine compartment. Along with the tail light wiring, there are the wires for the ECU, the oil sender, generator, a future tach, and the coil.
All of these wires have to go towards the front of the car:
[img width=600 height=800]http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Squareback/IMG_3060.jpg[/img]

Measured, cut, crimped, etc until it was all done, then I pushed it through the firewall and through the cabin. Using a piece of pencil steel really helped get through that no-man’s-land above the transmission.
[img width=800 height=600]http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Squareback/IMG_3061.jpg[/img]

Once through, I went inside and pushed the original protective sleeve on to my split loom.
[img width=600 height=800]http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Squareback/IMG_3062.jpg[/img]

I neatly finished the connections on the engine:
[img width=800 height=600]http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Squareback/IMG_3063.jpg[/img]

Inside the cabin, I have a lot of wires that are a few inches shorter than I had intended. Guess I under estimated the length of wire needed to go from the engine into the cabin. It’s not anything that can’t be fixed, it just puts my splices a little further up than I had wanted.
[img width=600 height=800]http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Squareback/IMG_3064.jpg[/img]

Now I have a major question (that I think I will end up answering myself anyway). Back when I wired the fuse box, I ran the feeder directly to the battery (pretty much as I have always done on other vehicles.) but the original wiring schematic calls for it to be pulled from the voltage regulator at the same point where the battery attaches. It appears to me that I am just saving myself some wire doing it this way.

[DHC6twinotter]

Sweeet! Looks good, Sean!

[Seanz0rz]

now that all my projects are done, and most of my finals as well, i can turn back to the vw.

yesterday i got a package:
[img width=800 height=599]http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Squareback/IMG_3068.jpg[/img]

from top to bottom, left to right:
3rd Brake Light (new)
License Plate Light (retrofit existing housing)
2 1156 sockets (possible retrofit front housings for markers)
2 front turn
2 front marker (possible)
2 rear turn
2 brake/parking
2 reverse

cost me a bit of money, but i think it will be very much worth it for the current savings and the longevity of the bulbs. plus i think they look darn cool, especially having this older vehicle with a new technology. i am sure this is what VW would have done had they produced the car today.

hopefully some updates of actual work this weekend, hopefully!

[Obi..]

Noooiiiicccceee Lemme know if/when it's all done and if you decide to sell it off. I'm still on great terms with a couple oversea's collectors. Sold off my '69 Bug, Autostick, Shaved/Cal-Look, with a deleted dash pad, all with a blown 3rd cylinder for way too much. I showed one of them this and he got all hyper and big eyed drooling.

[Seanz0rz]

So today I decided it was time to tackle the license plate light.

First, I removed the stock lamp assembly.


Then, I polished up the lens with rubbing compound. A bit of elbow grease and a dremel really made it shine! looks almost new!




I then desoldered the connector on the LED strip, and soldered in my 20AWG wires.


The LED strip I purchased fits perfectly at the back of the lens.


The strip got silicone into place, with the help of an unused club card:



Man is it bright!


So that is one task done. soon I'll get to swapping in all the new bulbs and testing those systems. I got my electronic flasher the other day, so now I can complete the turn and hazard circuit. Need to figure out how to mount my 3rd brake light, but that is a job for another day.

Thanks for reading!
-Sean

[Seanz0rz]

I just wanted to write something to the regulars of this site, and to the people that might come across this in a search someday.

people have asked me why I post vintage VW stuff on an offroad Toyota website. I am a member of this community, this family we call UltimateYota. The people that frequent here, I consider them my extended family. Beyond sharing my little project with my family, I am posting these images and words so that maybe someday when someone is working on wiring an offroad vehicle from scratch, they can borrow some ideas from me, and read about my experiences. Maybe someday when someone is restoring an old truck, they will look at some of the methods and materials i have used and be helped by that. Hopefully it inspires someone to get out there and do something, either with an old car, truck, or motorcycle. Whether it be a lowrider or a SCORE truck, we are all members of a much larger community, and we all have things to learn from and teach to each other.

We can talk and WebWheel all day long, but what really matters is going out and doing something. Hopefully these pages will inspire you to do something. Even if it is just mounting a pair of fog lights, you can do it! Don't be afraid to do something, just make sure you do it right!

I have little formal training in the things I do. I never went to school for electrical work (though i have had a few classes AFTER I had figured it all out), I never had any formal welding classes. What I know I learned from other people or the internet and trying, making mistakes, and learning from them. You can too.

If you have any questions about anything I do on this vehicle, please post up! Even if it sounds stupid, I rather you learn than make a simple mistake that will cost you money, or hurt you or someone else, or damage your project.

I really appreciate your interest in my progress on this little car.

[4x4mike]

I just wanted to write something to the regulars of this site, and to the people that might come across this in a search someday.

people have asked me why I post vintage VW stuff on an offroad Toyota website. I am a member of this community, this family we call UltimateYota. The people that frequent here, I consider them my extended family. Beyond sharing my little project with my family, I am posting these images and words so that maybe someday when someone is working on wiring an offroad vehicle from scratch, they can borrow some ideas from me, and read about my experiences. Maybe someday when someone is restoring an old truck, they will look at some of the methods and materials i have used and be helped by that. Hopefully it inspires someone to get out there and do something, either with an old car, truck, or motorcycle. Whether it be a lowrider or a SCORE truck, we are all members of a much larger community, and we all have things to learn from and teach to each other.

We can talk and WebWheel all day long, but what really matters is going out and doing something. Hopefully these pages will inspire you to do something. Even if it is just mounting a pair of fog lights, you can do it! Don't be afraid to do something, just make sure you do it right!

I have little formal training in the things I do. I never went to school for electrical work (though i have had a few classes AFTER I had figured it all out), I never had any formal welding classes. What I know I learned from other people or the internet and trying, making mistakes, and learning from them. You can too.

If you have any questions about anything I do on this vehicle, please post up! Even if it sounds stupid, I rather you learn than make a simple mistake that will cost you money, or hurt you or someone else, or damage your project.

I really appreciate your interest in my progress on this little car.

Why would people care? Heck we have a general vehicle tech section so if anything it belongs. All forums have threads that get way off topic and in the end probably belong in a chit chat spot. Whatever.

Sean, you've got a big project on your hands and I give you 2 thumbs up for your work as it's more than I would want to tackle. Just like Bob's veggie mobile I enjoy reading your progress and have no problem with it.
Wrench on.

[Seanz0rz]

Thanks Mike!

here is the finished assembly:


and here is it all lit up! she lives! she lives!


today i found out that the rear turn signals will require a tiny bit of grinding on the housings to fit, and the reverse bulbs will simply not fit into the housings. the problem is the angle of the head of the bulb. from the top of the socket, it angles out to capture the 30 LED array, but the housing's socket is recessed quite a bit. guess ill have to figure out a way to remedy that. also my plan for the front markers wont work either. i will have to install strips much like i just put into the license plate light.

[4x4mike]

Can you post a picture of the housings? The license plate strips look like Superflux leds which are really cheap and bright. Paddlenbike used them for his footwell lights and runs them at something like 82 ma with a simple circuit. I imaging you only need a couple and you can run them a little brighter and be golden. Superflux are in the mirrors of VW and mercedes and tail lights of the 2nd gen prius, from what I've seen. I bought a box of 20 for a couple of bucks.