Is that all?

Wednesday 30 December 2009

A Photo Fix....


My fave pic from the snow a couple weeks back ...


















And a video with sound of engine idling and exhaust sound ...


After some lunch...





Just a quick bit of post-lunch body work ...

Taken off indicator housing and bulbs in anticipation of removing the wings ...

Generaly good condition ...

very clean inside and out ...

Finally Back To Work...

Finally after a couple weeks off its time to get back to it...

Yesterday I moved Char to my new workshop (about 5 miles from home!)

Much better working conditions. i can finally leave tools with her and start to dry her off!

Electricity .... BUT NO HEATING (a common theme through this whole project i feel)

After an interesting move (with no accelerator cable), i was ready to start...9pm!

Will wait until the morning ....

This morning finally, i started...

Due to a cold Sussex morning, the spark plugs was a good place to start!

All the plugs came out no real problem .... Still one plug with a bad terminal ...after replacing two after the start and still one more!

All plugs had bad carbon fouling!

I cleaned up all plugs as well ... good as new!

In addition the gap should have been around .27 but was only about .15!

I changed the gap using feeler gauges . . .

After copper-greasing the threads I re-inserted them...

Time to do a compression test...

After warming up the engine, i took the spark plugs back out...

Back two fine...


Front two .... Heavy carbon fouling again! ... HMM!

Anyway ... off come the fuel line and into a fuel can ...

After realising the compression meter's thread was too large I found it had another one screwed inside!

The results were fairly interesting...



Cylinder Compression (PSI)

1 - 115

2 - 150

3 - 134

4 - 128


Ideal compression is 114-142 psi...


Cylinder 1 I clearly have a problem, rings i expect...

Cylinder 2 ... Well cylinder 2 is clearly a strange one... Maybe self cutting rings?

Cylinder 3 and 4 seem fine ...

I then put a teaspoon of oil into Cylinder 1 and completed a second
compression test ...

129!


Must be worn rings ....



I left the engine to cool...



Time to go and get some lunch...

Thursday 17 December 2009

Quick note...





12.30AM Friday Morning....

Just a quick note to say how heavy the snow is getting and how I am taking parts off of my car and changing fuses in the snow . . .


Lets see what tomorrow brings :)
















Here are the pics of the rust holes i found when i brushed down the back panel ....









And the brushed down back panel ... still looks rusty but much better :)

Today...






More fun and games on the Charlie front ...

Not time to do too much ...

However, one step forwards, two steps backwards...

I have included a picture of the rust holes ...











BUT, after a quick look around the car I noticed the same back light was out ...grrr!

after looking at the fuse board I noticed the same fuse was out ...

It could be that the first filament went and blew out the fuse ... but in my type of car the thicker filament is the brake light and the thinner one sidelights ...

Neither are broken ...

It is currently running on a 5amp fuse ...

I tried a 10 amp and it blew that instantly when lights turned on ...

Nothing else turns off when the fuse is removed...

I will now have to do a bit of research into what else runs on that loop ... :/

When maneuvering my car on my driveway I put pressure on the accelerator and it fully extended with no resistance and didn't return ... :@

GAH!

More work... let's hope this is a long winter :L

It is too dark to look and check the cold hasn't loosened the cable and it has slipped out of adjusters so i will check that in the morning...

... with a crushed morale ... it time to call it a day!




Wednesday 16 December 2009

Thursday...



Snow forecast today!

But no such luck yet ...which gives me time to work on Charlotte!

I have brushed down the underside of the backseats, i saw a flec of rust fall from the parcel shelf so i decided to take up that carpet....

That was not such a great find ... As you can see from the picture, slight ferrous abundancy!

I wire brushed the lot...good condition ... a few minute holes in parcel shelf... All hoovered out and ready for a coat of sealant ...

I spent the rest of the day dumping three KG of salt on my raised driveway to prevent ice hopefully :)

53p a kg ...epic win!

I then took off the rear bumper and cleaned down the inside .... ohh dear!

In true Charlie Brown style, the bumper was fixed with two different bolts :L

Love it! ... That's character!

Day drawing to a close again ... nearly ready for the work shop!

More pictures...





Drive, Stratagy, ACTION!




I have now realised the dampness is due to some damaged door seals! I must replace them!

I have now taken out the back seats and the speaker shelf... Pioneer 250's ... nice :)

I have also i am going to rub down the inner floor pan ...its better than i thought but it could do with a rubbin'

I have wire brushed the fuel tank and it looks better .. just needs a coat of black expandable gloss ...

I have cleaned out the inside and the road outside due to an oil leak!

I have now replaced all of the leads with new ones ... No as easy as thought... The spark plug end were different so i have had to get the end off of a new pair of spark plugs and replace them .... One step closer to homogeneity in Charlie .... Not her strong point!

The fuel filter is still bugging me!

Ah well ... time to call it a day!



More pictures...





Next Steps...






On our way down we noticed an excessive fuel odour (more then usual even for a Bug!!)

We also noticed a jogging in the acceleration . . . It feels like a misfire ?!?!

The Carby is new, The Distributer cap is fine, the points were corroded slightly, the rotor arm looks fine and the leads are all different ... :/

The fuel filter does not fill up... This seems strange...

The next suspect is the air manifold... Possibly cracked ...

As we set the timins using a neon light and tip-ex :L , We could turn the engine over by hand !?!

We have therefore got hold of a compression meter and will do a compression test soon...


The heater seems to be working to an extent ... its will emit hot air after a 10 mins of idling but not blow it out .... Heater Cable again!!

One headlight also seems to be pointing up as opposed to down ?!?

The fresh air vents are perpetually open and the seal around the glovebox is poor so this will need sorting out ... there is also some visible rust on the underside ... i will wire brush and waxoil it... I will also look and see what the floor pan is like under the back seats. . .

OH YEA! and that spark ....?

The spare wheel needs a wash and paint touch up aswell :)

The door panels are coming off ... There is some minor paint touching up to do aswell ... AND A SCREW MISSING FROM THE DOOR HINGE!! :L

The petrol tank has been re painted but it has started to bubble and crease with age .. i will wire brush and repaint..

Lots to do and a long winter = a great project!



On our way!

We then flew from Southampton Airport up to Durham Tee's Side airport . . .

We then picked up Charlie and her history is vast and well collated ... well done prev owners!

Our drive back was tedious...

Charlie had been used as a short distance (less than 5 miles) daily runner . . . We were about to embark on a 320 mile journey in one hit ...

There were a few problems... The handbreak cable, on one side, had snapped. The heater (flow control) cable had also snapped. The fuel gauge was unwired.

We knew all this before, thankfully, due to a very honest seller..!

We left Middlesborough at 11am on the Saturday ...

Its hard to compare the Mazda RX8 of my fathers compared to a 39 year old car... It's so draughty and loud!!

You never forget the noise of a Vdub Beetle!

Due to the fuel gauge being broken we had to estimate the fuel ... we filled up after we left then drove to Sheffield we then put in another tank and saw how much fuel we were using per 100 miles... After this we planned our stops...

My father drove the car so i was just there so spectate and enjoy the ride...

We started along the route and realised how cold the car was!

We drove from Middlesborough to Sheffield and stopped there at a service station... Topped up on tea and Burger King!

By this time we has wrapped our coats around our legs, i was wearing 3 pairs of socks and two pairs of trousers .... The bloody heating!

We then drove on down towars Bishop's Stortford and stopped to see my uncle ... On our way we saw a flash from under the steering column?!?!

We pulled into the hard shoulder and i checked we didn't have and lights out!

We then carried on ...

After this we were on the final leg! (a usual commute for my Father)

We then approached Brighton and pulled off of the A23 on the Brighton slip-road... Suddenly ... nothing, no power!

I am glad we made it this far without breaking down but on the other hand, it was so close to home. . .

We had then rolled up onto the pavement... Earlier my father had bought a 5 litre can of fuel at Middlesborough! We put that in and after a very tense few seconds the engine roared into life!!

We then drove 20 meters around the corner to the petrol station ... typical of my father :)

We had to the drive home ... when we got home my family were not convinced by charlie but they just didn't see her beauty!!!

The Foo Fighter album i had bought in Sheffield was no longer my favourite CD due to over-playing :L

A good night's sleep was then appropriate...

FINALLY I HAD CHARLIE!!

Welcome!


Hello there!

My name is Dan and for my first car i have always wanted a 1970's VW Beetle...

I will start to drive in March 2010...

Two weeks ago my parents (for christmas) bought me a working VW 1970 (1500) Beetle .... It is called Charlie Brown but i just call her Charlotte ...

I bought her on Ebay and she was situated in Middlesborough! I live near Brighton! I got the weekend off of work and we went up to get her!