How did the claim go?

Not sure, it's lost in bureaucracy at the moment. I'll be lucky to see anything by tax season :P I did get a new sidewinder exhaust on though and it's much quieter. I love the added ground clearance too, well worth the upgrade.

Unfortunately I have to sell this bug to pay for vet bills. I put it up in the for sale section and need to get it sold asap. :(

On January 8th 2011 I sold Mojo to a nice german fellow who wanted to do everything I planned to do and turn him into a GSR. I was unemployed at the time and needed the money so I was just happy the bug was going to a good home. Fast forward 3 years and a month later and I bought him back when the opportunity presented itself. I've known too many people who lament about the one that got away and I was in the same boat. So when I saw the ad on thesamba.com I recognized my car immediately and made the effort to get it back.

Drove 6 hours through hellish fog and rain in order to get him home
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...f.jpg~original

Interior is better than it was before, seats were re-upholstered with a black tweed like material that is as close to the original as you can get.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...m.jpg~original

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...y.jpg~original

Also got the original sport rims back but he had them stripped and powder coated, very nice!
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...j.jpg~original

Mojo and Lucy together again
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...k.jpg~original

Unfortunately there was no motor when I bought him back, but I just happened to have a race motor sitting on a stand in the garage, how serendipitous! I started tearing down the motor to check for wear and raise the CR for street duty.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...z.jpg~original

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...i.jpg~original

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...3.jpg~original


So now I'm the 3rd and 5th owner of this sports bug and I'll be tossing up some more updates soon. I really want to have him back together and on the road before the show season starts in April but I'd also like to get some body work done.

Nice!

SWEET!

Those seats look fantastic with the black tweed.

-Dave

Cool bug!

I'm excited about this.

Hi, what's a good daily driver compression ratio. I've read no more than 8, but I read were you set yours at 9. How much of a daily driver is yours? What about getting stuck in traffic.

The old motor that used to live in this bug was at 9.6:1 and did great in traffic. I had an external oil cooler with a thermostatic fan switch and I never had an issue with oil temps. You do need to pay attention to your cooling setup, super b welded fan, good sealing tin, and proper airflow do wonders to keep things cool IF they are setup correctly. The race motor is getting reworked for 9.3:1 CR which will live on premium so I can get more aggressive with timing. I wouldn't call this motor "daily friendly" since it likes to rev and has a big cam, but it could certainly be driven daily without issue. I'll try and get a full build detail with the next update.

Hi,I have a 2110 that I plan to turbo. I also have a 2332 that I would be interested in maybe 89 octane. If thou don't mind sharing specs, wonderful.

I was hoping to have the motor in the car this weekend but delayed parts prevented that. The new motor is all set though with a few finishing touches...

Rebuilding the motor didn't take very long... because I forgot to take pics :P With the heads and barrels off wear was minimal. There was minor evidence the heads had lifted at one point, 31psi will probably do that. Other than that, rockers looked good, no excessive wear on the lash caps, push rods were still round, and so too were the barrels. Before tearing everything down though I measured the lift at each valve and compared it to my build notes. The results were .002"-.003" of wear across the board, not too shabby.

I started putting some new parts on, which was in an earlier pic, a new ultra wide glide sump to replace the thin line sump, and a fancy jaycee o-ringed drain plate.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...2.jpg~original

The front of the case got a new 30mm oil pump with full flow cover, new stock size billet sand seal pulley with new seal, and AN -8 fittings for oil feed and return.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...9.jpg~original

This is what .015" deck looks like
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...e.jpg~original

Something I said I would do when I had the motor apart was to grind the corners down on the fuel rails so the injectors would sit off to the side. That way the don't get pinched between the manifolds and the shroud. I also swapped out the 750cc injectors for 375cc units, no need for big fuel without a turbo.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...8.jpg~original

Here's the motor back together and ready to go. Manifolds and TBs are just set in place since they need to come off before the motor goes in the car.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...d.jpg~original


Final build specs on the motor:
2176cc, 9:1 CR

CB 1157 Alu race case, +3.5mm deck, german pickup tube
CB 2668 Super Race Crank, 78.4mm, chevy journal
CB 2666 Super Race Rods, chevy rod journal, 5.7"
Mahle Forged 94mm pistons, with coated skirts, 94mm stroker (extended) barrels
Coated main bearings, and Clevite rod bearings, anti friction coated
Cima/Mahle 94mm rings, Total seal 2nd ring
CB 1223 Cylinder Head Studs, 10mm Chromoly
Eagle Racing K-8 cam, Adv. Duration 308*, Dur. @ .050" 256*, Lift w/ 1.3 rockers .491"
CB 1849 Camshaft Bearings, anti friction Coated
CB 1537 28mm Ultralight Lifters
CB 1399 Straight Cut Cam Gears
CB 1421 044 CNC Mini Wedge Port (42 x 37.5) 94 Bore, K800 springs, chromoly retainers, 65cc, .015" deck
CB 1575 Forged 1.3:1 Rocker Arms
CB 1629 Chromoly Dual Tapered Push Rods
CB 1515 Push Rod Tubes, JayCee Silver Bullet
CB 1702d Valve Covers - C Channel
CB 7366 Big Beef Manifolds with Fuel Injector Ports, IDF, port matched to mini wedge
CB 7356 48mm Throttle Bodies
Precision Injection 36# (375cc) injectors
CB 2017 Black 7'' Billet Crankshaft Pulley with Steel Hub for Sand Seal
CB 2050 Stainless Steel Broached Crank Pulley Bolt
CB 1862 Maxi 30 Full Flow Oil Pump with Black Anodized Billet Cover,3/8'' outlet
CB 1706 4 Qt. Ultra Wide Glide Sump
CB 3200 JayCee Mag-X Magnetic Sump Plate, Black
DTM Type 1 cooling shroud
Compu-Fire Dual Cool 90 Amp Alternator
CB 2182 200 MPH Alternator/Generator Clamp
Killer B welded late model fan
Type 4 oil cooler

:whistles: Can you please install that right into my 1303?

Weather and time finally lined up and I was able to work on the GSR a bit today. Even thought he's in pretty good shape I want him to look sharp all around. To that end I started the tear down today, so he can go off to body and paint later this week.

Interior was the first to come out and that gave me a chance to catch a few things, good and bad. The seats were all re-upholstered which I knew but the sliders and pads were all replaced as well which is nice. The vapor barrier on the passenger door was toast and as a result the new door panel had some minor water damage and mold, but the drivers side was fine. The rear interior quarter panels might be original or very old, but still in great shape. The carpet is in pretty sorry shape and will probably be replaced, but the plastics/handles are mostly new.

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...7.jpg~original

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...c.jpg~original

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...c.jpg~original

Bumpers and exterior trim were next. The bumpers were freshly powder coated and they are in great shape. The fenders I think are original, and the hardware has never been out. On the drivers rear fender one of the bolts snapped in half and another had the captive square nut spin loose so both of those will need to be fixed :P

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...1.jpg~original

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...f.jpg~original

That's it for now, hopefully some more progress tomorrow...

Quick update:

The bug has been almost entirely stripped down and sent off for body and paint. I wish I had the time (and experience) to do it myself but I have 3 projects on my plate at the moment. On the plus side the body shop will be documenting everything and I'll put some of the photos up when I pickup the bug for final assembly.

Current eta is 2nd week of april...

Hi,

Hope you can share the name of the shop doing the paint/body, and the results you are getting?

Having lived in Santa Cruz for a long time now,
Am really anxious to get current feed-back on some of the local shops.

My other car will be going in somewhere hopefully soon, but my past/current experiences fill me with dread.

PM me?

Big update time! But first an answer and a story...

Clatter, The shop I went to is called Prosport Auto Body at Stevens Creek and Bascom Ave. in San Jose. Jewel is an awesome old car guy from the south and has done tons of VWs. He did an awesome job on my car and I've already sent a few people his way. He does have a waiting list and about a 2 month back log if you can wait.

And now a story...

I dropped the bug off at Jewel's shop at the end of march hoping to have it back in a couple weeks with the goal of having the bug fully restored and finished for Bugorama Memorial Day weekend. After 4 weeks I finally get to pick up the bug, now towards the end of April, and take it over to Bugformance, where the headliner and rubber will be installed. They sit on it for a week with a mad rush of cars that need work also trying to make Bugorama, but once they unwrap the fenders they find that 3 of them have deep scratches or chips in the paint. :( So I call Jewel and since he wrapped them up he takes responsibility and offered to respray them for free. Another couple weeks go by and the deadline looms large. A week until the show now, fenders are back at the shop and the whole car is on hold waiting for the headliner to be installed. It's the Wednesday before the show and I have no illusions about finishing the bug in time, but I'm looking forward to a nice holiday weekend working on the GSR.

After a stressful day at work, I drive my Excursion and race trailer down to pick up the bug, get everything paid for, go out to move the tow rig, and the Excursion wont start. I do some troubleshooting with fuses/relays and it looks like the fuel pump died right there in the parking lot. Damnit. I call for a tow truck as I watch the shop close up with the GSR still inside and wait. The first truck that comes out can't drive me home because it'll put him over 40 hours and he can't have OT. Whatever. He calls a second truck and after another 30 minute wait I finally have a way home. We put the Excursion on the flatbed, and he tells me that towing the trailer home will be $250. That's cheaper than a new trailer and I don't want to leave mine behind with the good chance it would get stolen, so he hitches it up.

We get on our way and as soon as we leave the parking lot, the dip at the parking lot entrance causes the trailer to jump off the hitch and slam into the back of the tow truck. The trailer jack is messed up, the equipment box on the tongue is smashed in, and we are blocking most of a busy road during rush hour. While the tow truck driver, Jose, scrapes my trailer off the road, my phone starts blowing up with emails about databases going down, and various failures I can do nothing but watch because my laptop bag is in the Excursion. Once we get rolling again Jose and I chat about what a ****ty day I'm having, and hopefully my luck turns around. After nearly getting wrecked twice on the way home by inattentive drivers, we finally make it to my house in the mountains and park the trailer. Were in the middle of unloading the Excursion and my asshole neighbor starts causing a scene. He races to the edge of his driveway in his car with his brights on, and revs his engine like he's got somewhere to go. We have a history with this guy so I know he's just being a dick, and he does this whenever we block the road (moving trailers) or use the easement that leads to one of his driveways (he has more than one) to turn trucks around. Jose gets flustered by the guy's actions and moves out of the way for the neighbor (who parks in front of his garage with the car idling and won't acknowledge our presence). Unfortunately, the Excursion was in neutral but still on the winch, so it didn't roll off the back of the tow truck, but instead slammed into the steel light bar folding front of the hood on the Excursion nicely. Fantastic. I can't even get mad, this bizarre series of events is just unbelievable. We unload the Excursion, roll it into the driveway and I call it a night with a bottle of La Fin Du Monde, very appropriate. The tow company will cover the damages so it's just a waste of my time to get the estimates done, but now I get to spend the holiday weekend replacing the in-tank fuel pump on the Excursion instead of the bug.


Yeah, the jack is bent and that lid doesn't close any more...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...e.jpg~original

...and the Excursion needs a nose job.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...9.jpg~original


btw, Jose has been a tow truck driver for over 15 years and never had an accident. He had 2 in one day... in a brand new low truck, it still had paper tags. I know they were both preventable accidents but I just feel bad for the guy getting collateral bad juju by proximity.

Day-am! That IS a sh*tty day.

That's a terrible day. I hope you get to work on the bug soon.

That day is so bad, it's pretty comical. Sorry, I laughed.

-Dave

Now for the good parts :)

I did finally get the bug home on May 27th, and after the last trip with the Excursion this time felt like an eternity. I grabbed a pic that evening after we unloaded the trailer.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...l.jpg~original

That's not even in the sun and the Saturn Yellow still pops. Here's a couple more shots, fresh paint, new headliner, and some of the interior that was installed at Bugformance.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...3.jpg~original

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...4.jpg~original

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...7.jpg~original

I've been chipping away at all the (seemingly) little jobs, but they take longer when you're cautious around fresh paint and new carpet. Paint the things that need paint, and glue the things that need glue, but nothing else!

New door panels w/o map pockets. Notice the nice refreshed black detail on the door sill, also all the rubber on the bug is new.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...1.jpg~original

Rear quarter panels, grab handles, battery are in and the sub just chillin in the rear luggage tray.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...9.jpg~original

Simple things like new sun visors make me happy, but it forces me to up my game. Cant have old and busted clips, or chipped/scratched trim pieces when everything else is so mint. I keep making trips to get new fiddly bits just so I know its right.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...0.jpg~original

Here's a "before" shot of the engine bay. I had cleaned and degreased it but it just looked okay. Not good enough. I debated getting new tar board like the factory but there's still ugliness behind those panels. I taped everything off and very carefully sprayed new undercoating and the results are worth all the stress. Unfortunately, the car is so bright it's hard to get a good shot of the dark engine bay. BTW, I used 3m high build undercoat, great stuff, one can for the engine bay.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...3.jpg~original

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...4.jpg~original

But wait, there's more!

Up on jack stands because I'm swapping the disks out soon, but before that I couldn't wait any longer and had to do the trim. The trim, wipers, headlight rings, and turn signal covers were all looking a little ragged so they all got sanded and hit with a fresh coat of satin black paint. Once on the bug it makes a nice but subtle difference.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...4.jpg~original

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...6.jpg~original

The trunk area also got a respray so it's shiny new as well. The freshly powder coated sports rim barely fits thanks to the width of the 205/50r15 Dunlop Direzza ZII. Sidenote, those headlights are hella h4 conversion glass straight from Germany thanks to Uwe.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...d.jpg~original

More interior work now, rear seat back is in to test fit stereo equipment. Might as well install that while I'm here.
A short list for the stereo:
Pioneer DEH X9600BHS head unit
Infinity Kappa 62.9i fronts
Infinity Kappa 693.9i rears
Pioneer TS-W2502D4 10" sub
JBL GTO504 280w amp for front/rear
JBL GTO501 770w amp for sub
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...2.jpg~original

Rough position of the sub and amps. 6x9 go in the rear shelf over the amps.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...0.jpg~original

Chasing ghosts of wiring past, a few of them mine.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...7.jpg~original

Wiring front to rear for speakers and amps done, and front speakers/kick panels/and carpets in. This took way longer than I thought, being extra careful around new carpets.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...4.jpg~original

That's how far I've come as of the weekend, trying to chip away at little jobs every day after work. Going to try and get the trans out and put the old race trans in this week. Should be a great match for the smaller diameter wheel combo.

Those of us not living in California envy you for comments like that. :P That paint is fantastic! The car is going to look incredible when finished. What's the final wheel choice going to be?

-Dave

I agree with Dave, the car looks outstanding!

terrific car, I have almost finished a Sports Bug replica...well... I painted my '74 Saturn Yellow :)

Going with the Lemmertz sports rims that were stripped and freshly powder coated. They look great and should hold up very well now. The disks are dual drilled for 4x100 and 4x130 so I have options, but I think I want to stick with a vintage look.

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...9.jpg~original

Where's the huge thumbs up icon?? Proper wheel choice, I approve. ;-)

-Dave

Looks great!

Looking very sanitary.

i love it! so glad you got this car back. keep up the good work man. my drums are also dual drilled as well with the 4x100/ 4x130. i love the wheels. i love to find me a set of the sport wheels in 5.5.

Looks sensational

Car looks great.

Thanks for sharing the tip on the paint shop.

Three cars can get a guy spread too thin,
(I can speak for that)
But you seem to be able to give them all the love they deserve.
props to you for all of your dedication!

This one does look like fun to drive the hill...

Progress on the car has been slow because work has been crazy. You'll find out why tomorrow at 10am PST ;)

I did have time to try and fit the old race motor... which was about way too wide to get into the engine bay. The only way to get the motor in was to remove valve covers and rockers. Yes the rockers had to come off, that's how wide that motor was. So it came back out and came apart to rebuild it on a stock deck height block with a few more goodies.

Out with the old, and in with the new, the disassembled parts from the race motor
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...b.jpg~original

new block, first test assembly with bearings in
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...1.jpg~original

coated clevite bearings for the rods again
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...0.jpg~original

cam, crank and rods ready to go, bigger cam this time, because why not?! I like building monsters so I used the CB 2300 dyno winning cam for this build, Adv. Duration 317°, Dur. @ .050'' 273°, Lift w/1.25:1 .537''
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...2.jpg~original

Short block together, pulley subject to change, CB 30mm full flow pump installed
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...d.jpg~original

Took just about as much out of the heads as I could, chambers down to 49cc, high compression? try 11:1 for this build, if you think that's high, remember the race motor saw 25-30psi with 9.6:1 CR.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...f.jpg~original

Rings and pistons going together, gapped the top rings to .018" and the total seal 2nd rings to /020". I openned my wallet a little wider and sprung for weisco forged pistons which are much lighter than the mahle. Final deck height is .031" and everything clears just fine.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...d.jpg~original


Finally final build specs on the motor:
2176cc, 11:1 CR

CB 1157 Alu race case, std deck, german pickup tube
CB 2668 Super Race Crank, 78.4mm, chevy journal
CB 2666 Super Race Rods, chevy rod journal, 5.5"
Weisco Forged 94mm pistons, 94mm Mahle barrels
Coated main bearings, and Clevite rod bearings, anti friction coated
Weisco 94mm rings, Total seal 2nd ring
CB 1223 Cylinder Head Studs, 10mm Chromoly
Eagle Racing CB 2300 cam, Adv. Duration 317°, Dur. @ .050'' 273°, Lift w/1.25:1 .537''
CB 1849 Camshaft Bearings, anti friction Coated
CB 1537 28mm Ultralight Lifters
CB 1399 Straight Cut Cam Gears
CB 1421 044 CNC Mini Wedge Port (42 x 37.5) 94 Bore, K800 springs, chromoly retainers, 49cc, .031" deck
CB 1575 Forged 1.3:1 Rocker Arms
CB 1629 Chromoly Dual Tapered Push Rods
CB 1515 Push Rod Tubes, JayCee Silver Bullet
CB 1702d Valve Covers - C Channel
CB 7366 Big Beef Manifolds with Fuel Injector Ports, IDF, port matched to mini wedge
CB 7356 48mm Throttle Bodies
Precision Injection 36# (375cc) injectors
CB 2017 Black 7'' Billet Crankshaft Pulley with Steel Hub for Sand Seal
CB 2050 Stainless Steel Broached Crank Pulley Bolt
CB 1862 Maxi 30 Full Flow Oil Pump with Black Anodized Billet Cover,3/8'' outlet
CB 1706 4 Qt. Ultra Wide Glide Sump
CB 3200 JayCee Mag-X Magnetic Sump Plate, Black
DTM Type 1 cooling shroud
Compu-Fire Dual Cool 90 Amp Alternator
CB 2182 200 MPH Alternator/Generator Clamp
Killer B welded late model fan
Type 4 oil cooler


I'm hoping the exhaust shows up tomorrow, that will be in the next update :)

Nice build again!
but why did you keep the long 5,7" rods if you wanted a less wide engine?

wide?
 

"O"man, I must be in trouble:shocked: my type IV is 2.9, with 6 inch rods. "O" boy:o

Wally: Good eye! Actually the rods are also new, cb 5.5" race rods. Corrected now :)

Effvee: just chop the the sides of the engine bay, and you'll have all the room in the world!

Effvee: just chop the the sides of the engine bay, and you'll have all the room in the world![/QUOTE]

Ok, now I can sleep. From what I understand,heads/intake like Remmele and engine plus allows for the adaptation of a 3 liter into super beetle, can anyone confirm this. Question, why did you not go the way of modding your body also?

If it wasn't a GSR/Sports i would cut it up in a heartbeat (I'm not counting the racecar, even though she's a GSR/Sports too, shh!). I put a lot of money into the restoration of the GSR to be my dream pro-tourer, classic, super mountain slayer, I just couldn't cut the body even for the expensive race motor.

Understood, please forgive my ignorance; what constitutes a GSR/sport?

the GSR or gelb schwartzer renner was a special edition super beetle in '73. In Germany it was saturn yellow or marathon blue metallic with a matte black hood and decklid, all black trim etc (until the lines ran out) with special recaro seats and sports steering wheel. They didn't think the color combo would sell as well in the states so the US got single color cars, the Sports Bug Edition, with optional dealer installed sport stripes down the belt line. These colors were only ever available on the bug in 1973 on the sports bug, and they were the only models to ever get the recaro seats. It's estimated that ~2000 were made for Europe and ~4000-5000 were made for the US.

In Germany there was an outrage over the little hellian, rabble rouser beetle. In Europe the cars came with a list of up-fitters/shops that would upgrade the motor which flew in the face of the gas crisis at the time. So much so, that there was talk in the German Parliament about issuing penalties to VW for encouraging gas-wasting driving habits with a sporty beetle. The US on the other hand mostly yawned, and the Sports Bug was over looked for the last gasp muscle cars of the day. It's estimated that there are probably less than 500 GSR's left in the world in working order.

The more you know ,~"'`'*

Thank you, didn't know that.