Bugnut /Zen
I just can never get tired of working on brakes. Each time I bleed them and tighten the pads  I feel as if  I am one with Bug.

I never thought about the exhaust.  The muffler  i got has many holes.  I figure its a free breather.     The muffler does not have a pipe on one side it and it blows all the exhaust under the car.   This is probaly why Frank did not catch on fire when the the engine started that time when the muffler was filled with gas .  Half the gas went under the car and the rest on him.
This probaly  makes the engine hotter and makes me feel a little ill due to fumes.   I did clean the heater pipe that runs along the manifold when i had the engine out.  It was clogged up with rust and carbon.   Does a muffler come with exhaust pipes? I have seen some strait pipes that do away with the heat exchanger that is used  to heat the people in the car.  
I feel that a working heater in this beetle is a luxury that I can'not afford.
How much should I expect to pay to fix the muffler and exhaust?  SC

It was a beautiful day for adjusting the brakes. The wind was breezing,  the sky was blue,  and the underside of 35 old beetle is .. well you know what I mean.  I concentrated on tighting those little spur wheels this time, not my usual half ass repair. An what to my wondering eyes did appear,  but a stiffer higher brake pedal.  Its like I poured Viagra in the tank and the brake pedal perked up.

Since the brakes seem fixed,  I had Frank check that the brake lights still worked and they don't'.   I think when I rassled the gas tank in I rammed the fuse box and dislocated a few wires.  I have 2 or 3 blown fuses and some wires are pulled from the back side of the fuse box.   Hey Superbee.  can you take a picture of the wire side of your fuse box for me?  I think plug 3 is brakes and I aint got no juice on it anymore. I have a blue/brown striped wire that seems to want to be plugged somewhere.

Oh ya,  when I was under the car I thought about the tranny oil. I know it was probaly well maintained, changed and topped off every year like the rest of the car is,  but I just want to make sure. I discovered the oil is kept in with some kind of inverted nut bolt  or something.  Any body have a trick to get the tranny oil bolt out. I can probaly drill it out and put a cork in the hole, but maybe there is a better way    SC

If this post aint long enough.  I saw a 72 of so unrestored SuperBeetle convertable up in chicamauga on 27 at the house before the food lion. Is that in the still in the Triangle?  he wanted $3800

Right on,I've long been a fan of BBQ paint works a ton better than most so called high temp paints.

Visit www.type2.com.  Look in their library and look for the electrical section.  Then go to the section with the on-line wiring diagrams.  They have more than just Type 2 diagrams.  Find the one for your car and download it.  I think they went to the new style diagrams in 1973, so the one for your car should be one you can read without a degree in electronics technology.  Even if you don't know a lot about wiring diagrams, the older style diagrams can help you.  The ones on the type2.com web site are color coded with the colors assigned to the original wires and they are laid out pretty much like the car is laid out.

I think it's an M10 bolt that has a normally has a 17mm head.  They make a 17mm allen socket bit that works better.  Look for one at Auto Zone, Advance Auto, O'Rilleys, or Ace Hardware . . . one of those places should have one.  If you are going to change the oil in your tranny, take the fill plug out before you take the drain plug out.  Why???  Because the drain plug is on the bottom.  It's easy to get to.  It's usually not too hard to break it loose and remove it.  When you do the oil runs out.  Something to with the law of gravity.  Now that you've got the tranny drained, try to remove the fill plug.  It's harder to get to 'cause it's up on the side of the tranny . . . You won't be able to get it out.  Something to do with Murphy's Law.  So, now you've got to fill the tranny back up from that hole in the bottom of the tranny.  Remember the law of gravity?  So, to stay on the right side of the law, and prevent having to roll your bug over on it's roof to fill the tranny, all you have to do is remove the fill plug first.  It'll come out without a problem!   :wink:

Well today I drove the street legal StuporBeetle with all the other cars.
I made it to Rock spring tires,  About 3 miles,  The engine does not have enough power to drive in 4 th gear.  That is a problem.   I'm not sure what to do about that.

I also have an annoying shimmy and shake as I pass the 40 mph threshhold.  Maybe I'm  breaking the VW sound barrier. I Feel like the front wheels are going to fly off.   So I putted down Hwy 27 going  at 38 mph.   Almost as fast as a Civil war Locomotive.
Im so happy   SC

I also have an annoying shimmy and shake as I pass the 40 mph threshhold.  Maybe I'm  breaking the VW sound barrier. I Feel like the front wheels are going to fly off.

SC, you are experiancing the Stuper Beetle Shimmies.  It's an illness all Stupers were born with, but it can be cured . . . well maybe not cured, but it can be put into remission for years at a time.  Go to http://www.toplineparts.com . . . they specialize in lowering Stupers, but they also have the stuff you need to make your Stuper handle like the sports car it is.

The main things to check are:

1. Your wheels.  If they are even SLIGHTLY warped, out of round or out of ballance, you will have the shimmies.  There is no need to do anything else to the front end until you wheels and tires are right.

2. The control are and sway bar bushings. Replace 'em whether they need it or not . . . trust me, chances are they need replacing!  Get Top Line's urethane bushing set.

3. Check the Stut inserts, Steering Dampner, Pitman Arm Bushing, Ball Joints, Steering Gear, the Steering collumn u-joint shaft, anything else connected to the front suspension.  Replace anything that is worn.

4. Front end alignment.

5. Find some curves and enjoy your handy work!

The engine does not have enough power to drive in 4 th gear. That is a problem. I'm not sure what to do about that.

Does it run OK?  If it's running smooth, but just won't get up to speed, it could be something as simple as slack in the accellerator cable . . . or it could be a timing or carborator issue . . . or it could be low compression.

I'd check the cable first.  Pull the breather off, have one of your kids step on the gas pedal (make sure you have the keys first) and see if the trottle plate opens up 90 degrees.

If that's not it, you need to do a compression check and go from there.

You know, If you could get your "critter" to BP-8 , we might be able to enlighten you on a few things :lol:

I really want to get it up to BP8,  I'll need to get on mapquest and plot a course that avoids all steep hills and highways and speed signs over 35 mph.  Maybe take hwy 27 to the battle field then take the back roads to East ridge, It just might work.

  This Sunday I decided that I should put some more gas in the tank so I took off on a 3 mile trip to the Gas Stations by Walmart.  I got about half way and conked out next to the the abandoned sweet hart plant.  But luck was with me and a guy stopped and asked if I needed a lift. But I, always prepared,   waved him on saying that I had my cell phone and I'd call my son.  So he drove off and I flipped open my star trek communicator and it was out of juice too.  So now I was in a real pickle.  I hot footed up to a house and met some good samaritins on Easter,  who not only gave me 5 gallons, but drove me back to my car.  I offered to replenish his gas and he and I parted company.  I had the bug going and noticed that I did not have my wallet.   I drove home, got my wallet, got another cell phone  got my gas can,  got in my van,  Drove to the station,  filled it all up ,  went the the guys house,  dropped off the now full gas can.  Since i had switched cars,  I left his funnel in the bug,  So back to house,  got in bug, drove back to the house, dropped off the funnel,  went home and then the trouble began.  I started turning the volume and the distributer and the idle bypass and now I can't start the car.   Sigh.     SC