I'm not sure where to put this post. It is sort of a combo introduction and build thread. Anyway, if it needs to be moved, I'm sure the Mods will let me know and put it in the appropriate place.
I'm 57 and I'm a Mechanical Engineer. I do Machine Design and Systems Design and also do Automation (PLC's, HMI's etc.). My wife and I have been married for 32 years, and we have a 14yr old daughter!
I got bitten by the VW Bug at the age of about 12. My parents bought a bone stock 1963 VW Beetle that they drove for several years. At the age of 16 it became my first car, and I have loved them ever since. I put Cragar Mags and bigger tires on it and clamped coil-over springs on the stock rear shocks to keep the rear fenders off the rear tires. I replaced the stock steering wheel with a 3-spoke rally steering wheel and the stock shift knob with a wooden shift knob that had the Wolfsburg emblem on it. HA!! I was stylin'!!
Bone stock engine... it was a dog... especially with the bigger, heavier wheels and tires. But I loved it and I drove it about two years, until it developed an electrical problem AND the clutch went out. At that time I was NOT YET into auto mechanics, so, instead of fixing it, I let it sit. [Several years later, I had it fixed and drove it very briefly, until it overheated due to the mechanic – not me – leaving a rag in the fan area. Unfortunately, I couldn't prove that he did, so I was out of luck.
I foolishly sold it it VERY cheap. Hind sight is 20/20, nicht wahr?]Next, I took over my parents 1971 Super Beetle – a German model, purchased and driven in Germany by a military friend, who imported it back to the US, when he came home. It had a LOT more power than that '63 had, but I only drove it over 90mph a couple of times, because the front end tended to start floating on you above that speed!
Anyway, I drove that until I got ready to go to college and bought a 1961 Chevy Apache 10 SWB Step Side Pickup Truck with 283 SBC and 2-speed PowerGlide Automatic. Then I had a VW Camper Bus, but I don't remember the year. It was not a Westfalia, but it had a two burner LP stove and LP/12vdc fridge, and a “Full Size” fold out bed with curtains, but it was a hardtop (no pop-up). Don't remember how long I drove that before I gave it to my parents and bought a 1963 Chevy Impala 4-door Hardtop (no door posts – 283SBC & 2spd PG Auto).Fast forward to about 2001. I always wanted to build a Baja Bug, so I bought a 1974 standard beetle, with no engine, no radio, no hubcaps, no rear bonnet and a trashed transaxle. Chassis, pan and body in good shape – not a lot of rust – and I got it for a really good price! Also, bought a 1974 2.0L Ford Pinto Engine (stock ~ 80HP@5400rpm and 97ft-lbs torque@3000rpm) and an Adapter Kit, flywheel and 3 puck clutch disk and HD pressure plate from Esslinger Engineering. I was very excited about this project and stripped down the car pretty far. Removed the transaxle, bought a rear trailing arm stiffener kit and welded that up, removed the wheels/drums all around, bought four (4) new 4-Lug drums and wheel bearing sets (never yet installed), bought and installed new urethane torsion bushings and turned-down/preloaded the trailing arm plates.
2002 - 2003 comes along and two things happen – one bad and one good: 1) One of my best friends (like an older brother to me), a big time car guy that was helping me and encouraging me in my Baja Bug Project (BBP), got colon cancer in 2002 and died in 2003; 2) My wife and I found out that she was pregnant, and our daughter was born in 2003!!
So... life kicked in, big time, and the BBP got put on hold, until now. More to come!!
