Getting the ‘57 beetle back on the road in 2024

[bosco659]

Did a little investigative work today on the front end. The left upper torsion arm is stiffer than it should be. Might need to install new bushings in the beam = beam rebuild. I don’t think it’s really difficult, but one more thing. I guess when the car is 68 years old, stuff like this would be expected.

 

[bosco659]

I did a bit of work today. Pictures show grease packed steering knuckle before, then after pics. I pushed out the link pin bushings on one knuckle and will do the other tomorrow. VW had a bit of a design flaw for greasing the king and link pins. There two grease fittings on each knuckle. One upper and one lower. Each is to lubricate the link pin and its’ adjacent king pin. Problem is, if grease flows too easily to say the link pin, the grease will take the path of least resistance and will continue to squeeze out of the link pin joint and the king pin won’t get any lube. Good thing about all the extra grease is it acted as a rust preventative.

I’ll probably push the link pin bushings in tomorrow.

 

[bosco659]

Both knuckles have new link pin bushings installed. I managed to clean the old hardened grease out of the king pins and flush the joints with new grease. Bushings were removed and pressed back in with a vise. I think I’ll remove the top beam torsion spring, clean and grease it. Then I should be ready to start redoing the front brakes next week.

 

[bosco659]

Left front suspension was siezed. After disassembly, clean up and new link pins and bushings, I got this amount of travel quite easily with a scissor jack under the knuckle. I think it’s fixed now.

There was a lot of cleaning needed but mostly grease. Front brakes will need the de-rusting treatment like the rears.

Reassembled the left side but it’s not torqued down yet as I need to figure out how much “preload” I need to put on the new link pins. I’ll reassemble them right side then figure out how to do that. Then it’s brake rebuild time again. The fronts aren’t as bad because there’s no parking brake assembly. Hard lines and flex lines are pretty easy to access too.

 

[bosco659]

Started rust removal on the front brake backing plates. Wire brush, torch to burn off oil, then into the electrolysis bucket. I mixed up some electrolyte and had too high a concentration of washing soda and the charger wouldn’t pass current through the bath. I diluted it about 50% and was back in business. I was surprised it was that sensitive to the concentration of soda. Oh well, lesson learned. I think each backing plate will take at least a full day.

 

[bosco659]

Post #262 before, now looking a little less nasty. Working on rust removal on the front brake backing plates now.

 

[bosco659]

This is how you set the camber on this king pin front end. You need to measure the offset between the faces of the two torsion arms, then looking at the manual, you stack steel spacers on each side of the steering knuckle, on the link pins. Then the link pins are locked into the ends of the torsion arms using a 10mm bolt that locates a spiral groove cut into the link pin. Turn the pin one direction and it tightens the knuckle against the torsion arm. The other way loosens it off. To set the link pin, you tighten the knuckle against the torsion arm and then back it off 1/8 turn. Tighten the bolt and you’re done.

Pics in next post.

 

[bosco659]

 

[GaryInVA]

These pictures make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I miss having a bug.

 

[jetmechmarty]

These pictures make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I miss having a bug.

I can still remember the distinct smell of those cars.

 

[bosco659]

I can still remember the distinct smell of those cars.

My car doesn’t smell very nice. lol. Too many years of closed windows and minimal rodent activity have left it with a musty smell. The headliner must be the main culprit but it’s undamaged and intact, so that’s staying there. There’s minimal carpeting at the firewall and kick panels. They may be holding some special scents too. Come summertime I’ll try shampooing those panels. The old seat upholstery has bern replaced and is currently removed so it can’t be that. With warm weather I can also wash down any hard surfaces. I suppose it gives the car more character.

 

[JOHNDADDY]

If you can, close it up tight and run a dehumidifier in it.
And or park it in sunshine with the windows just cracked.
That has helped me with musty smelling used cars I've come across in the past.
It's not a cure all but definitely helps. Best of luck!

 

[gggGary]

Top secret old car wonderful smell trick.
Get a bag of cherry flavored pipe tobacco, open it stick it under the seat and leave it.
Did that in a Jag one time.
It really did evoke the old British car mystique.
When I finally put it up for sale I watched carefully as a potential buyer opened the door and leaned in to look.... SOLD!
Maybe kielbasa and sour Kraut for volkswagons?

 

[Vincenthdfan]

Something else that really works great for the extra hard to kill odors...an ozone generator. They're dirt cheap, very effective at killing any and all organic organisms.

They leave behind a light bleachy smell that dissipates pretty quickly.

I bought one off of Amazon for a hundred bucks and it worked great at killing stubborn mustiness from previous owners of cabover truck camper I bought.

You need to take precautions when using it because it will kill anything living thats exposed to it but its a simple process because they have a built in timer, etc...

 

[jetmechmarty]

A friend of mine was a cottage industry auto mechanic in his backyard pole barn. I was visiting one day as he was finishing up with an old Ford pickup truck. It was obvious that the cab of the truck doubled as a waste can. KD was reaching around under the seat. I said, “What are you doing!” as he came up with and old open can of fish. He said, “I put this under there last time.” as he put it back, then went to a cabinet, retrieved a fresh can of fish, opened it and put it under the seat with the old one.



All it needed was some nice warm Georgia sunshine to activate it.

 

[bosco659]

If you can, close it up tight and run a dehumidifier in it.
And or park it in sunshine with the windows just cracked.
That has helped me with musty smelling used cars I've come across in the past.
It's not a cure all but definitely helps. Best of luck!

Great idea. I’ll do that when it warms up a bit.

 

[bosco659]

Now that the knuckles are done, time to install a new master cylinder, hard and flex lines. It’s a rats nest in there with 60 year old grease and grime.
- first pic : what a mess. Check out the tie rod ends. Yuk!
- 2nd: I really didn’t need new flex lines did I?
- 3rd: removed tie rod and cleaned up both ends, one side left to go
- 4th: passenger side cleaned up. I may have lucked out and the steel fuel line is ok.
- 5th: drivers side started to clean it up. There was 1/2 to 3/4” of greasy crud around the master cylinder.

When I popped off the tie rod ends to do the steering knuckles, they released from the torsion arms with a sharp smack with a hammer. When I reassembled it I must have torqued the nuts way more than factory and when I tried to separate the joint it wasn’t moving, even with a 3 lb maul. My tie rod end separator tool was too large for the car. I got out my air hammer with a blunt ended tool, backed the torsion arm with a big ass hammer and a couple of burps with the air hammer and the joint was free.

Enough for today. I’ll finish the cleanup tomorrow and make the hard lines. I’m leaving the front to rear line for last.

I’m also loosening up the tie rod ends from the tie rod to facilitate toe in adjustment.

 

[bosco659]

Something else that really works great for the extra hard to kill odors...an ozone generator. They're dirt cheap, very effective at killing any and all organic organisms.

They leave behind a light bleachy smell that dissipates pretty quickly.

I bought one off of Amazon for a hundred bucks and it worked great at killing stubborn mustiness from previous owners of cabover truck camper I bought.

You need to take precautions when using it because it will kill anything living thats exposed to it but its a simple process because they have a built in timer, etc...

View attachment 267320

Starting to look at these seriously for the car; cottage (after being closed up for the winter) and sometimes we rent a cabin while on vacation that could use a little airing out. Might be ideal - turn it on, leave for a couple of hours and freshen the space up. I need to research the risks associated with their use. Looking on line there’s different capacity units. Not sure yet what the numbers mean and relevance to my application.

 

[Vincenthdfan]

Starting to look at these seriously for the car; cottage (after being closed up for the winter) and sometimes we rent a cabin while on vacation that could use a little airing out. Might be ideal - turn it on, leave for a couple of hours and freshen the space up. I need to research the risks associated with their use. Looking on line there’s different capacity units. Not sure yet what the numbers mean and relevance to my application.

Main thing to remember is no pets, no plants, etc...

Let it air out a few minutes before re-entering because it depletes the oxygen and converts it to ozone.

It doesnt need to run very long. 30 to 45 minutes depending upon size. If odors return, you can re-use it until you get the results you're looking for.

These have been a favorite tool for car detailers to get rid of smokers smells in used vehicles for years. They leave car running, a/c on, recirculation mode to hold the air in while running. Hold your breath when reaching in to shut car off, open doors to ventilate....

 

[gggGary]

We used to sell ozone generators to keep spa water clean, they worked great, but yeah ozone has some downsides. just leave an old AC motor with dirty brushes running, done. ;^)