Henrietta lives! Okay it's 2026, but well done for getting her back on the road where she belongs. The iconic Beetle. Obviously, you're at another decision point now and I for one will be interested to see where you take this now.
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Getting the ‘57 beetle back on the road in 2024
- Thread starter bosco659
- Start date
What perseverance!
Great to see it rolling, another month of fiddling and getting "used to it" and off to the car shows!
Great to see it rolling, another month of fiddling and getting "used to it" and off to the car shows!
Yes there’s quite a few things to adjust and check. I’m sure I can get some good advice at the car shows.
I need to do some work on the XS so that’s coming up soon as well as yard work…. Busy time of the year but keeps me from sleeping all day. lol.
I’m hoping the flickering oil pressure light is a bad pressure switch. I’ll hook up the mechanical gauge again later today when the engine is hot.
My objective was to get it running decently on put it on the road. I don’t have a plan to improve the cosmetics.. After my short list is completed, hopefully I can drive it for the summer. It is in bad need of door seals. If I find myself looking for a project I may tackle that before the end of the year.
Good, you're going to run her as an old banger and I think that's great. I'd mebbe want the brakes to work better tho . . .
Yes I’ll have investigate that further. I suppose a major step would be front discs. There’s a good chance the drum surfaces could have surface rust from a couple of years of storage. Maybe I should pull a drum and see.
Like the baby beemer,
best to plan ahead. But yeah, go do a couple panic stops blow out the rust n dust see if it's better You'll gain some fer sher.I like to grind off the ridge that always forms on the edge of the drum helps the rust n dust escape.
Had a mail route Prius with rear drums, they would get seriously cantankerous. Pull em and they'd always be full of rust/dust, finally drilled some 1/4" holes in the shoe swept surface, right through the drum. They let the dust out. Later found out that was a "back in the day" racing mod!
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This truck restoration was like that, all go, no show. Keep the patina!
Rust holes shave weight anyways = go faster.
Resto or survivor doesn't apply to brakes in my opinion. No more the cost of a front disc convo, I'd most definitely upgrade. Brakes are one of those "when you need 'em...." items.
https://www.jbugs.com/product/22-2990.html
https://www.jbugs.com/product/22-2990.html
Looks interesting. I’ll have to research this.
This particular kit won’t work on my car with the stock wheels
. My bolt pattern is a 5x205, but my Canuck distributor sells this:I’ll ask around our local groups to see if anyone has tried this set up. Interesting it’s sold with a single master cylinder and no proportioning valve.
Attachments
FB71
Expert Turd Polisher
any time I hear Henrietta, I think of this;
That's what I get for being a child of the 70's and watching the Muppet Show.
3 down, one to go and my interior “refreshment” is complete.
Hey Vic! Do you remember what this color was called, back in the day? I do!
Old Man Tan.
. My father-in-law has a 1970 Buick in a similar color.
The official colour was Prairie Beige.
Second rear side panel installed. Made these washers so the seat back frame wouldn’t cut the side panel vinyl.
Mechanical adjustment day tomorrow. And I also need to give the windows and painted surfaces a good wipe down.
Mechanical adjustment day tomorrow. And I also need to give the windows and painted surfaces a good wipe down.
Congrats Vic!
Thanks John. I hope to have my short list of adjustments completed by the end of this week. I’m chasing better idle oil pressure. I tested the pressure switch and the manual says it should switch the dash light on at 4.3 - 8.5 psi. I tested my switch and it turns the light on at 13.5 psi. I guess I should replace that.
The mechanical pressure gauge I’m using now is a 0-100psi gauge. The accuracy of the gauge is questionable and very low pressures. I’m going to get a 0-30 psi gauge to measure the hot idle pressure. It should give me better low end accuracy.
Right now I’m running 15W40 oil. I think after break in I’ll switch to 20W50. An online search suggests that the increased viscosity can provide an additional 3-8psi at idle.
On the to do list was also removal and inspection of the oil pressure relief valve to make sure it’s not hanging up. I’d like to replace the spring but haven’t found a source yet. Some guys are telling me to shim the spring for additional pressure. I won’t do that yet but it’s a possibility for the future if I’m still not happy with the pressure.
