A toad to be

[user 423]

So while waiting out this COVID crap in S&B I needed a project.  Enter a '68 VW bug basket case.

It's mostly all there but needs a few things replaced. Once I get the engine back in and can evaluate how well it runs and if the trans is any good, I'll decide if it's worth spending any more money on it.

Anyway, it may make a good toad for the Class C I hope to get some time in the future.

I might even end up pulling it behind my van and use the rear seat area to stow a bunch of stuff that now clutters up the back of the van.

 

[bullfrog]

Congratulations! Is it a swing axle or an IRS (independent rear suspension)? Tow bars are cheap for the standard VW beam front end and they tow easily.

 

[user 423]

^
'68 was the first year for the newer type IRS, so it has the CV's.

Today I found that it has new ball joints in the front, new shocks in the back and a new gas tank.

Looks like newer starter and alternator also.

It was a hassle getting it home because it had one rear wheel missing and had to be trailered.

The seller had a car hauler, so I paid an extra $100 for him to tow it the 50 miles to my place.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Oh cool....but don't toads eat bugs?

Umm...never mind....

 

[peteg59]

Hard to tell from the one pic but the pan looks good. How is the rest of it?
Here in the northeast, they rotted badly. If your car came from anywhere in the "Rust Belt", a good inspection is important if you haven't already done so.
I've seen the front I-beams rot through on them back in the day, (not the tubes, but the stamped steel uprights). Hopefully yours is as rust free as possible. If so, its definatly worth rebuilding again.
Also hard to tell from the pic, but it looks like a single intake port engine.
If you have the funds, an update to dual port heads is worth doing.

I built myself an Autostick trike from a 73 bug that was too far gone to save as a car.

 

[bullfrog]

Just so you know if you have a large diameter tires on the rear and smaller diameter tires in the front you can put the smaller diameter tire on the driver’s side rear and move the larger diameter rear tire to the driver’s side front. Load all the spare parts in the drivers side rear seat. It will tow just fine. I have driven over 30 miles on three wheels as well but it helps to have a heavy passenger in the driver’s side back seat and less than a quarter tank of gasoline in the tank. California cars were all IRS in 1968 and late 1968 in the rest of the USA I believe. Early 1968 in the rest of the country were swing axle. In Mexico they had the disc brakes on the front from the Karman Gia which would work on the ball joint front ends that came on the 1968. I know 1969 and 1970 had the dual rear spring plates but I’m not sure about 1968. Been a long time since I did those kind of mods. I used to tow a Baja Bug but since I inherited a Samurai I got spoiled. Group 11 cars are a nice compromise of street and trail.

 

[user 423]

Oh cool....but don't toads eat bugs?

It'll be a toady bug so maybe it will turn on itself. Have to make sure it eats up the miles only.

 

[user 423]

Hard to tell from the one pic but the pan looks good. How is the rest of it?

Also hard to tell from the pic, but it looks like a single intake port engine.
If you have the funds, an update to dual port heads is worth doing.

It's an Arizona car so it's in great shape. It's corrosion free even where the battery sits.

I was really shopping for a quad and want to do some offroad exploring next spring. Then I started looking at VW sandrails and baja bugs.

I'm in S.E. AZ and there's quite a few for sale but most are a long ways off in Tucson and Phx.

It's a single port and I'll probably keep it that way since I'm more interested in simplicity and reliability. It's been several decades but I used to own and work on air-cooled bugs and buses. Seems I remember that many of the dual port heads would develop cracks between the ports and cause problems.

This bug has been altered a bit to give it the 'California look' with nerf bar bumpers, fancy door panels and vent wings removed. It has no seats,no headliner,etc. so to get it back to original (and make it more valuable) would take quite a lot. '68 really isn't a classic collector year anyway.

OTOH it might be a shame to start chopping it up to make it into a baja. Not sure what I'll end up with.

 

[highdesertranger]

I hate to tell you this but the engine doesn't go there. highdesertranger

 

[user 423]

I have driven over 30 miles on three wheels as well but it helps to have a heavy passenger in the driver’s side back seat and less than a quarter tank of gasoline in the tank.

CA cars were all IRS in 1968 and late 1968 in the rest of the USA I believe. Early 1968 in the rest of the country were swing axle.

In Mexico they had the disc brakes on the front from the Karman Gia which would work on the ball joint front ends that came on the 1968. 

I'll remember that just in case someone forgets to tighten the lugnuts on a wheel again.

That's how the previous owner lost the LR wheel. Gone forever in heavy underbrush..LOL.

The VIN shows a build date of Aug.'68 so has the IRS.

If I end up driving it a lot, I'll think about adding the disk brakes. That would be a nice upgrade.

 

[user 423]

I hate to tell you this but the engine doesn't go there.  highdesertranger

That's exactly the right place for a basket case!

Perfect weight distribution...

How about that Contico Xtreme cargo box sitting in the back. Included for free. What a deal.

 

[bullfrog]

There is a specialty builder in Grand Junction Colorado that turns out a VW that is several times better than they were new. They started with buses at close to $100,000 and last I heard bugs were going for around $60,000! I couldn’t give most of my stuff away when I quit messing with them. The Samba was a web site that had the most resources and information at the time. A lot of people have held on to their love of the things it just got to expensive for me as I tended to tear them up trying to go where most used 4 wheel drive. I built drove and raced them for 40 years and probably still can identify any piece, nut or bolt from an air cooled bug. I still have a lot of literature tucked away even John Muir’s cassette tape of trouble shooting sounds I think. If you have questions ask.

 

[bullfrog]

Just so you know they are addicting and are far from being a modern vehicle.

 

[bullfrog]

I lost a rear wheel and brake drum towing one home I had bought. Fortunately it had the stock hub caps on and after a while of following the broken down brush I found it with the big axle still rattling around in the hub cap and the nail someone had replaced the cotter key with!

 

[user 423]

The Samba was a web site that had the most resources and information at the time. A lot of people have held on to their love of the things it just got to expensive for me as I tended to tear them up trying to go where most used 4 wheel drive. I built drove and raced them for 40 years and probably still can identify any piece, nut or bolt from an air cooled bug. I still have a lot of literature tucked away even John Muir’s cassette tape of trouble shooting sounds I think. If you have questions ask.

Yes, I've been on that Samba site for a few years but it was for info on an '86 Jetta. It's a great site for VWs.

The previous owner of this bug was going to restore it and had started to take it all apart. There are about a dozen Ziplock bags with bolts and misc. hardware to sort thru. Most are marked and that will help but I will have questions for you.

Just ordered a Muir book and will probably get the Bentley manual also.

I'll need to partially disassemble the motor to lighten it before I can move it out of the car and onto my work bench. Back in the day I could wrestle one of those things around by myself. Not now.

 

[bullfrog]

My engine build I got lucky and new a young guy that had just bought one he was restoring for his dad so he did the heavy stuff to learn how to do his. I used one of those Harbor Freight lift tables with wheels but do get the warranty and buy it on sale. The little one worked great.

 

[user 423]

I used one of those Harbor Freight lift tables with wheels but do get the warranty and buy it on sale.

Looks like I'll have a 4-wheel dolly to put it on and then I guess I'll buy a HF engine stand.

I want to bench test the motor but need the frontend of an old tranny so I can hook up the starter. I'll be checking a couple of yards tomorrow to see if they have one.

Maybe a new flywheel is in order. Chewed up teeth in 3 spots:



The pressure plate and disc look okay.

(BTW: Are we supposed to be able to add pics to PMs?)

 

[user 423]

If you have the funds, an update to dual port heads is worth doing.

I built myself an Autostick trike from a 73 bug that was too far gone to save as a car.

So did that trike fly down the road?

 

[bullfrog]

A good flat steel table always worked for me especially one with a lip all the way round, that keeps the motor from vibrating off the table. If you are going to split the case a Black and Decker work mate vise bench with holes drilled for cylinder studs in the top (so you could lay one case half on it’s side flat and the studs held it in place) while assembling the case halves works well. I never liked engine stands especially when tightening the flywheel bolt (they do make a heavy duty bolt by the way and you want a silicone rear seal) so much so I bought a special tool that is basically a piece of ring gear with a gear driven socket that gives you a 10 to one advantage (it also works on the big nut on the rear axles as it bolts to the brake drum as well as the flywheel) and allows you to use a 3/8” ratchet with little effort.
By the way with a stock motor the front wheel of a trike won’t stay on the ground unless you really stretch it. I’ve got a really funny campfire story about the first auto stick transmissions!

 

[Tom_M]

Here's my toad. It's a '78 convertible that I bought a little over a year ago. It's by no means a show piece but since I'm dragging it all over the place I didn't want something that would pain me if I got a few dings in it. It tows great and is light enough so that I doesn't need a braking system. My previous toad was a Smart Car. It towed well but had a god awful rough ride, the wind blew it all over the road, and only room for two people. The Bug rides much better and has room for four.