Update

OK, it's been awhile and the weather outside is frightful....(By the way, Merry Christmas!)

So where am I on completing this project?  What challenges do I still have to conquer?
  Good Qustions that beg an answer.  First, some pictures.....

Yes, It is driveable.  But there are some things that need to be done:
New tires, alignment, bleed the master cylinder, install the interior headliner, make sun visors, problem-solve the flywheel adapter plate connection (still wobbles some), install the 12V battery and DC to DC converter, hook up the heater, etc...

It is fun to drive but noisy - fiberglass cars are just that way, even though I put in that RAAMmat.  I can only imagine what it would sound like without it.

Finally...on the Road Again

When I made the switch from an 8 inch motor to a 9 inch motor the shaft is a different length. I had to grind down the bottom of the hub to accommodate a shorter shaft.  The last time I wrote about this the bottom of the hub had moved just enough to stop the whole adapter from moving.  After taking out the motor again, I sent the hub back to Charlie, the guy who made it and he cleaned up the bottom so it's got just a smidge of clearance.  Probably a 64th of an inch.  He also cleaned up the inside of the hub so it would absolutely sit flush against the motor shaft.

I received the hub in the mail on Wednesday and started to put it back on.  I did notice a small wobble but much less than it had been before. I took a video and sent it to Charlie and he said "press ahead." So the next day, while my wife worked on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, I worked on getting the whole thing put back together.  We sat down for our Turkey dinner later just after I had the motor back in the car.  I decided I should let it sit over night so the locktite would harden.

(Yes, this time I did manage to tighten the lug bolts before I test drove the car.)  And upon further examination, I did notice a couple small puddles from the transaxle.  I wiped them up before I test drove.  Rather than rush out to the streets, I did run the car about 20 minutes on jacks.  Then I rechecked the bolts on the disc brakes to make sure nothing had come loose. Finally, I recharged the batteries so they would be fresh before a real test run on the streets.

Last year we had about a foot of snow at this time.  This year, we have maybe a couple inches and most of it is melting.  Just right to be able to test drive.  I did a quick check on the leaks...nothing there.  Rechecked the disc brakes, everything was firmly bolted down.  Bolted on the tires and away I went.  The vibration is much less and the car seems very happy to be in third or fourth gear.  First is just noisy and second is still a mystery.  The car likes to go into reverse but can't seem to find second.  I probably need a minute adjustment on the shifter. The first test drive was nothing more than pulling out of the driveway, cruising down to the roundabout then coming pulling into the driveway.  repeated this about 10 times.  On Saturday, I checked everything again, leaks, loose bolts and this time headed in to town.  After 5 miles, I turned around and came back.  Repeated this same trip.

The little bit of snow on the road makes it clear that I lose a lot of control when my front wheels hit it.  More than likely there is not enough weight on the front end.  Even though I have about 100 lbs of batteries there, it's not enough.

There's still a lot to do: finish installing the interior trim, adjust the steering wheel, only a small area needs carpet, passenger seat, etc...

It was nice to drive it though, even though I probably won't be able to do it again until Spring.

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!!!

In one day's time I managed to get the transaxle out, put gasket seal on all the gaskets, had to redo the snap ring on the passenger side axle, then heated up the bearing on the outdoor grill (used an iron skillet) to get it on the axle, (see suggestion from lowbugget in last post) then got it all back in. Then put the motor in. Refilled the transaxle, slapped on the tires and I was so very excited about taking a test drive...that I forgot to tighten the tire lugs. (Hench the title, stupid, stupid, stupid.)

Good thing I was only doing 5 mph. This has NEVER happened to me before but the tire actually came off of the disc brake, so crash went the axle on rim of the tire.  I ran back home, grabbed my jack, put the tire back on and the car then the car wouldn't budge. let's run through the list...the car is in gear, the battery pack is fine, the amp meter shows it sucking amps but I'm not going anywhere. (OK, been there done that, got the t-shirt--previous posts will tell that something in the motor adaptor is stuck against the wall of the transaxle.)

Yeah, this is embarrassing to be pushing my car back to my garage in front of my neighbors.

Took off the motor and the whole adapter was wobbly.  Undoubtedly it had become stuck against the inside of the bell housing of the transaxle.  And to think, I had just fixed the wobble in the flywheel.  So, this time it was easy to see the culprit was the hub.  I took it all apart and shipped it off to Charlie, the guy who made it.  I can't blame Charlie, I started off wanting to put the hub on a 8 inch DC motor then switched to an Impulse 9, so what was made in the beginning wasn't really the right fit and the schematics for an Impulse 9 is slightly different.  As you can see, unlike most motor shafts, which are solid, this one has a hollow end.

Another Fly in the Ointment of Discontent

So that pretty transaxle has a few problems.  The passenger side bearing won't seal right and the paper gaskets on the same side are leaking.  Not only is that side leaking but both axle ends are leaking too.  ARGHHH!!!

I added an old gasket from the old transaxle, coated with silicone and that didn't stop the leak.

I thought maybe if I just put it all together the wheel bearing would naturally seal into the axle tube.  Needless to say, that was purely wishful thinking on my part.  The low speed test was awful.  However, I did manage to finally get the shifter adjusted correctly.  The first short drive I took, all I had was reverse and fourth.  More ARGHH!!!

In talking with lowbugget, where I bought the transaxle from, he suggested I coat all the paper gaskets with gasket seal, and try heating the wheel bearing on a hot plate to expand the metal before putting it on the axle. Hmmm that makes sense.

I had also noticed the motor was vibrating.  I took off the motor and realized the flywheel was wobbly.  Come to find out the washer that helps to keep it in place wasn't thick enough.  I took a couple of the grease slinger washers that Charlie had made for me and by adding a 1/16th of an inch this seems to have solved that problem.  Yeah!!

Good thing the weekend is coming.  If I end up pulling the transaxle....again...at least I'll be able to get most of it done.

BMS Fixed

Dimitri from MINIBMS is great.  He answers emails promptly, helps troubleshoot your situation and then sent me a free headboard since the last one suffered a 12V surge from the Manzanita Micro charger.  Even though the charger wasn't grounded to the chassis, it was touching the battery box and somehow this fried the headboard, thus the buzzer couldn't sound and there was no warning that the batteries were over charging.  It's a good thing I check them regularly when I do charge otherwise it could have been worse.

To fix the charger issue, I padded the charger's exterior, next to the battery box, with some of those pipe tube foam insulation so it couldn't possibly make contact with anything metal.

In addition to the new headboard, I went and bought a few more cell boards.  After I swapped out the headboards, I decided to test the board by jumping the cell loop tabs.  No buzzer noise - that's good.  Then I tried with the batteries connected to the cell loop tabs.  Still...no buzzer. Yeah!!! Except I had bypassed about 4 cell boards that didn't pass the resistance test.  I started to reconnect them, one by one, then checking to see if the buzzer would sound.  I ended up replacing 3 boards.  At least I have one extra for any emergencies.

I charged the batteries and, sure enough, the buzzer sounded and the headboard triggered the relay which turned off the charger right when the first battery hit more than 3.6V. 

I love it when a plan comes together.

New Transaxle/Old Problem

Pretty ain't it?

 Complete with new axles, this is a Freeway Flyer - it has taller gears for less RPMs at faster speeds. Even though Lowbugget screwed up and sent me the wrong transaxle to begin with, they did a bang up job of packing this one.  Before I dove in, I completely reviewed the DVD I got from the Bug Me video vol. 5.  One thing I noticed was the backup light switch was painted over, so I had to scrape off the paint for a good electrical connection.

Here are the new axles in place, that's after you wrestle with the spacer with a nub and the snap ring.  This did come with racers and bearings but did not come with a thro out bearing.  I took the new one I put on the old transaxle off and transferred it.

I couldn't wait to get the new baby in place.  I forgot how much work it is, my back is hurting.  Decided to call it a night and wait until the next day, after church to finish.

The next day, I put in the motor and got an old familiar noise when I stepped on the accelerator.  Grinding......OK, once again I had to get out the grinder and make way for a small rubbing problem.

You can see the spot in the upper left corner.  I thought that by upgrading to a 12V I wouldn't have this problem?  Well, at least it's fixed now.

If I can get the wheels on tomorrow, maybe I can take it for a spin before the snow comes.

Bad Battery

I have 48 Lithium Batteries.  Oops, now I have 47.  What happened?  Human error, I didn't connect the buzzer on my BMS to let me know if there is a problem when I charge.  The result was an overcharge event.  Thank God the MiniBMS has a way to burn off excessive voltage.  But unfortunately one of the batteries, probably bad from the start, leaked a lot of battery goo and even though it reads 3.0 volts, the best plan is to wire around it and not take the chance of being stranded because of one battery running out of steam before all the others do.

Don't forget YOU are an essential piece of the Battery Maintenance System.  Check your batteries often when you are charging.

Notice the BMS board doesn't have a light.  You can see a lake of goo underneath.

Even though the pict is fuzzy, the back of the board is a mess.  Complete loss for the board, that's OK they are only $12 each.

 There's the messy gooey gross crap that came out of the battery.

I just happened to have an extra cable that allowed me to wire around the battery.

And the final step is to put something over it so in case anything comes in contact you won't get a large bright spark.

Now to fix the BMS......

Yikes!!

So I pulled the old transaxle and am getting ready for the arrival of the rebuilt Freeway Flyer I bought.  Either way, the old axles need to come off.  I went back to the BugMe Video to see how to do it.  It's not very complicated but can be somewhat time consuming.  Here's a tip: if you're going to use regular needle nose pliers to take out the snap ring, bend the ends slightly inward with a hammer.

To take off the axles you also need to take off the tubes that the axles are in.  Once I did this look at what I found...

The axle is badly scored and there's large build up of metal deposits on the end.  This lead to the failure of the axle bearing.

This is what it should look like.  Yes, this is the other side of the transaxle.

These are the inner racers and the camera doesn't quite show how one side is badly scored compared to the other.

With that much metal deposit floating around in the oil, I'll need to dump it and clean the axle tubes.  I sprayed the inside of each tube with WD40 then took a shop towel and pushed it out the other end with a long cheater bar.

The one side looks great, I should be able to use the tube, bearing, racers, etc.  The other side will need new racers, bearing.  The tube is scored on the inside but I'm pretty sure I can clean it up to work.

How to Know if You Have Bad Transaxle

Gee, it looks normal.....

From the Chirco site:

There is knocking noise at low speeds.
The driveaxle constant velocity (CV) joint(s) are worn.
Noise most pronounced when turning.
There is differential gear noise.
Clunk on acceleration or deceleration
The engine or transaxle mounts are loose.
The differential pinion shaft in case if worn.
The damaged driveaxle CV joints are worn.



Read this from Rob and Dave's VW Shadtree Mechanic site:
http://www.vw-resource.com/transmission_troubleshooting.html

So, here were my problems:
- Pops out of 3rd
- clunking noise at low speeds
- Rumble, vibration in the back (more of a bearings issue)
- At start up, couldn't find reverse, keeps going into 2nd
- After driving, can't find 2nd, wants to go to reverse

Previously, I took the transaxle out to replace the mounts and change the oil, (who knows how long ago that was done?)  So taking it out this time was fast - a mere 2 hours.  (Hey, I'm getting good at this! )

Here's another bad sign that your tranny is going South.
- My new synthetic oil was black with  shiny metal flakes
- Also the drain plug was clogged with metal shavings

So, what now?  Do I rebuild?  Nope, I don't have the tools.  Granted there are some great videos that take you step by step but this is more than I can chew.
 Next, is to let your fingers do the walking.  Pick up the phone and see if someone will rebuild or swap.  What I found was limited resources, those that have trannys in stock aren't cheap and the one guy in WA that will rebuild wasn't even sure he could rebuild because 6V parts are getting hard to find.  Most repair shops don't do rebuilds anymore, they order from larger companies that have a 3 - 4 week delay.

I decided I was going to have to suck it up and buy a 12V tranny from somewhere and probably have it shipped.  I finally found a place in CA, Lowbugget.com, they had a Freeway Flyer in stock with new axles for less than the cost of a rebuild.  YEEHAW!!  OK, I have to pay for the core charge and shipping but I should get it next week.  That's means I should be able to enjoy the Bradley for a while before the winter blows in.

Wiring - the last LED Show

OK, I've had it with these LEDs so I'm throwing them out!!!  

Just kidding....they have been frustrating but, thank God, I finally found the solution.

I found these babies on EBay, $20 for 4 and that included shipping.  (The package says 50W/6ohm ) They do get warm though so I'll probably clamp them to the metal support bar next to it.  I put one on the right, left and 3rd brake light.  Easy to install.  Next, I'll try the hazards...with my fingers crossed. : ) 
If you're asking why they work, I'm not really sure.  Obviously these LEDs don't have resistors in them, the electronic relays that I bought may not be really the ones that work on LEDs, either way it's water under the bridge.

On the Road

Well, my vacation time is over and I have accomplished quite a bit.  I updated some previous posts but now I have seats, seat belts, wipers, title and license and have taken it on the road a few times for further testing.  I'm not happy with the transaxle.  But not having driven a VW before I really can't say if what I'm hearing is normal or not. It's loud, leaks at the axles and still slips out of third.  That will be a future tasking.

About the wipers, I continually had problems with the wiring until I finally pulled the motor from underneath the dash to see what I was dealing with.  Sorry, no picts, but someone really fracked this thing up when they wired it.  Basically all I could salvage was to hook it up to the switch and get on/off/one speed/no parking.  At least it's the fast speed.  Another thing I noticed on Bradley GT.com was some folks only use one wiper on their car.  This makes sense, the passenger gets a nice pretty view of two wipers. 

The wiring is still somewhat SNAFU.  It's due to the fact I'm using all LEDs.  No two LED functions can be on at the same time. For instance, parking lights and turn signals.  I've looked at a lot of articles and maybe it's a resistor problem.  I ordered some and they should be here soon.

As always...more to come....

Shifter Install Part III

Decided to tackle the removal of the shift rod before it got hot.  Yes, it does get hot - 90.  Anyone from AZ and Nevada complaining yet?

You can see my previous post, removing the transaxle, to get an idea of what it takes to remove the shift rod coupler in the back.  It went smoother this time because I had done it before and was ready to go with my magnetic telescoping picker-upper.  Trust me you will drop something in the tunnel, a wrench, a bolt, etc.  This time I had one of those Geeky hat lights - I'm sold on that!

As previously mentioned, I had to remove the front battery pack, box and frame.  Needless to say I disconnected the power with the two quick disconnects on the console thereby reducing my risk from 156V to 72V.  I always put down a rubber mat on the batteries I'm next to so there won't be any accidents.

Here comes the fun.  Accessing the tunnel.  Mine only had two 10mm bolts in front.  A ratchet wrench with an extension is the way to go.

Once the panel is off then it's a matter of getting your fingers into the shifter hole and inching the rod out.  Actually it came out easy but OMG was it ugly!  Talk about 30+ years of dirt, grease and grime.

I used some PB Blaster to penetrate the the crud on the rod and wipe it clean.  There were only a few spots that had to be wire brushed.

Nice and clean.  You can see the retaining ring on the rod.  I wasn't able to get the old bushing pieces out.  Oh well.

The good news I found a parts store about an hour away this will be faster than waiting 7 days for an internet order.

The shifter bushing goes in first!   That means it fits into the support bracket just past the shifter hole in side the tunnel.  This is before you insert the shift rod into the tunnel. Careful, you don't want to drop this bushing in the tunnel.  The bushing simply pops into place.  The ring clamp end is on the shifter side of the brace. One source on the internet said to place the gap toward the driver's side then lube the inside real well with lots of fresh grease.  I noticed that my rod had gathered some dirt on it so I wiped it clean then put on new grease.  This will be a tight fit.  I can see where a second set of hands would be very helpful but I was able to use a wire coat hanger to lift up the rod from the bottom of the tunnel and then line it up in the bushing.  I then carefully got out of the car and went to the front lifted the rod and gave it a steady pressure until it went through the bushing.  From this point I used some needle nose pliers to grip the rod in the tunnel and pull it back toward the transaxle.

Putting the coupler back in is always a pain in the @##!  The worse part is I bought a new coupler by EMPI (#@$% You EMPI!!!!) and once again I got screwed.  The gap where the shift rod goes into the coupler isn't wide enough.  So I used the original coupler with the new urethane bushings.  I think next time I'll get smart and figure out a different, easier way to connect the rod to the coupler - the lag bolt and weird cover sleeve is a pain.

I just tested the shifter.  WOW!!! Huge difference, I'm 99% sure of hitting reverse every time without an ouchie!

Mission accomplished.

Rear Window Hinges

One of the  ugly eye sores for this car is the carriage bolts used on the rear window hinges.  They rust - big time!  I replaced with stainless steel bolts and stop nuts.  This wasn't as easy as one might think.

The pict makes the bolt look better than it was.  It was dark brown.  I had to cut a channel in the top with a all purpose metal blade with my grinder.  I then used "the Claw" mother of all flat head screw drivers and a 1/2 inch ratchet. 

The end result is cleaner and easier to take off than those @#$%^ carriage bolts!

Naturally you'll want to replace those bolts that are  holding the window to the fiberglass frame.  That's right, they're rusted as well.  Even though these had a phillips head they weren't going to budge without a fight.  PB Blaster to the rescue!  The previous owner was smart and added a 2X6 inch metal plate to give extra support to the fiberglass on both sides.  I had to wire brush and paint those from the excessive rust.  And let's not forget to seal under those hinges with silicone. : )

Shifter Install Part II

Bummer!  It looks like the shifter bushing is bad.  This really sucks beacause you have to take out the entire shift rod, through the front of the car to replace it.  That means disconnecting the rod from the transaxle in the back and taking out the front batteries and battery box.

From looking at the $2 replacement part, it should go all the way around the shift rod.  It appears the retaining ring is still holding onto a piece of it.  I'm guessing there's a piece or two in the bottom of the tunnel.

As I have said before, nothing is easy on this car.

Wiring Fun Con't

I have been fighting this hazard light/turn signal dilemma for quite some time now.  WHY WON'T IT WORK??!!!  (Emphasis is intentional)

I have come to the conclusion that the steering column wiring is the culprit.  Why else would both turn signal indicators come on at the same time?  Why would the hazards work when one side is attached but not both?  It appears that voltage is leaking from one side to the other.  A quick check with the voltmeter proved this to be the case.   

Here's what's inside.....

I'm not handy enough to try and repair it and after a quick look on the internet for a replacement, it would also appear that it's not the 1967 steering column that came with the original chassis.  I'm posting the pict so the parts store can look at it and verify what the right replacement is.

Cip1, after  I sent a couple picts told me what the correct part was I needed to order.  Here's a pict of it going in.

Easy to install.  More wires that what I had before but most important it did fix the leaking voltage problem.

Apparently my steering column is from the 70's.

More Seat Belt Stuff

I ended up taking a full thread 2.5 inch bolt and cutting off the end.  Then I grinded the end so I could screw a nut on both ends.  This helped to extend the length of the bolt.  Then a jam nut helps keep it secure.

Here's where the third point or buckle went.

I used a large fender washer and stop nut on the bottom.

OK, BIG CONFESSION, I usually say EMPI Sucks!  These seat bealts are EMPI and they work just fine.  So EMPI doesn't suck all the time, just most of the time.

More Seat Fun

Just when I thought I had it all figured out, I installed carpet and realized that the seats had to come forward and therefore needed to fit in a 16 inch width.  The seats are 17 inches wide.  That's a problem.

On Bradley.com several folks have used other seats from different cars.  Camaro, 240SX, Saturn, Miata and Fiero.  These seats (both new and used) can be expensive and unless you personally measure them, they might not be the 16 inches you need. The other factor to consider is the Bradley seat is meant to lay back, these seats will lay back but weren't designed to be that way.

Problem solved - cut the seat.

Notice I cut on the lip side.  As you can see there is still plenty of foam padding and I have a skinny little butt anyway.  The seat lip sits directly on the Bradley fiberglass body.  The console side will have to sit on a bracket of some sort.  I tested this with a couple 2X4s under the console side and it really fits in nicely and I didn't notice any discomfort from where I had cut.

Here's what works.  Two 5 inch L brackets, like I had done in an earlier post, but then add a 1 inch bar across them to insure they don't move.

This makes a much more stable frame.

Because I'm usually working by myself I had to get creative in my problem solving.  How to mark where the holes should be drilled through the pans?  A pen won't fit and most are dark inks.  I used a small bolt dipped in red paint.  The arm rest lip sits on the Bradley body.  I left that side unsecured since it feels pretty snug.

Final result.

I had taken the seat covers and washed them at a local laundromat since the Mrs wouldn't let them anywhere near our machines.  : )  As far as colors go, the black and red is good for now but I'd like something different in the future.  I still need to add about an extra inch or two of foam in my seat, more support for my lower back.
The best part is my wife sat in her seat and loved it.  It's comfortable and she has head room.  Oh yes, progress is a good thing. : )

Shifter Install

Why a new shifter?  I really don't like the agony of reverse.  Reverse is not only painful but it's also difficult to find.  Push the shifter down, jam it to the left then ram it to the rear into my thigh. Ouch!!!

After doing some research, everyone talks about the Berg shifter as the cadillac of shifters.  Yes, it's very expensive.  Some say it's worth the money.  I also saw a few folks that said they liked the Bugspak.  And of course there is the el cheapo EMPI.  Everything I read on the EMPI is that it is to be avoided at all costs.  So, back to the Bugspak.  It reduces the shifting pattern by 40% and is in two styles - angled and straight.  I bought the angled.

That would be the old shifter above.

Just in case you wanted to know what it looks like when it's removed - there it is.

The new plate is on the left.  As you can see the old is worn.  When you install the new, remember to put the "ramp to the right."  This makes sense when you actually are doing it.

Add some grease to the bottom, put that sucker in there, find reverse, tap the plate slightly forward, then tighten.  Really, it's that simple.

Let me say, I LOVE this shifter.  It really is a lot easier to use, except for reverse.  Now granted, reverse wasn't easy to find to begin with but at least now it's not painful.

Headlights (Actuator)

The headlights need to go up and down.  It is said that the old motor is not worth bothering with - toss it out, don't even go there.  I took the advice and purchased an actuator.  This one has about a 4 inch length when extended and can pull/push over 100lbs.  I found mine on EBay for cheap.  That's 50% off what some internet businesses wanted.

The old motor is on the left and the actuator (fully extended) is on the right.

Mounting the thing was a small challenge.  I used the original bracket but chopped off one the small mounting sides and added a bracket on the back to stabilize a push/pull action.  I mounted on the right wall with two bolts instead of on the defroster compartment.  This makes it easy to get to and easy to bolt down.  I had to drill the original brace hole and use a beefier bolt since there was a larger gap than before.

Wiring is next.  You need it to open and close on demand which means it has to reverse current.  On the Bradley GT site is a way to wire two relays to make that happen. This is what I used.

 Here's the double relay mounted just above the central control panel under the dash.

Yee Haw!! It works!  Now don't get to thinking that they are the fastest headlights in the West. Nope, them is slow ...but a sexy kind of slow. : )

Maybe someday I use an actuator to raise the back window.  Just a thought.

Hood Hinge

Finally got the hood hinges figured out.  Why so difficult you ask?  All because of where I cut the hood.  The odd shape would not allow it to open from the windshield area like a door would.  It could probably use one of those fancy lift up and out hot rod hinges that cost a small fortune.  Or I could use a little of my creativity and get a forward opening hood that looks cool - kinda like some of the old corvettes.

I did have to use my fiberglass skills.  I figured since I didn't have any fancy epoxy that turns to rock, I'd just fiberglass in the L brackets to the bottom of the hood.  It worked!  I did use four layers of mat but had to really clean off the old black paint that was on the bottom of the hood with a wire brush and some acetone.

In addition I used 2.5 inch bolts with lots of washers and nuts.  The battery box just happens to be in the right place to stop the hood.  I'm just glad I got that one off the list.  Now I need to get some hood locks.

Relocated Main Brake Line

The longest brake line is a bear to deal with. It winds through the main cabin, snaking around the pedals then along the tunnel next to the driver's seat, then out the back of the pan to marry up with a junction.  Two questions were raised that seem to make sense to me.  1.  If the cabin gets wet and the main line is under the carpoet then it will stay wet and rust, just like metal pans.  2. If there's a leak, you might not figure that out until it's too late because it hard to see where the leak is.

That's when someone on the Bradley GT site mentioned how much sense it makes to run it on the bottom of the car like most modern day cars.  Easy access, easy to repair, easy to spot any trouble and now you don't have to worry about it taking all those twists and turns - Genius!!

So that's what I did.  I did drill an extra hole so the original drain hole below the master cylinder wouldn't get stopped up.  I then added a grommet to protect the hose from rubbing against the metal and used several rubber coated electrical mounting clips.

Now comes the fun of having to bleed the brakes all over again.

Seat Belts

Who buys a car without seat belts?  OK, I'm not the only one!  The guy that owned the car before me did as well - so there.  Safety First, besides it's the law. I bought these some time ago and they have been sitting around waiting for the right time.  I mounted the metal tab to one of the body/pan bolts.  Then mounted the triangular part to the area by small window where there's a sort of metal roll bar, and the last part went below the speaker.  I ended up having to use different lengths of bolts than what they provided.  The roll bar needed 7/16 3/4 inch and the bottom needed 7/16  X 1 1/2 inch with a fender washer on the inside.  Good thing the speakers were out so I could reach down and tighten those bolts. Too bad part of my speakers will be covered but, oh well, Safety first!  I still need to mount the part with the tab that buckles the belt but the bracket should make it easy to bolt it through the fiberglass pan with some large fender washers for support.

Pedal Upgrade

Unique Products has a replacement shaft that guarantees the clutch cable will NOT fall off or wear out from the rather awkward design of the pedal assembly.  You can find this advertised on the Samba.com or look for their website.  For $25 you get a new shaft that allows the clutch cable to be bolted to the pedal assembly in a way so it spins freely and thus doesn't wear out or fall off.  However, like anything else with this car there are complications.  The design of the new shaft is based upon the original German design, EMPI on the other hand seems to have altered from this.  The EMPI shaft is longer and the pedal assembly uses an extra washer.  The peg hole in their shaft design is slightly larger.  I improvised with a bolt that made a tight fit.  Great idea, worth the money but needed a little "jerry-rigging."

Above you can see the original shaft below the newly installed shaft. I had removed the pedals because my they were grinding into my fiberglass pan.  The EMPI pedals seems to be somewhat larger on the bottom than the originals, plus the pan wasn't lined up right. I used a grinder to ground down the bottom of the pedals and the tabs - about a 1/4 inch. 

Naturally when I installed the pedals, the block of wood was now too loose.  I placed a L bracket on the block which made up the difference and did a better job of holding the block in place and the pedals don't scrape the floor now.  Another one off the list of To Do items.

Maiden Voyage

Yesterday was another milestone in this project/conversion.  Taking the car for a spin - finally.  I backed the car out of the driveway and drove to the end of the block and back at a whopping 10 mph!!!  Woohoo!  Ok, I didn't have any seats or seat belts installed yet.  I was sitting on a large pillow.  But the point is....it works.  My wife captured it on her cell phone.

The victory felt short-lived because it is a conversion/project, there's still a lot of things left on the project To Do list before it will be freeway ready.  Then of course there's the whole business of getting it licensed and registered.

Great victory but short-lived because I need to continue the restoration of a 30 yr old car.

Weatherstripping

The trunk and back window weatherstripping needed to be replaced.  Little did I know how jerry-rigged the old stuff was.  Lots of silicone to cover up alterations to avoid hinges and gas struts.  I imagine that this car leaked quite a bit when the rains came.  The hinges for the trunk were not only rusty but frozen where they wouldn't bend at all.

I found some weatherstripping on JCWhitney.   It goes on pretty good but I learned to prep the channel by running a phillips head screwdriver through it so it would open a bit.  I would then push it on then tap very lightly with a rubber mallet. 
I saw on Bradley GT.com where the Bradley GT I puts the weather stripping on the rear window glass versus the car frame.  I decided to do that on the bottom of my back window because the window isn't lined up right with the back frame.  This made for a nice cushion on the back edge but now there's a small gap on the sides.
I'll fill that in at a later time.

I'll take a flat 2 inch thin stripping to cover the lack of carpet trim which should clean the look up.