New VS

Randall, welcome to the madness!

Your car is beautiful and I love the umbrella-handle e-brake, great choice, along with the louvered engine lid.

Randall,

Well done.  Very tastefully optioned.  Do yourself a favor though,  and move the camber compensator to the top of your planned upgrade list, or that big red thing you see in your rear view mirror passing you on the left will be the butt end of your speedster.

Great looking car Randall! Love the louvered engine lid. Are the carburetors dual 1 barrels (Ict's or kadrons) or dual 2 barrels (Webers, HPMX's, Dellortos or the new Empi Dellorto copies)? Were you told how much hp the engine would make? Are you calling it a freeway flier trans because of the 3.88 r&p or is there a longer 4th gear installed? Discs and drums or discs all around?

PS- What Tom said...

Really nice job.  I am very impressed with both the interior and the exterior.  The hood looks great with the louvers.  It’s a beauty! 

Get the specifics from VS as to exactly what is in your engine - and file it away.  It will come in handy once "the Madness" for upgrades hits.  Cam grind, CW crank, light flywheel, distributor, remote oild cooler, rocker arms (std ratio or 1.25 or 1.4) ?

Cool another Speedster in FL! NW FL here. Are you going with vintage car FL registration?

Tom - Point taken on the camber compensator!  It's certainly an adventure taking fast corners.

ALB - Not sure what carbs are installed.  I'll take some pictures.  Roughly 90 hp with the Sidewinder exhaust.  3.88 ring and pinion.  Front discs, rear drums.  Wide 5 wheels.  Pirelli tires.

Wolfgang - Good advice.  I'm not familiar with the FL vintage plates.  Are there restrictions of use?

Nice ride, Randall. WTTM.

Very nice ... 

Here's the car on the lift.

Front disc brakes.

Right bumper bracket.  That sway bar isn't going to go in easy, is it?  That flat piece in the middle is fiberglass riveted to the steel frame of the bracket.

The umbrella handle e-brake mechanism center and right.

Bosch horn set.  My idea.

Left valve cover.  Right one is covered up by the exhaust.

A-1 Sidewinder exhaust.

More exhaust.

Wide shot of the motor.

Oil cooler lines are zip tied.  Really??

External oil cooler/fan.  Mounted in the void behind the rear shelf.  I asked for it to be mounted in the left rear wheel well, but I was told it might sustain damage in that location.  

Congrats! Looks great! And yes you are going to need to do the bumper bracket mod. Find a local welder if needed and it isn’t the easiest thing to install but can be done. 

love the color combo and wheel caps. 

Great color combination, the black interior always works well with red. I really like the seatbelt buckle. Is that a sticker on the flip latch?  What ever the emblem is I would like to get a couple. Should I contact Troy?  Now about the cooler, it is absolutely a decoration the way it is mounted. There is no air flow going through it so it is not going to cool.  Also definitely get rid of those zip ties on the cooler lines. In no time the pinch welds on the frame horn are going to cut through the ties. Then your cooler lines are going to cook on the heater box and hemorrhage. Either that or they are going to flop down and maybe catch on or drag on the street. Come up with some cushioned steel straps that won’t melt or cut through the hoses. Peck away one thing at a time and you will get it the way you want it.  Have a good time playing with it, it’s fun!

Randall...To go with the "CruZin" Windows, you may want to take a look at my wing windows and sun visors since you live in Fla......Bruce

PS  I also make Drivers left foot foot rests and inside door pulls which may be of interest to you once you become more familiar with the little intricacies of your new cool car. As everyone has said...welcome to the madness Randall !  Your gonna have a lotta fun with this car......Bruce

Here's typical mod needed to front bumper brackets to accommodate a front sway bar:

 Agree 1/2" clearance is not enough for an oil cool to function.  Make a bracket and get it a good 4-5" clearance from the fiberglass.  A scoop to bottom would help direct airflow to the cooler.

Bruce: Those are proper accessories!  Kirk installed this footrest that appears to be one of yours.  Nice work.  Thanks!  Not sure about the location, though.  I like yours better.  Put your heel up on the shelf and your toes on the peg.  

Thread drift alert: Since I opened this can of worms, see the plastic gas pedal?  WTF?  There is nothing cool about that.  It's "sticky" with zero feel.  Just mash hard and go.  Easily the worst part of the car.

Just upgraded my gas pedal this week, a lot better

http://www.classicbugparts.com...r-speed-wheel-kit-2/

Love it, James.  Thanks.

Randall (VS, Ponte Vedra Bch, FL) very nice wheels, love the color. The guys on this sight are full of experience and knowledge. BTW what is the details on the A-1 sidewinder? Does, can not remember his name now, have a model name. I like that you kept the heater boxes and still came out with a center pipe.

The A-1 Sidewinder exhaust was Kirk's idea.  With the louvered decklid already ordered, he guessed that I might want to take the "Outlaw" look to it's logical conclusion.  And he said I could expect a (small but noticeable) boost in horsepower as well.

The heater boxes are still there.  It has the Magnaflow type muffler.  It's not overly loud, and there is no drone at highway speeds.  If you like the look, I can't find a reason why you shouldn't get one, other than valve adjustments being a PITA.

That's the limited extent of my knowledge.  I imagine someone (or lots of someones) knows exactly what model it is, where to get it, and how to install it.

@Randall (VS, Ponte Vedra Bch, FL) beautiful!  I have no other words. 

Congrats on the new ride. Prepare yourself for the new creases you’ll find on your face, from the constant grin you’ll have when behind the wheel. 

-Kevin

Randall, your photos are excellent, nice car.  Very good point about the zip ties on the oil lines.  Just got my car a week ago and will have to have a look and install a different retainer.  The comment re the engine build is good, I have the 2110 cc engine with the A-1 exhaust (which was a great recommendation by Kirk) a build sheet on the engine certainly should go with the car for upgrades and service, will ask again.  It is a good car for a good price, great people!  Have a new shifter from VintageSpeed that is supposed to arrive Monday.  It is a pull up for Reverse and supposedly 35% shorter throw, 13.5" tall so much closer (for me), don't believe the install will be too difficult (famous last words).

Randy

@James Garrett  Did you replace the whole pedal cluster... looks like something that would last a lifetime.

Congrats on your new car. Please, amidst all this "upgrade" talk, don't forget to drive the bag off it.

Randall...Yup that's one of mine. Others have mounted my foot rest horizontal like yours and like it just fine. I prefer it mounted on the fender well just in front of the heater vent in a vertical position. It keeps it up where my toes are and a little further out of the way of the clutch pedal. You can still manipulate it up and down with your foot or just reach down with your hand. They work in right hand drive cars too...Bruce

Regarding the oil cooler, it has a fan thus it has airflow...Not the best location and a pain if you ever have to work on it, but it should suffice.

Ray.....That pedal assembly James put in is really nice and excellent workmanship too.

It's the first thing I replaced in my VS for the very same reasons that Randall is. East to install and the floor mounting stay the same. I paid $60.00 to the guy who makes them at a VW swap meet instantly, on the spot, when I first checked them out. You hardly know you have a gas pedal under your foot...........Bruce

and for those of you with the nice metal pedals

available in 16 colors

It looks to me like the oil lines have been zip tied to pull them away from the exhaust system to keep the oil lines from melting. I have a thermal wrap on my oil lines and the wrap is secured with thin metal wire to hold it in place. The oil lines are right up against my exhaust system and I've never had a problem. It's been on for some time now and is working great. I would wrap the oil lines and get rid of the zip ties because they're going to break soon anyway.

https://www.heatshieldproducts...heat-shield-sleeving

The bumper bracket modification is an easy fix. If you don't know a welder take it to a muffler shop to have the welds done.

WTF, a plastic gas pedal? I'm sorry but that should never be acceptable.

All in all though it's a gorgeous car and will make you very happy.

@IaM-Ray - I just did the gas pedal and roller. You do have to take the cluster out which isn’t the funnest thing in the world. 

I have Bruce’s footpedal peg and love it. Have mine mounted to the right of my heater cover. 

Funny thing is that on my first vw beetle 69 version I did have an issue with the clutch and brake cluster but I use to drive it in the winter and snow and ice buildup was the issue... No fun.. Glad those days have passed... winter driving in a 69 bug was hazardous to say the least, not to mention cccccold...

I got these billet covers from CIP1 for <$15.

 http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDe...ctCode=C23-AC735-000

Turned out REALLY nice Randall.

Randall, the plastic pedal is supposed to have a rubber cover slipped over it.  Sometimes you have glue them to the plastic if it starts to ride up and slip off the pedal. If you tell Kirk it’s missing I’m sure he will send you one.