Get a Vintage shifter they are awesome !
New boots on the axles. I won’t say what oil I used….
New fuse box 
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The pans actually are really nice. No holes or cancer anywhere. I brushed and touched up a few spots. Good as new!
We just put the car on the ground and the front tires point at each other. Back on the lift she goes. They were way off on alignment
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Here’s the problem with the carbs…
She absolutely purrs at idle. Can’t wait to drive her.
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Some people use Por-15,`` some use bedliner on the pan after they clean them up and some also use a rubber coating to protect areas. Lot's of choices and wise choice not to comment on the oil
Pans I use Rust-Oleum semi gloss black then coat with rattle can bed liner. Be sure to do the bed liner outdoors, put down a blue tarp then roll the car onto that and cover surfaces with a clear plastic drop cloth before spraying. Gloves, eye protection and mask too.
Sound advice from the good clock doctor
Wow. She runs really, really well. So good in fact that I’m debating if I need the new engine. I put 60km on her today, I have no idea how many miles that is but she pulls a lot better than I thought. I smoked 2 minivans and was neck and neck with a Lexus RX330.
My question now is this. Is it more fun to drive a slow car fast or a fast car slow…. Hammering full throttle to the floor and squealing around the turns on these skinny tires is a blast. I think she may have more than a 1600 under there. It looks like there were a lot of 1915’s put into the Vintage Speedsters. I wonder….. do I need 180hp? I’ve got a huge grin with what I have…. Is more better….?
What I know for sure is that this car is super fun. Exactly what I need in life right now.
I’ve got a few loose ends to wrap up. Tach, temp gauge, turn signals and front running lights. I need to start researching suspension and a steering box as well. She has a bit of play in the wheel. It’s fine at 45 but at 60 I’d love it to be a little more responsive.
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It's more fun to drive a slow car fast.
@GreasySideUp If in fact your car was a Kirk built Vintage Speedster there is a good chance that it is a 1915cc motor. I looked back at all of your original photos and I noticed there was a hole cut out in the firewall. That was done when VS sold a car with a 1915 engine. But one never knows what's in these things after enough years pass by. The VS built 1915 though wasn't a really powerful motor by today's standards so the new motor you bought will probably be a lot better in the long run.
Finding and cleaning those jets was the real game changer and a complete overhaul/rebuild of the carburetors will also be a nice improvement.
i believe Roland(RIP) did alot of kirks motors, had a 1915..decent..but always wanted another 50-60HP.....it never ends
Did you get a mirror and see if motor size was marked on the back of the engine cooling shroud? Many VS's were so marked.
@WOLFGANG posted:Did you get a mirror and see if motor size was marked on the back of the engine cooling shroud? Many VS's were so marked.
Nothing obvious but I didn’t use a mirror. I’ll look again soon.
@GreasySideUp What my 1914 looked like: https://www.flickr.com/gp/farsightful/d61518
Focus…
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I’m on the way to the DMV. With a Japaneese title, I may have the option. Should I register as a 66 Beetle, a 56 Porsche or a replica?
@GreasySideUp posted:I’m on the way to the DMV. With a Japaneese title, I may have the option. Should I register as a 66 Beetle, a 56 Porsche or a replica?
It depends on your DMV laws. I tried, and succeeded, in getting my Spyder registered as a 55 Porsche because annual registration is only $10 for cars >40 years old.
‘66 VW Bug hands down. That will make it easy to register it anywhere in case you need to sell down the line.
Depending on state, 55 Porsche might have sales tax impact based on state's assessment of its value. I vote 66 bug, like @Impala
It really depends on where you live.
Mr. Grease lives in Texas according to his profile, so anyone with experience there please chime in.
Well, the title is a mess. It is not insurmountable but I’ve got some hoops to jump through. The first thing is to get the Japaneese title translated. Do we have any Japaneese members in the group?
When it comes time to sell the car, you will be much better off if it's registered as a VW with the original VW VIN and year. That will make it easier to sell in most, but not all states.
@GreasySideUp posted:Well, the title is a mess. It is not insurmountable but I’ve got some hoops to jump through. The first thing is to get the Japaneese title translated. Do we have any Japaneese members in the group?
If it’s a Vintage build it was titled in the US at some point. I remember when I ordered mine Kirk sent me the original title from California. If by any chance you still have that one maybe it will help make the process less messy.
@wrkinprogress posted:Depending on state, 55 Porsche might have sales tax impact based on state's assessment of its value. I vote 66 bug, like @Impala
In VA, there is a personal property tax every year (in addition to the original sales tax). Registered in VA as a Porsche XX will be very costly!
And, of course, since it isn't a 195X Porsche, there is the inconvenient issue of title fraud.
@GreasySideUp posted:Wow. She runs really, really well. So good in fact that I’m debating if I need the new engine. I put 60km on her today, I have no idea how many miles that is but she pulls a lot better than I thought. I smoked 2 minivans and was neck and neck with a Lexus RX330.
My question now is this. Is it more fun to drive a slow car fast or a fast car slow…. Hammering full throttle to the floor and squealing around the turns on these skinny tires is a blast. I think she may have more than a 1600 under there. It looks like there were a lot of 1915’s put into the Vintage Speedsters. I wonder….. do I need 180hp? I’ve got a huge grin with what I have…. Is more better….?
What I know for sure is that this car is super fun. Exactly what I need in life right now.
I’ve got a few loose ends to wrap up. Tach, temp gauge, turn signals and front running lights. I need to start researching suspension and a steering box as well. She has a bit of play in the wheel. It’s fine at 45 but at 60 I’d love it to be a little more responsive.
More is always better! 
(think big evil laugh here). As you said, the car is "super fun" and the stress breaker you "need in life right now". Any 2 literish (or bigger) type 1 engine with decently ported big valve heads (and the cam/rocker combo, carbs and exhaust to support them) will make at least 140 and maybe even as much as 160 hp, all in by 6,000 rpm, be a torque monster and still reliable as all heck will be a blast to drive in your car. What you will notice, though, is the rear will now come around even easier (you'll be able to spin the rear tires at will) and could use wider rubber (which you may already know is not easily done) to keep all that sliding and spinning to a minimum. One thing leads to another, so it's a slippery slope (in more ways than 1)- watch what you wish for
.
Re your front suspension- it might not be the steering box. Exactly what you're describing can be caused by not enough caster. My apologies, I don't remember specifically- are there caster shims under the bottom tube? How (and how much) the front is lowered can really affect caster and make a Speedster quite unsafe even at legal highway speeds if not compensated for. I have been guilty of this as well and seriously scared myself once before I knew anything about front suspension geometry and how important caster is to a car's high speed stability- a bug lowered with just a Select-a-drop and 135's is crude (and downright dangerous) by today's standards. Any VW based car needs at least 3° (stock) caster; if you will never (ever!) take your car even a smidgeon above legal speeds (not even for a moment- "let's see what this thing will do" can have disastrous and very final consequences in a heartbeat) then you could arguably call it enough, but any playing at and above those highway speeds (even for a moment) and your Speedster requires more caster to be dependably responsive and relatively safe (well, there will still be the nut behind the wheel, but that variable we all have to contend with!). Pretty well everyone here agrees that 5° is the minimum figure to look for.
356's came with a very similar front suspension (really early cars actually used VW king&linkpin spindles/trailing arms), were built with 5° caster and were more stable and predictably responsive at higher speeds.
Hope this helps, and Yoda out- time to go back to bed it is!
@GreasySideUp posted:What I know for sure is that this car is super fun. Exactly what I need in life right now.
I think most of us who have stayed in the hobby know EXACTLY what you are talking about. I call my car the "30 minute vacation".
@GreasySideUp posted:I wonder….. do I need 180hp? I’ve got a huge grin with what I have…. Is more better….?
You're asking the right questions. "How much is enough?" is something only you can answer.
But it's my contention that you didn't make a mistake in buying a second engine, because having a spare means not missing an entire season when "Engine 1" decides to give up the ghost. And make no mistake, with the state of parts availability now, you will lose an entire season (or more) getting an engine or transaxle rebuilt.
Any new updates on this project?
@Stan Galat posted:I think most of us who have stayed in the hobby know EXACTLY what you are talking about. I call my car the "30 minute vacation".
You're asking the right questions. "How much is enough?" is something only you can answer.
But it's my contention that you didn't make a mistake in buying a second engine, because having a spare means not missing an entire season when "Engine 1" decides to give up the ghost. And make no mistake, with the state of parts availability now, you will lose an entire season (or more) getting an engine or transaxle rebuilt.
Stan you reminded me when I lived where GM has a cold weather testing center with 8 weeks of MINUS 42 C or F ... the scales meet there for you guys that are wanting the conversion. Anyway, we had to buy two of everything computer and other tech as things would be sometimes slow like molasses running at -42 getting there and you could be down for a long time, not a way to run a business.
Two of everything is a good idea.
The motto of the royal family is 'an heir and a spare'.
@Impala posted:Any new updates on this project?
I’ve been driving it nearly every day and loving life!! This has been my nice weather grocery getter, daughter school dropper offer, early morning coffee runner, and I even made it to a car show and parked next to a 700,000 mile 1976 mustang. She has been an absolute hoot to drive. I’ve owned a lot of cars and this one takes the cake.
I’m getting fired in a few weeks and losing my military retirement over these mandates. Not to get political on this forum, but if that happens she may need to find a new home until I figure out the next job. Until then, I’m going to extract every ounce of fun out of her that I can.
Side note - I didn’t realize there was a Porsche wave
@GreasySideUp posted:I’ve been driving it nearly every day and loving life!! This has been my nice weather grocery getter, daughter school dropper offer, early morning coffee runner, and I even made it to a car show and parked next to a 700,000 mile 1976 mustang. She has been an absolute hoot to drive. I’ve owned a lot of cars and this one takes the cake.
I’m getting fired in a few weeks and losing my military retirement over these mandates. Not to get political on this forum, but if that happens she may need to find a new home until I figure out the next job. Until then, I’m going to extract every ounce of fun out of her that I can.
Side note - I didn’t realize there was a Porsche wave
Those are great news. On the mandates, lawsuits are flying left and right; I hope you don't lose your job and your benefits in the end. Seems unconstitutional to me.
Merry Christmas.
@GreasySideUp, I don't see any pictures.
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is that a steel building, interesting roof trussing