1968 VW
Water bug
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I am not really into bugs but I wouldn’t cut up a clean one. When I started this car was fairly straight but totally non-original. It was a 1968 body on a 1969 pan with an Arizona assigned ID plate. No engine, transmission and only one front spindle. Seemed like Baja Bug material.
I seem to have trouble getting along with air-cooled cars. To try something different this one has a 1.8-liter out of an 85’ Jetta. After settling on a rear engine with a front radiator I heard from a few sources that it doesn’t work. I know now that it does. At least it works up to 105 degrees, after that I start thinking about my truck with the air conditioner.
The engine is an 85’ low output. This version has lower compression and smaller valves when compared to the higher output units. With the CIS-E fuel injection system it is just the thing for a wide torque band. It is no hot rod but the pull from right off idle is amazing.
After getting it running there was a little de-bug-ing. There was a point that I was beginning to think it just didn’t like water.
Here is the bug earlier in its life. I got it from Tom, a good fried of mine who used to be with the 3 Points, Arizona fire department. One day the bug was posed for a picture with a few extras added to it.
Parts supplied from a donor Jetta were engine, complete fuel injection (with harness, computer, sensors and fuel pump), fuse/relay box, radiator and steering box.
I didn't plan on a body off job but there was already so much apart that all I was needed was the removal of the pan to body bolts. I was never sorry for the decision to remove it. The pan ended up with a full cleaning and painting. And what a wonderful way to install suspension components. I did end up refurbishing so many parts that the project did take a while.
I did all work on the car except the engine machine work and pressing ball joints in and out. I also bought a transmission already built and the upholstery was pre-sewn kits. This is the second car I have painted and I only claim its good enough to start collecting my "desert pin striping" from the bushes in the back areas around here.
Cooling system
Here is a view of the radiator and fuel tank support. A lot of the sheet metal was removed to fit the Jetta radiator. The body was no longer attached to the front beam at this point. Note the upper beam to body supports. Later I added tabs to bolt the fender well near the cut to the beam braces.
The cooling lines were bent from 1 1/4 inch, 13 gauge mild steel pipe. This was the same diameter as the Jetta system. The routing follows the rocker panels around. The installation creates a high spot in the engine bay that traps air. I already knew a bleed valve was needed to remove all air and allow the water to circulate. What I didn’t expect that there seems to be a number of bubbles in the system that would not make it to the high spot right away. The indication was suddenly the water temperature would rise faster than water alone could, a steam pocket. If I drained the system I would have to drive down the street, stop and bleed air, drive back and stop to bleed air. Some times this would be repeated a number of times only to be surprised a few miles down the road with another steam pocket. The final fix was to install a remote reservoir above the engine. With the reservoir any air would find its own way out of the engine.
Kennedy Engineered suggested a restriction with a ½ inch hole in the line coming from the engine at the radiator. The thought had been to maintain some pressure in the line to prevent the system from flashing to steam before the hot water can reach the radiator. When temperatures started breaking 100 degrees here I would notice the water temperature would occasionally rise above what I thought would be full open thermostat level. Removing the restriction fixed that.
A little experimenting for a possible fifth seat position.
Just about done here. It a good thing because they starting to get tired of waiting.
Fuel System
The Bosh CIS-E injection pump adds a surprising amount of heat to the fuel system. If the pump gets too hot it starts cavitating causing the pressure to disappear. This one caused the most problems. There was more than a few times that thoughts of installing a carburetor came up.
The first miss-installation was placing the pump below the tank. Fuel returned from the pressure regulator at the engine was sent back into the tank. This was the most like the Jetta installation. The pumps are normally near the tank because they don’t draw fuel well. Below the tank seemed perfect. Placing the pump under the tank also put it in the hot air from the radiator. It didn’t take long to over heat the pump.
Another attempt was to use a low pressure pump intended for a carburetor installation under the tank and move the high pressure pump to the under side of the package tray, supplying it with the low pressure pump. The return from the pressure regulator was routed to a tee at the inlet of the high-pressure pump. The low-pressure pump is working fine in the heat from the radiator. It was at this point that I began to understand just how much heat the pump was putting into the fuel. With the unused fuel being returned to the high-pressure pump inlet, the heated fuel was being recirculated and picking up more heat. Another over heated pump.
The fix was keeping the low-pressure pump up front under the tank and feeding the high pressure in the back. The return fuel needed to be returned to the tank.
Water System Update
Early NovemberSeptember,03
I discovered something new about Volkswagen thermostats when I tried replacing one. The thermostat I removed that had worked well all summer but was not warming up during the morning temperatures we have been having. In the pot I found it opened about 180 but closed at around 145. I figured that was pretty strange. I picked up a replacement from a local national name auto parts store that opened at 185 and was closed by 180.
I could not keep the system from overheating. What was really strange is it would overheat before warm water would get through the system and back to the motor. The water inlet pipe would be dead cold and the motor starting to blow steam!
I ran across an auto bulletin board where people write in with questions and other people through their 2 cents in on it. I found one entry stating the VW thermostat opened and closed at different temps. That person thought they closed at around 85 percent of rated temperature. This was the only thing I was able to find on the Internet on the matter. I picked up another thermostat from a well known import part house.
When I checked it in the pot it opened at 180 and closed at 165. So far I have had no overheat problems and the heater output is great. I think the other new one would open just enough to shroud the thermostat in cool water but not enough to support the needs. The bogus thermostat may have worked in a normal VW installation as hot water would have gotten through the radiator and back to the engine sooner but if you happen to have any odd over heat problems in a water cooled VW you may want to try testing the thermostat.
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Body 1968 1969 Pan Welded seams Standard Baja Kit Engine cover panel Custom built Sprint sidebars Double tube bumpers Reinforced Roof Rack Custom built |
Interior
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ENGINE VW 1.8 A2 Water-cooled Bore 81.5 mm (0.5 over) Stroke 86.4 mm Displacement 1803 cc Compression Ratio 8.5/1 Intake Valve 38mm Exhaust 33mm Cam Stock Hydraulic Fuel Injection CIS-E Fuel Distributor 80mm Throttle Body Late style progressive Intake Manifold Late style, match ported Head Mild porting Exhaust Manifold Early dual port |
Drive Line
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