Just when we thought we had it ready...it's always something.

After getting the brakes finished, the tires/wheels needed to be done. I had a sent of almost new 14" tires, so we just neede to clean the rims up. After cleaning and repainting, the look better. Still, the rears seem a little small.

Anyway, time for a test drive! That lasted about a 1/4 mile. The car started well and ran ok, then started to sputter and backfire. Limped it home and started looking.

First thought was the carb. It seems like it might be leaking. But, after removing it and attempting to start/run using starting fluid, we got the same results. So, guess it's not the carb. My brother thinks it's electrical. We called a local VW mechanic; he seems to think it might be the distributor. It sounds like the timing is way off to me too, but I just didn't think a dizzy would go bad like that. But since I have no idea what the PO used in the way of parts...

So, we're on hold at the moment (again). I'm thinking we're going to tow it to the VW guy as I want him to level/raise slighlty the rear, so might as well have him look at the engine too.

I have a few new pics with the new wheels and exhaust.

After the second set of OEM brake rotors warped, I decided it was time for something different. After polling people on a couple different Dakota boards, I bought a set of SSBC (Stanles Steel Brake Co.) slotted rotors and pads. Since one of the calipers had stuck and caused a problem before, we replaced those as well with a new set of NAPA parts.

Things were worse than we'd thought as te pads on the driver's side were well worn, but the passenger side had about twice as much material left. We found out why when we tried o install the new caliper; one of the mounting holes was stripped! We drilled, tapped and Helicoiled and all is well again. The truck stops better than ever. Now we just need to do the rear...

But the bug is about ready to see the light of day...or the road. The wheels were a mess, so we had to clean them and repaint since I'm keeping the 14" ones for now (I had an almost new set of 14" tires available) They're back on and ready to run. The steering wheel I got online turned otu to be a bad deal; the hub doesn't fit. I put the old wheel back on and I'll have to work out a horn button for it.

The brakes are done and working; new wheel cylinders, shoes and brake lines and all is well again. Still, 4 wheel drums aren't the best, and I'm hoping to upgrade to at least disc fronts soon.

The bug starts and runs, but the choke needs some work/adjustment and the car will need to be jetted/set up. I'd rather go with a set of duals, but cash flow is always a problem, and the brakes should probably come first. As soon as we can get things idling/running proper;y, she'll be on the road while we do the rest. Yeehaa, it's about time.

Well, some more progress on the toy. Got the gas guage hooked up and working, but since we're using a spun aluminum tank, we'll have to play with the angle of the float to get a more accurate reading. Right now the gusage is reading almost empty when a look inside the tank says it's near to half full. That'll be a trial and error thing, but it's easy enough to get the sending unit out so it shouldn't take too long.

The front brakes are giving us trouble tho. I ordered all new hardware and shoes (old VWs have drum brakes all around) so we put those in. Still no joy, so we got new wheel cylinders and hoses as well. Better, but it still seems like the rear brakes are doing most of the work. I didn't want to do it yet, but it seems I'm going to have to invest in a disc brake conversion soon. I was hoping to hold on for a while, but I don't want to sink a lot of money into the drum brakes only to replace them in a year.

Oy, sometimes hobbies are so expensive...

This weekend past, my brother and I did a lot of work to the Valk. New wheel bearings and seals front and rear, driveline maintenance, cleaned and re-oiled the air filter, removed some electrical add-ons from the PO that were causing trouble, removed some of the chrome, and finally added a 205-60/16 Falken ZIEX Dark Side tire.

What's a Dark Side tire? For bikes large enough, it means I'm using a car tire. I know; crazy, right? Apparently not; I first heard about it on the Valk Riders site. After reading and researching, I decided to give it a try. So far so good, and it looks great on the bike. Time will tell...

I'd planned on selling this bike as my girlfriend couldn't ride due to a back injury. Well, after months, she's able to ride a little and there's prospects of her getting even better so I guess the bike will be staying. After some testing with her, we found that the Corbin hard bags the bike came with were causing some trouble as they crowded her feet on the passenger pegs. So we removed them and traded for a set of the OEM Honda bags. Not only are they more comfortable for her, they hold more too. I just painted them flat black at the moment as we're considering a whole bike repaint.

Currently I use the bike for commuting and the occasional weekend ride.

Well, the wiring is mostly done. I need some indicator lights for the turn signals and a license plate light but that's about it. We're not sure the wipers are working correctly either, they seem to have only one speed, but they're not a priority at the moment.

Had to replace the mechanical fuel pump; the "rebuildable" one leaked no matter what we did to it. A "stock" replacement and all is well there. Surprisingly after having sat for so long, it started and ran well.

Since I just moved, I now have a garage of my own to work on it, but at the moment things are too hectic for me to get to it. I'm hoping to have it in driveable condition by fall so I can use it for commuting. I love my truck, but the mileage isn't the best.

Got the water pump replaced along with new thermostat, belts and most of the hoses. A couple weeks later, I found out the A/C wasn't working. Had to take it back to the body shop twice before they got it fixed correctly. Need to get some updated pics on here, but we just moved so it's been rather hectic.

All the wiring is in, save for a few details. Since the Beetle uses a single dash indicator for both turn signals and the new harness doesn't, I need to get 2 indicators for that. I also need a new indicator for the high-beam. I need a horn button too, but I can't seem to find one for the steering wheel I have. I may end up having to buy a whole new wheel with button kit.

On the other hand, the bug still doesn't run. The mechanical fuel pump is bad. I'd prefer using mechanical so I'll have to get another. Also the brakes need to be rebuilt, and I want to replace the front with a disc set up. Since I just spent a lot on the Dakota, the bug will wait for now. Dang it.

My Dakota developed a leak in the bypass hose to the water pump. The body shop says it's not accident related so it's not their problem. Took it to a shop and they said the water pump was leaking as well and quoted well over $500 to fix it. So, I had to wait till the weekend to get some help from my brother. We replaced the water pump, bypass hose, thermostat and belt. I wanted to replace the hoses, but the parts stor didn't have them on hand.

One thing that did happen; we couldn't get the clutch fan off the old water pump at first. When I frequented some online Dakota groups, I'd heard of several people taking the fan off since there's an auxilury electric fan mounted to the radiator. So we left the fan off the water pump. So far all seems well, but we'll see when summer comes. The engine does seem to pin up a bit faster, but it may be just me.