Just bought a '75 Swallowtail from the...fourth owner ;)

[clintg60-16v]

There is progress, but no pics until next weekend. Too busy.

Driver's door, hatch, hood and bumpers are back on the car. Paint is far from perfect but looks OK. My driver's fender is a slightly different shade than the rest of the car; I didn't have good lighting when I painted. It gives it "character"

It needs replacement anyways...

[The Hustler]

Quote, originally posted by clintg60-16v »

Today's update... A little better. New dash was installed today. Done til next weekend...

dude.... whats with the truck tires??

everything else is lookin GREAT!! please tell me they're only temporary.

[bagpipegoatee]

I don't think it's so bad. Different than normal, but good for a daily driver. What size are those tires, just curious how wide they are.

[The Hustler]

man.... but the raised lettering. makes it look like a stockcar.

[VentoVR6Girl]

Quote, originally posted by The Hustler »

dude.... whats with the truck tires?? everything else is lookin GREAT!! please tell me they're only temporary.

x2 Cant wait to see him all done!

[clintg60-16v]

Quote, originally posted by The Hustler »

man.... but the raised lettering. makes it look like a stockcar.

70's, man, 70's. White letters was the thing. I'm going to rock these tires...and give the 1.5L a break from spinning rubberband tires.

LOL

By the way, those are 205-60-13's. Same rolling radius as stock. But the widened steelies allow a nice fat 205mm cross-section,

You'll like the new steering wheel and radio a bit more. Update pending when I get the d--m windshield seal to seat.


Modified by clintg60-16v at 11:11 PM 5-16-2008

[PoorHouse]

Quote, originally posted by clintg60-16v »

70's, man, 70's. White letters was the thing.

Yep

I like 'em.

[The Hustler]

not me... but i sold the car so i better be prepared to deal with the crazy things the next owner does. just can't get excited over the tires. just ruins it for me..

all that hard work to mess it up with raised white lettering on the tires. hell they are WWAAAAAYYYY to big too... that car only has a few hp's so no need for 205 tires.

but the paint and body work are lookin right. i just hope that somehow you figure out that those tires suck.

[A1_Lover]

Quote, originally posted by clintg60-16v »

70's, man, 70's. White letters was the thing. I'm going to rock these tires...

I'm with you Clint, I like 'em.

Be different, do what you like and the heck with what the crowd says...

Just my two cents.
-Glenn

[El Jarretto]

Quote, originally posted by The Hustler »

dude.... whats with the truck tires?? everything else is lookin GREAT!! please tell me they're only temporary.

vat? It's all about wide and huge sidewalls, balloon tires ftw!

[evil_brother1]

Tires are so sweet its not even funny. Dont pay attention to everyone else, you got it dialed in

[VentoVR6Girl]

Its crazy how just tires can completely change the look of a car.

[K9jetta]

Quote, originally posted by PoorHouse »

Yep I like 'em.

team white-lettering

[A1_Lover]

Quote, originally posted by evil_brother1 »

Don't pay attention to everyone else, you got it dialed in

Amen to that!

Clint, anyone who has worked as hard as you have on a car, and who is as obsessive about "getting things right" has earned the respect of all 'texers.... (well, at least me! )

I remain eager to see more...
-Glenn

[ditchdigger]

WhiIe I cant agree with the choice of cooper cobras (truely horrible tires) I LOVE the look of the 205/60's, Even the white lettering is working for me. That is true oldschool. Looks aggressive and fun to drive instead of fragile like 175/50's.

Again let me restate that "I really love the tire fitment, Stance is perfect"

[clintg60-16v]

Quote, originally posted by The Hustler »

not me... but i sold the car so i better be prepared to deal with the crazy things the next owner does.

i hope you deal better with that new dash and the repaired door that the new owner is rocking too

I understand the high-profile white-letters aren't your thing. No worries! I liked the previous look but it wasn't practical at all for the original drivetrain.

Side note to The Hustler: I'm willing to pay shipping on that driver's door chrome trim. Do you still have that around?

Quote, originally posted by ditchdigger »

WhiIe I cant agree with the choice of cooper cobras (truely horrible tires) I LOVE the look of the 205/60's, Even the white lettering is working for me. That is true oldschool...

I'm glad the tires have some fans out there. It seems to be different, though that wasn't my intent. I just like 'em.

Coopers do suck. I wanted BF Goodrich Radial T/A's but no dice.

The Coopers should handle 70 HP with ease though.

My son's first b-day was today; not much progress. I can work on it now, but I'm too tired! Tomorrow, though, tomorrow...

I'll reveal some FANTASTIC pick-n-pull finds.

Modified by clintg60-16v at 4:42 PM 5-17-2008


Modified by clintg60-16v at 4:49 PM 5-17-2008

[The Hustler]

Quote, originally posted by clintg60-16v »

Yep, deal with that new dash and the repaired door that the new owner is rocking too

oh i am..

[MKII1.8Tgti]

i'm a fan of the tire profile, i like the looks,
i myself am running 175/50's, it's just nice to see a change

[clintg60-16v]

FINALLY got the windshield in today.

After twenty or so failed attempts with two people, three people finally got the job done. Otherwise it kept popping out in different spots.

I gave up a couple times. During one of those "quitting" moments, I decided to put some seat foam from a 1978 Rabbit to good use.

The back seat in this car had no cushioning. It looked like a worn-out boxspring; flat, with spring patterns pressing through the vinyl. I took the back off, and it looked like this:

Looked like a miniature horse died in there. Messy to get all the horsehair out. I clogged the Shop-Vac hose twice. The "new" foam is in the background.

Here it is, shapely again.

The upholstery still has a huge hole in it but at least the back seat is comfortable now.

And the nice big hole in the old masonite is from my knee. Nice. That'll need fixing.

And here's where it stands, 'til next weekend. Closer!

I also dug some bolts out of the garage and secured the seat properly. Works/ looks much better now.

Also mounted both doors, one vent window, hatch shocks and seals, hood, grill, lower valance spoiler and some H4s.

Next week the dash goes back in; hopefully for the last time.

Modified by clintg60-16v at 7:47 PM 5-26-2008

[MByler1]

Looks great

White letters and all.

[The Hustler]

Quote, originally posted by MByler1 »

Looks great White letters and all.

[clintg60-16v]

There was a car show/ dyno day hosted by a friend of mine in Castleton. I promised him three weeks ago I'd stop by. I haven't done much to the car since. As of Friday, the car still wasn't even roadworthy...but I had a weekend...

Mocked up the interior a bit, buffed the paint and put the body trim and emblems on...

Finally,I backed it out of the drive, drove it halfway around the subdivision with no problem, then sputtered it home.

Took the old fuel filter off, and quite a bit of sediment poured out. $1.87 later, it seemed to run pretty good. I checked the gas tank; no sediment. Just a old filter, I suppose. It starts the first time now, even when sitting for days. No more loss of prime.

The left front tire hit the driver's fender pulling back in the driveway, though. It bent the fender lip out.

The driver's fender was already destined for replacement; no worries.

I rolled both fender lips; now there's no clearance issues. The rear arches are spared from any modification. Even the driver's fender looks acceptable.

The 1.5L took its fancy white-lettered shoes for a spin. No issues there. 30 mile drive, no problems either.

Now back in the garage for some fine-tuning. I might even call it "finished" for the summer, after next weekend. Needs wheel bearings, pads/shoes, and more interior work. Good thing vacation is coming up.

Modified by clintg60-16v at 7:33 PM 6-15-2008

[Fein1]

Looks great. I think the tires look period correct. I have a set of bigger 13's and a set of smaller 13s I rock whichever I am in the mood for. The car hasnt run in 3 year however.

Love it as is. Keep up the good work.

[gtiboy66]

looks great

color looks familiar

[clintg60-16v]

Quote, originally posted by Fein1 »

Looks great. I think the tires look period correct. I have a set of bigger 13's and a set of smaller 13s I rock whichever I am in the mood for. The car hasnt run in 3 year however. Love it as is. Keep up the good work.

Thanks! It's fun to drive with the right tires.

Working on the interior and floormats this weekend.

Quote, originally posted by El Jarretto »

vat? It's all about wide and huge sidewalls, balloon tires ftw!

You called it.

[clintg60-16v]

Vacation's just about over, but I got a few things done.

Changed the rear brake shoes and wheel bearings. The old shoes were worn down to the metal backing .

Bonus: the emergency brake works now!

I also wanted to replace the steering column bearing, but ended up having to replace the whole column.

This is the end of the old column, where a hose clamp was used to prevent the damaged bearing from coming out. The end of the column was beaten up a bit, so I couldn't get a new bearing in properly.

Solution: a "new" column from a 1983 model. Several differences between that and a Swallowtail steering column. My original one's on the left. "4 mounting points" for the metal signal stalks, vs. 3 for the later plastic ones.

Also, the assembly's held on by a circlip, vs. a plastic spacer on the later column.

So I had the swap the column assemblies out...

...and discovered why my original column wouldn't lock with the key removed...

Now my steering wheel's solidly in place, with no up-down-back-forth play. "Jitters" are gone.

Also found those Wolfsburg-crest rubber mats at the junkyard for $3.50! Adds the right amount of black the interior needed...

I'll be selling my other set of Rabbit mats soon (laying on the seat in the pic)...

Cheerio...

[vr6jettajay]

Quote, originally posted by clintg60-16v »

Vacation's just about over, but I got a few things done. Changed the rear brake shoes and wheel bearings. The old shoes were worn down to the metal backing . Bonus: the emergency brake works now! I also wanted to replace the steering column bearing, but ended up having to replace the whole column.... Cheerio...

Yeah i need to replace my bearing as well... hopefully i wont run into the issue of needing to replace the column.

[Fein1]

How far is Nobelsville from Chicago? You should come up and hangout with us chicago guys. There arent enough early cars around.

C

[The Hustler]

about 4hrs...

god that night sucked.

[clintg60-16v]

Quote, originally posted by The Hustler »

about 4hrs... god that night sucked.

Hey dude, you got plenty of beer money out of it, so no whining

Seriously appreciate you bringing it down...

[The Hustler]

not whining.

just stating a fact.

[clintg60-16v]

Quote, originally posted by The Hustler »

not whining. just stating a fact.

Agreed. That night was brutal. It was fun watching you and your friend figure out how to get the car off the trailer without the exhaust hanging up though...

...until I realized it was now my exhaust...then it became much more serious

I got my '75 cluster from Double0SevenGTI over the weekend. He's parting out a '75 Swallowtail, if anyone's looking for some hard-to-find items... thanks )

I'll do some electrical work this weekend with the help of that cluster...and I'm still looking for a driver's seatbelt.

To keep my mind off the missing seatbelt, I dyed the hatch cover carpet brown with SEM spray-dye. It was faded to gray after thirty-three years of sunfade.

[IMG][/IMG]

Modified by clintg60-16v at 7:51 PM 7-8-2008


Modified by clintg60-16v at 7:52 PM 7-8-2008

[Hellchops]

This is looking great.

I think that I like the white lettering

[clintg60-16v]

Rabbit clock - to - Scirocco tachometer COMPLETE: (added for search)

The tach I was using was a 12-pin unit from a '76 Sciroccco. The Rabbit's 12-pin also.

I swapped the clock, added the tach and pressed circuit board, drilled a small hole for the voltage regulator and thought I was done.

"VW's wiring connections on the 12-pin harnesses would 'likely' be the same", I thought. WRONG.

I should've traced the wiring to make sure: I plugged in the hybrid cluster, hooked up the battery, and heard two "zaps". The tach didn't work, and that was the least of my problems. The instrument cluster lights were dead. The turn signal lights didn't function. The high beam indicator light was always on. Fuel/ temp gauges quit working. And I had glowing warning lights all over the place. Not good.

I pulled the cluster and now had two blown connections on the circuit board.

I tried "SEARCH": searches say only one pin ("#4") is different" between the harnesses. It's 12V positive clock power for the Rabbit, and a terminal 1 coil signal for the Scirocco.

Not the case with me. There may be "early" and "late" harness configurations on the MKI Scirocco?

Here is the ORIGINAL wiring setup on my Rabbit, and what I had to change to match the (now-repaired) '76 Scirocco 12-pin board:

Pin 1.....Blue (red stripe): Turn signal light
Pin 2.....Blue: Alt warning light
Pin 3.....Blue (white stripe): High beam warn light
Pin 4.....Red: Clock (+) wire or tach (term 1) signal
Pin 5.....Brown: Ground
Pin 6.....Gray (blue stripe): Inst. cluster light
Pin 7.....Black: Positive 12V constant
Pin 8.....Purple (black stripe): Fuel gauge feed (from sender)
Pin 9.....Blue (yellow stripe): Temp gauge feed (from sender)Pin 10...Blue (brown stripe): Cat converter indicator (if appl.)
Pin 11...Blue (black stripe): Oil pressure warning light
Pin 12...Blue (green stripe): EGR control (if appl.)

And here's the changes I had to make to the harness:

Pin 1: NO CHANGE
Pin 2: moved to position 9
Pin 3: moved to position 2
Pin 4: moved to position 3, disconnected midway in cluster harness, and routed to coil terminal #1
Pin 5: moved to position 4
Pin 6: moved to position 5
Pin 7: moved to position 6
Pin 8: moved to position 7
Pin 9: moved to position 8
Pin 10: moved to position 11
Pin 11: moved to position 10
Pin 12: NO CHANGE

If you follow that, one can tell I created "MAD CHAOS" by plugging in the Scirocco tach without changing the pin positions.

Everything works perfectly now in the cluster. Including the tach. I'm glad I didn't fry it.

Modified by clintg60-16v at 10:10 AM 7-13-2008

[PoorHouse]

Nice write up.