Sehr schön Kafer!

All my VWs were pretty beat down by the time I got them. The last was a '73. Orange. Had been parked by feel by previous owners, had rear-ended someone in a truck, and hit in the right rear just ahead of the wheel, and had weird camber that chewed up that tire as a result.

I straightened out the hood and spraypainted graffiti all over it. $5 to make it funny. Would've cost thousands to make it straight and boring. Never had any trouble merging in that car. People saw me coming and made room....

 

I've finished a number of other projects to finally make some time to get the Mini ready for this summer. She's on the lift, for starters:


I have to tackle the following items from a small fender-bender the kids had a while back:

• hood replacement (I have a color-matched used one, with the stripes, too!)
• new radiator
• new AC condenser - and get the AC working, finally!
• radiator support replacement (I found a good used one)

Then, there are some other items I've been wanting to tackle, too:

• Bilstein B6 shocks for the rear (I already have them for the front)
• New rear shock upper and lower spring pads (I'm going with Mini OE)
• New rear upper spring plates (also Mini OE)
• New upper shock bushings (I went with the polyurethane Problem Solving Bushings kit)
• New front wheel bearings (the left front is definitely louder than normal, and I might as well replace both as they've never been done)
• New front brake dust shields (I noticed mine are rusting in pieces)

Lastly, in the engine bay I'll take care of:

• New coolant reservoir
• Replace the oil-filter-housing to heat exchanger gaskets (I'm looking to address oil leaks)
• Replace the oil-filter-housing to block gasket (ditto)
• Replace the oil pressure sensor (ditto, since I'm in there anyway)
• Replace the valve cover gasket (ditto)

I think I've spelled it all out here as a means of keeping my to-do list straight! It's going to be a busy couple weeks of evenings and weekends.

 

@Here2Go that buggy looks sick AF!


I finished up wiring and installation of the main part of the meth kit, have hoses and wires ran and now I just need to installed the direct port kit!

 

Today, I removed the front wheel hubs and brake dust shields, the front bumper cover and reinforcement beam and the hood. I removed the headlights, washer nozzles, wiring and hoses, as well, in preparation for swapping them over to the replacement hood.

The right front bearing felt "chunky" when I turned it by hand - certainly more so than the left front's bearing.

I also adjusted the muffler hangers in the rear to try and tuck the tailpipes closer to the bottom of the bumper cover. The tailpipes were hanging too low after I had replaced the exhaust some time ago with a used take-off system I picked up.