Mary’s expressions were priceless as you explained what you had in mind for the Bug. VW bugs have spot in our hearts, back in the 70’s we had a 65 ‘ camper van and a 68’ bug . We went everywhere and camped everywhere in the van, and were our daily driver. I would recommend a large external oil cooler with a fan and a oil filter adapter for a spin on oil filter. Looks like project will be fun.
Most of all... Have enjoyment in the project. I want to also say 2+ years ago I watched you guys alot while building my '15 Tacoma. From suspension, my dual battery lithium set up, wood camp boxes, winch bumper, lights a relays, etc. You were apart of what turned out to be a very nice overland build. In turn the wife and I, from Moab, to Zion, Central Oregon, Central Washington and British Columbia. We have met challenges with reliability and work cell like functionality. I thank you for all you've shared. You will never understand what we've experienced through you. Oh... Hey, your Gaia app vid.... I could build a truck but was a bit intimidated with the Tech side of Gaia. Again you got ne through it. Hell inconjuction with Gaia GPS coordinates and Google Earth. We've rolled into some beautiful places Keep sharing , most if all enjoy the new project William, Washington St.
I love the idea of an overland inspired baja bug. Should be perfect for running down forest service roads and should also offer a fun challenge when it comes to storage. I can't wait to see more videos about this project.
I've had two Baja Bugs in my lifetime. The first was a 1960 bug with the 36hp single port motor. Be prepared to do A LOT of valve adjustments. Solid lifters are suggested to be adjusted every 1500 miles. There were no oil filters so added a high volume oil pump with a external oil filter adapter. Added an external oil cooler in front of the air intake in front of the air box which also helps keep junk out of the top of the engine. My second Baja had sand/mud tires which ran with 5 pounds of air. The car was so light, it didn't need much air pressure. The car went just about anywhere my full time 4wd 73 blazer went. Be prepared for a lot of on/off road "maintenance", and I mean a lot. Happy trails.
Supper exited about this build, mine was a 72 superbeetle, dual weber carb, 1935 big bore on the dual port block, something with lifters because of lead additive removal, trimmed fenders to 4"rear 1"at taper to botom of door, used same template by fliping over on each fender, vw bus trans, sleeved trans axels, 1-3/4 chevy bolt patern conversion/spacer 35x10.5 on 15x9 baby moons. Bobbed the front end just after the front stabilizer arm, widow peaked hood, trunk latch became hood latch, round jeep headlights, bobbed rear end cage and stinger exhaust, rear cage tube frame, moved all interior wiring and electrical possible to above head liner, intake snorkeled above back glass, "waterproofed motor"😂. Random tube junk yard front bumper. Reupholstered waterproof vinyl white and black two-tone interior. My target was kind of a more off-road rugged version of the black beetle nemesis in the Herbie movies
Well.. good luck. You’ll enjoy the build. I had a 1975 Baja that I did. Drive it for many years and it was my camping buddy. Unfortunately, I lost my right leg 5 years ago and I can’t use my right foot for the gas pedal. All of my cars are now left footed gas pedal. Using my left foot for the clutch is impossible. What great fun I had building it. As a side note, I swapped out my 1500 for an 1800 and used a VW bus tranny. Never did the possy traction which I always regretted. I’ll watch the build. Not to worry, I somewhat overland with my 2016 Crosstrek.
I'll be watching this build for sure, you're going to have fun! The weakest link is the transmission, especially the old swing axle type. I broke axles, differentials, and several first gears. When I was fresh out of auto tech at community College in '73, my first job was at an import car shop that was centered on VW's. My first bug was a '59 oval window that I made a Baja and eventually a big dual carb engine. I would street race and beat V8 hot rodders with it. That engine eventually ended up in a mid-engine dune buggy that would scare me because it could climb almost vertical.
A friend of mine had one back in the early 80’s that had an 1850cc engine with duel webers, it got around 30 mpg. He used to travel from southern cal. To Oregon with his wife, two kids, two dogs, and all their camping equipment and spend a week on the upper rogue river. Also a 67 VW 2 speed wiper motor will fit right in
Roller type gas pedal is easier to modulate and keep steady speed over rough terrain. How to keep your bug alive is a good book to have as well as Baja prepping a VW Bug
Love y'all, so crazy the parallels just different timeline same sun fusion FJ, and what are the odds your new overland rig is what my first build was. Good taste you two
We had a mildly built Type 3 Squareback in the early eighties. 1600 dual port fuel injected. 35mpg. More trunk space and room to sleep in back. Still see a few of them around.
Even though they’re very rare, hardly ever see them and you never see them for sale. Volkswagen Thing would be a better overlanding rig, but I haven’t seen a Volkswagen beetle on the street in probably 20 years. Good luck finding a thing. But I’m very intrigued. You’ll be surprised at how far you can go in a rear engine, rear wheel drive vehicle.
You will definitely need a heavier duty clutch.. i would get the cheapest insulation for floors, doors and rear area... You might remount that vacuum gauge to the engine area.. And you need a 5 wink mirror for the interior.. they run between 30-40 dollars, depending on where you purchase them.. The wink mirror will eliminate all the blind spots and you could get by without side mirrors... Looks like a cool project...
The Volkswagen beetle or the Renault 4CV are the original factory built Overlanding rigs. The only problem that I see with Volkswagens is unless you put a brand new engine in it it’s going to be unreliable from years of improper maintenance. I grew up, dune buggy camping for much of my preteen years, and I had some cousins who were Volkswagen guru’s. They had several Bajas. And the funny thing about the Volkswagens is we go out camping with them and we would spend more time working on the Volkswagens then we got to play with the Volkswagens. And it usually wasn’t that there was a significant failure point on the Volkswagen engines. It just said it was decades of abuse and lack of maintenance. I personally would swap in a Subaru, or Mazda, rotary for simplicity and reliability.
Typical Volkswagen, Baja oil leaks are pushrod tubes valve covers crankshaft seal and you’ll fight with valve. Cover gasket is leaking every time you go off road and less you put on the EMPI bolt on covers.
Mary’s expressions were priceless as you explained what you had in mind for the Bug. VW bugs have spot in our hearts, back in the 70’s we had a 65 ‘ camper van and a 68’ bug . We went everywhere and camped everywhere in the van, and were our daily driver. I would recommend a large external oil cooler with a fan and a oil filter adapter for a spin on oil filter. Looks like project will be fun.
Most of all... Have enjoyment in the project.
I want to also say 2+ years ago I watched you guys alot while building my '15 Tacoma. From suspension, my dual battery lithium set up, wood camp boxes, winch bumper, lights a relays, etc. You were apart of what turned out to be a very nice overland build. In turn the wife and I, from Moab, to Zion, Central Oregon, Central Washington and British Columbia. We have met challenges with reliability and work cell like functionality.
I thank you for all you've shared. You will never understand what we've experienced through you.
Oh... Hey, your Gaia app vid.... I could build a truck but was a bit intimidated with the Tech side of Gaia. Again you got ne through it. Hell inconjuction with Gaia GPS coordinates and Google Earth. We've rolled into some beautiful places
Keep sharing , most if all enjoy the new project
William, Washington St.
I love the idea of an overland inspired baja bug. Should be perfect for running down forest service roads and should also offer a fun challenge when it comes to storage. I can't wait to see more videos about this project.
I've had two Baja Bugs in my lifetime. The first was a 1960 bug with the 36hp single port motor. Be prepared to do A LOT of valve adjustments. Solid lifters are suggested to be adjusted every 1500 miles. There were no oil filters so added a high volume oil pump with a external oil filter adapter. Added an external oil cooler in front of the air intake in front of the air box which also helps keep junk out of the top of the engine.
My second Baja had sand/mud tires which ran with 5 pounds of air. The car was so light, it didn't need much air pressure. The car went just about anywhere my full time 4wd 73 blazer went.
Be prepared for a lot of on/off road "maintenance", and I mean a lot. Happy trails.
You guys are so much fun . Love to meet you on the trail one day.
Where are you from?
Supper exited about this build, mine was a 72 superbeetle, dual weber carb, 1935 big bore on the dual port block, something with lifters because of lead additive removal, trimmed fenders to 4"rear 1"at taper to botom of door, used same template by fliping over on each fender, vw bus trans, sleeved trans axels, 1-3/4 chevy bolt patern conversion/spacer 35x10.5 on 15x9 baby moons. Bobbed the front end just after the front stabilizer arm, widow peaked hood, trunk latch became hood latch, round jeep headlights, bobbed rear end cage and stinger exhaust, rear cage tube frame, moved all interior wiring and electrical possible to above head liner, intake snorkeled above back glass, "waterproofed motor"😂. Random tube junk yard front bumper. Reupholstered waterproof vinyl white and black two-tone interior. My target was kind of a more off-road rugged version of the black beetle nemesis in the Herbie movies
Well.. good luck. You’ll enjoy the build. I had a 1975 Baja that I did. Drive it for many years and it was my camping buddy. Unfortunately, I lost my right leg 5 years ago and I can’t use my right foot for the gas pedal. All of my cars are now left footed gas pedal. Using my left foot for the clutch is impossible. What great fun I had building it. As a side note, I swapped out my 1500 for an 1800 and used a VW bus tranny. Never did the possy traction which I always regretted. I’ll watch the build. Not to worry, I somewhat overland with my 2016 Crosstrek.
Love it guys. Can’t wait to see the progress.
this is going to be fun. I've had several over the years. I'm still hoping to build another one. really looking forward to this build.
I am glad to see this thing on video. Finally, I’ve been seeing your Instagram post for quite a while now.
I'll be watching this build for sure, you're going to have fun! The weakest link is the transmission, especially the old swing axle type. I broke axles, differentials, and several first gears. When I was fresh out of auto tech at community College in '73, my first job was at an import car shop that was centered on VW's. My first bug was a '59 oval window that I made a Baja and eventually a big dual carb engine. I would street race and beat V8 hot rodders with it. That engine eventually ended up in a mid-engine dune buggy that would scare me because it could climb almost vertical.
Looks like a really fun project. 🐞
A friend of mine had one back in the early 80’s that had an 1850cc engine with duel webers, it got around 30 mpg. He used to travel from southern cal. To Oregon with his wife, two kids, two dogs, and all their camping equipment and spend a week on the upper rogue river.
Also a 67 VW 2 speed wiper motor will fit right in
As you can see from my name, I’m partial to VW’s.
I’m sticking around to see the build as I just finished mine.
Good for you both,,
Awesome! Can't wait to see more. If you need anything CAD modeled for fabrication or 3D printed, let me know!
Jegs has wide 5 VW rims with a round center that the tire shops can balance.
Or
Use balance beads for the new tires.
Roller type gas pedal is easier to modulate and keep steady speed over rough terrain. How to keep your bug alive is a good book to have as well as Baja prepping a VW Bug
Love y'all, so crazy the parallels just different timeline same sun fusion FJ, and what are the odds your new overland rig is what my first build was. Good taste you two
Love this!
If you install cutting brakes, then you do have traction control. It’s just manually operated.
Heck yeah open dif crawlers ftw
We had a mildly built Type 3 Squareback in the early eighties. 1600 dual port fuel injected. 35mpg. More trunk space and room to sleep in back. Still see a few of them around.
lol love it!!
Good to hang out with you yesterday
Definitely! thanks for having us, it was a great event @@WanderlostOverland
Even though they’re very rare, hardly ever see them and you never see them for sale. Volkswagen Thing would be a better overlanding rig, but I haven’t seen a Volkswagen beetle on the street in probably 20 years. Good luck finding a thing. But I’m very intrigued. You’ll be surprised at how far you can go in a rear engine, rear wheel drive vehicle.
For your rear brakes any break just run cutting brakes and a park-lock on the hydraulic brakes
You will definitely need a heavier duty clutch.. i would get the cheapest insulation for floors, doors and rear area... You might remount that vacuum gauge to the engine area.. And you need a 5 wink mirror for the interior.. they run between 30-40 dollars, depending on where you purchase them.. The wink mirror will eliminate all the blind spots and you could get by without side mirrors... Looks like a cool project...
Thanks for the tips!
The Volkswagen beetle or the Renault 4CV are the original factory built Overlanding rigs. The only problem that I see with Volkswagens is unless you put a brand new engine in it it’s going to be unreliable from years of improper maintenance. I grew up, dune buggy camping for much of my preteen years, and I had some cousins who were Volkswagen guru’s. They had several Bajas. And the funny thing about the Volkswagens is we go out camping with them and we would spend more time working on the Volkswagens then we got to play with the Volkswagens. And it usually wasn’t that there was a significant failure point on the Volkswagen engines. It just said it was decades of abuse and lack of maintenance. I personally would swap in a Subaru, or Mazda, rotary for simplicity and reliability.
VW vans have. 411 gear ratio.
First! Haha
Winner 🏆! Great to hear from you.
Typical Volkswagen, Baja oil leaks are pushrod tubes valve covers crankshaft seal and you’ll fight with valve. Cover gasket is leaking every time you go off road and less you put on the EMPI bolt on covers.