DaveDorson

I love new parts. Everyone buys the worst shock absorbers on the planet for air cooled VWs and then moans about the way the car drives. These have been developed between Paul at Type 2 detectives near Cambridge and Bilstien to actually make a car that drives nicely, rather than one that bounces and shimmies down the road like a skateboard on marbles.

Front tyres put up bit of a scrap but they're on the rims now too. Big n littles. Lovely stuff.

Speaking of just like they used to run in the 1970s.. I need to find someone who can test and check this over, remove the rev limiter for me and change the advance so I can make it advance to something more suited to a Volkswagen flat 4 engine. I also need a clamp for it as it's a big old thing and if I hang it out the crank case using a distributor mount, I will crack an expensive engine case.

Nope, 145 80 r15, just like they used to run back in the 70s.

Look what a man in a white van bought me.

Small bit significant update.. I acquired some Michelin XAS and XVS rubber at the weekend. These are eye wateringly expensive rubber and I got 4 of each, then the same day sold 2 of each for double my total outlay. Some of you saw my wheel refurb thread no doubt.. some throw away Empi 8 spoke Spyder mag replicas shown a bit of love. Et Voila, rear tyres at least sorted and will have a very significant impact on the overall look of the car. Front rubber is currently en route to me, and will be the narrower 145 r15 which will also reduce the front ride height. I have also got a Vertex Magneto winging it's way to me as well as some other vintage performance goodies, and purchased a full set of Bilstien shock absorbers for the car. The bodywork restoration saga is an on-going battle but it's a lot more metal than rust now at least.. door reconstruction is holding up proceedings a bit.

Had some time to kill today so started to use red scotchbrite on the spokes. I think the raw finish actually suits these a lot with the polished lips.

Tidy. Yeah water and salt had got under the lips on these so they got stripped back and polished, they'll get a load of nice sealant on before they're fitted and then regularly cleaned. I won't be chucking any lacquer back on. The 72 is going Guards Red. The wife and I have been chatting colours, I wanted to go gold but I now think a light silver will work better. I think a dark centre makes the wheels shrink down a bit on the car to the eye.

Controversial opinion I know, but I don't actually like powder coat on wheels.. at least with paint if you damage them, you can touch them in again fairly easily, and if corrosion gets under there, you don't end up with huge scabs falling off

I'm next door to a proper wheelrite who make alloy wire wheels for vintage race cars, most of my stuff gets dipped by them and then finished by me, but the twists I knew had filler and dings all over so needed a bit more attention, so I decided to go at it with the grinder, mini grinder and sand paper.. also my time is free, theirs isn't. Because the guy I have in the unit is a painter and panel beater by trade, I get him to do final prep and paint, so I'll hand over to him once I've done the dirty work.

Good idea to use PPE when you're doing this sort of work.. note my safety chins, glasses, and protective stubble

Using that. I'd only recommend doing it if you're not really too happy with the wheels or they have a lot of damage as they will do some grinding as well as cleaning 🤣. Go lightly with then and work around the wheel evenly and they're fine though.

Grim, dusty horrible work.. these are the wheels that have been on the black driveway ornament since 2016 and have been curbed and fucked since I've owned the car. I decided to do something about it, using a grinder and some poly strip discs. They have about 18 miles of paint on that's crazed and chipped all over the show. And here are the wheels that are going on the 72 beetle following a bit of work on the lips. Undecided what I'm doing with the centers right now.

It's worth noting, I'm not a mechanic or fitter by trade either, so my view on the value of tools is likely less than others.