Build: Zippy the Wonderbug

[schwim]

May be you're about to define the "café (racer) cruiser" genre for the Bugs.

Ich werde ihn zum Café rennen! (I needed Google for help with that.)

[schwim]

I've been storing my father-in-law's 66 Chevelle in the garage, Bog had a catastrophic timing event, the El C got the rebuilt carb, fuel pump and egr valve installed but that's not why we're here:

Zippy's Bosch rebuilt starter is up to no good. In fact, I think it's why I was having problems when I parked him. The symptoms are basically the same, sometimes poor turnover, sometimes none at all. I pulled the starter and bench tested it with 12v and the cables were smoking while it struggled to spin over. I ordered an AC Delco from Rockauto and I should see that in a couple of days.

I'm going to crank up the engine just for warm fuzzies then I'm going to separate the body from the pan long enough to spin the spring plates a tooth. The suggested degree from Atomwerks puts so much tension on them that they never leave the fully raised position.

I purchased Virginia 1959 plates as VA will allow me to register it with those plates as long as I register it as an antique. There's restrictions that come along with that but the up side is no inspections so I can start to spread my wings in regards to how disassembled I'm able to drive it.

[Super_Randy]

huh, i had forgotten you had a vw

[schwim]

huh, i had forgotten you had a vw

I would consider it more a pile of rust and dents in the rough shape of a VW, tbh

[Maddel]

Did you convert Zippy's electrical system to 12V or was it done by some PO?

[schwim]

Did you convert Zippy's electrical system to 12V or was it done by some PO?

It's still a 6v system. Since 6v wouldn't turn the starter, I wanted to try 12v on it just to see what it'd do, since the starters are a-ok to take 12v without issue(although a guy on the Samba told me that you should change the solenoid to 6v so you don't beat the ring gear to death).

I considered a swap for a short time but since I have all the right stuff for the 6v system, I can't bring myself to buy everything I'd need for the swap like alt, stand, battery, etc. I'm just going to run with 6v and call it done.

I've been pondering the benefits of running a second 6v battery in parallel but I don't think that would do anything to help with starting, light brightness and the like. My very meager understanding of that setup leads me to believe it's just more bucket to store Ah in and not anything that would provide more cranking amps, etc.

[Maddel]

Ah... I see. To be honest I like the period correct 6V system better since most people don't like it.
Our Bugs are anachronisms anyway, so what?
Clean connections plus amply dimensioned wires and it should work as intended.
The wiring harness isn't that complex and provides opportunities for some noticeable improvements IMHO.

[Super_Randy]

do you have a hard start relay on there?

[Super_Randy]

I've been pondering the benefits of running a second 6v battery in parallel but I don't think that would do anything to help with starting, light brightness and the like. My very meager understanding of that setup leads me to believe it's just more bucket to store Ah in and not anything that would provide more cranking amps, etc.

your meager understanding is correct.

[schwim]

your meager understanding is correct.

What's your thoughts on running an 8v battery and adjusting the regulator?

No relay yet. PO had put a new harness in right before I got it.