Bubble flares are different from double flares, and if you try to put a bubble-flared male fitting into a female fitting that wants a double flare, well, that’s on you.
Such are the things one learns when plumbing a 550 Spyder.
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Month: March 2018
Small things
I spent about a week away from the project but dove back in the other day. We’re down to running the hard lines and wires now, plus the final bodywork and the punch-out list. One of the punch-outs was making the seat belt anchors and welding those in. Done.
Clam latches, done.
The rear latches on a fake 550 Spyder are usually just Beetle front hood latches, and this car is typical in that regard. On the Beetle they didn’t have to work so hard. The hood was a bit heavy and the shape of the nose tended to keep it down at speed. On the 550, not so much. The under-clam area is fixed to become a high-pressure system and, of course, the hinges are in the back, so if it pops up it becomes a sail.
A lot of replica owners rely on the leather hold-down straps that add such style to these cars. You hear complaints all the time that the latches “pop” when the car goes over a bump. I’m making this car not do that.
Making the clam hinge stay
In what might just be the final procrastinatory sideshow in my quest to not be doing wiring, I spent the last couple days making a proper Porschesque clam stay, complete with wheel ratchet, double articulation, lightening holes and shiny aluminum and stainless steel.
Dust shields
I unpacked the wiring harness last week and started marking the wires to their respective fixtures. I got what I guess is the easy half. Looking for some color-coded early VW wiring diagrams now to aid with the rest. The car came with the early Bug (6-wire) signal switch (which does not have the high beam switch integral). That’s cool; I already bought and installed the foot switch, but it’s just one of many potential differences between the way the car is going to go together and the Thunder Ranch instruction manual/pre-made wire harness. So to avoid mucking too much with that this week I finished off my inner dust shields instead.
Along Came A Spyder 