28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

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veedweeb
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28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by veedweeb » 27th July 2020 - 2:30pm

Over the years, I've had several old VWs - a couple of Squarebacks, and a few Beetles but they say you never forget your first love.

My first love, VW wise, was a 72 Square that I bought in 1990 for £750. It was totally stock and was my daily for a couple of years during which time I bought and renovated my first house and the poor old Square became a builders van.

I always had plans for the car but life happened and I had to sell it. I had no choice at the time but I always regretted it.
I would always look out for it at shows and in other people's show pictures but I never could find it.

Until now.

A couple of weeks ago I googled the reg number and was surprised to find a picture on Instagram. The car was there, with a for sale sign in the window!
Long story short, I did a bit of Internet detective work and got in touch with the owner and we were able to agree on a price.
I hooked up my trailer and drove the 280 miles down to Devon on Saturday to go and get it back.

Image
Image

It seems fairly solid and runs & drives, but really needs a good tune up/service. Plus the clutch needs attention and the indicators don't work on one side.

I don't think it needs anything too major but I haven't really dug into it yet.

I'm not a huge fan of the bumperless look so I have got a pair of early bumpers for it too.
Steve.

Club member 2268

1972 Squareback
1963 Turbo WBX powered Beetle
2000 Mexican Beetle 'Sedan Clasico'

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Aaronslimvw
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by Aaronslimvw » 27th July 2020 - 3:40pm

Yess! Awesome! Deffo needs the bumpers back!


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937carrera
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by 937carrera » 27th July 2020 - 9:52pm

Looks like it has had some caring owners in the interim years :thumbsup:
David
1974 412LS Variant
1973 412LE 4 door Fastback / Saloon

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veedweeb
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by veedweeb » 28th July 2020 - 9:22am

Aaronslimvw wrote:
27th July 2020 - 3:40pm
Yess! Awesome! Deffo needs the bumpers back!
I always think they look a bit weird without bumpers. The ones I've got are early ones to match the early wings etc, but they have absolutely no chrome on them at all. They're dead straight and I was going to colour match them, but I've developed a cunning plan to make them look like chrome ones so I'll try that :)
937carrera wrote:
27th July 2020 - 9:52pm
Looks like it has had some caring owners in the interim years :thumbsup:
It's definitely been looked after. It's had a lot of welding done - heck, when I owned it the first time I had some welding done to it then! What's been done appears to have been done well - not concours but solid, if you see what I mean.
Steve.

Club member 2268

1972 Squareback
1963 Turbo WBX powered Beetle
2000 Mexican Beetle 'Sedan Clasico'

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Angelo Amato
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by Angelo Amato » 28th July 2020 - 12:56pm

Wecome back Steve, we did meet once when my friend bought the blue sandrail off you. Getting it out down the stairs to to side of your house was interesting !

I still have my yellow fastback, look forward to seeing your sqaure.

Angelo

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veedweeb
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by veedweeb » 28th July 2020 - 1:12pm

Angelo Amato wrote:
28th July 2020 - 12:56pm
Wecome back Steve, we did meet once when my friend bought the blue sandrail off you. Getting it out down the stairs to to side of your house was interesting !

I still have my yellow fastback, look forward to seeing your sqaure.

Angelo
That's right! I genuinely thought one of us was going to die that day :lol:

The rail was sold because I'd bought Geoff (of GT Autos) old Squareback - a car that I'd first seen when I was at his yard buying parts for this Square when I owned it the first time round. Funny how things turn out!

Hope you're well anyway. I'm a huge fan of your Fasty 8)
Steve.

Club member 2268

1972 Squareback
1963 Turbo WBX powered Beetle
2000 Mexican Beetle 'Sedan Clasico'

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veedweeb
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by veedweeb » 30th July 2020 - 6:26am

The first disaster has happened!!

I had the Square down at my workshop last night and did a bit of tuning. I set the timing and cleaned & set the points. All good so far.

Sorted the issue with the clutch by adjusting the cable and that all went well too.

But then a little test drive round the yard and the oil pressure light came on. After a bit of investigation, I decided to swap the switch in case that was faulty.
I just touched it with my spanner and it sheared off, leaving the threaded part stuck in the oil cooler. :(

So now I need to get the cooler off and see if I can extract it, or I need a new cooler and switch. And I still don't know if it has oil pressure issues or if its just a dud switch.
Steve.

Club member 2268

1972 Squareback
1963 Turbo WBX powered Beetle
2000 Mexican Beetle 'Sedan Clasico'

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broady_6
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by broady_6 » 30th July 2020 - 9:54am

A great little story to go with a great looking car!

The oil pressure switch shouldn't be screwed into the cooler. There is a banjo bolt and a ported metal block which fit into the cooler. The pressure switch should be screwed into that. If yours has been built arse about face it will be worth finding those correct parts when you rebuild it.

Extraction shouldn't be too hard and you've got steel and ally. So you can warm them and they will expand at different rates. Then use a stud extractor and it should undo.
The sultan of swing

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veedweeb
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by veedweeb » 30th July 2020 - 7:56pm

broady_6 wrote:
30th July 2020 - 9:54am
A great little story to go with a great looking car!

The oil pressure switch shouldn't be screwed into the cooler. There is a banjo bolt and a ported metal block which fit into the cooler. The pressure switch should be screwed into that. If yours has been built arse about face it will be worth finding those correct parts when you rebuild it.

Extraction shouldn't be too hard and you've got steel and ally. So you can warm them and they will expand at different rates. Then use a stud extractor and it should undo.
Yeah, it was screwed directly into the cooler, but panic over. I've just found another oil cooler and switch in my parts stash.

Image

I knew hoarding stuff would come in handy one day!
Steve.

Club member 2268

1972 Squareback
1963 Turbo WBX powered Beetle
2000 Mexican Beetle 'Sedan Clasico'

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Dave Summers
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by Dave Summers » 30th July 2020 - 9:20pm

veedweeb wrote:
30th July 2020 - 7:56pm

I knew hoarding stuff would come in handy one day!
It usually does, even if it takes 28 years.
Dave
412 Variant
411 2-door saloon

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broady_6
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by broady_6 » 30th July 2020 - 10:14pm

Unfortunately you replacement cooler looks to be from a beetle. It doesn't have the tapping for the pressure switch. If your completely stuck then I have got a proper type 3 one.
The sultan of swing

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veedweeb
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by veedweeb » 30th July 2020 - 10:24pm

Dave Summers wrote:
30th July 2020 - 9:20pm

It usually does, even if it takes 28 years.
:lol:

broady_6 wrote:
30th July 2020 - 10:14pm
Unfortunately you replacement cooler looks to be from a beetle. It doesn't have the tapping for the pressure switch. If your completely stuck then I have got a proper type 3 one.
It's definitely a type 3 one. The part number is 311 117 021b and it came with a full set of Type 3 tinware I bought years ago.

It's pretty grubby at the moment but there is a pressure switch mounted on a little machined block like you described in your other post.

I'm not sure how easy it is to change with the engine still in the car but I guess there's only one way to find out!
Steve.

Club member 2268

1972 Squareback
1963 Turbo WBX powered Beetle
2000 Mexican Beetle 'Sedan Clasico'

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broady_6
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by broady_6 » 30th July 2020 - 10:45pm

I do apologise. Ive had 1 too many G n Ts this evening. The fitting is suffering from the same oxidisation as the oil cooler. Im viewijg on a small phone screen and then consumed the devils nectar. 🤣

I have have changed them in the car before. The Haynes will tell you that men in white coats will come. But its a few hours work if the tin screws all come.undone
The sultan of swing

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veedweeb
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by veedweeb » 31st July 2020 - 9:19am

No worries, it's difficult to see in the pic anyway. I'd just dug it out of my stash and took the photo.

The car has got an external oil filter and I was told an external cooler too (I haven't actually looked for the external cooler yet) but one of the oil lines to the filter is touching the exhaust so for the sake of simplicity, I'm going to strip it all out and return the oil system to stock for now. Apart from a pair of Weber ICTs the engine is standard so a stock oil system should be fine.
Steve.

Club member 2268

1972 Squareback
1963 Turbo WBX powered Beetle
2000 Mexican Beetle 'Sedan Clasico'

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veedweeb
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by veedweeb » 12th August 2020 - 12:36pm

And so the spending begins!

When I set the timing in the last update, the engine still wasn't running brilliantly so I decided a carb rebuild would be the next step. It's got a pair of Weber ICTs (genuine ones too, not the Empi copies) so I splashed out nearly £120 on this lot:

Image

I don't know what jets it's got in it, but I bought new ones of the sizes recommended by doing a chunk of internet research.
I figured if it's got the wrong ones in, these will improve it and if it's got the right ones in, at least I know the new ones are nice and clean.

It might be another week or so before I get chance to refurb the carbs because my daily needs new airsprings and I've got a load of other stuff to sort before I can work on the square.
Steve.

Club member 2268

1972 Squareback
1963 Turbo WBX powered Beetle
2000 Mexican Beetle 'Sedan Clasico'

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veedweeb
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by veedweeb » 13th August 2020 - 9:27am

Well I managed to get an hour or two on it last night after all because what I had planned changed.

I took the left hand carb off and stripped it down. It was a bit cruddy but not too bad. After a good clean with carb cleaner it was looking better so I set about rebuilding it with the new jets

I'm told that it should have:

145 mains
165 airs
55 idle
F6 emulsion tubes
150 float jets

But this had:

130 mains
160 airs
52 idles
F78 emulsion tubes
175 floats

I'm not sure what difference it will make in the real world, but I suppose I'll find out soon enough!

A couple of other things I noticed were the carb itself was quite loose on the manifold and the balance pipe arrangement was incorrect - it should have 2 ports on the manifold joined to one metal pipe that connects to the 2 ports on the other manifold.
This has got 2 pipes so instead of 1 port being connected to the other 3, it's just 1 to 1.
Again, I'm not sure what difference that will make but it's not how it's meant to be so I'll sort it out.

I had forgotten what a pain Type 3s are to work on so I'm leaving it for now and I'll trailer it down to the unit and drop the engine out. It'll make it a million times easier to sort that way.
Steve.

Club member 2268

1972 Squareback
1963 Turbo WBX powered Beetle
2000 Mexican Beetle 'Sedan Clasico'

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Aaronslimvw
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by Aaronslimvw » 17th August 2020 - 8:58pm

Oil cooler is doable with the engine in.. Did mine last year. But as you mentioned now your dropping the engine it will be considerably easier.

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veedweeb
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by veedweeb » 18th August 2020 - 9:11am

Aaronslimvw wrote:
17th August 2020 - 8:58pm
Oil cooler is doable with the engine in.. Did mine last year. But as you mentioned now your dropping the engine it will be considerably easier.
That was the theory anyway!

I took it down to the my unit/workshop on Sunday at about 10:00am and set about dropping the engine. All the bolts were either seized with rust, or were finger tight so throughout the day a lot of time was spent dealing with that.

The exhaust was loose, carbs/manifolds were loose and a load of other small things needed attention with threads needing to be chased out and so on.

Long story short, I get the oil cooler changed and the engine back in and fired up at about 7:00pm. And it was pouring oil out of the new oil cooler :crybaby:
I think I've either pinched or dislodged the oil cooler seals so I've got to do it all over again now! At least I know none of the bolts will be seized this time.
Steve.

Club member 2268

1972 Squareback
1963 Turbo WBX powered Beetle
2000 Mexican Beetle 'Sedan Clasico'


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veedweeb
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by veedweeb » 18th August 2020 - 3:21pm

sparkywig wrote:
18th August 2020 - 1:40pm
Did you use any sealer on the cooler seals?
No, just brand new rubber seals. I think I was a bit cack-handed with it tbh, and thinking back, I'm sure I lifted and adjusted the cooler to get it to line up with the 3 bolt holes so I'm certain I've just dislodged a seal. Bit frustrating, but no biggy really.

It's got a full flow oil system with an external filter and oil cooler which makes removing the engine a bit more of a task than it normally is so I'm going to try and redo the seals with the engine in-situ this time.
Steve.

Club member 2268

1972 Squareback
1963 Turbo WBX powered Beetle
2000 Mexican Beetle 'Sedan Clasico'

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sparkywig
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by sparkywig » 18th August 2020 - 8:15pm

I use a bit of liquid rubber gasket sealer just to hold the seals in position whilst reassembling, haven't had any leaks since.

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Aaronslimvw
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by Aaronslimvw » 20th August 2020 - 7:53pm

Must admit I used some instant rubber gasket on the seals too, even tho people say not to. There are also 2 types of seal, are you 100% you have the correct ones? Make sure the washers are in the correct place too.

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veedweeb
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by veedweeb » 24th August 2020 - 9:00am

Sorted it!

A bit of heat and a stud extractor allowed me to get the remainder of the oil pressure switch out of the old cooler and I decided to reuse that instead of the one I found in my parts stash. (I knew the old one didn't leak, but couldn't be 100% certain about the new one).

The old one had 8mm holes and the new one had 10mm. The crankcase has 10mm holes and the old seals were tapered. They looked in pretty good shape so I reused them with a smear of sealant and I carefully tightened down the bolts.

So with the original cooler refitted, and the pressure switch now mounted correctly in the banjo fitting thing, I put it all back together again and fired it up. Success! No leaks :D

Next I spent a bit of time adjusting and balancing the carbs and with that done, I went for my first drive in this car for nearly 30 years.

It drives really nicely and starts instantly on the key, but the oil pressure light still comes on at idle when it's hot. It's had a full flow external filter and additional cooler fitted which I don't think is really necessary on a stock engine so I might remove all that and see if it improves pressure. Or I'll fit one of the oil pressure booster kits instead, which might be a bit easier.
Steve.

Club member 2268

1972 Squareback
1963 Turbo WBX powered Beetle
2000 Mexican Beetle 'Sedan Clasico'

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937carrera
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Re: 28 years later: Finding and buying back my old 72 Squareback

Post by 937carrera » 24th August 2020 - 8:46pm

Good news :)

I would be looking at the oil pump clearances rather than the filter, and the cooler shouldn't make any negative difference (cooler oil = better pressure)

Do you know what spec oil is in there ?
David
1974 412LS Variant
1973 412LE 4 door Fastback / Saloon

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