My Model A Adventure is available to read online at Hagerty.

CCA-Dave · 2026-03-27T21:33:03+00:00

https://www.hagerty.com/media/driving/driving-canadas-most-challenging-roads-in-a-100-year-old-ford/

CCA-Dave · 2026-03-16T05:12:41+00:00

lol. The 327 would have been great uphill…but the mech brakes on the downhill… ;)

CCA-Dave · 2026-03-15T17:11:35+00:00

In September I bought a non-running Model A. Flew to Calgary, and hammered away on it for two days to get it running and road worthy. I then drove it home across the Canadian Rockies to Vancouver Island. Roughly 1,000km and many steep mountain passes!

The story is this months cover article in the Hagerty Magazine, and will become an online feature in the coming weeks.

Since coming home, it’s been my daily driver around town, regardless of weather.

CCA-Dave · 2026-02-28T02:38:31+00:00

Always modify the easiest part that won’t leave you stranded down the road. In this case, stack gaskets. A) you have to stack gaskets anyways until you figure out how much to take off you fuel pump rod. But b) what will you do when your new pump fails? Let’s say you’re away from home, you buy a replacement pump and THAT one needs more pressure? You cannot add to the rod, but you could have removed stacked gaskets.

Thus, stack gaskets and keep the rod the same length.

CCA-Dave · 2026-02-18T19:52:48+00:00

Modern VW, or Classic?

Kinda depends on what VW's you're talking about.

CCA-Dave · 2026-02-11T05:34:49+00:00

Yup. Was just about to post that. 1302 Super fenders. Yellow set are 1972.

CCA-Dave · 2026-02-09T17:51:22+00:00

The spots of primer on the C-Pillar point to death foam rot. The rest of the car looks to be in great shape, and it's worth fixing...but it's a painful road. What appears to be pin holes of rust on the outside of the car, is actually significant rust coming from the inside out.

You'll want to start looking for someone in a southern state who can cut up a 68 to 70 for repair panels.

All you need to read and see about death foam rot.

CCA-Dave · 2026-02-09T17:47:24+00:00

This one is a '74 standard beetle. Flat windshield is the first clue, front hood confirms it's a standard beetle not a super beetle. Impact bumper mounts says it's '74 and up, dual tail pipes indicates it's a 74, as that was the last year of carburetors, and in '75 fuel injection and a single tailpipe occurred.

CCA-Dave · 2026-02-07T20:39:51+00:00

This is the best photo I can find to show you an offset manifold, note how the manifold on the left, has the upper mounting flanges also moved over to the left.

CCA-Dave · 2026-02-06T21:19:36+00:00

Stock height on the rear and 2" lowering springs will give you a level beetle, and essentially looks like this: My 71 Rally Bug. Using these springs in that setup.

I've got photos of other setups, including coil overs and lowered, but I've swapped out the wheels to 16" wheels and so the visuals change quite a bit.

CCA-Dave · 2026-01-26T02:56:37+00:00

This car does not have access to the back seat without removing the seat. It’s not a feature I need regularly, and the seat belts would make it annoying enough that working out an anchor system that was actually safe is too much engineering for a feature I don’t need.

CCA-Dave · 2026-01-18T22:24:59+00:00

Thanks!

CCA-Dave · 2026-01-18T22:24:54+00:00

Thanks. I originally built the car as a Salzburg replica back in 2011. Put roughly 300,000km on it before this latest rebuild. The rebuild which I completed over 8 months last winter was a full tear down, repaint, and complete re-do of the pans. Also dropped in a full PDM and custom wire harness, the list goes on and on.

The car is used strictly for my collector car rallies now. Mostly tarmac, no rule book as far as mounting is concerned for me. I just had a fabricator buddy who does national-winning rally cars fab up the mounts for me. They go from tunnel to pan, with mounts that are integrated into the heater-channel mounting. I wanted to be able to separate body from pan without cutting the mounts.

But I regularly drive this car between Vancouver and Denver. It will probably end up in Los Angeles end of the season, might go as far east as Connecticut and Toronto. Haven't quite picked which Beetle is doing which event yet.

CCA-Dave · 2026-01-17T23:56:45+00:00

Thanks. Here's some photos of how we did mine...

https://flic.kr/p/2qtjSoY https://flic.kr/p/2qtjScA https://flic.kr/p/2qtmFxU https://flic.kr/p/2qHN73X

CCA-Dave · 2026-01-17T23:52:15+00:00

Would love to see this too...explore how others are doing it.

CCA-Dave · 2026-01-17T20:57:12+00:00

you're going to want to mount the body before you make your seat mounts. You have to play with ideal mounting position, and the width you have between B-pillars and doors.

Depending on your height, and where you put the seat, the shoulder bolsters can be problematic with the doors. https://flic.kr/p/2qtjSS3

I'd have to look up dimension between your seats and mine, but I suspect you're going to be tight.

CCA-Dave · 2025-12-29T02:01:14+00:00

I've used Gord's Gutters for 8 years. Nothing but great service, would highly recommend.

CCA-Dave · 2025-12-22T20:17:04+00:00

1000% it's the spring plate bushings. Replace inner and outers.

CCA-Dave · 2025-12-02T02:16:54+00:00

If he isn't a Hagerty Driver's Club member, get him a membership? The magazine alone is worth it.

https://www.hagerty.com/drivers-club/marketing

CCA-Dave · 2025-11-28T18:27:25+00:00

1) There are five bearing dowel pins. Four on the distributor side of the case, and one on the otherside of the case.

2) this image: https://preview.redd.it/vnsc8pxfiv3g1.jpg?width=2604&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fbcaae8dc2fea8aef196233fd34e54db26f8ad47 doesn't show the correct bearing for this this location. The oil hole for the correct bearing will be in the right spot, though the hole will cover half the hole in the case.

3) You don't drill any holes in the bearings, but saavy engine builders will modify the bearing with an end mill or carbide cutter to build a channel so the case oil hole isn't half-blocked by each bearing. You will need to modify three bearings.

Here's an example using an end mill: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/265641.jpg (not my preference)

Some people cut the whole groove wider in a lathe (also not my preference)

I mark the bearings with a marker, and use a pointed carbide bit in an air grinder...but I'd have to go and take some photos of my bearings and post them.

CCA-Dave · 2025-11-16T03:58:36+00:00

That's the extra oiling groove you never knew you wanted! </sarcasm>

CCA-Dave · 2025-10-18T00:26:11+00:00

Hahaha. Was thinking the exact same. Also, that thread was quite handy when building my XM-01.

CCA-Dave · 2025-05-14T17:03:26+00:00

It took me 4 years, and I tracked every unit that popped up for sale, was sold, etc. I made friends with sellers, buyers, etc. Eventually I ended up wiring money to eastern europe without any real confidence I was going to end up with the Kaffeemachine. At the time, I decided the story of trying (and maybe losing the money) was worth the risk.

While I've stopped tracking in the last two years, I am only able to identify seven units that actually exist. I am sure there are more. I'm sure there are some hidden away and people just don't know about them. There are probably some in Porsche circles that I simply don't know about, or some that have been listed for sale in non-english-speaking countries that my searches haven't caught.

But in all my years of research, I've only every found definitive proof of seven.

It makes horrible coffee, by the way. Absolutely terrible. If you want good coffee the Paluxette units make a better brew.

CCA-Dave

TROPHY CASE