My '69 411

dphdo · Post by **dphdo** » Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:10 pm

Hey all! I finally got my '69 411 (vin #3700 - believe it or not!) from Washington State to Ohio - whew! Anyway, it is very solid, just need paint etc. One problem however, the rear door on the drivers side is the wrong one (too big - must be from a newer year). Now, I've heard of a guy in California who has a '69 sitting in his junkyard - anyone know of this and how to get a hold of him so I may possibly purchase the correct door?

Also, I posted a question no one has responded to yet: Does ANYONE know how to route the heater hoses in my '74 squareback with a/c? The compressor is in the way for the tradiotional way, and the pulley from the compressor gets in the way of the heater duct from the heat-exchanger into the engine on the drivers side. HELP!!!

SMILES
Dale

raygreenwood · Post by **raygreenwood** » Tue Jun 03, 2003 10:02 pm

Wow! A 69 would be quite rare. Except for interior parts and a slightly different transaxle (if its a 2 door 4 speed), and different strut bearing design, there should be very little different. The doors should all be the same. Well...thats not quite true, but they will work and look well. The inner sheet metal on the door after either 71 or into 72, uses the late armrest and mounting holes. So the panel mount is different. The early one uses a metal strap and slide in latch behind the armrest and has elastic sewn door pockets. The later models have just screws holding the armrest I believe, through holes in the door panel...and has plastic door pockets that screw on. Generally, the doors on 2-door fastbacks and wagons are interchangeable...but four doors are unique. Nice find. Count on replacing everything. No joke. If it sits for more than 5 years....all of the rubber, bushings, struts, shocks....will be toast. But thats all doable. Ray

dphdo · Post by **dphdo** » Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:55 pm

yea, it's a '69 four door with a four speed manual tranny. I was SHOCKED to find the clutch cylinders seems to be working!!! I did run into a bit of trouble however, The previous owner left the gas in the tank and lines - have you ever seen 12 year old gas? It's kinda like a thick tar - a real mess to clean out - sigh. I do also look forward to rebuilding the front end as well. The former owner told me he had a NASTY shiimy in the front when he last drove it 12 years ago and he THINKS he may have dislodged the steering box (or at least loosened it) from the frame. I had a quick peek, the steering dampner looks shot, but haven't dwelled into the box as of yet - still cleaning fuel lines etc. I'll keep Y'all posted (if your interested).

SMILES
Dale

raygreenwood · Post by **raygreenwood** » Wed Jun 04, 2003 8:03 pm

I would doubt the steering box problem. If it is..then the entire chassis is rusted. Its a full unibody. What is usually shot...and feels like a steering box, is the idler bushing. The 69 with a four speed would have been a gray market car. Exceedingly rare. It is also a differnt bell housing and clutch slave cylinder. Possibly slightly differnt synchro arrangements. There were 3 all told. DO NOT drive this on a regular basis until you strip down the tranny and make a few replacements and adjustments. It is nothing like any other types of VW aircooled tranny. There are 0 replacemnet parts anywhere save for a few bearings. All will probably be well to drive...but will not stay that way. What I'm getting at...is that if you simply start driving it...you may get 30-50k before something happens. When it does, generally there will be no repairs possible at that point...and no replacement boxes to be found. What needs to be done is not expensive. A little tedious....but its an easy transmission to get around in. Just totally different than other vw's.
Those particular years, had friction bearings instea of ball bearings in the struts. That was a major source of shimmy wen they go. They were never imported. Change to the last model of 412 bushing (late super beetle) drill the two extra holes and have replaceable parts and a superior ride. The other two main causes of the shimmy are the idler bushing (use the bronze one from a 79 super beetle)...and the centerlink. All of the centerlinks will be shot...even at low miles. They leak water internally which kills the nylon packing. Get ball joints while you can find them. Use type 3 tie rod ends. Look for some of my back posts. Ray