Herbie’s Truck Ride
July 3, 2009Yesterday morning, Herbie simply ran out of gas, or that was how it felt. Just cruising along C5, it felt that the fuel pump went on the fritz. Good thing that after passing Market Market, C5 had a downhill stretch and I managed to coast all the way to a Petron gas station just before McKinley Hills.
I tried everything: checked for gas, checked the fuses, the wiring under dash, contact points, spark plug, fuel filter (there wasn’t any gas!)
Since I was dressed for work, I couldn’t crawl underneath so I decided to leave Herbie at the gas station and just took a cab to work. I conducted the quizes scheduled for that day all the while thinking what it could have been. Around 230PM, I left work early and headed back to Herbie.
Again I tried to resuscitate Herbie to no avail. I couldn’t hear any noises from the fuel pump so I thought it was a faulty unit. Jon and I decided that we should call AAP for a tow.
After about an hour, the AAP tow truck came and we quickly loaded up Herbie and headed for Panay. There was minimal traffic and we got to Jon’s by 430PM.
After unloading Herbie and a couple of tries, Herbie fired up strong! Sheesh!! I really felt like a dumbass 
To make sure, Alan checked the wiring, the timing, the filter. We decided that it was probably just something clogging the gas tank so Alan quickly cleaned it out. Nothing major, just some crud that could have clogged the fuel lines.
Today, Herbie performed like a dream. I still don’t know what went wrong. Was it a Ghost in the machine?
Glad that that was about it 
Herbie at the VW Day 2009 Celebration
June 18, 2009
Lots of Pictures Here
http://manilaghia.multiply.com/photos/album/82/Volkswagen_Day_June_14_2009
http://manilaghia.multiply.com/photos/album/83/Volkswagen_Day_Part_2
http://manilaghia.multiply.com/photos/album/84/Volkswagen_Day_Part_3
http://manilaghia.multiply.com/photos/album/85/Volkswagen_Day_Part_4
Project Polaroid: Volkswagen Day 2009
http://hannahreyes.multiply.com/photos/album/365?mark_read=hannahreyes:photos:365&replies_read=7#
Hotrod Engine 4 Herbie
June 1, 2009A lot of cleaning, painting and detailing pays off with a sanitary engine for Herbie
Before: Stock 1600
After: 1915CC, Dual Dellortos, 009, Alternator with Sanden 507 compressor for the Air-Condition
Herbie Gets a HotRod Heart
April 27, 2009Ghia’s engine was pulled out last April 22, 2009 by Alan and Bai. It took them less than an hour to do it which amazed many in APC
Jon and I decided to also swap out Ghia’s orange engine shroud/tin for a stealthier semi gloss black shroud. We also took out all the billet pieces for a kleen look. What would certainly give it away would be the dual dells but we can’t help that.
We positioned Herbie to make the swap easier. In the process, Jon will hook up dual Airconditioning fans and a newer oil cooler/fan system on each side of the swing tranny.
The whole shebang would take approximately a week to do.
Update: 04/27/09, 1:30PM
Seems that the early tranny in Herbie is toast! several cracks found causing the unusual chatter when downshifting and especially when going into reverse. We can’t use Ghia’s transmission even if we wanted to. (IRS not Swing axle. . . sigh)
Jon is looking for an early tranny replacement.
Tune in for updates. .. I can’t wait
Update 04/28/09, 4:00PM
Were still waiting for a replacement tranny but in the meantime, we pulled out Herbie’s 1600 engine. The black soot in the exhaust ports signal a need for a de-carbon job. (For the future)
In the meantime, Bai is busy cleaning up the short axles, replacing a broken circlip that was making funny noises when running under 15kph.
The brakes look good (just a little dirty) but we are getting new brake shoes.
Update 04/29/09, 430PM.
The replacement transmission (4:1 ratio) from a late model bug (12 volts) was installed by Alan and theshort axles, cleaned and greased fit perfectly.
The clutch tube and bowden tube were adjusted so I don’t think I’ll have any “chatter” problems anymore
A fresh starter bushing will be installed next
Update 05/04/09 4:45PM
To handle the extra power, Jon fabricated a triangulated transmission brace from chromemoly steel. Patterned from circuit racing Beetles, the transmission bracing will surely stiffen the rear suspension
Update 05/07/09, 4:30PM
The engine tranny support is finished. Alan is just about finished with the oil cooler and aircon condenser install.
The design includes 2 condensers/fans for the airconditioner and an additional oil cooler/fan. It’s a tight fit, even for a swing-axle setup. On the driver side, Alan squeezed in the oil cooler and a medium sized condenser. While on the right side, we have a large condenser/fan that barely cleared the starter.
Update 05/08/09, 4:00PM
Alan squeezed in the engine finally. He was routing the oil lines to the cooler and would run the aircon hoses by Saturday.
Update 05/14/09, 4:30PM
The carbs are in and the oil lines routed to the cooler are done. New carburator access panels were cut out to make carb adjustments a breeze.
The aircon bracket and coil mount are the last thing needed before firing up Herbie’s new heart. After that, all we need to do is to rout the aircon hoses to the evaporator. Won’t take long now
Tune in for updates. .. It’s just about getting there
Final Update 05/25/09, 6:00PM
Herbie is finally ready. After a month of waiting and numerous small detail work, Herbie has his HotRod Heart. A thumpin 1915cc monster engine from Ghia found it’s way to Herbie and he is a lot stronger now.
An added bonus is a kool and kleen airconditioning system. Just the ticket for this summer season (sadly, which is almost over) However, the installation required a new compressor bracket and a relocation of the coil (I’ll have to figure out how to make this sleeker). The evaporator just hangs under the dash and future plans call for some sort of housing to tie up the looks. But for now, the aircon works flawlessly.
Herbie drives like a champ. Previously, with the 1600 engine, I had to keep the gas pedal mashed to the firewall, just to propel Herbie to highway speeds. Now with the 1915 engine, I barely need to tap the pedal and Herbie vrooms to near the century mark. What a joy!
Thanks to Jon, Alan, and Bai for all the hard work.
Herbie Picture by CJ at the Hot Rod Festival
March 21, 2009
photo by our friend, CJ Caguicla using his Blackbird at the Hot Rod Festival, March 15, 2009
