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Why a VW
Bug is Better than a Wife*
By Loren R. Knapp
01.
Your Bug will never have a headache, although it may give you a few.
02. Your Bug will always respect you in the morning, although it may
not start.
03. You can enjoy your Bug all month long.
04. You don't have to wine and dine your Bug to keep it happy.
05. Your Bug will always wait patiently while you play or watch basketball,
football, pool etc.
06. Your Bug won't get jealous when you look at another Bug.
07. Your Bug doesn't demand equality.
08. If you change Bugs, you don't have to pay alimony.
09. Afterwards your Bug won't feel guilty, cry, or call her mother,
your ex-wife, or her therapist.
10. Your Bug can't talk.
11. Another man will seldom steal your Bug.
12. Your Bug won't wake you up in the middle of the night to ask, "If
I died, would you get another Bug?'
13. Your Bug isn't allowed in Macys, Bloomingdales, Neiman-Marcus or
on the Shopping Channel.
14. Your Bug will never divorce you and take your trailer.
15. Your Bug will usually start every time without protest and requires
only 30 seconds to warm up.
16. Your Bug responds to input quickly without complaint or an involved
discussion.
17. Your Bug requires low maintenance and should run to 200,000 miles
without a complaint.
18. Your Bug only needs four pairs of shoes…..really.
19. Your Bug is always waiting to go.
20. Your Bug won't run off with a younger Bug.
21. Your Bug won't have a fit if you leave the toilet seat up.
*No disrespect
meant to all of the woman that own a VW Bug or put up with their husband's
hobby. We love you! 
The Beetle
and the Beatles
By Loren R. Knapp
If you look at The Beatles' famous Abbey Road LP Jacket, you will note there is an extra Beetle in the photo. Yes, I know what you're thinking. There are only four .... George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Star and John Lennon. But, look carefully. In the background, there's a 1968 VW Beetle parked up on the curb at the time the four famous Englishmen were photographed strolling across the street. Who could possibly have known the little white Beetle would be part of a classic Rock 'N Roll photograph and become entwined in an Urban Legend. All the Fab Four knew on Friday morning, August 8th, 1969 was that they were simply shooting another LP cover.
The Beatles were at a loss as to what to title their eleventh album. The number-one selling album was almost named "Everest" after their engineer Geoff Emerick's brand of cigarettes. The plan was to be photographed at the foot of that famous mountain in the Himalayas, but that idea was not very popular with the boys. So Paul said, "Hey, why don't we just have our picture taken as we walk across the crossing just outside here and call the LP "Abbey Road"? John contacted a photographer friend Iain MacMillan, and a photo shoot was arranged. At 11:35 AM, Macmillan stood on a stepladder and snapped six photos of the group walking across the street while a policeman held up traffic. Some time later, Paul McCartney studied the negatives under a magnifying glass and chose image number 5, which is now so familiar. The LP was released, and Abbey Road became known throughout the world. The little Beetle did not go unnoticed. As a matter of fact, it became entwined in a rumor that spread like wildfire .... "Paul McCartney was dead, killed in a motorcycle accident, and the man in the photo was a look-a-like."
The believers in the "Paul is dead conspiracy" used the "Abbey Road" LP jacket photo to bolster their claims. They point to hidden messages and clues in the photo. The photo obviously shows the Beatles walking across Abbey road. Note that John is dressed in white like a preacher. Ringo is dressed like a pallbearer. Paul is barefoot, out of step, and the only one holding a cigarette in his right hand .... when he is left-handed. (Supposedly, at some point in time in England people were buried barefoot.) George is dressed like a gravedigger, and the VW Beetle has a license plate that reads "LWM 28IF." The connection here with the VW Beetle is that, at the time of the release of the album, Paul would have been "28 IF" he had lived. The LMW indicates "Linda McCartney Weeps." Also, note the hearse parked on the right side of the street in the background. The Beatles, the record company and all concerned took no stock in the crackpot story, and really didn't care as it was helping generate sales. Years later, when asked about his lack of shoes, Paul said, "I had just turned up at a photo session, and it was a hot day in London, a really nice hot day... and I think I wore sandals. I only had to walk around the corner to the crossing because I lived pretty nearby. And for the photo session I thought, 'I'll take my sandals off.' You know, so what? Barefoot, nice warm day-- I didn't feel like wearing shoes. So I went around to the photo session and showed me bare feet. Of course, when that comes out and people start looking at it they say, 'Why has he got no shoes on? He's never done that before.' Okay, you've never seen me do it before, but in actual fact it's just me with my shoes off. Turns out to be some old Mafia sign of death or something."
In the '90's, McCartney would release the album, "Paul Is Live," with a cover parodying Abbey Road. This time, McCartney is tugging on the leash of his sheepdog, and the white Beetle license plate is 51 IS, telling us that he "IS" alive and 51 years old. For the shot, Paul stepped back onto the crossing and stepped back in time. Paul said, "This time I've got my boots on …. Veggie Doc Martens, by the way, so they're not dead either." The Volkswagen Beetle parked near the crossing walk belonged to a Swedish couple living in the apartment across from the recording studio. At the time of the photo session an effort was made to get them to move the Beetle, but they were on vacation at the time.
After the album
Abbey Road came out, the license plate was stolen repeatedly from the
car. In 1986, the car was sold at an auction for $23,000, it is currently
on display at the Volkswagen museum in Wolfsburg, Germany. A great tribute
to the little white Beetle in the foreground, as well as The Beatles,
took place when the site was selected to début the new Volkswagen
Beetle in a commercial with two new Volkswagen Beetles crossing the
road. Volkswagen had tried unsuccessfully to get the Beatles to endorse
their new cars. I suppose this was the next best thing.
Elephant into a Beetle?
Q: How
do you get an elephant into a Beetle?
A: Open the right door, put the elephant inside, close the door.
Q: How
do you put an elephant into a fridge?
A: Open the Beetle's door, take the elephant out, close the door,
open the fridge, put the elephant inside, close the fridge.
Q: How
do you get 4 elephants into a Beetle?
A: 2 in the front and 2 in the back.
Q: How
do you know if there is an elephant in your fridge?
A: There's a Beetle parked in your driveway.
Q: How
do you get 8 elephants in a fridge?
A: Put four in a Beetle, four in another Beetle, and then put
the two Beetle's in the fridge. Surely a fridge large enough to hold
two elephants can hold two Beetle's!
Q: What
did the fifth elephant in the Beetle discover?
A: The retractable metal sun roof.
Q: The Lion
gathered all the animals in the jungle for a meeting, all of them showed
up except the elephants. Why?
A: They were still in the Beetle.
Q: How
many giraffes can you fit in a Beetle?
A: None, the elephants are still in there!
100,000km
By Wayne
Dean
)
If
you've been reading My Blog
then you know that
I take my Beetle to a shop in Toronto called Progress
Motors. The technician that works on my Super Beetle is Emilio,
and he has been a personal friend of mine for years. We used to work
together and I found out that he was a factory-trained Volkswagen mechanic
that used to work on the air-cooled Beetle back in the day. So you can
see why I take my pride and joy only to him. During it's yearly check
this summer, Emilio discovered a leak from the rear main seal. He told
me I could let it go as most VWs do leak a bit of oil, or "Mark
their Territory" as I've been told. But the sight of that puddle
of oil in my garage and the clutch starting to slip led me to believe
that I should get it done now, rather than later. While I was at the
shop, I noticed a gentleman admiring my Beetle. His name was Peter and
he was an older gentleman with a German accent. He told me stories about
all of the Beetles that he had owned in Germany and here in Canada.
He also told me about a letter that he had recieved from Volkswagen
when his Beetle broke the 100,000 km mark. I had heard of this letter
before but had never seen one. Apparently in the 1950's a letter of
congratulations was sent to every VW owner that had taken good care
of their car and driven over 100,000 kms without any major problems.
That in itself is interesting enough, but the letter was said to have
been signed by Heinz Nordhoff himself.
Heinrich Nordhoff (January 6, 1899 – April 12, 1968) was a German engineer famous for his leadership of the Volkswagen company as it was rebuilt after World War II. He is usually referred to as Heinz Nordhoff. Nordhoff attended technical college in Berlin, where he became a member of the Roman Catholic fraternity Askania-Burgundia and in 1927 began work for BMW working on aircraft engines. He soon went to work for Opel where he gained experience of the automotive industry. Following the war, he was appointed Managing Director of Volkswagen, assuming the position on January 2, 1948. Nordhoff became legendary by turning the Volkswagen Beetle into a worldwide automotive phenomenon. He pioneered the idea of constant improvement - improving the car's underpinnings while keeping the styling the same. He gave liberal benefits to VW workers and increased pay scales. Within six years after taking over Volkswagen, Nordhoff reduced the number of man-hours to produce a single car from 400 to 100, a 75 percent reduction. His commitment to improving the workmanship at VW made the Beetle famous for its bulletproof reliability.
A few days after my Beetle was serviced, I got a call from Emilio telling me that he had something for me. I couldn't believe my eyes. There, in a dark blue file folder was the letter to "Herr Fritz Muller" from Mr. Nordhoff! I copied the German text into an online translator and spoke to a friend in Germany, and got a pretty close translation.
Here's the text in German:
Dank und anerkennung. Der Volkswagen Hat mehr als 100000 kilometer. Ohne nennenswerte reparaturen zurückgelegt - Auf diese leistung dürfen alle stolz sein, die daran mitgewirkt haben: die vielen tausend unbekannten im volkswagenwerk und seiner organisation, die diesen wagen konstruiert, gefertigt und betreut haben,vor allem aber sein gewissenhafter, sorgsamer lenker und pfleger, Herr Fritz Müller, Der gute fahrer dieses guten wagens. Wir widmen ihm diese urkunde als zeichen unserer dankes und unserer anerkennung. Volkswagenwerk GMBH.
And in English:
Appreciation and recognition. The Volkswagen has done more than 100,000 KM, without major repairs. Of this achievement we are all proud. Who helped, thousands of unknown employees in the Volkswagen plant and organization, who designed and manufactured the car. Above all, it's careful driver Mr. Fritz. Müller, the good driver of this good car. We dedicate this document to him as appreciation and recognition. Volkswagenwerk GmbH.
You can click the small copy of the letter to see it full size. So because of a rear main seal leak at just the right time I came across a document that I might have never seen in my lifetime. Thanks to Emilio and Peter.
Detailing
your Beetle
By Wayne
Dean
We get a lot of email at SuperBeetles, and one question that pops up from time to time is, "What is the best way to keep my Beetle looking good?" For starters, washing and waxing your VW will keep it looking new for years. Some people say that you only have to wax your car once a year, my opinion is that you can't wax it enough. I had my Beetle painted over five years ago and it still looks as good as the day I brought it home.
Start
out by rinsing your Beetle with cold water to get the loose dirt and
dust off. I use a pressure washer but you can use a garden hose with
a spray nozzle on it. If you do use a pressure washer avoid spraying
directly at the door, trunk and deck lid seals as you may damage them
and they may start to leak. Start at the roof and rinse your VW from
top to bottom. This way you will have less of a chance of any dust remaining
on the surface that could scratch the paint during the washing process.
Spray underneath the car and in and around the wheels, behind the bumpers
and other potential hiding places for dirt. Mix up a pail of washing
solution like Turtle
Zip Wax Car Wash. This product doesn't actually wax your car but
it does make it easier to dry and the extra wax that is in it can't
hurt. Dip a car wash mitt (I wear one on each hand) into your pail of
warm soapy water and start washing from the top down. Make sure that
you rinse the wash mitt frequently in your pail to avoid leaving grit
on it that could scratch your ride. Work around the vehicle, washing
downward until you reach the bottom. At that point you can use the mitt
to wash the wheels. Rinse your VW with clean water, top to bottom, and
dry it with a chamois. PS: Throw your wash mitts in the laundry to get
them ready for next time.
When you wax your VDub you should make sure that it is parked in a cool place away from direct sunlight. You'll want to keep the surface of the vehicle cool to make it easier to apply/remove the wax. Use a liquid wax, such as Meguiar's Cleaner Wax, as it is easier to use and remove than a paste wax. Starting at the top, apply the wax with a damp clean cloth (or special waxing sponge) to the roof. Apply in a circular motion and overlap the strokes to make sure that you don't mix a spot. I apply the wax to my chrome for added protection from the elements. Use another clean cloth to remove the wax that you just put on after it dries to a haze. Turn the cloth frequently for best results. Wax another section, like the hood, remove the wax, and repeat the process, working your way around the car and downward. Keep the wax away from the glass, rubber and other areas that are not painted. After you've taken all the wax off, give your Bug a once over with a clean cloth to make sure that you haven't missed any wax. Be sure to read all of the instructions on the particular products that you use as they do vary.
After that clean
the windows inside and out with glass cleaner and another clean, dry
cloth. Once you wipe the glass cleaner off with a cloth, finish them
with lint-free paper towel to avoid streaks. Vacuum the interior and
mats and finish the job by protecting your vinyl interior with a product
like 303 Aerospace
Protectorant. This product is like SPF 40 sunscreen for your vinyl
and gives 100% prevention of UV caused slow-fade with regular use. Once
you've followed these simple steps your VDub with be ready to win "Best
of Show" at the next VW event!
What We
Have here is a Failure to Communicate
By Loren R. Knapp
Most of the
time my Bug seems to ignore my whimpering pleas. So, I thought maybe…just
maybe if I spoke the VW mother language. I mean after all it was designed
and built by Germans.
For instance:
01. Oh Mist! Nicht (schon) wieder! - Oh Crap! Not again!
02. Komm schon, komm schon, Du schaffst es! - Come on, come on, you
can do it!
03. Das muss ein Scherz sein! - You got to be kidding me!
04. Bitte, bitte spring an! - Please, please start!
05. Komm schon Baby, lass mich jetzt nicht haengen! - Come on baby don't
quit on me now!
06. (difficult to translate) Du wirst mir das nicht schon wieder zumuten,
oder? - You're not going to pull this on me again. Are you?
07. Also sitzen wir hier (fest) ohne Ueberbrueckungskabel. - So here
we sit with no jumper cables.
08. Toll! Einfach toll! Jetzt muessen wir uns anschieben lassen. - Great!
Just great! Now we have to get a push.
09. Es ist eiskalt! Mach es bitte ein bisschen warm! - It's freezing!
Please give me some heat!
10. Du benoetigst (schon) wieder Oel?? - You need oil again?
11. Lieber Gott . bitte lass uns ankommen. - Dear God ... please get
us where we're going.
Jetzt koennen
Sie Deutsch sprechen - Now you can "Speak in German"
Bodengruppe
- pan.
Bremsen - brakes.
Brezelfenster - pretzel window - nickname for splitwindow Bug.
Bulli - German nickname for Bus.
Fahrvergnuegen - enjoyment from driving.
Faldach or Stoffschiebedach - ragtop sunroof.
Fliessheck - fastback.
Fridolin - a special mixture of types I, II and III for postal service
work.
Halbautomatik - auto stick.
Kombi - station wagon.
Kaefer - Beetle/Bug.
Kuebelwagen - bucket car.
Kupplung - clutch.
Nasenbaer - type IV (literally: Coatimundi)
Samba - nickname for the pre-1968 deluxe bus.
Schalldaempfer - muffler.
Schwimmwagen - swimming car.
Stufenheck - notchback.
Variant - squareback (type III and IV).
Vergaser - carburetor.
Vierganggetriebe - 4 speed transmission.
Volkswagen - car of the people.
Winker - semiphores.
Zylinderkopf - cylinder head.
Das Ende - "The End"
Doctor
John
By Wayne
Dean
Photography by John Spironello and Caroline Dean
It's Friday night and I'm getting my Super Beetle ready for the June Jitter Bug VW Show that's being held on Sunday. This is one of Canadas' top VW events and draws well over 250 Volkswagens every year. It’s held in Niagara Falls Canada, which is about and hour and a half drive from our home. My wife and I look forward to this event every year and I made myself the promise that no matter how busy I am at work, “NOTHING would keep me away.” The detailing of my gold '75 La Grande Bug was going pretty well, I washed her, waxed her, cleaned her windows and vacuumed the carpets and seats. At that point it was time to load all of the "supplies" into the trunk for Sunday. We bring along a blue folding picnic table, two blue and white lawn chairs, a blue and white umbrella (notice the blue and white VW color scheme we've got going on here) and a bucket of cleaning supplies in case the Bug meets with a few bugs on the way to the show. I pulled my trunk release, which has always been a bit temperamental, and after a few tugs it popped open. Since I wanted my ride to be "pristine" at the JJB I took out the spare tire and the trunk lock and adjusted the cable, hoping to solve my problem. Okay, the release cable and lock are lubed, the striker is lined up, the spring adjusted, now I simply shut the trunk, pull the lever, and re-open it. Nothing. I was in shock. What did I do wrong? Well maybe I need to pull it some more. Nothing. Okay I'll pull it and my wife will simply lift the trunk open. Nope. Then it must need a bit more force on the lever. And that was the last straw as the release lever went loose in my hand.
Now
here's where the depression and self pity set in. We couldn't go to
the show because we couldn't fit all that stuff in the back seat, and
I wouldn't want to take my SB all the way to Niagara Falls if she wasn't
perfect. So that's it, we're not going. My wife Caroline kept telling
me that we would find a way. We'd call our mechanic Emilio and he could
fix it Saturday morning, we'll search the forums and find a solution.
She was all about going and I was all about giving up. I emailed my
friend Brad to tell him that I wasn't going, content to stay at home
while all of our friends would be having a blast. I would sit in a snit
and watch the weekend go by, upset that the 31-year old trunk cable
had given up the ghost. How dare it? And after all the care that I've
given my 1303. Nothing but the best, and this is how you reward me?
Just then I got and email back from Brad who quoted me from my blog
at SuperBeetles.com, just the week before I had written "NOTHING
would stop me" from attending the June Jitter Bug VW show. And
you know what? He was right.
I got on the phone at 10pm to leave a message for John, at John's
Bug Shop. John has put on the June Jitter Bug for the last 20 years
and is one of the nicest VW people that I know. Once I heard the beep
I left my sad story on the answering machine and asked if John could
call me back in the morning and give me some advice. 9am on Saturday
morning the phone rings and John, who is in the middle of loading his
tractor-trailer for the show on Sunday, tells me to come on down to
his shop in Niagara Falls and he'd take a look at. I was ecstatic and
so thankful. I couldn't believe that he was willing to take the time
to help me out when he had so much to do. Ten minutes later I was on
the highway filled with that same feeling as when I first got my VW.
Along the way I came up on a silver dune buggy with a matching trailer
that was one the way to Niagara Falls for the show. I looked in the
back window of the buggy and there were two little girls flashing me
the "peace symbol". I honestly thought that I was going to
cry. This is what it's all about. Peace, love and helping one another.
And these two children were the extra dose of medicine that I needed.
When I got to John's shop he dropped everything and got my Bug up on the hoist. He tried to "persuade" the trunk to open by rocking it back and forth and pulling, but it wasn't going to give up that easy. According to the VW shop manual the only way to open the trunk in a situation like this is to cut the handle and then spin the pieces off. John decided that this wouldn't do. He didn't want to cut the handle and perhaps damage the paint. He thought that there must some other way. We took a look at a scrap Super Beetle that was sitting in the back of his property and John noticed a 5" access plate in the bottom of the spare tire well. If only the trunk was empty...but wait, it was! I had taken everything out while I worked on the hood lock. We put the Bug up in the air and popped the access plate open. However, due to the frame head, you couldn't quite get your hand in there to do much else. John grabbed a light and a mirror and could actually see the bottom of that lock that just wouldn't let go. We tried to come up with ideas on how to get inside when John noticed that a factory drain hole in the frame head lined up perfectly with the trunk lock. You could actually look through the hole and see the bottom of the latch! John grabbed a two-foot long slot screw driver and after heating it with a torch, bent the tip to a perfect 45 degree angle. Then, with the skill of a surgeon, and working backwards with a light and mirror, popped the trunk lid open. What a guy!
Once
open, we found out that the casing on the cable had been slowly cracking
away. The previous owner had incorrectly routed the cable when the gas
tank was out for repair and that was the reason for it binding. John
disconnected the cable, took the casing off and reversed it, putting
the "good end" at the lever. He then re-installed the lock,
made a few adjustments, and it was working as good as new. Now all of
this had taken at least a couple of hours of John's precious time so
I volunteered to help finish packing the trailer for tomorrows show.
An hour or so later, John and his VW parts were good to go.
Thanks to John Spironello we'd be at the show on Sunday and my faith
in the VW spirit of helping one another had been restored. I went to
"settle up" with John for all of his hard work and efforts
on that hectic Saturday and he told me to forget about it, because "Saturday
is his day off."
You May be a VW Bug Owner
if...
By Loren R. Knapp
01. Your windshield
wipers have two speeds, slow and slower.
02. Your heater has three temperature settings, off, high and none.
03. Strangers come up and say, "I had one just like this way back
in..."
04. After a hard left turn you and your clothes both smell like gasoline.
05. You find straw under your seats.
06. Children slug each other when you drive by.
07. Your wife slugs you when you try to get her into the car.
08. Your air-conditioning consists of two windows down.
09. Dogs bury your car in the yard.
10. A bug hitting the windshield slows you down.
11. You can roll up the passenger window from the driver's seat without
outstretching your arm.
12. The sound of the motor reminds you of your mother's Singer sewing
machine.
13. The full service gas station attendant stands at the front and asks
you to "pop ...the hood."
14. Your children are embarrassed to be picked up from school.
15. Oil spots accumulate readily under the engine no matter how short
the time it's parked.
16. You know your mechanic's phone number by heart.
17. Children point and giggle shouting," Herbie!"
18. Your wife points and shouts. "Spare me!"
19. Your windshield washer system consists of hanging your head out
of the window and spitting.
20. When you floor it, old ladies with walkers pass you.
21. People yell at you, "Get a horse!"
22. You have to use the owner's manual to find the battery.
23. The horn sounds like a duck with a sore throat.
24. Your VW mechanic named his first born after you
25. You have a bumper sticker that reads "Don't Honk, I'm Peddling
As Fast As I Can!"
26. You pray for a strong tail wind and say three Hail Mary's when trying
to merge onto the interstate during rush hour.
27. You don't have a clue what a radiator is.
28. You can't fully unfold a map in the car.
29. When someone asks you what kind of car you have, you lie.
30. When driving through curb high water, you have to pump the brake
pedal and throw out an anchor to stop.
31. When at speeds between 40 and 45 MPH. the steering wheel and front
end begin to shimmy and wobble like a washing machine out of balance.
32. Your local fraternity pranksters set it high atop the library steps.
33. You can see the road through the floor.
34. Your mother-in-law keeps asking, "Do you like this better than
a real car?"
35. Your owner's manual is two pages double spaced.
36. The junk in your trunk is in the front.
37. It's adorned with peace signs and "Grateful Dead" decals.
38. Gusty winds decide which lane you'll travel in.
39. Your window defroster is your shirt sleeve.
40. You wouldn't trade it for the world!
Installing Baja Champion
Fog Lamps on a 72 Super Beetle in a Factory Manor
Instructions, Illustrations
and Photos by Ziggy
Instructions:
The lamps install on the factory bumper arms, but you will have to make the 2 brackets from 1/8 flat stock 4 inches long by 2 inches wide, drilled and bent 90 degrees, then painted black. Disconnect the battery and carefully remove the trunk liner covers. The first 2 wires you want to make up are the red 14 gauge and the Lt Blue 20 gauge wire both share one Ta-733 connector going on the 87 output at the relay block. The other end of the Lt blue wire gets the instrument bulb kit and plugs into the Speedometer 71 and newer it has a place for it on the opposing side of the speedometer from the high beam indicator.
You will use the wire puller by inserting the lopped end of it into the 87 output slot of the relay block on the car and let it come out the bottom where you can grab it and plug the red and blue connector wires on and guide it back up through the block, until it locks in. This step takes a little practice You may need to slightly close the connector end by crimping it to secure it enough to complete this step on the 4 connections going in the relay block. Also note the connectors only go in one way. Now you can route the red 14 gauge wire forward following the head light harness all the way to the passenger side up and out into the wheel well area. You will need the ice pick to pass it through the head light harness boot and out of the trunk then down forward into the bumper arm slot and up back into the fog lamp. Leave 6 inches at the lamp and cut it.
Now your leftover red 14 gauge wire is for the driver side harness, route it likewise from the front corner of the fuel tank where the harnesses split, on out into the driver side into the fog lamp. Splice into the other red wire right in the corner of the trunk, just in front of the fuel tank. You will solder it there and tape it up carefully. This completes the red harness. Now the Black 14 gauge wiring is routed almost the same as the Red harness. Put a connector on the black wire and plug it into the ground cluster between the speedometer and the radio. Route it like the red all the way to the fog lamps. You need to ground the 14 gauge black wires to the 13 mm bolts on the bumper arms with ring terminals; it is a must to solder the ring terminal in the weather exposed area. You can pull them from the lamps and put them back after you have soldered and bolted them in. You should wrap the red and the black wires together with electrical tape as far as you can, from one end to the other. I taped mine in with the headlight harness trunk boots in the wheel wells, down as close to the headlight buckets as possible. Making the connections to the fog lamp bulbs with shielded connectors completes the forward harness.
On to the Dash:
Now the hard part, you must pull the air box and the radio to get to the light switch. If needed you also may also need to remove and lower the switch to connect the wire. That's easy with the radio out. If your air duct covers are really old like mine were you will need to go to a auto upholsters shop that also installs carpet, they will have gray jute padding that is the closes thing I have found to the factory stuff, that you can trim to match. You will need 4 black pull ties 12 inches long. I got the ones with the quick releases from Mc Masters Karr. That's nice if you want to reuse them.
The VW the light switch is the best place to add accessories, it has a factory double terminal #30 on the switch made for a 12 gauge connection this is where the battery supply for the lights also connects to the switch. Your long white/black wire plugs in right beside it, then is routed across over the speedometer and down into a cartridge fuse with a 20 amp fuse installed. The other W/B wire is also connected to the cartridge then shorted to a neat length, you will then add the TA-733 connector and pull it into the 30 slot on the relay block.
The secondary key interrupted power supply will require 2 red 14 gauge wires 8 inches long with connectors on both ends of both wires all Ta-733s. You will connect them to the second cartridge fuse, with a 8 amp fuse installed plug one end into the 85 on the relay block and the other end, to the pre-fused side of the fuse box. On either the black wires spade or the green wires spade. (Preferred) Now the rocker switch installs. Look under the dash and take note of where the defroster switch is. You will drill 2 1/4 holes, 2 inches to the left of the defroster switch that you can file into a rectangle with the 2 files. Take your time keeping it neat, until your new used switch will fit in. The rockers blue wire gets a TA-733 connector and is installed to the 86 terminal on the relay block. The black wire gets a connector and plugs into the same ground cluster, now you can install the relay. You can now to put it all back together. I would wait on the air box until you have tested all the systems including the radio. I also suggest you hold a 15 amp fuse on the battery post and touch the cable to that as a safety, while you're testing, lights, signals, horn, fuel gauge and the radio. It's a pass or fail test. But usually pass.
Tools and Parts List:
Soldering gun
Wire crimping pliers
Philip screw driver
Ice pick
10 mm wrenches
13 mm socket and ratchet
Roll of electrical tape
Electric drill and ¼ drill bit
1/8 rat tail file
5/8 flat file
12 inch of 0.30 mig wire (folded to use as wire puller)
20 pack of Car quest TA-733 female wire connectors
2 ¼ ring terminals (for bumper arm grounds)
4 female shielded connectors for inside the fog lamps (Radio Shack)
2 smaller connectors for rocker switch (Radio Shack) or the black and
blue wires from a VW defroster rocker switch
2 VW fuse cartridges (used) like the ones used for the backup lights
found near distributor
1 20 amp fuse and 1 8 amp fuse
1 VW instrument bulb and bulb holder and its Lt Blue wire (used)
1 VW defroster rocker switch (used)
1 20 ft roll of red 14 gauge wire and 1 20 ft roll of black 14 gauge
wire
(OR) a PAINLESS WIRING fog light wiring kit from Jeggs racing (my preference)
2 long 10 gauge white/black wires from a VW high beam lights harness.
Bosche or Hella 30 amp relay or Car quest fuel or fan relay Tested !!!!!
I have seen new relays that are defective use fused test leads and a battery to check them by connecting to the 85 and 86 terminals on the relay and listen to the click of the points closing . If you blow the fuse repeatedly return it as defective. Another source is a wrecked 81 to 86 Cadilliac Fleetwood they used Bosche relays found in the glove box relay center.
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