So the tearing down of the used parts I recently purchased continued today. One thing I pretty much am sure of now is that this early 73 Super that these parts came from sat. And it sat for a very very long time outside in the elements.
That oxy-acetylene torch that the seller used to cut down most of this off the framehead really did a number on the urethane bushings. It was difficult to get off some of the melted stuff so I set it all aside to deal with later.
The surface rust and age on some of these parts is pretty severe, with the nuts and bolts often requiring me to use the impact wrench to loosen up.
When I finally got the brake drums off I discovered wasp nests, and other assorted crud that I’ve never actually seen inside the brake drum/backing plate itself. No idea how mud got in there since the wasp nest was a paper, and not mud nest.
The impact wrench made quick work of the 8 15mm bolts. Now I just don’t know what to do with the brake assemblies since I doubt I’ll ever go to drum brakes up front ever again on any car.
I could not get the ball joints out from the spindles to the control arms and just cut them out. However, I didn’t notice I’d done a bit of cutting into the control arm itself. It isn’t much damage, and I think that once I file all this down smooth it’ll be fine. I still need to get that damn ball joint “bolt” out though. It was not moving. Not even my ball joint tool would pop it out I suspect I may need to drill that metal out.
The strut/spindles themselves are also being quite difficult. I can’t seem to separate the strut from the spindle (above). Now I’ve only ever worked with the Super Beetle 1303 2-bolt strut/spindle setup. Until I bought Żuczek B. I have never had this kind of setup to deal with so I’m not sure if I’m dealing with corrosion issues (likely) or something else. I only replaced the ball joints on Żuczek B. and never actually separated the strut from the spindle. I’ll ask at one of the FB groups to see what they recommend.