I've had a long term project going now to turn my '67 Squareback into my shop car. While I love driving my 914, it has limitations as a daily parts hauler. I love old styling with new technology and updates, so my goal is to turn my humble Square into the wagon that Porsche never made. I want it to drive and handle more like a Porsche than a VW wagon and it's got to be a true "Sleeper" (not a real problem; since it's a wagon).




This has been a 4-5 phase project.

Phase-1 - Convert it to Porsche 914 2.0L motor. Make it physically adapted to the car and running MS2 w/ Ford EDIS ignition. Get it tuned to be a daily driver. DONE!!



Phase-2 - Make the motor look good and freshen it up with new P&Cs. The heads were freshened only about 2K miles before I got it, by me when it was in a clients 914 that he converted to Subie power. I noticed that once I had a few miles on it myself, it was using a bit of oil. So I upgraded to a new set of 96mm P&Cs. So now it's a 2056.

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I had my local powder coater do all the tins in black and the plenum and runners in grey for a stock look. I'm running T-4 H/Es with a modified bus header and a Summit Racing Flow Master clone muffler. So I had those ceramic coated in black so they are not attention grabbers from the back. This car is a sleeper

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DONE!!

Phase-3 - Convert the rear suspension to the later style IRS and install a Porsche 923 trans out of a Porsche 912E. The rear suspension is DONE!! While at it, I upgraded it with 914 rear brakes, urethane bushings, adjustable spring plates and a rear sway bar.



Since the trans is taller than a stock 4-speed and cutting into the car can't happen due to rear seat issues. I gained the 1.5" I needed by spacing the body off the rear suspension with spacers. So here I sit, on the final leg of phase-3. I now need to couple the motor/trans and lift it into it's final place and fab rear engine hanger mounts for the rear bar. It's late and I'm tired. . .

Phase-4 - Front suspension upgrade. Currently in-work

Phase-5 - Paint so it doesn't look so crappy, though it does add to the "sleeper" persona. . .

Stay tuned for more later. . .

Let me know if you ever want to sell it!

Looks like a cool project! Can't wait to see some pics & video of it once roadworthy

Very Cool

Now Zebra paint job almost there

The Mahles look good

Autocross school in the spring! Will it be ready?

I dig this car! You have to keep us posted.

I've always loved those Squarebacks! Several buddies back in the 60s & 70s had them as surf-wagons, as a cool alternative to a VW Bus or early Woodies.

Another HS buddy front-ended his new 69 911S grad present, then got a beater VW Splitty van & had the 911S engine/transaxle & suspension, instruments, etc. on it - but left it looking like a ratty rust bucket. He became known for doing wheelies in the school parking lot, and for dragging & beating the 60's muscle cars around town in the stop-light-drags - several of which had a bus full of us geeky HS kids in it!

That looks like it will be both a hot & cool build, especially with a really slick paint job on it!

Looks great and can't wait to see it done (which appears to be soon). I really like type 3's, I got my driver's licence in my mum's 1600 fastback. The dash was way cooler then my brother's beetle and it went a lot better too.

phil

subscribed! looking forward to the "how-to" thread...that is sweet!

Very cool project! That's one of my favorite wagons. I missed getting my aunt's nice clean CA squareback wagon, because my cousin is a nertz.

too cool. ive never had a type 3. is it i window warper? do the side windows bend open instead of being hinged?

i didnt know the torsion housing was removable in type 3s. very handy to have it removable.

5 speed for freeway delivery... cool!

Made good progress today. Joined the motor and trans hopefully for the last time.



Lifted the car and got the motor and trans into position, then dropped the car onto the motor/trans. LIKE A GLOVE!! Then I had to design and fab a pair of rear hangers for the rear mount bar. The bar is a stock bus bar, so it's rubber mounted at the motor. So these are solid mounts to the car. The pic is 90degrees off, but you all get the idea.



Once I bolted these up, the motor and trans was finally home; not hooked-up, but home in it's final location.





Things I have to re-engineer before I can close out phase-3 are:

- The clutch cable. The stock one is about a foot too short now and I need a custom-made bowden tube. That should be interesting. . . I'm going to test fit a stock 914 cable assembly just to see how it does. . .
- E-brake cables. Same issues as the clutch but found a company that makes cu$tom e-brake cable$.
- Make new brake lines. This should be a snap.
- Make a custom off-set shift coupler for the trans. Right now the shift rod is above the torsion housing and the trans shift shaft is below it. . .
- Figure out what to do for a shifter. I think I already have this one done, but i don't want to jinx it. . .
- Hook-up the EFI and all the wiring and fuel system.

I lowered it down to see how it's riding and while it looks great, I may raise it up about an inch since it's almost riding on the bump-stops.



Well time to START my Christmas shopping. . . (I do better under pressure)

Very cool wagon. I love sleepers. What type of heat exchangers are those? This is a 2.0L right?

Very nice work Nate!

WANT!

Mix that with rootwerks lifted monster square

Ya know, I see things like this and I want to move next to your shop

Nice project!

Thanks for the kind words guys. I've had this car for about 8 years in various set-ups but basically stock.



No. Regular hinged type quarters on Squarebacks. The fastbacks had the windows that just bent. . . Freaky!!



The H/Es are from a VW 411/412. They are a very basic H/E like our 914 ones. Until I had them ceramic coated, I had been running a set of heavy Bus H/Es. They worked fine but took a long time to heat up the aluminum jacket that is cast around the pipes. These should heat-up within a couple blocks and I save about 20# off the back of the car (this thing is a drift car in the wet ).

The motor is a 2.0L out of a 914. I've just added a set of flat-top 96mm P&Cs to bump it up to a 2056cc. With the worn P&Cs it was a lot of fun to spank Honda fart-cars out on the hwy. It pulled really strong. Now with the added CR and size, I should surprise a lot more too. The car only weighs about 1800# (well more with my big @$$).

The T3 Wagons were my favorites of the aircooled VWs. I want to own one some day. I love this build!

Zach

Great build! thanks for posting!

How about spraying the interior with a bed liner. It would coat everything with a texture and go along with the industrial "hauler" theme

Would a hydraulic clutch be an easier option?

Cool project. I've been looking at Type 3s on The Samba off-and-on for a month or so. (I've owned a couple squarebacks but actually like notchbacks better.) Most of them have been so thoroughly thrashed that I wouldn't even think of buying one. (Maybe there is some parallel non-Samba universe where all the Type 3s are all perfect?)

S

I love it. My first car was a Fastback.

Awesome build. I bet some hand drawn logos on it would look really cool. Can't wait for the update.

Phillip

Trans looks like a 915 ... why 923 ? Great ideas and great execution.

The trans IS a 915, but it's got some unique gearing to compliment the 2.0L-4 cylinder engine and throw-out assembly that is specific to the '76 912E. So as with all the unique 912E parts, Porsche gave it its own "923-series" P/N rather than a 915-series.

Made some progress this afternoon. Fabbed-up a custom length shift rod from an early beetle shifter. I used and early beetle because the nipple for the shift coupler is exactly the same OD as a stock Porsche coupler. Change to a beetle set-screw and I'm golden. I also fabbed and positioned the rear hanger for the new shift rod. It's going to be a two-piece shift rod using a mix of VW/Porsche/custom/aircraft parts to get it all done.

It's a little hard to see with all the cable tunes in the tunnel through the access hole that I cut. I had to first cut a window. Then make a pedestal for the rear hangar and bushing. A stock Porsche shift coupler was used and then robbed the bottom of a late 914 shifter to use as the alignment adjustment for the shifter. If all goes as planned, I should be able to adjust this shifter just like a stock Porsche.

Shot for context
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A close-up between the tubes
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Next is going to be the "S" piece that actually connects to the trans input shaft.

Great project! I have always loved these, nice work!

Don't ever let these two T3's have kids!

This is a very cool SB. I've always liked them and seeing this makes it more so. Can't wait to see what it will be when finished

Pulled the motor and trans out to get the last pieces out so they could go to the powder coater. While everything was out, I figured it was as good a time as any to get the Eberspacher BA4 gas heater fitted in it's final location. I ended up mounting this 180 degrees opposite of how it's normally mounted in the 411/412 cars so the air inlets/outlets could be more friendly for the T-3 body. I'm still going to be doing a lot of custom fabrication to get it all running out of the heater and into the body, but I don't think it will be too bad.





I still need to make an access cover in the cargo floor for servicing the glow plug and the coil but that type of stuff is pretty basic. I also need to decide where to run the wires into the cab under the rear seat and where I will have the relays mounted. Luckily, since I swapped the orientation of the heater, the wires will be on the opposite side of the rear seat area from the Megasquirt, EDIS and O2 sensor wiring.

I temporarily removed the rear suspension so I could cut the access hole for the shift linkage. I also made the final shift linkage piece. Once my rear engine mounts come back from the powder coater, I can get that all finalized. Fingers crossed but I'm confident this time the shifting will be spot-on.

I worked on the shift-shaft and coupling for the Porsche 923 trans yesterday and this morning. After a partial redesign. . .

I now have 5 gears fwd and one in reverse!! I have to do a slight bit of refining of the design, but it is working pretty darned well as it is.

Doing the shifter linkage forced me to re-install the motor/trans into the car. The rear hangars are at the powder coater, so it's all being held in place with a transverse 2X4 across the engine access and ratchet straps. :shock: It works well for mock-up, but I wouldn't want to drive that way.

While the motor/trans was in, I had the chance to see how close the BA4 heater is to the starter. . . Got plenty of room; no interference at all with almost 1" of room. So now I can proceed with wiring and ducting into the car and fab an exhaust for it.

sweet

If the starter is in that close proximity to the heater do you have to shield it to prevent heat soak & no start?

It shouldn't be a problem since the 411/412 cars had the heater installed in exactly the same position in relation to the trans/starter. If this becomes an issue though, it's a simple fix.

Interesting. Did that model have some sort of gas/diesel heater option?

Great thread!

My first car was a '69 SquareBack,

Wood panel over the the windows on inside,Hey this was in the 70's
with the back seat down, 5 inch padding, she was dubbed, "Passion Wagon"

My gas heater was a SW, ( Stewart Warner?)
and mounted in front trunk. funny as hell in winter, exhaust for the heater is piped out the driver front wheel well,smoke coming from front of car.
people always telling me, "your car is on fire..."


I really dig the rear sway bar. SQ are a "lil" top heavy.
(Rolled in one) 'nuther story

very cool nate. did you have to mount the fresh air shrould bracket off of the t-3? submit the project to HOT VWS mag. i bet you could sell conversion packages to the t-3 crowd.

k

Awaiting parts on a bunch of stuff, due to all the snow we have around here, so I figured I would make the most of my time.

I decided the dash would be my focus. I'm replacing the stock 3 gauges in favor of a pair of Porsche gauges (since they fit so nicely :wink: ) and a VDO tach that I had laying around.

Before:



pulled the gauges out and drilled holes in the dash for the new idiot lights since the Porsche gauges I'm installing do not have these. I had to install one for the alternator, oil pressure, high beam and blinker. They turned out pretty good so I don't mind making the cuts.



Next I made a custom harness for the gauges so that I could simply plug into the Porsche gauges from the stock harness. I haven't tested the wiring yet, but how hard can a few idiot lights ans senders be, right?? Famous last words. . . I still have wires to run back for the oil temp and speedo pick-up on the trans. I'm planning to run them along with the other gauge wiring when I run the CHT, oil pressure and volt meter.

Finished:



I am probably going to clock the tach so that the entire sweep is within view when the car is driving again. The Porsche 930 wheel is smaller and blocks the view from about the 1-4 o'clock positions.

I also took some shots of the heater with the trans installed. Room-O-Plenty!! I'm going to spend the rest of the day making the adapters for the inlet hoses for the heater to car connections. I really like how the 69 Square with the BA4 had the fan mounted on the air duct. I may have to duplicate that!!

'69.
Passion Wagon.
Giggity.

Just checked this out- awesome project- keep the progress and pics coming!

Saturday I made some progress on the BA4 heater install and the dash gauges.

I spent some time making 3 wiring harnesses; L - BA4 dash switch harness, C - Speedo trans pick-up harness, and R - engine gauges harness (tach, oil temp/pressure and volt). I ran out of shrink-tube, so I'll have to finish these later in the week or next weekend.



Next I made a pair of these body adapters for the inlet air from the heater. I also modified a factory mount for the BA4 outlet air temp sensor to fit. This will be held with flex tube or possibly silicone stubs. It fits better than it appears to in the photo.




Finally, I installed the relay and safety switch in the car under the rear seat on the passenger side. I'm quickly running out of room for more wires under the back seat. :wink:

Aircooledtechguy
Very interesting thread with nice photo's, thanks.

The BA/BN heaters work so well I wonder if you've considered bypassing the H/E, like a '73 type 181? The combo seems like overkill in everything except a bus. Maybe off the shelf header's are not available and/or you feel H/E's are needed as a heat shield for the exhaust.

Thanks again for the write up.

A few days ago I got my custom clutch cable from the cable maker. . . I had them add 17.5" to a stock 912E cable assembly (well actually they made an entirely new cable and just reused the stock bowden tube). It looks just like stock but ended up being just a bit too long (D'oh)!! Well, for now, I made a simple spacer to go between the end of the bowden tube and the trans and I'm able to get full motion form the clutch and it feels like a stock clutch!! When everything else is done, I'm going to have another cable made a total of 16" longer than stock and that should be PERFECT. The custom cable was surprisingly cheap!!

This is the pedal end of the cable using the Porsche clevis and pin in the stock VW pedal hook.


Here the Porsche 912E clutch cable bowden tube fits like stock in a type-3. (note my 1" extension for the bowden tube just before the trans case)

Dang Nate, you are an animal! Keep up the great work.

Do you work on Exhausts? I should bring my Puma up so you can correct a couple of little things for me.

Been watching this thread closely, as I've always loved Squarebacks and I owned a '66 VW Fastback in college. In fact, when my parents couldn't pay my hospital birth costs, they sold their Euro '54 Bug -- so I've got VW in my blood.

Anyway, today I finally convinced my wife's friend to let go of her beloved (and neglected) 1969 Squareback for $200. It has been sitting since October 2005, and it is mostly straight with very little rust in the typical places -- under one headlight bucket, the battery tray, and along the bottom of one front fender. I've got a receipt for an engine rebuild 12k miles ago in 2001, and it has been converted to stock VW dual carbs. Like my 914 project when I got it, it is covered in moss and cobwebs.

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Cheers!

Geoff

Geoff,
Cool new project. How is your 914 going, running yet? Probably no time with your move.

Dave

Congrats on the new project Geoff!! That's a score!!

Great project and good to see how you modernized it so it should be a great DD.
I had a 64 1500S that I loved and looked just like this beautiful one with the SW front trunk gas heater. Also had a 69 Fastback that was a great DD.