Video: VW Trunk Assembly - Fuel Tank, Vent Lines, Hoses, Sending Unit

Video Overview:

Now that most of the interior on our 1971 Super Beetle is complete, we can move our attention forward to the trunk. We’ll install the glove box along with the hood release lever, cable and catch. We’ll also install a new fuel tank, along with the fuel filler neck, vent lines, hoses, sending unit and the fuel door on the body. Follow along as our tech starts getting all the parts in the trunk in our reassembled.

Video Transcript:

Hello! Sam here with JBugs.com. We've now got a glovebox, I just don't have any gloves though. I'll work on that. Now that we've got our radio installed, the interior of our Super Beetle restoration is just about complete. We're going to move into the trunk and get it all put back together. We start by drilling a hole in the top left side of the glove box so that we can feed the USB and the auxiliary input cables, from our stereo, into it.

Once the hole is drilled, we can install the original hood release lever. It installs from the inside towards the out with the cable arm sticking through the side. There are three pre-drilled holes, in the side, for the rivets and screw that will hold the lever in place. Rivets install in the top and the rear hole and with those two rivets installed, we can attach the hood release cable to the arm. A small dowel pin pushes through the end of the cable, into the arm, to hold it in place.

Now, we can loosely install the screw through the handle and glove box into the reinforcement bracket. The bracket braces the lever and the glove box to the dash once it's installed in place at the back of the dashboard. While we're setting the glove box in place, we want to emphasize that all the cut outs that look like their broken or chipped out around the edge, are for the various glove box pins and clips. The edge of the glove box can't be seen once it's installed so the rough or unfinished edge isn't important. The glove box strap is screwed in at the bottom while making sure no wires get pinched. Then, inside the car, the screw for the reinforcement bracket is installed underneath the dashboard. The screw inside the glove box, at the handle, is tightened. The cables for the stereo are pushed through the hole that we drilled and pulled into the glove box. Note that we've wrapped up our hood cable so it isn't in the way for our next step which will be installing the new fuel tank.

Super Beetle tanks sit in the well inside the trunk and we always hear that the tank hits the body and doesn't fit. In fact, this tank was actually returned for just that reason but we'll put it to use.Yes, the tank does hit the body, it's actually supposed to. After setting the tank in place, we move it around a bit and then pull it out and we can see some places on the bottom side of the tank and on the body where the paint has been scuffed. These raised areas on the tank are intentional as they help brace the bottom side once its filled up with fuel. Another area that we see some paint on is the fuel tank drain. The interference is minimal and once installed, the drain can still be accessed and removed if need be. With the fit verified, and the tank flushed out with carburetor cleaner, we can prep for installing the tank.

As opposed to running all the various vents and breathers, all around the trunk and back to the engine and so forth, we normally run one fuel tank vent line from the tank, into a loop, and then run it underneath the car. We start by running a vent hose through the side of the fuel tank well and route it underneath the car, through the fuel line outlet, and down to the front of the car. We leave a length of hose up in the trunk so it can be hooked up to the fuel tank later. Next, we'll set the original fresh air box drain, which we flushed out and cleaned up, in place. Then, we can install a length of fuel hose onto the outlet at the bottom of the tank, and clamp it in place. The fuel hose is directed out the body and the fuel tank is set in place. Now, we can work on installing the fuel tank filler neck.

With it set in place on the body, we can note how long our fuel filler hose needs to be and we can cut it to length. We pull the filler neck from the body so we can slide the filler neck to body seal in place, along with the filler hose and clamps. The filler neck is set into place into the body and by pulling the tank up and out of the well a bit, we can install the neck into the tank. The seal is pressed into place on the body, and the hose is slid into place on the tank. The clamps are installed and tightened down. Then, the four gas tank bolts and brackets are installed at each corner. Note that the raised edge of the bracket sits against the body not the tank.

We install rubber caps at the vents at the left corner of the tank. The original filler neck filling is installed along with a fiber washer and tightened down. We install and clamp on a length of vent hose at the corner of the tank. We loop and route the hose as best as possible to avoid kinks, cut it to length, install it onto the filler vent, and clamp it in place. Then, the vent line that we ran underneath the tank earlier, is looped around the filler neck a few times, cut to length, and attached to the vent line on the fuel tank. Underneath the car, the fuel line hose is connected to the chassis fuel line and clamped in place. Now, we'll install our cleaned up, original gas door release cable.

As this Super Beetle was made in October of 1970, we're guessing that either VW, or someone along the line, rigged up this 68-70 release cable to work. Either way, it does work, so it's going to be reinstalled. One screw holds the cable in place at the fuel filler recess and another screws in place inside the car underneath the dash. A new fuel door handle is screwed onto the coiled end of the cable. Then, up at the fuel filler recess, a new drain plug is installed along with new gas door stops. The fuel filler door is loosely screwed in place, closed to check the alignment, and the screws are tightened down. Then, we check the operation of the release cable, and thread in a gas cap.

Next, we'll work on installing a new fuel tank sending unit. Since we have an aftermarket fuel gauge, we want to check the operation before we install it. We hook up the wires to the sending unit, and with our battery connected, we turn on the ignition and our lights so we can better see the gauge. As we move the sending unit lever up, and down, we can see the needle is operating correctly. The battery and wires are disconnected.

We note that the sending unit hole has six notches with the one at the back being narrower. This is to orient the sending unit, in the tank, correctly. Noting the smaller tooth in the sending unit, we can set the sending unit with the O-ring seal in place, into the tank with the levers pointing towards the front of the car. We make sure the small tooth and notch line up. Using a mallet and a chisel, we tap the ring of the sending unit clockwise to lock the sending unit in place. The sending unit wires are hooked up. The brown wire is hooked up to the tang on the metal housing and the black wire is hooked up to the remaining tang at the center of the unit. Once the wires are installed, the tangs are bent back down so the wires lay down against the tank.

We route the original hood cable tube along the passenger side edge of the trunk. We unwind the hood release cable, and then run the cable through the tube. The tube has a base that gets mounted to the side of the glove box. So, once the cable is in place, we can align the cable and the tube with the release lever arm. And drill through the glove box for the two screws, or rivets if you prefer the original mounting method, to hold the tube in place. The cable tube is clipped into the inner fenderwell, in front of the washer bottle reservoir, and will run to the hole, in the front apron, for the hood latch catch.

The end of the cable is inserted through the boss at the back end of the catch and through the cable arm. The tension is set on the cable arm, the set screw is tightened down to hold the cable in place, and the catch is inserted into the apron. Originally, the catch was riveted in place but we usually drill out the holes for six millimeter bolts. I use button head allen bolts, with nyloc nuts on the back side, to hold the catch in place and we'll take a break here. Next time around, we'll get to work on the fresh air system and hopefully get our hood mounted back in place.

Thanks for watching! Let us know if you have any questions in the comments below. Click the like button and the subscribe button if you haven't already. And when you need parts for your vintage VW, click on the links to JBugs.com.