Any Beetle owners?

[Nofx]

Oops... VW Beetle

Any one on the forum have/had/restoring/burning/rusting/something it?
I would like to hear your stories and experiences.

I got mine a month ago for a really good deal. He is a 76' 1200j ..And im slowly tearing it apart. And boy, is he rusty!

Just click on the pics to see them in larger size.





this is under the drivers seat, you can see the inside of the car hah








the inside view of the drivers seat




above the heater channel


I will post more pics tomorrow..

 

[zzzdanz]

I've done many Bugs..stock to nitrous...Looks like all the typical rot you'll find in bugs.If you can seperate the pan/body it will make it so much easier.There's a 56' oval I drive past everyday just sitting on a trailer in this guys yard...I need to stop in there and see what he plans on doing with that.

I haven't done resto bug in a few yrs. now, but I have the VW bug (no pun intended)...The parts are cheap, they handle like a go-kart,very easy to fix.

What's your plan for your bug?

 

[Laura]

My friend has a 62 or 63 oval. Hugo is his name. th bug, not the friend. she has all sorts of stories to tell. She got him when she was in her teens, had to sell him, but got him back years later. She drives him daily. Has gone to bug o rama and even raced him way back when.
If you want her info, pm me.. her name is Dawn and she lives in Calif.

 

[Nofx]

hah awesome!

Yeah i know, the standard place for the rust..my plan is to, like you said. To separate the body with the pan. And then buy the new flour panels, and the heater channel, and maybe the napolens hat..and a bunch of things..and weld them up.
I'm lucky that I live in Slovenia, i have in Italy some bunch of companies that make replacement parts. And all so the one in Germany, http://www.hoffmann-speedster.com/

I need to get my hands on one of the Bug books, i just know that when i will be putting everything together that i will just loose my mind with the wiring hahah

 

[zzzdanz]

All the wiring diagrams are on-line..They also sell them with all the wires labelled so installation is very basic...go with the new style fuses.


I had a 76' that I sold back in the 80's and ended up buying it back in 98' not knowing it was mine.It had a Porsche 911 trans. in it with my name on the side of it.Was really weird.

 

[Nofx]

Hmm, cool!

My idea of the car is, to restore it to its original form. But to put new 'technology' in it, like radio, wirings, lights, ignition ( oh god i hate platin ignition ), better and safer brakes, remove the loud sound of the wind and engine, add some counters ( oil temp, RPM ) ..and so on
I will try not to make the engine stronger, i want the car to be eco like. The petrol prices are going up not down, so i want to be ready!

 

[zzzdanz]

I always got rid of the original ignitions and went with push buttons to start instead of keys...Disc brake kits are the way to go and very easy to put on.I'ld probally throw power assist steering in also.

There's a ton of things you can do to the motor but if you want to stay as original as you can,maybe just a rebuild with an updated ignition and an electric fuel pump.

---

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/ tons of parts and info. You can find wiring diagrams and ideas for upgrades etc.

 

[Nofx]

You read my mind.

Its not to be keep the engine original, i would put a 1.6 or even more motor in it with 2x2 cabrs..but then the fuel cost would be higher.
I want to keep the fuel cost as low as possible. But ye, that is what i was planning to do.

Why the electric fuel pump?

oooo tnx for the link, i was looking for this page, but i dint know the name of it!

 

[zzzdanz]

The electric pumps give more of a consistent volume of fuel to the carb(s) The original fuel pumps are fine but wear out and don't have the same consistancy..you get more/less fuel...I always went with dual carbs and needed the extra fuel, so electric was the way to go...I used nitrous on a few also so needed the gas.
I wasn't worried about how much gas I used back then.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

I had one in high school for a short time. Very reliable and economical back in the day.

 

[Nofx]

A bit of an update

Well now i know why it didn't work right! ha


A bit of fooling around




A xmas version ;p


This weekend the fenders and the fuel tank are going down, and then when the first paycheck comes..ITS GRINDING TIME!


Aldabraman: The car for the modern time is still economic ( spare parts, fuel.. ) ..Reliable, well lets not push it too far ;D

 

[zzzdanz]

Tearing them apart is always fun.The worst is when ya start grinding and dont know where to draw the line.

 

[Tom]

... what a let down...

I was all set to tell you about my dermestids that co-habitate with some of my roach colonies...


... nevermind...

 

[oscar]

I have a dune buggy vw powered (MEYERS TOWDE), 74 super beetle conv. 79 superbettle conv. and a rolling pan from a 71 beetle.
It will have to be a labor of love to fix up a beetle. I think yours has the mc pherson strut front end. (shock bolting to the body of bug) if it is not then when you pull the body you will be able to roll the pan around because front end is attached to the pan. Hopefully it is a four speed and not the dreaded auto stick shift, I think it was used for 3 or 4 years my 74 has it.
My experience also has been if you think you are going to fix it up and sell it down the road for a profit or even get the money you put in it back it probably won't happen.

 

[zzzdanz]

Never had a dune buggy but would love 1 for some summer cruise'n..I'm pretty sure the auto stick was discontinued in 76'...Wheren't the McPhersons only on the supers?...I've only had 1 super but didn't have
it very long.