Anyone up for a '70 Beetle build thread? (Page 2/9)
weloveour86se JAN 16, 12:22 PM
Select-a-drop kits still legal for these? Last time we installed one was in Hawaii in 1992. It makes adjusting ride hieght on the front as easy as turning a bolt. Also, unlees your trying to keep it stock, Might consider some pre 68 fenders and head and taillights. The look WAY better then the 70's stuff. Another thing we used to do with 70's beetles was shave that god aweful half moon vent. You could always get a nice looking Baja kit and Baja that baby out! Nerf bars and all! Add a stinger exhaust and some window nets and send mom down the trail! Talk about a blast! Hate to say it but we used to short cut through the neighbors yards all the time! Lol

Either way looks like fun and keep us posted!
joesfiero JAN 16, 01:16 PM
Thanks, registering for the samba. As far as customizing it, she just wants it stock. Not because we are restoring it stock for show, because she just wants a decent running bug without dumping lots of money into it. With the budget allowed we need to worry more about replacing the parts that need to be replaced before customizing it anyway.

If it were mine I'd be making a Baja out of it but it's hers, were on a limited budget and I'm trying to keep the down time to a minimum.

I'll get some pics of the interior later tonight. While I am working on the car she is planning on recovering the seats herself (she is a seamstress) and the headliner.

-Joe
joesfiero JAN 24, 10:17 PM
More photos and an update on progress.......

I have a little over a quarter of the car sanded down, found some more rust in the front quarter area that was hidden behind bondo. The car was an electrical nightmare, the PO had used a universal fuse kit that accepts glass tube fuses (instead of using the stock torpedo fuses) and hacked the whole wiring harness to bits. Nothing was soldered, lots of crimps and even some wires just twisted and taped together. Not sure how this thing didnt catch fire with the gas tank up front there. I tore all the wiring apart, chucked the homemade fuse panel and found the stock one was in place, but someone had painted it. No biggie its only $20 for a brand new one with a cover.

I ordered parts for it yesterday and was shocked just how cheap parts are for these, I knew they were cheap but were talking a fraction of the cost of parts for other cars. Heres a brief list of parts I got already

Both complete floor pans
complete headliner kit
rear apron (body panel)
complete body seal kit (theres tons of seals on this car)
complete door seal kit
complete window seal kit (windshield, rear window and both quarter windows) with aluminum trim
interior handles
custom chrome window cranks
and a couple other minor things

only paid $600 for it all! You cant even get door window and door seals for that for a regular car.

Pics taken today







dash removed and gutted


hard to see but right about center is the stock fuse panel




After the pics I got the windshield and rear window out, next step is to gut the interior as its getting new seats and carpet.

-Joe
joshh44 JAN 24, 10:35 PM
wish i could get a VW bug! only bug i got is this darn head cold
There expensive here to buy an old bug. iv seen some go for about $4000 - $7000 for just the shell

I just searched for VW bugs local and i found a pretty nice one for $2000. i stand corrected with my last pricing. tho i have seen some go for that much for a non running broken down VW bug.

http://www.usednanaimo.com/...uper-Beetle_16593004

[This message has been edited by joshh44 (edited 01-24-2012).]

joesfiero JAN 26, 11:49 PM
Got some more parts ordered today. Interior carpet, complete sound deadener and heat barrier kit top and bottom, new seat covers and the seat foam, new outside locking handle kit, new fuse box and fuses and some other doodads and Im still only up to $1100 for it all.

Should be getting the first batch of parts Monday, it will be like Christmas. Ive been trying to work on the car for at least an hour or two every night and as much as possible on my days off but today the Fiero needed some love (it started leaking coolant) I guess it was jealous.

Ill keep up the pics if there is interest here.

-Joe
avengador1 JAN 27, 01:22 PM
I'm sure many are interested in more pictures, I know I am. Use another camera please. It looks like you took the shots before the camera had a chance to focus or the lens was smeared. The Beetle is one of my favorite cars.

[This message has been edited by avengador1 (edited 01-27-2012).]

joesfiero JAN 27, 01:45 PM
Yeah I hear you on the camera. The first batch was my iPhone which used to take great pics but I think the lens is scratched now. Any particular shots you guys want or just more of the ones I take for documentation?
twofatguys JAN 27, 02:25 PM

quote
Originally posted by joesfiero:

Yeah I hear you on the camera. The first batch was my iPhone which used to take great pics but I think the lens is scratched now. Any particular shots you guys want or just more of the ones I take for documentation?



Just MORE!! lol

Yea, more of all of em.


I was looking at a VW bug when I first started driving in Iowa, there was one up the road for 600 bucks, but Dad said that was way too much for an old used car.

Same car is probably worth 3 times that now.

Brad
litespd JAN 29, 03:13 PM
I just found this build thread, and I'm enjoying it! My dad had a '66 Beetle with the 1300 engine in it. Even had a gas heater. That was the car in which I learned to drive a manual tranny. Many years later, when I was in the Air Force, I bought my wife an old 66 Beetle to drive. I gave $200 for it, and she drove the piss out of it! You had to put a quart of oil in it every time you filled it with gas, and I put new tires on it, but other than that, I don't think I put a penny into it. We lived at the AF Academy, and our house was in a valley on base. She worked at the NCO club, which was on a steep hill above the valley. She'd drive out the the main road, then turn the opposite way from where she needed to go....get about a quarter mile down the road, and then turn around and mash the gas pedal to the floor to climb the hill! She'd have to pull over to the shoulder of the road about halfway up, to let traffic behind her get by, and she'd be doing only about 10MPH by the time she got to the top...but she always made it! Later on, I bought myself a 68 Beetle...it had flared fiberglass fenders, mag wheels, and had been painted a bright blue color. It was really a neat car, but had some problems that finally forced me to get rid of it about two years later. Still have a soft spot for those Bugs...

[This message has been edited by litespd (edited 01-29-2012).]

82-T/A [At Work] JAN 29, 06:11 PM
Definitely interested in seeing a build. I've got a 73 VW Bus myself (personally). Lot of great resources at The SAMBA (http://www.Samba.com ), but I'd like to see it here too..