I'll post again due to the large size pic I started off with originally.
12 months to get to this point! I bought from a Mr Bean so what should I have expected. This bug has cost me a fortune in my wife's IKEA Dollars! (1 VW $ = 1.5 IKEA $s).
I'll give you a quick run down and then expand on the ever enveloping saga later.
1972 Super
Lot's of rust.
Full body off.
Stripped off 4 previous paint jobs.
New heater channels.
Reformed both rear quarters.
2110 with 044s and 40 dellortos about to be assembled.
17 inch Lenso wheels
Shortened struts with adjustable 80mm springs
Still lot's to do.
Stay cool.....aircooled!
:jesus
[Edited on 8-4-2004 by GL1972]
[Edited on 18-7-2004 by GL1972]
[Edited on 24-1-2005 by GL1972]
[Edited on 2-2-2005 by GL1972]
[ Edited on 29-5-06 by GL1972 ]
GL1972 ·
New Struts.
All the parts came from VForce. Had a local place true them up and weld the bits together.
Bizarre ·
Lookin Great :thumb
I run the same struts - very purty aint they?!?
What colour you going for? - the electric blue??
Have you a shorter spring?? I am running a King Spring 80mm but dont look like i have the nose down as much as you
byronbus ·
Nice work, keep the pics coming :thumb
sikdub ·
They are some sriously tough looking wheels. 😎
Steven
GL1972 ·
Blue74l
Yes they are the king springs. I chopped 95mm from the struts. It looks very low at the front at the moment due to nothing in the back and I had previously raised the back to make the high front look not so bad (before that I use to drive around lookin' at street lights!).
The front disks are cross drilled but I haven't sorted out the callipers yet. I got a set of type 3's only to find the mounting bolt pattern biger and wider. Seems that only a certian model larger bore type 3 calliper will fit so now I have a reco'd set that I'm not sure wether I will install.
I may do a similar setup to Steve Carter's bug. All the rest of the brakes are brand new so she should stop ok.
The color is Tropicana green. I rattle canned a guard below to see what it would look like. Will be the same except for a white base color to brighten it up some.
Stay cool .. aircooled
:jesus
GL1972 ·
Here's a couple more pictures of the work in progress. A series on replacing a rusted section on the door return that the outer scraper attaches to. I'm preety happy with how it turned out especially since I made tha new section out of a flat piece of steel with snips, pliers and hammer.
Rust is pretty much removed and new oieces welded in now. Also been treated inside an out with POR15.
GL1972 ·
My pics are 50k and no go on the upload!
GL1972 ·
Try again
GL1972 ·
The other three in the series..
GL1972 ·
Here's one of the dash panel. A piece of 3mm x 150 x 1200 I cut down, holesawed and hand filed till I got the curve right. I have a nice set of VDO guages to fit as well. I still have two more ally panels of the same shape to inlay into the upholstery of the door trims.
:jesus
GL1972 ·
Here is a pic of the pan complete with new heater channels and finished in POR15. The body and pan were apart 8 months whilst I did this work. No Mig welders here all oxy welded. Does a fantastic job if you have clean and neatly cut surfaces to work with. Note the joining of the pillars to the channels (I'm very proud of this work).
:jesus
GL1972 ·
Here is the 044 heads work in progress. Not going wild. Opening up and straightening the intakes, smoothing the exhaust ports and unshrouding the valves. Combustion chambers come out at just over 53cc and with 1.5mm spacers will have 9.0:1 compression.
:jesus
GL1972 ·
The red implement beside the head is my special valve grinding paste.😀
GL1972 ·
All of the bits waiting to go together. Long block is now complete except for end float. Will post a completed pic when all nice and shiny.
1303 ·
Awesome!!! Great work, the attenion to detail will definately make it stand out from the crowd.
Cheers Paul
GL1972 ·
The motor is now together. Just got to fabricate the stainless and ally throttle linkage and rebuild the carbs. I think it could do with a chrome generator backing plate though.
I should be painting in 2 - 3 weeks.
GL1972 ·
Etch primed and first coat of undercoat, awaiting 600 grit rub back. It's a great feeling when all the major bodywork is done and I'm getting close to squirting paint on it. I'll start putting color on it this weekend.
I don't know whether I'll have it on the road for the nationals. Still lots to do.
:jesus
GL1972 ·
Well the moment has finally arrived! It get's paint! 2 coats on the interior on Saturday. Was too hot and humid to paint on Sunday though.
One thing that really shows through is the 3 p's of painting. Prepare, Prepare and Prepare.
I can't wait to spray the outside but I must wait for the right conditions... Sunny, Not Too Hot, Low Humidity and NO Surf.
:jesus
GL1972 ·
oops the pic was too big!
GL1972 ·
Painting is complete! Bolt it back together! I'm busy insulating the engine bay before I sheet it in ally and also making brackets for the cooler and filter. Also fitted the new L Bug gearbox (had to pull it back out to line up the selector shafts under the yolk). Started on the CV joints tonight (jeez aren't they fun!!).
GL1972 ·
from the back
GL1972 ·
Hope to have this bolted in this weekend.
GL1972 ·
Quick update.
Now fitting up the external cooler and filter. Handmade ally brackets look sweet (will take some photos when the plumbing is finished this weekend).
Electrical:
Have purchased new style fuse boxes (and lots of other bits) and am also currently remaking a new wiring harness (a mix of old and new in a new heatshrink sheath). I am an electrician by trade so I should do a neat job on this part.
I going to fit the motor on Monday:thumb
Have a good Easter, I know I'm going to (Surfing, VW buildup and VW Nationals), maybe some chocolate!
Brendan
:jesus
vw_addict ·
Lookin good, Keep up the progress and the pics.
I Love the pics.:bounce
GL1972 ·
OK the engine is in! I sat the carbs on it and had to run to the corner of the garage to take advantage of myself!
Filter and cooler are all plumbed up. Might make some supporting ally brackets to hold the hoses away from the exhaust.
Decided to replace the apron tin with ally sheet attached to the rubber seal groove with little angle brackets.
P.S. How good was the Nationals!
Brendan
:jesus
GL1972 ·
Hmm that's tight. A Little bit of trimming with the dremel. Lucky I still have paint left over. I'm going to trim a generous amount on both sides as I will be changing to straight shot manifolds at a latter date.
Brendan
ducky ·
goodwork
GL1972 ·
My spare time consists of the 3 esses "S".
Surfing
Soccer (my kids)
Superbug (this bottomless pit!)
I'm getting there though. I tend to have the attitude "why not try making it yourself". This means it takes longer, cutting filing, cutting filing....
I didn't like the steel breast plate with the heater holes (I don't have heaters anymore). I decided to continue the aluminium from the engine bay to the plate. I used a burnished look as it is too easy to scratch a polished finish. I also needed a new exhaust from the collector back. Bought a muffler and a couple of mandrel bent 180 deg pipes. Hacksaw, oxy set and some swearing (overcooked one angle and had to start again) and here is the result. Pretty pleased with it.
Brendan
:jesus
GL1972 ·
The new exhaust out sunbaking!
GL1972 ·
Exhaust fitted up
Dasdubber ·
Thats looking awesome! Keep it up (not too often though, wouldn't want you to slip over any unsightly "spills" like that resulting when you bolted up the carbs!). Very nice!
GL1972 ·
You may notice the surfboard on the saw horses in the background of the last pic. Been doing some repairs on my son's board. The surf has been good with offshore winds the last couple of weeks so I have not been keeping the momentum going.
The three esses SSS
Superbeetle
Surfing
Soccer (kids soccer)
"sorry son you can't play for your team this weekend" 😉
Just joking!
Brendan:jesus
GL1972 ·
Ok here is an update from a frustrated glazier.
Painted, Polished, Roof Lining, Carpet all in (underlay gave me a wicked rash on my legs).
Wiring half complete.
Engine only needs throttle linkage finished.
Still to do..
Bumpers, Windows, Front caliper brackets, CV axle rebuild/install, Seats, Dash, Lights, Start it, Engineers Cert, Rego.
Getting close!
I was re-installing the windscreen yesterday. After an hour of of carefull work I just had about a foot and a half at the top to pull the string and it was in. The wife brought a cuppa down so I had a break. Sitting there sipping the brew looking at my handywork and then ..CRACK! Right through the centre of the screen top to bottom! The screen had a small stone chip at the top just below the rubber line and the flexing arount the string loop at the top caused the crack. New screen coming up! Damn money pit of a car!
I will post some more pics soon.
Brendan:jesus
VWFOOL ·
welcome to DNVK brendan...
baby_beetle ·
how do i open a u2u
ph billet ·
your bug looks great , Im impressed, cant wait to see it in the flesh. bad luck about the screen I took the chicken way out and got a pro in to do it for me $150 to fit 4 windows was money well spent.
[Edited on 6-7-2004 by ph billet]
moonlite6t6beetle ·
anyway i can see a pic of the colour in the sunight?
GL1972 ·
Fitted the front seats last night and bolted in the 3mm aluminium dash panels and all the guages. I'm not going to tell you how long I sat in the car for playing with the steering wheels!
When I get my KODAK digital camera back from warranty (The flash stopped working) I get some more pics. Been 9 WEEKS!!! I might muck around with the video camera and see how the still capture works.
I'd love to get some pics in the sun however my driveway is very steep and I'd need a winch or 6 mates (and a carton of crownies) to get it back into the garage.
Incidentaly got a new windscreen for $120.
Brendan:jesus
GL1972 ·
Finally got the front brakes sorted. Corrected the offset of the new callipers with a spacer plate of 4mm. All the bits mount up nicely with the correct amount of clearance.
Brendan:jesus
GL1972 ·
Everything fits!
GL1972 ·
Pic of the dash fitted up.
Jeza ·
Brendan
Nice work - it's looking more like a car now!!!!
What calipers did you use?
Cheers
Jeremy
GL1972 ·
Jeremy,
They are late Type 3 calipers (42mm bore). I'll see how these go and maybe look for something improved at a latter date. The rear end is stock although a set of Type 3 drums would be nice. (getting some undrilled would be hard though). If the EA falcon rear calipers mate up with rotors that fit and enable me to run the Commodore stud pattern I'll look at buying a set of those.
Brendan.
ducky ·
Man your money pit is looking very sweet well done to you and your wife
GL1972 ·
This is the style of wiring I'm doing throughout the car. Everything is double insulated except at termination points. The distributor wiring is setup so that I can easily alternate between the Bosch 009 and the Mitsubishi Magna electronic unit. The programmable part of the HEI ignition mounts to the inside firewall.
Brendan
GL1972 ·
Started it the week before last and drove it last weekend for the first time (just up and down the street). Lots more still to do like pull all the front suspension out to replace a drag link that I found faulty. Pretty happy with the results so far.
Brendan:jesus
GL1972 ·
The engine
GL1972 ·
Ok it's been a while since I updated this post. The car is pretty much done. Still have the Engineering Cert and Blue Slip to do.
I decided to finish it completely and complete the upholstery. Decided since I did everything else myself (except the engine machining) I would have a go at stiching up the interior. The door trims were pretty easy if not time consuming and the rear seats were a lot harder... but the front seats are really going to test me out (86 Celica). Along with learning how to use a sewing machine and the ridicule from my wife and 3 kids I'll get there. Jibes like "when you've finished there could you darn a pair of socks for me" don't help. Lucky I wear my thick skin suit everyday!
Very time consuming unpicking the old covers, marking and cutting paterns, pinning and sewing..... All I need is a mannequin in the corner and you'd call me a seamstress!!
Anyway I'll post some pictures of the completed interior in two weeks. It won't be a show car but it'll be pretty good.
Brendan:jesus
GL1972 ·
The interior before...
GL1972 ·
Paint turned out ok but I could have spent more time on the preparation. Unfortunately I wasn't starting with a good quality unit. It was riddled with rust and had had major bingles. I replaced a LOT of metalwork. Could have spent another 150 hours on it but where do you stop? Maybe next project.
Brendan:jesus
Dasdubber ·
Very shweeet Brendan, lovin it! Must be a nice feeling it all coming together so well.
:beer
Hope those offshore days are still blessing you every now and again!
GL1972 ·
Alan,
I'm pretty pleased with it. Like you I underestimated ho long it would take. Started in September 2002 as a clean up and paint. Found lots of rust and it exploded from there. (told the wife it would only be 3 months!).
Twisted the knee trying to avoid a holidaymaking surfer on saturday so I'll get the upholstery done in short time.
Definately will drive it to the nationals....how about you?
Brendan
Dasdubber ·
I was hoping to have it done for nationals but as you can appreciate best intentions often go out the window when other things get in the way (mainly house renovations!!).
So if its not ready I'll still come down to nats (will fly down) and hope to have it ready in a few months.
cheers, looking great once again!
alan
Che Castro ·
hey great car. looks fantastic.
if you want to know about the EA falcon disc conversion send me a u2u or something as I've got that setup using EA falcon discs, type 3 hubs and using the stock handbrake cables.
Doug Sweetman ·
Metal and paint looks prety good to me..... and I know the hard way how much rust can be in a 70's beetle 🙂
GL1972 ·
Jon,
The ford rear disc conversion will be a future addition. It has the larger fron calipers but the rears are standard. I've been following the EA conversion threads on here and had a look at Jak's conversion also. I use commodore stud pattern so I'll need to start with blank rotors.
Doug,
Thanks for the kind words. The car got new heater channels, numerous panels in the floor pan, reconstruct the front left bulkhead, the left rear bulkhead where the drip channel is and both rear quarters you could put your hand through up to your shoulder. Took 12 months to complete the rust cut and weld up.
Regards
Brendan
VWFOOL ·
hey brendan, r u bringing this to the drive in? that is one sweet ride, congratulations
[Edited on 11-1-2005 by VWFOOL]
GL1972 ·
Sam,
It's still not registered so I will be attending in the family truckster (Landcruiser) with VW badge attached.
Brendan:jesus
decked dubby ·
That's a nice looking bug, congrats.....:kiss
Jeza ·
Brendan
Looking sweet.
Good on ya for doing the interior.... Sewing machines aren't that hard to deal with, but making the pattern for the front seats (even with the old trim) now I take my hat off to you for that!
Add mine to the list of Rusty 70's beetles :o
Not too long before its a driver then
Cheers
Jeremy
[Edited on 12-1-2005 by Jeza]
GL1972 ·
Jeremy,
I've got to remember to put the sewing pins in the right way round so I don't stab myself when I run it through the machine. My wife is lovin' this!
Brendan
BenettonVW ·
Thats very nice Brendan, you should be proud of yourself!
Doug Sweetman ·
You've gotta do it right though, dont you ?
All the effort it worth it in the end. I see you plated over the 'fresh rust vents' in the rear quarters too.
squizy ·
Looks good Brendan. Will be great to catch up either at Korschies or at the cruise day on the 13th Feb.
Squiz....
GL1972 ·
Doug,
You can see where the guy before me riveted plates over the old rust. By the time I cut out the inner rust I could put my arm through up to my shoulder on both sides of the car. Add to this 4 previous bad paint jobs that took forever to strip back and you understand where the 12 months before the paint prep started came from.
Squiz,
I hope I get it on the road for Feb 13. At the moment my Kids are financial parasitic leeches (school holidays!).
Brendan
GL1972 ·
The rust from the inside. Most of the rear firewall and drip channel seam had to be replaced.
Doug Sweetman ·
erg, thats bringing back bad memories. Sounds like it was a fun filled 12 months though 🙂
GL1972 ·
I decided to have a go since I did everything else on the car.
Materials:
4m green brown cloth.
4m brown cloth.
4m brown vinyl.
3m 1/2 inch dacron.
3m calico backing.
This all cost about $120.00
1.5m x 1.2m sheet of 1inch dense foam from Clark rubber for the back seat.... $45.00
Did the job over a two week period with 50 hours labor.
I started with the door trims first which were easy. Moved on to the rear seat which wasn't too bad. The last was the front bucket seats which were very time consuming.
Lots of measuring, marking and cutting!
GL1972 ·
One front finished
GL1972 ·
Dacron and Lumbar support foam glued onto the seat.
GL1972 ·
The finished product! I'm pretty happy with the result considdering it was my first time at a sewing machine and I had to work under harrowing conditions like ridicule from my Wife and 3 kids.
Who's laughing now huh? I may have damaged the Janome machine but no big deal as she never uses it!
Registration next!
Brendan
Dasdubber ·
Great stuff Brendan - mighty fine effort for first attempt at trimming (especially working under such conditions!)
squizy ·
GL1972 wrote:The finished product! I'm pretty happy with the result considdering it was my first time at a sewing machine and I had to work under harrowing conditions like ridicule from my Wife and 3 kids.
//quote]
3 kids.....good grief. I hear what you're saying brother.....
Note to self - quality upholsterer just located on Central Coast.
Squiz.....
VDUBXTC ·
Hey Dude.
This thing looks shit hot now.
You have done really well on the hole thing
GL1972 ·
Thanks for the compliments guys.
Now for the next bit of news......
IT PASSED ENGINEERS CERTIFICATE AND BLUE SLIP!
Took it for engineers on manday. When it passed that I thought what the hell since I'm on a roll I booked it in for the Blue Slip on the way home. Passed that also.
Pretty scary though. Tried to get insurance cover note for the drive...no one will touch you with and unregistered car. Had about a 30 k each way trip. With the weather you wouldn't believe how many idiots were on the roads. Had one idiot in a commodore wagon sitting less than a metre off my bumper for three corners. I though this is stupid and pulled in to see Peter Korsche at VW Performance for a break and recompose my nerves. Car drove very well other than the tune of the motor.
It'll be on the road for the Newcastle Euro day on the 13th.
Brendan
buzzbug ·
hey dude, congrats on doing such a good job on your interior,
i just did a weeks work with a mate who is an upholsterer and its not an easy task.
well done once again.
GL1972 ·
Thanks Buzz.
Your right it's not easy but tackling small jobs at a time is the way to go. The front seats were very time consuming and I made a couple of mistakes but I'm pretty happy with the results. I may have made evything a bit dark in the colors though. I guess It'll grow on me.
Brendan
bugeyedbabe ·
I've been watching...silently, but just ahad to say...GREAT WORK!
Honestly, I like the color scheme, and yeah, it may seem dark now, but after a while it will be cool.
ANd best of all, you can say I DID IT MYSELF!
Unless of course it falls apart, and then it was all the wifes fault. lol
d4
GL1972 ·
D4,
The only reason I did the upholstery myself WAS because I did everything else (except the machining and balancing of the engine parts). I did want to say I did it all (I even rekeyed an engine lid lock to match my ignition key on Tuesday).
Thanks again for the kind words.
Brendan
bugeyedbabe ·
You rekeyed the engine lock. WOW.
Man, I have the utmost respect for u.
I also have 3 kids, so I know how hard it can be. But u did such a fantastic job.
cheers
d4
GL1972 ·
Did a rough front wheel alignment last night. Used the tried an true method of a straight edge (20mm x 20mm Aluminium tube 650mm long) with a plumb bob hanging from each end. Marked the centre of each wheel on the garage floor then the point of each plum bob on each floor. Measured between each mark to work out whether I had toe out or toe in. In my case I had a couple of degrees toe out (explains why it drove real smooth with understeer when I took it for the engineers certificate). Adjusted the tie rods on both sides to achieve 3mm of toe in then re-measured again before tightening everything and measuring again to check. I'll have a look tonight to see that the camber is the same for both sides (may require some more slotting of the strut bolt holes).
This should be close enough until I get a full wheel alignment and balance. I shouldn't have to do the wheel balance except half the stick on weights fell off while the brand new wheels were stored for 6 months!
Brendan
pete wood ·
So show us the car with plates and sticker dude. 🙂
GL1972 ·
Pete,
Just organising the insurance for it before I drive it. It will have plates on it mid-week next week. First run will be the Newcastle Euro day.
Brendan
VWFOOL ·
ill hav to send u out a sticker brendan b4 euro day
twoguns ·
brendan...
truely my hats off to you. what a top job, and to have done so much yourself. such a credit mate. who gives a rat about the stir on the sewing machine when you can sit on the porch with a cold one and think... 'i did that!'
again top effort.
2G.
GL1972 ·
After 28 months of work, lots of skinned knuckles, stripping, sanding, painting, polishing, measuring, welding, wrenching, wiring, lifting, laughing, sewing, swearing, smiling, drinking, surfing and a great ammount of money it is finally registered!
Thank you all who contributed kind words to keep me going and those of you who posted inspirational pictures to show me where the bar is set.
Brendan:jesus
71EJVan ·
An update: My green german looker was sitting my driveway last night minding it's own business and my neighbor across the road decided to use my driveway to reverse into using the rear of the bug as a bump stop. A fair bit of damage although I am lucky it was only the 1600 and not the 2110 with the Dellortos as they would have been smashed.
Nothing that his insurance won't fix though. He must have felt like dead man walking going up my front stairs to tell me about it. He had seen all the 28 months of work I had put into it.
Brendan
bond ·
ahhhhh duuuuuude!!!!!!!!
nick
Joel ·
things like that really hurt
im like u ive rebuilt my 74 Lbug from the ground up and i've done all of it myself cept the paint and gearbox rebuild
it was quite amusing reading about u redoing ur upholstry
ive just been through the same thing
i got some front seats from an import toyota and remaking door panels to suit was easy as but i thought i'd have a stab at rocovering the backseat so out came mums singer and away i went
my younger brother and his mates that were around at the time thought it was hilarious the backrest turned out well but i got half way through the bottom part and the sewing machine crapped itself now its just sitting patiently on the lounge room floor waiting for me to sort out what to do LOL
Joel
Ps sorry to high jack ur thread was just funny coz i went through the same thing i had a kid on a bike run into my back gaurd a few weeks after it was painted and do a runner
[ Edited on 29-5-2006 by DUB74L ]
bugeyedbabe ·
oh wow....
poor bug...poor guy...he would have felt like lead in his legs walking up ur drive to tell u...
either that or ready to sprint once he had.....
71EJVan ·
I was seething inside but held my friendly composure. Although he may have heard my teeth grinding when I smiled once or twice.
I'm giving the car to my daughter for her first car. She goes for her test on the 22nd of next month. She is not real keen on driving with the dinged up back as she thinks that other drivers will think she did it reversing. I reckon it will be a sign for others to give her a wide berth.
Joel. Good job. It's not hard just very time consuming. I did mine over a two week period so that it was not a chore.
Brendan
squizy ·
Oh dude nooooo! At least you can get the rear clip repainted now!
Dasdubber ·
Dang Brendan that really sucks. I hope it gets fixed well.
pete wood ·
well at least he told you I spose. We had to shell $500 a few months back on our 4week old pug coz someone backed into it and drove away leaving no details.😢
Oh, make sure you pick the repairer. Don't let a any bingle sausage factory fix it.
makntracks ·
how did the repair go.
love the german look ive got a 71 that i want to give the german look to.
you must have so much patience 28months.
jeeze i wish my old man gave me a bug like this for my first car.
well done
mick
71EJVan ·
The repair went well but unfortunately it got another ding in the repaired rear guard three weeks later.
Brendan
squizy ·
Mate I saw it tonight parked at Erina. Bugger bum.