Hello all – newbie to the forum.
After losing track of my father’s 1968 1500 beetle 23 years ago when he died, I have finally retrieved it in an awful condition. It needs a full body off restoration, floor pans, heater channels, rear quarter panels, new doors, new interior, original seats, headlining and a motor overhaul. It is almost better to scrap it and start again – but it wouldn’t be dad’s car then. The mechanicals I will be able to do, but apart from some simple MIG welding, the body probably will go to a paint shop.
The car has great sentimental value to me. My father loved his car and I am duty bound to return it to its former condition pretty much regardless of cost. It was the car I learned to drive in, the car I took my girlfriend (now wife of 40 years) out on our first date and some would say unkindly that it is the same car that we conceived our first-born in at North Ryde Drive-In. Those were the days.
I have a few questions of the wider audience who may already have done the things that I am about to embark on.
1. If doing a resto, should I attempt to make it concours quality? I am not sure I want to show it other than to show what it looked like before and after and I know I want to actually drive it sometimes – maybe even in the rain so it gets dirty. Or maybe to a drive-in, although the old girl probably doesn’t want to get up to any hanky-panky in those cramped conditions any more. And my wife mightn’t like it either.
2. People talk about quality of German, Brazilian and Mexican parts. How do I know where they are made anyway? Any recommendations for local parts suppliers? Is it worth trying to import from the US for instance?
3. Can I get good quality quarter panels, floor pans and heater channels locally? The originals look pretty flimsy anyway. I have watched the Bug Me videos and the parts they use appear to be verrrry thin. Maybe that’s how they were in the first place.
4. I have to learn MIG welding. Know how to arc weld OK. I was thinking about a gas-less MIG as I don’t want the hassle of hiring gas bottles. Are gas-less MIG’s OK for doing work around “My Precious”?
5. Where can I get a full list of part numbers for the old girl. There are references to ETKA on the web, but these all seem to be shutdown. Any links?
6. My ID plate under the spare wheel says made in Germany. Did the locally made ones actually have made in Australia, or were they made from Completely Knocked Down (CKD) kits? I am led to believe that when the 1500 change over was made Australian manufacture could not tool up quickly so they imported cars from Germany.
Anyway, I reckon I will be trolling around on this site from now on, looking for parts. Someone’s going to be making money on the project and keeping the economy going, but then it will be worth it when the bug is back to her good old self.
So if anyone has parts for sale, I will be interested.
viiking
viiking Officially Full-On Dubber
253 posts · joined May 2012 ·
