A bit over a year ago, after a lot of looking around, I found my dream beetle...a '73 Superbug. She is named Topaz after my beautiful Siamese cat, who tragically passed away before the Beetle was finished

With hopes high, I started work on it, stripping back the interior. I soon found out the floor was completely rusted out & had been replaced with a sheet of aluminium!!!

Not happy

With the RWC only 2 weeks old, I was pretty devastated as you can imagine! I contacted the RWC supplier & after inspecting it, he agreed to to replace both floor pans front & rear. She also received new push rod tubes.

I've since learnt rusted out floors are pretty much par for course on a 40yo Beetle!

From underneath, front:

From underneath, rear:

With the shiny new floor pans in, lol, Topaz was stripped completely. As expected, there were some patches of rust but overall she was in very good shape.

She was stripped back to bare metal....

The "C" pillars needed one section cut out & a new piece welded in:

Some rust in the boot but not bad

I searched for ages for a Beetle sunroof but couldnt find one that would fit properly. Eventually I ordered one from CRL Laurence...http://www.crlaurence.com.au/crlapps/showline/offerpage.aspx?ProductID=9574&GroupID=21824&History=30587:21809:21810:21814&Model ID=21824

After many months of painstaking work, all the rust had been cut out & new metal welded in, the panels had all been smoothed out the old fashioned way with a hammer & dolly & it was time for primer:

The front:

More months of rubbing back spray putty, then applying another coat followed by more sanding & more coats till I was getting pretty frustrated. But it was starting to get where I wanted it...purrrrrfect!

The panels were loosely hung & it was off to the panel shop for painting:

Now to the paint...

I had spent ages deciding on a colour. It had to be metallic blue to match my Siamese cat Topaz's eyes, but which one? There were hundreds to choose from!

With help from Hellbus (many thanks ), I decided on "rally blu mica".

While there, I had it completely lined with Dynomat to insulate against the heat & sound. Everywhere was done...front & rear firewalls, the roof & floor, the sides & even inside the doors, replacing the ordinary factory soundproofing which was too small & starting to peel off.

I also had a kick-arse flip up DVD player head unit & custom front speakers installed. The rear speakers were kept & a custom rear parcel shelf made.

To top it off a keyless entry alarm system was installed. The solenoids in the doors took some work but eventually it was done using heavy duty solenoids & custom brackets.

Time for Topaz to come home

The front seats had been reupholstered but I wanted something nicer. After lots of searching I found some Honda Prelude seats in excellent condition. I got some extra Beetle rails which were modified for the Prelude seats & in they went:

Love the colour............and what a great transformation !

I then had some door cards made. Robert from Centreline Motor Trimming did an excellent job

Front:

Rear:

After trying an ebay hoodliner which fell apart while installing it I got Robert to make me a replica of the original. Again, he did a fantastic job, great quality material & stitching:

Hi

the car is looking good. How is the fit of the sunroof on the outside, does it follow the contour of the roof?

Steve

Next was a new carpet, new retractable front seat belts, new rubber mat for the boot & some custom panels to hide extra fuse boxes & wiring. An electric windscreen washer, Bosch H4 halogen headlights, a complete set of new rubber trims for the doors & windows, also the guards, boot & bonnet.

Driving lights were added.

New heavy duty sideboards were fitted with new bolts, the guards were also given new bolts.

The fuel tank had a small leak & was repaired & painted.

A new carby was shipped in from America & the engine given a tune.

Topaz was finished, finally

Quote:

Originally posted by Craig Torrens Love the colour............and what a great transformation !

That's good, I've seen some that are flat and the roof gets flattened to suit the sunroof, not a good look

Yay! Looks good.

Wow, you have done a great job and glad you got the colour you were looking for.

I remember sending you a PM about a year ago and discussing colours, you must be so glad to finally have it on the road.

Also, I think you need to update your signature at the bottom of each post. The process has now been completed

Kev

Thanks for your help too Kev, yes very happy she's back on the road. With the new carbie has heaps of power up the steep hills now & everytime I see it in the sun I just think its stunning!

Signature updated

you will need to update your avatar as well, I kept thinking you were going to paint your bug gold