Back in the late 70's/early 80's i owned a 62 beetle - traded it for a Datsun Bluebird ( a terrible vehicle but as a young bloke at the time I thought it was real flash). I toyed with hanging on to the old Beetle but can remember being told 'Mate, they made millions of them - its worth nothing' .
Of course I now lament selling that car (no doubt others of you have been in similar situations).
So a few years back I started looking for a beetle, but ended up buying a Type 3 ( since then have learnt that I bought it from a AVD member in Yamba).
It sat dormant waiting for resto work for a while but I realised the longer it sits idle the less time I will have to enjoy it, so its restoration has commenced. I am attempting to keep the car as original as possible(& within a reasonable budget).
The paint and panel work is being done by a guy whose attention to detail is superb - when he is finished with this car it will be as straight as the day it rolled off the assembly line.
anyway I know bugger all about restoring a vehicle and not a lot about V Dubs , but I have enjoyed reading and viewing the resto stories in this forum so have decided to contribute as well.

Some additional photos - took in to Roger at Southside VW(before he shut up shop - pity) for a once over - passed mechanically. Also rang Klaack Motors in Sydney who were able to provide some further details - was serviced there until 2002. Found out it was driven by an old lady(I presume as i found what looks like a lawn bowls name tag when clearing out the interior) -I believe her kids were pressuring her to get a car with power steering, air con etc, so when the accident happened I guess it was an appropriate time for her to upgrade.

What was thought to be rust in the boot was the joint sealer degrading over time (I reckon the sealer actually promotes the incident of rust) It's all coming off for the repaint.

Probably got to this just in time - might have started to create big problems had it been let go a bit longer.
The car is now stripped down and off for a bit of paint and panel

Rust removed and primer applied. coming up a treat

Rust behind bumper bracket was discovered when compressed air was directed into the bolt holes - It blew the back out of the wall inside the trunk. Fortunately the other side was fine.
a section of rust was also removed from the spare wheel
well surround.

Also some rust under the rear windscreen seal - all other windows are fine.

Excellent, good to see you doing it properly. I like notches and hope to have one, one day.

In the very first photo above, I thought it was the photo of it restored until I saw the other side.

Keep photos coming and enjoy the process.

Kev

Thanks Kev.
Yes, the car was in pretty good nick to begin with,and looked pretty good - particularly when viewed from the RHS.

A few more photos of the rust repair in the front spare tyre well.

And that seems to be the major rust concerns addressed - I will drown every nook and cranny in fish oil prior to bolting her all back together.

providing no further rust issues are discovered the next step is knocking out a few dings in the panels and straightening them up before they get painted.

Looks good mate, should be a nice car when it's finished. Keep the pictures coming if you can.
All the best, Rob.

Looking good mate, been there before.. hate that stuff its bloody cancer. Looks like you got to it just in time. good luck with the rest of it.

great photos man. keep us posted... love seeing work like this done

Great to see that this has gone to a good home.
Try and pressurise the fish oil in when you do it, much more effective.
When it's finished, running and regoed, give it a run to Yamba and have a free night at our Motel. I would love to see it again.
Regards

Thanks grazza - hope to get it back down that way soon.
It is getting close to having its final coat of original factory colour - Shantung.
Initially had a bit of difficulty in getting a colour match - from what I have found out (don't quote me though) it was a one year only colour for 71 models.

I also thought I had a rust problem in the boot (both of them) - it was just the old seam sealer bubbling up. I have read about this previously on this forum. Once removed the boot came up a treat.

Fenders and boot lids got some colour today . The panels have come up really well - the panel guy spent a lot of time making sure they were very straight - check the reflections.
Really looking forward to seeing this as a complete car now.

Boot lid

Wow, looks awesome! I am super jealous right now!!! Keep up the great work

Yes,.. looks great.
You've only got a couple of weeks until dubs at the abbey,.. so get busy and get that thing back together.

Thanks !Unfortunately I think I'll be there as a spectator only this year, but in 2015 things will be different.....

Body now complete - and so the next phase starts - rebuild, interior ,mechanicals.........
The spray painter has done an unbelievable job - really impressed with what he has done. Car looks a million bucks.

Another look

very nice cool to see a 71 being saved, i drive a 71 notch daily

G'day all. when I look at this it takes me back to the type 3 I bought to cut the rear inner guards of to build flares for the rear of my 1st split to cover the 8inch sunrasia's the rest of it was pretty clean but in 1980 it cost me $65.00 off a wholesaler I dealt with. so got money back on left overs.
ernie

This project is now well and truly past the point of getting my money back. Definitely more money has gone (and will continue to go ) into this than i would ever get back if I were to sell it.
But I'm OK with that as it will part of the family for a long while. My boy is already making a claim. Will get my money back in just the pleasure of driving it (eventually!)

Looking great mate, keep posting!!!

Body temporarily back together for the trip home. Thought this was the best way to go as a lot of time had been spent getting those panels straight - and they are just too flimsy to transport when detached from the car.

I am slowly,slowly getting this car back together.
Have found a little burst of enthusiasm lately and now all instruments and dash are back in place.
Seats are with the trimmer
Picked up an old Smiths tacho - base was missing and the case cracked - have done a bit of resto based on images from the web. I guess a VDO tacho would be ideal but this one should fit the period of the car nicely when installed.

On another note - I am looking for seals for the front indicators. Does anyone know if these are available in Aus?
(Apparently the seals that sit between the bulb housing and car body are no longer in production - according to ISP. So again, does anyone knows of the whereabouts of new ones of these? )
Thanks everyone - hopefully the old girl will be on the road early in the new year!

Very nice so far.
Can you name the panel beater/spray painter?

Sure
His name is Andrew Mifsud
(andrewmifsud@live.com.au)
Located in Thornlands

Some more progress.
The old fender beading wasn't up to the job - too easy I thought - just buy a new kit from ISP.
Anyway, what a right PITA to fit. The kit comes with beading of 3 different profiles that you have to cut, bend, join and use selectively to get a decent look. Getting close, but still not quite right. Nothing seems to match the quality of the original equipment Thankfully held on to the old beading to get an idea of what I needed to do.
Seats are back from the trimmer - I bought TMI - would probably just let the trimmer do the lot next time ( not that there will be a next time) and measure up from the old existing seats. Anyway after he did some minor modifications I am happy with the final product.
Looking back over the photos in this thread the car ranges from bright yellow to a fawn colour -the photo below of the front fender is probably the most accurate in terms of it's final colour.
Also have included a photo of the very stock power plant patiently waiting to be transplanted back into the car. Motor will remain stock as:
1) I have no mechanical skills to do anything to it ; and
2) I want the car to look as original as possible.

Have enjoyed putting it back together, but will enjoy driving it even more.