Hi everyone,

Like many of you, I was bitten by the bug at an early age and have often thought that my life could be improved considerably by the addition of a classic bug (and what reader of this forum doesn't still think that on a daily basis?). Last new years eve I made a resolution that 2009 would be "The year of the Beetle" and at the end of february I took delivery of my first bug.

As many of you will know from the pics, it is a 1967 deluxe with a stonking great 1300cc engine. I bought it from the Beetle exchange in Canberra. It had sat for 4 years in their yard. I put a new battery in it and it coughed into life within minutes.

There are a few small rust holes in the pan and passenger foot well, and the brakes are shot, but with the help of a few mates I'm sure that it will be back on the road soon. I'm a bit of a noob mechanically, but where better to start than a beetle project?

It's nice to come on here and chat with other vw enthusiasts and I know that I'm going to be one here a lot more in the coming months.

Cheers

Interior was in great condition. It's mostly in boxes at the moment.

It has a few little dings and patches, but nothing major.

looks like the basis of a great car

Well done

Looks awesome Looks like you have come to the right place!! More pics!!! Any more current photos? What have you done to it so far. Very exciting. Congrats mate

Thanks for the support.

Here is a pic after I stripped and sprayed the bonnet, removed the guards and pulled out the interior.

As I stripped the bonnet, I found a big repair section and a fair bit of bog. Problem with it was that rust had gotten under the bog and started lifting it from the metal.

nice work mate!
a new project is always very exciting!!
ahhh...bog....the scourge of all car enthuiasts!
keep up the good work, and keep those progress shots coming....I love photos...it gives inspiration for my own project!

I've just been preparing panels for paint lately. I put them back on to get them off the floor and make it all easier to transport to the rust repairer.

Eventually I am going to have it resprayed in a pale blue 62 colour, as it's current colour doesn't seem original either.

Once it is finished, I'm planning to take it around Australia to all of the Big things. It's already been to the Big Merino in a fashion.

This was before I got a new front fender.

Another shot pulled apart. Just like the original bumblebee transforming.

sweet ride dude, she has got plenty of potential..... i know from personal experience all too well about bog and dodgy repairs, i pulled half a shopping back full of bog out of my passenger side front piller when i first got my bug .... i like the fact that you are keeping within a stock colour range, should look sweet.... keep us updated on all the pics and if u need any help ie. rust repairs and stuff dont be shy to pm me.

cheers adam

Dude, looks awesome! Nice car trailer you've got there, you'll make plenty of drag racing friends Love the transforming shot, looks great

I nearly purchased this car myself about 10 moths ago from Pete for a drag project, but it was a little $$$. Hope you got a good deal ? It's like pulling teeth to barter about price with Pete

It would have made a good drag car - it's solid throughout.

Peter gave me a good quote after an online inquiry. I was happy with the price as it doesn't require that much work for what I want it for. He had a white 65 that I was interested in at the time for less, but it needed a whole new interior and more rust work. I've since seen it come and go on ebay.

I wish the trailer was mine - it would sort out a few transportation issues for the bug at the moment. One day....

I've ordered new brake shoes for it from classic veedubs to go with the new brake cylinders and hoses.

It developed a worrying brake fluid leak from the drivers side rear wheel. Will have to sort that out when the rest of the kit arrives. They needed bleeding anyway.

It has been fairly hard to track down a socket large enough to remove the rear axle nuts to get the drums off. Repco had to order a socket in. We got one of them off and then broke the ratchet we were using on the passenger side nut. I'm getting the socket welded to a metre long steel bar to get the final nut off.

Are all rear wheel axle nuts that hard to get off or could it be jammed somehow?

New brake shoes arrived the other day and a Deluxe badge is in the post.

I've also ordered new axle seals. I started pulling the drivers rear drum off and more oil came pouring out, about 500ml.

I've been told that it could be gearbox oil. It is a browny yellow colour and at first started seeping out along the axle.

Any ideas?

Yes that will be definetley be gearbox oil as the wheel bearings also are lubed by this oil .
As for the 36mm hub nuts , yes they are always that tight and need to be done back up as such too , so don't be afraid to tighten them well as there torque setting is around the 300 ft pound mark for memory.
Also , am well imagining you are going to check the front brakes soon too , so another vw trick for learners is that the front left stub axle bearing nuts are a left handed thread as opposed to the right hand side which is the convensional right hand thread .


Andrew

you will know by the smell.... gearbox oil generally has a reaaaaaaally potent smell. also, it could also be brake fluid.... in which case dont get it on anything, but the consistancies are pretty different.

Only just caught up with yr thread. You have certainly come to right place for advice and keep up the good work.

Thanks for the advice!

Do you reckon a new rear axle seal kit would sort out the gearbox oil leak?

At first I thought it was brake fluid, as it looked slightly green in a certain light, but as more of it came out it was yellow and brown. Also, the car doesn't have any brake fluid in it, as it has seeped out over the years. New cylinders and lines should sort that out I hope.

I first spotted a puddle under the rear drivers side wheel.

Pulled off the front of the drum and found the leak at the spot indicated.

rear axle seal leak. very common on older beetles. get a seal kit and change wheel bearings to sealed type while you are there. take care with reassembly to stop seals being pinched. part of regular tinkering required on 40+yrs old cars. Enjoy

Well, today my bug left the house for the first time since February and made its' way (by truck) to get all its' rust sorted out.

I'm missing it already.

Yesterday I got the rear axle seals back in and put the freshly machined drums back on and fired it up. Reverse and 1st work fine, as all I could do was reverse and drive forward about 5 metres as with no brakes I was not game to tackle my steep hill.

As you can tell in the picture, I tried my hand at some bog work. I quickly discovered that I was pretty useless at it so from now on I will leave it to the professionals.

I'll also include some older shots showing the new front guard and rear guard (modded for a Cal look, but being changed back today).

I should have it back in a few days, rust free, re welded and prepped for paint.

New front Guard

New Rear Guard. Some rust, but that'll get sorted soon.

Got the bug back from the repair shop. They did a great job patching the holes in the passenger foot well and sorting out the stress cracks in the rear bumper mounting points. Turns out there was a little more cancer in it than I thought. It had it all along the edges where the guards bolt onto the body.

Didn't get it prepped for paint, as the budget didn't stretch that far, and I have some surface rust left to deal with, especially under the tank, the pan and steering column. Would rust converter be fine for this?

I found out that the prep work with spray can primer I have done is wrong, as eventually I'd like to go with 2 pac paint and it conflicts with non 2 pac primer.

I did some research on the vehicle and found out that it is actually 4 years older than I thought. The RTA list it as a 63 Green Volkswagen, not a 67 as it was sold to me as. They had all the chassis and engine numbers right, but the rego sticker chassis number is different from the one stamped on the vehicle by one number.

So I'm a little confused.

While I'm asking, is the rear licence plate light incorrect for a 63? I thought that they changed from the popes nose to the larger one in 66 - 67?

I have the same licence plate light thingo on my 63, but if you want to be certain there is a list of years to chassis numbers floating around the net somewhere, or just post it up and i'm sure someone will be able to tell you what year it was made as they did with mine when i first got it.