Greetings all

There are some great looking beetles on this site!

After owning a soul-less kia rio for the past 3 years, I've finally got a bug in this world of ants and was hoping for some suggestions on the best places to go for parts and servicing and also comments around modifying.

'Klaus' as he has been rebranded by the GF is a baby blue 1974 1300 sedan which has a modified engine capacity of 1500 and rego til August.

I have a limited knowledge about automobiles but the engine sounds superb, seems to run well and has apparently been regularly serviced but the paintwork and interior have definitely seen better days.

We will hopefully be keeping Klaus for a long time and would like to undertake the below work. I was hoping that someone could give a rough estimate as to the cost for each item so that we could put a budget together?

- Repair the horn for rego
- Install white interior seats and door panels so our dachshunds can destroy them
- Install white steering wheel
- Install white dash
- Repair radio (or cover with replacement dash)
- Possibly install air conditioning
- Eventually respray - ideally white

I guess before we undertake any of the above, it is probably worth an expert examine the floor etc for any major problems? The previous owner who had the car for 11 years said he had work done to both front arches and a friend said that the floor looked ok but if anyone has any suggestions on a good, well-priced vw expert who could give Klaus a medical, that would be greatfully appreciated!

Thanks in advance for any replies!

Jam

Hi jam if you let people know where you and klaus are located I'm sure people can provide some suggestions.

And BTW congrats on the new acquisition and welcome to avd. You'll find loads of helpful people here.

Hello cam,

Thanks for your reply. I am based in lilyfield, NSW.

Cheers

You left out traing the dachshunds not to distroy the interior.

below are some images of Klaus.

I have booked him in to have his horn fixed and receive a full medical next week. Hopefully he will get the all clear and I can begin the clean up.

I was thinking of getting a white or wood steering wheel to start and then maybe changing the cracked dash. Does anyone know a site that has such parts for a 74 beetle?

I've got a price for white seat and door covers then its onto the outside...

That's a lot of white you are planning.

As for your dash I still have not found a source of new ones. There are however guys around who can repair them.

welcome
you plans sound good.
Your are brave to have white trim, hard to keep clean and hard on the eyes when driving , but I guess the dog will love eating it
good luck I hope you get it on the road soon.

Most people just rip the old dash pads out.
They do look alot cleaner without them.

Hi Joel,

That does look a lot better! Is there any electrical work involved in removing the dash? Is this something mr bean could do or a specialist job?

Cheers

Hi Jam,

Nothing major, depends how destructive you are.
To remove it all intact the speedo needs to come out but you can just trim the vinyl around the bezel and not worry about it.
other than removing the knobs, glovebox lid and surround and the speaker grilles its just a few screws and 2 nuts to remove.

You will have a couple of visible mounting holes once it's removed but if your painting down the track it's easy to fill them in then.

Also an ashtray from a 72 or earlier beetle helps complete the look too.

Thanks for the advice Joel. After taking much longer than I probably should have and eventually opening the front to unscrew the 2 bolts, I removed the dash yesterday and think it looks great!



Next project planned is to replace the cracked steering wheel with a yet-to-be-sourced nice wood or creme version with a wolfsburg logo. Hopefully the medical tomorrow will prove positive...

Jeebus, you don't muck about

Actually you're lucky, when I pulled the dash pad out of my yellow 74 1300 the metal dash underneath had been sprayed black around vents so the yellow paint didn't glare through the gaps of the black dash.
Looks like yours escaped that, cos a white one I parted out had the same too but it did just polish off.

well this has been an interesting journey!
we took klaus to one of the sydney vw specialists to have the horn fixed but he took one look at the body work and basically said not to bother fixing the horn or doing anymore to the car as it would be degistered in august!
this was obviously a bit dispiriting but having driven some real sheds back in wales with much worse rust and them getting through the MOT, i thought we would get a 2nd opinion nearer the time of the rego due date and just carry on as is as klaus was driving so well.
we drove klaus out to wyangula dam for easter and he cruised there and back at 100m with no problems at all and even did some off-roading. everything was going fine until those old south wales rains a few weeks back which drenched the engine and caused the first of three recent rmna call outs due to the car not starting and also backfiring and cutting out.
to cut a long story short,i am now on the rmna's christmas and eid mubarak card list i think and, on the rmna’s advice, after the 3rd call out this morning, i took klaus to a local garage to have a service, buy a new battery and to repair the reverse lights and brake lights (whose failure to work we were told about at a traffic jam by someone who nearly crashed into the back of us).
The garage has got the engine running properly but he said he had changed the globe and got the brake lights working but I heard a noise from the fuse box area on the drive home and now the lights don’t work again ;/ a trip to an auto electrician to fix the lights and the horn finally is planned tomorrow as pleasingly, the garage said that it shoudn’t cost too much to get Klaus a pink slip in august! 
I guess the point of this whole boring story is not to give up home and keep trying. I am looking forward to posting more updates over the coming months. 
My plan now I think is to just update the interior and keep this car going as cheaply as possible and eventually transfer the interior / new parts to a bug with better body work further down the line.
Ive been advised to look for a pre-71 model as apparently the body work is better. My question is if the interior of 74 beetles will fit I earlier model cars?

Thats the sprit mate keep positive. As for your quetion i wouldn't i'm not sure

Can you get pics of the rust?
Definitly worth getting a second opinion.
You have to pay good $$ to get a solid beetle these days unfortunatly.

Depends on when in 74 it was made as to whether the seats will swap but it looks like it has the earlier T rail seats.
They will fit in 71 to late 74 bugs.
70 and earlier and 75-76 use different runners.
door panels and rear seat though will fit in any 68-76 bug.

Cheers guys.

Joel, I'll take some pics of the rust bubbles on the roof join and post in the next few days. Apparently the floor and arches are ok though

I know the car is European made but will see
If I can find out further details.

There are quite a few beetles on car sales at present including one absolutely stunning black and white model. If only I had 17k spare...

Out of Interest, are engines transferable amongst all Bugs or just certain models?

Thanks

Depending on how severe the rust is i would speak to a qualified panel beater and see if the problem can be resolved before going out and buying a new beetle. I have 2 63's, as i stripped the paint i noticed that i had shit loads of rust in the front. I contacted a family friend and he told me it would cost more than the car is worth to get it fixed so probably get a quote from someone or attempt to fix it yourself. I have a 72 1300 motor in my 63 so i think most engines can be transferred.