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 Dungbug
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| posted on December 18th, 2009 at 07:23 AM |
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1974 1200 Bug - The Green Meanie
I thought I'd share a few photo's about my bug, the Green Meanie. I brought her back in June where she'd been laid up outside a farm building for
the best part of 9 months after failing her MOT on rust (no surprise there then  ). This bug belonged to a friend of mine a few years back and it was sold as he'd just taken on a bay window which needed money
throwing at it, at the time I'd just brought a Hearse as my daily drive so I had no spare cash to buy the bug with. My friend told me that the new
owner had called him as he needed to shift the bug because it had failed it's MOT, he'd brought a different car to use so the bug was laid up and
needed shifting. The new owner had eBay'ed the car where it sold for £410 but the winning bidder didn't materialise. So I took a friday afternoon
off at work (wife had gone to Liverpool to see friends........He face was a picture when she came home! ;D). I found the bug, spoke to the owner and
had a quick look underneath. On the face of it there didn't seem to be much in need of repair, but I've learnt that bugs like most old motors can be
deceptive when it come's to welding! The owner wanted £500, I went away had a think, called him back & made an offer which he accepted. The bug
drove home without too much trouble, bit sluggish as she was in need of a good service. The bug came with an extra set of EMPI 8 alloys & a chrome
firewall, which were sold as I prefered the Centreline wheels & don't see the point of chrome firewalls as you can't clean the dam things.
First job was to inspect what needed doing, he didn't have the failure sheet so I put all for corners on stands and had a good poke around. The
obvious area's were the lower panels on both heater channels were fugged, framehead lower panel was rusted in the centre (I think it's smacked the
road too many times due to the drop : ) and I noticed some area's on the
inner wings front & back that needed doing.
Here's what I found on initial inspection;
Bad corrosion on the Framehead lower panel
After cutting out the rot I found only the lower panels on the heater channels were duff, the rest was solid
Also found rot in the inner arches back & front. &
there were some very small holes in the floorpans that needed patching
The twist in this story is that I got the car thinking that a mate of mine would be able to help out with most of the welding as I'd never welded
before. Sadly this didn't happen so I was left with a bug with holes & no clue on how to weld. :-[ I got a 2nd hand Clarke gas/gasless mig from a
friend for a good price so thought "sod it, I'll give it a go". I did some reading on the technique and found a very useful mig welding UK website,
this helped massively! I started by doing some practise welds on some old steel, when I could lay a weld that looked like a weld I set about welding
the bug. I was hoping for it to be welded in a few weeks with help, but on my own I didn't set a time for completion, anything that didn't take
would be re-done until I thought it was right kind of thing.
I started with the simple area's first, the floorpan had some holes in so I tackled those first as they were straight lines and relatively easy to
get to.
After many weekends and evenings the bug slowly started to take shape and there were no holes where there were holes before
Framehead lower panel..........I must confess this wasn't welded by me, it was welded by a chap I know of old (into his Mini's). I was leaving the
framehead till last hping that I'd be confident of being able to do it but I didn't so it was done by my friend.
With the welding work out of the way I set about checking over the rest of the bug, found the following that needed addressing;
Front lights were not working
Handbrake was literally stuck on the whole time
Rear tyres worn
Needed oil
The not so important stuff
Exhaust system had surface corrosion, needed paint
CD player wasn't working
Needed a dam good wash & polish.
The front headlights were the next job, upon inspection we (myself & a mate who's good with electrics) found that the headlight switch was duff,
the main beam operation on the indicator stork was faulty and a mass of cruddy wiring, bodges and bad earths were to blame. To save time messing about
the decision was made to rewire the front end and just replace the couple of duff wires at the back (the back end was fine, only a few brittle wires
which were replaced). One saturday afternoon, a few metres of wire, new switches and several mugs of tea later everything worked, another job ticked
off of the list. Following weekend the rear tyres were changed for new ones, exhaust system cleaned and painted in high temp resistant paint. Chrome
work (which was covered in flakey black) was cleaned off and repainted. CD player fixed, blown fuse......Probably the easiest repair on the whole car!
Fitted a pair of genuine rubber mats (got a bargain on eBay with them) as there was no carpet or anything in the bug. Cleaned and painted all four
inner arches,Added a few stickers to the bodywork after a wash.
I hadn't addressed the rear brake problem as I'd had alot on during the week before the MOT (when I was hoping to look at it). So she went in as she
was, I did say to the tester that she'll fail on the rear brake and asked if it could be done whilst it was in. The only failure was the rear brake,
the cylinder was leaking and the brake assembly had been put back wrong so the shoe has constant contact with the drum : ???. This was done and a certificate was issued. I asked what he thought of
the welding work, the reply was "Not the prettiest I've seen but it's certainly solid enough and nothing's been missed".................I felt a
little bit of pride hearing that.
Here's the 'Meanie' today...........
Jobs still to do include front passenger side wheel bearing (needs changing), Speedo is duff so needs a replacement fitted & a sub wiring in.
Long term work is to source another engine & do a strip down & rebuild as the one in the Bug has some end float.
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DylanTheDubber
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| posted on December 18th, 2009 at 10:35 AM |
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grat work man. Love the colour sceme its pretty much what i want on my bug when i do it. Those extra custom touches are awesome , keep it up.
From Dylan The Dubber
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Dungbug
Casual Dubber
Posts: 36
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Registered: December 17th, 2009
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Location: Milton Keynes, UK
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| posted on December 18th, 2009 at 07:11 PM |
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Cheers Dylan, another fan of the 'Green'  I've got no real mods
planned apart from changing the rear valance as the previous owner reversed it into a fence post. He replaced the exhaust as it was wrecked, brought a
new valance and didn't fit it as he couldn't weld. He gave me the valance when I brought the car so I'm planning to cut out the old dented one
& make the valance so that it can be removed, this should save me having to jack the car up if the engine needs to come out. I've prep'd the
valance already & broguth some 'quick release' fittings. The theory is that the valance can be removed in a few minutes & the engine can be
rolled out on a trolley jack, although this won't be done until the weather improves here.........So it'll probably be in about 9 months time. 
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waveman1500
Custom Title Time!
Also rides a Honda
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| posted on December 22nd, 2009 at 11:29 PM |
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G'day dungbug! Popping in to say hello from RR too, eh? Love the bug as always, and your welding work is inspirational. Makes me feel ashamed that
I'm even thinking about abandoning a much, much better shell for economic reasons! Perhaps I'll just buy a welder instead...
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Dungbug
Casual Dubber
Posts: 36
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Registered: December 17th, 2009
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| posted on December 23rd, 2009 at 10:46 PM |
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Hi Waveman......Thought the sight of VW's in the warm Austrailian sunshine would be a nice break from the snow we've got.
Don't beat yourself up over the 1500, in the UK I'd be thinking 'repair' but seeing what you can buy in Oz for the price then really it's
economically better to get something else, either shell or car. To be honest I would be twitchy about doing that repair work myself, I'd take a good
few months practicing before attempting anything on that scale. How's the squareback behaving?
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waveman1500
Custom Title Time!
Also rides a Honda
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| posted on December 23rd, 2009 at 11:42 PM |
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The Square is running good, but this is your car's thread! Let's stay on track, are you driving the Green Meanie all through winter over there? I
can't remember if it's your only car or not, but it will be an impressive sight in the winter snow. At least it's high-visibility paint will ensure
it doesn't get lost in the snow!
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Dungbug
Casual Dubber
Posts: 36
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Registered: December 17th, 2009
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Location: Milton Keynes, UK
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| posted on December 24th, 2009 at 12:47 AM |
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Yup, she's ploughing through the snowy weather. It's bloody cold but she hasn't complained once (hope it stays that way). I've never had much
trouble with aircooleds in the snow/ice, just take it easy & they're fine.
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beachbuggy61
Seriously Crusin Dubber
Posts: 162
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Registered: December 22nd, 2009
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Location: Toukley, Central Coast NSW
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Mood: Hangin' to drive my bug!
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| posted on December 24th, 2009 at 08:34 AM |
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Good on you dungbung. Always good to see someone having a go with their repairs! I've got some to do as well and a mig, so I may not call in the
panlbeater after all! I"m inspired to have a go now!
Have a great white Christmas!
Marc.
Baja
1915cc's of raw power 
Turbocharger
Intercooler
EFI
Crank fired Ignition
Runs E85
Engineered
"The Lord does not subtract from the life of a man, the hours spent on his Volkswagen" Anon. |
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Dungbug
Casual Dubber
Posts: 36
Threads: 4
Registered: December 17th, 2009
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Location: Milton Keynes, UK
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| posted on December 24th, 2009 at 06:48 PM |
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Cheers Marc, much appreciated.
The only pointers I can give is to do some practice welds on a piece of scrap & keep doing this until you're happy with the welds you're laying
down. Don't be afraid to try different settings with the MIG either, I always did a couple of 'practice' welds on some scrap before I started doing
anything on the Bug just to be sure I was happy with the settings. This site might be of some use,
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/
This site was very useful, the guy who set it up has done some tutorials for different welding types (butt/spot etc...) & has some information on
automotive welding. There's some video clips as well, turn the speakers up & listen more than anything. I found the way to know you're doing a
good weld is by the sound it makes, the sound is similar to frying bacon (if that makes any sense). Seriously though my MIG had sat in the shed unused
for a year or so, when I got this bug a friend said he'd do the welding work but pulled out so I had to try.....Luckily it worked out.
Let us know how you get on, if you're stuck on anything drop a post & I'll try & help. Look forward to seeing the work, have a great
Christmas fella.
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Joel
Scirocco Rare
Now containing 100% E-Wang
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| posted on December 24th, 2009 at 08:55 PM |
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| Quote: | Originally
posted by Dungbug
I'm planning to cut out the old dented one & make the valance so that it can be removed, this should save me having to jack the car up if the
engine needs to come out. I've prep'd the valance already & broguth some 'quick release' fittings. The theory is that the valance can be
removed in a few minutes & the engine can be rolled out on a trolley jack, although this won't be done until the weather improves here.........So
it'll probably be in about 9 months time.
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i made mine removable and its really speeds up engine removal ( got mine down to 3 mins something) but you do still need to jack up the car on stands
to get access to the engine bolts, fuel line, pulling throttle cable etc, just not as high
i didnt use fastners or anything with mine as they look like ass and i wanted it to look stock
i just left the valance in stock form and the gaurd bolts clamped down hold it perfectly in place like stock and if its ever damaged a replacemnt
valance will fit straight up
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DylanTheDubber
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| posted on December 25th, 2009 at 03:12 PM |
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Oh man i just realised your in UK. i feel sorry for you cause the wheater s'nt too good there ayye Brahh!
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Dungbug
Casual Dubber
Posts: 36
Threads: 4
Registered: December 17th, 2009
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Location: Milton Keynes, UK
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| posted on December 27th, 2009 at 10:20 PM |
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| Quote: | Originally
posted by Joel
| Quote: | Originally
posted by Dungbug
I'm planning to cut out the old dented one & make the valance so that it can be removed, this should save me having to jack the car up if the
engine needs to come out. I've prep'd the valance already & broguth some 'quick release' fittings. The theory is that the valance can be
removed in a few minutes & the engine can be rolled out on a trolley jack, although this won't be done until the weather improves here.........So
it'll probably be in about 9 months time.
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i made mine removable and its really speeds up engine removal ( got mine down to 3 mins something) but you do still need to jack up the car on stands
to get access to the engine bolts, fuel line, pulling throttle cable etc, just not as high
i didnt use fastners or anything with mine as they look like ass and i wanted it to look stock
i just left the valance in stock form and the gaurd bolts clamped down hold it perfectly in place like stock and if its ever damaged a replacemnt
valance will fit straight up
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Yeah a friend of mine did a removable job on one of his old Bug's & said it made the engine removal so easy, to the point he'd take the engine
out to do a service & check the fuel lines.
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Dungbug
Casual Dubber
Posts: 36
Threads: 4
Registered: December 17th, 2009
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Location: Milton Keynes, UK
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| posted on December 27th, 2009 at 10:21 PM |
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| Quote: | Originally
posted by DylanTheDubber
Oh man i just realised your in UK. i feel sorry for you cause the wheater s'nt too good there ayye Brahh!
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It's not too bad at the moment, the snow disappeared in time for Xmas day
The sun is out now & I'm off to a local meet today, perfect afternoon ride out.
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