Hello! Log in or Register   |  Help  |  Donate  |  Buy Shirts See all banner ads | Advertise on TheSamba.com  
TheSamba.com
 
1966 Beetle
Photo link: Forum code:
1966 Beetle
Author Photo
Cali66VDub
Samba Member


Joined: August 28, 2014
Photos: 26
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Cali66VDub is offline 

1966 Beetle Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 8:46 pm     Views: 238      Rating: Not rated

This 1966 VW Beetle was first purchased by my mother in 1966 from a Volkswagen dealer in Wilmington, California when she lived in Huntington Park, California. She is the original owner. She kept the bug clean and did the required maintenance herself. She loved this bug. The original color is Bahama Blue with the black leather interior. She bought it with a dealer upgraded EMPI VDM Steering wheel and chrome shift arm with a wooden shift knob to match the artificial wood finish that was on the EMPI VDM steering wheel. I still remember it as a kid.

In the early 90's she took her bug to a guy in Southern California somewhere to have the car repainted, modified a bit (California Style), and converted to 12 volt. The bug was painted a pearl white at this time and I wish it was never done. The original bumpers were replaced with the single bumpers shown in the pics, the windows were replaced with the one piece windows you see in the pic. I still have the original door windows but the original bumpers were left with the shop that did the restore / conversion. The original key was "lost" by the shop and the chrome decorative strips on the sides and hood along with the 1300 emblem holes were covered with brass and the car was painted.

I have no idea how I am going to remove the brass from the holes without damaging the holes themselves. I'd like to restore my mother's bug (now my bug) to its original stock look, just as it looked the day she drove it off the lot back in April or May of 1966.

The front end was lowered a bit too. I'm not sure how they did it, but I remember the shop owner saying they did it the 'easy' way without welding. I have no idea what he meant.

My task is to remove all the white paint, possibly use a chemical stripper, and get it down to the bare metal, then do the body work, primer and possibly paint myself, but I have never done any bodywork or paint on a car before.

I just got the bug running again after being garaged at my mom's place since 2004.

Search Forums for photo
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Share: Facebook Twitter
All times are Mountain Standard Time/Pacific Daylight Savings Time

About | Help! | Advertise | Donate | Premium Membership | Privacy/Terms of Use | Contact Us | Site Map
Copyright © 1996-2023, Everett Barnes. All Rights Reserved.
Not affiliated with or sponsored by Volkswagen of America | Forum powered by phpBB
Links to eBay or other vendor sites may be affiliate links where the site receives compensation.