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Tue Mar 18, 2008 3:50 pm

I have a gentleman who mows my property as needed (10 acres) who commented one day about the various VW's in my yard. He asked if I would be interested in another one, stating he would flat out give it to me; however, it belonged to his sister-in-law and as such she wanted $200 for it. The car just stopped running in 1994 whereupon it was parked in his back field. Judging by his description I could tell it was a Super. Although I am mainly known for Karmann Ghias, I inspected the car and decided that it would be a fun project. Since my daily driver was totaled in January of this year, I decided this car would suffice as a new daily driver. The only rust this car has is a hole under the battery, one behind the driver's seat, and a tiny bit of rot in the passenger wheel well. My short term plans are to get the car solid and running for daily driver use, with longer term plans to completely tear it down and rebuild.

The VIN is 1122017115 and the door sticker is stamped 07/71; however, the VIN puts it literally as one of the first for the 1972 production year. I have spent a lot of time lurking in the Super Beetle forum learning as much about this model as possible. With my trusty Bentley repair manual, this car should be a piece of cake to get running and driving. So far I have the engine dropped, which is a 'B' code, 1970 model single port. I plan on building a 1776 dual port engine. The wheels are off, the interior cleaned out with the seats removed to be repadded/recovered; the (broken) windshield removed for replacement; the transmission drained; the gas tank removed for cleaning.

Here is when I towed it home. All of the tires aired up with the driver's side front being the only one with a slow leak.

Backed it right into the garage, contrary to what most people say can/can't be done towing a VW.

Here are some pics of the hacked in tow plate that is welded to the underside. I need to finish torching the rest of it off.

Tue Mar 18, 2008 3:55 pm

Wow looks like a great project Icy.

Tue Mar 18, 2008 4:46 pm

Nice! Looks like a good project to keep you out of trouble.

How soon before you are driving it do you think?

Tue Mar 18, 2008 4:54 pm

Jessica wrote: Nice! Looks like a good project to keep you out of trouble.

How soon before you are driving it do you think?

I'm shooting for the end of April. Believe it or not, but in all of my years of collecting parts it turns out I have accumulated some OEM bits and pieces for a Super :lol:

Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:16 pm

put that son of yours to work with the rubbing compound! That oxidation looks like it will come right off.

Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:40 pm

Here are some pics of the engine. I forgot to mention that rodents of some sort did a number on the wiring and birds built a nest in the right side of the engine bay.

Tue Mar 18, 2008 6:25 pm

thats Awesome. :D

Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:46 pm

?
?
:roll:
Backed it right into the garage, contrary to what most people say can/can't be done towing a VW.

Here are some pics of the hacked in tow plate that is welded to the underside. I need to finish torching the rest of it off.

[/quote]

"Contrary"
Any retarded can backup a VW with a towbar welded to the f**K'N Frontend.... :roll: :roll:

Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:39 pm

aka pip wrote: ?
?

"Contrary"
Any retarded can backup a VW with a towbar welded to the f**K'N Frontend.... :roll: :roll:

i was kinda thinking the same thing :?
of course we don't know who welded it on there..

it looks cool though, whats the deal with that mirror?

Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:12 am

63jesse wrote: aka pip wrote: ?
?

"Contrary"
Any retarded can backup a VW with a towbar welded to the f**K'N Frontend.... :roll: :roll:

i was kinda thinking the same thing :?
of course we don't know who welded it on there..

it looks cool though, whats the deal with that mirror?

I torched off the home made towbar section that was welded to the frame and then bolted up a proper Super towbar plate. Too often, when the discussion of towing a VW comes up in the forums there are people who are adamant that one cannot or should not back with a VW in tow.

That mirror looks like it came from a 1970's American pickup. Trust me, it was the first thing I removed.

Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:40 am

Is that the nitrous button on the gear shift???

seriously, what is that button for?

Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:55 pm

i_am_cool_fred wrote: Is that the nitrous button on the gear shift???

seriously, what is that button for?

ejector seat.... looks like it works, too!

Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:40 pm

$200? What a steal. I'd roll it. Nice find

Wed Mar 19, 2008 5:15 pm

I've been able to successfully back up with a VW towbar too, but only in a straight line.

Have you ever driven a car in reverse and turned the wheel, and felt the car pull the steering wheel on its own? That's why it's a bad idea to back up with a car in tow, unless you have someone inside the bug holding the steering wheel. The front wheels of the car on the towbar can easily and violently flip to one side or the other. You got lucky, and congratulations on your achievement! But hopefully you won't trick somebody into trying to do this with their own car, and causing damage.

Good luck with your VW project. :wink:

Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:20 pm

I must be a total bad-ass then, Thomas, because I had to make a few corrections to get that thing into the garage PLUS it was an uphill maneuver. 8)

Anyway, as there are many threads relating to "How do I remove the axle nut" -- here you go:

Here is the driver's side rear brake setup.

I have one CV axle to remove that has a jacked-up bolt that I have to figure a way to remove. The passenger rear axle has been removed and will be ready to be rebuilt. I will clean all of the grease out of the stub axle housing, repack, and install new bearings.

Wed Mar 19, 2008 11:50 pm

You might be able to use a chisel to turn that stuck CV bolt...Or maybe a pair of vice grips...I have used both of those methods in the past to get stripped cv bolts loose. If you have enough room to pull the cv joint about an inch or so straight away from the stub axle, then you can grind the head of the bolt off, pull the cv off the stub, and then remove the remaining shank from the stub axle with a pair of vice grips or a small monkey wrench...

Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:31 pm

Looks like the original paint. The vin number shows it is a 72, but the production date is 7/71. I knew that the production for a new model starts in august.

One of the earliest 72's either. Congrats on a nice, original car.

Thu Mar 20, 2008 4:18 pm

Eren wrote: Looks like the original paint. The vin number shows it is a 72, but the production date is 7/71. I knew that the production for a new model starts in august.

One of the earliest 72's either. Congrats on a nice, original car.

Thanks. I believe the color is Saturn Yellow. I hit up Skim, whom I believe to be the Master of saving OG paint about how to handle this. So, some 3M compound and a buffer are in my near future.

Thu Mar 20, 2008 4:30 pm

Saturn yellow was the color used on the 73 sports bug. Your car looks more like Texas yellow. That color was a lot more common, and was used on a bunch of different models too.

Thu Mar 20, 2008 5:01 pm

73sports wrote: Saturn yellow was the color used on the 73 sports bug. Your car looks more like Texas yellow. That color was a lot more common, and was used on a bunch of different models too.

Awesome. I've been having difficulty finding information that will explain everything about this car. As soon as I can, I'll post up a pic of one of the less sun-faded areas.