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Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:17 pm

After 16 years, I finally own a Beetle again!

My first car just out of highschool was a 63 beetle. I also owned a 61 that I sold in 1993 and haven't owned a Bug since.

So, just a couple weeks ago, although unemployed and broke, I found my new joy for a steal! The VIN number (5879837) puts its birth around August or September. So it could also be considered an early 64. It has the small nose on the decklid but the bigger front blinkers.

I'm going to tear this thing down and rebuild it from the ground up. I'm not a strict purist but I will keep it mostly stock and original. I just want the peanut front blinkers and the rear pop-out windows.

And so I wanted to create a thread and document my progress and ask for advice on how to restore this with the least cost possible.

So, here's a few images of what she looked like when I got her:

I'm not a fan of green at all so I plan to paint her pearl white.

The engine crunk but I did not drive it. It's leaking oil just a little but is pretty black underneath. I hope it doesn't need much work.

It has an original Sapphire I radio in it.

I've already begun pulling it apart. I will post soon.

Thanks for looking! And I'd love to receive any advice and ideas.

Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:31 pm

There are worse ways to spend one's time while broke and unemployed than tearing into a Beetle provided your intentions are good.
There's no end of elbow grease and raw time called for. It's good for the soul.
At least, until expenditures must be made... but there are still ways to keep the pain manageable.

Nice car. I have a Pearl White '61. My advice?

Leave it green. C'mon! It's nice. They're aren't nearly enough Java Green, if that's the proper name, VWs around.

Great project! It's sweet. Nice rear bumper, too.

Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:48 pm

Nice project for sure. If you're looking to keep cost down, leave it green. From the pics, there seems to be enough paint there to at least hone in your color sanding/buffing skills on and probably end up with a decent looking ride for less than a couple hundred bucks in material and a whole bunch of your time.

No better way to get a feel for the soul your new car has than tickling her paint for 50 or 60 hours.

Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:58 pm

Ya'll are crazy, green is just ugly (yes it's Java Green)!
It looks like a freakin' grasshopper.

Anyway, no offense to those who like the color. I really don't like green.

So how much should I expect to pay for paint? I'm going to try and make it easy for the painters and have all glass out, doors off, fenders off, everything and I think I will try to do my own welding. I took some pics and I am very happy to find less rust than I expected. I'll try to do the body work and primer before sending it to the painter.

Should I believe a SprayGlo shop that advertises $400 paint jobs?

Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:59 pm

Nooo!!! Green!

If it was mine, I'd concentrate first on the brakes, then motor, electrics, front and rear end, then the interior, with love and care on the paint filling in the cracks along the way.

Drive it for a while before I tore it down.

Door panels still look presentable. A 101 mirror, even. You did good.

Save your money- a $400 paint job isn't likely to look as good after a while as the paint that's on it.

Man- learn to like green!

Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:03 pm

Here's the Bill of Sale. I guess it was originally sold as a 64 so that's what they put.

Nice score huh?

Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:06 pm

That's just sick. Sick. You stole it.

You completely super-hyper-ultra suck. Sheesh.

You'd better name that car Martha if you know what's good for you.

Sat Mar 20, 2010 5:48 am

That is a smokin' deal! Man, you seriously stole that car.
Do not put some crap $400 paint job on it.

Sat Mar 20, 2010 5:53 am

Nice car. Java Green has more blue in the mix than the yellow or toner and it also looks different in different light. I leave it original too.

Sat Mar 20, 2010 5:55 am

Very nice ride man. And a steal. I think i would make the car the right color by what on its birth certificate. May add a bit to its value to some.

Sat Mar 20, 2010 6:38 am

I'll give you double your money right now so you don't have to worry about the paint job :D

Sat Mar 20, 2010 6:49 am

By Golly who says deals east of the continental divide cannot be had.
Enjoy your project.

Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:14 am

Okay, you don't like green, but you want to spend the least amount of money. Try buffing it out first, polishing up the chrome and slapping on a set of bumpers to see if that will work. Java green tends to be more green/blue when it's all shiny.

A $400 paint job will look like a $400 paint job. It'll fade and chip outside and the inside will STILL be green. Spend your $400 redoing the upholstery and door panels.

Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:32 am

A good to very good paint job should cost no less than $2k....unless you're dumping the car, in case don't even bother giving it a $400 crappy paint job. Sell to somebody who cares enough to do it right. Want it to look mint, better come up with $5k+....

Sat Mar 20, 2010 1:20 pm

Java Green is almost as delicious as Turkis. Leave it!

Sat Mar 20, 2010 2:14 pm

JinxedSydney wrote: Okay, you don't like green, but you want to spend the least amount of money. Try buffing it out first, polishing up the chrome and slapping on a set of bumpers to see if that will work. Java green tends to be more green/blue when it's all shiny.

A $400 paint job will look like a $400 paint job. It'll fade and chip outside and the inside will STILL be green. Spend your $400 redoing the upholstery and door panels.

X2 on this. I paid $4K for my paint job on my bug and it looks good from about 20ft but up close is another story. You are going to hate that $400 paint job, believe me.

Sat Mar 20, 2010 3:38 pm

Man I would lay that car out just the way it is and roll the hell outta it. Forget a cheap paint job then there is so much OG paint there. Im not a huge fan of Java green but man thats a nice original car. Dont mess with it.

Sat Mar 20, 2010 7:10 pm

look at all the varnish on the carb. prolly some major leaks there.

Sat Mar 20, 2010 7:23 pm

this was my 65 when i first got it home... 700 bucks
than i put some tlc in it and lowered it http://www.flickr.com/photos/39319254@N06/3613753421/http://www.flickr.com/photos/39319254@N06/4448845541/

Mon Mar 22, 2010 10:55 am

This will be slow going since I am working on it alone and on Saturdays only:

So I began taking it apart and I'm pretty happy with what I see so far:

No serious rust under the gas tank or under the spare area. Didn't get around to figuring out how to get the wiper fluid tank off.

A hole! The rest of the fender wells were good

There's metal missing along this strip. The license plate is a patch for floor pan hole.

The head of one bolt twisted off and I ripped out the screw hole on the next one down.

Probably some serious rust here.

Back luggage area looks okay but we'll see.

Both doors look like this beneath the bottom hinge. But only the passenger door sags.

Anyway - I need to build an elevated platform to set the body on before I lift it off. I'll need to store it back behind the house under the deck and under a tarp while I work on the bottom half in the garage.