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Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:02 pm

My 68 Cal, the guy didn't know a thing about wiring. It had a cool dash, a one piece dash panel with real stretched black leather. There was the speedo, and a row of 10 rocker switches, unmarked.

Switch one: Turn signal left.
Switch two: Turn signal right.
Switch three: The left head light.
Switch four: The right head light.
Switch five: The horn.
Switch six: The dome light.
Switch seven: Running lights.
Switch eight: Dash lights.
Switch nine: Radio power.
Switch ten: Wipers.

I spent the weekend rewiring it and had the lights, running, and dash, all on one switch. I grouped the turn signals to one double switch. I used a push button switch for the horn, and the unused switches were all left on the end. I still laugh about it today.

My 63 rust bucket had a two by four across the hole where the battery was located. The battery strap was a rope. One rail held on to the drivers seat. Water would splash through the holes in the front fenders.

My 70 had its engine wired with speaker wire, which wore through, blew my fuses, and started a fire in the engine bay. Luckily I put it out, only to have it parked outside my apartment, when a drunk hit it with an SUV. It was hit so hard, it pushed the doghouse and my generator into the back seat. The SUV backed up and drove away.

My 69 Ghia had so much bondo, you could swear it was closer to a clay pot. The rear clip was rivited on to the back portion. Over time, the rivits flexed via auto crossing and the rear of the car started to sag.

I can't wait to find my next 60's VW and what treasures I will find left over from the previous owner.

Wed Feb 01, 2012 2:36 pm

69 standard
Traded a 70 dodge flatbed that was worth less than scrap prices
Lets begin
PO said master cylinder was bad. Used ebrake to stop. Left rear brake hose was missing
PO painted engine and surrounding parts red with a four inch paint brush.
PO got said paint in carb.generator and coil. He painted choke butterfly with smaller brush.(good thinking)
PO said air filter robbed horsepower. Threw it away.
PO had chevy ignition switch laying in battery tray. Thats how he started it.
PO had orange silicone holding valvecovers on. Not because the hold downs where gone but "because they leaked."
PO removed allmost all wiring from car because"the old stuff looked old"
PO had 60 series tires on right and 50s on left.
PO had no upper bolts attaching trans to engine.
PO never put passenger seat back on its rails.
PO left glove box open all the time. ????
PO got rid of thermostat"Im from tahoe . It doesnt get cold down here" it snows three feet in winter where he lives now which is forty minutes below tahoe.
Dont use meth kids

So here i am getting it rolling . The body and pan are suprisingly decent . Glass was perfect till i left a wiper arm up without the blade on itand sat down to hard in the passenger seat. Oops .
The fenders suck and the hood had an unacceptable amount of bondo. Decklids cool . aprons rough. Ive got it all rewired and rebuilt brakes and carb tuned it up.got rid of most of paint in engine bay. Im gonna get some tires and start driving it soon....maybe

Wed Feb 01, 2012 7:07 pm

well, you guys all have me beat, but here's my pile:
LOTs o' rust
no back seat, stock original front seats with 3 sets of covers on them(completely destroyed underneath, nothing left but springs)
lots of orange silicone on every seal in the motor, and still leaking like a real MFer. nothing electronic working, so ignition was on a toggle switch dangling under the dash, wired in with a piece of a brown extension cord.
in the back parcel area, a 9"x9" square hole has been cut out directly above the starter for easy acces, and the remote wire was unplugged and dangling, with another piece of the brown extension cord coming off the solenoid and laying between the front seats, so the PO could touch the wires together to spin the starter. the battery was tied in with the rear seatbelt to keep from falling through the floor and dragging, and had some rather gnarly drag marks on the bottom. i asked about it, and he said he wasn't really worried about it until he hit some railroad tracks and lost the battery. it had farm implement mud tires that were older than the car in the back, and some dryrotten rags in the front, with tubes in all four. i got the tires, floorpans and electrical stuff sorted out, except the headlights, and have been driving the car everyday since i got it.

Thu Feb 02, 2012 5:55 am

a nother great floorpan fix by the PO , passenger side floorpan made almost entirely out of carpet, no brakelines going to the back, sheetmetal welded onto rotted metal which was also welded to rotted metal, enough bondo to reclaim and start a brick factory, found some roofing materials, and the oil cooler was loose on the engine,

still drove the car home when i bought it, wasn't that far away and it looked in pretty good shape untill i started working on it.

Thu Feb 02, 2012 7:10 am

I'm not sure if this counts, we'll see what happens when I go to look at it, and if I end up buying it.

See an ad for a 75 bug. Looks decent, some rust, but nothing major. Ad says it has new carb. "Wait a minute, no FI?" :-s Look at pictures, see "W" deck lid, oval window, and dual vents on body. Also it has the wrong taillights. Everything on the back end looks like an oval window Bugm but it has the rear quarter panel vents. *Scratches head* I don't know if this guy went to a bunch of trouble to backdate it, or if he has his year wrong, or what, but I want to go see it. I may be coming home with quite the steal.

Thu Feb 02, 2012 7:57 am

check the front suspension, check no of wheel bolts, check 3rd number on VIN.

if it has coil springs on the front, 4 wheelbolts, and the 3rd number is a 5 then it's a 75,

if it is an actual oval, you are one luckyt b@strd

Thu Feb 02, 2012 9:45 am

Mister TC, it is probably a kit similar to this:
http://vwinnovations.com/bug.html#split

Thu Feb 02, 2012 10:28 am

mrbigmax wrote: Mister TC, it is probably a kit similar to this:
http://vwinnovations.com/bug.html#split

Could be. I'm not seeing any seam lines or anything, so maybe someone along the way patched in a rear. The headlights seem off as well. Doesn't the 70's model have straight vertical headlights? These have sloped headlights. Course, it also has the exterior gas flap. Guess we'll see when I go look at it.

Thu Feb 02, 2012 12:01 pm

MisterTC wrote: I'm not sure if this counts, we'll see what happens when I go to look at it, and if I end up buying it.

See an ad for a 75 bug. Looks decent, some rust, but nothing major. Ad says it has new carb. "Wait a minute, no FI?" :-s Look at pictures, see "W" deck lid, oval window, and dual vents on body. Also it has the wrong taillights. Everything on the back end looks like an oval window Bugm but it has the rear quarter panel vents. *Scratches head* I don't know if this guy went to a bunch of trouble to backdate it, or if he has his year wrong, or what, but I want to go see it. I may be coming home with quite the steal.

Perhaps he meant to list it as a 57?

Thu Feb 02, 2012 4:52 pm

Drivers side chair affixed with drywall screws to wooden planks screwed into the original bracket

Part of a coffee can with sheetmetal screws and elmers glue used to hide a hole behind drivers side seat

Car repainted with a roller brush

Some masking tape from previous paint job not removed

Wipers moved at 10 WPM due to lack of grease

Crack between #3 and #4 cylinders

Engine full of sludge (Probably due to non detergent oils used though, because bearings looked good)

Wooden boat mooring covers affixed to top to hold large tinted plexiglass shade over windshield

Boat wood used as running boards, affixed with "L" brackets and drywall screws/ nuts and bolts

The PO was a good, genuine guy IMO, he just customized the car with his own personal touch.

Fri Feb 03, 2012 9:05 am

^that sounds a little like the crap i wanted to do to my raggy beetle. pic of running boards?
this is my favorite thread on thesamba....

Fri Feb 03, 2012 12:37 pm

How many of you guys live in States where you have to have your cars roadworthiness checked every year? :shock:

Fri Feb 03, 2012 6:18 pm

Keep in mind uk that this is a country where you cant see a babys butt on tv and can get arrested walking home from the pub.

Fri Feb 03, 2012 6:33 pm

Ross UK wrote: How many of you guys live in States where you have to have your cars roadworthiness checked every year? :shock:

Where about in the UK are you from Ross? And i agree, damn MOT

Thu Feb 09, 2012 9:13 pm

I bought this car in 1980. I'm the second owner, but it does not take much for a goof ball PO to put a screw eye into the wiring harness. Found this under the dash, behind the carpet when I removed it fo the new one. There were other places where the carpet was NAILED down!

Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:58 pm

Carpet was nailed down by the factory.

...but that screw eye is definitely new ;)

-Dave