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Fri May 16, 2014 10:23 pm

Hello,
This is my 1966 bug build. First a little history of the car. When I was 15(1983) I bought my first car. A 65 bug. It had front end damage so my father and I decided to Baja it. We did all the work ourselves including paint. We worked on it for at least a year and it was a really nice car when we were done. Building that car was a great experience, mostly because I was able to work with my dad.

(Unfortunately the car got stolen a couple of years after it was finished)

My dad was really excited about VW's and wanted a cal look bug of his own. He bought a 1966 bug for $850 and immediately took it apart. This was in 1985. He sandblasted the pan and painted it. Put a select a drop front end on the car. Sent the body out to get it dechromed and exhaust holes filled.
He worked on it for a while but then life got in the way. It sat for almost 10 years in his garage.
In 1997 he called me up and said he was selling the bug. I told him I wasn't really interested. A month later he said he was giving the bug away. I couldn't refuse the price so I said I'll take it. I put in a new transaxle and purchased a 2275cc longblock from Bernie Bergmann. I tinkered with it for a few months then it got shoved in a corner.
Fast forward to May 2013. I had just finished building a house with a small shop and wanted a project. I have had the bug at 3 different houses in the previous 16 years. Always garaged and always on the way back burner until now.

This is when I washed it for the first time in decades

Fri May 16, 2014 10:27 pm

One of the big stumbling blocks was the missing sheet metal in the engine compartment. I was glad to see new pieces were available

Fri May 16, 2014 10:37 pm

The pan looks as good as I remembered

Fri May 16, 2014 10:57 pm

I really wanted to get the engine running since it had been sitting for so long.
I boroscoped it and didn't find any corrosion.

I made a panel to start the engine for the first time and then for break in

Fri May 16, 2014 11:14 pm

I decided to change out the select a drop beam my dad put together and install a Airkewld 3" narrowed beam with disc brakes

Ready for my first pan ride.

I'm not saying I drove it this way but if I did I would really be surprised how quick it would be. Especially in 3rd

Sat May 17, 2014 1:10 am

While I was working on the pan I was also getting the body ready for paint. I was debating on putting the chrome back on because dechroming is dated. I decided to keep it dechromed. I didn't like the way the aftermarket hood fit so I found a good OG 67 hood.

Aftermarket rear fenders required a lot of fitting to get to fit. I tried to find good OG fenders but no luck.

Sat May 17, 2014 7:06 am

Awesome work :)

Sat May 17, 2014 7:08 am

Great project !! .. lots of info on this site for 66 AND there is a 66 beetle website with specific how to"s...I'll have to remember the bungie cord supported front fenders when i move mine in the yard :D ...if you need wiring photos there is a thread " 67 bagged restoration " with nice clear ones....

check out my 66 type 6 thread :shock:

Sat May 17, 2014 7:39 am

Great story and project. Keep it going.

Sun May 18, 2014 11:58 am

I never liked the look of deck lid stand offs so I was on the hunt for a vert deck lid. Of course they are hard to find in good shape. A local guy was parting out a 70' so I bought the deck lid for $50 and cut out the vents.

I did some measuring and drew them on with a sharpee. I bought a welder just to do the engine compartment sheet metal. I had never welded before so It was a learning experience. The engine sheet metal turned out pretty good but I didn't want to attempt the vent graft. I had a pro do that.

My plan all along was to use one piece windows. I had them on my first car and was very happy with them. I know most people are not a fan of them but I decided to keep them.
I fit the glass that I had stored for 17 years.

Sun May 18, 2014 12:17 pm

My dad had planned to paint the car Porsche Alpine white. He had painted the wheels and gas tank.

I was never really excited about that color. My plan for years was to paint it red like my first car. After looking at tons of VW's on this site and others I changed my mind. It would have to be a stock color. I wanted something different than a 66' stock color. I chose Anthracite. My dad said "grey?, your painting it grey?". He wasn't too excited. I was pretty sure he would like it in person.
Here are some pictures the painter sent me (Kevin Barden at KB Restorations)

And after I got it home

Sun May 18, 2014 1:04 pm

Very cool. I also have a 66 that i enjoy very much. Looking forward to the rest of your build.

Sun May 18, 2014 1:14 pm

i should have done a pan off, i should have done a pan off, i should have done a pan off. great work! keep it all OE and it is worth more every day.

Sun May 18, 2014 6:38 pm

Wow super nice!!! Very detailed engine looks great

Mon May 19, 2014 7:14 pm

Thank you all very much for the nice comments.

I wanted to do something different with the headliner. I chose a light grey tweed from Sewfine. I just ordered raw material from them. I first cemented down 1/4" Landau foam then the tweed.

I put Dynamat inside the car and on the pan. I had never used Dynamat before but it seems like a good product. Easy to work with.

Mon May 19, 2014 7:33 pm

I started putting a new wire harness back in. I bought the one from Wiring Works. It's a nicely made harness and comes with all the instructions.

Next was getting the body back on the pan. (sorry about the fuzzy pic)

At this point in the build I was really having fun. Bolting shiny new stuff on to shiny new stuff.

Mon May 19, 2014 8:08 pm

:D :D :D

Mon May 19, 2014 8:24 pm

Nice!!!

Mon May 19, 2014 9:36 pm

Very nice build and I like what you did with the headliner, I'm interested to see how it looks with all the interior in.

Mon May 19, 2014 10:15 pm

For the interior I went with Sewfine seat covers, door panels and carpet kit. I'm very happy with how they installed, hope they wear just as well