San Diego 1964 Father-Daughter Resto Project

chicagovw · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 12:41 pm Post subject:

How come I see quite a few people saying that they sold their vws due to a need for a/c. It has been an option since the 1960s. There are several companies that make new systems for them which rob very little engine power-each of my Buses have a/c systems. They are a couple of days of work for someone who has not installed one before, to do so.

Tim Donahoe · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 2:38 pm Post subject:

I have to admit that I drive one of my air-conditioned cars when it's over 100F here in Redding, CA (we're approaching 113 this week Razz

), but most other days I drive my bug. Somhow, A/C in a bug just doesn't seem like I'm getting the old-time bug ride that was a part of the experience when theses cars were new.

Maybe I'm just spoiled because I have other cars with "options", but part of the reason I own a bug is the nostalgic in nature, and in the '60's-'70's we didn't have certain conveniences like A/C. We had wing windows, and when we opened them up and let the air rush by, messing our hair, with the radio turned up, we had an experience while driving that I simply can't duplicate with a well-endowed modern car.

Do you guys get it?

I've said before that driving a bug is like riding a motorcycle with a giant helmet on it. I could'nt have that kind of drive with the windows rolled up, while sipping a Starbucks and talking on a cell phone--and basking in the A/C, while on my way to the beach or lake.

By the way, flip-flops are great for working on the bug Wink

.

Tim
_________________
Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

Lee Hedges · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 2:50 pm Post subject:

Very well said, Tim!
Driving a vintage VW is a special experience. No need to complicate it with AC, cup holders, or iPods.

Brian Anthony · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 8:21 pm Post subject:

If you live in a hot humid place like the piney woods of East Texas, driving without A/C reduces the amount of pleasant driving time from late fall till early spring. I drove a bug back in the '60s and '70s but in the summers, A/C would have been nice back then too. Below is a picture of the interior of my wife's '67 bug with A/C. We prefer to drive in comfort instead of being drenching wet within a few blocks. We can now drive it all year in comfort.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

We're enjoying the story of you and your daughter's project. My youngest son and I rebuilt a '67 bug for his first car. A lot of great memories and he still has the car. Keep the pictures of the progress coming.
_________________
1965 Double Cab
1967 Bug, Sedan
1967 Bug, Convertible

I’m not old, but I once knew a man who was alive during the Civil War, and he once knew Revolutionary War veterans.

Tim Donahoe · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 8:37 pm Post subject:

Now, I said nothing about "cup holders", Lee Smile

. I have a console with two pockets and a cup holder. My legs are too long for one of those bamboo trays. However, no Starbucks cups have ever been in it. I just use it to keep my sunglasses case, a tiny flashlight, a couple of screws that I can't remember where they go, and a bottle of cold water for my wife--for when I can get her to go for a drive when it's over 85F.

And Brian, your bug has a beautiful interior. The color scheme is perfect.

Tim
_________________
Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

Lee Hedges · Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 3:35 pm Post subject:

I'd bought an original set of Euro headlights during a 2013 trip to Germany and smuggled them back in my luggage. They were disassembled when I bought them and didn't realize they needed some work. The trims were dingy, the rubber plugs were cracked, and the main mounting screws were rusty. We made a list of needed parts and placed our order with Wolfsburg West and waited. This weekend (inbetween Allison's 9am & 4pm soccer tournament games) we reassembled the Euro headlights.

The Euro chrome rings have different length screws than the sealed-beam headlight screws. And there were metal collars preventing us from removing the screws from the old rings to the new WW rings we'd bought. So we ended up removing the collars. Next we replaced the six rubber plugs that are used to align the bucket parts together. We'd bought new 12V parking light bulbs & 12V headlight bulbs, so those were the next to get fitted. Black rubber seals went over the two headlight lenses to prevent them from sliding around in the bucket lip. Finally the metal spring-clips were fitted inside the chrome ring lip to keep the bucket to the ring. And the two adjuster screws with their arrow-shaped pins slid into the rubber plugs. It was a relief to get both headlights reassembled.

Allison wanted to install them onto Ellie's fenders, even though the headlight wires were not yet ready. So we lube'd the headlight mounting screw holes in the fenders and the lights fitted quickly. Makes such a difference to have bright shiny headlights on Ellie now!

Tim Donahoe · Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 9:16 pm Post subject:

It's funny how installing something as small as a set of headlights can really dress up the appearance of a vintage bug.

Tim
_________________
Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

sportin-wood · Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 8:18 am Post subject:

Lee Hedges · Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 8:49 am Post subject:

I was scared taking the pic as well. She doesn't have the decades of experience working with tools. I showed her (after) how I do it (towel around headlight protecting paint & hand underneath screwdriver blade. But she did it her way just fine.

Allison wants it to be stock/original, so we're going with USA-spec bumpers. Yes, she knows it's not matching with the Euro headlights, but she likes what she likes.

The issue we're having is: do we buy the $500 stainless bumper set from Vietnam or the $900 chrome set from Wolfsburg West?

retroman · Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 9:39 am Post subject:

I have WW bumpers and highly recommend them. They have excellent service also. very nice job on the car.
_________________
1967 bug recovering from a PO
1987 Vanagon Wolfsburg Weekender "Otto" been all over the place with never a problem!

Lee Hedges · Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:41 am Post subject:

When Ellie was painted we bought & installed an NOS front hood handle & inner latch. I was unable to get it to latch at the time, so I gave up. Now that Allison has finished the front compartment & ordered an NOS front hood seal, I thought I'd give the hood latch another try. Smarter this time, I researched theSamba forums to learn how others had been successful. Armed with this advice I had a talk with Ellie about making things easy on me this time.

Most of the advice is about adjusting the pin on the latch, and nothing was said about the cable. I checked the pull-cable and it worked fine. I checked the alignment of the pin into the receiver, and that was OK. Then I adjusted the pin height all the way up and slowly adjusted the screwdriver 3-4 turns and tested the latch. At about half-way down I noticed the pin grabbing (but still not latching).

So I removed the three 10mm bolts holding the receiver to the body and removed the black cover plate. There was some play in the pivoting latch part inside the hole. So I surmised that the cable needed to be adjusted tightly on this pivot so the tiny part of it showed inside the hole. I reinstalled the receiver (without the cover plate) and used needlenose pliers to pull the cable tightly against the pivot and tightened-down the screw. The pivot piece not showed through the hole! Ever hopeful, I continued testing the latch pin downwards until the hood finally latched! And it released when I pulled the knob inside the car too. Success!

So I called Allison (just back from a 0-0 tournament game) to tell her I'd fixed the front hood problem. She got in the car and tried to pull the knob but wasn't strong enough. She also wasn't strong enough to latch the hood onto the receiver. So I adjusted the pin downward 5-6 more turns until the pressure on the knob was reduced & Allison was able to pull & latch it herself. Whew! Now she'll be able to open the hood, get gas or change a tire, and latch the hood back down again safely.

Lee Hedges · Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 3:28 pm Post subject:

We decided to continue knocking things off the list so Allison chose the front signals next. We'd bought repro fenders that did not have any holes drilled. I had Allison retrieve one of our original front fenders and she created a paper template of the three holes for the turn signal base. This allowed her to trace over the template onto the new Sea Blue fender to mark the holes. She did this for both sides and we drilled the holes (scary!) into the fenders. We test fit the rubber seals and had to open the large hole up a bit more to fit the seal properly. We needed to buy some more parts to be able to install the units, so that'll get finished next weekend.

WooleyNelson · Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2015 7:34 am Post subject:

you might consider a little touch up paint on all those holes you just drilled!

wouldn't want your fenders to rust prematurely!

Lee Hedges · Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2015 1:14 pm Post subject:

How's this for originality? Found this boxed touch-up applicator and filled it with the paint Jimmy used to paint Ellie. Now Allison can feel better about filling future chips & scratches.

WooleyNelson · Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2015 2:10 pm Post subject:

All right!!!!!!

bobnorman · Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2015 3:07 pm Post subject:

Lee Hedges · Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 11:55 am Post subject:

After looking at the detailed reference photos we'd collected from original 1964 Beetles, we noticed a few little details that we'd forgotten when we were messing with the front compartment. The fuel sender cable & water hose were taped-down with black tape to keep them in-place. We could see the residue of tape for the water hose but not the sender cable. So we used the reference photos and added the two tapes into place. Then we noticed there was an aluminum clip mounted to the front-right bolt holding the fuel tank bracket and this clip held the water hose in-place going around the base of the fuel tank. So I dug into my spare parts and thankfully found one.

I seem to recall seeing a metal chain attached to the front-left fuel tank bracket, but I can't remember what I did with it. Anyone know whether that chain (about 6" long) was used for and/or if it was originally fitted to 1964s?

Lee Hedges · Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 9:34 am Post subject:

Allison already ordered the gray leatherette seat upholstery set from Wolfsburg West. And she'd already disassembled the old upholstery from the seat frames. The next step in the process was to get some welding done on the seat frames. We have no welding equipment nor experience so we were fortunate to have our good friends Jack Fisher & Pedro Sainz offer to help.

The front seat back frames were not rusty but the lower bracing bars had been previously broken loose from their attachments. One of the bars had broken in-half. JB Weld had been used with long nails to reattach it to the frames. And there were two clips that hold the springs to the frame that had broken-off.

Jack cleaned-up the parts and welded the tube together in the middle then welded it to the attachment points. Yes, he's welding on top of his Lotus White 1968 T34 Automatic project car, and yes there's a Notchback Cabriolet, Notchback Sunroof, & Variant Panel in his backyard. Jack has been a Type 3 expert for many years. Pedro hand-made a bar for the other seat since it was missing, bent it to shape, and Jack welded it into place. Used the wire wheel & grinding wheel to clean-up the welds and they were fixed! All of the repair work will be covered by the seat vinyl, but not they are stronger. Thank you Jack & Pedro!

Tim Donahoe · Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 10:28 am Post subject:

Lee, you might want to check out the Wolfsburg West video (it's on YouTube, also) on upholstering the front seats. I thought the guy went a little overboard on the felt underlayment at the sides of the backrest, but I wish now that I had used his method.

My seats are on my 1974, and they had these white sort of spongy plastic edge covers that still looked fine to me, but WW's method gives a bit more cushion on the horizontal edges than stock--without looking overstuffed.

I was very happy with WW's horsehair pads (very comfy), but I ended up having an upholsterer re-do the centers of the lowers (adding some foam stuffing, beveled to reduce lines), as I had up to a two-inch gap between the covers and the centers of the horsehair pads. Although, with your year seats, this may not be a problem at all.

This photo shows the results before I had the center seat bottoms filled in. They look exactly the same now, but the material will not eventually get that saggy look from too much cover and not enough padding.

By the way, I've found that electrical tape, used to hold wires and tubes, has a tendency to peel up after a few hot days.

Tim
_________________
Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

Lee Hedges · Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 1:27 pm Post subject:

Allison used the wire brush on the drill to carefully remove the old paint from the seat frames. Her mom even volunteered to help hand-sand the seat base frames. Now she can understand why Allison hates hand-sanding so much! The seat frames were then cleaned & primed. Later today she'll be spraying the Silver-Beige paint.


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San Diego 1964 Father-Daughter Resto Project
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