TheSamba.com :: View topic - Official Mexican / Brazilian Beetles

Sun Aug 30, 2020 8:40 am

sebastiansord wrote: radstude wrote: Check all your wiring, to make sure it's correct. Do you have the positive & negative wires are connect to the right post.

Everything is correct... :cry:

Erase any faults in the ECU, then scan the car again after running it for a bit and see what it's telling you. Also, worth checking the ECU relay in the front compartment as it may cause your symptoms.

Sun Aug 30, 2020 2:26 pm

And some new information about bumpers for Mexico KAFER from Nicolas Rosenov (Omnicar). This message, I hope this will complete my investigation (!) of front bumper.

"The original primed bumpers all were in black coloured.
Grey-one are from Brasil. >>(but never original)
In brasil no parts was used of 4,8 cm for Beetles/Fusca bright black trim defenders, there a very ugly aftermarketparts in 0,5 mm >>> no quality
The primed defenders are often more expensiv as chromed one!

And about chrome bumpers

there are 4 Qualities:

(1) Only the/all original Ultima Edicion has a VW sign, >> there are 1,75-2,25 mm thick,
1BM-807-107-B front /
1BM-807-307-B rear
4,5 kg weight also made 5-7/2003
chrom ok
inside grey painted

(2) Then there are one with the sign cabel in the middle
There are 1,75-2,25 mm thick
also same number
1BM-807-107-B front
1BM-807-307-B rear
>> but the crome is trash, you must make a new chrome...
inside no grey lack
4,4 kg weight
This one was original delivered from 2004-2011. And then out of production.

(3) There are bumpers with thinner tin/metal
There are 1,5 mm thick
3,3 kg
and have a little halfe moon brakeout in the middle
has the numbers 1B0-807-107-B front /1B0-807-308-B rear
there were uses on original chrome Modells as the millenium Bug Modell 2000
Chrome is ok

(4) very thin bumbers from Wolf. Not VW, not original but Wolf / Brasil!
there are 0,5 mm thick/thin.
2,7 kg weight
the black folie is not good, also! chrom not good
These one you can bay on every corner , but take them not, they are so sharpedged, you can take them as a knife.

Tue Sep 01, 2020 4:32 pm

mf1274 wrote: I contacted Antonio and waiting for him to contact me back to ask if he can get looms,

My team is searching right now those genuine VW Sedan 1600i looms.

Tue Sep 01, 2020 4:45 pm

Thank you Antonio

Thu Sep 03, 2020 1:41 am

Antonio Trejo wrote: Genuine VW Sedan 1600i (1993-2004) window crank handle 191 837 575 / 191 837 579 Made in Austria. A lot of second hand mexican Beetles were sold in the gray market with cheap-aftermarket interior and exterior parts.

Antonio, my previous cranks look like original - all VW marks, numbers are here, but HECHO EN MEXICO, not Austria. May be there are 2 OEM variants of this parts. On pic we can see broken slots in plastic.
I assume that this is the production of Hella Mexico, but in my little experience, the products of this enterprise are not of high quality, compared to the European Hella.

Mon Sep 14, 2020 10:25 pm

To A Dog called Bear - you might want to look for a later model engine lid with the 4 sections of louvers - VW put them there for a reason on 1600 engined bugs. This is probably why the PO had the stand-offs fitted. Really nice car otherwise.

Thu Sep 17, 2020 7:49 pm

Passed 100,000 miles yesterday.....

Fri Sep 18, 2020 2:37 am

i think I'll never be able to reach you...

with the bug. because with my 2014 SEAT I just turned 194k and some kms.

Fri Sep 18, 2020 6:13 am

It's Great that you drive it, they like to be used.

Fri Sep 18, 2020 1:37 pm

radstude wrote: It's Great that you drive it, they like to be used.

Agreed... I bought it to drive it and have driven close to 90,000 kms since then. (Although I do like working in it, when it needs some TLC :) ).

Fri Sep 18, 2020 2:35 pm

Hello! Small overview of Frogum rubber carpets art. 0398 (Poland, EU). the manufacturer positions them for Volkswagen Garbus (Polish name for the beetle) 1938-2003. it's too bold statement to say that they fit the all bugs. the driver's Mat fits well, but the holes in the Mat do not match the pins in the body - i will have to punch new holes. passenger Mat in the front for the version with foot rest (Gerelt, share your experience with this device - does it make sense to search for and install it in the car?) the rear mats are rectangular - they do not cover all the space behind the front seats and for some reason they also have holes for fixing - I never had pins. and that awful vanilla aroma -Oh, gods, what a taste has manufacturer - will now wear off on the balcony for a month. in General , I am not particularly impressed, but given that this is the only one option in my country and I waited 1.5 months for delivery , I will Refine it for comfortable operation. Cost 33$ with delivery in Minsk
Sorry for dirty on pics - autumn is here so interior is not so clear :(

Fri Sep 18, 2020 11:50 pm

dedtalasch wrote: Hello! Small overview of Frogum rubber carpets art. 0398 (Poland, EU). the manufacturer positions them for Volkswagen Garbus (Polish name for the beetle) 1938-2003. it's too bold statement to say that they fit the all bugs. the driver's Mat fits well, but the holes in the Mat do not match the pins in the body - i will have to punch new holes. passenger Mat in the front for the version with foot rest (Gerelt, share your experience with this device - does it make sense to search for and install it in the car?)

See:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8017422&highlight=footrest#8017422

And if you scroll back to the threads from that point, I've posted more pictures. I had some fitting problems in the beginning, but that turned out to be a bent footrest plate. When I straightend it, it fitted perfectly.
And I had to cover it with carpet, because the original 1600i firewall carpet does not fit over the footrest.
For the rest it worked perfectly.
The footrest came out of a 1973 standard (1300 cc) beetle.

I think it makes sense to install one, then you can get your floormat from every place that sells floormats for VW beetles. It's also a nice place to set your feet.

Sat Sep 19, 2020 7:03 pm

hopkin wrote: A few pages back there was some discussion about the 'Open Air' Mexican Beetles. As this was a mod done after the car left the
Puebla factory (but before the cars were sold new), there is little to no documentation. I have collected a series of photos
of the various components of the roof and thought I would post them here, as a record, for anyone with a similar car.

Just wanted to say what a great site! This post alone has saved me! New owner here, 1997 Open-air, from Chile. Car is white, great shape (no rust) and just a few dings on the wings, which I'm planing on leaving in the hope my 18 year old son, who will drive the car, does not add to, too much!

Does anyone know the story behind the open-airs? Where were they really made? The outer roof seems great quality, but the rest designed in kindergarten.

Any spares available?

Cheers!

Sat Sep 19, 2020 8:45 pm

azapa wrote: ...

Does anyone know the story behind the open-airs? Where were they really made? The outer roof seems great quality, but the rest designed in kindergarten.

Any spares available?

Cheers!

Welcome and yes, since I posted the quote in your post above more information has become available.

A brief history (as I know it):
in the mid-90's, as stated in the quote, cars were modified from the factory and the roof was installed. The first name that I found (of the company that did the mods) was Transforma (that may or may not be true). The motor that operates the roof is at the back of the car, under the rear window.

Later, these were copied by a company in Germany called Motovin, these were a close copy, and many of the parts are interchangable. Some of the parts, like the black roof frame, are cheaper. The motor that operates the roof is also at the back of the car.

At some point the roof was copied again, in this case the motor that operates the roof is at the front of the car, just in front of the radio. I call these the US roofs, as the only cars like this that I'm aware of are in the US, although the roof mod may have been done in another country (Mexico?).

There are pictures and more info on this thread that I started dedicated to the Open Air cars.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=677354

Is the sunroof motor on your car at the front or back? If you post a few pictures I might be able tell you which type of roof you have,

Deco Haus in Germany repairs these roofs and remanufactures parts. Samba user Gerrelt and myself have purchased new roofs from them. Gerrelt was kind enough to send me detailed pictures and notes of the replacement process. (I have not replaced my roof yet). Their replacement parts are for the Transforma and Motovin roofs, no guarantee if you have a US roof. You should contact them (which you have to do to buy anything, anyways) if you want to purchase anything. Also, you could probably have anything re-created locally by a skilled shop that specializes in restoring old cars. Samba user VWGirl had her roof redone by a shop in California (she is in the US and has a "US" style roof).

Check out Deco Haus' facebook page, there are lots of pictures of cars in various states of roof repair:
https://www.facebook.com/decohaus

There is also an Open Air group on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1581580365490543

Edit: Here are some notes that I copied from various posts (at different times) regarding the history of the Open Airs:

Some history about the roof sent to me from Gerrelt:

I don't think Motovin was the reason for the trapezoid shaped window. I think Transforma made these roof first,
and later Motovin started making these roofs (maybe after Transforma stopped making them).

Talking about Motovin, Peter (the guy from the shop) also e-mailed me this:

Peter wrote:

ja, es gibt 2 Typen, die sich in der Mechanik komplett unterscheiden, aber der Bezug, der Innenhimmel ,
die Spriegelspangen sind komplett identisch und auch die Gleitschuhe passen nach leichter Bearbeitung.
Deiner ist ein originaler wie es aussieht..
Der Andere kam acu München von der Firma Motovin, das Dach nannte sich Aero-Top...

He says that the mechanism is totally different, but the ragtop, headliner and "Spriegelspangen" (bow clips) are totally the same.
Even the gliders can be used after a small modification.

So, it sounds like Motovin copied the ragtop from Transforma, but created their own mechanism.

He also tells that Motovin was seated in München, and the roof was called "Aero-Top".

Antonio Trejo wrote:
Those sunroofs were made by Transforma, an auto-workshop based in the west side of Mexico City.

Gerrelt sent this (translated from a German advert):
very rare VW Beetle with large electrically openable hood, engine with injection
and controlled G-KAT (green badge), 1600ccm with 34KW (ca 50PS) generally good condition,
no rust, paint needs work, dark green, grey upholstery, very well maintained, disc brakes front,
cars can be made up, has been 10/2014...wird a lover cars because this car just 1000 production units,
beetles 'open air' from BJ 96 and was manufactured in Mexico , came to Germany as "toldo electrico",
500 of them and call a value system with rapid gains in near future "open air",...! From 4500 EUR
(if you wish you can also completely restore the car), requests for more purchase price deals like via email, calls from 19:00

Posted on Open-Air Forum (facebook) - July 30 2020:
The Praktiker Beetle was initiated by a Wolfsburg car dealer. He previously brokered vehicles to REWE. Then a batch was damaged by a storm,
holes with lots of portions that were difficult to repair. The idea then came to have the new beetles retrofitted with the roller roof,
which were then sold through Praktiker hardware stores. Over the years, the dealer imported around 2500 beetles to Germany.

The last couple paragraphs show the numbers built as 1000 + 2500 (3500 units). I suspect that that is the European/Mexican/SA count and does not include the US modified cars. I don't where the original author (of the posts I'm quoting) got their numbers, so the counts are just speculation.

That would mean that only 500 original (Transforma) units were sold in Mexico and South America and 500 in Europe.

Another Edit! Here are a couple of South American adverts, the second one does not look like any of the 'known' cars. It looks like an older car, so it may not "count" as an "Open Air" like our cars but....there may be some other rogue "Open Airs" out there!

Finally, the concept of our cars is not new ('90s new anyways :) ), here are a couple older cars with a similar roof (not electric):

Sun Sep 20, 2020 2:41 pm

I did a little upgrade to my car today, adding a USB charger. I was using my power plug that I installed a few years ago (with an adapter). Sometimes the cable for my phone would wrap around the gear shift, so time for a change...

So I picked up a charger port on Amazon (for $30) and installed it further to the right in a flat spot just under the glove box. Bonus, the USB port also acts as a Voltmeter. Like my power plug, I wanted it out of the way and out of sight.

I had set up a fused circuit for my power plug, homelink and iClever (FM broadcast for music), so I just hooked into that circuit.

Sun Sep 20, 2020 10:21 pm

Hi Hopkin, you second advert pic (with the ragtop sliding on alluminium rails) is from Brazil, I remember seeing an installation video for the shorter "classic" roof on youtube but cannot find it right now.

Mon Sep 21, 2020 4:40 am

GArBa wrote: Hi Hopkin, you second advert pic (with the ragtop sliding on alluminium rails) is from Brazil, I remember seeing an installation video for the shorter "classic" roof on youtube but cannot find it right now.

I'll have to look for that, the URL on the advert is www.ragtop.com.br so I knew it was from Brazil.

The link is still active and the vendor shows roofs for Beetles and other cars. I don't see the full roof on their webpage, but it looks like a customization shop, so maybe they would do one.

Mon Sep 21, 2020 6:56 am

hopkin wrote:

Thanks for that excellent open-air history! So pleased to discover more (I knew nothing when I bought it 4 days ago!!!!)

This is exactly my car from this same official VW dealer network (Maco). Without those nice wheels though.

That price there, from the mid nineties is in Chilean pesos.

The facebook group is great, joined up, already written to Peter too from Decohaus.

The ugliest thing on my car are those internal plastic roof mechanism surrounds! yellowed and cracked, some small pieces missing. I'm wondering if I can use them as mold and make new ones from fiberglass?

I'm wondering where I'd find the cars colour code to order some touch up paint?

Mon Sep 21, 2020 9:13 am

azapa wrote:

The ugliest thing on my car are those internal plastic roof mechanism surrounds! yellowed and cracked, some small pieces missing. I'm wondering if I can use them as mold and make new ones from fiberglass?

some time ago, I was thinking about making fiberglass copies of interior panels. I was engaged in the manufacture of fiberglass products on a commercial basis. but for profitability of production it is necessary to make a batch, and I specified in Deconaus (they worked with dozens of 1600i open Air) - there is no special need for this panels. mostly they are covered with dark fabric or eco-leather, because their appearance is not the best.

Mon Sep 21, 2020 10:35 am

dedtalasch wrote: azapa wrote:

The ugliest thing on my car are those internal plastic roof mechanism surrounds! yellowed and cracked, some small pieces missing. I'm wondering if I can use them as mold and make new ones from fiberglass?

some time ago, I was thinking about making fiberglass copies of interior panels. I was engaged in the manufacture of fiberglass products on a commercial basis. but for profitability of production it is necessary to make a batch, and I specified in Deconaus (they worked with dozens of 1600i open Air) - there is no special need for this panels. mostly they are covered with dark fabric or eco-leather, because their appearance is not the best.

Maybe we could get together a group of owners and make some sets? How many would you need to make and how much do you think would be a fair price? We could at least check to see interest.