TheSamba.com :: View topic

Wed Aug 09, 2023 2:23 am

It's time to start a topic for my wife's car. We've had it for more than 13 years, bought in pieces and stored until time would come for a proper restoration. That day has come.
The good: straight body, original Sea Blue paint, lots of parts for it, kids love it.
The bad: heater channels are nearly non-existing, chassis is a 63 and needs lots of attention, some fenders need to be replaced.
So, what do you all like? Do I hear pics? It will be another topic with lots of them. So let's start.

This is how we stored it at my father's house, indoor and protected.

Original paint on the wheel arches:

Saturday's work: I just wanted to take all parts out of the car. But it took me just 30 min to get the rear torsion bars out of the broken 63 chassis, so I mounted them on the "carrier" 59 chassis. And 1h later, front axle was complete and wheels up. The carrier chassis is there because I have to transport the car 450km away where we live now.

Monday's work: Body mounted on chassis, it fit very easily on the chassis bolts. Then first 5m on wheels in many years and a quick wash. Then all parts back and car is ready for transport. I made some strong reinforcements to keep it from falling apart (remember, right heater channel does not exist and left one is there only for the looks) And look at that door gap!

Wed Aug 09, 2023 3:02 pm

I like that you are doing this for your wife.

Wed Aug 09, 2023 5:23 pm

This is a happy pic!

I admit, I did laugh out loud when I saw it.

This project is going to take some time to complete. But it appears to be in good hands.
And the prize at the end of the project? A very happy wife!

Wed Aug 09, 2023 10:53 pm

It will not be a quick project, simply because it takes some money for tins and other parts. But the affort is low to change everything. Not more than it was on my 1303. Metalwork (on the second body) took just 3 months of evening and weekend work (not every day!). You can check it out here:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=730319&start=0

Thu Aug 10, 2023 8:12 am

Looks like a fun project! I have spent almost 8 hours every weekend on the metal work on my 54, for 3 years, to get it to go to the blasters! Hoping this Bug has less work than that, but the Nap Hat on the remnant pan looks like severe metal destruction! What does the bottom 100mm of the car look like? What I can make out in the pictures seems like a walk in the park. But maybe there is more than what can be seen!

Regardless, love watching you do your thing! Have fun and keep us all in the loop!

Good luck!

Thu Aug 10, 2023 2:38 pm

Wow, that car is rusted.

But I imagine choices are limited in Romania, plus that look on your wife's face says it all. Good luck on the project!

Thu Aug 10, 2023 6:57 pm

Won't you have significant problems trying to match up the '63's chassis number with the '65's chassis number stamped into the ID plate in the trunk, since there will be a mismatch during registration? Or do you have the "paperwork" for the '63 chassis and you'll be registering the car as that model year?

Are there some 1968 or newer standard Beetles (not the 1302 or 1303) in your country that have the optional semi-automatic transmission and therefore the semi-trailing arm rear suspension? Such a chassis would be excellent for a "body swap" because you can easily fit Karmann Ghia front disc brakes, front and rear sway bars; and have a much more modern-handling Beetle. But for that, you'll also encounter the chassis# and body# mismatch when registering the car.

Thu Aug 10, 2023 10:13 pm

VW_Jimbo wrote: Looks like a fun project! I have spent almost 8 hours every weekend on the metal work on my 54, for 3 years, to get it to go to the blasters! Hoping this Bug has less work than that, but the Nap Hat on the remnant pan looks like severe metal destruction! What does the bottom 100mm of the car look like? What I can make out in the pictures seems like a walk in the park. But maybe there is more than what can be seen!

Regardless, love watching you do your thing! Have fun and keep us all in the loop!

Good luck!

From my point of view, it is not too much work. That was the reason I actually bought the car, it was in very good condition, straight, not welded before, original paint. Our initial plan was to keep it's current paint, make it a rat looker. But kids want it Bumblebee yellow, and we are also thinking about a bright red.
Chassis: needs frame head (but having that Nap hat gives me the coordinates for the new one, plus we have the frame head alignment jig technical drawing here on thesamba), and floor pans. Second one is very simple job.
On the body: both heater channels are gone, some sheet metal on the bottom of the front wheel wells, fender nuts (maybe half of of total), rear corners under the bench seat and new bumper supports on the rear. And the steel sunroof is in bad condition (just the moving part).

Blue Baron wrote: Wow, that car is rusted.

But I imagine choices are limited in Romania, plus that look on your wife's face says it all. Good luck on the project!

It's not worse than many, see my description above. If you look for them in "to be restored condition", that is how they usually are. And nobody wants them, because too few people actually do the work themselves. If you take it to a restoration shop, it gets too expensive pretty fast, so it's easier to put some more money from the start and get a good one. This was ~300 bucks 13-15 years ago when I put it to storage.
Thank you!

Rome wrote: Won't you have significant problems trying to match up the '63's chassis number with the '65's chassis number stamped into the ID plate in the trunk, since there will be a mismatch during registration? Or do you have the "paperwork" for the '63 chassis and you'll be registering the car as that model year?

Are there some 1968 or newer standard Beetles (not the 1302 or 1303) in your country that have the optional semi-automatic transmission and therefore the semi-trailing arm rear suspension? Such a chassis would be excellent for a "body swap" because you can easily fit Karmann Ghia front disc brakes, front and rear sway bars; and have a much more modern-handling Beetle. But for that, you'll also encounter the chassis# and body# mismatch when registering the car.

No problems with registration. I have the 63 plate to go with the chassis, but in our country only the chassis number is taken into consideration.
I could use an IRS chassis, just need the papers to go with it. But I would not do it. Actually I wanted to build a link and pin front suspension car for a long time. No problem about comfort, wifey has some, ahem, not so original requests on the car, aka airride :)). I did not even want a ball joint suspension (64-).

Wed Aug 23, 2023 11:43 pm

While I make the list of needed parts and raise money for the first order (that would be chassis tins like floors, frame head...), I did some more disassembly. First off was the sliding sunroof. It is in a very "crunchy" state, so I started looking for a better one. It may take some time. Otherwise I will try to fix it, but it's very very hard job.

And I took off the wiring harness, which at first looked very good in the engine compartment and in the trunk. Well, big surprise in the C pillar area: it was burnt at some point. Pic is after I took off all the insulating tape which covered each wire... No big deal, I have lots of wiring from my other car and a big bag of wires from a BMW. So I will just patch it properly.
In the last pic you can see why this kind of fires start: very "romanian" fuses.

Thu Aug 24, 2023 5:04 am

Can I install a later 67- wiper assembly with motor? Even if I use only one speed from it. I anyway wanted to convert to 12V, and the assembly on the car was modified for some local motor, so I need a new assembly anyway.

Thu Aug 24, 2023 9:52 am

Hello, on my '65 I used a '67 wiper switch along with a '69 two speed motor. Worked great. Good luck on Mushu.

Thu Aug 24, 2023 11:00 am

Thank you for the confirmation! I do not want to use the late two speed button, because it has 14mm nut compared to the original 10mm. I do not want to drill any different hole. I will just connect one speed and be happy with it.

Thu Aug 24, 2023 11:34 am

Hi, the '67 switch is identical in appearance to the '65. No drilling required.

Thu Aug 24, 2023 10:29 pm

Great, thank you! I found these two speed switches new, a bit pricey but well worth the money.

Thu Aug 24, 2023 10:54 pm

Here's a picture of the sunroof underside. A lot of work to repair it, but I may have to if I do not find a better one around here (not an easy task to find one).

Thu Aug 24, 2023 11:02 pm

tzepesh wrote: Can I install a later 67- wiper assembly with motor? Even if I use only one speed from it. I anyway wanted to convert to 12V, and the assembly on the car was modified for some local motor, so I need a new assembly anyway.
Nearly 30 years ago I bought this part to use on my 6 volt's wiper motor when converting my '64 Karmann Ghia to 12 volts. It worked well, with the single speed being in between "low" and "high" on a 12 volt 2-speed motor. Allowed me to use the original wiper motor switch. https://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=113955811B

Thu Aug 24, 2023 11:58 pm

Rome wrote:
Nearly 30 years ago I bought this part to use on my 6 volt's wiper motor when converting my '64 Karmann Ghia to 12 volts. It worked well, with the single speed being in between "low" and "high" on a 12 volt 2-speed motor. Allowed me to use the original wiper motor switch. https://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=113955811B

This was my initial plan, but the wiper mechanism that was on the car was modified to some sort of local (romanian brand) motor. So I need to buy a mechanism anyway, and it is easier to find directly a 12V later one, with two speeds, at ~10-15 bucks... So all benefits at lower price.

Fri Aug 25, 2023 3:04 am

OK. I just thought in case you may have a spare 6 v SWF-brand motor already, the WW armature could've worked. How is the Beetle spare parts situation in your country? Are there enough enthusiasts around so that you can buy parts locally, or have them sent to you? Or do you have to go outside your country for parts?

Fri Aug 25, 2023 8:04 am

Nice project and if the wife is on board then you are in good shape no matter how long it takes.

tzepesh wrote: Here's a picture of the sunroof underside. That is rather crusty. These come up for sale from time to time both as whole roof clips and as parts. How is the rest of the sunroof meaning the body. Check your front and rear drains as usually they are clogged which causes the roof to rust. Also note there are two different panels. The change is in the front adjusters. Early ones have big round knobs. Later ones do not. this made the stamping in the front corners different. There are a few for sale on TS right now. Look in both 58/67 and 68 up areas.

Have fun.

Mon Aug 28, 2023 4:01 am

Rome wrote: OK. I just thought in case you may have a spare 6 v SWF-brand motor already, the WW armature could've worked. How is the Beetle spare parts situation in your country? Are there enough enthusiasts around so that you can buy parts locally, or have them sent to you? Or do you have to go outside your country for parts?

Parts are easily available. A friend has an aircooled parts shop in the next big town (Arad), and he can bring anything from BBT, Paruzzi. Also, no problem to order from the regular big sites in Europe: Hoffmann, CSP, Mecatechnic, and even from Heritage in the UK. Anyway, what I need for this car I can mostly source via my friend, and just a few parts from Hoffmann.

matthew henricks wrote: Nice project and if the wife is on board then you are in good shape no matter how long it takes.

tzepesh wrote:
Here's a picture of the sunroof underside.
That is rather crusty. These come up for sale from time to time both as whole roof clips and as parts. How is the rest of the sunroof meaning the body. Check your front and rear drains as usually they are clogged which causes the roof to rust. Also note there are two different panels. The change is in the front adjusters. Early ones have big round knobs. Later ones do not. this made the stamping in the front corners different. There are a few for sale on TS right now. Look in both 58/67 and 68 up areas.

Have fun.

Yes, we are both into Bugs, and this is her car, so I will build it as she (and the kids :D) want.
I found the differences between different years of the metal sunroofs. But they are interchangeable, so we'll see what could be found. I would still attempt to repair the original one. It's a long shot, no hurry on this one.
I will definitely check and clean all drain hoses. They are now clogged by the rust falling from the sunroof.