TheSamba.com :: View topic - 30 years later, I finally have the bug I want, a 1960 Ragtop bug

Mon Feb 03, 2025 7:43 am

I started this journey in 1994 at the age of 13 after saving up all summer mowing lawns to buy my first bug. I drove home my 1974 Super beetle on 3 cylinders, no license at 13 years old with my uncle following behind me. What a learning experience! Learned that if you don't know what you're doing, a shop can rip you off bad and that sometimes, buying the proper tools and learning yourself is the best way.

Fast forward 30 years, 4 split window busses, countless bugs, many life changes and a 15 year hiatus from vws, I'm back. Found my bug on facebook marketplace while doing my usual morning perusal. I convinced my wife that it was a good idea to load our two girls up in my Tacoma, drive to VT a week before Christmas and bring home a mostly original paint 1960 Indigo Blau Ragtop Bug.

The bug runs and drives nicely. The brakes need adjustment, it doesn't stay in 2nd gear unless you're giving it gas, carb needs attention, drips oil, most likely needs new trans mounts and I need to adjust the doors. The PO replaced the heat channels and the doors (driver's side mainly) hits the channel when closing. Our roads have more salt on them than a Philly soft pretzel, so I have time to get everything sorted before the roads are clear.

Enough words, here are some pictures

Mon Feb 03, 2025 7:45 am

Picked up my 8 year old daughter from school a couple days after we brought it home. I think she's hooked

Mon Feb 03, 2025 7:53 am

Awsome!! Congrats!! Very cool ride.

Mon Feb 03, 2025 8:29 am

Nice!! :D Looks complete and pretty original. Keep the photos coming! :thumbsup:

Mon Feb 03, 2025 9:32 am

Congratulations! It feels great getting back into these old cars. I did the same thing in 2014, after a 20 year hiatus. My daughters were also young when I got back into it. For both my girls, we purchased an old beat up Bug and restored them, a 70 and a 77. That got them money for the down payments for their new cars. In the process they learned how to do a brake job, change the oil, adjust brakes and do a tune up. They walked away with a great car vocabulary and some basic knowledge, which has paid off for them both when taking their own cars in! Even in their friend groups they are considered the most knowledgeable in regards to cars!

Pretty cool stuff! Hopefully you also pass on your knowledge and share your time building a great bridge for the future disagreements that are in your horizon! Sorry man, us parents get to hash out all of those adolescent years with the very ones we love. So, make some strong bonds with them!

Have fun!

Mon Feb 03, 2025 12:43 pm

That's a great-lookin' old Bug there =D> ...and a good story to go with it.

What's your plan for it?

Mon Feb 03, 2025 1:07 pm

@rcooled for now, just figure out the mechanical things that annoy me or are potential safety concerns. I have the original driver door as well BUT it has a broken lower hinge and a large crease diagonally across the door. Eventually, I will see what I can do to remedy that and reinstall it. I've always been drawn to the "vintage speed" cars ever since I saw this 59 former PCA hill climb car when I was 16. I tried buying this car in the late 90's and got the "I don't want to sell it" and last summer it became available BUT with 2 young kids, I don't want to bury myself in a multiyear project so I passed on it. In the late 50's, early 60's, I was told it had a 356 drivetrain, brakes etc and that idea has always remained in the forefront of my brain.

To some degree, I would like to make a nod to this car, the Giant Killer with my 60. We shall see.

Mon Feb 03, 2025 2:45 pm

And a bonus "W' decklid! Nice going with your '60.

50 years ago I also had a '60 sunroof; it was a parts car from a colleague of my dad's. Seller included many extra parts including '67 front fenders and a W decklid which I installed when my cousin and I got it running as my first car. My VIN was 3092993; is yours close?

Careful with those multiple/duplicate posts...

Mon Feb 03, 2025 4:18 pm

Rome wrote: And a bonus "W' decklid! Nice going with your '60.

50 years ago I also had a '60 sunroof; it was a parts car from a colleague of my dad's. Seller included many extra parts including '67 front fenders and a W decklid which I installed when my cousin and I got it running as my first car. My VIN was 3092993; is yours close?

Careful with those multiple/duplicate posts...

My vin starts with 273.... November '59 build I believe. I forget the rest. I'm on the fence whether to keep the W or swap in the correct lid. Looks good for now so it will stay!

I think I fixed the duplicate posts in here, computer glitch

Mon Feb 03, 2025 6:17 pm

RobE30 wrote: I started this journey in 1994 at the age of 13 after saving up all summer mowing lawns to buy my first bug. I drove home my 1974 Super beetle on 3 cylinders, no license at 13 years old with my uncle following behind me....

I started this journey in 1980 at the age of 13 after saving up all summer mowing lawns to buy my first bug. I drove home my 1972 Super beetle on 3 cylinders, no license at 13 years old with my father following behind me....

Welcome home Brother!

That is a worthy bug! Congratulations

Tue Feb 04, 2025 6:26 am

Congratulations! Thirty years is a long time to wait, but that bug looks fantastic!!
My first bug was a '60. Looked, but never found another.

Tue Feb 04, 2025 4:22 pm

I noticed and may be wrong but did the 1960 have a full W deck lid or should it have the half W deck lid? My understanding is the half W decklid was from 1958 to 1963.

Wed Feb 05, 2025 8:19 pm

That car has good character, congrats on the find. Welcome to the '60 ragtop club. 8)

Thu Feb 06, 2025 11:37 am

That's a really nice early Ragtop Bug!

Sun Feb 09, 2025 11:19 am

Congratulations!!! Enjoy Enjoy Enjoy!

Sun Feb 09, 2025 12:02 pm

What a great find! Love the look on your dog's face too!

Sun Feb 09, 2025 12:17 pm

Very nice score. Glad your daughter loves it as well. We need to "hook" the next generations to keep these VW's alive and well. :wink:

Wed Feb 26, 2025 1:56 pm

Had a freak medical emergency which landed me with an on demand pacemaker and 6 weeks off work but, I can't stretch, twist or finagle my way around a car too much. So, I carefully tackled the driver's side door window.

Looks like the metal channel that the glass sits in is a bit crusty and doesn't seem to give the glass the needed pinch. Any tips on installing the channel so that it stays put?

Once I get to see the Dr, I'm hoping I get cleared to move my left arm a bit more and I'll get the carb situated hopefully.

Wed Feb 26, 2025 4:12 pm

The window is held in the channel partly by spring action of the channel and partly by friction via the rubber channel insert. Reusing the old rubber typically doesn't work well as its rather perished by now, and once the channel rusts and starts to split in two lengthwise it's a bit of a lost cause anyway. The best course of action would be to replace the channel and use new rubber (a cut piece of bicycle innertube works), or you can try something along the line of urethane windshield adhesive in the channel if it's not rusted too far.

Wed Feb 26, 2025 4:51 pm

^^^ Agreed. You can get new ones fairly cheap from Wolfsburg West:

https://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=111837571B

And the rubber strip that holds the window in place:

https://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=111837565A