TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sun Nov 02, 2025 10:39 am

Having acquired this 1966 Beetle a year or so ago as part of a several car purchase….

I finally managed to get some of the rest of the parts out of the sellers’ barn.

And, well, amongst all the parts, there’s plenty of rodent, raccoon, cat, insect, & who knows what other kinds of shit is in there….

Thus, this car’s name shall be Fecal Matter.

And, to house all its odiferous bits & to somewhat keep them out of the weather, I tossed the doors on, stuffed the pop outs back in, slid the gas tank in place, & bolted a hood up.

Sun Nov 02, 2025 10:50 am

Rare front engine beetle

Sun Nov 02, 2025 11:06 am

Glenn wrote: Rare front engine beetle

Even rarer, it still has one in back too. :lol:

Sun Nov 02, 2025 11:11 am

Glenn wrote: Rare front engine beetle

Sun Nov 02, 2025 3:16 pm

The motor mounts on that front one look like they might be bad.

Sun Nov 02, 2025 3:51 pm

No, they are as designed. When full throttle is applied it will torque itself counterclockwise (as viewed from the driver’s seat) into a level attitude.

Mon Nov 03, 2025 4:24 am

As to naming your Beetle, it has a relative among Samba folks- https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=807067&highlight=

The late "Maestro" in the Porsche 356 world, Harry Pellow, would call the dark brown factory color on those models "baby poop brown". So maybe a brown color would be a suitable choice, even if its just a stock Rust-O-Leum enamel that's rolled onto the body?

Have you already clarified a plan for this one, such as a high-stance daily driver like your Ghia was?

Mon Nov 03, 2025 4:53 am

that's not poop it's 'shatina' :lol: remember they're only crap once...

Mon Nov 03, 2025 4:37 pm

SHINOLA.

Mon Nov 03, 2025 5:20 pm

Rome wrote: So maybe a brown color would be a suitable choice, even if it’s just a stock Rust-O-Leum enamel that's rolled onto the body?

Have you already clarified a plan for this one, such as a high-stance daily driver like your Ghia was?

Ewww… NO! It killed me to repaint my ‘78 Rabbit the original shit brown, I would never change a car to that color.

The plan for this one is to resurrect it, mostly stock, on the cheap. Except for the safety stuff, using as much of the stuff that I have laying around.

Speaking of which, since it has a set of Thing wheels on it, I now have a place to put those 27/8.5/14”s I took off the bus. I might have to give it a bit of an altitude adjustment for them to clear the fenders.

Unfortunately, the rare-ish Pigalle interior is pretty much toast.

But hey, it came with a “new-still-in-the-box” headliner.

And an original muffler.

And I have acquired yet another set of cheap, warped-ass door cards.

Mon Nov 03, 2025 7:12 pm

Fakalien has a better ring to it. I can’t put the umlaut in the word but it’s over the first a.

Mon Nov 03, 2025 8:23 pm

Quote: Fakalien has a better ring to it. I can’t put the umlaut in the word but it’s over the first a.
You could probably even sneak that one past your state's DMV for custom plates!

In German that would sound like ""fake OLL yen".

And my suggestion would'be been simply "Kacke" meaning "crap" (sounds like COCK-eh). Moderate slang. Hundekacke is dog crap.

I just tried using some keyboard shortcuts on my Windows US Int'l keyboard which does not have umlauts. None worked. You can always use the equivalent by adding the letter "e" after the vowel, such as Faekalien.

Wed Nov 05, 2025 10:43 am

I flattened warped door cards by getting them wet and flattening them under plywood and cinder blocks on our lawn.

Thu Nov 06, 2025 5:10 am

Interesting "sobriquet" !

Thu Nov 06, 2025 3:54 pm

Mike Fisher wrote:
I flattened warped door cards by getting them wet and flattening them under plywood and cinder blocks on our lawn.
OP, down the road, when you reach a point where you decide on your interior color and want to paint these door panels (after straightening them per Mike's advice)- Scrub the vinyl with warm soapy water and a soft brush. Wipe/dry off the water, then let the panel sit out in the sun to dry and warm up. Blow off the surface just before painting, and make sure the vinyl is very warm to the touch. Use a good vinyl spray such as made by SEM. Apply a few LIGHT coats, about 5 - 10 minutes apart.

This worked well for me about 25 yrs ago when I utilized some OG black vinyl door panels for a '69 Beetle, and spraying them in off-white using the SEM spray can.

Sun Nov 09, 2025 8:51 am

Today I tossed on some fenders that I had laying around to give it a more complete look.

Hmm…. Should I toss the deck lid that matches the fenders on there to complete the look?

Here’s the 27/8.5/14 tires that came off the bus, they’re just a tad taller than the stock 15” tires.

In anticipation of zipping in a windshield, I went ahead & shot some paint into the aperture to slow any further rust. This will give the paint a week or so to cure.

Sun Nov 16, 2025 11:55 am

This morning I attempted to install the windshield with a new US style gasket, only to figure out that I had tossed the old trim pieces. Since I had already fit the gasket to the windshield, I just stuffed it into the aperture without roping it in to keep some of the weather out.

However, I did find some replacement sheet metal in the car, so I fit the spare tire well into place.

And then the front apron.