30 years later, I finally have the bug I want, a 1960 Ragtop bug

[RobE30]

Picked up some more parts for my project. They're pretty much complete, rear wheel cylinders are a bit rusty but hopefully i can save them.

I'll dig into them sometime in the future.


Right now I'm taking the wheels to a wheel repair shop for powder coating and possibly having the rusted area repaired vs a different wheel.

[Rome]

Those Porsche 356 A brakes will be a big upgrade.

Will you have your wheels powder-coated in the original factory 2-tone colors, with the centers usually a variation of "ivory" for '60?

[RobE30]

No major updates, just some fun out cruising with my dog.

The 356 wheels are on hold for the moment. I need to figure out how to smooth out the inside so the tire will slip on. 99% sure I'll be running tubes on them but even with that, the tire guy said I need to make the inside smooth.

The car desperately needs shocks and a steering ragjoint. I saw Konis were on sale on amazon.... Do I need Konis, probably not but I hate buying things twice.

[The Pilch]

What a great car - love this!! I'll be watching closely for updates!!
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'85 Vanagon GL, weekender package, 1.9 wbx named Freddie/ '61 Beetle named Ringo/ '78 Dodge Monaco which is nothing like the Bluesmobile so please don't cast that oily rag upon it.

[RobE30]

Somehow the upper shock "bolt" broke on the passenger side while out cruising around so I tried to drill and EZ out it which ended up with a broken EZ out. So, I started poking around the front suspension and realized that except for the grease and dirt, it's pretty much as it was in 1960. That led to me going through my boxes of parts (W German FEBI king and link pins) and ordering what I didn't have on hand from WW and Koni. Koni had a sale going for the month of July so that cemented that plan.

I have never rebuilt a link pin front end before. Any pointers?

[RobE30]

finally got a chance to get out to the garage yesterday for an hour or so. Ended up getting distracted test fitting parts that are not ready for final install but it's fun to test fit.

Greasy mess

Hopefully I'll have the damaged beam out by the weekend, get everything reinstalled and get out for a test drive.

[pondoras box]

This is exactly what I’m trying to get my son to do with his old speed look car car. You lucked out finding those brakes and wheels! I like where this is going!

Don’t know if it’s too far for you bet there is a nice VW show on Geneva on the Lake Ohio the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. Not a huge show but the venue is really nice and it’s real laid back.
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Looking for anything from Hal Casey Motors out of Hamburg New York, from license plate surrounds to matchbooks.

1961 23 Window (Bobo)
1965 11 Window (Zelda). https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=563183
1965 13 Window (Lucas)
1957 Oval ragtop
1960 hardtop
1964 hardtop
1965 hardtop (Arschloch)
1973 standard bug (Dirty Gertie)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=804912
1988 Cabriolet VR6 conversion

[RobE30]

That would be fun. Driving 7 hours for a show is not on the table with 2 little kids at this point though.

Thanks for the kind words!
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1960 Ragtop bug- work in progress

[pondoras box]

Yep 7 hours is a bit much for this show. It’s right on Lake Erie and it’s a neat little town if you ever find yourself over here over Labor Day.
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Looking for anything from Hal Casey Motors out of Hamburg New York, from license plate surrounds to matchbooks.

1961 23 Window (Bobo)
1965 11 Window (Zelda). https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=563183
1965 13 Window (Lucas)
1957 Oval ragtop
1960 hardtop
1964 hardtop
1965 hardtop (Arschloch)
1973 standard bug (Dirty Gertie)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=804912
1988 Cabriolet VR6 conversion

[ppilotmike]

rebuilding a king/link front suspension is very straightforward. You will need a reamer for the king pin bushings. I use my old snap on air hammer to remove the old pin and bushings. have fun that's the most important part.

[RobE30]

I picked up the original drivers side door from a friend who was welding it for me and took a few minutes to hang it. It needs some adjustments, new hinge pins and I told the door was twisted when someone tried forcing it open when the bottom hinge was rusted solid. I'm hopeful I can fix it so I can run it until I decide if/when I'm going to paint it. Paint is not on my to do list....

Back to the beam, it's almost ready to come out. The steering coupler is roached. Hopefully by tomorrow the beam will be out and I will start rebuilding it.

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1960 Ragtop bug- work in progress

[RobE30]

Tomorrow came and went over a month ago and the poor car is still on jackstands. Work, kids and house projects have definitely slowed progress, but everything is pretty much back together. Just need to grease all the fittings, install the fuel tank and deal with any other little things underneath while I'm in there.

Finally scored one on amazon.

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1960 Ragtop bug- work in progress

[slayer61]

I think you're gonna like your Koni reds. They work beautifully on my buggy
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[Big Bill]

A photo of my 60 Rag Top dead stock when I bought it, when to the Cal Look and then back to Stock. Honestly it is the one VW I wish I still had. Kelly Park show 1985ish.

[RobE30]

[RobE30]

I was trolling marketplace the other day and a local guy was selling 3 engines for a solid price. One of them was a complete but disassembled 1960 36hp. I put my cargo rack on the sequoia, bundled up my 1 year old daughter and off we went.

I ended up coming home with a 1500 sp, 1600 sp, a 36hp with the red dipstick (all parts are present but the fins are cracked), a holley bug spray on a 1500 manifold and some other stuff. It was an all or nothing deal.

So, now I have the original engine, just not entirely sure what I'm going to do with it.

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1960 Ragtop bug- work in progress

[RobE30]

Got a package in the mail from a guy in our local VW community. The bumperettes came off of a former PCA race car. They allow the bumper blade to be detached when the car is at the track and slips back on for the drive home. Definitely homemade and a part of my local VW history. Stoked to get them on my car

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1960 Ragtop bug- work in progress

[RobE30]

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1960 Ragtop bug- work in progress