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Nepenthe88 Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2010 Posts: 1320 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 11:53 am Post subject: Red w/ Racing Stripes, a 74 Super Build... |
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So, I’ve been trolling the samba for a while now, and figured it was finally time to post some pics of my 74 Super build. I should say that when I started, I knew nothing about cars or VW’s so I considered this entire project a trial by error kind of thing.
Anyway... without further adieu:
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notice the baby tornados which–ironically enough– spontaneously re-adjust themselves in the slightest breeze. The slick wide five EMPI’s. Rusty light rings. And… that which enticed an idiot like me to drive clear across the state to pick her up— Racing Stripes!!!
Continuing our tour around the car…
You’ll notice a small dent in the front apron, and– what you can’t see in the foto– there’s no seal under the decklid handle, or the antenna (or just about anywhere else), and as a result both have bubbled. Boo!
But if you look really close, you might see something strange thru the front apron vents. Curious? Is that a radiator? Cause it sure looks like a radiator…. but on an aircooled beetle? Strange, it must be….
Dealer installed AIR CONDITIONING!!!
Also note the full size spare which still holds air. Great for applications like a windshield washer fluid bottle… which would be great if the hose ends weren’t all jiggered. Anyway, moving on…
ooh… welcome to the not so nice side.
First, those hoses hanging down… one of those is the wiring harness (did I forget to mention there’s no floor pans?), the other is for the AC.
Other fun stuff to point out: Crease in the front fender from an accident of some sort. a broken trigger on the driver’s door handle. Bubbling pinholes behind the crescent moon thingy. and– most dishearteningly of all– there’s about a gallon of bondo on the rear quarter– and not done very nicely I might add.
***warning to noob’s like me*** do NOT buy a beetle at night, in the rain– ever. Especially after driving clear cross NY state to see it for the first time, regardless of how nice the passenger side fotos look on craigslist, or how fun you think it would be to fix an old beetle.
moving on.
To the heart and soul of z’beetle. Engine code HO? Wait, doesn’t that mean that my ’74 has the single port soul of ’66 beetle? Sigh… That means no doghouse. No dual relief. No accessory pully to run the AC. And, it’s only a 1500?! Of course I didn’t figure any of this out until about a week later.
Further discoveries during that time revealed that the coil and starter are both shot.
and– if you look closely at the fenders both front and back– you’ll find a curious lack of bumper holes. Po decided it would be fun to spot weld some scrap steel to the insides of the fenders and then level everything out with bondo. Which is now cracking in cute little half moon shapes. I’m guessing he did that on purpose, you know… to match the rotten half moons on the C-pillar.
Pics of the inside are… painful. The dash is cracked and diseased so badly that it’s started to spread to the steering wheel! Heater channel on the drivers side is nearly non-existent, though the passenger side is serviceable and surprisingly nice. I think most of the body work stuff is a result of the accident, cause the passenger side is in decent shape, and the drivers side is… a freeeeking bloody mess!!
Anyway, car comes with a SCAT super-fast-super-shifter, and some impeccably well cut out floor pans.
I presume the po was planning on pop-riveting in some stop signs or something. you know, to match the red on white racing stripe theme
ps– car has a title. Odometer reads 23,373. And I paid 1k. Next step: Tear Parts Off!!!
Last edited by Nepenthe88 on Fri Oct 08, 2010 10:15 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Nepenthe88 Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2010 Posts: 1320 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 8:21 pm Post subject: |
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The sun is shining, and the smell of disassembly’s in the air!!
I wonder how long it took the Germans to engineer that rat’s nest of wires?
Oh, and FYI, the fenders didn’t come off so easy either. about half of the bolts were rusted so badly that I wound up tearing their matching threaded cube thingies out of the body– another wonderfully engineered solution from the Krauts. The other half… just weren’t there! Po wound up holding everything together with about a box of self tapping sheet metal screws– Brilliant!!
Engine removal was.. um… yeah, I dropped it.
What can I say? It’s a new jack and was way more sensitive than I expected. Everything’s ok though. it was only about 5 inches. Still, I cussed a fair bit at my own idiocy and then made myself feel better by thwaping a huge chunk of bondo off the rear apron.
and then I went online and bought a crappy brazilian replacement
And while I was there, I found me a real slick idea courtesy of the bug-me video series.
I call it: The Super Beetle lift kit!
I have to keep reminding myself not to open the doors though. I imagine the whole thing will probably fold in half if I forget– eeek!
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69_67VWBug Samba Member
Joined: December 11, 2008 Posts: 201 Location: Blackwell, Oklahoma
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Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 10:47 pm Post subject: |
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Looks like you got your work cutout for you, especially since this is your first one. Can i ask what you paid for it? _________________ New VW Rail project(traded for the bug/pickup)
1967 VW baja bug (get it goin one of these days)
1970 VW bug (Another Free One)
1970 VW baja bug (got for free, original 1500 sp)
1972 VW sandrail (1835 gettin it done)
ORIGINAL 1967 Meyers Manx dune buggy (needs to be redone)
1973 VW Bug |
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Joel Samba Member
Joined: September 04, 2006 Posts: 11099 Location: NSW Australia
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Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 3:53 am Post subject: |
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Wow, you certainly don't stuff about.
It's funny seeing all the different ways that dealerships cut the holes for A/C in 1303 supers
The one mine came out of looked like someone cut it with their fingernails _________________ Quick little bug, you got a Porsche motor in that?
1974 Germanlook 1303 2.5 Suba-Beetle |
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Nepenthe88 Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2010 Posts: 1320 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:57 am Post subject: |
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you sure can.
I paid a thousand bucks for it. And while I don't think I got hosed, it wasn't the greatest deal either. The car did come with a bunch of miscellaneous stuff: a new wiring harness, half pans (which I considered useless and traded to a buddy of mine), the Bently and Hayes manual... and an education on how not to buy cars
But.. that price also doesn't include the cost of the trailer tire I shredded on the Thruway. Oops.
And Joel, I'll take that as a compliment, thanks!! I have to say, I think they gave a six year old the sawzall to cut out the A/C hole thru the windshield wiper access panel. It's downright dangerously jagged!
I should tell everyone that I've had to do almost all the work in the driveway (don't really have much of a garage), and as a result tried to take advantage of the good weather (it IS Buffalo). So.... I've got a small backlog of fotos to post. And since it's rained nonstop for the past WEEK!!
now must be the time. |
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Nepenthe88 Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2010 Posts: 1320 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:58 am Post subject: |
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And I'm curious...
what's people's opinion on the racing stripes??? |
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djkeev Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007 Posts: 32584 Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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Q-Dog Samba Member
Joined: April 05, 2010 Posts: 8699 Location: Sunset, Louisiana
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Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 8:23 am Post subject: |
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Well, you don't mess around. Take it from experience. Don't pull off anything you don't have to, take lots of pictures before you pull stuff off, label everything you pull off and don't throw anything away until you are done.
Nepenthe88 wrote: |
And I'm curious...
what's people's opinion on the racing stripes??? |
I like the stripes, but I'm weird like that. I'm thinking about a single stripe on my buggy. _________________ Brian
'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle |
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Vinnems Samba Member
Joined: December 23, 2008 Posts: 1183 Location: Simi Valley, CA
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Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 8:52 am Post subject: |
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Hey, I have the same car. Check out my rebuild thread in the signature to see what your car looks like fully naked.
As long as your car is in solid shape (especially the heater channels) you don't have to worry about it "folding in half". I had mine up on a similar apparatus for 4 or 5 months with no doors and nothing bad happened. Of course, mine was a California car with almost zero rust.
Also, I think your front grill is aftemarket already. If I'm remembering right, factory front grills that had AC slots had three different sized slots, biggest ones being on the outside and smallest ones on the inside. Not 100% on this, though.
Very nice car. |
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Nepenthe88 Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2010 Posts: 1320 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:38 pm Post subject: |
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@q-dog-- well, I've taken half your advice. All the parts and pieces are in little chinese food tupperware bowls, neatly labled. But. I've taken almost everything apart, whether it needed to or not. I figured that was the only way to know how to break it properly
@Vinnems-- Nice car! For some reason I'm partial to 74 supers..?! But I'm still gonna worry about it folding in half. Poor red racing stripe beetle lived most its life driving thru the snow, on salt covered roads. And it shows!
And you're right about the front apron. It is an aftermarket piece. But. Oh well. C'est la vie. It's a daily driving super, not a split... so I'm not very interested in bringing it back to stock. In fact, I have a wish list of some not so stock mods:
--removable rear apron
--a wide assortment of Gauges!!
--disk breaks all 'round
--no rear seats for storage (and maybe a modern seat swap)
--topline front suspension upgrades
--Racing stripes |
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Nepenthe88 Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2010 Posts: 1320 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:43 pm Post subject: |
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oh, and rear pop outs!! |
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blakiexcharles Samba Member
Joined: November 19, 2007 Posts: 467 Location: San Marcos, Ca
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19super73 Hardcore Stock Nazi
Joined: October 18, 2007 Posts: 4351 Location: Cité Soleil
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Nepenthe88 Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2010 Posts: 1320 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 1:37 pm Post subject: |
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ha, if anything I would make the stripes a wee bit wider in the front!
We'll see. Some days I love them. Other days I'm unsure to keep them. |
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Nepenthe88 Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2010 Posts: 1320 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 1:39 pm Post subject: |
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So, I called around and found a junkyard that would let me frolic about unsupervised and search for beetles!!! So, I slid my safari hat in place and…
found a sad specimen. It’s a convertible, and I see struts, so it’s a super. But, the dash is different than my ’74 so it has to be an early model super?
There was a cute yellow one too. But, I think she got sat on a little bit– damned crazy fat kids!
And then there was this black one… but, I thought they didn’t ship black beetles to the states? Anyway, it’s a standard and has a smaller-ish rear windshield (I think, the weeds were really thick there), but isn’t an oval. Can anyone say Candidate Baja!?
There were also a couple old busses. One of them even has an engine! I figure I’ll keep it’s location secret until I need a core for my Jake Raby engine (haha, keep dreaming!!).
Interesting observation… all the beetles I found were sans engine. Obviously those had been picked long ago by industrious aircooled scavengers. BUT… there were a pair of Ghia’s, and both of them still had engines. All I’m saying is that you need to keep your eyes open. Or something.
and my personal favorite… It looks like some chopped-top roadster with an awesome faux paint job! My only question:
what could do that to the roof???
Oh, and if you’re curious, I didn’t come away empty handed. That cute yellow beetle donated a rear bump stop…. and it’s SOUL!!!
hahaha (evil cackle)!!!
Next step… Scrub It, Sand It, make it pretty! |
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Nepenthe88 Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2010 Posts: 1320 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 1:42 pm Post subject: |
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Scrub it with bubbles! Make it pretty…
Quite a difference eh? All it took was hot water, soap, a soft plastic scrubby and greasy elbows.
Now… remember all those cleansers and cleaners housed in the cabinets of our domesticated households. Ever read the warning that goes something like, “test in Inconspicuous location in case of discoloration”. Well… I don’t think the po saw that. Take a look at the left edge of the still-grubby seat (drivers). I think he used bleach straight out the bottle!!! Though– to his credit– the front edge of the seat IS inconspicuous… if you’re driving from the back seat!! ugh…
That, in addition to the red rag he shoved in the hole of the seat bottom set me on a small adventure to the local auto upholsterer.
who wanted five hundred dollars to fix them! Holy I don’t think so… Thankfully he had another option. Turns out he has a Super Beetle out back, and it might have seats!
Honestly?
I kinda wish it had been a split so I could have punched him in the teeth… I walked all around it and– other than not having floor pans, and him slicing the fenders in half– the poor bug was in great shape!
Apparently he sawzall’d her in half so that he could display the front of it in his local megachurch. It has since been painted rattle can orange, and… um… is displayed as if it was driving thru the wall behind the altar– I sh*t you not.
I will suppress my opinion, but only cause he bribed me with all that glass, the gas tank, and agreed to trade me my cracked metal license plate dome thingy, for his NOT-cracked plastic license plate dome thingy.
which means I salvaged its SOUL in the process! And have since added it to my collection…. |
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Joel Samba Member
Joined: September 04, 2006 Posts: 11099 Location: NSW Australia
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Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 10:18 pm Post subject: |
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Nepenthe88 wrote: |
I have a wish list of some not so stock mods:
--removable rear apron
--a wide assortment of Gauges!!
--disk breaks all 'round
--topline front suspension upgrades
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Those are all mods I've made to mine amongst others and they have all been so worth it
I wish i'd made the apron removable 10 years ago, engine work and removal is so much easier.
I've got a vid in my youtube channel it took me 3 and half minutes to get the engine from running in the car to sitting on the ground
I have thought about blue racing stripes on mine but prefer a more sedate look
That last bug at the junk yard just looks like a pole or tree has fallen on it _________________ Quick little bug, you got a Porsche motor in that?
1974 Germanlook 1303 2.5 Suba-Beetle |
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Nepenthe88 Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2010 Posts: 1320 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 6:03 am Post subject: |
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Joel... i bought a pair of heated, black leather seats out of a BMW m3 yesterday, so... throwing that in the mix, are there any other mods you've done that I might want to think about???
and as far as the blue racing stripes go... i understand completely! I want to keep mine cause i think it's unique (i haven't seen any beetles with similar stripes), but then again, it IS loud! and somedays it's too loud for my tastes... |
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williamblanda Don't Disgrace The Eddy!
Joined: September 09, 2008 Posts: 1380 Location: Buffalo, NY
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 6:54 am Post subject: |
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Cool project! I'm over at UB, if you ever need some help give me a holler. |
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Nepenthe88 Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2010 Posts: 1320 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 10:17 am Post subject: |
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Hi all... Since I got moved from the "Late Model, Super Beetle" section to the "Reader's Rides" section, I thought I would change the name of the post to make it a bit more identifiable.
Hope I didn't lose anyone! I appreciate everyone's comments!!! |
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