What did you do to your Beetle this week?

[67rustavenger]

The thermostat down rod can be installed, with the engine in the car.
But you have to lift the fan shroud high enough to get the down rod through the head.
And doing so might cause you to have to remove the decklid, spring and the attaching mounts.
If it a stock engine. It might be less hassle, to remove the engine and do it without all the fiddly bits fighting you.
_________________
I have learned over the years.
Cheap parts are gonna disappoint you.
Buy Once, Cry Once!

There's never enough time to do it right the first time. But there's always enough time to do it thrice.
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo!

[Crew Dad]

Added LED tail lights to the old 67 housings and
And mounted to the fiberglass fenders...

[iowegian]

After 17 years of talking about it, I finally had my '66 Beetle's driver seat upholstery repaired. The original vinyl was in decent shape but seam stitching had given up the fight (and 56 years of flatulence had discolored the "basket weave" portion of the cushion beyond the point of cleaning it).
The backrest just needed to be re-stitched (but it got new pad.)
The passenger seat was fine so I left it alone.
BEFORE

A retired local auto upholstery guy agreed to do the job, so I ordered new pads from Wolfsburg West. Fortunately I had a very good used rear seat cushion cover from a Platinum '66 in the garage that could be used as donor material.
AFTER

[67rustavenger]

Did a proofing run in my recovered 67 today.
Drove a 50 mile round trip to my SIL's ranch and back home.
The car ran well for what it currently has for an engine.
I enjoyed the drive.

The next run will be to the NW Bug Run June 4th.
Hell! I even signed up for Saturday racing.
Frenchroast will likely beat me to the line, every time we meet up at the lights.
_________________
I have learned over the years.
Cheap parts are gonna disappoint you.
Buy Once, Cry Once!

There's never enough time to do it right the first time. But there's always enough time to do it thrice.
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo!

[Big Bill]

New running boards today. Picked them up at Bug-O-Rama last Sunday along with a few odds and ends that are in better shape than the ones on the car. These are the supposed HD units...the fit was just OK but much better than the roached out ones that were on it.

[hobthebob]

Took my 67 out for a ride tonight with the wife and baby. Been a few days since it ran, but once it got up and running it drove like a dream. One girl in her SUV next to us at a stoplight started taking pictures and ooing/aaahing at it. Fun!

[hobthebob]

I adjusted the choke for the first time after reading up on it.

I am still very new to cars, much less classic cars, and for about a month now, since I cleaned and rebuilt my carburetor, the car would start up (only on cold starts), struggle to stay running, often pop when I pressed the accelerator down, and then frequently die. I figured he was running lean due to the pop out the exhaust, as I had just replaced the exhaust a few months ago, so exhaust leaks were out of the question. Why could he be running lean? I tried everything, and finally realized it must be the choke.

Seemed simple enough, so I read up on it online, and after adjusting it to close almost fully on cold startup, he started RIGHT up, and idled smooth as can be.

Morals of the story: 1. Chokes are essential, at least for my car, because running rough for 30 seconds isn't an option. 2. I can rise to these challenges with this car. Ever since I got it 10 months or so ago, it's been one thing after another. I figured I finally had it sorted after I rebuilt the carb, when the starting issue happened. Never give up. God hasn't given up on me yet.

[62RagTopBug]

Removed old carpet, added insulation, rubber flooring, front hard plastic floor mats and a new shifter.

[lhd65bug]

[trektider60]

I was told Wilma had a respray in 1973, and her paint wasn't real bad. After watching AutoGeeks I gave her two coats of Meguiar's #7. The first coat was left on overnight and the second coat was applied and then polished off. I then applied a coat of Meguiar's GoldClass carnuba wax. It really brought out the Indiana Red color.

before

after

_________________
1960 Indiana Red T1

[62RagTopBug]

Replaced the cracked steering wheel and turn signal switch. Keeping old parts.

[67rustavenger]

Washed the pile of dirt in my driveway Friday. I found a 67 beetle under all the dirtiness!
Yesterday morning. I hopped in the car to attend the Yamhill Derby Day's parade.
Wouldn't ya know it. The damn generator idiot light came on and would not go away with some revs.
I drove my Tundra to the parade.

Later in the afternoon. I once again hopped in the 67 to go to the Pacific Office Automation Summer party. Started the car, red light on again.
While fiddling around getting ready to drive off, it's a short drive to the party. The light went out and never came back on. Weirdness!

EDIT: forgot today's activity.
Drove the car to the store to warm it up real good.
Got back home and adjusted the points. They were a little closed. Started the car and checked the timing, 10° BTDC. Perfect for the camshaft I'm running.

The went after the carb adjustments. It's been running rich.
Adjusted the mixture screw in until the engine stumbled a bit. Turned the screw back until the engine ran smoothly.
After that, I adjusted the idle speed to 1000RPM. Yeah, I know a bit high. But below that, the engine wants to die at idle. Another product of incorrect camshaft selection.
The engine runs great now and has a little better throttle response.
I'll run it like this for a while.
_________________
I have learned over the years.
Cheap parts are gonna disappoint you.
Buy Once, Cry Once!

There's never enough time to do it right the first time. But there's always enough time to do it thrice.
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo!

[Stock Steve]

[62RagTopBug]

[Stock Steve]

[62RagTopBug]

Fixed the kinked fuel line, added a seal between fuel tank and body, new horn, Found a cool vase mount on ebay.

[67rustavenger]

Spent Friday installing the OG pedal cluster in the 67 Java Green beetle. Then the gas tank. It still needs the brakes bled. I'm not in any rush to get this car on the road.
This car will be up for sale later this year.

Went to the store. When I arrived back home, there was a package from WW on the porch.
New shock absorbers all the way around and front turn signal lenses.
These goodies got installed on the ZenithBlau 67 immediately.

After installing the shocks. I took a short spin through the neighborhood.
The car rides a little less harsh than with the KYB GR-2's that came on the car when I purchased it 6 years ago.
The ideal behind the shock installation is, to help with launching off the starting line during the peashooter drags. We'll see how that works out next Saturday night 7/30/22.
_________________
I have learned over the years.
Cheap parts are gonna disappoint you.
Buy Once, Cry Once!

There's never enough time to do it right the first time. But there's always enough time to do it thrice.
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo!

[RCJH77]

After finally fixing all of the electrical issues, I got back to work on repairing the paint. I used rattle cans from PaintScratch, who matched the paint perfectly. I still need to put some rubbing compound on the clearcoat, but I'm happy with the results so far.

[DerrickfromNC1]

Got rid of these in favor of stock units!

[scottyrocks]

To paraphrase Bugs Bunny, I re-re-re-adjusted my shifter yet again, as the slot for 2nd had gone on vacation.

Hopefully I did the bolts tight enough this time.
_________________
“If you care for a thing long enough, it takes on a life of its own, doesn't it? Mending old things, preserving them, looking after them – on some level there's no rational grounds for it.”
– D. Tartt, 'The Goldfinch'