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cory43767 Samba Member
Joined: February 13, 2007 Posts: 258 Location: Conesville, Ohio
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 9:40 am Post subject: New Project Car for Me 1960 Beetle |
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Hello. I am not new to the Samba, but new to the older bugs. I have owned a few late models and just finished a custom 73 standard beetle.
I just picked up a 1960 Beetle for free from a friend of a friend. They knew that I was into bugs and wanted to pass this on to someone that will take care of it. The only stipulation is I need to give them a ride when I get it done. So I drove to Shakopee, MN to pick up this project. A short 850 mile drive from my home in Southeastern Ohio.
The bug is surprisingly solid for a 50 year old car. It was parked since 1982 and I am the third owner. The car has all the parts, but has been gutted of all the interior and the paint is a shabby primer. The motor turns by hand, but I don't have a 6V battery to try it out. There is a little rust on the underside rear of each rocker. The inner fenders on the rear have been replaced by the previous owner and is a poor job, but I think I can fix it. The car also came with an original eperspacher (sp.?) gas heater, a block heater and a lot of the original paperwork.
I am very excited about this car and want to keep the body fairly stock, but give the girl a little bit of a stance. I have the full custom on my 73, so the 60 will be more of a resto mod. I have a few pictures that the previous owner sent me, but my cam was inop last night.
Here are some pictures:
Nice Rusty rear fenders, they were replaced 27 years ago andnot painted!
Pass. Rear. Original W Hood and rear apron is nice shape.
Just a little Surface rust and the patina look...
Original motor and it turns over by hand!
Cool Original Dash. Do you like the Wood Windshield? The P.O. broke the old one when he removed it and so he proceeded to cut a wood one to put in its place!
I know I will need some assistance from all on this one as the old ones have some quirky items that i am not used to. Thanks for reading and I will be posting my activities with my 60 when I can. _________________ 73' Standard Bug finished - sort of
60' Beetle - Moved to Pole Position in the garage! |
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bicyclemonkey Samba Member
Joined: September 19, 2009 Posts: 149
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 9:45 am Post subject: |
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Cool, can't beat a free Beetle. _________________ '67 Beetle (Aug '66) |
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cory43767 Samba Member
Joined: February 13, 2007 Posts: 258 Location: Conesville, Ohio
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 10:06 am Post subject: |
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No you can't! It is a great feeling to know that I am already ahead of the game! I wish I had a magic wand and could have it done already though. I am ready to drive it!
Any opinions out there if I should try to get the engine running as is or do an overhaul first?
My anxiety tells me to hook up a battery and spray a little ether and see if she will atleast cough and sputter... but my brain is telling me to pull her apart first. _________________ 73' Standard Bug finished - sort of
60' Beetle - Moved to Pole Position in the garage! |
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Shadd Samba Member
Joined: January 18, 2007 Posts: 883 Location: Lancaster, Ohio
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 10:56 am Post subject: |
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Defiantly squirt some marvel mystery oil in the cylinders and let it soak. Pop off all of the valve covers and see if the valves will adjust. Go over the ignition system. I have brought a few 36'ers back to life in this way, It makes for a satisfying experience to hear a car that has been sitting for 30 years finally sputter to life. awesome car! |
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ATLvolksfan Samba Member
Joined: May 07, 2009 Posts: 141 Location: Atlanta
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 2:08 pm Post subject: |
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Cool. I have a 1960 Beetle that I'm trying to bring back to life as well. It came with the OG engine. I bet that if you give that engine a good tune-up it will come back to life very easily. Just make sure the gas and gas lines are clean, clean, clean. I've learned a lot about 1960 Beetles since I've had mine, so if you have any questions I would love to help. Let me know. _________________ "Come to terms with your Ass, for it bears you." - John Muir |
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jmw1982 Samba Member
Joined: May 19, 2008 Posts: 298 Location: Weymouth, MA
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:36 pm Post subject: |
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nice score, i have a 60 as well with the orig 36'er with 65k orig on it... hell of a lot more solid than most northeast cars here.. good luck with it _________________ ________________________________________
'60 Beetle Indigo Blue |
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rustfree1967bug Samba Member
Joined: November 16, 2006 Posts: 3436 Location: minnesota
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:11 pm Post subject: |
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I now officially hate you. shakopee is only 50 miles at most from me. I would have loved to get that car. Darn _________________ '70 ghia
'69 ghia
'65 singlecab
'66 sunroof beetle
'74 bus
'67 so-42
IDA's...well... they talk dirty -MURZI |
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spudwinkle Samba Member
Joined: March 08, 2006 Posts: 177 Location: people's republic of Minnesota
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 7:30 pm Post subject: |
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rustfree1967bug wrote: |
I now officially hate you. shakopee is only 50 miles at most from me. I would have loved to get that car. Darn |
X2 and I am only 2 miles from Shakopee! _________________ if you have not grown up by 50 you don't have to |
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roy63 Samba Member
Joined: August 16, 2004 Posts: 1338 Location: Mechanicsville Va.
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 7:48 pm Post subject: |
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great find.. _________________ MyBuild http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=571921
Some day when the rust is gone, I will at last found inner peace... (Peace has Been Found)
"Wide awake, and keeping distance from my soul" |
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stale air Samba Member
Joined: August 23, 2007 Posts: 5148 Location: Senoia Ga, formally NorCal
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 10:16 pm Post subject: |
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Nice pickup, I agree you cant beat a free VW. And it looks like it will clean up nice! _________________ WANTED: Henry Veale Santa Rosa plate frames
WANTED: Brittsan Motors Fresno plate frames
WANTED: Any Georgia plate frames
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cory43767 Samba Member
Joined: February 13, 2007 Posts: 258 Location: Conesville, Ohio
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Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 6:38 am Post subject: |
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I am so stoked to work on this that I've had a hard time going in to work! I am looking forward to this weekend when I have time to put her up on jack stands and crawl around and have a better look. I have seen a few sore spots, but nothing major yet... Thank you for your comments! _________________ 73' Standard Bug finished - sort of
60' Beetle - Moved to Pole Position in the garage! |
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rokemester Samba Member
Joined: June 14, 2009 Posts: 245 Location: Cleveland
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Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 4:28 pm Post subject: |
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Complete with cob webs! Nice...Addams Family look. Have fun with it. Can't wait to see some updated pics. |
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cory43767 Samba Member
Joined: February 13, 2007 Posts: 258 Location: Conesville, Ohio
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 12:33 pm Post subject: |
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Ok propped the ole girl up on jackstands and crawled all over her. She is very solid and only needs a areas looked after. The quarter panel in front of the rear fenders is a little crusty. The P.O. started to fix the rust areas. Some of the areas that he fixed are a little shoddy, but will hold up for the time being. I will need to replace the fender mounting strip on the rear fenders and the running board mounting surface.
I have been debating on upgrading to 12V or keep it 6V. The big downside is the small diameter generator....
Anyways, did not get much done to the ol' girl this weekend, but a little bit of cleanup. It was amazing how much overspray that was on the windows. I was afraid they were milky, but it was just a lot of overspray.
The floorboards looked a little crappy at first, but after crawling under it there was undercoating peeling and making it look worse. It was amazing how much nice shiny black paint was underneath this car! Original pans and paint protected for 50 years with undercoating! Wahoo!!
Here are a few pictures and I will keep you all updated with any progress:
I love these old dashes! What can you do to restore the steering wheel yourself? My previous employer was restoring an old Aston Martin and he was using some epoxy for the wheel. It was very expensive and did not turn out very nice. I just want a cheap fix? _________________ 73' Standard Bug finished - sort of
60' Beetle - Moved to Pole Position in the garage! |
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70 140 Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2002 Posts: 8471 Location: Ontario Canada
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 4:31 pm Post subject: |
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You can sand it down. Open up any of the large cracks with a knife or small file. Fill the cranks and the crazing with JB weld or 2 part epoxy. Sand the repairs back into shape. Paint it with some etch primer, and add color. The key is to do lots of sanding. |
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cory43767 Samba Member
Joined: February 13, 2007 Posts: 258 Location: Conesville, Ohio
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:12 am Post subject: |
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I will definitely be giving that a shot, I love these old wheels! _________________ 73' Standard Bug finished - sort of
60' Beetle - Moved to Pole Position in the garage! |
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cory43767 Samba Member
Joined: February 13, 2007 Posts: 258 Location: Conesville, Ohio
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Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 8:13 pm Post subject: |
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Ok I haven't had much time to work on my Daughter's bug, but in the last week she talked me into doing a little work.
I started by taking off the rear fenders to see how much work I am going to do. The bolt holes are all there except the front two on each side. I may install partial repair panels to fix this area...
I have also been doing a little sanding on the body to uncover the original color. It looks to be a sea foam green color, but I don't see that listed for 1960.
I need to send in and get the birth certificate for the old girl!
For Shits and Grins I hooked up a battery and my daughter cranked the old engine over. After shining up the points and pouring a little fuel down the carb.... she fired up!!!! I was amazed! She has been parked since 1983 and she fired up!
Ok I am removing the gas tank to clean out the laquer on the bottom. I had to remove the gas heater which seems to be a complete unit!! I don't know the brand on it? Does anyone recognize the heater brand?
_________________ 73' Standard Bug finished - sort of
60' Beetle - Moved to Pole Position in the garage! |
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outoftheoffice Samba Member
Joined: March 02, 2009 Posts: 470 Location: Houston, Texas
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Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 4:54 pm Post subject: |
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Amazing find and the price can't be beat. Good luck with it, keep posting photos and keep asking questions - we're here to watch and help |
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cory43767 Samba Member
Joined: February 13, 2007 Posts: 258 Location: Conesville, Ohio
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Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 7:24 pm Post subject: |
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My daughter begged me to go work on her bug after dinner tonight! I am so glad she is excited about this!! Well we took the gas tank out so we could clean her up. It was parked in 1983 with about a quart of fuel in it. Now it has some nasty varnish crusted in the bottom of the tank. I poured some carb dip down in the tank to sit over night. I cleaned the reserve valve and repainted the handle.
I also removed the brake reservoir and cleaned the crud out of the bottom of it as well. Then I showed my daughter how to use the wire wheel to clean up the outside. Then a quick coat of paint...
I can't wait to get the old girl on the road! _________________ 73' Standard Bug finished - sort of
60' Beetle - Moved to Pole Position in the garage! |
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millerje78 Samba Amishman
Joined: October 16, 2005 Posts: 2445 Location: Holmes County, Ohio
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Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 7:54 pm Post subject: |
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Nice score brother!! _________________ always seeking a better way
my 73 standard project
do your research, consult with experts, and buy quality parts. you won't be sorry |
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cory43767 Samba Member
Joined: February 13, 2007 Posts: 258 Location: Conesville, Ohio
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Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 7:57 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you! I always wanted an old one... Win-win with my daughter getting bit by the bug! _________________ 73' Standard Bug finished - sort of
60' Beetle - Moved to Pole Position in the garage! |
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