Diary of a daily driver

[MuesliNZ]

I bought my first beetle about a year and a half ago, so I'm overdue to introduce it: Its a 1970 standard bug, bright yellow.

I was buying a bug to be a daily driver, so in theory I was looking for one that was in fairly good condition and just needed the odd bit of tidying and tinkering. In reality I bought the first one I looked at, which was also the first one I'd ever been in, or driven. Love at first drive

After a year and a half I can say that I'm pretty pleased that we (boyfriend looked it over for me, he's owned beetles in the past) bought a good'un.

The paint is a little bit dodgy (it seems to have 2 other colours underneath it), there's a couple of little dings in the bodywork, but the engine sounded alright and the bits that usually go rusty have already been hacked out and replaced (whoever did it wasn't the tidiest with a welder) so all I had to worry about immediately was minor rust and general maintenance.

Things didn't start off quite so smoothly... the day I drove the old girl home she died. Electrical issues. When the boyfriend arrived to tow us home the first thing he said was "Welcome to old car ownership!". Thanks, hon, now shut up and start towing

A month after buying the bug I got made redundant So of course the obvious thing to do was sell my corolla so I could afford eat and pay rent. Never mind that there wasn't anything wrong with the corolla, and I couldn't drive the bug at night without fuses popping and the car dying as soon as I turned the headlights on... On the plus side, not having a job gave me a lot of time to work out what the hell all the squiggles in the electrical diagram meant, and ultimately what was wrong with the bug.

Quite a while later I found paid employment again. Just in time, as I had no money to spend on the bug (I had spent it all on the initial purchase), and the bug needed work that the boyfriend advised would be quicker and easier if I paid a mechanic to do it. That turned out to be vastly more true (read: expensive) than we'd thought. All we thought it needed was new seals in the carb (it was leaking fuel) but it turned into a new carb, a new dizzy, new (better) spark plugs, new (correct) spark plug leads and a few other things that I've chosen to forget about, and involved countless trips back to the mechanic to get it to stop pinking/pinging.
I finally gave up taking the car back to him when he told me that if I wanted a car that didn't pink & ran properly then what I really wanted was a corolla my personal view is that a car (old, new, whatever) should run BETTER with all of those new parts, not worse. I'm not a mechanic though, so what do I know...

Anyway, since then I've had it lowered (birthday present from the boyfriend). Only a wee bit. Just to snug it down over the wheels and improve handling. I'm really pleased though, it was like driving a marshmallow before, now it feels more like a funky little race-car

Before:

After:

We've tidied up the engine bay - a lesson on setting the points gap somehow turned into this:

He started taking my car apart the same weekend he sold his project vehicle... coincidence? I think not.

The fanshroud is now yellow, the air filter and coil got a coat of gloss black, and the generator and anything else I could get my hands on got de-grimed and shined....

fanshroud with a very smooth looking undercoat:

3 solid weekends work of dismantling, cleaning, painting, putting back together again... Everything back in the engine bay where it should be.

Looks pretty good, if I do say so myself credit to the boyfriend for the excellent paint job.

Can I just say, getting the decklid back on almost caused a divorce... that thing is a real PITA to get back on. Or there's a trick to it that isn't in the haynes manual.

[MuesliNZ]

ROAD TRIP!!!

We were going on a road trip recently, and the spacious, comfortable (relatively), reliable, modern (well, 1983) vehicle failed its 6-monthly saftey check. Apparently the rear brakes didn't really work... its a 3 tonne truck, brakes help.
Anyway, that happened the day before we were departing, so we decided we'd take the beetle instead. Yeah, its more intimate (small), has character (rattles, loud engine, no carpet), and things don't work occasionally, but it'll be fun, right?!

So we packed it up (strategically placing most of the bulky baggage behind the rear seat to muffle the engine noise a bit),

(thats the "reliable" vehicle in the background...)

covered the floor in random off cuts of carpet that happened to be in the garage, bought a 5L container of oil, filled her up with petrol and were on our way...

I even let the boyfriend drive a bit... (mostly so that I could take photos of the scenery swishing past)

The trip home was just as much fun

Both of us bonded with the beetle on this trip. It handled really well, ran beautifully (15km/L - none of my previous "modern" cars have done anything like that!), did the speed limit (usual vehicle does not), entertained tourists and locals alike, used only a small amount of the oil, and the tool kit was totally unnecessary.

By far the most fun road trip we've done

[Kugen60]

Sweet. You look like you're pullin some serious G's in that last pic.

[beetlejooz]

AWESOME - great car & story, I have a '63 in Ruby Red (her name is Ruby) and she'd my daily driver. Aside from some initial running issues i.e pinking and running on only 3, I gave her a full tune, plugs, points, leads, set valves & timing - she now runs sweet! I love her & so do my kids, always asking for a ride and I have never had so many looks and waves driving around. Im on a budget so my dreams for her will need to wait a while, just wanting her to keep running for now, but currently doing up a set of smoothy stock rims for her. You may be able to find my post on her in here somewhere . . GO THE KIWI BEETLES !
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'63 Beetle - daily driver = (O\_I_/O)

[MuesliNZ]

[volkyoo]

thats cool.
keep it like that.
i use to have a local mechanic like that, till i started doing my own work , and the car never felt like it is now.....

[6sixTinBox]

Good on ya! Great lookin' right hand driver. I had some good times in Christchurch when I was there on business.

Thanx for sharing. Go easy on the vegimite! Just kidding!
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1966 13 Window Deluxe

Comparison is the thief of joy - Theodore Roosevelt
John 14:6

[MuesliNZ]

67T1: Vegemite is alright, but I can't really see any automotive applications for it... ?

Spent some time on the bug on the weekend... initially trying to figure out why the horn no longer beeps. The last time I tried it all it could manage was a sad quiet "murrrp" which tailed off into silence, and since then, nothing. A test light showed action when hooked onto the horn wires so we're going with a fault in the horn... will have to contact the parts dude after pay-day for a new (well, secondhand) one.

Seems a bit stupid to have it mounted underneath the fender and somewhat exposed to the elements? Boyfriend tried to re-locate one to inside the spare wheel well on a previous bug but if failed the next warrant of fitness check because it "wasn't loud enough", so the replacement one will have to go in the original location and get all rusty and cruddy like the last one.

Also did some rust removal and polishing on the windscreen wipers to get them all shiny gleam. They were kind of rusty & hazy before. They're not show quality, but they're definitely much prettier

[MuesliNZ]

Did my shift rod bushing today, and it went really smoothly. In fact its the first job I've done on the bug where its all gone smoothly and I haven't broken something else while fixing the thing that made me get the tools out in the first place. Yay!!

Having delicate lady-hands definitely helped in this procedure, I mostly didn't need the pliers to wheedle the rod along and out. Also managed to do most of it by myself, just calling the boyfriend in to assist when his superior strength was required to shove the rod back through the new bushing A big thanks to whoever first suggested tying string to the end of the rod before removing it (in the Beetle > shift rod bushing: how to? post), it really did make getting it back in a hell of a lot easier! In fact, it was harder to get out than it was to get it back in.

Just done a test drive and all rattling associated with the gear shifter has ceased, it slides in and out of gear way nicer, and the gears are actually where you expect them to be, every time

[Emeritusx]

I enjoyed this thread.. Thank you and keep us posted!

[66buggie]

your way with words keeps it very enjoyable to read..

[MuesliNZ]

Thanks guys

So.... problem. Either the starter or the solenoid or the ignition switch is shot. Happened suddenly: went to start it, there was a clunk then no starter noise, then next attempt at starting it there was no clunk or starter noise. Boyfriend assessed that the battery was fine so we push started it and drove it home.

The boyfriend reckons that a starter will most often get less and less enthusiastic than give up suddenly, so his money is on the solenoid, the power supply to it, or the ignition switch.
It could be the ignition switch as it is kind of dodgy, sometimes when you go to start it there isn't the sprung bit after the "on" position, it just stops dead at "on". Turn it off, then back to on again and the sprung bit after "on" is there again. Sorry, I'm sure there's a term for what I'm trying to describe, no idea what it is though!!!
I gather from searching on here that if the solenoid contacts get dirty then it won't do anything so fingers crossed that its just that. If not I guess we'll look at the wiring or the ignition switch.

I really hope its just funk in the solenoid and a clean up will fix it. It's supposed to rain a lot this week, soggy bike shorts aren't amusing.

[beetlejooz]

Sorry to hear your bug has bugged out, I guess when you have these things they can go any time but so far (touch wood) mine (now 48 years old) has not failed on me (O.O).
I would say check all connections and the ignition switch sounds a bit tired - check trademe for parts on a regular basis as there are some deals to be had at times. I have slowly gathered up some bits and bobs just in case.

On another note I went to the Kumeu hot rod show on the weekend, took mu bug for a ride, windows down doing 60' - saw a few Vdubs there too, cant wait for the Nationals coming up.

Good luck.
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'63 Beetle - daily driver = (O\_I_/O)

[MuesliNZ]

Thanks Beetlejooz - Did you take pics at the show & have you posted them anywhere? I'm a mainlander so I'm hanging out for the Dunners nats in 2012 glad your bug hasn't let you down so far - mine has a habit of doing so at night and when its raining so now I carry a torch, batteries and a wee umbrella : )

Yep, been doing a bit of reading on here this morning and will check all connections.

Stocking up on spares from TM is a good idea. I'll be adding an ignition switch to the watchlist now. This has come as a bit of a surprise cos she's been such a great starter up til now!

[beetlejooz]

I did take some photos at the show - I will figure out where Im gonna post them and let you know. Are you a member in NZ VW NUTS?
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'63 Beetle - daily driver = (O\_I_/O)

[MuesliNZ]

yep I am, but just to be confusing I'm AstroBug on there

[MuesliNZ]

So the boyfriend said in the car as we were leaving my parent's place "it'll probably just be that the wire has popped off the solenoid"... I have to say that I thought this sounded a wee bit unlikely (in my defense, nothing has ever been easy to fix on this car. Except the shift rod bushing. But I researched that. Anyway, I'm sidetracked now...), but as it turned out the wire from the solenoid to the ignition just popped off the spade connector (cue "I told you so" speech). It felt a bit a loose when I put it back on, so I took it off again, squeezed it gently with some pliers and then put it back on the connector. A much snugger fit this time.

Car starts again, wohooooo! Cyclone Whateveryernameis you can kiss my butt. You can send as much rain as you like, I'll be snug and dry inside my awesome car yeah, ok, it'll probably break down tomorrow, just because I said that. But at least tomorrow when my boyfriend tells me what's wrong I'll believe him

[beetlejooz]

AH see, not so bad after all. Remember these cars are getting on a bit, just think how many bumpy roads, sunny & rainy days these things have seen, mine is 10 years older than me!

Also it pays not to disrespect or say bad things to loudly - they do have ears, so talk nicely (O.O)

Oh and - post more pics huh?
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'63 Beetle - daily driver = (O\_I_/O)

[MuesliNZ]

[beetlejooz]

HAHA - mine's called RUBY - kids called her that when we bought her as she's Ruby Red, it so happens the last several owners had this name also and passed it on to the next owner - cool.

Yes "L" is not a good thing, how about YUM YUM or Sherbert or Ducky ?

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'63 Beetle - daily driver = (O\_I_/O)