1969 for my Boy

[Sputnic81]

When I was a kid I helped my Dad and older brother restore a ‘73 Super. My oldest had no interest in restoring cars, but my middle (14 now) is another story. I was able to make a great trade (with the same brother who had the Super all those years ago) for a running but very rough body ‘69 Standard and ‘73 Standard with a solid body. So now we find ourselves in the midst of a complete tear down and rebuild. It’s going to get new pans, body swap, new wiring, pretty much a total rebuild. We have already decided not to go back full stock. We like a lot of the older bugs. So we’ve picked up a set of overrider bumpers, are looking for some snowflake tail lights and are going to go full LED with the lights and so forth. I’m hoping to find a set of buckets with 4 point harnesses (to make momma happy since there are no airbags). I have lots of pics that will get uploaded soon. I look forward to the discussions and info here.

[VW_Jimbo]

Welcome to the Samba!

Sounds like a fun project to bring you and the kid closer. Enjoy the project and remember to let them define the direction. From personal experience, I found I lead the charge and the builds centered around my view. It was a few years afterwards that the oldest one informed me that they never would have chosen that paint color. Arrrrgh! So, I learned to be more humble.

Good luck and enjoy the time spent with them, because, I swear, you blink, and they are 20 and making life decisions!
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[andk5591]

There is a lot of info on here about back dating cars. Review that before you start buying body parts.....There are hack and better ways to do this.
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D-Dubya Manx clone - 63 Short pan,1914.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Cindy's daily driver.
Max - 73 standard Beetle hearse project - For sale
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

[Sputnic81]

I’m trying really hard to let him take the reins on the aesthetic decisions. We got a model kit so we could familiarize him with the parts and let him try out a color scheme. He was thinking Metallic black with Matte red side panels. But the he saw the blue wheels on it when we got the car. May go the metallic black with matte blue now. I told him he could change his mind as many times as he wants until we go to the paint store. Then he’s locked in. Luckily we have very similar taste so when I find something I like, he usually likes it too. The overrider bumpers were all his idea.

[AlmostHeavenWV_VW]

Just my $0.02:


I know you two like the looks of an older bug, but do consider that momma will likely not approve of the poor visibility of the snowflake/heart shape brake lights of the early beetles. After all, she's not happy about the lack of air bags....and you are considering 4-point harnesses to garner approval.


These threads will get you a good idea of what to expect and the various ways that others have addressed this issue:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=705549
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=264727
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524298
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=607599


Also here's a good thread if you need help finding tech manuals or parts suppliers:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=704584&highlight=

Keep on bug'n!
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1973 Standard Beetle
1600DP AK case
Solex 34PICT3 Carb
Bosch DVDA 205AJ Distributor

[Tim Donahoe]

Buy him a copy of John Muir’s “How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive” (the Idiot book). He’ll enjoy reading it, and he’ll learn a lot. It’s a fun read. Amazon has it for sale. Later, he can get a Bentley Manual.

Also, there are paint programs where you can see what colors look like on your car.

Tim
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Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

[Sputnic81]

Whatever lights we go with will be LED so hopefully pretty bright. Plus I’m strongly considering additional lights In the form of a strip of LEDs in the rear window or maybe inside the rear vents.

We have a Bentley manual. I will look into the other one as I’m sure he would enjoy it.

Yes we are wanting to do 4 or 5 point harnesses to keep Momma happy. Thanks for the links. We will definitely look over that stuff.

[Tim Donahoe]

I don’t see the need for a four-point harness. A properly-buckled three point will do the job, especially if the boy locks his doors when he drives. And the car was already set up for a three point, even if it doesn’t have that now.

However, the weak point in some of the 1960’s bugs was how the seats were attached to the pan. A new, say, Toyota seat and track system would be far safer in case of a heavy accident. In that case, you can set up a four-point system, assuming the kid won’t be too embarrassed to use it, that is.

Tim
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Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

[Sputnic81]

Luckily it will be getting all new pans and therefore the seat mounts will be new as well. I will definitely look into the Toyota set up you talked about. The boy likes the idea of the 4 point harness, especially with racing buckets. Plus, if I catch him not wearing it, I get the keys back for a good long while - and he gets his bicycle back.

I am curious about the locked doors bit... are we just talking about keeping him inside, or the added body rigidity of having the door gap filled? We are also discussing doing the sliding rag top (sunroof). So we talked about looking at the convertible frames and seeing what sort of reinforcement there is to keep things rigid. Any thoughts? Has anyone added the rag top and not braced the frame?

[andk5591]

Any of teh lights can be converted to LED eiher with a kit or being creative. I installed generic LED arrays for a motorcycle application in the snowflakes on here 61. VERY bright.

The cosmetic stuff is cool to ponder and all, but you are gonna get your hands VERY dirty before you get to the fun stuff.

Bug Me videos, Chris Vallone's you tubes and as mentioned, the Idiot Book and all great resources.
_________________
D-Dubya Manx clone - 63 Short pan,1914.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Cindy's daily driver.
Max - 73 standard Beetle hearse project - For sale
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

[Tim Donahoe]

I have a factory-installed sun roof. No extra bracing required. I don’t believe any factory rag tops had extra bracing, either.

As far as locking the doors goes, all modern cars lock when you start moving. It’s a safety feature. A locked door helps prevent people from being ejected outside the car when an accident occurs. I’d do this when I drive.

Tim
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Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

[cletus_zuber]

Have him wear some safety glasses, at the very least will keep the dirt out of his eyes...
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1972 1302
HPMX 40's & 019

[Pruneman99]

[ref772]

If you're undecided on color or want to see what one or another will look like, try spraying with PlastiDip. Don't use spray cans, but use the gallon kits on Dipyourcar.com. I have used that on a couple of cars and it looks fantastic. If you don't like it just peel it off. If you want to see what an orange one looks like done with it, search ref772 in the gallery pictures.
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62 Vette restomod
35 Ford Phaeton
56 T'Bird
73 Pantera
52 Crosley ratrod
69 Vette
70 VW convertible