1974 Super Beetle Sun Beetle Sedan Build

[creative native]

I am opening this thread for the purpose of sharing what I've learned, asking for help from those who know more than I and sharing what I'm doing to my SBSB (Super Beetle Sun Beetle) as I work towards a full restoration. A month ago I asked questions of and received valuable answers from the knowledgeable Samba family.

Now that I'm getting my Type 1 bearings again, I have some plans coming together for my SB and will share them as they are in process. As with other build threads, I will share these ideas to help others along and to get feedback. I will share where I found items and leave feedback on performances.

For now, I will take it from the beginning with my Sun Beetle birth certificate.

M codes: I've read through previous posts about M codes and am hoping someone can help identify the unidentified. Reading through the posts about M codes, someone could not identify M565. If you're reading this, that is code for the Sport Bug steering wheel.

On my birth certificate, M634 is listed as "Cannot be identified" and I know this is the four way emergency flasher system.

W31 is listed as "Cannot be identified" and while I do not know for certain, I suspect this is the upholstery code for "Nut Brown" for the Sun Beetle sedans with corduroy inserts. Garwood's books identifies the Sun Beetle corduroy upholstery as "31-4." A Sun Beetle convertible owner has an unidentifiable W32 code and I suspect that is for the Nut Brown convertible upholstery (without the corduroy inserts).

M698 is an M code I that have no idea what it may be. If anyone can help with this, I'd greatly appreciate it. There's reason to believe that this is a Sun Beetle specification; perhaps the rosewood dash applique? The padded steering wheel? The SB only wind deflector? I will refer to Garwood's books again and if I find an answer, I will share it here.

[raydog]

M698 possibly means "left hand drive". Taken from SEBeetles.com

[creative native]

Excellent! Thank you, Raydog.

[raydog]

Not written in stone, just what I found poking around. Very informative web site. In the early 80's, I was flipping VWs, they were a dime a dozen. One of them was a Golden Sun Bug with corduroy seats. Sold it for $800.00. I thought I was on top of the world. Man I wish I kept that one.

[creative native]

Raydog, I'm sure you do wish you had held onto that one! I can't help but sometimes wish the same on some old VW's I've owned, particularly my '66 21 window and '59 Mango Green/Seagull Grey standard Bus.

As for the M code, I doubt that it refers to the padded steering wheel, sunroof/wind deflector or rosewood dash as all of those are grouped under the 133 type.

"typ.1303:133 version: Special velvet cord faced upholstery 41U Nussbraun (43U Braun) loop pile carpeting, inertia reel seat belts, wood veneer dashboard trim, vinyl padded Petri AG steering wheel with alu-silver trim detailing, M 444 5½J x15 (ET34) (Lemmerz “GT”) sports wheels , M560 Steel sliding roof and North American conformity package options M108 and M110 on the typ.117 version."

Can anyone tell what the differences are between a 1303 S and 1303 LS?

[Rome]

[creative native]

Rome, thank you for the information. That clears it up.

These are my plans for my Sun Bug:

*Already finished:
New carburetor.

New battery

New tires - Michelin 165SR15 a.k.a. 165 80R15 from www.cokertire.com (I highly recommend these tires. The ride is GREAT. The total for four was $502. I had never purchased tires online before and my anxiety was for nothing as it was as simple as purchasing anything else online and they arrived pretty quickly).

New tie rods and wheel alignment

New taillight units (these are temporary aftermarket garbage that will be dispensed with as soon as NOS or otherwise proper lenses can be found).

New turn signal units (more aftermarket plastic garbage, but at least the correctly colored amber lenses are pretty).

Gas smell elimination kit (an inexpensive, but vital investment), EVAP lines and fuel lines.

Locking decklid latch and gas cap. Did you know that the Zodiac killer disabled one of his potential victim's 1966 Beetle by simply lifting her decklid and pulling her distributor wire? Stay safe, y'all!

Silicone oil plate gaskets and silicone oil cap seal (the cork one was allowing oil to be sprayed on my heat risers every day).

On the way or in process:

Precut ultra heavy duty sound deadener / insulation from SoCal Imports. This will cover the entire floor and rear luggage compartment.

New rear Bilstein shocks (arrived yesterday) www.tirerack.com had the best price and arrived very quickly.

New front Bilstein struts (arrives tomorrow) www.esctuning.com was nearly the only place I could find that could actually get these! O'Reilley's and Auto Zone advertises these, but they could not be had, even through special order. I've ordered Touareg parts from ESC Tuning before and believe they are quality people to work with.

New Fast Fab strut brace (arrived today)

New complete Honey Brown German square weave carpet from West Coast Classics @ www.classicvws.com. I've waited FAR too long to own a classic VW with German square weave. It was great to speak with Lenny at WCC after so many years of seeing the amazing products that WCC produce. I expect my carpet to arrive within the next week or so.

Purchased a dash clock and will need to install this. This brings up the Sun Beetle rosewood dash situation. My tentative plan is to order the real rosewood dash kit that is advertised in the classifieds by Jason and have the aperture for the clock cut.

My NOS gas heater toggle switch arrived from Norway last week and I plan to put it to use with a rebuilt Eberspacher gas heater.

Foglight switch: I bought an excellent condition used Porsche 928 fog light switch, which will fit and work, but the icon facing is incorrect for a Super Beetle. I have no choice but to use this until I can find a proper SB fog light switch. I've chosen the "X" spotlight/fog lights from the great Transporter Werks of Dunn, NC. I'm eager to have those installed. www.transporterwerks.com

I'm expecting to purchase '73 Sport Bug seats any day now and have them professionally restored, but use Sun Beetle upholstery, as close to original as I can get. I have my upholstery man on the case.

Headliner: I have not purchased this yet. I will be going with the stock crush grain white vinyl. There seems to be range of about $100 between various companies for this headliner. Do you have first hand positive experience with buying this kind of headliner? If so, where did you buy it?

[Tim Donahoe]

Creative, you might want to rethink replacing those aftermarket tail lights and turn signal lenses. I replaced mine with ones I bought from Wolfsburg West, six years ago. They still look great.

Tim
_________________
Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

[creative native]

Tim, I think the plastic lenses are fine, but what concerns me is the plastic bulb holder base and that stock lenses won't fit them. I prefer original German metal over plastic. Also, the mounting screws are made of such low quality metal that one began to strip by simply tightening it. The holes were also difficult to align. It's frustrating that they couldn't just make lenses that fit the original bulb holder units. I'm glad that yours are working out for you though. You seem to know a lot about sunroofs and I do have a sunroof question for you later.

[Tim Donahoe]

Creative, I only replaced my lenses with Wolfsburg West ones. My original bases and bulb holders were fine.

Tim
_________________
Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

[creative native]

Oh, I understand now, Tim. Thanks for clarifying that. The front and rear plastic lenses do seem to be decent, but it's the rest I have an issue with.

[creative native]

I've had my doubts about the outside mirrors on my SB. The PO said they were new and installed when the SB was painted in November 2019. The right side mirror flops around, despite tightening the mounting nut and today while washing the car, the glass fell out of the left side mirror. I'm not complaining as this was the perfect reason to just replace them. Now, who knows where to buy good quality mirrors? Thanks in advance VW family!

[Glenn]

[creative native]

Thanks, Mr. Glenn! I just emailed the seller. Now I'll look for a passenger's side.

[cajun_sun_bug]

[creative native]

That's just funny, Cajun! I'm laughing out loud at myself right now.

[creative native]

*UPHOLSTERY: I picked up a rear seat back from a 1974 Sun Beetle with original upholstery. I won't be able to use this in my VW, but it is original upholstery that may help my upholstery man find a close replica of for when he recovers my seats. I thought to show the carpet on the rear shelf tray. The original Nut Brown carpeting fades to this greenish-mushroom color. I ordered a couple of brown swatches from companies and it seems to me that the available brown shades are darker than original and almost appear black unless a light is shone on it. I decided on Honey Brown German square weave.

If my upholstery man is able to find fabric that closely resembles original, I'll do my best to be sure other Sun Beetle people have access to it also.

*STRUTS: ECS Tuning has twice now sent the wrong struts and I've lost nearly three weeks waiting for the correct ones. Do any of you Super Beetle siblings know of a definite source for Bilstein front struts, part number 34-001042? I've scoured the internet for them and found some in stock in England, but I'd prefer to buy domestically for the delivery time factor alone. Some businesses I've found list them as "in stock," but when I call, they say they won't be available until August.

[creative native]

Here is an example of Sun Beetle Nut Brown 031 carpet from under the back seat. This has not been sun faded, as it is hidden under the back seat, but still it must have faded to a degree as the photos I've seen of original carpet in stock photos/brochures looks darker than this, but not nearly black. Do any of you Sun Beetle siblings have photos of your original carpet to share and compare?

[74VWSunBug]

My SunBug 'vert didn't have any carpet anywhere when I got it new, except for the drop-down cover for the area behind the back seat. And it's a bit sun faded now.

Dave

[creative native]

Progress seems to be slow as I am waiting on so many parts to arrive from far off places or businesses that have been out of stock, but today I was determined to remove the speaker kick panels and aftermarket radio. I received my factory radio block off plate from England yesterday and was anxious to see it installed. I'm going to look into having a few '73-'79 Super Beetle radio block off plates 3D printed so others who have alternate means of audio can have them. I won't be interested in making money on them, but I'd be selling them at cost, plus postage, so if you're interested, let me know now so that I will have an idea of how many copies to have made.

I'm anxious to have the original carpet replaced with fresh Honey Brown German square weave soon.

For us wood grain dash people, I want to streamline the rosewood applique across the dash now that the radio has been removed and block off plate is in hand. Finding a factory rosewood radio block off plate would be impossible, so I'm considering other options. I've found a couple of antique car businesses that make real rosewood dash panels, but not specifically for a Super Beetle. I am expecting to call them and see if they are able to produce them for a '73-'79 SB. I am open to suggestions if you have any.