The beginning of my project- 68 standard bug

68Hoodride

So long story short, my first build thread, and my first air cooled anything. I picked her up for $800 bucks. Some people say I paid too much, some people say I got lucky, I myself say that I found the one that called to me.

During the initial test drive I had my doubts... Was kind of hard to start, steering was slightly loose, breaks needed work, but the more I "test drove" it the more I fell in love. Although she seemed in pretty bad shape I could see the gem shining through.

Onto the car itself. The only real rust that I have found is passenger floor board right behind the seat to under the battery tray. I have a new patch panel for it and it should be in there this sunday, hopefully.

Well a picture is worth a thousand words so here we go.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

The day she came home

68Hoodride · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 3:21 pm Post subject:

68Hoodride · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 4:11 pm Post subject:

First things first. Got the bumpers removed, and fenders replaced. Looks like it got punched in the face Laughing

got some new headlight buckets and halogen light conversions

Next is the hood. Found a new one but wasn't from the right year so it fits a little rough. still looks a lot better in my opinion

68Hoodride · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 4:15 pm Post subject:

Got some one piece window doors, painting them the color scheme that I want the whole car

Finished product. actually doesn't look to bad in my opinion Surprised

68Hoodride · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 4:20 pm Post subject:

Got my front beam on craigslist, 5" narrowed adjustable ball joint. Also got my wheels in as well.

68Hoodride · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 4:24 pm Post subject:

Some more pics of the hood

well, that's all I have for now folks. more to come soon Wink

gt1953 · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 4:49 pm Post subject:

That's what I call motivated.
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

oldPSUguy · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 5:03 pm Post subject:

Former Mountlake Terrace resident, currently living in Las Vegas says,
you have saved an old bug from the crusher, and you are off to a good start.
These cars are well suited to Northwest living, not too hot there and the car will handle light snow very well. A decent radio might help you to suffer through the more painful steps in restoring your beetle. The potential is there. A little love and a lot of hard work or money will turn your machine into a conversation piece and useful transportation. Good luck.

scrivyscriv · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 8:38 pm Post subject:

Great to see work getting done ASAP!

Two questions - where did you get your headlight buckets, and where did you find the stock wheels?
_________________
Robert in Memphis
Dünkelgrügen 1967 Java Green bug thread
Engine rebuild thread
If you're ever in the Memphis area, you are welcome to stop by for advice and help.

djghia · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 8:56 pm Post subject:

Dibs on your old sport wheels!! I'm serious, find out about shipping to 65810 and a price. Dave
_________________
1962 Ghia vert
1971 Beetle
GROOVE member

68Hoodride · Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 11:12 am Post subject:

Started to re upholster my seats, then found out I have the upholstery for low back seats, I have high backs. Go figure Rolling Eyes

68Hoodride · Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 11:32 am Post subject:

68Hoodride · Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 11:41 am Post subject:

So I got my little steering wheel spinner, thought it was kind of cool. Ball bearings instead of plastic so it works great. Dancing

Also maybe you guys can help... my hood that I got Ive found is off of a later bug Sad

so it doesn't quite fit right. Is there a way to get it to sit properly or am I screwed on this one?

I can actually put my hand inside the gap into my trunk.. very annoying

SBD · Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 9:17 pm Post subject:

How does it fit down at the latch/apron area? If your car has been hit hard enough in the front the apron might have been shoved backwards a bit. If this is the problem you'll have to look at it & decide what the best way to fix it will be. You might be able to apply some light tension to the front with a come along and use a hammer and dolly to work it out. I'm not a body man but if the damage is slight you'd be surprised what you can accomplish with a cheap set of hammers and dollies. It's also possible that the hood is a bit sprung out of shape. It might help to open the hood and sort of pull up (not really hard but somewhat so Confused

) on the very front of it. Just stand at the front of the car and give the front of the hood a couple of tugs upward. It can help spring it back into shape.

DadsOld74 · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 10:48 am Post subject:

Great job! Looking forward to seeing it come together.
_________________
--Brian ('74 standard bug)

"If one does not fail at times, then one has not challenged himself." - Ferdinand Porsche

ROCKOROD71 · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 11:32 am Post subject:

Look in your spare tire well on the sides. Are there wrinkles there? Likely that the front got punched in a bit. standards 68+ should all take the same hood. Only differences being there are some out there without the vent for the fresh air box. Look at the old hood, any wrinkle or crease there, towards the middle maybe. This would indicate some front end damage. Like SBD said...it can all be worked out with some force. My bug had front end damage when I got it. It's squared away but the hood still doesn't fit like it should. Just got to the functional level, and no one would notice if I didn't point it out.
_________________
1971 STD BEETLE- DD-1st car, 1st love. keepin' it stock! 1600DP, Solex 34-3 Mexi Bosch SVDA Dist NOW w/POINTS
1977 WESTY "KrustyKamper" 2L FI

SBD · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 2:50 pm Post subject:

68Hoodride · Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 11:40 am Post subject:

The original hood was pushed in a bit, enough to where it creased the passenger fender by the headlight. I beat the dent out to the best of my abilities and the front apron didn't look bent out of shape at all. I was messing with the spring on the latch trying to get it to lower a little bit with no luck. the only other thing I can think of is maybe the hinges got pushed up a little? Im not to sure..

Hyperspace · Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 11:54 am Post subject:

Inner well of fender is probably banged up. Mine took a bit of pulling to get it to seat nicely again,but looked probably worse than your at the start.
_________________
If you can't fix it with a hammer, it is an electrical fault.

Photo's http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php?search_author=Hyperspace&show_results=summary

68Hoodride · Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 12:04 pm Post subject:

Also started my beam swap, kept running into little issues along the way. Some more aggravating then others.

Started by forgetting my jack stands at my house 4 cities and 50 miles away... hurray me. so instead of backtracking just decided to repaint the fenders and hood to stay productive.

here she is with the gas tank removed, completely spaced about the fuel feed line on the bottom Confused

oh well lol

There is something awesome when your girl helps with your projects and gets her hands dirty Very Happy


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The beginning of my project- 68 standard bug
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