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kevspassat
Samba Member
Joined: October 16, 2020
Posts: 6
Location: Wisconsin
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 Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2021 8:09 pm Post subject: 1976 Standard Bug Restoration Project |
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Short story on this car: I am the third owner of this ‘76 standard, fuel injected bug. My step dad had it previous to me, and his brother bought it new from a dealer 40 miles from here. My step dad bought it from his brother in hopes of working on it as a project around 1994, where it sat in his garage untouched and buried under stuff until early 2020 when I bought it and towed it home.
Where it sat for 26 years at my step dads:
Getting it home:
Stripping down:
Had some help getting the body separated from the chassis:
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1976 Bug Restoration Project
Last edited by kevspassat on Tue Jan 05, 2021 4:49 am; edited 2 times in total |
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kevspassat
Samba Member
Joined: October 16, 2020
Posts: 6
Location: Wisconsin
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| Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2021 8:16 pm Post subject: Re: 1976 Standard Sun Bug Restoration Project |
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Seats removed:
Discovered an interesting repair:
Chassis:
Pans cut out:
Began attacking panels to see how much rot existed up inside the frame:
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1976 Bug Restoration Project |
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kevspassat
Samba Member
Joined: October 16, 2020
Posts: 6
Location: Wisconsin
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| Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2021 8:26 pm Post subject: Re: 1976 Standard Sun Bug Restoration Project |
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Napoleon needed a new hat:
Interior stripping:
Pulled windows and rubbers, Dismantling the nest of wires:
I will likely be ordering a new harness. Hopefully I can find a complete one. I need to contact Wiring Works to see what he can all provide for this particular model.
I’ll be diving into more chassis repair, floor pans, heater channels and a decent amount of rust repair on the body, so I’ll update as I make progress.
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troubledmind76
Samba Member
Joined: October 17, 2012
Posts: 169
Location: pa
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| Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2021 4:34 am Post subject: Re: 1976 Standard Sun Bug Restoration Project |
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| glad to see you were able to start the restoration after all these years. you have a lot of work ahead, but have a good jump start so far. this site is a wealth of knowledge, help, and talent along your way, but that is not a Sunbug. Sunbug are 1 year only (1974) with sunroof/or convertible. |
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kevspassat
Samba Member
Joined: October 16, 2020
Posts: 6
Location: Wisconsin
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| Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2021 4:48 am Post subject: Re: 1976 Standard Sun Bug Restoration Project |
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| troubledmind76 wrote: |
| glad to see you were able to start the restoration after all these years. you have a lot of work ahead, but have a good jump start so far. this site is a wealth of knowledge, help, and talent along your way, but that is not a Sunbug. Sunbug are 1 year only (1974) with sunroof/or convertible. |
Thanks for the info!
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AutoMechanic
Samba Member
Joined: December 28, 2019
Posts: 483
Location: Roanoke Virginia
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| Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2021 8:27 pm Post subject: Re: 1976 Standard Bug Restoration Project |
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Great. Forgot they made the standard in 74 lol. Looking good so far. Hope to see lots of updates. I like the color.  |
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KAmes
Samba Member
Joined: February 16, 2014
Posts: 877
Location: Illinois
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| Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2021 10:13 pm Post subject: Re: 1976 Standard Bug Restoration Project |
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| Those shock towers are glorious! It made me smile. |
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APPLEGREENVW
Samba Member
Joined: November 30, 2003
Posts: 2388
Location: Seekonk,Massachusetts USA
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Buggeee
Samba Member
Joined: December 22, 2016
Posts: 4419
Location: Stuck in Ohio
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calvinater
Samba Member
Joined: September 06, 2014
Posts: 3330
Location: 802 The Pointless Forrest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2021 4:21 am Post subject: Re: 1976 Standard Bug Restoration Project |
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Hightop red ball jets.
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"Albatross"! |
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MuzzcoVW
Samba Member
Joined: February 21, 2018
Posts: 1475
Location: Westfield, MA.
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| Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2021 4:26 am Post subject: Re: 1976 Standard Bug Restoration Project |
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That's awesome! I just finished my '75 last summer. The fuel injection system is awesome if you learn it, and treat it properly. Looking forward to updates.
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Gr0unded
Samba Member
Joined: October 02, 2018
Posts: 256
Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2021 7:26 pm Post subject: Re: 1976 Standard Sun Bug Restoration Project |
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Interesting history, seeing a lot of gold or topaz beetles in the '76 model year.
Since you're going to the extent of body off restore, take a good look at the rear C pillars. Any bubbles in the paint or rust under the paint, its a good time to tackle the rust foam issue. If all clear, count your blessings.
The faux wood grain dash, I like a lot. Keep up the good work! I'd like to follow the updates as well. 
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B r i a n
1976 VW Type 1 Beetle - Standard
Stop Dead Photo Links! Post your VW photos to the Samba Gallery! |
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MuzzcoVW
Samba Member
Joined: February 21, 2018
Posts: 1475
Location: Westfield, MA.
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| Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2021 4:37 am Post subject: Re: 1976 Standard Bug Restoration Project |
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| I'll second what grOunded said about the C pillars. If you're in that deep might as well! I had a lot of surface rust in mine, removed and treated. If you have any signs of rust there, it'll be far worse inside. |
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PuddleRainbow
Samba Member
Joined: April 13, 2018
Posts: 288
Location: The Dirtiest Of Jersey
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| Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2021 8:51 am Post subject: Re: 1976 Standard Bug Restoration Project |
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@unitedracing- That car is HOT!
- What color did you use for your wheels?
@kevpassat and grounded: '76 Topaz Metallic gang represent! Should have our own car show. Curious to know if our chrome-look window guards were factory standard or and option on our color '76's?
Have not seen a picture of our year and color without them. Do either of you know?
@unitedracing-did your car have window guards before your beautiful restoration? |
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MuzzcoVW
Samba Member
Joined: February 21, 2018
Posts: 1475
Location: Westfield, MA.
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| Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2021 9:29 am Post subject: Re: 1976 Standard Bug Restoration Project |
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| PuddleRainbow wrote: |
@unitedracing- That car is HOT!
- What color did you use for your wheels?
@kevpassat and grounded: '76 Topaz Metallic gang represent! Should have our own car show. Curious to know if our chrome-look window guards were factory standard or and option on our color '76's?
Have not seen a picture of our year and color without them. Do either of you know?
@unitedracing-did your car have window guards before your beautiful restoration? |
Thanks! Its the first car I've ever fully restored...did it all in my garage, except the wheels. They were powder coated RAL 9006 White Aluminum per advice on this forum. It does seem very close to the original chrome silver but not exact. A little too "clean" I don't think it had window gaurds, however now I want a set! Also it seems the '75s had window rubber without chrome and the was reintroduced in 76 or 77 at the end of production |
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Rome
Samba Member
Joined: June 02, 2004
Posts: 9653
Location: Pearl River, NY
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| Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 7:42 am Post subject: Re: 1976 Standard Bug Restoration Project |
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kevs, is your father still alive so that he can get enjoyment on your active work to revive the Beetle? Your work area is obviously well equipped with the rust cutting and welding, and your welds (Nap hat) look very good.
Will you be choosing the late style replacement floorpans with the seat mount humps so that you can refit the original seats? Try to remove your original seat humps from the rotted pans, in case the replacement ones don't fit well. You can sandblast/patch the old ones, then weld them onto the new pans.
This photo shows the reason of the wider cylinder tins on the fuel-injected Beetle engines- the engine was pre-run when built, then installed complete onto the chassis. The wider tins came farther outboard than the injectors. When the body was lowered down onto the chassis, the body opening cleared the injectors. When the engine needed removal once the car was assembled, the wider tins also protected the injectors from being dislodged/broken/tilted by the body side panels.
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Gr0unded
Samba Member
Joined: October 02, 2018
Posts: 256
Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 6:31 pm Post subject: Re: 1976 Standard Sun Bug Restoration Project |
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| Gr0unded wrote: |
Interesting history, seeing a lot of gold or topaz beetles in the '76 model year.
Since you're going to the extent of body off restore, take a good look at the rear C pillars. Any bubbles in the paint or rust under the paint, its a good time to tackle the rust foam issue. If all clear, count your blessings.
The faux wood grain dash, I like a lot. Keep up the good work! I'd like to follow the updates as well. |
Another worthwhile item to check while you have the frame exposed are the existing metal fuel lines. This would involve hooking up equipment to pressurize the lines and see if it will hold pressure. If either line does not hold pressure, time to replace.
I had the unfortunate case where one of the lines in my '76 had a leak within the tunnel. How I found it was the awful fuel smell in the cabin while operating the car....could not find a leak anywhere outside the car and believe me I checked thoroughly. So upon removing the rear inspection cover to the shift coupler, the smell of fresh gasoline was overwhelming. I had the fuel lines replaced.
Hope you'll be to continue the use of the L-jet FI, it works great.
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B r i a n
1976 VW Type 1 Beetle - Standard
Stop Dead Photo Links! Post your VW photos to the Samba Gallery! |
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kevspassat
Samba Member
Joined: October 16, 2020
Posts: 6
Location: Wisconsin
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| Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 11:24 pm Post subject: Re: 1976 Standard Bug Restoration Project |
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| Rome wrote: |
kevs, is your father still alive so that he can get enjoyment on your active work to revive the Beetle? Your work area is obviously well equipped with the rust cutting and welding, and your welds (Nap hat) look very good.
Will you be choosing the late style replacement floorpans with the seat mount humps so that you can refit the original seats? Try to remove your original seat humps from the rotted pans, in case the replacement ones don't fit well. You can sandblast/patch the old ones, then weld them onto the new pans. |
Dad is still around. He's super excited to see progress being made.
He had given me a set of new floor pans, which have an earlier style rail on them. Still deciding if I want to order new humps or find different seats to fit. One of the many things that I need to decide on.
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kevspassat
Samba Member
Joined: October 16, 2020
Posts: 6
Location: Wisconsin
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| Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 11:30 pm Post subject: Re: 1976 Standard Sun Bug Restoration Project |
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| Gr0unded wrote: |
| Gr0unded wrote: |
Interesting history, seeing a lot of gold or topaz beetles in the '76 model year.
Since you're going to the extent of body off restore, take a good look at the rear C pillars. Any bubbles in the paint or rust under the paint, its a good time to tackle the rust foam issue. If all clear, count your blessings.
The faux wood grain dash, I like a lot. Keep up the good work! I'd like to follow the updates as well. |
Another worthwhile item to check while you have the frame exposed are the existing metal fuel lines. This would involve hooking up equipment to pressurize the lines and see if it will hold pressure. If either line does not hold pressure, time to replace.
I had the unfortunate case where one of the lines in my '76 had a leak within the tunnel. How I found it was the awful fuel smell in the cabin while operating the car....could not find a leak anywhere outside the car and believe me I checked thoroughly. So upon removing the rear inspection cover to the shift coupler, the smell of fresh gasoline was overwhelming. I had the fuel lines replaced.
Hope you'll be to continue the use of the L-jet FI, it works great. |
Fuel lines are on the list to be replaced. I have a bad case of "while im in there" going on. Do it right the first time....
I hear a lot of "keep the FI", but im also looking for a decent power boost. From what i see, not a lot of mods can be done to make, say, 2100cc+ power out of the L-jet FI. Again, new to this chassis, so trying to learn about it all while building it, so i may be wrong on that.
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MuzzcoVW
Samba Member
Joined: February 21, 2018
Posts: 1475
Location: Westfield, MA.
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| Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2021 10:24 am Post subject: Re: 1976 Standard Sun Bug Restoration Project |
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| kevspassat wrote: |
| Gr0unded wrote: |
| Gr0unded wrote: |
Interesting history, seeing a lot of gold or topaz beetles in the '76 model year.
Since you're going to the extent of body off restore, take a good look at the rear C pillars. Any bubbles in the paint or rust under the paint, its a good time to tackle the rust foam issue. If all clear, count your blessings.
The faux wood grain dash, I like a lot. Keep up the good work! I'd like to follow the updates as well. |
Another worthwhile item to check while you have the frame exposed are the existing metal fuel lines. This would involve hooking up equipment to pressurize the lines and see if it will hold pressure. If either line does not hold pressure, time to replace.
I had the unfortunate case where one of the lines in my '76 had a leak within the tunnel. How I found it was the awful fuel smell in the cabin while operating the car....could not find a leak anywhere outside the car and believe me I checked thoroughly. So upon removing the rear inspection cover to the shift coupler, the smell of fresh gasoline was overwhelming. I had the fuel lines replaced.
Hope you'll be to continue the use of the L-jet FI, it works great. |
Fuel lines are on the list to be replaced. I have a bad case of "while im in there" going on. Do it right the first time....
I hear a lot of "keep the FI", but im also looking for a decent power boost. From what i see, not a lot of mods can be done to make, say, 2100cc+ power out of the L-jet FI. Again, new to this chassis, so trying to learn about it all while building it, so i may be wrong on that. |
Can't wait to see your progress! As far as Fuel Injection and power boost it does work. I built a 1679cc that will run 80mph easy all day long using the factory FI exhaust(its not as restrictive as you'd think!) My only issue was cam selection that caused idle issues that annoyed the piss out of me! That and maybe slightly too low compression for the cam. If you do decide to keep it, hit me up and I can let you know what I learned. Tearing mine apart now and going back to nearly stock cam over the winter. |
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