Well, it was a good 11 months of ownership ....

[Smithsonite]

... after spending 8 months parked or broken down.

Now this happened today. So f'ing pissed! Lost a MOUNTAIN of money and countless hours I'll never get back. No coverage for this, so it's a loss. Not a total, but close.

Anyone want a '66 Beetle with a charred '68 1500?

[MuzzcoVW]

Curious, how did you not have coverage in Mass?? Sorry this happened... but being from the state I don't get how you were able to get away with that

[Smithsonite]

Was just basic insurance. Won't cover any of this damage.

Thanks.

[RLFD213]

What caused the fire?

[Smithsonite]

I suspect an electrical short ... but everything is fried to a cinder so I'll never know where.

About 500 miles ago it got a brand new Pertronix ignition system - entire distributor, coil, plugs, and wires. I spend a TON of time securing and wrapping wire. Very confident it wasn't my work. Shouldn't be after 35+ years of doing this stuff.

I have been fixing hack mechanic work since I got it, so I wouldn't be shocked if something shorted behind the fan, then started a chain reaction.

Wife emptied a little fire extinguisher on it, but it wasn't enough. She didn't know to try and yank the cables off the battery. If I were driving I probably could've saved it.


At least she's not hurt in any way, so that's a blessing.

Here's a pic I took after the plug wires were finished:

[vamram]

[Buggeee]

Wow that totally sucks a bag of.... I don't see any problems with your work. It's a gorgeous beetle and well worth fixing it, if your missus will ever get in it again. I'm glad she's ok, the rest of this is just worldly B.S., she's the one that counts.

Catch your breath. Know it sucks. Fish the local aircooled club for a used engine and deck lid - and punch it out over the course of a week. Clean and clear the damage right into a rolling memorial of the history of this car (even with rattle can clear from FLAPS). Summer is here.
_________________
Big Time 1988 Vanagon Westy
Release the Krankenwagen! 1966 Sportsmobile Camper
Dr. Kompressor 72 Super Duper
61 Turkis Pile (adopted out)

[Buggeee]

Oh, I just noticed that you lost the pop-outs too. Now I'm pissed.

Just do it. These early bugs are worthy of extraordinary effort.
_________________
Big Time 1988 Vanagon Westy
Release the Krankenwagen! 1966 Sportsmobile Camper
Dr. Kompressor 72 Super Duper
61 Turkis Pile (adopted out)

[Root_Werks]

Dang that sucks!

It's worth saving for sure. Looks like it was a nice Bug.
_________________
When I set my timing, why do I flush, then take a pee?

[mukluk]

Looking at the post fire engine picture and where the fire appears to have been focused, I'd say a 90% or better chance this was caused by a failure of one of the two fuel hoses at the pump. This is a good reminder to everybody to check on the condition of their fuel lines.

Sorry for the bad luck, but on the bright side at least the magnesium case didn't ignite.
_________________
1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[Smithsonite]

Thanks, fellas. Great points. I'm pretty torn up about it, so I was resigned to just giving up on it and cutting my losses. I did want to upgrade the engine anyway, so here's a great excuse, lol.

My biggest problem is time. I've spent the last year trying to get caught up on the fleet. My truck is still down waiting on me to order springs and repair the steering column, and my winter beater has no spark ... intermittently. Finally got the Beetle up and running 8 days ago, and now this. A kick square in the nuts!!

Yeah I was PISSED about the glass. The back window I could deal with ... but they had to smash the ORIGINAL pop-out window. Still had the VW logo in it.

With the crappy workmanship I was finding all over - like the fuel filter installed backwards and an arrow drawn the incorrect way in magic marker, right NEXT TO the arrow embossed in the filter pointing the RIGHT way! I should have just left the car down and inspected EVERYTHING after that.


We took the thing to the White Mountains the first week we owned it. I gave it fresh Amsoil fluids, adjusted the valves, put some neoprene valve cover gaskets in, then loaded the thing to the roof and did a 450-500 mile (speedo cable snapped on the way up) trip north. I almost melted it down due to the failing Mallory Hy-Fire 6a CDI system it had. Didn't know it was failing at the time. Thank God it got us home! I had to pinch off the vacuum advance hose to keep the engine alive. Got so hot that the Amsoil Z-Rod 20W-50 was reading 0 psi at idle, and 30 at 3,500 RPM! I knew enough to pull over and give it a rest by that stage.

Then a week after we got home, the wifey had it crap out on her a few times. Finally for good at the supermarket. I temporarily installed my grandfather's 100+ year old Ford Model T ignition coil to get her home. After that, I upgraded everything to Pertronix. Was running SO good too, with NO spark knock AT ALL, and I had the static timing pretty far advanced. Just below the point where it will struggle to start!

The carbs were SUPER lean, as in white-plug lean, but I didn't have any time to yank them off and fix that. Figured with the featherfoot wifey driving it wouldn't be a huge deal and could wait until next winter. Probably should have in hindsight. Might have found either loose fuel lines or bad wiring. Too late for that now.

I do know the previous owner or his mechanic used a coathanger as safety wire around the fuel hoses on each carb. Must've happened before ...

[heimlich]

Did you keep the car? Maybe you can repair it.
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[sb001]

Dude, this EXACT thing happened to my 69 in summer 1990. Looked EXACTLY the same (except the firemen in my case were kind enough to only break the rear window and left the popouts intact.)

And here it is now:

You'd never know.

Don't sweat it- can be repaired and fairly easily.
_________________
I'm the humblest guy on this board.

1969 autostick sedan, family owned since new
1600 SP engine
Solex 30 PICT 3 carburetor
Bosch 113905205AE autostick distributor

[Smithsonite]

WOW, nice work on that one! GORGEOUS!!


Yeah we had the MANDATORY tow - which cost me $157 for FIVE F'ing miles when I have a car trailer sitting right in my yard that I could've grabbed - drop it right in the driveway. That's Massachusetts in a nutshell for ya - once the police make that call, it's getting towed whether you like it or not! GRRRRR!! Don't even get me started on that one!! LIVID doesn't even BEGIN to explain ...

Spent the day cleaning it out, pulling carpets, vacuuming 100 gallons of water and chunks of glass everywhere. Since time is extremely limited these days, I've decided to just cut my losses and sell it. I've already had several people ask how much and then apologize with, "I know it's too early, but when your ready let me know", lol.

Easier and less time consuming than having to build another all over again. Probably cheaper, too. Now I can find the color she wants, and find a 100% rust free one.

Ours wasn't bad by MA standards, but isn't rust free. A couple small holes in the front fenders, and the running boards don't feel like they can support my 170 pounds. Floor and structure of the car is rust free, which is why I bought it. Figured I could swap fenders some day if it bothered me enough. With the cost of paint and materials today, I'd just have lived with it.

So I think I know exactly what happened now after I ran the leafblower over my driveway this afternoon to get all the glass cubes out of here. I noticed a line of drips. It had a minor oil leak out the crank seal, but this looks like gas to me.

Mystery solved. So pissed I didn't catch that!!! I didn't smell anything the night prior - I had just checked the oil 12 hours before this happened. Son of a bitch!!

Couldn't upload the pics here for some reason - says they're too large or corrupted ... but all the OTHER pics loaded no problem??? Aside from the state of MA, electronics / computers are the bane of my existence!! GEESH!!!!!

First pic is directly behind where my wife parked. Second is out in the road where she backed up, then proceeded down the road. Can clearly see what appears to me to be a fuel leak. Can see larger puddles where she got out to close the garage door that the remote is failing on.

https://postimg.cc/fV6y2HcB

https://postimg.cc/HJcWbbFX

[heimlich]

[sb001]

[plotch]

If you decide to keep the beetle i have a pair of pop-outs, cheap. Glass and surround are good, everything else needs replacing. I have back windows too, but they all fit my 75. A generator also. Cheap means gas to pick up. Although i am in mass. around june 16, 17. Amesbury area.

[Blue Baron]

That looks so much worse than it actually is. Once you get the engine out, rip off the burned material and start cleaning, you'll find it's all doable, especially if the engine still turns by hand.
_________________
We are striving for perfection, to make our cars run forever, if possible.

Heinz Nordhoff

[RLFD213]

Looking at the pictures the fuel hose to and from the fuel pump could have failed. That braided garbage always leaks. Sorry this happened to you.

[Smithsonite]

Thanks guys.

Yeah that's the conclusion I came to - that cloth covering hid what would normally catch my eye - dry rotted / cracking rubber, which I would have replaced immediately.

Lesson learned the hard way there.

I've flip-flopped back and forth over what to do with the thing over the past week +. When I started adding up what it would cost to bring it back the way I would want it, I think we'll just replace it. Much easier on me, mainly, since my shop is now closed, my tinkering time is 99.9% less than it used to be. Base, clear, and activator for both is INSANELY expensive - it was back in 2010, so I can only imagine what it is now. Then body work & materials, I'd want a new engine, transmission, and harness if I'm going to go this deep. Then glass, rubber trim, new deck lid, spring, and hinges if they're bad, plus the 50 other things you forgot about ... Adds up quick!

While it would be nice to have a nearly brand new Beetle, I've got 5 other motor vehicles that need attention & maintenance. It gets out of hand very easily. By the time I got this one back the way I want it, I'd have spent well over $20k. Might as well just buy another for half that, then sell this one to someone with more energy, time, money, and patience than I have, and move on.

I did just find paperwork buried in the glove box we just cleaned out indicating this engine is a 1641cc. I figured it would be just a bit over 1500cc's since it's been rebuilt at least once since '68 when the engine was new. I might have to keep this engine and freshen it up for the next one. I liked the power output of this one, even with the super-lean carburetion I hadn't had time to fix yet. There was A LOT of power left on the table there!! I only realized that when I accidentally forgot to plug the electric choke power lead back in. The chokes remained closed, and the thing hauled ass! It idled at 2k, too, so I couldn't leave it that way as a bandaid, unfortunately, lol.