Project Car...The Beetle.

[JWC]

Did I mention I really had to hammer the end of that thing while she held it tight to get it started.

[Soup DeVille]

Did I mention I really had to hammer the end of that thing while she held it tight to get it started.

Enough! I don't need to have impure thoughts when I look at the  VW in my driveway!

[Danish]

[JWC]

...and I didn't even mention the latex gloves she used.

[Zcarnut]

Ugghh..I hated putting the shift rod bushing and shift rod in mine.Took some time to get it all right.
Got mine going BTW.Put new pics in my "Project Dune Buggy" thread.

[JWC]

It was definitely a PITA.   Tomorrow I have a wedding to shoot. Sunday, I'm going to reinstall the shifter and battery.  Then, build one seat base so I can install the driver seat and move the car without having to push it.  The next two weeks is going to be spent shooting on location.  That's how I'm spending my vacation...working.  Well, some of my vacation days anyway. I'm saving a couple of days to paint the car in the fall, hopefully.

One problem I'm having is spending the car fund on other necessary items that keep popping up.  The money for the carpeting, headliner, and trim panel went to new glasses and contacts.  Good news is I can see again.   The money set aside for the tires and wheels, went to a new digital camera (used digital camera), new flash, and a new camera case for the location shoot. Hopefully, that money will be returned to me if everything is successful..if it is really successful, it should be returned two-fold.

[JWC]

I said I would visit and keep the updates going on this project. 

I've finally gotten through 90% of the outstanding photography business...enough so that I felt I could spend a few hours on the VW project.

• The shift lever works great, even if my test consisted of just moving the car up and down the driveway.
  
  
• Today's engine start up was the first in a couple of months.  Took it a while to get going, but eventually she ran fairly smooth considering it really needs spark plugs replaced.


• The driver's seat base has been built and test fitted. The passenger's seat is a project for a few nights this week.  I'm going to shoot the build of that seat for posting here and on "myspace". After the seat bases are built, next Saturday will be cleaning up the bases, cleaning up the welds and start cleaning up and painting the interior.


• All the glass has been removed from the car with the excpetion of the front and rear.  Those will be removed just before the new headliner goes in.

I'm going to have to accelerate the project. More than likely, I'll repair my two bicycles and start riding to work again.  Healthier alternative anyway, and better for the environment.

My daughter's 2007 Focus came in and she wants to start driving it. The wife will take the Volvo....I'm getting some flak from that because she wants an Edge. The Volvo only has 38,000 miles on it even though it is a 2000 model.  It has all the options she wants-- heated seats, sunroof, alloy wheels, leather, heated mirrors, memory seats, etc, and the best thing is I only owe $1200.00 on it.

Anyway, that's the update on the Beetle project for anyone interested.

PS, I won't get too much done next weekend, because I turn fifty years old and the wife has planned a weekend on the coast...just us two, a hotel room with jacuzzi, two bottles of champagne, and a bottle of Viagra.

TMI?

[JWC]

PS, the convertible VW is still rotting away in the backyard.  If you remember the model from the "nude" shot in the 'Photography Take Two" thread, she has rented a house in the country that includes a barn wired with power.  She wants to learn body work and painting. She and I are considering, once the sedan is finished, moving the convertible to her farm house and working on it together.  I just have to convince the wife that all the time spent there would be working on the car...and not the model.

[JWC]

Latest update...there is no update.

I've been so busy lately, still haven't been able to get back to the VW.  Which has led to...looking for another VW.  Since I have a sedan and a convertible, both project cars, the wife and I are looking at 70's era VW campers that DON'T need any work.

[Rupert]

Once you pop, you just can't stop, eh?

[JWC]

Nope, can't stop. 

Bought a 1974 Beetle today...well, unless the guy backs out on the deal.  This is one clean car.

[JWC]

Oh, and found a 1965 for 700.00.  I haven't made that deal yet, just talked to the guy.  He was in getting wrecker serviced. Evidently, it is pretty rough. 

Future project.

[the Teuton]

JWC, can you give me some old car advice?  I'm new to this whole thing.

[TheIntrepid]

So JWC, how many cars do you have now?

[JWC]

Well, if the deals work through...

2000 Volvo
2007 Focus
1971 Beetle
1979 Beetle convertible
1974 Beetle
1965 Beetle

Did I mention that I found a mid-sixties Ghia Friday at lunch?  I might call on it just to see if it is for sell.

The deal was made for the '74.  I'm still holding my breathe because while it is more than I usually pay for a Beetle (or used to pay) it is the cleanest one I've see in a few years.

Once things settle down some,I'm going to call on the 1965.  (or 1966, I can't remember which year he said it was for sure).

[JWC]

JWC, can you give me some old car advice?  I'm new to this whole thing.

Like what?

[the Teuton]

Like what?

In case you haven't read up on my stuff, I don't want to hijack your thread, but I'm going to look at a BMW 2002 project car tomorrow.  I'm nervous because I really don't want to buy a non-running car, but I think I can get the price where I want it to be.  I am bringing a friend with significant mechanical experience, but I don't want to get in over my head.  I just want something I can work on and in 5 years be satisfied with a beautiful daily driver.

I don't know, I think I'm just really nervous.

[Raza]

Karmann Ghia!?  I love them.

[Rupert]

Hehehe, rock on...

[JWC]

In case you haven't read up on my stuff, I don't want to hijack your thread, but I'm going to look at a BMW 2002 project car tomorrow.  I'm nervous because I really don't want to buy a non-running car, but I think I can get the price where I want it to be.  I am bringing a friend with significant mechanical experience, but I don't want to get in over my head.  I just want something I can work on and in 5 years be satisfied with a beautiful daily driver.

I don't know, I think I'm just really nervous.

Sorry, I haven't been on CarSpin too much lately, so I might have missed details of your search.

Non-running cars don't bother me too much...if it is an older system without computer gadgets.  The internet has made parts more readily available for people, such as myself, who live in the boondocks.

If the body is relatively rust free, I'm usually happy.

When buying an old car, I look underneath first. Floor pans, corners of wheelhouses etc. for rust holes.  I pull the carpet back, front and rear, and look for evidence of rust.  Rust holes along rocker panels are difficult, but not impossible to repair.  Rust holes around fenders I've come to expect and it is pretty simple to cut and weld in new metal.

On older cars, non-VW, damaged or rusted chrome trim is costly and hard to get.  If body side trim is intact and clean, that is a plus. One of the guys at work is redoing a 1965 Falcon with his son.  His is a prime example of trim woes.  $300.00 for a piece of chrome for the rear quarter panel...left side only.  Broken tail lamps and glass can be another expensive item. 

Don't worry about hijacking the thread.  It has roamed freely since its inception, but since the yellow VW is an ongoing project, it will always go back to its origin.

[Danish]

Holy Crap John, thats a lot of cars

Your daughter will be driving soon though right?

[JWC]

She turned sixteen in April.  She hasn't had the desire to drive yet, except on occasion with her mom.  She refuses to drive with me...which utterly confuses me since I'm less threatening to than her mother.

I paid for, but haven't picked up the 1974.  I didn't want to drive without plates the twenty-five miles home, even with a lead car. A ticket is too risky, been there before.  The last time I got stopped without a plate, the highway patrol threatened to have the vehicle towed from the spot they stopped me.  I convinced him to let me drive back, eleven miles, to the dealership. He escorted me all the way.

[JWC]

The list of things I know need to be done to the 1974:

Replace the dome lamp.

Replace the fuel filter, plus move it to a safer location than the engine compartment and replace one fuel line. (I replaced a leaking fuel line today and test drove the car...ran and drove great.

Replace the shifter bushing. You can go back a couple of pages and see how that worked out on the 1971 Beetle.

Replace the fresh air box in the luggage compartment.

Replace the trunk liner.

Reglue the corner of the driver's door trim panel..the vinyl has worked loose.

Reinstall the windshield washer bottle and line.  All the parts are there, they just need to be reattached correctly.  If you are unfamiliar with VW windshield washers...it runs off of air pressure from the spare tire.

Install modern 3-point retractable seat belts for the front seats.

Things I'm thinking of doing (especially since they will eventually go on the 1971 car:

Wood slat roof rack.

Flat-four BRM-style wheels. (Currently the '74 has optional sport wheels. It also has the sport seats).

Replace the paper air filter style box with the oil bath unit from the 1971 VW.

[Rupert]

So what are the plans for all these cars?

[JWC]

The "new" one will stay the same except for the add-ons listed.

The yellow '71 will continue to be modified.

If, big if, I decide to also get the 1965-6 (can't remember now what year it was)I'll do a brake job, tune-up, clean up and flip it.

[southdiver1]

Hey John,
Why did you decide to use the oil bath air cleaner instead of the paper air cleaner.
Currently my Caddy has an oil bath system (the "air cleaner" is filled with oil) and I was thinking about going with a traditional (read: "normal") air cleaner.
Any advantages to the oil over the paper?

[JWC]

Southdiver1, it really is just a simple matter of convenience and filtration efficiency. 

Convenience because it eliminates the need to purchase a paper filter.

Filtration, because oil bath filters more efficiently.  There have been some tests on the VW sites that indicate either no loss of power or a better power curve with stock oil bath filter housings.  Some of it may be due to the fact that after-market air filters sit closer to the carburetor.  For a VW, 3" is considered the minimum. The air filter acts as a sort of velocity stack.

The oil bath filter also allows for oil blow-by from the crankcase.

...and

since a VW engine holds 2.6 qts of oil, it gives me a place to put the other .4.

[Secret Chimp]

If you are unfamiliar with VW windshield washers...it runs off of air pressure from the spare tire.

This is an awesomely goofy fact.
"My windshield is dirty because my tire is flat!!"

[JWC]

When I get the windshield washers reconnected properly, I'll post a pic.

[280Z Turbo]

This is an awesomely goofy fact.
"My windshield is dirty because my tire is flat!!"

VW likes to do weird stuff like that.