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My new project

13K views 101 replies 20 participants last post by  Lord Helmet 
#1 ·
Thought I'd share...

Some of you may already know but I'm a huge air-cooled V-Dub fan. This past weekend I picked up my new project. 1966 VW Beetle. Going to do a full resto-custom restoration on the car.

Here's pics...




I'm already starting to tear it apart...



Got a bit of rust to repair but all in all, he's pretty solid.

In the end, I'm going for this type of look:



Enjoy!

ps: I'm not doing anything else to the Fusion except maybe a camber kit. :dunno:
 
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#3 ·
Bugs are awesome cars...a bunch of fiends back in high school had them, some were pretty damned quick too.  The coolest one that one of the guys had was (I can't remember) if it was a '53 or a '57 oval window, with Centerlines, etc...  Good luck with the project, and definitely keep us updated on the progress.
 
#4 ·
Got the body off last weekend and I'm starting to tear down the pan.



 
#5 ·
What an awesome project, props to you for restoring a vintage beauty. I love those cars, parents had a 71 when I was born they brought it back from Germany and then drove it across Canada in the winter.... fools ;) Cannot wait to see the pics as you go. I want to do one of the VW buses, and then install an older 911 engine in the back so it can actually climb hills LOL
 
#6 ·
Thanks!

I was hard at work again today for about 6hrs. Pulling the tranny and the front suspension beam off the pan.


 
#8 ·
[quote author=Mercury_66Comet_07Milan link=topic=155605.msg3341862#msg3341862 date=1253934423]
I saw a VW Bug at a car show that had a Buick GNX motor in it. Intercooled & turbocharged. Now that is a sick bug!!!
[/quote]

See, now to me that is just blasphemous. Once you pull out the a/c'd motor it just becomes someone's Frankenstein and the car is ruined. That GNX motor is just plain sick, don't get me wrong there. I'm sure we would agree it would be better suited to the car it was robbed from. So basically what happened then is two classics were ruined in the process of building or Frankenstein. :bash:

I don't care if someone keeps the car stock or not, hell, I'm not keeping mine stock. But it does bother me when someone pulls the heart and soul out of it. Call me a purist. :lol:
 
#10 ·
[quote author=Seasonalskier link=topic=155605.msg3348358#msg3348358 date=1254341696]
Where'd the engine go? :lol:
[/quote]

Funny you mention that. I currently don't have one since the car didn't come with one. No worries though, they are all over the place and fairly cheap for a decent stock runner.

I'm planning to run a stock 1600 dual-port next summer and then the following winter I may rebuild it to make a little extra power. The car came stock with a 1300cc which is just not going to be enough for me.

Last night I started grinding the topside of the pan to get all the surfact rust off before I spray it with POR-15. I'l be doing the underside of the pan as well. Rust sucks.
 
#13 ·
[quote author=Scales link=topic=155605.msg3423107#msg3423107 date=1258602470]
I wonder if a KLZE motor is compatible with the car.
[/quote]

Uhh, no.

Skier, the original engine was only a 40hp 1300. While very reliable and great on fuel economy, my car will be getting a dual port 1600, hopefully from a late model car instead.

I have a line on a cheap, running 1500 that I may pick up to get the car running if I can't find the right engine in time.

This is pretty much what the car looks like right now....



I've been grinding and pounding pretty much every weekend I can. If I never have to use an angle grinder again I'll be pleased as punch. I'm sure my neighbors will be too. :hide:

I've been working on my welding skills this week. I'm not very good at it. :lol: I'm getting better though.

I welded a split apart seat track back together first and that went pretty well... And it works!



But welding in the new battery tray is a whole different ball game so far....




These welds haven't been ground down yet but they look like hell, sheet metal is pretty hard to work with. It burns through so easy. The tray is welded in on the top side and I'm working on the bottom now (pic above). I'm getting better but it's taking some time.

I'm very glad all the body panels on the car that need to be replaced are located in areas that will not be immediately seen. Most of them are behind the fenders within the wheel wells or they will be covered by carpet.

Once this battery tray is done I'll probably put the project on hold till after the first of the year. My neighbor has a Hotsy pressure washer/steamer machine that I plan to blast the pan with before paint. There's still a bit of grease/dirt concoction near the rear of the pan that I need to get off before I paint it. I'm planning to use the POR-15 product to put a permanent stop to the rust. It should give the pan a nice finish too.

After I paint the pan, I'll get my parts list out and start ordering after the 1st. I want to get the body back on this sucker and get it rolling again.

Just so you guys know, if anyone is interested in it, my Fusion will be for sale as soon as Project Beetle is running and driving again.

:cheers:
 
#14 ·
Good Job!!! I remember my first welds, I melted the sheet metal straight through and wrecked it. Good thing I was practicing on some scrap metal. :lol: Those welds actually look really good if that is your first time learning to weld, no holes just a little extra material that can always be taken care of by a grinder. My only bit of advise on restores, be sure there are absolutely NO surface blemishes (I like to use bondo to fill the small dents and holes) because as soon as the paint dries you will notice each and every one right away. Me and my grandpa are restoring an Austin Healey very similar to this one: (except for the fact that this is in one piece :lmao:)


As soon as the paint went on we noticed right away how shitty of a job we did on the body :lol: so we sanded it back down and block sanded the entire thing and used a special paint that puts a very thin grey layer on the car and as you sand it off you can see where the surface is not smooth (you will get white raised patches and grey lower patches) after a few sessions over the entire car and another paint job it came out PERFECT and we couldn't be happier. Just a friendly tip!! :cheers:

Good luck and be sure to keep us updated. I am always checking back for new pics! :lol:
 
#15 ·
Thanks for the tip, man!

I love Austins. I wish you good luck with it.

BTW, thanks for the compliments on my welds. And yes, this is my very first time welding. I'm hoping once I take the grinder to them it will look ok. I need to get some areas back down to bare metal again before I can go much further.
 
#16 ·
[quote author=Lord Helmet link=topic=155605.msg3423235#msg3423235 date=1258607862]
[quote author=Scales link=topic=155605.msg3423107#msg3423107 date=1258602470]
I wonder if a KLZE motor is compatible with the car.
[/quote]

Uhh, no.
[/quote]

Ahh, just checking, since they fit amazingly in the VW
http://www.offroadvw.net/bajawes/V6_baja/KLZE_cars/ZE_cars.htm

Great cheap motor :) I've owned one, decent gas mileage too!
 
#17 ·
It will look ok, you just have a bit of extra material on the top, don't try to get welds to look like the ones from factory, because lets face it, those machines will out weld a person every time. Just make sure that you don't make any holes and extra material is not a bad thing it just means a little more grinding. That's all. But so far it is making very fast progress! Looks good!!
 
#19 ·
:lol:

That vid has been floating around lately. It's pretty awesome. Truth be told, I can do that with my fingers. Once. :lol:
 
#22 ·
It's going well! After insulating my garage doors and picking up a radiant heater a couple weekends ago, I managed to finish painting the pan/chassis last weekend. My wife bought me all new brake parts and a drop kit for the rear for Christmas. Once the paint hardens, I can start the reassembly process. Well, after I lay undercoating and seam seeler on the bottom.

I'm still shooting for summer to hit the road but we'll see.
 
#24 ·
[quote author=Seasonalskier link=topic=155605.msg3493457#msg3493457 date=1263267097]
Dang you are moving QUICK! :lol:
[/quote]

I'm trying but money and weather hold me back.

I thought I posted this in my last reply but I guess I didn't. It's a shot of the painted pan before I flip it back over and lay on the seam sealer & undercoating. You can see my bling-bling garage door insulation. :lol:





EDIT: I just noticed what a difference I've made. Ha! I'm kinda proud of myself. :lol:

Also, here's the parts washer that I got for Christmas as well as the tool box that my father got me. The parts washer was boring so I went searching all over the house for stickers. Found the folowing stickers and slapped them on: Tein, Steeda, Ron Jon Surf Shop, Acurazine.com (from my Acura days), and Slovakia. The garage is kind of a mess right now but now that the pan is painted, I'll get it clean up a bit.


 
#26 ·
[quote author=Seasonalskier link=topic=155605.msg3493601#msg3493601 date=1263270608]
:shock: Dang are you sure that's the same car frame/pan?
[/quote]

lol, I'm prety sure. It's painted on both sides too. The thing is, it's really not anywhere near perfect. I picked up a hammer and doly kit from Harbor Frieght and managed to pound out most of the imperfections but it's still not 100%. Thats ok. This is my first car so I'm learning for next time. There WILL be a next time. I'm already hunting for another one. ;)
 
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