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May 31, 2020 17:10:42 GMT
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Bought back in September 1996 as a stock Elm Green 1300 in need of a little work.  I paid a so called VW specialist a lot of money to restore it, replacing the heater channels and most of the bottom 6" of bodyshell but really doing such a bad job that they then whacked in bucketloads of filler to cover the mess. Fast forward a few years and i took it off the road at the beginning of 2001 to sort out a few bubbly bits and pieces only to discover rot on a truly epic scale requiring all the work to be done again (after just 4 years on the road).  Stuff like rotten door pillars just whacked in with a hammer then plated over with nice paint over the top to hide it and other horrors.
So i dumped it on my parents drive and pretty much ignored it for years until a mate offered to relocate it to my drive while he had the use of a borrowed trailer picking up an early 914 porsche.
I learned to weld, taught myself to spray paint and heres the result. All work done by myself either under a tarp on a gravel drive or later in the single car garage i built.
I finally managed to get it back on the road in December last year, 18 years after its last MOT. I decided to change the colour to Mint Turquoise as 90% of the shell was in primer anyway after panel replacement anda repair and have tried to fit period extras and accessories from the 70s/80s.   Still with its original interior.
Running the original 1300SP motor too
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Made myself a rear parcel shelf from some 1/2" ply as the original 1970s Kamei ones are just thin hardboard and warp or sag. Fitted a pair of retro looking speakers to it.
Made a front under dash shelf while i was at it. 
Not a massively powerful sound system all things considered.
Cleaned up the swedish JS products roof rack my dad originally bought for his MK1 escort back in the mid 70's
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Very nice too. Is the Rexton an 8-track?
What are Beetles like at towing?
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Very nice too. Is the Rexton an 8-track? What are Beetles like at towing? At being towed, they follow right along...At towing, they follow right along.... |
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Very nice too. Is the Rexton an 8-track? What are Beetles like at towing? Yep, its an 8 track. I need to find some tapes to get some use out of it, though theres a modern stereo hidden away so its really just for show. Its only a 40bhp 1300 but has a 650kg towing limit according to the owners manual i have. I'm not sure i'd want to try and tow that sort of weight (at least not on any hills) but it should be OK for a small trailer or trailer tent. Very nice too. Is the Rexton an 8-track? What are Beetles like at towing? At being towed, they follow right along...At towing, they follow right along....  |
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Ross
Part of things
Posts: 83
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Jul 12, 2020 23:57:16 GMT
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Lovely to see your Bug all done Zebedee buddy. I used to follow your Readers Rides thread on Volkszone but haven't been on there in maybe eight years.
Sold my own puru green 1300 stocker about three years ago too.
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Last Edit: Jul 12, 2020 23:58:08 GMT by Ross
Mini eh? Rolls Royce Merlin bolts straight in them you know.
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Jul 15, 2020 10:35:39 GMT
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Lovely to see your Bug all done Zebedee buddy. I used to follow your Readers Rides thread on Volkszone but haven't been on there in maybe eight years. Sold my own puru green 1300 stocker about three years ago too. I managed to reach the post quota on VZi on my thread (about 3000+ posts and a 1000 or so piccies) so had to start part 2. Since i got it back on the road in mid december i'm ashamaed to say its only done 20 miles. I need to get it out and use it but this year has just been a sh1t show really and i've not had the enthusiasm to get it out the garage. |
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shin2chin
Part of things
Making curse word cars slightly better
Posts: 820 
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Jul 16, 2020 16:10:48 GMT
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That looks good. I've sanded my beetle back to this colour in places, it always makes me think of 90's custom bugs.
I will be stealing your idea for the under shelf and the storage pockets, cheers!
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1977 PORSCHE 2.0na 924
1974 VW Beetle 1600
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Jul 17, 2020 16:59:53 GMT
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You can never have too much space to store your roadtrip goodies. I'm still not sure if the door pockets are going to be big enough for all the stuff my missus likes to take.  The colour is quite close (in the right light) to Ford Peppermint green that was a favourite colour to paint a bug in the 90s. Due to all the shows being cancelled i've had to make the best of the situation by entering a virtual car show. veedubs.com/show/1970-vw-beetle-1300/ |
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Jul 20, 2020 11:19:24 GMT
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I'm still collecting period accessories and other 70's tat. Just got this off ebay for £2.95 plus postage.   |
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Took the bug out for a quick run to get some petrol and to check the brakes after i rebuilt the calipers a few months back. Good news is the brakes work great now and no longer lock on.
Horn doesn't work again, though it does sound by itself when the steering wheel is turned 180 degrees while parking. I suspect the £35 upper column bearing/horn contact (thats currently unavailable from anywhere in the UK) is at fault as theres a little play in the column. The front tyres also squeal on tight turns even with the correct pressures in them.
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Awesome to see a Beetle in stock form. Beauty mate!
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Awesome to see a Beetle in stock form. Beauty mate! Cheers. The roads are too bad, theres too many huge speedhumps plus i'm too old to slam one into the weeds. It still catches its front number plate on the humps round here. |
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Jul 27, 2020 17:16:50 GMT
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Fitted the coffee maker to the door. Fitted nicely once the bracket was bent to match the curve of the door and the plug is short enough to plug into the 12v socket in the glovebox and still allow the glovebox door to close.  Found my old late 60s Aladdins Stanley vacuum flask too after i misplaced it somewhere (i.e. put away somewhere safe).  I'm still looking for a cheap orange and brown curver cool box like this.  |
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Aug 15, 2020 17:19:45 GMT
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Had a bit of a run around this afternoon.  Still a few niggling faults that need sorting. Horn sounds itself when the steering wheel is turned 180 degrees at slow speeds or when stationary. Think its possibly the steering wheel boss touching the horn contacts on the top of the column as i'm sure it didn't do it with the original wheel fitted. Tracking needs setting as it feels a little twitchy. Rear gas shocks will probably be swapped out for stock oil filled ones as its bouncy as hell. |
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shin2chin
Part of things
Making curse word cars slightly better
Posts: 820
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Aug 17, 2020 18:28:08 GMT
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Had a bit of a run around this afternoon. Still a few niggling faults that need sorting. Horn sounds itself when the steering wheel is turned 180 degrees at slow speeds or when stationary. Think its possibly the steering wheel boss touching the horn contacts on the top of the column as i'm sure it didn't do it with the original wheel fitted. Tracking needs setting as it feels a little twitchy. Rear gas shocks will probably be swapped out for stock oil filled ones as its bouncy as hell. Horn might be the jumper wire over the rubber coupler on the steering column just under the tank. I've just spent days getting my horn working. Some things on beetles are so simple, others not so much! |
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1977 PORSCHE 2.0na 924
1974 VW Beetle 1600
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Had a bit of a run around this afternoon. Still a few niggling faults that need sorting. Horn sounds itself when the steering wheel is turned 180 degrees at slow speeds or when stationary. Think its possibly the steering wheel boss touching the horn contacts on the top of the column as i'm sure it didn't do it with the original wheel fitted. Tracking needs setting as it feels a little twitchy. Rear gas shocks will probably be swapped out for stock oil filled ones as its bouncy as hell. Horn might be the jumper wire over the rubber coupler on the steering column just under the tank. I've just spent days getting my horn working. Some things on beetles are so simple, others not so much! I checked the wire at the coupler and its fine. With the wheels off the ground the steering can be turned lock to lock and horn doesn't sound. WIth the wheels on the ground it sounds at the 180 degree mark (or when i grab the wheel and apply force to it) so it seems something in the steering column is touching and creating the earth path for the horn. The bearing in the top of the column (which i know has a bit of wear) is £35 and currently out of stock everywhere in the UK and europe. Postage cost for one from the US makes it rather expensive. |
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Last Edit: Aug 18, 2020 9:48:25 GMT by Zebedee
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shin2chin
Part of things
Making curse word cars slightly better
Posts: 820
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Aug 18, 2020 17:56:52 GMT
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I've not driven mine since sorting the horn so hope I don't get that! Think I will resort to horn button on dash if that happens.
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Last Edit: Aug 18, 2020 17:57:52 GMT by shin2chin
1977 PORSCHE 2.0na 924
1974 VW Beetle 1600
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Aug 19, 2020 10:08:54 GMT
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I think as it was fine with the original wheel its probably down to the clearance between the mountney boss and the indicator switch on the top of the column. Theres only a 2mm gap (the minimum haynes manual recommends) but maybe due to the design of the back of the boss it needs slightly more.
I might try adding a 2mm thick washer under the boss to raise it up a little and see if that solves it.
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Sept 17, 2020 9:48:41 GMT
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Still ironing out the kinks but took it for a run out to Morrisons to do some shopping yesterday.  Horn now doesn't sound when the wheels are turned (apart from once reversing out of a parking space), though i think she was just showing off to the lads in the car behind. The drivers door lock did decide not to work though. The key doesn't feel like theres any resistance when its turned and the internal button won't lift up either. It did the exact same thing on MOT day in December then miraculously fixed itself the next day. Never did figure out what went wrong but i stripped the lock mech and oiled it and its been silky smooth since (well until yesterday). Lock looks like this and i can't see anything obvious that would stop it working. Its a curse word to get to too with the door locked and shut.   |
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