The Classic VW Beetle

If you follow VW Beetle restoration, then you’ll be familiar with West Coast Classics. West Coast Classics has done some awesome work and their restorations are some of the most complete and beautiful work done on these amazing cars.

The latest offering is a thing of beauty:

West Coast Classic Restored VW for Sale

The asking proce is $9500. Considering the paint, restoration and everything else, you can’t go wrong – it’s well worth the price if you want to avoid all of th work, hassle, busted knuckles and frustrations of restoration. lay down your cash and drive away in this beauty.

Here is the ad for this 1968 Restored VW Beetle for sale if you want to know more.

As I mentioned in the earlier post – I was chasing down the electrical gremlins with my hand-dandy multimeter. After viewing the Bug Me Videos, I was able to identity a number of wiring issues that enabled me to the wiring system under control. The video answered many questions and things that I simply overlooked.

Which brings me to the brakes.

The brake lights would still not light. After double checking and re-checking the connections, there was something wrong. I used the multimeter and chased the current down to the master cylinder. The current was going in, but not coming back out. Finally, I was able to pinpoint the problem. I was going off the previous owner’s assessment that he replaced the brakes and brake lines, but on closer examination, there was no brake fluid in the reservoir.

So, I filled up the reservoir and prepared to bleed the brake lines. Within seconds, however, i had a nice pool of brake fluid forming in the floor and in the bottom of the hood compartment. I checked the line, and sure enough it was old, worn and cracked. A simple trip to the local auto parts store solved that issue. i reconnected the line, filled the reservoir, and was met with the same result. more brake fluid on the floor. I disassembled the entire assembly up to the master cylinder and inspected everything.

Of course, I should have done that in the first place, as it was the fluid reservoir that was a problem – a nice crack in the side when someone tightened it down to far, breaking the plastic.

Fast forward another few days as I awaited a new brake fluid reservoir like a kids awaits Christmas. Got it, assembled it, the new hose, added the fluid, and everything held. No leaks!!!

NEXT STEP – Bleed the Brakes
I bought a brake bleeding kit, as finding someone to step on the brakes for 20 minutes would be a little difficult. The kit worked wonderfully for the first two brakes, then i dumped the fluid. After dumping the fluid from the first two bleeds, something got into the reservoir on the kit, and it never worked as good as the first time. In fact, it was pretty much worthless. Looking back – bad investment, iIm sure i could have bought something a little more practical and reliable. I did what i should have done. Find a warm body that can count to six and push the brake pedal. It took a while, but it got done.

Next step – be sure your brake lights are grounded. Otherwise, much cursing and second-guessing will happen. Thank you again Bug Me video, for that reminder.

All in all, this part of the project was a tribute to all of the minor detail that were left unattended, and a testimony to how one problem can lead to another, and another, and another.

By the way, the brakes work great. The new brake lights and the upgraded 12 volt system really make then shine bright. This is so much safer than the tiny teardrop lights combined with the old 6 volt system. I never felt safe with this. Especially when some monster truck is bearing down on you when you want to make a left-hand turn.

This last experience was some of the most interesting. Looking for advice online is akin to asking monkeys for directions. As one person put it, “The internet is proof that a million monkeys typing on computers will never reproduce the works of Shakespeare.” How True.

6 volt starter
I got completely befuddled by all of the advice on the starter and keeping the 6v starter vs replacing it with a 12v starter and adding the bushing to make it compatible with the 6v flywheel. The upgrade kit that I received from MidAmerica Motorworks had the bushing, but no parts for upgrading the starter or flywheel. A few calls to the helpful people there, and I realized that i was just reading too much. I just needed to stick with the program and do what I was doing.

The 6 volt starter will work just fine in a 12 volt upgrade in a 1200 air cooled engine. Though the main advice was not to grind the ignition, as the starter will hit the flywheel harder with the 12 volts surging through the line. I saw where some people complained of teeth breaking off the flywheel because the starter was hitting it hard, but some simply replaced the flywheel and didn’t have any more problems.

The alternator came out very easy – really, it’s a matter of locating all of the bolts and keeping a note of where they came from. The shroud was amazingly dirty and oily – i had to wonder when the last time this beetle had thorough maintenance. At points in the project i had to wonder how this thing still ran.

I had to go to Harbor Freight, my new favorite hardware store and get a set of large metric ratchets. The bolt on the old alternator was 36mm, larger than anything I had, and the bolt on the steering wheel was 26mm – time for new ratchets.

Removing the Alternator
Simply by holding the fan and using the monster ratchet I got at the store, everything came off surprisingly easy. I used my miter saw box as a platform for holding the alternator upright, and it worked out OK, as the miter box was bolted into the workbench. The fan got a nice bath and cleaning, and then it was ready to go on the new 12volt alternator.

Oil Filler and Breather
Meanwhile, i was stumped on the alternator stand, as the Oil Filler and Breather was attached to the old stand, and it somehow had to come off and join the new alternator stand. The new stand was threaded, and I could barely budge the filler to twist off. I noticed that the inside of the oil filler was notched, and fortunately at that time, my engineer brother showed up in time to to save the day. Looking over the shop manual, they recommended the VW 170 tool to remove the cap. Right. I’ll run right out and get a VW170 shop tool to remove this thing, which I’ll probably repeat when?

This is when having an engineer brother comes in real handy. First we tried clamping the stand to a workbench – didn’t work out well, but, since it was an old workbench, we simply screwed the stand to the bench through the existing bolt holes – genius!

After reviewing the notches in the oil filler, we realized that we only had one tool that was wide enough to hit the notches – the crowbar. My brother took the end of the crowbar and put it on the grinder to take off the taper and make as much of a wide edge to grab the notch. It looked to work well, but still tough going.

Funny enough – he asks me for a torch. I looked at him odd, which i think he expected. He tells me this is what “the guys in the shop do.” He heats up the oil cap with the torch, takes the crowbar and easily twists off the cap. Amazing.

So much for the VW 170 tool. Putting the cap back on the new alternator stand was just as easy. Screw it on, heat it up, tighten it, and that thing was on.

Aircooled – heh, it’s 90 degrees. I’ve considered placing the window air conditioner in the garage while we work on this project. The work lights alone put off an immense amount of heat while working under the hood. Blech!

Two projects are in play:
1. Replace the wiring harness
2. Upgrade the bug from 6 volt to 12 volt

and yes, i should have done this in the winter . . .

Someone asked me why I am wasting my time with the harness, as it is a tough job. well, i got the answer as I was pulling the wires under the hood. there are more splices than wires, some of the insulation broke off in my hands, and some of the insulation was just melted to other wires. Not a lot of stuff to keep you confident. No wonder i got stranded a couple of times when the bug wouldn’t start.

Now that the wires are cleaned out – it looks much better. I also ordered a wire cover for when this is all done.

Yeah – the original cardboard glove box. I think this is getting replaced, as it is kind of moldy on the inside.

The hard part is removing the steering wheel. I need to buy another wrench, as my set stops at 20mm. Crud.

I saw this catalog on The Samba today. It’s the 1974 VWOA Accessories Catalog, subtitled “84 Interesting Things You Can Do to a Volkswagen.” What a great title.

I haven’t seen these catalogs anywhere in stores or VW “graveyards”, but they look like something every Bug (or other VW) owner should have.

As I was searching for a VW Thing in good condition, I came across a great site for people like me who (although I would love too) just don’t have the time to fully restore a Beetle or Thing. West Coast Classic Restoration restores and sells VW’s.

There are some beautiful cars on this site, and, of course, Things. Including one Kubelwagen built in 1942 and delivered and used in Africa during WWII. They also have a 1944 Schwimmwagen. Just perfect.

The one really great feature about West Coast is that they put pictures up during the restoration of a car. So we can follow along, and see what they did once they are finished. For example, here is a page about Jim’s (I don’t know Jim) 1949 Beetle restoration.

So if you have a Volkswagen that needs some love, and you just aren’t that mechanically inclined, check out West Coast VW Restoration, or anyplace around you that can do the work for you.

If you have no VW, then sorry. But you could, because West Coast sells Beetles, Things, and Ghia’s.

Just a beautiful job of driving in this drift video.

Nice to see a Classic Beetle showing the kids how it’s done . . .

Team-BHP is a car restoration forum in India, and one of the members posted his story about this amazing restoration, which was done in 18 months. The end result was the owner forming the Bangalor Beetle Club.

Found via Team-BHP.com

MidAmerica Motorworks has announced that custom leather interiors for the Volkswagon Beetle are now available as part of their product catalog. The custom leather seats available for all 1958-79 Standard and Super Beetles.

You can view examples of both custom and OEM options available for the Beetle at the MidAmerica Motorworks website: Custom VW Beetle Leather interiors.

I read this the other day and couldn’t believe it.

Apparently, dryer lint is fantastic for cleaning up those oil spills in the garage. So, I dutifully tested the claim.

. . . and yes, it works!

It worked so well, that it even picked up the oil film that tends to be left with other cleaners. Now, I am asking my wife to save all of the dryer lint and to do the laundry more often.

Because as everyone knows, Beetle’s don’t leak oil, they just mark their spot.