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.
Yes!! I get to go to the Mid America Motorworks Air-cooled VW funfest again. This year Mid America is honoring the Dune Buggy, and in attendance will be Bruce Meyers, creator of the Manx Dune Buggy.
I was able to go to the Funfest last year and it was great. Of course, I loved the VW Things, but there are plenty of other VW’s and air-cooled rides.
If you would like to go, here is the Mid America Motorworks registration page for Funfest 2008.
Funfest 2007 Oval Window Beetle Pictures
Funfest 2007 VW Thing Pictures
Hope to see you there!
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.
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.
Great news! The schedule has worked out and I will be heading out to the Midwest Motorworks VW FunFest, on June 2 & 3. The past events have been a great gathering and I’ve been wanting to go to one of Mid-America’s events for some time now.
I also have a budget that my wife has imposed on me. Why don’t I do that when she goes shopping? Right. Like that would work.
The theme this year is the 50th anniversary of the oval window Beetle, and looks to be a great event. I’ll be reporting on the FunFest, providing commentary on the tech sessions, and publishing pictures of the Beetles on display.
I just got a catalog from Sewfine, which seems to be the industry standard when it comes to custom VW interiors. Just about every magazine or custom VW has had their seat covers or door panels from there.
Leafing through the catalog, they have a great selection of seat covers. Even the “standard” designs look great. But of course, the custom section can make you droool over the possibilities of what you can do with your Beetle’s interior. The color combinations and designs are very nice.
However, I think I may be going with a simple grey and white color combination for the seats and the door panels. I have black carpet now, but it’s in great condition and I hate to pull it up to put down new carpet. However, the headliner is great - until you hit the back of the car, then it sort of falls apart. Not sure if someone got tired while installing it and gave up or what.
So, I think I may go for the off-white headliner as well. I do have to admit that the “flame” two-tone door panels look great - but i think i may go for the simple white/grey with white piping. I’m not sure that I want to bring the turquoise color into the interior, though I could see some cool color effects.
Another nice feature is that they also sell padding for seats - my driver’s seat needs replaced, but structurally it is fine, the cushion is the old “horsehair” style.
But I am tempted to get the ‘68-’69 seats with the headrest support. I love the original style seats, but the headrest just makes life a little easier.
Now that i look a little closer - the 77-79 seats look great! I could see a white and grey with turquoise piping? How could I do this to a ‘64 bug, though?
This is going to take a while . . .
I replaced the air filter in my bug the other day, as it was looking very dirty. Upon inspection, I saw oil in the filter area. Not a good sign, i imagine. I check the new filter afer driving the bug around the ‘hood, and there are “spurts” of oil on the inside of the filter - no wonder the old one was so dirty.
Now I have broken out the repair manual, and I have to say that this is even enjoyable as reading a typical book - How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive
I am now on the oil system section, so I have some reading to do. All the signs are there that my engine is burning oil; The noxious, purplish cloud that comes from starting up the bug, the darkened chrome tips on the exhaust, and the puddle of oil accumilating in my shallow drip-pan. It all points to something - or just many little somethings.
The book is my first defense, but I do have a trip planned to a Beetle yard, about an hour away from my home. It’s one of the central places for VW parts in the mid-west, but they don’t have a website. As soon as I have the contect details, I’ll post it for others who may need it.
I ordered and received catalogs from JC Whitney and Mid-America.
If you are intersted, here are the links: JCWhitney’s VW Catalog - MidAmerica Motorsports VW Catalog. One of the things I liked about the Mid-America site is that I can print out the catalog or download it as a PDF (for those of us that don’t like to wait).
On first inspection, the Mid-America catalog is heaver, has more stuff and a much wider selection of “stuff.” I promptly planted my butt on the couch to look through my new catalogs and to figure out the next project for the bug.
I decided to go ahead an order the antenna through Mid-America, even though it is on temprary shortage, it’s only for an AM Radio, so I think I can wait. I think JC Whitney has a larger selection of car stereo’s but I just can’t shake the nagging feeling that something won’t fit right into the bug. It is very nice that Mid-America has pre-configured interior sets. The only thing is that I want a two-tone interior, so I think I’m going to look around a bit more and see what else is out there, or just go with the monochrome. Speaking of chrome, my engine needs a little work, so I think that will be an excuse to add additional chrome parts and the louvered backing and some engine tins to the engine compartment.
I just saw this while surfin’ around some VW beetle links today. Hot VW’s magazine is offering an Internet Special of 12 months for $19.97. Not bad at all for a quality mag.
There are additional offers on the site for specialty books. While the site is a little cluttered and hasn’t been updated for a while, there are some good resources available. While the article search is a little week, do a “List All” on the list article option and look around from there. I tried a couple of keywords like off-pan and heater channel, and no results were returned, but something general like “interior” worked well. My main disappointment was that the results only return the title and summary - no actual article. I guess you have to order a back-issue.
