The Classic VW Beetle

Well – it happened, and just in time for summer driving.

I found a new antenna for my Type 1 VW Beetle. This had to be one of the easiest things to install on the bug.
It was so easy, I almost felt guilty for waiting so long.



Every time I open the front hood, I cringe at the spaghetti-like mess of wires.

Yes, I have the plans to upgrade the electrical. While I was at the Mid America Motorworks Funfest this summer, I bought the 6 volt to 12 volt upgrade kit. I also have new wires and a new harness sitting on the shelf. That will be the project this winter.

Anyhow, back to the issue at hand – the new antenna.

Getting to the antenna bolt was the main issue – the air hose had to be disconnected in order to have easy access.

After that, it was as simple as unscrewing the nut, pulling off the old broken antenna. Pop the new antenna on the outside, and then screw the nut onto the new bolt. Easy stuff.

Now I can enjoy the full experience of driving to single speaker AM Radio bliss.

And yes, for you VW aficionados, that is an original 1964 AM radio. Not to brag, but how cool is that?

My Beetle driving has been much more than last year. The weather has been awesome and I have been taking the bug on many errands and appointments. It’s just a blast to drive, and the kids love riding along.

Well, one trip to the store can change all of that, especially when the engine decides not to start. The bug has been starting up fine. Even after a week in the garage, but when it gets to the store, it decides that the battery doesn’t have enough juice. Fortunately, I wasn’t that far from home and someone brought the battery booster and we were able to get moving again. I think that will be a permanent part of the toolkit from now on until I get this figured out. A few hours after getting home, I started the beetle with no problems at all.

This is getting weird. The battery was recently charged, but these “ghosts in the machine” are hard to track down. I think I may have to move up my plans to upgrade the electrical system to a 12 volt system. It’s hard, as this car has all original ‘64 parts and systems, but I think I would feel a lot safer.

Plus, the brake lights will be a little brighter . . .

Getting the beetle out of winter hibernation is always fun.

Amazingly, everything started up fine and the spring has been very nice for getting out and making short trips. Memorial Day was a beautiful day for a drive.

I settled into the seat to take a nice leisurely drive. It was warm, not a cloud in the sky, and perfect for a nice country drive. The engine turned over, turned over again, and again, and . . . nothing. The engine usually catches very quickly, usually within a few seconds. Even after sitting for a few weeks, it never turns over more than this.

The problem wasn’t electrical – I had plenty of juice. I’d even had it out for a drive the week prior. It was fuel – had to be. So, I checked the engine, and sure enough, there was very little fuel in the line and the fuel filter had some crud in it.

Luckily enough, the new MidAmerica Motorworks catalog arrived, so I went through it last night. There are a few options, both of which i like, so now those options have turned into deliberation. They offer a 10-pak of fuel filters, similar to the one in the picture. However, they also offer a stainless steel one with a washable filter. The lines are also a braided stainless steel. Hmmm, pure functionality v. attractive functionality.

I’m putting together an order from MidAmerica this week, so I’ll have to figure out which option soon – especially if I want to drive a little more before the end of the summer.

I’ve been holding off on buying some necessary parts, as I’ve been planning a trip to the nearest beetle graveyard – a place called The Beetle Barn in Central Ohio. From the highway you can see around 100 or so Beetles and busses as you pass this place, so it’s been on the top of my list to go. Hey, if I can find some parts there, that’ll cut some costs, right?

Well, I got my brother to go along with me, as he has been looking for a VW Thing, and was hoping to maybe find something drivable or a lead on one. We pulled in an immediately saw two restored Beetles 70’s Type 2’s. So I knew I was in the right place. However all of the “Beware of Rottweiler” signs convinced us to head strait into the main building rather than loiter around checking out the rusting museum of parts.

The workshop was an amazing mixture of bug parts, motor oil, and assorted things under wraps. The owner was skeptical at first, which I was warned about by a few friends that he could be a little rough, especially if you are building rail buggies and not actually restoring bugs. I heard tales of his refusal to sell parts to people because they wanted to use them for something other than restoration.

Well, after the ice broke, I had my shopping list; radio antenna, taillight assembly, windshield washer tube, original bumper parts, ‘68 seats, any chrome I could find, and anything for early 60’s model I could find.

I quickly found out that if you were restoring a 70’s model Super Beetle, you would be in heaven. However 60’s parts were hard to find, even here. The majority of wrecks in the yard were Super Beetles, and come to realize, most of what was there were Supers and busses. Cross the antenna, seats, and bumper parts off the list.

After an hour or two of looking through 3-4 buildings, shelves of spare parts, crawling over engine parts, we could only muster one-and-a-half taillights.

There was one item in stock, the windshield washer pressure tube from the spare tire, brand new and in the original German box!

While looking around, I found this behind some things, and couldn’t believe it. A manual for early 60’s bugs. My brother gasped, he was amazed, as he can’t stand the Chilton’s manuals and has always been looking for other things.

This manual was awesome, besides needing a wheelbarrow to carry it, it was complete with hand-drawn illustrations of how to do anything. It was very complete and very detailed. That alone made the trip worthwhile.

This little trip cost me $180, but I did get the manual and the original taillights. I’m wondering if I’ll ever find an original match to the one that I bought, so now I have a quest.

I’m going back to the Sew Fine catalog and starting my shopping list. The antenna is very high on the list, as it is getting boring not having anything to listen to, even if it is AM.

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: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot. This book makes sense to me because it assumes that you don;t know the first thing about VW’s (or even engines for that matter) which is very cool for someone like me. I skipped the part about how to use a screwdriver (joke!) but all in all – it’s a good read.

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.

The only thing broken on my Bug is the antenna. I knew this when I bought it and figured I could handle a fix on this at any time. However, after driving around in utter silence (as silent as a bug ride can be) I have realized that i need something to listen to – even if it is AM Radio.

I went to the two main sites that i frequent for parts, MidAmerica Motorworks & JC Whitney. A Google search for Beetle antennas was pretty fruitless. Ask.com didn’t offer much either, as all search combinations seem to end up in weird sites with no classic beetle parts.

Unfortunately, JC Whitney doesn’t offer anything that is a “stock” part for antennas. MidAmerica has antennas, but anything for the ‘64, or pre ‘67 is listed as a temporary shortage. I’m not sure what the shortage means – if I should order now or wait?

Anyone know where to get a stock ‘64 Beetle antenna?

While driving the beetle back home, my wife followed me and commented that she couldn’t see the brake lights or the turn lights. Great.

I did a safety check on the car when my brother came over to see it. Of course, everything worked. However, you could notice that the lights were slow to respond and on a sunny day, I could see where the lights may not be visible. I attribute this to the original 6 volt system.

Fortunately, the previous owner had new electric lines to upgrade the electical system to a 12 volt system. I’ll do the upgrade on the electrical system, but not until the winter, I think that’ll be a good winter project to add to the list while it’s in the garage. I’ll have to make a list of all the 12v part i’ll need to upgrade, like the wiper motor. Wiper speed is not the most impressive feature of a 6 volt system.
Other than that, I do get a significant amount of oil dripping from the oilpan. While some is expected, I think I’m getting a little too much. The exhaust also smells a little gas-rich, like not all of the gas is burning. The bug was tuned up last year according to the previous owner, but I may have the look at the mixture and oils seals. There seams to be a light coating of oil on the engine, so it may be leaking in a few places. Replacing the seals may be another winter project . . .

Based on these things, there i nothing critical, but I need to decide what to go for first, interior updates, such as the stearing wheel, shift knob and maybe install a stereo, or go straight to the engine – but I think the engine can wait for the end of the summer.

Happy Day!

I found a great bug on eBay, and even better, it was located only a short drive away. I found an original 64 VW Beetle. The previous owner went through great lengths to keep the integrity of the ‘64 together with original ‘64 parts, seats and even the AM radio. The engine was even replaced with another 64 bug engine. The only thing not entirely original are the teardrop lights in the rear, but hey, who’s that picky?

It could easily enter into a couple shows in the original category, It is very well kept, clean and lots of fun to drive. There are only a few minor issues in the interior, the electrical and the engine, but it is better than just “drivable”. The two-tone paint was the clincher for me. I like the two-tone style, as I think it adds a lot of interest and makes the bug look very classy. The door panels are white on this inside, and I think I would eventually like to make the interior two-tone as well, as it’s fairly dark with all of the black carpet and headliner.

I’m making a list of what needs to be done and what I’d like to work on first. My first decision was to keep it an original 1964 or to customize. I decided to customize and make the interior a little more attractive and comfortable. The exterior will be original for now.

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