All posts in My Beetle Project

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.