updated 10-4-04
In my case, I got this car from its original owner who'd been given the new car in 1970 as a graduation present. She didn't put a lot of miles on it, but it did see it's share of the road. I picked up this one in 1993 when it had approx. 98,000 miles on it. The top was in rough shape, the floor had some of the customary holes in it, and other odds and ends that needed attention.
I hit the swap meets, ordered from bunches of mail order places, all found on other sites and in the VW mags, and have gradually fixed the stuff that was getting old, had worn out, or just to dress it up. Right now it has the new motor, new top, new floorpans and support rails, new bumpers, mirrors, Euro tail light lenses, a new windshield, new dash, chrome horn ring....hmm...... and a bunch of other stuff.
My latest project (winter, 2000) was painting the car. It started more quickly than I'd expected and became more work than I originally thought. I"ve since finished the paint job, but you can click here to see my efforts in the process.
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Some interior accessories are a Hurst shifter with a white knob, tach, voltmeter and oil temp gauges in the dash. I had some plates made that hold the gauges in the stock dash panels that give the gauges a nice, "stock" look. I'd like an EMPI wooden steering wheel to finish off the interior, but its still beyond my budget. If you have one laying around you don't need anymore, e-mail me at ctvert@cfw.com and we'll negotiate. |  |
I put a CD head unit with Pioneer speakers in the back and Infinities in the front.kick panels. I'd bought those fiberglass panels for the front, but they still didn't offer enough offset in the back for the speakers, so I ended up making rings that allow the correct standoff. (You can see the left speaker in the picture above. Then I added a Bazooka subwoofer tube that sits on the floor behind the driver's seat. While I was at it, I ended up putting in amps and a crossover to run all these speakers. One for the front and another for the back speakers, then one for the sub. (I had to wire a relay to the amps as the 70's wiring wouldn't start the amps, like at idle, so the relay starts everything making it work very nicely. It sounds really nice!
Most of my written assistance came from reading St. Muir's book and the Haynes and Bentley manuals. I also got advice and assistance from other VW buddies, while bunches of parts came from swap meet wheeling and dealing. I've played with Ebay trying to find deals, but everyone else is looking there too, so although i've seen cool stuff, I've not seen deals on there yet.
I strapped this mill into the bug a couple of years ago. The stock engine performed well through 115780 miles. In 1990 I bought a '66 convertible that (still) "needs work" (...read rust bucket- B&C calls it a P.O.J. you figure it out...I'm still working on this car, but be sure to check it out! Anyway, in the deal was a motor. It had a universal 'H' case, single port heads and a 28 pict 2 carburetor. So, I gradually rebuilt this motor back into a 1641 dual port motor with dual Weber 34 ICT's. Building the motor was great fun, although it took me 2 1/2 years. My hesitation came mainly from not being pressed, and being patient with the funding factor.
Once the case was align-bored, new bearings went in and the shortblock completed. I had the case's inside studs changed for the dual port heads, and the oil cooler mounting stud. I picked up some dual port heads at a swap meet and had them done at a machine shop. The guy, Tom, did a valve job, put in new valve guides and valves. I got the doghouse and dual port shrouding, heater boxes, a 009 distributor, Bosch blue coil, degree pulley, and other odds and ends at swap meets. I bought Mahle 87 jugs pistons and rings, a clutch disk, ignition stuff and went at it. Seemed that getting the stuff all together was the part that took the longest. Assembly of the engine, given I figured I should maintain my day job and other daily do's, I got the motor together in a few weeks. Took a fall Saturday and replaced the original motor with the 1641. Once it was in and running, the carbs got adjusted and the breaking in process began. I added the Pertronix Ignitor Electronic Ignition and as far as I can tell, the carbies and the added displacement have contributed to noticeable improvement in the car's get up and go. Also, I think the electronic ignition contributes to quicker starting and much smoother performance.
I run an extractor with a variety of mufflers or a stinger. I also have a Monza system, which I think looks good, but is more restrictive than the others. So either i run the stinger without the baffle, or a euro-tuck when I need to be quieter. Recently I added a flamethrower system for the stinger. It blows a 12" blue flame, which I guess I could improve by "richening up" the carbs.
So far, this was the toughest task. My brother and I worked around 40 hours in December, 1995 to cut out the old floor pans, grind down most of the support rails, then put new s. rails and f. pans in the car. I didn't take the body off, as I didn't have that capability. We jacked the car up onto jackstands then used a reciprocating saw to cut out the floorboards at the front and next to the tunnel. Next we unbolted the sides of the f.boards from the body. (As the body was still on, I had to cut off the little 'hook' that supports the back of the pan, near the jack support--it doesn't work without doing this!!!) Once the floorpans were out, I ground off the bad parts of the support rails.
At this point I had jackstands supporting the middle of the car so it wouldn't sag as I worked on the support rails. I've heard about guys that put jigs in the door but I didn't have that "resource" available either.
Welding the new support rails in was next. I'd gotten the rails from the
outfit in Washington that advertises in the mags as selling these rails, Briz
bumpers and stuff. I'd borrowed a MIG welder but it was the kind without the
gas, and didn't work very well. So we used electric arc welding at a medium low
setting which worked real well.
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The hard part was that damn upside-down welding of the support rails on the inside of the car. I'd welded in high school, so I had some experience and it came back to me quickly. There was one spot where the heater channel had rusted through, near the driver's left foot, so we patched that up, too.
Next came putting the floorpans in. We had to cut off the jack support as the pans I'd bought had the sedan jack support. (Anyone ever seen convertible floorpans, anyway?) We spent some time tweaking the pans to make them fit. I spent several hours fitting the pans to the back of the body by the battery. It would have gone better with the body off, but with some creative cutting of the new pan, I got the new one matched pretty well with the old remaining pan. Fortunately, I'd been very conservative in cutting the old one out in that area. We then put a rivet or two in the tunnel, and started putting the bolts in on the outside. Getting the bolts started was time-consuming. I had a hard time seeing the hole they were to fit into, coupled with getting the bolts through the new body gasket. Eventually we got the bolts into the sides and began riveting the tunnel side of the pans. We finished riveting the inside side, along the tunnel and front of the pan. As I didn't take the body off, we had to match the front of the pan to the part that had been cut. (At a later date I went back and welded the seam with a torch--much easier to use in upside-down welding, btw) Remembering to put the petal stop in, it was time to get the seats, pedals, battery, and seatbelts back in place. I adjusted the clutch, and called it a job well done...
I spent the winter of 1994 restoring the top on this car. The original was in rough shape. The wooden bows were rotting, the back window held in with some kind of rubber caulk. I took the top assembly apart, making notes of how the headliner was attached and bow measurements.
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Next, I ground off the remnants of the front bow mount, then welded new ones to the frame, and put the front bow in place. |
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I painted the frame and put it on the car. The back bow went in down around the back of the "bucket", then the bow at the back above the rear window. (btw, I'd finished the wooden bows with a stain and polyurethane finish.) |
Installing the headliner comes next. Essentially I used a staple gun and attached it to the rear and front bows, stretching it to take out any wrinkles. Then it is glued using upholstery spray adhesive to the middle metal bows. Several screws hold it in place in the front. There is a string that needs to be attached to the side bows at the top of the quarter window as well.
Installation of the rear window is started now. The original wood is pressed particle stuff, so the window bow is replaced in the frame with the solid maple, again finished with stain and polyurethane.
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The completed frame is held in place with the straps and is placed between the headliner and the top. It is placed exactly 3 1/2 inches measuring from the inner edge of the wood on the window frame down to the edge of the metal lip on the baody. (This measurement is good for 63-74 cars.) |
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Once the headliner was in, I could install the webbing straps that support the rear window and rear bows. They attach at the "bucket" up past the back bow (on either side of the rear window) and attaches to one of the middle metal bows. |
The padding and cover went on during a pretty day in January. I tried to use the PFU padding that I'd been sold, but it sucked. So I was fortunate in that my original horsehair pad had survived enough to be reused. In fact it had indentations at the points where the bows fit, so it made a perfect fit.
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The little quarter pads on either side of the window, went in, using staples and glue, and I got ready to put the pad on the top. |
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I glued the pad inside the cover then finished it by stapling the cover to the bows on top of the headliner. |
The top installation starts by slipping it over the front and gluing it to the sides of the frame. Then it is stapled to the front bow, and the cables made ready to install. The top has cables on the side from the quarter bows to the front on either side. Then its time to put the rear cable in place. This baby stretches from side to side attaching to the car behind the point where the top hinges. The cable fits over the edge of the top and into a channel at the back of the car. The theory is that through the tightening of the cable, the top is drawn up into the channel, effectively hiding the cable. So, I start cranking on either end of the cable, one cold Saturday morning in January, and the s.o.b. snaps.... So off to the phone to order another, which gets in several days later. Out there again at night, just a little tighter
I finally quit torque-ing the mutha with the third cable......and that
one is still in place. Throw a few staples into the side under the point where
the seal fits above the quarter window, and she's no longer topless.
So,
with a brave heart and a big knife, its time to cut the assembly to put the
rear window into its frame. I say a prayer, raise the knife as if to sacrifice
my nice little car, and stab the newly installed top in the center of where the
window frame is stapled into place, between the headliner and top.
Then gently, I cut away the top and staple both the headliner and top into
the window assembly, then cut, then staple until its complete. Window glass
goes in, and she's ready. All that's left is installation of the top window
seals and replacement of the handles, hooks, and hinge covers, and its a class
act.
VW Trends did a 4 part piece at the end of 1994, on the restoration of
the top, in an interview fashion with Chuck Coli. I'd gotten my top and bows
from his mother who runs an east coast operation, called V-Dub Restoration.
Another fine resource is M&T
Manufacturing, which has a new site on the web. These guys are great, full
of advice and get stuff out quickly, like back tension cables......
E-mail me at ctvmotors@ntelos.net if I can better explain anything, or if you have any other advice to offer. There are some great VW sites out there; some are listed on my links pages. Whatever the case, be sure to Drive and Enjoy your VW Daily!
