HFS's car thread | Nearly-5000-miles update

[homeforsummer]

Since my Beetle has been sold, this thread is no longer all about it.

I did have a thread for my cars before, but after the MX-5 got stolen I decided to close it. Not a thread I'm keen to read through again in a hurry. But for completism's sake, here's my car history in all its semi-glory:

Sadface - 1998 Ford Fiesta 1.3 Finesse - 03/03>09/09 - Sold

My first car, and only the Rallye has stayed with me longer so far. Never let me down, always economical, handled nicely, wasn't too uncomfortable, and as special as only a first car can be.

Danger Mouse - 1991 Mazda MX-5 - 09/09>10/10 - Stolen and wrecked

Unfinished business. Didn't own this for nearly as long as I'd have liked, but what can you do? First "proper" car and fond memories of it. Will own another.

Panda - 2008 Fiat Panda 100HP - 10/10>05/12 - Sold

Newest car I've ever owned, bought as something that wouldn't cost much to run, and not get nicked, but still be fun. Did all three, but regret taking out a loan for it as it took ages to pay off. Sort of regret selling it, too.

Rover - 2001 Rover 75 Club CDT - 06/12>08/12 - Sold

Bought as a comfy, long-distance car for the weeks when I didn't have press vehicles handy. Was indeed comfy and economical, but I bought a bad one and it started costing me money. Got shot of it before it got even more expensive.

Roland - 1974 Volkswagen Beetle 1303 - 07/11>10/13 - Sold

Started missing the MX-5 while I had the Panda. Wanted something old. Bought this on a whim with intention of driving it on weekends. Decided to do a few things to it, which turned into a project, which turned into an ongoing never-completing project. Sold to free up garage space for something I can use!

Insight - 2001 Honda Insight - 02/14>02/16 - Sold

One of the best cars I've owned. Not a fast car, but light, nimble, low, small and made me feel like Buck Rogers, all while doing 70+ mpg. Sold because I stopped using it after the Eunos arrived, but do miss it.

S-Spec - 1992 Eunos Roadster - 02/15>01/19 - Sold

Got a job at a magazine, and the constant temptation of driving fun cars made me want another of my own. Went back down the MX-5 path to complete some unfinished business from the first one. Sold it when I lost a parking space, and the Peugeot won the battle to be kept.

Rallye - 1998 Peugeot 106 Rallye - 07/17>?

Had been mulling the idea of another back-to-basics fun car for a while. Office chat and general internet temptation led me to a car I've always wanted. Probably the most fun car I've owned.

Paseo - 1996 Toyota Paseo - 09/20>9/21 - Sold

Was made redundant like everyone else during 2020. Had to find a car at short notice. Was offered one for free, which happened to be a car I'd considered in the past. Sold for a change and to get something newer and less beaten-up.

RX-7 - 1994 Mazda RX-7 - 12/20>?

Opportunity came up to own one of my dream cars. Jumped at it. About as original as they come these days, and needs work, but glad to tick a true Gran Turismo classic off the list.

Smart - 2011 Smart Fortwo cdi - 11/21>4/24 - Sold

Bought to replace the Paseo. A car I'd considered in the past (when nearly new, before I bought the 100HP). Served as a fuel-efficient daily allowing me to run the Peugeot and Mazda as toys. Sold before bills started piling up, but after I'd started getting sick of it...

NC - 2009 Mazda MX-5 2.0 Sport - 4/24>?

New daily driver to replace the Smart. Needed something fairly sensible, but been really missing being able to put the roof down, and also having a daily that's genuinely fun to drive.

 

[Moglet]

I've always liked old Beetles, and as you say that colour does suit it somewhat. I'd still be tempted to spray it a traditional colour myself but then I'm a sucker for original spec colours on cars like this!

A guy who lives up the road from me has a really nice Beetle:

 

[RenoRanes007]

Nice, I used to have a '67 Beetle:

And after that a '59 Karmann Ghia which you can see in my Rides Thread.

I'll be keeping an eye on this to see how it progresses.

 

[Jim Prower]

Dad NEVER liked the Supers - torsion beam guy all the way. Said that the Bug just wasn't made for struts, and that may be part of your floatiness. I might see if someone makes a strut tower brace for the Super.

The other thing is Floorpans. The bad news is that they're a trouble spot on Beetles no matter what the year. The good news is that they're reasonably easy to take out and weld a new one in. The Beetle's one of those cars that's incredibly easy to work on - Dad knows how to have the engine out of one - completely out of one - in a half hour.

Speaking of an engine, you could literally mail-order an entire engine for one of these things. I'd recommend the 1600 Dual Port as a starting point for a performance motor - maaaybe a 2000 out of a T3 Transporter. Dual Webers, definitely. You could easily turn this car into something that could keep up with your Fiat.

and if you want to be absolutely obnoxious?

They call that a Stinger. and it is loud.

 

[Moglet]

I didn't know you had a Panda 100hp! They're brilliant little cars.

 

[Cano]

oooooh nice grab HfS! I tend to think a Super Beetle is way rarer than a normal Beetle even in the UK (and I hope you know what I'm talking about here), so this is a hell of a project. It seems in very good shape aside from all the problems you have mentioned, which are pretty normal for an old car. I'll keep an eye on this thread, ypou know I love Beetles.

 

[homeforsummer]

Aircooled guys tend to hate the Super Beetles for reasons that I can understand, but never quite fathom. Other than the very, very first Beetles all the way from the 1930s-1940s which are like pieces of artwork, the Super Beetle is my favourite shape. I like the big bumpers, the bigger fenders, the large rear lights, the bigger front and rear screens etc. I know it's not as smooth a design as the older ones but it looks more like a car and less like an actual insect!

I do know what you mean Cano - I think one reason the Supers are less common in the UK at least is because of the other reason people don't want them as much - they aren't road-tax free. Only cars built pre-1972 get free road tax, and mine's a 74. For this reason there's a big push for the older ones.

Parts for them grow on trees though which is really handy, and with the more sophisticated suspension the later Beetles make a good basis for having a bit more power.

And Jim, you've basically mentioned something I'm considering. It's really easy to increase the capacity and replace the single carb for twin carbs, so that's something I'm considering once I've got all the main stuff sorted. I'd quite like to do something along the lines of the Beetle GT or the Rally Beetle, but I'm not going to change too much as I do appear to have a nice standard car. As far as exhausts go, I quite like the sound of twin glasspacks.

The floatiness is more to do with some shot bushes than the struts, I think. The actual ride quality is brilliant compared to modern cars with rock hard springs and low profile tyres, and the springs and dampers look and feel in pretty good condition, but all the vagueness is in the steering. I know Beetles are all a bit vague steering wise but we're talking four inches of play in the steering here! It needs aligning too as in a straight line it's a good few degrees off centre.

I've never owned a car that didn't need aligning as soon as I bought it...

And yep Moglet, I have a 100HP. Bought it last November to replace the MX5 when it got stolen. It's great fun and has a decent turn of pace but after the Mazda it's a bit characterless so the Beetle fills that gap!

 

[SVX]

Nice project you've got here. Are you going to slam it, or is this going to be a 'all original' restore? Your off to a great start.

 

[NLxAROSA]

Very nice beetle, hfs. 👍 Looks remarkably well for its age.

 

[homeforsummer]

Nice project you've got here. Are you going to slam it, or is this going to be a 'all original' restore? Your off to a great start.

Neither, really. Slamming doesn't interest me and I'd like it to be something that I can actually use regularly if possible, but I'm likely to do a few things to it, perhaps a little more power and some other stuff.

Very nice beetle, hfs. 👍 Looks remarkably well for its age.

Cheers It's not bad for a UK car that's for sure. It's had welding in the past and there are a few bubbles of rust here and there but I've seen much, much worse.

 

[Keef]

I know Beetles are all a bit vague steering wise but we're talking four inches of play in the steering here!

Gotta love recirculating ball steering racks! My dad's Ranger has about 2 inches of deadzone in the middle. Apparently some of them can be adjusted so do some research on it. I would suggest a complete replacement though.

 

[homeforsummer]

Gotta love recirculating ball steering racks! My dad's Ranger has about 2 inches of deadzone in the middle. Apparently some of them can be adjusted so do some research on it. I would suggest a complete replacement though.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. It's probably been on the car for the best part of 40 years so it won't harm just replacing it. The same goes for a bunch of other bits. Some things aren't worth messing with when replacements are reasonably cheap.

Once you've got past the dead zone the steering is actually quite nice to use though. I'd forgotten how natural to use a manual rack is after driving so many cars with power steering.

 

[homeforsummer]

More work on the car today.

Removed the last wing. Came off pretty easily since I'd sprayed all the bolts with WD40 last time I was home. Only time consuming aspect of it is the occasional bolt that's hidden away in an alcove that only allows you a 16th of a turn at a time so removing it takes ages.

Anyway:

Front bolt came off much easier than on the other side, mainly because there wasn't much metal to fight against... first hole I've found though so can't complain too much:

Next job is the wiring because it's now getting in my way for both stripping the interior and removing other bits ready for painting. 38 years of bodging isn't making things easy. This was just the crap that was attached to the fuse box...

That cream colour you see in the background was the original colour of the car, known as "sahara beige". Still debating on colour choice - options are going back to the beige for originality, keeping the current blue but doing a much better job of the paintwork (because I think the blue looks great on it and I've not seen another in that shade), or going for one of the other 70s Beetle colours, my favourite of those currently "rally yellow" as on the right hand car below:

Hmm...

 

[Moglet]

I love both of those colours but the green is my favourite, it's such a nice deep colour!

 

[Kryz11]

Very nice car man, Beetle always had a wide body kit as standard! haha

 

[homeforsummer]

I love both of those colours but the green is my favourite, it's such a nice deep colour!

I was thinking that too, but I'm put off by dark colours because in the UK they look so dull and lifeless for 90% of the time. Bright colours look a bit more interesting for longer, which is why the blue and yellow options are more my thing. The beige option would just be for originality, but IMO too many people go for beiges and maroons on aircooled Volkswagens so I'm not convinced it's the way to go.

Very nice car man, Beetle always had a wide body kit as standard! haha

I was amazed how much extra space the garage seemed to have after liberating the wings. Well, around the car anyway. Now I have four massive metal wings taking up space in the extremities of the garage...

 

[eSZee]

Very nice car man, Beetle always had a wide body kit as standard! haha

I saw a lowered, wide body beetle drive by a few days ago. It looked menacing.

 

[gt4rulez]

i love beetles!

this is a '62 beetle of a friend

 

[homeforsummer]

That looks great, really clean 👍

That the LED for the alarm in the car was connected neither to the alarm itself, nor any power source, should be a good general indication as to the quality of the wiring in the car...

I think I've pulled out about half a dozen wires today that weren't connected to anything at either end, and several wires that appear to only be connected at one end. It's a wonder the car even moved...

 

[gt4rulez]

arent those unconnected wires for options? i know some cars have pre wireing for optional parts so its bassically plug and play. dunno if the beetle had any options at that time but hey who knows

 

[homeforsummer]

I've a brochure from the year my car was sold and there weren't a great deal of options. One was a radio and some of the wires could well be from that - since mine came with a hole in the dash where a radio would go. There are also a few blank switches on the dash that could feasibly be for different options, like a heated rear screen.

However, there are plenty of wires under the dash that weren't connected at either end, so those certainly weren't for accessories! There are a lot which have been spliced into others and wrapped with insulating tape too where people appear to have fitted all manner of things that weren't there originally. Someone had spliced a little lamp into a wire leading from the battery to let you know it had charge - the battery worked fine but the light didn't!

Basically I'm going to start afresh as the wiring that's there is way beyond help.

 

[gt4rulez]

oh well i didnt knew the wiring was that bad

 

[homeforsummer]

oh well i didnt knew the wiring was that bad

It really is

Found this wedged behind the dash. It's the control unit for the alarm. Spliced into about a dozen different other wires (you can see the white multi-pin attachment for it in the image above and all the insulating tape-surrounded wires coming out of it), which is partly why it's such a spaghetti behind there.

Still not managed to free the dashboard yet, reckon it's a steering wheel-off and windscreen-out type of job which is a pain, but took the front panel off:

The large square to the right is where the accessory clock would go. Might try and get hold of one as it'd look pretty good. Also, depending on the eventual colour scheme I choose I'll probably paint/fabric/walnut veneer this panel to spruce up the interior a bit.

 

[homeforsummer]

Got one of the jobs I was more apprehensive about sorted tonight:

Thanks to the help of my best mate. Wasn't a difficult job as such, more one that needs an extra pair of hands to ensure the screen doesn't accidentally slip and smash into thousands of pieces. He'll be called in again for the rear screen and rear side windows.

It's win-win: he gets to play around with old cars that he doesn't have to pay for, I get assistance! Everyone is happy.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

Jesus, that wiring looks about as bad as it was in the old Sierra I used to have. Except from the looks of things the Beetle's wasn't as much of a fire hazard...the wiring job on mine had exposed wires perilously close to the terminals on the battery and could have shorted and caught fire if it wasn't tended to when I first got it.

Also, my dad would be proud, he absolutely adores Beetles (VeeDubs in general for that matter).

 

[homeforsummer]

Interior is a much lighter place to be now. Also, note the original colour it left the factory in...

And I've taken some of the old wiring out - not keeping any of it so just snipped it out. Anything running through either bulkhead will be snipped long enough that I can attach string to it so I can pull the new loom through when I eventually reach that stage...

 

[homeforsummer]

Started idly sanding away at the back end today. There's a bit of filler around and about but there's nothing in any structural areas and no significant rust that can't be treated.

Think I might have chosen a colour, too. Porsche mint green:

Volkswagen pistachio green is a very similar colour that would work too. It's suitably 70s but also bright and unusual, can't recall seeing any other Beetles in that colour. The other option is a similar tone but slightly lighter shade, but the more pastel the colour goes the more 1960s it gets, and it's very obviously a 70s Beetle so I want a 70s colour.

 

[Dan_]

Lovely project car mate, if only I had enough garage room....

Anyway, regarding on the colour of choice I believe this table might help.

It's the complete listing of the palette available for the Beetle around here, classified by year. I don't know if the colour codes are internationally regulated, but I presume it's possible to locate the correspondent codes used for the british market.

Hope that was helpful.

Dan

 

[gogatrs]

Some guy that lives down the street from me has a VW bus and beetle just rusting in his front yard.
They've been there and haven't moved as far Bach as I can remember.
Id suggest a custom horn on that though.
I know that horn is classic, it's also as girly as it gets.

 

[homeforsummer]

Anyway, regarding on the colour of choice I believe this table might help.

Nice, that's pretty interesting, thanks 👍 I've actually got a Beetle brochure from the year my car was made, and it lists the colour choices as:

Atlas White, Marina Blue, Senegal Red, Brilliant Orange, Sahara Beige (my car's original colour), Rally Yellow, Cliff Green, Marathon Metallic (light blue), Alaska Metallic (dark blue) and Hellas Metallic (gold, basically).

Marina blue is the closest colour to what I'm wanting to turn mine into, but it's not green enough That Porsche colour is closest to what I'm after. Here's one I prepared earlier:

I'd be going for a green-ish theme on the interior too. Non standard, but close enough to stock to look like it could have come from the factory.