Homguy:
Nice job dude. Been following this thread for a while, I can't wait to see what this baby would look like finally I.e if you don't sell her off like CityNG and Siena almost always do. By the way, I have always felt awkward driving with those pedals in the VW beetle, would you be making any modifications to that?

Thanks bro,....In a way,the beetles clutch and brake pedals will feel smaller if one is used to driving Automatics. It never came to my mind to widen the pedals, but now its come up, ill think about it. i believe its a mod that can be done anytime.

bigt2:
i love the passion you have and the energy you put into this project. I would love to embark on one very soon. Can you give the rough estimate? Im eyeing two of these bugs in my neighbourhood.

That would be cool,..... i cant really give an estimate now, although the cost of purchasing a classic vw bug would totally depend on the state of the bug and the level of attachment the owner has to the bug, while the cost of restoring it will also depend on what you intend to end up with, that is, if you just want to make the bug look good for the time being or if you really want to restore it to its original state(then you will have to buckle up cos believe me, the original parts of the old bug will prove difficult to find/get) .
I have been sourcing for a front left fender for weeks now(Aba, Umuahia, onitsha, rivers, owerri,.....), and im yet to find a GOOD one. That will give you an idea of how difficult it might be to get bumpers, chrome or aluminum side moldings, speedometers and other electrical fiitings, good windows, fuel guages, running boards......the list goes on.
But then you can always Order for them from other countries.
so man, currently i dont even know how much ive spent so far, spent almost more than expected and still going to spend more obviously, so its difficult to estimate right now.

Chibzee2:

That would be cool,..... i cant really give an estimate now, although the cost of purchasing a classic vw bug would totally depend on the state of the bug and the level of attachment the owner has to the bug, while the cost of restoring it will also depend on what you intend to end up with, that is, if you just want to make the bug look good for the time being or if you really want to restore it to its original state(then you will have to buckle up cos believe me, the original parts of the old bug will prove difficult to find/get) .
I have been sourcing for a front left fender for weeks now(Aba, Umuahia, onitsha, rivers, owerri,.....), and im yet to find a GOOD one. That will give you an idea of how difficult it might be to get bumpers, chrome or aluminum side moldings, speedometers and other electrical fiitings, good windows, fuel guages, running boards......the list goes on.
But then you can always Order for them from other countries.
so man, currently i dont even know how much ive spent so far, spent almost more than expected and still going to spend more obviously, so its difficult to estimate right now.

thanks. ill buckle up.

finally after about 2 weeks, i got the fender that was needed for work to proceed

sits a little bit higher than normal, but that will be corrected.
overall, it looks better then the previous one and is a lot stronger

due to the fender delay, the upholstery guy decided to relax, but all the same, im impressed by his handwork though

Nice one

Nice project.

DECOtech:
Nice one

TLOTRS:
Nice project.

Thanks

TLOTRS:
Nice project.

Did you send me a message?

Saurab:


Did you send me a message?

Yeah, reply my mail, I need your help on the trv application documents.

Don't let's derial this thread, just send me a mail to email removed and I'll explain properly.

Thanks

PS: if you didn't see the email before removed it, quote me please.

howdy guys,... just finished coating all welded parts with anti-rust, and we are about to commence painting.......going tooo slow i must say

chair skeleton

But fellas, something keeps bothering me, i would have figured it out yet, but there are no classic bugs around here for me to compare and contrast.
There seems to be a missing connecting rod type of thing missing from the chassis at the back tyres, i think it connects both areas circled in the picture. and its missing on both sides.
But if anyone has an idea of whats missing in my bug, ild be delighted to know about it and how i can fix it.
Hopefully DENN would help me out here

Chibzee2:
But fellas, something keeps bothering me, i would have figured it out yet, but there are no classic bugs around here for me to compare and contrast.
There seems to be a missing connecting rod type of thing missing from the chassis at the back tyres, i think it connects both areas circled in the picture. and its missing on both sides.
But if anyone has an idea of whats missing in my bug, ild be delighted to know about it and how i can fix it.
Hopefully DENN would help me out here

When i saw that, it looked liike a torsion bar assembly gap... I guess some kind of curved torsion bar wouod fit in there.
The torsion bar does not matter as far as basic suspension with shock absorbers and springs.. It also doesnt matter with the drive train moving the car along.

But... It does matter if this Beetle has no springs along with the shock absorbers... Certain models from certain years did not have the torsion bar assembly and that is why some one may have removed this one because it did not match older Beetles and the part was confusing..
The torsion bar adds strenth and rigidness to parts of the vehicle frame and chasis that tend to strain or flex under torsion loads.. Thats why if you dont see springs along with the shock absorbers, its best to put in the torsion bar to give added strength.
The vehicles may do fine until one day you forget it is lacking torsional load support, and you load the car with lots of passengers or cargo.. That is when you will be at risk of various fastening point failures or permanent bending in the frame or chasis.
I may be mistaken but thats what it looks like.. Forgive me if i later prove to be mistaken.. Its common to see various torsion bars spanning across various gaps in modern performance cars suspension assembly and body frame skeleton as well as main chasis skeleton.. Its like a reinforcement for strength in cars that will be push to extreme loads and movements...

Here is a writeup i found online from a VW beetle mechanic..

"~~~Rob responded -- The Bugs with the Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) used the double springplates on the rear suspension. These are shorter than the single springplates to suit the different brake hub assembly shape, which accomodates the diagonal link. Because of the diagonal link which is fixed to the torsion bar tube near the middle of the car, the actual torsion bar inside is mounted further outboard, and so protrudes about two inches out through the spring plate and the cover plate with the four bolts. On the swing axle models the torsion bar does not project out past the cover plate, so a quick look at the front end of the spring plates for the projection or flush torsion bar cover will tell you if the car has the twin springplates or not.

In the U.S., semi-automatic Bugs from '68 onwards had IRS, and ALL Bugs from '69 onwards had it. In other parts of the world the semi-automatics had it from '68 and the L or S superbugs had it from '71 onwards. In some parts of the world the 1200cc base model Bug continued to be sold with the swing axle suspension and single spring plates.~~~"

19naia:


When i saw that, it looked liike a torsion bar assembly gap... I guess some kind of curved torsion bar wouod fit in there.
The torsion bar does not matter as far as basic suspension with shock absorbers and springs.. It also doesnt matter with the drive train moving the car along.

But... It does matter if this Beetle has no springs along with the shock absorbers... Certain models from certain years did not have the torsion bar assembly and that is why some one may have removed this one because it did not match older Beetles and the part was confusing..
The torsion bar adds strenth and rigidness to parts of the vehicle frame and chasis that tend to strain or flex under torsion loads.. Thats why if you dont see springs along with the shock absorbers, its best to put in the torsion bar to give added strength.
The vehicles may do fine until one day you forget it is lacking torsional load support, and you load the car with lots of passengers or cargo.. That is when you will be at risk of various fastening point failures or permanent bending in the frame or chasis.
I may be mistaken but thats what it looks like.. Forgive me if i later prove to be mistaken.. Its common to see various torsion bars spanning across various gaps in modern performance cars suspension assembly and body frame skeleton as well as main chasis skeleton.. Its like a reinforcement for strength in cars that will be push to extreme loads and movements...

Here is a writeup i found online from a VW beetle mechanic..

"~~~Rob responded -- The Bugs with the Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) used the double springplates on the rear suspension. These are shorter than the single springplates to suit the different brake hub assembly shape, which accomodates the diagonal link. Because of the diagonal link which is fixed to the torsion bar tube near the middle of the car, the actual torsion bar inside is mounted further outboard, and so protrudes about two inches out through the spring plate and the cover plate with the four bolts. On the swing axle models the torsion bar does not project out past the cover plate, so a quick look at the front end of the spring plates for the projection or flush torsion bar cover will tell you if the car has the twin springplates or not.

In the U.S., semi-automatic Bugs from '68 onwards had IRS, and ALL Bugs from '69 onwards had it. In other parts of the world the semi-automatics had it from '68 and the L or S superbugs had it from '71 onwards. In some parts of the world the 1200cc base model Bug continued to be sold with the swing axle suspension and single spring plates.~~~"

You could be right man, I initially thought same too but it's like there's this snubber that is supposed to fit in there. .... not sure yet. Also I noticed that some earlier bugs didn't even have such on.

please ooo more updates eager to see more...........

Hey guys, sorry for the break in transmission for some time now, i have just not been having so much time to update you guys,..
But not to worry, work has been going on all the while, just that its very obvious now that majority of these men and apprentices who call themselves mechanics or upholstery people or painters are just not in the least artistic at all, they are all just a bunch of people who did or learned something that worked one time like that and then decided to keep doing it to earn a living,....no enthusiasm.
A vast majority of them are not trying out new stuff or even trying to beautify or give their works beautiful finishing touches.
let me just stop talking and upload the pictures so far.....hope they'll speak for themselves

.

..

The construction of the running boards as original spares couldnt be gotten.
18 gauge steel sheet.

pre painting starts

first coat

OHHH!!!!! by the way guys, prior to the color we decided on, i gave it some really deep thoughts and after really questioning the painter, he confessed that the quality of paint job i wanted and the color i showed him would be difficult to achieve cause the car wasnt totally in the best of shape and he wasn't sure he could deliver such.
It was also supported that the quality with such paint might not look as good because they all knew their worth......so after much much i decided to go for MATTE BLACK for the mean time.
Maybe later on ill look into consulting a better painter as i had already commissioned the present guy

second coating, awaiting final coating

fixing up the electricals

upholstery guy activated

more

more, had the running board wrapped, but its not fully done yet but was mounted to see how it looks

That black is lovely...

Nice nice nice...

still got a lot of work to be done though, the final coating is to be done tomorrow, the glasses are to be cleaned, bumpers fixed, etc etc......
finishing touches from the painter, upholstery and any other interested person because i must confess, the crowd that gathered around the car this afternoon was mad, twas like they just saw a war hero just returned. comments, observations, praises, history talk ...plenty talk, so many high end cars and late production cars around weren't even being noticed. I just had to sneak out.
I just tire for the whole thing

Denn:
That black is lovely...

Nice nice nice...

Thanks brother, na small small