Buggin’

Progress on the Beetle is moving along. We have the fenders bolted down with new fender beading. The German running boards are on and looking really nice and the door glass is all in and functional. We have also removed the old exhaust system in preparation for the new one that is on its way.  We also cleaned the engine up some while we were at it. The new turn signals are on and wired up as well as the head lights. We have also installed the new triple plated front bumper after we sandblasted the original brackets and repainted them semi gloss black. This one is really shaping up and it wont be long till its off the upholstery shop to get a new head liner.

Wires everywhere!

Still plugging along on the VW. The wiring is coming along nicely. All of the major wires are run and most things are hooked up. We are waiting on some parts that is keeping us from finishing that up so we are installing what we can to keep things moving.  Once we get the speedometer and the steering column installed that mess of wires will be cleaned up a little. We secured the wiring back at the firewall and started installing the insulation back there. VW made little flexible hooks for the wiring to run through when these were new but the aftermarket parts don’t put them on the ones made today. This firewall was replaced at some point a while back so we had to add the clips to hold the wiring. We are making good progress each day. This little VW will be back on the road before you know it.

The other door

Another busy day working on the Bug. Today we started building the left door. We now have both doors hung and operational. The window tracks are all in as well as the outer window scrapers and the clips that hold the felt channel. We have both vent windows built as far as we can go. We are waiting on one seal that goes in the vent window but it wont arrive for a couple of weeks. Once we hit that road block we started putting the decklid and hood back together. We decided it would be easier to wire the car and install the gas tank with the hood off so we didnt install that just yet. We then dug out the old fuse block, cleaned it up and installed it as well as started running some wires. Tomorrow the installation of the spaghetti system marches on.

The doors

A week or so ago we ordered a whole slew of parts for the Bug, They came in Monday and after going through and making sure we had everything we started putting the car back together. We started by disassembling the vent windows. These have to come completely apart to replace 2 of the gaskets that keep the wind and rain out. We are missing one of those rubbers and dont really have answer yet on when they will arrive but we went ahead and disassembled them. Once apart they were cleaned and polished up and the black frame was repainted. Now, when all this goes back together it will look really nice. We then installed the outer window scraper and the clips that hold the felt channel in place. Yesterday, before we left we set both of the door latch mechanisms in some degreaser to minimize scrubbing today. It worked beautifully. We rinsed off the latches, let them dry then lubed them up before installing them. We also installed the door handle as well as the door rubber and check rod. Before we installed the window regulator we applied a little sound deadening material to help with noise inside the car and to help make the doors sound really solid when closing them. This is about as far as we can go with this door until the back ordered rubber parts come in. Tomorrow we will do the same for the other door.

Lining the fender wells

Last week while we were spraying so much bedliner, we thought we would go ahead and spray the fender wells on the 70 Beetle we’ve been working on. This is so much better than undercoating because its tougher, looks better and is a true urethane product. We started by sanding the areas with 80 grit paper that we wanted to spray. We then masked off the areas that didnt get liner. Prepped it all up, and sprayed 2 coats of liner on here. Once it was dry, we untapped it and as you can see, it looks great. This car is really starting to look good.

Big day for the Bug

Today was a good day for the Beetle. We knew we would be finished up with our collision work on Thursday this week so we took some time to finish sanding the Bug and started prepping it for paint. This morning we slid it in the booth wiped it all down and started spraying it. After a good coat of sealer, several coats of base coat was sprayed inside and out on the body. We then let that all sit and dry thoroughly until after lunch. Once back, we followed the base with a couple coats of PPG’s high solids clear coat. As you can see it turned out pretty nice. We still have to find fenders and paint them as the original ones are just a bit too far gone to fix and a couple of other little parts need spraying. Once this body is good and dry it will go back on the chassis. We hope that happens late next week.

Its a block party

We have been putting some time in on the bug this week. It was primed a couple of weeks ago, so now is the perfect time to block it out and start sanding the final sanding. While doing so we did find a few places that needed a little more love. Cole jumped on those and fixed them up yesterday and was able to reprime them today. Since we had some warm weather we were working on it outside today.  We still have a bit to sand, but today was a good day. Another day like today on this little car and it will be ready for paint.

Back on the Bug

Lots of work getting done on the Beetle last. All the body work is complete on the body. Cole and Jordan Jumped on this thing and really moved quickly straightening out the body. They started by blocking out the high build primer that was sprayed a while back. This showed them where the low and high spots are and also straightens out the minor imperfections and makes the panels flat and straight. Once the body panes were straight, the entire body needed to be sanded in preparation of the final urethane primer. 3 coats of that was sprayed and it too will be blocked out before paint.

Gotta keep ’em separated

As you can see we have been making great progress on the ’70 beetle. Unfortunately, our progress has revealed a few real rust issues. Some of these rust problems were caused by a leaky master cylinder and brake fluid  resivoir others good ole fashioned water. Because the owner wants to keep this car for another 45 years we will replace all rusty parts and take all measures to keep it from returning. We didn’t have any issues separating the body from the pan and all of the pan bolts came out with no problems. Most of them however, were just about rusted in two so they will all be replaced as well. The engine was also removed so that we can more easily degrease the chassis. The engine runs well already so we will just clean the engine tins and paint them. Next on the agenda will be to remove the old wiring harness, windshield and back glass so we can get the body over to the blaster. Once back from the blaster our replacement parts should be in so we can start rust repairs. Stay with us on this repair. We are looking forward to this project. 

Introducing our newest project

Our newest project is the this 1970 Beetle. It is a special build because this was the owners very first car, bought new when he turned 16. Although it hasnt been in any major accidents, rust has gotten hold of this little bug in a few spots. We will be repairing the rusty areas and freshening up the outside and inside with new paint, bright work, interior and suspension. The engine had a recent check up and got a good bill of health. As you can see we got right to work disassembling the car. We did get quite a bit apart on it and the rest will be apart next week.  We will then start the rust repair and stripping off the old paint. This will be a bone stock restoration back to the factory color. Stay tuned to see the progress.