Save Our Beetle! Piczorz inside, opinions needed!

[The Captain]

Alright, a short background. My dad does construction, mostly residential blacktop & concrete work. We always have people coming up to us asking for work done while we are in the middle of a job. 95% of the time, the simple "call the office, they'll send someone out to give you an estimate" is given, but sometimes their will be a car in the driveway with a cover over it and instead the answer will be "well what's under the cover" You'd be amazed at how many people have antique cars that they don't want or have no interest in keeping.

Ever now and then somehow my dad will strike a deal with the person and they'll get work done and we'll get some sort of car. (has happened about a dozen times in the past few years) Well last week this scenario plays itself out and the homeowner has a 1970 VW beetle that he's owned since he was 16. A little wheeling and dealing and now we have a 1970 VW beetle.

So, I'm asking for everyone's opinions on what path should be taken on this little gem for it's restoration. Runs like a top, interior is in great condition, no rust, BUT the owner put a fiberglass body kit on it back in the 70's and IMO it looks terrible. Poor little beetle is being forced to look like a porsche and she doesnt want to.

My dad just wants to clean it up, paint it, and keep the bodykit because he thinks it looks different.

I want to restore it, bring it to oem, and slam the ****er.

Onto the pictzorz:




Thoughts?

And just one more of the shop:

[RyanG]

holy please resize the pics!!!


Bug looks awesome tho

[evomike]

Pm me for my number I can help you out, I may have most of the parts sitting around. I have a ton of aircooled stuff

[enigma]

Turn it into a dune-buggy

[87fierogt]

keep the kit give it a metal flake paint job and slam it

[Dave]

ditch the kit and do it up like a super beetle dune buggy

or this

[Action Park]

93
Haha, that there is called the mullholand look, popular in the 80's. To convert back to a stock appearance, from what I see, you will need fenders, headlights, running boards, and maybe the decklid(I cant see how that wing goes on). Not too bad. Try to find some quality used fenders as the new ones available from Brazil, mexico, and Italy are junk with misaligned holes and rough edges. Good fibreglass ones are also available in stock as well as widened sizes though I am unaware of the good companies(always been a steel person myself). Most running boards are flimsy junk. Oeveedub has good ones, wolfsburg west as well.

If you want to slam it, you have a few routes to take. For the front, cb performance makes a 2 1/2" drop spindle and disc brake kit. Easy to do and cheap. However, if you want more, you will need the beam modified with adjusters or a new one. If you get a new beam, you can get it narrowed to bring the wheels in closer. You will, however, need to cut out the well a little(they say it's fine up to 3", but I needed to cut for my 3" narrowed beam), as well as narrowed tie rods, shocks, and a bump steer kit. No matter what, get some caster shims, even for stock height. Bugs have too little caster causing wandering at high speed. Caster shims are very cheap and are installed simply by unbolting the 2 lower beam bolts, prying, and knocking them into place. Use 1 set until a 2 1/2" drop, double up after that. You can also install an anti-sway bar. Last I checked, the only avail kit is from whiteline. Good, but I had to mod some stuff on it for mine. If you are changing the wheels, keep in mind that you are more limited in tire/wheel offset choice than most cars as lug pattern is 4x130 and space is limited.

For the rear, you can drop it by rotating the thing the torsion bar splines go into. A pain, I just opted for an adjustable spring plate(they got expensive recently though). Go too low and the camber goes out a little but not as bad as a swingaxle car. Do'nt worry about heavier torsion bars with a stock engine. Again, wheel offset and tire choice is critical. And if you're wondering, stay WAY clear of airbag kits. The most common one(Airkewld) is garbage.

You did'nt mention what you want to do with the engine. IMO, keep it stock unless you're rolling and if the stocker is good. If you want more power, it's a rat race out there trying to find a good builder and bolt-ons are'nt really worth the trouble except for the better fuel economy afforded by dual carbs. The trans will also need work as well as anti-wheelhop measures. If you want to go the power route, pm me and I'll steer you in the right direction.

Well, pm me or respond back regardless for any questions. Keep in mind that all acvw's are a hoot from stockers to monsters; you do'nt have to look at it while driving. Have fun.
93 93/93

[poolmike]

Nice find. Ditch the body kit. Bring it out to DripFest at Spring Mountain next weekend.

I recognize that Ford pick-up in the last pic. I met your dad at a cruise night last year.

[The Captain]

Originally Posted by Action Park

93
Haha, that there is called the mullholand look, popular in the 80's. To convert back to a stock appearance, from what I see, you will need fenders, headlights, running boards, and maybe the decklid(I cant see how that wing goes on). Not too bad. Try to find some quality used fenders as the new ones available from Brazil, mexico, and Italy are junk with misaligned holes and rough edges. Good fibreglass ones are also available in stock as well as widened sizes though I am unaware of the good companies(always been a steel person myself). Most running boards are flimsy junk. Oeveedub has good ones, wolfsburg west as well.

If you want to slam it, you have a few routes to take. For the front, cb performance makes a 2 1/2" drop spindle and disc brake kit. Easy to do and cheap. However, if you want more, you will need the beam modified with adjusters or a new one. If you get a new beam, you can get it narrowed to bring the wheels in closer. You will, however, need to cut out the well a little(they say it's fine up to 3", but I needed to cut for my 3" narrowed beam), as well as narrowed tie rods, shocks, and a bump steer kit. No matter what, get some caster shims, even for stock height. Bugs have too little caster causing wandering at high speed. Caster shims are very cheap and are installed simply by unbolting the 2 lower beam bolts, prying, and knocking them into place. Use 1 set until a 2 1/2" drop, double up after that. You can also install an anti-sway bar. Last I checked, the only avail kit is from whiteline. Good, but I had to mod some stuff on it for mine. If you are changing the wheels, keep in mind that you are more limited in tire/wheel offset choice than most cars as lug pattern is 4x130 and space is limited.

For the rear, you can drop it by rotating the thing the torsion bar splines go into. A pain, I just opted for an adjustable spring plate(they got expensive recently though). Go too low and the camber goes out a little but not as bad as a swingaxle car. Do'nt worry about heavier torsion bars with a stock engine. Again, wheel offset and tire choice is critical. And if you're wondering, stay WAY clear of airbag kits. The most common one(Airkewld) is garbage.

You did'nt mention what you want to do with the engine. IMO, keep it stock unless you're rolling and if the stocker is good. If you want more power, it's a rat race out there trying to find a good builder and bolt-ons are'nt really worth the trouble except for the better fuel economy afforded by dual carbs. The trans will also need work as well as anti-wheelhop measures. If you want to go the power route, pm me and I'll steer you in the right direction.

Well, pm me or respond back regardless for any questions. Keep in mind that all acvw's are a hoot from stockers to monsters; you do'nt have to look at it while driving. Have fun.
93 93/93

As for right now, we're just trying to clean it up and fix a few little issues (driver side door not openning properly etc.) but once we actually get into the bulk of the restoration, i'm sure i'll be sending some questions your way. Thanks for the help so far.

Originally Posted by poolmike

Nice find. Ditch the body kit. Bring it out to DripFest at Spring Mountain next weekend.

I recognize that Ford pick-up in the last pic. I met your dad at a cruise night last year.

He actually just picked that truck up like 3 weeks ago. You probably met the old owner. We're trying to fix a few butchings on that truck too.

[WRX_JB]

Good stuff , and a nice find. I like the original body style

[lownslow95]

Make it into an 1/8 mile drag car.

[KrazyHouseCustoms]

Originally Posted by enigma

Turn it into a dune-buggy

I've always thought they looked really cool like this. If you need someone to fab up a sick lift give us a call. (732) 951-9111

[The Captain]

Originally Posted by Action Park

93

respond back regardless for any questions.
93 93/93

Maybe you could help me by telling me what are some of the body mods done to this guy. I'm really liking this look.

[WRX_JB]

^^ i like that alot as well

[K9_Eclipse]

Originally Posted by The Captain

Maybe you could help me by telling me what are some of the body mods done to this guy. I'm really liking this look.

I used to own a '63 VW Beetle, and if i'm not mistaken thats all OEM bro,.. the running board looks after market with it running up the rear quarter panel,.. the headlight housing just painted to match the bumpers and been dropped. they are great fun cars,.. nice find.. if you come across another I would love to have another VW bug.. hit me up!

[Chair-Force]

lol @ Porsche whaletail.

i say do it a favor and firebomb it.

[the mike]

That grey one has WRX wheels on it. Not sure about the running gear, but the wheels are definately Subaru.

EDIT:After further scrutiny, they LOOK like WRX wheels, but I don't think they are...

[TROLL]

i thought they looked like porsche wheels, but otherwise it looks mostly stock and really clean. i dig it...

[The Captain]

Yeah, i really like that silver one. I need to know what those wheels are, where to find the black bumpers, and the sideskirt business. We need to paint the whole thing so i need ideas for colors too. I like the silver, but my current car is silver so IDK about that. Maybe black? w/ a light tint (35%) would look sick.

[Action Park]

93
The silver one is a '73-up super beetle. Bumpers powdercoated/painted along with some other black stuff(running boards are aftermarket and come black- flimsy afaik). Decromed(for the most part) in other words, and that would be considered "german look". It has been converted to 5 lug of some sort(both factory lug patterns are atypical- 5x205 and 4x130).
The front suspension on a super is completely different and is a better canidate for handling. On the same token, the front suspension is much more finicky. They are also about 150 lbs heavier than a same year standard. Easily distinguised by the bigger hood buldge and curved winshield for '73-up(supers ran from '71-'77 in sedan form, all verts from '73-'79 were supers).
93 93/93