Redoing '71 Bug Std. (for now)

Wartorn · November 1st, 2009, 09:29 AM

Hi all RJ here from Tucson ... owned a 1962 Bug - sob and a fine Gloss Black '66 1600 then sold em back in da day (who knew then?) kids.

Hey this is a really kool forum, so many kool V-Rods. ... drooling.

Ex-machinist pre-CNC days. Not much on welding, fair to middling on paint, fixing. Working mostly in carport stripping Latex (not my work) was PO's crazy handiwork. Bug was originally Clementine Orange; going new paint; a Cool Frost White, helpful in 106F sunshine.

The '71 bug pictured here was sadly neglected, sat coated in debris and it had been slathered with latex - go figure.

Plan: To strip it, do a decent paint job, give it a new interior with added insulation in the roof and the sides due to desert heat effects.

Right now spraying SEM Primer, doing new fenders etc.

Wife and I love beetles, v-rods any year, any model.

Our dogs will love riding in the new old semi-restored Bug.

RJ and pit crew.

OK I just saw a thread "putting newbies in their place"

1. Its Newbies that keep these forums alive.
Everything changes..
2. Diversity improves the breed.
3. No-one is so perfect that we can't learn something from a newbie or fail be inspired by their questions & experiments.

Wartorn · November 1st, 2009, 10:45 AM

Here's a few before and during pics. Rusted package tray was sectioned in half - a new braced 10 gauge galvanized panel was put in its place.

Car is stripped, most of the heavy bodywork is complete as of Nov. 1st.

In the final stages of sanding, spraying doors and quarter panels with pro grade SEM - no more cheap primer!

Wartorn · November 1st, 2009, 10:55 AM

Nov. 1st 2009:

Lots of the heavy cleanup, sanding, stripping, ripping out already done. Next week will be spraying a nice cool off-white just right for our very hot Tucson weather.

Banged-up passenger door being replaced this week.

Last pic is of the bug on the first day spent reworking it Sept. '09.

Wartorn · November 4th, 2009, 05:41 AM

Removed cruddy old dash pad ... kinda like the looks of a bare dash.

Wartorn · November 6th, 2009, 02:24 PM

Made great progress this week. Lots of small pieces need special attention. Dents take effort & full attention to do them right.

Bug is almost ready for paint. If nothing else these little guys have a lot of details to be taken care of if ya want the car to look good.

Angled shelf under the rear window was rust pitted so it got the treatment. SEM Primer works wonders to even out highs & lows, scratches.

A few more items then it's spraying time. Will be applying 2-3 coats of "Wimbleton White" from Dimension [catalyzed]. Looks a lot like the oem white used on earlier VWs.

Wartorn · November 9th, 2009, 09:00 AM

Replacing sunken passenger door, sanding jams, applying SEM primer etc. on both sides. Doing it right the first time.

Swapped a "recycled" door onto passenger side.
Went on and adjusted easy as pie.

Wartorn · November 13th, 2009, 02:49 AM

Got a nastygram from our landlord - no more bodywork at our place. OK so a local paint & body man gets to spray the paint. At least the bodywork got done first, the right way. Small-minded people and politics in the formerly free SW - USA.

Bug in primer. Right side of car needed more minor panel work but no time to be perfect. Still she looks better now.

Wartorn · November 14th, 2009, 10:28 AM

Sat. 11/14/09 Took bug over to local painter to spray 4 coats of Dupont "Frost White" Acrylic Enamel - 4 coats allows for color sanding & buffing. Hope it turns out nice.

Wartorn · November 21st, 2009, 12:13 AM

Painter did a crummy, rushed job, paint needs quite a bit of correcting before I'll accept any shoddy workmanship. Not the least of which is the lack of FOUR full coats of paint I was charged for.
Owner says he'll fix these problems; will take an extra 10 days.
We'll see.

Wartorn · December 4th, 2009, 02:10 PM

12/4/09 Saw the bug today in its fresh 4 coats of Frost White Acrylic Enamel; paintwork looks 100% better than before.

Pic of my new work / storage / carport area. Since we live in a mobile home community one of our nosy neighborhood spies ratted us out to the manager; He's doing bodywork! So we're fightin' back with "You can't spy on someone if ya can't see."

Forest Green landscape fabric will completely cover the gates and cover the carport sides so the bug will be literally 'outta sight'

Picking up the bug from painters tomorrow.

Wartorn · December 5th, 2009, 09:26 AM

Bug looks a lot better with multiple coats of enamel - finally. Hey even the typical orange peel is minimal.

There's a couple of small glitches but nothing that can't be polished / buffed.

Will try to get a few closeups later.

Wartorn · December 8th, 2009, 03:23 PM

Sprayed dash with Rustoleum "Biscuit" color enamel. Its a real clean look, a subtle shade like coffee with too much creamer.

Wartorn · December 9th, 2009, 06:19 PM

One of the really fun jobs in restoration is troubleshooting electrical problems. Beetle has signals but no brake lights, no headlights - wires have chopped, spliced and mangled all over the place. Ignition is buggered as well. Looks like a new wiring harness is needed.

And yes both the signal bases need new silver paint.

Wartorn · December 15th, 2009, 06:26 PM

A lot of good work was completed today:

New brake master cyl., new Ignition Lock, new wiring (replaced the chopped up, incorrect stuff), most of the glass was installed. Hey this little bug's 1641cc engine runs really good.

Now the car starts, drives and stops safely, as it should.

T-bars, new trim, fresh wheels etc. all coming soon.
Interior work comes next.

Wartorn · December 18th, 2009, 12:29 AM

A chore most of us dread; chasing down old electrical gremlins. Dirty contacts seemed to cause most of the signal and headlight malfunctions.

PO used some kind of oily spray possibly WD40 in the trunk compartment. All of it had to be removed before things would work normally.

Oily residue mixed with latex over spray contaminated the wiring ... one can see it on and under the spades.

Wartorn · December 18th, 2009, 12:41 PM

Installed Headlight trim, front fender beading, then stripped, sanded and sealed left side pans. No more rust (was pretty mild).

Pan needs more cleaning and sealing around pedals.
Front pan was soaked in brake fluid it'll take a thorough effort. Rear pan will need a second coat.

I'm real pleased with myself. Der Fahrt is starting to look like a real bug again.

Pans before and after.

Wartorn · December 18th, 2009, 02:08 PM

Finally got the fender beading installed, some trim, wipers etc.

Pic 1 Here's an experimental color scheme. Wonder if there's any artists who could pinstripe and fade in this style?

Wartorn · December 18th, 2009, 04:01 PM

Re-sprayed the dash with Rustoleum "Biscuit" off-white for more depth. Glovebox door has 2 coats of Krylon Gloss Black buffed & polished (no reflection in this pic). Speedo bezel, two grills will match glovebox paint. If I get real ambitious might try to find someone local who can pinstripe the dash.

Until I can find a suitable Buggy Wheel I may strip, fill and spray my oem wheel with Krylon Gloss White (just like we did back in the day for our Low Riders). When its done right such a wheel looks pearled.

Wartorn · December 21st, 2009, 09:05 AM

Here's one of my must do's - cleaning and painting the pans permits her to look "purty"

Rustoleum gloss black enamel works almost as good as mega-expensive POR-15 IMO and it costs way less (pans had light surface rust).
Hey its my daily driver, it'll never be a points car...

Wartorn · December 23rd, 2009, 04:26 PM

Got more done today ... installed new seals and rivets on vent windows, gave it all new scrapers and felt channel in RT door.

Rebuilding a bug's windows to their intended oem look and function is not a job for the faint of heart. Aftermarket scraper parts and felt do not fit as precisely as stock pieces. More pics soon.

Have a great Christmas holiday everybody.

Wartorn · December 28th, 2009, 11:17 AM

Beware of WCM's Brazilian made Outer Scraper - it has excess metal & a projecting rivet to the left sill edge - pushes new felt in tight against the window glass.

Best bet is to cut off the rivet and trim its surrounding area before one starts getting frustrated "wtf - why is this thing so tight?"

New WCM felt has to be pounded into channel grooves and massaged in tight spots.
Still messing with it - glass goes up too stiff and tight now.

Wartorn · December 31st, 2009, 02:52 PM

Saturday Jan 2nd: Will have to return the incorrect Brazilian-made scraper that's too small for the window size in exchange for the correct German/US-made WCM Scraper. Then I get to do the entire scraper/felt/glass/door job all over again.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Wartorn · January 1st, 2010, 02:47 PM

Spent New Years Day working on our bug. What else? Installed new door seals while waiting for paint to dry.

Painted most of interior and B pillars with Rustoleum Almond enamel. Adds a touch of class to her.
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Almost ready for newly upholstered beige seats and carpet.

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Starting out the package tray was... rusted out!

Wartorn · January 4th, 2010, 11:02 PM

All the hard work, joys and frustration are finally coming together. I actually dared to drive der Farht to work today.
Even with the crummy wheels people couldn't believe its the same car they saw in Sept.
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Install new door seals ... if you want it to close up tight.

New running boards - don't seem to fit too well. Time for surgery.

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The dreaded WCM Outer Scraper - job redone. Driver's side trim fits right-on at last! Note the liberal use of Talc to smooth window travel past new rubber.

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Lots of details remain to be handled to get it to look just right. Bumpers, trim, vents, handles, lenses, seats, new carpet, better rims etc.

Wartorn · January 6th, 2010, 03:23 PM

Had a nasty surprise - RT front tire kept going flat for no apparent reason until you study the pics. Turns out the old rim was very dirty and rusty preventing the tire bead to seal.

Stripping and painting the wheels now. Interior paint & refreshed dash are almost complete.
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Stripped oem 15" 4 lug rim before...

Rim after being painted with Rustoleum Gloss Black - tough as nails.

You never know how important a tire can be until you've had a flat at midnight on the way home.