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1967 Beetle Restoration Summary Page

 

My restoration project began on April 28, 1999.  I was driving in a rain storm with a couple friends about two weeks prior to this when I noticed a soggy feeling on the floor.

The next day I went to investigate and learned the whole left side of the floor was soaked.  I really started looking closely at my car, now thirty-some years old, and discovered that the pan gasket was leaking behind the left front tire.

I thought the best course of action was to loosen the body and replace the gasket, and maybe do a quick paint job.  Right.  I then noticed some rust developing in the wheel well areas and I figured if I was going to take all the pan bolts out, I might as well go all the way.

Early on, I decided that time and money projections were out the window.  I wanted to do everything right without regard to time or money, to a large extent.  

Here's a somewhat comprehensive list of the work done, although I didn't keep a very good diary so there are no dates.

 

Getting started:

  • Completely gutted the interior, all dash components, seats, upholstery, etc.

  • Removed all wiring, switches, lights

  • Took out all the glass and buffed it to remove old college parking permits

  • Took the doors off and completely gutted them

  • Lifted the body off the pan and took it to be worked on in the body shop in town, where I ended up doing almost all the work under Don Schumaker's direction

Chassis work:

  • Removed the engine after we lifted the body off.  Much easier to do.

  • Removed wheels, drums, backing plates, brake assemblies, master cylinder, brake lines, pedal cluster

  • Removed all cables and levers that run in the tunnel.

  • Removed shift lever and rod and cleaned mouse nest from inside tunnel

  • Replaced shifter bushing and shift rod coupler

  • Took the front end off

  • Sandblasted the front end and repainted it.

  • Took the torsion arms to have new ball joints pressed in

  • Removed the transaxle and power washed it off.

  • Replaced the '68 axle shafts with used '67 axle shafts, eliminating the need for shims

  • Replaced the hockey stick (from a bus) with one for a bug so the dimple was on top

  • Sandblasted the entire chassis myself with a do-it-yourself kit.  Took forever.

  • Cut open the tunnel to weld in a new clutch cable tube bracket

  • Repainted chassis with a chassis-kote paint

  • Replaced axle tube boots

  • Replaced all the drums with German drums

  • Replaced all the brake components with new parts; shoes, lines, m/c, wheel cylinders

  • Replaced the stabilizer bar bushings in front

  • Cleaned out cable tubes with wire, soap, and compressed air

  • Lubricated all new cables with grease upon installation

  • Replaced all the cables; clutch, accelerator, heat, and defrost

  • Replaced any and all grommets associated with cables, tubes, etc

  • Replaced the bowden tube

  • Put a kit in the throwout arm.  There was lateral movement in the arm, causing uneven wear on the pressure plate

  • Replaced pressure plate for reason above (German)

  • New flywheel (VW), O-ring, and crankshaft seal

  • New clutch disc (German)

  • New throwout bearing

  • Ran all new brake lines and hoses

  • Sandblasted and repainted the pedal cluster, new pads on the pedals

  • Repainted the intake manifold and cleaned the engine

  • No significant engine work was done

Body:

  • Scraped out old carpet glue

  • Cut out rusted areas behind both front wheels

  • Poured POR-15 into the newly exposed heater channels and rocked the body around to slosh it inside the heater channels.  Very little rust damage in these areas so I went with POR inside to stop any further rust development.

  • Welded in and ground off new pieces

  • Welded in a section of luggage compartment flooring from a donor bug where someone had cut a chunk out to access the starter

  • Carefully marked and drilled out spot welds of the rear body mounting brackets inside the rear wheel wells.

  • Found major rust here.  Cut out and fabricated replacement pieces from sheetmetal.

  • Welded in new sheetmetal and ground it smooth.

  • Treated areas with POR and seam sealed around new welds

  • Primed and undercoated the wheel wells and fenders

  • Straightened and used minimal filler on the body and roof

  • Replaced all the door felt and rubber.

  • Soaked the door latch mechanisms in degreaser for days.  Smacked the rivets which hold the latches together to eliminate slop.

  • Lubricated the mechanisms up with lithium grease and reinstalled.  Latches and locks work good now.

  • Welded in new bumper bracket body pieces damaged beyond repair

  • Installed new fenders (not as good as original for quality, but not smashed either.

Special work:

  • Ordered a used decklid and grafted the air inlets from a '74 onto this used decklid for greater air intake for the 1600 dp engine.

  • Bought an aluminum dash and installed my gauges in it.

  • Bought and electronic speedometer to match the rest of my gauges

Electrical:

  • Installed a new wiring harness.  This harness was of excellent quality and resembled the original in every way.  Wires were color coded to match Bentley so installation was easier.

  • Ran my own harness to accommodate my gauges and speakers

  • Bought a new turn signal relay to eliminate occasional problems I'd had

  • Moved the stereo from the glove box to the dash

  • Installed toggle switches to control dome light, radio, heater fans, and carb preheater

  • The carb preheater is an old door lock solenoid, activated by an on-off-on toggle switch.