Nineteen Sixty Seventy Bug

[Iryanu]

It's a long old yarn but I'll do my best to cut it down.

Bought my first car circa 2002, a 1970 baja bug. My dad had been buying volksworld and custom car since I can remember, my mum owning a few beetles and mk1 golfs during my youth. I think my parents went to the airport on their honeymoon in my mums old Lotus white 1200, it broke down on the way of course...   So given all that, I think it was only natural I buy a beetle.







Anyway, this is the car I drove the wheels off, picked up girls in it, broke all kinds of laws in and generally it was a real part of my teenage years, I drove it to school, much to the displeasure of the teachers as the noise of the exhaust would interrupt lessons but hey, it had an MOT. It sounds absurd but I can't imagine life without my bug, jumping in and turning that key is just a great feeling. Especially with a big motor out back.

I spent the first year repairing most the rot, the car got new front quarters and heater channels and the bottoms of the doors patched and a few other spots. I spent all summer with my dad rubbing it down and filling it to get it in primer for a blow over in gloss black. I was just so desperate to drive it a few corners got cut... Bearing in mind I was 16/17 and had no previous experience with cars I don't think it turned out too bad though. The wiring was the main one. But that will come later.

I went to bug jam in it for a few years and all the other shows, there's a picture of it on page 72 of the Bug Jam and all that book.

Anyway, fast forward to 2015, last year I built a 1947 Morris Eight up with my brother and I wired the thing from scratch with my brother, had fun bead rolling panels, and generally building a car from a shell. I had such a hoot and now my brother has a nicer car than me.









The bug has undergone changes over the years, I kept it a wide eye baja, then it got new wheels, then a 1600 turbo motor, 1835 motor, narrow eye baja and then 2161 motor, now I'm running robthemanx gasser wings, bonnet & decklid, this is the look I'm going to keep (finally).







Cal Look Drag Day 2015, managed a 15.1 @ 88mph, not bad for my first go down the strip.





Yesterday, after 13 years of ownership, I stripped it all out and separated the body from the pan for a full bare metal restoration. I've found some buried bodies already. And I'm already wishing I'd not bothered.  







All the pan bolts came out without too much drama. Unfortunately the four up front had been replaced with.... SELF TAPPING SCREWS  

As you can see the wiring was f**king shocking!

The hole above the napoleons hat was just blobbed with filler and a rubber glove for good measure.

More as it happens... Next step is final strip down of body / glass / brakes etc.. Then off for blasting.

[RobtheManx]

Love your car Ryan , that gasser stance is awesome .  Loved it as a bug eyed baja too .

Are you keeping it black ?

Rob

[Iryanu]

I'm pleased with how it turned out. Still think the rear needs raising a little but after mucking about with the torsion bars the first time I couldn't face doing it again so soon.

I'm thinking hard about changing the colour. Serious temptation go for a wild flake job. Going to put a few ideas together.

[Neil Davies]

I like the subtle contrast of the wild bodywork and the straight paint, so i vote for black again! A roof chop would be the nuts tho!

[modnrod]

I'd go full circle (but don't expect you too!  ).
Slammed wide-eye baja.......but with lots of flake.
 

[Iryanu]

I like the subtle contrast of the wild bodywork and the straight paint, so i vote for black again! A roof chop would be the nuts tho!

Lil' snort is my favourite bug of all time followed by tar babe, I like the block colours. It seems to make sense for the street too. That's where all the fun happens right? Don't want to give the game away too badly with a full on "RACER X" paintjob.

My uncle came over mid strip down and said I should give it a roof chop too! People need to stop mentioning it.  

I'd go full circle (but don't expect you too!   ).
Slammed wide-eye baja.......but with lots of flake.
 

Yeah, haha, been there, done that! Plus I'd need to get an east coast manx loyalty card.

Ringing the blasters today to see when I can get it done. My aim to have everything back together and driving is the trip out 4th September.... Had a great time last year:

I'm pretty confident, it's nice to have something to aim for. Guess it depends how much of the car is left when it returns! Get the car trailered to the blasters, have it returned in a carrier bag.

[Iryanu]

So good news on the blasters, he can do the job for me with 24 hours notice, done lots of beetles and minis (eurgh, minis) before for a well known restoration company, and gets a fair bit of work from a company up by santa pod, which is luckily on my door step. He knows the deal with blasting body panels and uses a variety of media including glass, sand, walnut, soda etc etc..

I've just got to pull my finger out and get the last few bits out the car and arrange a trailer, not for the first time either.  

[Stevo_L]

Love the gasse-looker 
maybe add some T-bars and blackout the popenose

[RobtheManx]

I like the subtle contrast of the wild bodywork and the straight paint, so i vote for black again! A roof chop would be the nuts tho!

Lil' snort is my favourite bug of all time followed by tar babe, I like the block colours. It seems to make sense for the street too. That's where all the fun happens right? Don't want to give the game away too badly with a full on "RACER X" paintjob.

My uncle came over mid strip down and said I should give it a roof chop too! People need to stop mentioning it. 

I'd go full circle (but don't expect you too!  ).
Slammed wide-eye baja.......but with lots of flake.
 

Yeah, haha, been there, done that! Plus I'd need to get an east coast manx loyalty card.

Ringing the blasters today to see when I can get it done. My aim to have everything back together and driving is the trip out 4th September.... Had a great time last year:



I'm pretty confident, it's nice to have something to aim for. Guess it depends how much of the car is left when it returns! Get the car trailered to the blasters, have it returned in a carrier bag!

Haha , as far as I'm concerned you already have a loyalty card ! Wether you keep the black or not , I think you gotta keep the street gasser look . If you go for flake , don't bother with to sign write it .

I'd like to see how it would look on 13 inch fronts . Do you have drums or discs up front ?

Rob

[RobtheManx]

Oh and if you need a trailer , I have one or 2 you can use . I know I'm an 45 mins away , but the offer is there .

[Neil Davies]

I think this is one that wouldn't look as good on 13s - if anything you could get away with bigger on the front! A 16" or 17" spindle mount 12-spoke would be awesome!
The look I've got in my head is the chopped gasser on the back of the old cal-look.com shirts - Mike Lawless did the artwork. Can't find a picture tho!

[RobtheManx]

Yeah , you're right Neil . I just wanna see 13s on everything !

[Iryanu]

Haha , as far as I'm concerned you already have a loyalty card ! Wether you keep the black or not , I think you gotta keep the street gasser look . If you go for flake , don't bother with to sign write it .

I'd like to see how it would look on 13 inch fronts . Do you have drums or discs up front ?

Rob

Drums up front Rob, I'd be curious to see, you still got a few of those 13s kicking around then? I wanted that real skinny up front look, like lil' snort has. Neil has the right image. Narrow skinny track up front and meaty rears with the long axles is a good combo I feel. I was chatting to Simon from the paintbox at the trip out as he was camping just over the way and was digging the look which was cool. 

Oh and if you need a trailer , I have one or 2 you can use . I know I'm an 45 mins away , but the offer is there .

Noted bud, that's a great offer. My trailer guys towing van exploded so he's changing out the engine and back in action next week. Good for me as this weekend is the final strip down. If his van explodes again I might just take you up on it. 

[RobtheManx]

Glad you enjoyed the Trip Out , we went to the first two , but missed last year as we were at the hospital getting fertilised !  Hopefully be back for the Trip Out no. 4 .

You might have seen my Plymouth there , my mate Les took it ?

Knew Simon would like your car , there's lots of gassers around , but not many that have the Lil Snort stance .

Still got the 13's , but they're quite wide , think you're right it looks way better with the narrow front end .

Rob

[Iryanu]

Glad you enjoyed the Trip Out , we went to the first two , but missed last year as we were at the hospital getting fertilised !  Hopefully be back for the Trip Out no. 4 .

You might have seen my Plymouth there , my mate Les took it ?

Knew Simon would like your car , there's lots of gassers around , but not many that have the Lil Snort stance .

Still got the 13's , but they're quite wide , think you're right it looks way better with the narrow front end .

Rob

I saw it, and heard it! It was the loudest thing there apart from Mental Breakdown. 

Anyways, spent yesterday and today continuing to gut the car. All the tar board is out, wings off, glass out and all that.

I'm already thinking it's going to need the following:

New pans

Napoleon hat ends

Rear outriggers

Rear inner arches

Luggage tray

Front bulkhead

Front quarters I'm already doing, I "unbaja'd" it with some cheap half front quarters and the fuel tank support is all shagged. I've got a nice 67 a pillars forward I'm going to put on. I will likely use the complete thing, separating off the scuttle, so the only welding needed will be spot welded across under the dashboard panel and down the a pillars. I think it will make for a nice repair and I won't have to drill so much stuff out and re-jig (hopefully). The lower portions of the quarters will need sorting, I have a pair of Vertinan restoration panels for that. I also have two genuine vw front quarters should it all go tits up, I am getting the front clip blasted too just to see how solid it really is!  

[Iryanu]

Car is back from blasting, off to the bodyshop in two weeks, in the meantime I'm going to be ordering panels and deciding what to do about some of the Stevie Wonder & Ray Charles bodywork that's been going on....

Naps hat and firewall weren't as bad as I thought. Channels are ok!



Rear arches are just dreadful.   Quarters weren't stripped back or the doors so I'll finish these by hand, along with the roof. The car at some point has had a THICK coat of primer filler all over, blaster said it exploded with filler dust which I was expecting really.



Parcel shelf like a bit of lace.



All looking OK.



So that's that for the moment. Time to order some panels. Just got to decide if I'm going to do the floorpans, which I probably will, and put my cobra seats on to the stock seat runners using the conversion subframes, I ground off my runners long ago and bolted directly through with some big penny washers which I don't like.  

[JS]

Great project, will follow this one for sure!!

Any idea why the parcel shelf is so bad compared to the rest? If someone showed me only that picture, I´d expect the whole rest of the car to be gone as well!

[Iryanu]

Great project, will follow this one for sure!!

Any idea why the parcel shelf is so bad compared to the rest? If someone showed me only that picture, I´d expect the whole rest of the car to be gone as well!

It is strange really considering the frame head on the pan is mint. I just can't get my head around it. It wasn't a water leak in to that area either as all the window surrounds are perfect, even the little drain holes are fine.  Very strange. I'm going to replace it along with the rear inner arches up to the wing nuts and also the rear cross members, I managed to find some genuine vw ones so it'll be nice. Maybe someone liked keeping a damp towel in the back! 

[Iryanu]

Long time, no update!

Parcel shelf chopped out  


In with the new and the outriggers


One rear quarter panel off. Full new rear quarters are going on. The "death foam" has been removed, partly by all cleansing fire of the cutting torch.  




New pans are arriving next week. So they can get boshed on.

[Iryanu]

Lots been happening.

Floorpan is done and in epoxy primer. Next step is gloss black   Once I get it all back I'll be stripping the beam down and powdercoating spindles and all the other bits I have laying around. Small summary of the work on the pan is well, both pan halves replaced with OG guage metal and some repairs to the napoleons hat. All lined up nicely, the body went on and off 4 times or so to check. Much to the displeasure of many peoples backs. Beam has had shock tower modifications to clear the front quarters (no lump hammer needed this time!). Gary at GM Bodycraft has been very busy indeed. I'm absolutely buzzing to get the car back and start putting it back together.



Body is still getting the massage treatment. Every nasty panel has been vamoosed and replaced with nice the best panels available. Body is being lead loaded. Fuel filler flap welded up and leaded, just the rear quarters to go now. Then it will be bodywork, epoxy primer, another layer of high build primer and then the 2K topcoat. Didn't get any pictures of the doors, one needs the bottom outer skin replacing and it's good to go, other one is pretty much there.   All trim holes have been eradicated and the butchered radio hole sorted out with the original panel I had from the front clip. Also a fair bit of work gone in to the fuel tank area to get it looking right.

[Iryanu]

Merry Christmas to me! Epoxy primer on!

[andy198712]

looking great!

[Iryanu]

Pan is gloss now! Body is in the booth. Should be back for reassembly soon. 

[RobtheManx]

Looking good dude , colour ? or is that a surprise ?

[Iryanu]

Looking good dude , colour ? or is that a surprise ?

Same as before Rob.... Borin' ol' 2k straight black with no lacquer!  I copped out, I hope the custom gods can forgive me. 

[Black_65]

Looking awesome dude, I saw the pictures on Facebook and it looks the tits  .

Now hurry up and build it so we can race 

[RobtheManx]

Thats what I wanted to hear ! The black looks great ...

[Iryanu]

  Not long now!

[RobtheManx]

Awesome ! looking forward to seeing this back together !

What seats you running in it ?

Rob

[Iryanu]

Cheers Rob!

Going to be running the low back cobra classic "neck snappers" I had in before. Cobra do a direct fit sub-frame for the bug runners so it's a no brainer.

"Almost 50 years in continuous production and still going strong!

One of the first seats ever designed by Cobra in the 1960s, the Classic was one of the very first aftermarket seats ever marketed in the UK. Since those far off days, the technology may have changed and materials may have improved but the design of the seat remains quintessentially the same as it was when the Beatles ruled the airwaves!"

They match the stock door cards. rear seat won't be going back in. Still undecided about what to do in terms of restraints, might have to get a cross bar sorted behind the seat for some deist / simpson 4 points. Cross that bridge when I come to it.