Well, its been a while. and I kind of left you hanging, but I'm still her, and so is my new bug. I have been working on it quite a lot and I thought I would finally share that with you guys. I've been doing a lot today to get ready for the last call VW show tomorrow. I guess that's what inspired me to finally post my updates to my bug. So here goes:

When I first got the car the brakes, front bushings, and ball joints didn't pass inspection. So we got the new bushings in no problem. The ball joints were really tricky. We found that you have to have an adapter for the ball joint remover that exactly fits the ball joint or you will not be able to get it out. Luckily autozone has a kit for rent that fits perfectly. So that wasn't so hard.

The brakes on the other hand were an absolute nightmare. It took me forever to finally get them adjusted right. First off I was told the cylinder was leaking, so I replaced it. Then as I tried bleeding the lines I ended up having to replace all the wheel cylinders. I finally got them bleed but the brakes would not work. Me and my dad worked forever on those brakes bleeding and bleeding and the brakes wouldn't work. Well come to find out the leak was still there. It was actually the $5.00 brake switch that was leaking. Well I replaced that and the brakes still didn't work right. I thought I had bleed them enough and I could not get them to work. I thought my new master cylinder was bad. But luckily before I replaced that again. I talked to a guy in my neighborhood who works on old VW's, and he said to try bleeding again, and bleed it through all the way. I decided to try it and I bleed and bleed and bleed and bleed each wheel cylinder. Finally I got the brakes to work, 3 weeks later!

I was finally able to get in registered! That was an exciting day. I've also been batling the Gen light for the alternator. It keeps coming or randomly but the battery still amintains 13 or so volts. At first I thought it was the fan belt. So I replaced that but I forgot to tighten the pulley all the way down. The next day I drove to a friends house and while I was on the freeway the fan belt slipped and wore a hole through the vacuum line next to the belt. I tried repairing it with tape but the belt wore through that too. I stopped at another friends house on the way home, I was dropping him off. And luckily his Uncle who was a mechanic was there and he helped me fix the fan belt using the only tools we could find, a pipe wrench and a screwdriver. Later when I got home I tightened it up properly and replaced the taped up hose. But hey, the pipe wrench and duct tape got me home.

The rest I've done to my car has been pretty simple. I fixed the trunk lock, replaced the missing antennae. I couldn't figure out how to get the plug to the radio so I drilled my own small hole it would fit through and custom made a grommet using bits of whatever I could find and it worked out well. It is really exciting having an AM/FM radio and cd player with a hookup for my Ipod. I loved my old car but its radio was pretty sad. I added arm rests to the door panels and cut the whole for and hooked up the interior lighting. I also put in a stock rear view mirror. They guy had an after market one that attached to the windshield but the problem was he had it so high up, I couldn't see hardly anything out the back window. I also made a speaker shelf for behind the rear seat. You may also recognize some parts from my old car that I moved over, front seat belts, center console, drink holder. I also cut and fit wood paneling for the drivers side out of some leftovers the previous owner had from making a wood panel for the glove box.And then the latest thing I added, today, is the new floor mats. With winter coming up I wanted something to protect the carpet and these were $11 at Autozone and then I cut them to fit. They turned out pretty good. Now I want to get a new trunk liner.

Then today I also washed waxed and vacuumed the car to make it look good for the car show. And my parents were nice enough to let me keep it in the garage tonight so it stays nice. I'm excited for the show, and I still owe you guys pictures from the last bug show, but I'll get them to you eventually.

New Floor Mats

The Arm Rests I installed

Here's the stock mirror I put on

The wood panel for the drivers side turned out good.

I also added a bit of interior lighting

Recognize these seat belts from my old car?

This is the speaker shelf I made.

The center console from my old car.

One of the new bushings we put on.

the new, already rusty, master cylinder.

Here is the replacement vacuum line.

I spent some time researching to put the vacuum lines in the correct places.

New antennae 

Here is where I fed the antennae line to the radio.

Here is how the trunk looks now.

I also found the old jack for the car and greased it, so it works great now.
I also bought a lug wrench so I can change the tire if need be.

My current project is to hook up the stock washer bottle to and electric pump.
This one also came from my old car. I don't know why they had a super beetle pump my old car.

The cup holder fits better in this car.

I also fixed the oil light on the dash, the sensor was bad.

Looks good all polished up.

Clean interior.

I love the modern dash board.

One thing leads to another...

As you can see my car is less than drive able. it's kind of a bummer too, our big VW show was last Saturday and I was hoping to take my red car, I did go to the show, I entered my green one, but I'll post on that another day this week or next. And I was hoping to take it to a parade on Wednesday. the 24th of July is a big day in Utah, it's Pioneer Day, and the little town I'm for always does a big celebration. Someday I'll put it in that parade.

Anyway back to the reason my new one is less than drive able. When I brought the car home I knew it would need some front end work (most super beetles do) what I didn't know was the master cylinder was leaking. I found out when I went to get the inspection done. As I got the master cylinder wrapped up I had trouble bleeding the brakes. found out it was time to race both rear wheel cylinders. Then when I pulled off the hubs I found that all the brake shoes were cracked. so it's been a little frustrating trying to get the car road worthy, especially since I missed both deadlines I wanted to hit. Oh well I'm hanging in there. I'll get Felix running soon.

On another note last Friday was my birthday, my family gave me a couple fun bug related gifts, I'll be sharing those with you guys over the next little while too, whenever I have a spare minute that isn't spent on my car at least.

New Turn Of Events...

 

About a week ago I found a bug for sale, a 1975 fuel injected super beetle with a sunroof. And it was in amazing condition. As much as i love my little 74 beetle I've realized it will take a lot of work and time to keep it running right. I came to the decision that If the Beetle online was as good as it looked I would buy it and sell my car. Not to mention it was just the car I have been looking for for quite a while. I have wanted a super beetle for some time, from the research I've done there a better car for my needs, I wanted fuel injection for more reliability and more power, and the sunroof is something that I've wanted even before I bought my green 74. And for icing on the cake it even has pop out quarter windows.

Well today, this morning I went to check it out. I was very impressed, the car was taken care of and worked over. The guy I will be buying it from is very nice, about my age, in high school, I felt like he was very honest about the car and was impressed with him too. He even washed, cleaned and detailed the car before I came to look at it, I hadn't even decided to buy it. Any way the car drove like a dream, the difference between a standard beetle and a super beetle as far as steering and suspension goes is night and day, and the body of the beetle is in excellent shape it was taken to a shop and sanded down, had the body work done, and they repainted red and white with the right tools. The car is great!

So tomorrow morning I will go to pick the car up. The plan is to then sell my old car off, my 74 beetle. I think this super beetle will make a much better daily driver. But I'll post some more about all the improvements on a super beetle later on after I get the car. I also want to do a video about my new car, so I'll post that when I get it done. I'll show some more pics of the car when I get it home tomorrow. I'm so excited, its like Christmas all over again!

What came in the mail...

About a week and a half ago I ordered this booklet on thesamba.com. I've looked through the classifieds multiple times for 1974 related materials. Commonly I see the sales brochure, the colors sheet, the spec sheet, and occasionally an owner's manual. This one something I hadn't seen before. It is a dealership booklet that shows all the accessories you could get for your beetle in 1974. I decided that maybe it was time to start my collection for my car. I want to eventually get all the factory/dealership books, pamphlets etc. for the 1974 beetle. Something extra to show off at car shows. Today it finally came and I got to take a good look through it.

This booklet is full of all sorts of things. For instance did you know Volkswagen offered a tissue box you could install under the dash? It even has the Wolfsburg Crest on it. A variety of shifters were also available, sport shifters, with leather or wood knobs. Wood trim to dress up the dashboard. And even vinyl lettering or stripes on the side of the car. As I've looked through the book I've realized that, not only will this be a cool thing to show off at shows, but it will help me get the correct accessories for 1974 as I restore my car. If you ever have a chance to pick up something lick this for your car I would recommend it, it's fun and helpful to look through.

Once upon a time in 1974...

A long time ago (to me) a little bug was built in Germany. That was my car. I decided to show a little of what I've found about my car when it came from the factory. Sadly I don't know much about the history of my car yet, but I have done a lot of research into the 1974 model year. I think that 1974 is a very special year. In this year Volkswagen produced the most advanced and safe beetle that would still include from the factory an easy to use carburetor engine.

My car when it rolled out of the German factory was a brilliant orange color, just like the ones in the picture. Orange was a very popular color for that year. This is one of the colors I've contemplated repainting it when the time comes. 

1974 saw some new changes to the bug. One of the features that came was new reinforced and upgraded bumpers, attached with energy absorbing brackets, this was to prevent damage in parking lot accidents. This year also saw a new steering column, one that had a smaller size column, VW continued to use the same column. In fact you can install the water cooled VW steering wheels from the 80's and 90's as well. 

A new comfort feature was added that year as well. The seats were redesigned using the mechanics of the previous year. The previous year was probably the most extensive change to the seats which made them fully adjustable. This year though had new contoured seats for a more comfortable ride. They continued to use these seats the next year.

This year as I said has the most advancements seen on a carbureted beetle. It was a good year, maybe I'm a little biased, but it was a good year for the beetle. The engine had all the bugs worked out and was quite powerful with that light weight car. 

Another noteworthy point about 1974 was the sun bug. This year saw the sun bug, it came as standard, super, and convertible beetle. It came in gold yellow and had either the sunroof or convertible top. It was a neat special edition.

Thanks for reading my spotlight on the 1974 year. Tell me a little bit about what makes your model/year VW special in the comments below. I would love to hear about it.

My car is an icon

This is a picture of my car on my street. It is an icon for me. My mom loves it because she can always see where I'm at, she just needs to look for the little green bug with the letter P on the side. My mom isn't the only one that can tell where I'm at though.

Yesterday at work one of my coworkers said to me: "i don't want to sound like I'm stalking you, but I know where you live." I had to smile I knew where this was going, I'd heard this before. We had new neighbors move in recently and my coworker's sister was friends with their daughter. She had gone to drop off her sister and saw my bug parked there on the street. 

The beetle is defiantly a recognizable car. There aren't as many on the road any more so each one is unique. My friends are always saying I saw your car at such and such place, or they will wave as I pass them by. It's a hard car to miss, it's very unique in today's world. And for that matter it isn't just my friends that wave, I always love it when people wave or give me a thumbs up. It's not just a car it's an experience, and that goes for any old  VW.

A bug at the Pi

Me and my parents went to eat at the pi pizzaria in south Jordan Utah on Saturday, we were up in the area and my dad loves their Pizza. Their pizza is excellent with a lot of toppings, but that isn't their only up point. I must say they have good taste in art work too. Right as you walk in the door any VW enthusiast would immediately notice this hanging by the stairs. An excellent portrait of an early model bug, so if your ever in the area and want good food in a nice VW environment: defiantly check out the pi pizzaria.