My New Bug

[Dub-Diva]

Hi all

Going collect our new bug tomorrow :D can't wait - it's a 1974 "Jeans" beetle (special to me as it's the year I was born)... am jumping around in excitement already!

692

As always, there's a few bits to do - but that's part of the fun! :cool:

[Shamrockez]

Ace :D are you keeping it standard or going to modify (read slam) it a bit? :D

[Special K]

cool!! That looks similar to mine that I'm collecting tomorrow too! yey.. can't wait now!!!

K

[Dub-Diva]

Ace :D are you keeping it standard or going to modify (read slam) it a bit? :D

slammed slightly :D

[Dub-Diva]

cool!! That looks similar to mine that I'm collecting tomorrow too! yey.. can't wait now!!!

K

yay cool... tomorrow is a good day :cool:

[Blue Smoothie]

i hope it still has the original jeans interior? :)

[Blue Smoothie]

The '74 Jeans Beetle was a 1200/34hp based model with L16M Tunisian Yellow paintwork, 4.5Jx15 Lemmertz GT sports wheels, side and engine cover stripes, denim seat covers with coloured stitching and pockets in the back rests, heated rear window. The trim mouldings were black. In Europe it was fitted with a 'Ludwigshafen' (MW/VHF) radio. Two other models productions took place later that model year, one for the home market and another for Export, in L32K Phoenix Red, L11C Brilliant Yellow and L20A Marino Yellow with variations in equipment. In mid 1974 Dealers made available a 'Jeans Kit' of decals, seat covers and mud flaps.These items can be distinguished by the letter a in the Jeans logo which is more legible than on the factory Special Editions.

[Dub-Diva]

Cheers for the info - and yes, it has the original interior still :D

[Dub-Diva]

Well, we picked him up today... a little ratty around the edges (but hey, you will all know by now that rust doesn't scare us! lol) and overheated TWICE on the way home (a 6 hour round trip for us :eek: ) - our '59 rat bug behaved but the Jeans bug didn't... :(

We will have plenty of work to do to tidy him up...
He's going to be lowered... so he'll be a "hipster jeans bug" :cool:
New "scat" shifter - it's like stirring soup in a skip :laughing:
New sound system in - my mobile sounds better than the current speakers :rolleyes:
Tidy up his paintwork a bit and get rid some small rust bubbles
Tidy up his interior - headlining is immaculate but original denim covers need tlc
A few other bits and bobs (but will most probably find lots more bits as we go)

Will post new pictures as soon as we can :beerchug:

[Duggy]

back in '75 when i was a lanky gobby 7 yo kid, we lived opposite a right moaning old git and his missus. Whenever me and my mates were playing outside in the street (remember that kids?....no PS3's or XBoxes!! :D) anyways I digress, whenever we were outside playing footie or on our chopper bikes they'd always be out moaning and groaning and telling us to clear off! We never caused them any harm, or went on their garden or owt!

But...

No matter how miserable they were or how much they moaned at us we always forgave them coz they had a gleaming orange Jeans Bug!! :cool: It was aceness! Like a big Space Hopper on wheels...:D

Congrats on getting one, I'm looking forward to seeing some pictures of what you do to it. "Hipster Jeans!".....Quality!! :D :D :D

[Dub-Diva]

** this is Roxys other half hijacking this thread :laughing: "

tooks some snaps today :

Already pimping her ride :grin: :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/luton1971/09092007248.jpg

AND THIS LETS OFF ROAD!! :D
I am thinking of parking Vinny underneath to keep him dry :laughing::laughing:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/luton1971/08092007239.jpg

http://www.evvo.co.uk/forums/%5BIMG%5Dhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/luton1971/08092007239.jpg%5B/IMG%5D

[Shamrockez]

Hmm yeah there is a little bit of a gap :eek:

Best get it lowered for her ;)

[Dub-Diva]

" I am thinking of parking Vinny underneath to keep him dry :laughing::laughing:"

OI! You cheeky bugger... lmao :D But, yeah, she does need hitting very hard with a lowering stick... hmmm think the last owner must have raised it! hehehe

[Dub-Diva]

Congrats on getting one, I'm looking forward to seeing some pictures of what you do to it. "Hipster Jeans!".....Quality!! :D :D :D

Thanks, will keep the pictures coming!

[amethystbelle]

aaawwwww congrats, lovely bug :) Definately agree she needs lowering ;)

[Dub-Diva]

Ordered a short shifter on Saturday - should be coming today! YAY! Only draw back is ..... I'm fitting it myself... Rhett's gonna show me how to do it, it only took him 5 mins to fit his Scat shifter to Vinnie... will most probably take me MUCH longer... and cost me a few nails! lol :D

[amethystbelle]

The thing with owning an old bug is that you learn so much in such a short space of time. I never in a million years thought i could manage taking the windows out and replacing them but i did minus a nail or two ;)

[Dub-Diva]

Well... hmmm. where shall I start? :ohthedrama: :laughing:

Got the short shifter, and texted Rhett who texted me straight back instructions on how to do it :eek: saying if I don't do it now, then I will when he gets home :o

So I grabbed a 13mm spanner and set out determined to do it myself - I only had an hour before I had to get the children from school...

Following his instructions, I unscrewed the two bolts...(caught the gearstick before the spring made it ping up at me :laughing:)... took off the old gearstick and the plate (remembering I didn't need the spring that was on the old stick)... put on the new plate and then on went the empi shifter... only to discover my bolts were too short! :eek: (The empi shifter has a case at the bottom of about 3/4 inch, whereas my stock gearstick's case is about 5mm)

Oh bugger said I (or something along those lines!)... so I had to put it all back together again and wait for Rhett to get home :rolleyes: On the way to school, I discover that finding 2nd gear is very hit and miss so drive the rest of the way using 1st, 3rd and 4th gears only! :laughing:

Rhett came home and checked I was fitting it right and yes, we needed longer ones... he then butchered some long bolts with an angle grinder :eek: the put on the shifter... no reverse - in fact it went forwards :laughing: - how glad am I that it happened to him and not me :) so after about 5 minutes of unbolting and adjusting, all is well and the gears all work properly! :cool::cool::cool:

So the moral of this story is... if you want to change from your stock gearstick to an Empi shifter... order some 1 1/2 inch 13mm bolts! :p

[Shamrockez]

Ah, that brings back painful memories of changing Joey's gear linkage.... no one does the right one for a 66 so they said it needing modifying... which really means we have to spend ages getting everything sorta right so we can actually find all the gears.... even now there's still a nack to getting the right ones!

[Dub-Diva]

Yeah, I have to trick Levis into thinking I'm going into 3rd and then I whip it quickly into 2nd! lol :D

[Kitty_Kat]

ah lush very nice Roxy

[Dub-Diva]

awwww cheers Kat x

[sharkbait]

Hey Roxy, love Levis, he's really cool. Can't see much wrong with him, what are your plans? And where did you get your shifter from? I need to get one for Sunny, he has a similar dislike for second gear. You have to put it in twice (sir!) before it actually takes... makes for interesting driving sometimes, lol

[Jodielee54]

I love that bug!! Gorgeous!! ;)

[Dub-Diva]

Hey Roxy, love Levis, he's really cool. Can't see much wrong with him, what are your plans? And where did you get your shifter from? I need to get one for Sunny, he has a similar dislike for second gear. You have to put it in twice (sir!) before it actually takes... makes for interesting driving sometimes, lol

I just happen to have an Empi shifter for sale - bought one for Rhett's bug, then realised that he needed a different one and had to buy a scat shifter as Empi don't do a pre '67 shifter... pm me if you are interested...

[Dub-Diva]

Levis is in the garage today :eek: so I'm just waiting for a call from Larry (our mechanic) to say "sorry she's a deathtrap, you can't drive her" :eek:

She has a problem with the handbrake/brakes fouling somewhere on the rear drivers side when you reverse and the bite on the clutch is sky high, oh and her engine cut out twice on the way home from picking her up ... Rhett's bug on the other hand is 50 years old and did the humongous trip without missing a beat! Typical :rolleyes:

And she's going lower by having adjusters all round at the end of October... can't wait! :cool:

[amethystbelle]

I'm sure Levi's will be fine ;)

[Dub-Diva]

ooooh dear :eek: she's not a well bug at all... she needs a new beam, new ball joints, the clutch pressure plate is questionable, she needs her carb stripping and rebuilding and lots of other minor bits (like door seals, etc) ... severe denting of the bank balance me thinks.... :eek:

However....on a major plus point, when his bug goes in for total restoration in Oct/Nov, Rhett is giving me his highly modded 1600 twin carb engine... zoom zoom zoom... :D ... I think he must have seen another performance engine he wants :)

[Shamrockez]

Looks like it's time for a bit of lowering and narrowing then :D ;)

[1958 Harry]

Awww, its all worth it in the end tho :D

[Dub-Diva]

Looks like it's time for a bit of lowering and narrowing then :D ;)



ooooh definitely! lol

and it'll be worth it... will keep her going until we do a full resto on her in a couple of years time ;)