My Aircooled Bug

[MrYellowbug]

Now the forum seems stable, i'll pop my bug on again

His names ernie apparently (cheers vickie and lucy!)

He's a '73 1200, i'll update the pics as and when we do stuff
As we got him

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/S8003002.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/S8003007.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/TW740F9FA__1.jpg

As he stands now with new freshly painted wings

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/NewWing.jpg

[Shamrockez]

Yay, welcome again to Ernie! :D :D :D

[MrYellowbug]

Can't wait to sort the interior out covers are on order, carpets will be here for christmas and it, sorry, he goes into Evolution in Jan to have it's original seat runners welded back in (i'd do it myself but I have no idea where they're meant to go lol)

[Shamrockez]

He'll start looking super duper very quick! :D Bella's getting some new carpets for Christmas too :)

I'd offer to measure where they go on my 71 for you - but he's so rotten and bodged it probably wouldn't be very accurate! :o :lol:

[1958 Harry]

Looking very good indeedy! :D

Whats next after the interior? (they are never finished btw ;) :laughing: )

[yellowbug]

Wheels, more slamming and possibly a narrowed beam, replace the towel rails with blades and over riders

General tidy up as theres a few rusty bits I wanna sort, might even need a new front heater channel section sooner rather than later

Thats about it by then tho i'll probably wanna change the wheels again lol

[1958 Harry]

Cool :D it'll be good to see the progress!

Are the towel rails good? When and if you sell them I might know someone who wants them (Gems Brother for his '60 bug) so let me know :)

[Vickie]

Aaw I love Ernie, he is so cool looking! Can't wait to see what his new interior looks like!

[yellowbug]

the towel rails arent too bad......the insides have a bi of rust on em......but when all that happens we will take pics so you can see if they are wanted :D

Im so excited about christmas......we will have lots of stuff to keep us busy :D

[Dub-Diva]

:cool: bug... love him... he's all nice and shiney now :D

[Dub-Diva]

still think you should've gone rat like mine... lmao x

[yellowbug]

as much as marc likes ratty......he would never be able to cope with it onhis own dub :)
we werent going to worry about the wing quite the quickly........but he couldnt stand it any longer lol

[1958 Harry]

as much as marc likes ratty......he would never be able to cope with it onhis own dub :)
we werent going to worry about the wing quite the quickly........but he couldnt stand it any longer lol

Sounds like me! :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

[yellowbug]

ernies new mats

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/S8003399.jpg

courtesy of hazel and mark at mad matz

[Dub-Diva]

We got one of those basket thingys (a chrome one) at Slough - and a lovely carpet set too, we just haven't got around to fitting the carpets yet and without them the basket slides along the tunnel! :D Going for the Rat-look outside & lovely inside look, so planning on new cards and seat covers next year... he still has the original carpet from 1959 in him at the moment (well, shreds of what's left anyway! lol ).

We also bought a mat for the front of our splitty from MadMatz last week - but can't fit that either! :( she's still in surgery :eek:

[1958 Harry]

I've stuck some velcro to the back of my tunnel basket thingy - make sure it stays put when drinks are in it :) Harry has a black one

[yellowbug]

ok heres part of our christmas update :)

We have managed to fit the new covers to ernies back seat
and with the extra matching vinyl I ordered I have covered the parcel shelf, and Marc painted the speakers to match

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/backseat1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/backseat3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/backseat4.jpg

We are going to do the front seats too, but not until evolution have sorted out the runners (next week hopefully)

New carpet will be ordered this week, and once the runners are done the carpet will be fitted, then we can finish the seats and pop in the new bamboo parcel shelf

Oh and yesterday we went and collected these

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/wheels.jpg

They will be sprayed before we fit them....and white walls are on the cards too, along with smart car tyres for the front

and finally (I think) we got a new stereo today, one with an ipod socket thingy so we can have some tunes on, so hopefully we will have that in soon too

[Shamrockez]

He's gonna look ace when he's finished :D

[yellowbug]

hope we can bring him along to a few shows for you all to see him in the flesh :D

[Shamrockez]

You should! :D

[yellowbug]

We will try
pretty sure he will join us at bristol and at vanwest I should think, as they are both close enough for us to bring the van and ernie :)

[dubkopfe_j]

Guess who :)

Hope you've spent the day stripping out the nice new interior again ready for monday

Oh yeah, I found a half can of that same cream spray paint in the garage if marc wants a little more to finish the speaker grills

[yellowbug]

hmmm I wonder who it could be :D

Think we are doing the stripping back out at the weekend......or I am when marc is at work on saturday lol

He said yes please and thankyou to the paint ta

[dubkopfe_j]

You'll be doing all the work on it soon enough lol

Tell the bearded one i'll drop it round next time i'm over :)

[yellowbug]

Stripped out ernie this morning

look at the poor thing

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/RIMG0159.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/RIMG0148.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/RIMG0150.jpg

We were very nervous about pullin gup the carpet......but to be honest we were pleasantly surprised :D

He is going to evolution on monday
Then we get to have fun making him all pretty when he comes home :D

[Shamrockez]

I don't see any holes! :D Looks very solid!

You gonna get some paint on it?

[yellowbug]

yeah i had a good poke about and could nt find any holes

the top of the passenger side heater channel is a bit dodgy......like where they have put the wiring in

Oh actually lucy that reminds me.....we want to rewire him when he comes back, you got any tips :D

Yeah marc has ordered a load of stuff to do the floor, metal ready and POR15
then I think we are painting it, fitting underlay and then new carpet (which i am hopefully ordering on monday )

[Shamrockez]

POR-15 is the paint of the Gods! :D

Erm yeah - don't let me anywhere near it :lol: Naaa it's not so bad - print off a load of wiring diagrams from Vintage Bus and take one bit at a time :)

[yellowbug]

thought the POR 15 would have come today.....fingers crossed it comes one day marc is home next week lol

Yeah my wiring theory was print off whatever I can find and then take it nice a slow, and be completely methodical about it all :lol:

[Shamrockez]

Yep that's pretty much it!

Did you order the packs of mini cans or the big pot or POR-15?

[1958 Harry]

Frosts took ages to deliver my POR15, Ernie looks nice and solid - a good buy! :D

[yellowbug]

Frosts took ages to deliver my POR15, Ernie looks nice and solid - a good buy! :D

oh arse (to the long delivery)

ernie is suprisingly solid.....so far :D

once we got started today I wanted to do more and more :D

[yellowbug]

Yep that's pretty much it!

Did you order the packs of mini cans or the big pot or POR-15?

the big pot apparently : )

[1958 Harry]

once we got started today I wanted to do more and more :D

:laughing: You find that!

[Shamrockez]

Make sure you put a rubber glove or cling film between the lid and the pot and wipe up the paint between the 2 - otherwise the lid won't be coming off again!

Apparently thinners is the only thing that will get it off your skin - otherwise it takes about 2 weeks to fade.

[1958 Harry]

Thinners only work if you rub it off straight away, if not you're left with lovely black marks for weeks :lol:

[yellowbug]

blimey :o

thanks for the warning guys
we will make sure we are very prepared ....ill get us some nice thick gloves too :D

[1958 Harry]

Good plan - watch they don't break and you don't realise tho :lol: even my nails were died black!

[yellowbug]

well I used to have premanently multi coloured skin from painting and dyeing stuff, so black could make an interesting change :)

to be honest I will probably do it all fine and then when I go inside I will discover I have some how got a line of it across my face :lol:

[1958 Harry]

Yep its really difficult to get off your face :lol: I had drops of it all over me - Gem had to scrub my face with a scourer and terps to get it off! :lol:

[yellowbug]

I remember after one weekends painting I thought i had got everything off....until i went to work and the first customer i had pointed out I had bright blue paint down the side of my neck.......ow embarrasing

[Shamrockez]

I got it on my eyelid once :o hurt getting it off!!!!

I normally manage to get some on my face, and... bizzarely -my knees!

[yellowbug]

ha ha

now im dreading the state we will get in :lol:
will have to make sure we are in our old clothes

[MrYellowbug]

Wheels are painted
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0192.jpg

Not perfect but they'll do for now

And Ria trimmed those bits under the rear seat that were black, and I painted the plastic covers
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0189.jpg

He's back later today with nice new seat runners sorted, asking evo about narrowing the beam for us too :)

[Doodlebug]

Bloody hell thats nice, loving those seat thingies! They look mint! :)

[sharkbait]

Looking good! Has got me inspired to take some pictures of my bug now the rebuilt engine is back (but not yet fitted) :)

Oh and need some inspiration for my wheels as well. Need to get photoshopping methinks ... if only I had photoshop, lol

Where can I buy a centre console basket thing? I have nowhere to put anything in my bug, I don't even have a front parcel shelf at the mo. Not sure if cabs were supposed to have rear parcel shelves? The hood seems to take up that space when it's down but I'm in dire need of storage!

[yellowbug]

:D

just picked up ernie, so he is now at work with me waiting for me to finish and take him home :)

you will be inundated with photos over the weekend lol

sharkbait - we got the basket from mega bug at slough swap meet, it was a tenner
lots of places sell them online but because of there size and shape they are about a fiver to post
Lots of people have them at shows for 10 ish pounds :)

oh im all excited now :)

[Dub-Diva]

They look lovely Ria, can't wait to see new pics of Ernie! :D

[amethystbelle]

Ernies looking fab, looking forward to seeing more pictures :)

I got my chrome basket from Mega Bug too, got mine from their ebay store, think it cost £13 including P&P which isn't too bad :) They had all the colours chrome, cream and black. We have a cream one in our 66 which we got from BVF a few years ago so you can find them at shows too although its not very often you see them hence why i looked online ;)

[Shamrockez]

Oh dear, those wheels are a little bit pornagraphic :eek:

[sharkbait]

Wheely Lucy? Is this another fetish we don't know about? lol
Thanks for the advice on drink holder thingies... I shall get myself one. Just off to the garage now to do some inspection... I've been inspired to pull up all the carpets, so far have only had a peek here and there. The carpets aren't fitted right so they need to be refitted anyway. Wish me luck! Hope I don't find any nasty surprises!

[Duggy]

very cool bug :D

may i just ask....is that Marina Blue?

[Shamrockez]

Wheely Lucy? Is this another fetish we don't know about? lol
Thanks for the advice on drink holder thingies... I shall get myself one. Just off to the garage now to do some inspection... I've been inspired to pull up all the carpets, so far have only had a peek here and there. The carpets aren't fitted right so they need to be refitted anyway. Wish me luck! Hope I don't find any nasty surprises!
I like wheels :o Don't get me started on tyres :o

[yellowbug]

i think lucy needs some time alone :lol:

yeah it is marina blue....its a lovely colour :D

[Blugg]

:omg: :wtf: Since when have you had an Old Beetle:lol:

Need to look into the a'cooled thread a bit more :laughing:

[yellowbug]

:omg: :wtf: Since when have you had an Old Beetle:lol:

Need to look into the a'cooled thread a bit more :laughing:

:lol:

oh dear danny what are you like :D

we haven't had him that long......october time I think we got him :D

[yellowbug]

Todays work ..........

I sat myself in the back of ernie and scrapped off all the horrible little bits of carpet and stuff

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0209.jpg

we por 15 'd the floor

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0208.jpg
we have done both sides now

and Jonno joined us for the day so we put him to work sorting out the stereo

the one that was fitted inside the glove box didn't work, so we took the oppurtunity to buy ourselves an ipod stereo instead and left him to fitting it today

We went for mounting it inside the car under the dash

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0211.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0210.jpg


oh and we couldn't resist the urge to try one of the wheels on the front to see how it looked

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0207.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0206.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0205.jpg

all in all a good days work I would say ........ my bloody arm hurts lol

[1958 Harry]

Did you get the seat slider going back far enough?

[yellowbug]

we havent tried the seat back in yet, we wanted to get the floor started while we had a whole day

Went to see Kerry at evolution and he suggested something that might get it a little further back, but other than that he said the only thing to do would be to extend the front runner a bit

[Shamrockez]

Looking good! :D did you get POR all over yourselves?

Those wheels are going to look fab on him!!!!

[yellowbug]

I didnt get involved in the por15, marc did it to minimise the potential of getting covered :)
im very proud of him as he didnt get any on himself at all lol

the wheel looks so cool, definetly the right decision

[yellowbug]

oh and later this week we are off to pick out some new doors for him :)

fitted new seals to the doors last night to discover the bottoms are a little bit buggered I guess the fact that there was no seal in the bottom wont have helped, plus they need rehanging with new pins as they drop when you open them which will also have contributed to the buggered ness lol

so we are getting some with quaterlights in :) some nice rust free aussie ones complete with all glass and window mechanisms

[Shamrockez]

Oh good plan - make the men do the painting! :D I managed to dip my hair in it once :o

Yep - sooooo much better than the EMPI8s, IMHO.

Good idea - quarter lights are so useful! They get so much cool air in through them in the summer :D And rust free doors are always good!

[yellowbug]

yeah i tell you what despite how I look sometimes I do have good ideas :lol:

the steels are much nicer than the empis......they just dont seem to work on ernie, he prefers the steelies (i know cus he told me :D )

the doors where something we had planned 'for the future' .......well I guess later this week is kind of the future
£80 each completely complete (except door cards) ....... thought that was pretty good ?

quaterlights always look like a fab idea....we just have to have them

[Shamrockez]

Yeah that sounds like a good deal to me :)

Glad it's not only me who hears what their cars want me to buy for them :lol:

I think you had a very cunning plan! :D

[yellowbug]

:D

marc thinks im crazy when I tell him what ernie wants......but i think he is just jealous cus ernie doesnt talk to him :D

[Shamrockez]

Yes you're right! Some people just don't have 'the gift!'

[yellowbug]

we should have t-shirts sayings 'i have the gift' :lol:

[Shamrockez]

Yes! :D

And on the back "Beetles talk to me"

[yellowbug]

ya know.....when I get 5 minutes that might become a reality :lol:

oh oh oh

how about

'my beetle told me to do it' :D

[Shamrockez]

'my beetle told me to do it' :D

that would suit Devil! :D

[1958 Harry]

:lol: I hear what you're saying about the beetles speaking. Harry told me he wanted shiny new paint, who was I to disagree!

And rust free doors are good, tbh tho no having a seal at the bottom probably helped stop rust as the seals are notorious for trapping moisture and rotting the bottoms of the doors.

Also before you go fitting all the new door cards, doors etc get some cavity was and spray it in all the cavities to keep the rust at bay, that'll help stop any rust re-appearing, I've put Waxoyl and cavity wax wherever I can get to on Harry!

[MrYellowbug]

^^Thats the plan luke, treat the hell out of the inside to avoid future problems

After posting on VZI one very nice fellow offered us a seat base from his late bug that the previous owner had modified to make the runners longer, thus going back further

If nothing else we can weld the modified runners on our seat so problem should be solved. Yay :D

[MrYellowbug]

Time for more shiney bits yum

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/RIMG0239.jpg

[Dub-Diva]

Ria and Marc... those wheels and shiny bits look fan-bloody-tastic! Looking good! x

[MrYellowbug]

Just waiting on this sodding carpet now lol

[Shamrockez]

Oooh i have the same light! Is it a Raydot one? How did you fit it? I was hovering around Bella's bumper on Sunday wondering where it would fit lol

[yellowbug]

here is a closer pic

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/RIMG0240.jpg

fitted it by using an L bracket onto the bumper iron

oh and yeah it is a raydot one :D

[Duggy]

cool :D

a bit of autosol o them bumpers and they'll hurt!

[yellowbug]

lol

Marc is just sat here with some 'chrome magic' polishing the baby moons.....they look fab :D

Think he is spending tomorow on the bumpers and things :)

[1958 Harry]

Looking good there Marc!

You going Resto Cal on Ernie? He's gonna look awesome! :D

[MrYellowbug]

Yeah seems to be a resto cal approach, although i'm not entirely sure what it entails tho I was on it being lots of chrome, and chrome accessories low, narrow and more chrome oh and U.S. spec stuff

[1958 Harry]

Restowagen is your best but to suss it out.

Your bug is deffo looking pretty resto cal tho! I like it! :D

[MrYellowbug]

Yeah seems alot like the stuff over there, think I might encounter some snobbery due to it being a late model with early panels but i'm not forking out to change it back :lol:

Popped everything back together earlier as the carpets not arriving for a couple more weeks couldn't resist taking him for a quick run

Took a pic just as it started raining
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0263.jpg

Looks a little silly with steels up front and empis on the back, i get my new tyres on friday

And then i tucked it away mmm cosy
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0267.jpg

Quite like that pic may be my new wallpaper

[MrYellowbug]

^^^^Didn't realise the garage was that untidy over this side, it's neat on the other side :lol:

[1958 Harry]

Does this mean he might be out to play with Harry on Sunday (if the weathers nice?) :D

[Doodlebug]

^^^^Didn't realise the garage was that untidy over this side, it's neat on the other side :lol:

Yeah, get cleaning boyo! lol Loving Ernest mate, sod the snobbery, i never understand that in the VW scene :( Oh and how come your off work you skyver??? lol

[MrYellowbug]

Ha ha i only work 6 days every 2 weeks, it's tough but someone has to do it :lol:

[MrYellowbug]

Does this mean he might be out to play with Harry on Sunday (if the weathers nice?) :D


Possibly but i think the weathers gonna be shocking, popping past shearwater lake tomorrow to grab a few pics to see what you guys think of it as a location it really is lovely would be good for photos even in the rain

[Doodlebug]

Ha ha i only work 6 days every 2 weeks, it's tough but someone has to do it :lol:
Dratt and double dratt! lol What do you actually work as? Whatever it is, can i have a job? lol

[MrYellowbug]

You don't wanna be a posty only reason i'm still there is cause of the hours :)

[Doodlebug]

You don't wanna be a posty only reason i'm still there is cause of the hours :)

Ahhhhhh, i always liked the idea of being a posty actually, anyways, back on topic, what's next for dearest Ernest?

[MrYellowbug]

Narrowed beam and new doors with 1/4 lights, then a new long bonnet but that can wait till i find one at a show ;)

Possibly 135/145 tyres for the front too but the 155's have lots of tread on them so i'll have to wait :)

[Shamrockez]

Restocal is basically low, narrow, loads of period accessories, OG paint colours (normally, but other colours can be done), traditionally they had stock engines - all show and no go, but over the last few years some hot motors have been working their way into the engine bays!

[MrYellowbug]

Thought as much, the bug looks alot more grey in all them photos, must be a sun thing lol

[1958 Harry]

Have you removed the running boards from Ernie yet?

I would and Por 15 behind them as well :D

[Shamrockez]

and the underneath of the running boards :)

[1958 Harry]

:lol: I forgot about the underneaths of the running boards! I did tried doing the running boards he came with but they were cheap rusty ****e so I bought some new ones I didn't bother doing those as he doesn't do rain so I couldn't be arsed.

You can take the chrome trim off the running boards too to POR behind those bits as well :)

Also you gonna re-fit the chrome trims in the windows, that would deffo make it more restocal and it makes a BIG difference to the look :)

[MrYellowbug]

Would that mean new chrome window rubbers?

Will do in time i'm in no hurry must take the running boards off and look at what lies beneath :)

[1958 Harry]

The chromes and window rubbers are separate :)

If you're lucky like I was with harry you might have the correct rubbers, then all you need to do is fit the chrome strips into the rubbers :) if theres a groove all the way around the rubbers then they are probably the correct ones.

And fingers crossed all is good under the running boards for ya!

[MrYellowbug]

No groves in mine they're all smooth sadly, and pretty new looking :(

Don't mean I won't be changing them in the future tho :lol:

[sharkbait]

You've got cal rubbers or the bug was a 1200 economy model? What's the headliner like?
The snobbery side of things has always been alive and well within the VW community I'm afraid. It varies in degrees... for instance, I have no problems with early panels on a later bug. I think they look much better and would do it to mine if I could. On the other hand, I'm snobby when it comes to say, convertibles that aren't Karmann, lol.
I have crapola repro bumpers on mine, and find that they polish up really well (autosol for me) but as soon as they get wet you can pretty much watch the rust coming back. The WD40 thing works quite well, at least keeps the rust at bay for a little longer, or you can try using a coat of car wax.
At any rate, Ernie looks cool, and I look forward to see what else you guys do with him :o)

[yellowbug]

headliner is cream/off white colour....not much else i can say about it really...its a headliner :lol:

i know what you mean about the snobbery as much as we all winge about it we are pretty much all guilty of it at one level or another :D

[1958 Harry]

What Sharkbait means about the headliner (I think) is does it just cover the middle section with painted metal showing on the sides, or does it go down the door pillars etc :) thats a way of telling if its a 'Standard' or 'Deluxe' model.

Although I thought even the standard models in the 70's had the chrome windscreen trim :)

[yellowbug]

oh i see....you can see metal around along the sides above the windows but before the headlining starts.....is that a clue?

I would say it was a basic model, as it has one speed wipers, and I was told that was only on the basic models....although I am no expert so feel free to shout at me for being wrong :lol:

[1958 Harry]

Yeah thats a clue, Ernie is a 'standard' model, I wouldn't call him basic tho as all cars of that era were basic :lol:

[sharkbait]

Sorry I didn't word that very well did I? lol
Yeah, Luke is right.. I meant does the headliner just cover the middle part of the roof or does it come down the pillars? Basic models had less headliner and no chrome in the rubbers, and I think they had 1200 engines. Correct me if I'm wrong. Good basis for a cal, but needs more chrome for restocal! I'm a sucker for shiny stuff!

[MrYellowbug]

He's certainly bottom of the range, basic black vinyl seat covers, single speed wipers and the headliner just covers the roof section


But I still love him, nothing like poverty spec! I'd have a '77 Mk1 Golf "N' over a gti anyday :)

[sharkbait]

Hey now nothing wrong with basic. Like Luke said, there's very little difference. I have two speed wipers but does it make any difference? Nope, still can't see in the rain, lol. I also have an extra fan thing that I've never seen before... Lucy told me it was only on models sold to countries with hot climates (mine's a cali import). Is it aircon? No. Can it blow the dust off a gnat's arse? No.
Mine's supposedly a 'Luxury' model so there you go!

[yellowbug]

Oh god I didnt mean it like that,
I love ernie to bits, and I dont care what 'luxuries' he hasnt got

and as you say nothing that old is particularly luxurious anyway :lol:

[Shamrockez]

I also have an extra fan thing that I've never seen before... Lucy told me it was only on models sold to countries with hot climates (mine's a cali import). Is it aircon? No. Can it blow the dust off a gnat's arse? No.


They're 'ambulance fans' :)

And no, they don't really work - they just blow warm air through quicker :lol:

[yellowbug]

Ernie now has white walls...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/sw21.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/sw1.jpg

all hand painted by me :D

[Shamrockez]

They look so good Ria! :D

These are the running board covers I was on about:
http://www.restowagenuk.com/gallery/albums/album32/IMG_3275.jpg

[yellowbug]

Cool, they would look good, must keep my eyes peeled for them

Oh Luke, cheers for bringing that guy today, will def be putting ernie into have his rust sorted (if you see him again tell him i'll be in touch soon) :)

[1958 Harry]

Ernies looking very cool! The wheels and whitewalls are awesome!

I think I need to paint Harrys and remove the flaps!

[yellowbug]

my advice is simply take the wheels off so they are sat on a table or something so its easier to keep the 'circle' :D

[1958 Harry]

Cheers Ria, I'll tell Mark you'll be in touch :)

Yeah, I think I'll get Gem to do them, she has artistic skill I don't :lol:

[yellowbug]

tell her its easy enough provided you can use a paintbrush :lol:

[Duggy]

ssssssssmmmmmmmmmmoooooooooooooottttttttthhhhhh!!! :D

[MrYellowbug]

Better pics, hey where was this rain free weather on Sunday :lol:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/S8003565.jpg
(new wallpaper lol)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/S8003566.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/S8003562.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/S8003567.jpg

Makes the tyres look massive lol Needs much more slamming!!!!!!!

[MrYellowbug]

Loadsa fingerprints on that rear tyre! lol Ria I need another coat he he

[1958 Harry]

Lookin awesome! Those wheels look sooo much better!

He's gonna look fantastic once the bodyworks all done!

You need to change your Siggy pic now ;)

[dubkopfe_j]

/\/\/\/\ As above, change that sig :) /\/\/\/\

Looks lovely mate, better than it thought it would actually

Jonno

[MrYellowbug]

Yeah i know, might spend some time doing a new funky one or something

[Vickie]

Good old Ernest he looks so cool! I love him :)

Guys where is his roof rack? Is it going back on or are you selling it...?

[yellowbug]

going back on soonly, just took it off over winter as we didnt want it rusting :)

[Shamrockez]

Looking ace with those wheels on! :D Massive improvement!

[yellowbug]

ernies new carpet

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/c3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/c1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/c2.jpg

its the right colour woohoo

[sharkbait]

Looking fab! Always loved whitewalls, I was thinking of going the same route on mine. Used to have them on my 65..well....they were the fake insert things which are supposed to be bad for your tyres though we never seemed to have a problem.

[yellowbug]

ok then so we have spent the morning working on ernie fitting his lovely new carpet

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0171.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0166.jpg

think it looks very good
had a few bits that needed 'adjusting' to fit right but we figuired it all out eventually

most complicated bit was probably around the seat adjusters on the tunnel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0169.jpg

ended up making some slits to push the adjuster through and a couple more so they can still move

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0167.jpg

[yellowbug]

then we started to put everything back in

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0173.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0176.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0177.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0180.jpg

and finally fitted our shelf

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0187.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0188.jpg

all in all a good morning

just got to finish trimming the front seats and then we can pop them back in too
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0190.jpg

[yellowbug]

oh and luke........

think they may have been right about not painting new tyres straight away

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0181.jpg

the white walls have gone grey on the 2 new tyres.....bugger :lol:
will have to give them another couple of coats or something

[1958 Harry]

Ernie is looking AWESOME!!! :D

Shame about the whitewalls tho :(

Quick Q, where did you get the vinyl from to re-trim the rear seat kick panels? I've got some arriving for Harry and I want to re-trim them in red vinyl to match his interior :D

[Duggy]

looking very nice :cool:

[yellowbug]

i contacted the place we bought the interior trim set from and asked them if i could have a metre of the blue and of the cream to match the interior, the charged £10 each for it, and popped it in with the interior when they sent it


came from vietnam i think, harrington group, probably cost you a lot to get a bit shipped on its own, try your local fabric shops most places should have vinyl in red........actually i believe that hobby craft does some (Cribbs)

[1958 Harry]

i contacted the place we bought the interior trim set from and asked them if i could have a metre of the blue and of the cream to match the interior, the charged £10 each for it, and popped it in with the interior when they sent it


came from vietnam i think, harrington group, probably cost you a lot to get a bit shipped on its own, try your local fabric shops most places should have vinyl in red........actually i believe that hobby craft does some (Cribbs)

Yeah my interiors from TMI from the states so I doubt I'll be able to get any vinyl from them, I'll try HobbyCraft If I can't get it in the right red I might do them in cream to match the parcel shelf - cheers dude!

Also how do they actually fit, Harry being a '58 never had them fitted (It wasn't until '61 they fitted them) so I've no idea how they attach! :laughing:

Also looking at yours has reminded me I need to paint Harrys seat bases the right colour as they've been re-painted black for some reason!

[yellowbug]

do you have that metal bar that goes across the car under the rear seat base?

the kick panels kind of slot into that

the way we did it was loosen the bar a little then just slot the kick panels in and tighten the bar back down job done......if you have a look at the bar it will all start to make sense :D

[1958 Harry]

do you have that metal bar that goes across the car under the rear seat base?

the kick panels kind of slot into that

the way we did it was loosen the bar a little then just slot the kick panels in and tighten the bar back down job done......if you have a look at the bar it will all start to make sense :D

Yeah it has the bar (all be it the wrong colour :laughing: ) so hopefully they should fit easily :D

I need to buy some L471 Stone Beige paint on Weds, so the seat bases looks right for UD :D

[yellowbug]

our bar was black.........but now its panama beige :D

and we have painted the bits of the seats you can see in pb aswell :D

[amethystbelle]

Its looking really good and what a great taste you have in carpets and car interiors too as we have the same ;)

[yellowbug]

great minds think alike lol

[Shamrockez]

Look good my little yellow friends! :D

[Dub-Diva]

Looks awesome! :)

[yellowbug]

Look good my little yellow friends! :D

have you been drinking :lol: or sniffing glue (like i did all morning fitting the carpet.....it made me feel funny) :D

its all coming together now :D woo hoo :)

wanna take him out for a nice sunny drive now, show ernie some of the sights lol

[Shamrockez]

Actually Steve's been painting the lounge so I'm probably high on paint fumes :lol:

[Vickie]

Aw wow Ernie looks ace, he is really coming together. I love this bug!

[MrYellowbug]

Way Hay!!! My pics are back, photobucket sucks! Had to upgrade to the pro account otherwise i'll exceed my bandwidth all the time

Ah well unlimited now and it was only £4

Sweet!

[Shamrockez]

I just opened a new account when that happened to me :lol:

[MrYellowbug]

Could've done that but i'd of had to move all my pics wouldn't I?

Never mind, have unlimited downloads now so all is well :lol:

[Blugg]

oh and luke........

think they may have been right about not painting new tyres straight away

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0181.jpg

the white walls have gone grey on the 2 new tyres.....bugger :lol:
will have to give them another couple of coats or something


Had to double take after i read that to look where the white walls were :eek:
Can see what you mean now :) or should that be :(
Maybe wax them with paint wax after :confused: Maybe keep the mud and dirt off, but then you'd have shiny tyres :o

Have Fun though :ghug:

[Shamrockez]

Could've done that but i'd of had to move all my pics wouldn't I?

Never mind, have unlimited downloads now so all is well :lol:
I dunno - perhaps it's changed since I last changed mine. It wouldn't let me add anymore so I just made a new one :)

[MrYellowbug]

Ok time for an update

Changed my bumpers for blades which I prefer
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0413.jpg

Lowered the beam to it's lowest setting, still not low enough so i'll be shopping for dropped spindles at volksworld

And i've finally got round to fitting the popes nose, which required a custom plate to be made, the joys of a GRP decklid, most likely based on an american decklid or something

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0415.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0419.jpg

I think the back needs to come down more too

[Vickie]

Wow Ernie is looking ace!! Love the bumpers and the rear end looks better. Good job :)

[MrYellowbug]

Yeah wasn't liking the rear end arrangement at all very chavvy :lol:

[Shamrockez]

Oooh yes, looking so much better!

Much neater all round!

Get some dropped spindles on (beetleragtop on VZi does a good deal) and get that back end down a tad more for some nice negative camber ;)

[Special K]

Oooh yes, looking so much better!

Much neater all round!

Get some dropped spindles on (beetleragtop on VZi does a good deal) and get that back end down a tad more for some nice negative camber ;)


Looking very smart..

I'm thinking i might be contacting beetleragtop too..
(Do they cost much?)

The lower the better..

K

[1958 Harry]

Ernies looking awesome! He does need to be lower tho :D

[Vickie]

Ah see now I will stick my neck out here and say I think his height looks pretty friggin good!

I think lowering old dubs has had it's day - everyoonnnnee and their dog does it. Sometimes it looks ace and really suits the car, other times it's like they've just done it because that is the 'done' thing at the moment.

Leave him! High is the new low! :laughing:

[Shamrockez]

Looking very smart..

I'm thinking i might be contacting beetleragtop too..
(Do they cost much?)

The lower the better..

K
http://www.volkszone.com/VZi/showthread.php?t=425108&highlight=spindles

£145 :)


Dropped spindles make the geometery of the arms more like stock so you get a more stock ride but much lower. They give a 2.5in drop (think that's the same for K&L and BJ) without making the ride any harsher.

[yellowbug]

yeah we are planning on getting some off that guy......he is out of stock at the mo of the ones we need so gotta wait for a bit :D

[Shamrockez]

He gets them in quite often :)

[yellowbug]

ernies new bits from volksworld

shiney empi shifter.....now after a cream or wooden gear knob for it

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/volksworld%2008/RIMG0216.jpg

empi chrome handbrake...we do like the shiney

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/volksworld%2008/RIMG0215.jpg

chrome 'flared' tail pipes, look very cool on, a bit fatter :lol:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/volksworld%2008/RIMG0217.jpg

[1958 Harry]

I'm liking Ernies new bits :D

The flared tail pipes make it sound better too :D

[yellowbug]

yeah marc is definetly enjoying the sound :D

[yellowbug]

Marc and Jonno got around to doing the drop spindles today on ernie

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0239.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0240.jpg

sadly I think its gotta come back up a little bit, at the mo its on the drop spindles and on the lowest it goes on the beam, but its too low to actually drive :lol:

so i thought i would show it too you low, before it goes back up tomorow :D

[Shamrockez]

Put the back end down another notch and it will bring the front up a tad.. ;)

[yellowbug]

Ernies new eyes

all shiney shiney shiney

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0324.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0325.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0326.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0329.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/RIMG0330.jpg

[Shamrockez]

Very shiny! :D and *cough chrome bulbs *cough* ;)

[MrYellowbug]

Chrome bulbs you must be mad lol

New tyres one more lowering to come especially the back
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/S8000042.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/S8000040.jpg

[Dub-Diva]

Looking great! :D

[MrYellowbug]

More lowering
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/S8000046.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/S8000045.jpg

Found a rather large rusty hole in the bottom of the A pillar tho so I fear ernie may be rotten where we can't see!

[MrYellowbug]

It don't look good
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/poomunky45/beetle/S8000047.jpg

[yellowbug]

argh :( :( :( :( :( :( :(

poor ernie

[Dub-Diva]

Nah, don't worry too much... you can get that mended... you'll need a someone to weld in a replacement section... poor Ernie tho :(

Love the stance of him now :D

[MrYellowbug]

Found a silver lining Hookys panel shop sell a replacement a pillar bottom for £29 so it may not be all bad hope the channels are ok to weld to tho

Fingers crossed

[sharkbait]

Blimey that IS bad! What's holding it up? lol
Nah, seriously I've seen worse and I've only owned one bug that hasn't needed at least a little bit of welding there. Does make you wonder why the MOT man didn't spot it though?

[yellowbug]

yeah i get the feeling that the last mot man, wasnt exactly looking

I just hope it wont be a nightmare to get through an mot when we take it to somewhere that actually tests it lol

[MrYellowbug]

Says in the service history that the last MOT centre it went to was "Ray and Stevies MOT and Service centre"

Should I be worried :lol:

[sharkbait]

Don't be afraid to give it the screwdriver prod test all over places like the bottom of the door pillars and rear suspension mounts, jacking points etc etc
Done that many times and heard the dreaded 'crunch' sound shortly before getting showered with rust in my eyes. Not fun, but then at least you'll know how bad it is/isn't. Anyway, to be honest some stuff that looks terrible really isnt' that much of a hassle/expense to fix.
PS: top tip: when you do the underside, wear some goggles just in case, you don't want to do what I did!

[Shamrockez]

PS: top tip: when you do the underside, wear some goggles just in case, you don't want to do what I did!

Ditto with painting it - getting hammerite in your eyes isn't fun either :o

[Shamrockez]

i wouldn't be too worried guys - even Bella had rust there! Years of having 70s bonnet stuts on an early bonnet = doesn't shut = rain gets down there = rust!

Expect to find all sorts of crap down there!

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a309/Shamrockez7/Bella2/P1010073we.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a309/Shamrockez7/Bella2/PIC_0043we.jpg

i just wacked some plates in there... looks crap tho - wish I'd got some hookey's panels now!

[1958 Harry]

Awww poor Ernie :( Have you removed the running boards yet? You gonna weld it yourself or get someone to do it?

Strangely Harry is 100% original and solid both sides there, no rot whatsoever, the only bad bits on him were the rear quarter panels :D