The Up-Fixing a '65 VW thread

[wdfifteen]

I've been fixing up my 1965 VW Bug and I thought I would post the project's progress here as I go along. I'm hoping it will help with motivation, as I've been a real slacker on this project so far.

In 2019 I bought a 1965 VW bug with the idea of fixing it up mechanically and driving it as a beater. Over the course of a couple of years the torn up interior and crappy paint began to get to me. I really, really hate fake patina, but it turns out I’m not real fond of the real thing either. I decided it needed a repaint and new interior, plus tidying up the ugly-ass engine.
I started work on the remake in August of 2021 but the first event of a relentless string of life challenges hit me almost immediately. After being rocked with one hit after another I lost the will to do much of anything. So the car sat.
This summer Vicki told me I needed to get busy do something or I was going to die on the vine, so I started back into the VW project.

When I first got the car in 2019 it had been the victim of a dedicated follower of fashion who did his best to make this car look like all the other pimped-out “California look” VW bugs. It was lowered front and rear and had a matte white paint job and skinny 145 tires. Fortunately he ran out of money before he completely destroyed it.
As soon as I got the car I rebuilt the suspension, put on decent wheels and new tires, and began sorting the engine out. I had the car running and handling pretty good by August of 2021, when I started taking it apart.



The moron PO tried to give the poor car the "California look" that I guess is how all VWs look in California. It looks like crap.



A suspension rebuild and getting the car raised up to the normal stance was first on the list. The guy had wrecked the torsion bars, but fortunately I had a set I took out of a '65 Porsche SC years ago. They aren't identical, but they work.



The right stance and a set of wheels and tires and it wasn't looking too bad from 30 feet away.



The interior was in tatters, but I thought I could live with it in an old VW beater. I couldn't.



The engine is out of a '67 and I have the build sheet from when it was rebuilt about 10,000 miles ago. From the parts list it should be a good motor internally, but it had a mess of "upgrades" and mismatched parts that were efforts by the PO to make it go fast. It looked like hell and ran like crap. It looked even worse when I first got the car. I took this picture after I installed a proper carb and distributor and repainted the air filter.



The VW "triangle of death." VWs are bullet proof if you don't modify them. If you DO decide to modify one, you need to do it right. The carburetor, fuel pump, and distributor have to be matched to each other to work together properly. This thing had a Brazilian-made aftermarket carb for an automatic stick shift car and a fuel pump and knockoff .009 distributor that were made in China. Plus, there is a plastic fuel filter in the engine bay.

[herr_oberst]

It's kind of cool that it has a alternator, so I assume all the 12v upgrades have been completed?

Good luck with the project; post often for motivation.

edit/alternator, not generator

[masraum]

Very cool. It's a bit of a shame that I didn't go through a bug stage when I was a youngster. My dad had a couple and rolled at least one of them. I'm guessing that may have been part of the reason he didn't go that route with me.

I've thought about getting one as a beater and to tinker on, but I don't need another time suck, and it's too darn hot around here for a car with no AC.

Keep the posts coming so I can live vicariously through you.

[Scott Douglas]

I never went thru a VW stage either. I found a really low mileage BMW 1600 when looking for a bug to buy way back when. It took me a lot of places I doubt I would have been willing to drive to in a bug.
That looks like an alternator in that one picture.

I agree with Steve, keep posting so I can live vicariously too. I try to get my brother to take pics so I can live thru his car adventures but he's a little lax when it comes to taking pics. I think he feels he's too busy to bother with taking them.

[Tim Hancock]

Had a couple in highschool in the early 80's.... It would be fun to take one for a spin again for nostalgia purposes, but I have too many other projects that I will likely never get to. I dont think my old '72 superbeetle would even do 80 IIRC. I had an old propane equipment heater in the back seat for winter driving as the heat exchangers were completely rusted off.... Bought that as my first car for $50. I could have the engine out all by myself in my parents garage in 15 minutes flat.

[911 Rod]

Looking good so far!

[porsche tech]

My first car…’58 beetle with fabric sunroof. $75 for the car with no motor and $25 to another guy for a motor that didn’t run. $7.95 for a book on VWs. Parents didn’t have a garage so I put the motor on an upside down trash can next to the back porch stairs. Rebuilt the motor and had my first set of wheels. I’ve probably had 20 or so over the years, including a Ghia, a notch back and at least 2 ovals. I have rebuilt many VW motors and you could get everything you needed (gasket set, push rod tubes, pistons and cylinders, etc.) back in the day for about $100. I’d love to have another oval with fabric sunroof, but like others have said…I need A/C and I don’t relish the idea of rolling around on the garage floor. I’m interested to see your progress and looking forward to it!

One of my ovals years ago that was “in the process”. At one point I put a 912 motor in this one. Now days old rusted out hulls bring big money!

[Seahawk]

I love it.

I owned three, two bugs and a bus. Rebuilt the motors in all three.

At one time in California both my sisters and I had bugs.

Last air cooled model we owned was a Ghia.

Enjoy.

[GH85Carrera]

My first car ever was a 1960 Bug. 36 HP of sheer power. 0 to 60 of 72 seconds, only if there was no headwind, and it was dead flat ground. If there was a headwind or a slight uphill, 0 to 60 was infinite, as impossible as 100. A loaded 18 wheel semi was too fast to outrun from a dead stop.

Dad gave me a interest free loan, but I had to pay 100% of all costs except insurance. I put a set of 4 recap tires on it, mounted and balanced out the door was 25 bucks. Not per tire, for all 4. And they swapped the spare with the best of the old tires.

I paid dad off in 6 months, and drove it until 1973 and I bought a brand new 1973 Super Bug $2,750. It was like a rocket with 60 HP. It could indeed hit 90 wound out going downhill.




I paid that off in 12 months, and ordered my 1974 914 2.0. With a 0-60 of 10 seconds I thought I had a fast car!

My brother's daily driver for the last 40 years is a 1954 Bug. Typical upgrades of 60 HP engine, and 4 wheel disk brakes, but not much else.

[Rot 911]

I just sold my VW Type III fastback a few months ago. However, if I saw the right wagon come along I could certainly be tempted to buy it.

[jamesnmlaw]

I've been following this VW build. My wife makes me feel dirty when I watch. I like to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O957frlDx-4

[gregpark]

Nice bug!
I thought this might be a good spot to post a pic of this toy bus I recently rescued from a pile of stuff slated for the dump at a house I worked on a few months ago. It's old, like from the 60's? Not one mark of origin on it. 12" long, 6" tall, 5"wide. It's heavy, 5 or 6 lbs. All steel, spot welded together and very well built. It reminds me of the early all steel Tonka trucks but even beefier. No way could you dent it anywhere with your hands only. My first thought was Japanese but I don't think so, the body metal is heavier gauge than those old metal toys. Heavier gauge than a real bus! Anyone know where it might have come from?

[Bill Douglas]

Good what you are doing with the V-dub WD.

Yep, time for VW pictures

This is my 1600 I had in South Africa. Note the five stud wheels. I've had three VW's, well, four if you include the 911SC.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by gregpark

My first impression is folk art, especially with the lack of markings. Lots of drug smokin' hippies had those vans; who's to say some drug smokin' hippie wasn't also a tool and die maker and had access to the materials and tools to create something like this during a blast of creativity.

Great find. If you're just going to throw it away, I'll take it off your hands.

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Yep, time for VW pictures

OK, here's my '63 ragtop...



All original paint inside...original door panels too


Newer 1600cc motor makes it a bit more driveable in modern traffic, and 12V electrics provide decent lighting.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by rcooled

OK, here's my '63 ragtop...

What? No dents in the fenders. That can't be a VW LOL

[porsche tech]

Get busy WD!

[jhynesrockmtn]

Looks great! My first car was a 63 Bug and I raced vintage FV for several years. I get the project creep. I bought a 1970 914 two years ago that had been sitting forever. What started as a "just get it running" project has snowballed into refreshing brakes, new fuel system, engine out last winter to address leaks, new 123ignition distributor, speedo sent out to fix odo, a bunch of other stuff. Just got the engine/trans back in and took it on a 30 miles shakedown yesterday. Next project is addressing the interior bits showing their age. I'll stop at the paint. It's a good 10 footer and will stay that way because I want to daily drive it spring/summer.

[Tobra]

It looks a little high in the front to me Patrick

[wdfifteen]

Part 2:

Taking the car apart is like an archaeological dig, I'm finding clues and putting together pieces of the car's past. One cool thing about this car is that it came with a pile of receipts from past owners. From the records I have put together a rough timeline of its life.

1965 – Purchased new from Everly Motors in Salem, Oregon
July 1967 – purchased used from Everly Motors for $1295
July 1967 to Summer of 1988, owned by the same person, given regular service except for September 1977 – at 80,xxx miles, replace a broken piston with a used one (talk about a cheapskate)
1988 – New Owner, 1106xx miles on the odo, $850
Sept 1990 – new owner $1500
July 2003 – rebuilt 1967 1500 engine with 85.5 mm pistons (makes it a 1600) installed at somewhere between 110600 and 116587 miles on the ODO
January 2012 the car is in Cincinnati with new owner 116587 on ODO
July 2012 – New owner
September 2012 – New owner in Brookville, Ohio. 120302 on ODO
April 2013 – new brake system – complete
January 2019 – purchased by me from Brookville owner $5000



At some point the rear window had leaked, probably for months, and the rear package shelf rusted out. It was replaced with some flat steel sheet, don't know when. It's all be covered up so I'm not worrying about the crappy weld job.




This sticker was inside the glove compartment door, obviously placed there by the selling dealer. I ask the painter to try to preserve it but the masking tape pulled it off when he unmasked it. I'm going to try to have a vinyl stick-on copy of it made.



This sticker is on one of the rear quarter windows. I don't know what "Huckberry" is, but I like it so I'm going to keep it.
EDIT: OK I googled it. Huckberry is a clothing company. Cool logo though.



As I was taking the bumpers off this spare key holder fell out on the floor. It had been clipped onto a bumper bracket. It was such a glopped-up mess of rust and mud that I didn't recognize it at first.



I threw it in the blasting cabinet and hit it with some glass bead, hoped it was an original VW key, but it's a steel repro so - useless.