VW Beetle wanted

Donal94

Hi I was just wondering if anyone has any ideas where I'd get a cheap VW beetle, I'm hoping to build a beach buggy. Thanks Donal

S.I.R

i know yard up along the grand cannal with a few rusty bugs in it... , ill go up later and give your number in if you pm me it ?

Vivienne23

Hi donal there is a fella down in cork that had a perfect chassis for a beetle he was building a roadster out of it , he wanted to sell it it would be a perfect starting point for building a buggy of some sort at least you would have a good chassis and throw whatever body ya want on it then dunno if he still has it but definitely worth a try i reckon.

http://www.ikcc.ie/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3376&sid=2ab16980d8070316b25b8aa018390318

I bought the yellow one off this fella. Nice guy too

Viv.

Donal94

thanks for the reply I'll get in touch with him. I was kinda hoping to get a car that I could salvage the chassis and the engine though

Vivienne23

Beetle engines are ten a penny you would have no problem gettin one the chassis on that is perfect now top class work.if your gonna build a buggy ya might as well put in a bit of money time and effort into it you will probably only do it the once and it would be worth a few bob then as well when you are finished. Just my tuppence ... anyway Enjoy building

Vivienne23

Hi Donal turns out the rolling chassis is gone sorry for gettin your hopes up !!

Donal94

Not to worry V, I'll keep looking. I wouldn't mind buying a complete beetle, I was looking forward to stripping it down!

Donal94

Anyone else have any ideas?

trevorbrady

I have a complete 1974 beetle chassis stripped of the body. It'll save you the hassle of dismantling, storing and disposing of a rotten beetle body. I can supply the steering column and brake fluid reservoir with it which you'll need for the buggy.
I also have a complete 1200 beetle engine or a partially stripped 1600.

PM me if you're interested. I have loads of beetle spares too if anyone is looking for anything in particular...

Halfdog

Early beetles are best for buggies, I wouldnt touch a 1070ies one, most of these came from Mexico and will fall apart as soon as they go off road, The chassis in the early ones are made of stronger steel. I might know where there is an early 60ies model that has been lying up for some time, my ma used to drive it about years ago, its a horrible grey/brown colour.

trevorbrady

Halfdog wrote: »

Early beetles are best for buggies, I wouldnt touch a 1970ies one, most of these came from Mexico and will fall apart as soon as they go off road

untrue.
Most of the '70s beetles in Ireland were Irish built, from German manufactured CKD kits. You will come across the odd German built '70s beetle in Ireland but we didn't feel the effect of the Mexican beetles til the '80s and by then the arse had fallen out of the market for beetles. When was the last time you saw an Irish reg (not ZV) '80s bug? They were superceded by the technologically superior watercooled VWs.

The chassis's of earlier beetles weren't stronger than the '70s ones, the only thing they have going for them in terms of off-roading is the king & link pin front axle which allows greater front suspension travel before anything binds up as opposed to the balljoint front axle of the post '65 bugs. Anyway, if you're building your buggy for anything short of the Camel Trophy, this is academic because you're unlikely to meet the limits of the suspension in on-road or even mild off-road driving.

Bear in mind though that in our climate, any '60s beetles still alive (or dead) potentially have 10 years more rust in them than '70s bugs.

oh, and please please don't cut up a '60s bug for a buggy if it's any way salvageable, let someone have a crack at restoring it. Use a more plentiful and less desireable '70s bug.

cantdecide

http://www.magazineclassifieds.co.uk/search/volksworld/details/109576/Rolling_chassis.php?PHPSESSID=1206414974826c41067605b12971b9f2

Probably not what you're looking for but I thought I'd post it up anyway.

+1 on the leaving early beetles alone topic.

Donal94

thanks, Looks great, I'd say its a bit out of my price range though,!

carchaeologist

trevorbrady wrote: »

oh, and please please don't cut up a '60s bug for a buggy if it's any way salvageable, let someone have a crack at restoring it. Use a more plentiful and less desireable '70s bug.

Yes, theres lots of floorpans out there that have already had their rusty bodys removed,.
How much would the pan have to be shortened to take the fibreglass buggy body?

Donal94

It needs to be shortened by about 12 inches depending on the body I decide on.

deckie27

How much you wanting to spend?

Donal94

a ew hundred euro, you have something in mind?