[ratracer]

kadman makes it sound even easier to do than wheeler dealers!

I envy your training and skills, the most I can do is look in at these projects in admiration. I really love seeing any vehicle being restored, preserved and used as it was intended in the first place.

[jmreire]

Originally Posted by kadman

Thanks, but I am well familiar with the VW aircooled variety, and have worked on all of them many, many years

But it would be interesting to know folks opinions on which routes they would take on the journey.

My own current plans are to get the mechanics and engine going, then the body.

Which entails door,wings,front boot, and rear hatch removal. Strip down these parts and make any necessary repairs ready for paint.

Then to make any repairs to the body shell with these parts off.

Maybe pass on all the parts to a neighbour crash repair chap with a modern spray booth. As he only has to spray parts, it should be a cheaper option than a full car respray.I have already spoken to him, and he has offered me spraybooth time., for myself.

Then when its driving, move the shell to the booth, just to respray the roof.

Bring home re assemble, job done

Sound's like a plan........

[kadman]

Originally Posted by John Hutton

Record the attempt to start it please!

Thats the plan,

[saabsaab]

When you get the plugs out you could squirt a little 2 stroke down the bores?

[kadman]

Originally Posted by ratracer

kadman makes it sound even easier to do than wheeler dealers!

I envy your training and skills, the most I can do is look in at these projects in admiration. I really love seeing any vehicle being restored, preserved and used as it was intended in the first place.

The only training I had was an interest in all things mechanical, well nurtured by my dad. he was my teacher, old school.

Its really a process of eliminating all the components one by one, after you have established each component works as it should. If it doesn't, its a possible issue,

Fix it and move on to the next.

[kadman]

Originally Posted by John Hutton

Record the attempt to start it please!

Just like my last one,

[kadman]

Picture showing the dynamo pulley cover.



Notice the sticker with the recommended tappet setting of 4 thou.
This was the initial setting for all valve tappets on all VW engines between services.

Problem was that the VW engine performed so well , even when it was not serviced at the regular periods.

That it went for longer periods without setting, that VW increased the valve tappet settings to 6 thou
to accomodate lazy service owners

Properly serviced classic VW engines with valve settings of 4 thou are a sweeter running engine.

[Markcheese]

Originally Posted by kadman

From driving along the beach on the southern coast of the emerald isle.
Its from having fun and enjoying the car

Amazed all the salt in the sand didn't rot out the body ...

[jmreire]

The most common rust area of the Beetle was underneath the battery, but they could and did rust in other areas too. But the centre frame, on which everything depended, was made of a very heavy gauge metal, and aside from surface rust, I've never seen one rust through.

[kadman]

Well amazingly there is no rust all anywhere on the floorpan, and the battery tray
is spotless.

There is no similarity at all between the beetle Type1 and the Type3 floorpan.
As you correctly point out the beetle has a central spine down the length of the car,
and two floorpans, one either side of the spine, placed in from above.

The type 3 floorpan differs in the construction. It has a central spine, but a single full size pan
attached to the central spine, from below.

So that if you look under a type 3 floor, you cannot see the central spine. If you
can the floors have been replaced.

[jmreire]

Originally Posted by kadman

Well amazingly there is no rust all anywhere on the floorpan, and the battery tray
is spotless.

There is no similarity at all between the beetle Type1 and the Type3 floorpan.
As you correctly point out the beetle has a central spine down the length of the car,
and two floorpans, one either side of the spine, placed in from above.

The type 3 floorpan differs in the construction. It has a central spine, but a single full size pan
attached to the central spine, from below.

So that if you look under a type 3 floor, you cannot see the central spine. If you
can the floors have been replaced.

Yes, the Beetle and the Variant were two different vehicles though, so different construction. But they shared a lot of design features...torsion bar suspension, and "Y" ( loosely described ) shaped Chassis either end of the centre spine, Fantastic car, and very popular with commercial travellers, and Vet's. We serviced quite a lot of them, and even had one Karmann Ghia customer

[kadman]

True for the suspension, but type 3 had torsion bar suspension all around,
using round torsion bars on front beam and rear axle.
Where as beetle torsion bar suspension on the front was actually made up of seperate leaves
in the tube of the front beam, and round torsion bars on the rear.

The variant was initially a hard sell for Volkswagen, according to the leading salesperson for vw back in the day.

Main dealers had to be encouraged to drive the variant as a dealer car. Thats why many variants were owned
and run by VW leasing company, as this one was

[kadman]

Here is the full pressed steel floor of the type 3.
And as you can see the central spine is not visible as the floor pan is a single complete pressed panel.
here is one i prepared earlier,

[carchaeologist]

Excellent thread here Kadman, it looks a very solid and worthwhile car. Will certainly enjoy the progress reports.

[jmreire]

Originally Posted by kadman

True for the suspension, but type 3 had torsion bar suspension all around,
using round torsion bars on front beam and rear axle.
Where as beetle torsion bar suspension on the front was actually made up of seperate leaves
in the tube of the front beam, and round torsion bars on the rear.

The variant was initially a hard sell for Volkswagen, according to the leading salesperson for vw back in the day.

Main dealers had to be encouraged to drive the variant as a dealer car. Thats why many variants were owned
and run by VW leasing company, as this one was

Yes the front ones were flat strip's but held together in a "shape" for want of a better description, but you know what I mean. I well remember using masking tape to help them keep their "Shape" before inserting them into the axle beam.Rears as you say, were round splined bars, not the kind of suspension that was very popular at the time...Morris Minor's had it as well for the front suspension. Again round bar's with splined end's running along the chassis rails. Same system basically, but most cars of that era were using coil spring suspension. With most of our customers ( Farmer's mainly ) the Beetle was first choice, then came the commercial salesmen and Vet's. But they were a really good car IMHO, be nice to see yours when its finished.