new guy here

[Fahrbomb]

Hi everyone,

Figured i'd post an into thread. About 3 years or go I decided to begin searching for a bug to wrench on/restore with my father and my son. I'm not new to VW's but am new to old air cooled. My father owned a beetle when he was younger and i've always like them. I thought it would be a great way for the three of us to spend time together and create memories while doing something we all enjoy. I read a lot and found out that a rust free car in the northeast is not easy to come by. Ship a dry car in from the west everyone kept telling me. Yea but buy a car I can't see? not for me. Probably should have though!!

About a year ago i found one locally, thought all my ducks were in a row and went for it. Due to my own lack of knowledge and experience, well, I bought a real heap of shit!! The car appeared solid but little did i know there was rust lurking, yea the more i look, the more I uncovered. Luggage tray is rusty with a few holes, more rust near the base of the tray by the wheel wells, one half of a pan appears to have a hole. I guess i know why the seller had the carpet bolted down in spots. So i'm a dumbass. But I have a car i still love and look forward to trying to turn around and pass on to my son one day.

As for now, it starts, stops and turns. My father is no longer able to help with the car so unfortunately i'm a bit on my own in terms of the restoration process and getting knowledge from something other than a book or website. I'm not scared of spending a little money to have it done right and have no issues spacing things out over time. So here i am, another new guy in way over his head....Huntington area...I can get pics of car up later. Looking forward to talking with you all.

-Brian

[Glenn]

Post some pics and we can give advice. Trust me, as bad as you might think it is, we've seen worse.

Welcome

[ObnoxiousBlue]

Hey Brian! Glad you made it over. You'll get much better advice here than from the hacks over on Vortex.
Like Glenn said, post up some pics and lets finally see what you're working with!

[Tom]

Welcome to the Gruppe !

Take your time with the restore and enjoy the journey.

[Fahrbomb]

Thanks for the welcome all!
Here are some crappy pics i happen to have on my phone.

Edit: got a few pics of the luggage area and one of the car from the outside. Better pics later.

[AoT]

Hi,

Nice to see a new addition to the gruppe! I have a '74 white beetle and a '71 white bus. You can see the efforts I have put into the bug under AoT's White Wonder. I started with very little experience and have managed to accomplish quite a bit with friends from the DVG. I hope you have the same results.

There is a lot of ACVW experience in these threads so hope you find it helpful!!



Audrey

[Raj]

Welcome!
The car doesnt look too bad. Whats the plan with it? Just a presentable driver or full out resto?

[Fahrbomb]

Hi Raj,
i got some more photos but I was having trouble uploading. I am going to put them on flickr and then post here as soon as I can. There is more mess to show!

As for the car I want it to be a driver. I'm no purist and certainly don't want a garage queen/show car. If i can get it to be a solid body car that runs good, no rust, no leaks, i'll be more than pleased.

[Raj]

Looking fwd to the pics.

Dealing with rust on a vw can be like opening a cam of worms. The more you dig... the more you find. Its really not that bad to just drive the freaking thing ' as is' Some people cant sleep at night bc they have rust or a scratch in the paint... others ' roll it as is'. Some just like to break shit to fix it.... or in this case, cut it the rust and weld her up.

Down side of this is usually people take the car apart to fix it and then it sits.... for years. Been there... done that.

Do you have a welder?

My suggestion is to only fix what is critical depending on who you are carrying in the car.

[Fahrbomb]

Over the last year i've come to learn all about exactly what you said. Problems will come the more you get into the car. Especially the rust!

The little issues won't bother me so i'm right there with you to fix only what is critical. I just need to know the car is structurally sound and safe. If the rust doesn't effect any of that and won't advance further, it wouldn't bother me. I'm afraid though that the rust in my case will require new metal.

As for the taking the body off the pan to repair and it sitting, i know there is a possibility that if i need to go that route, there's a good chance it may never see the road again. I've read all the stories about forgotten projects and have friends with cars that now have boxes on top of them in garages collecting dust never to be worked on again.

As for the welder, no i do not have one. Initially my thought was that this would allow for me to have a great learning experience to dig into things and figure it out myself as i've wanted to for the last decade. I researched, read every damn thread at Samba, looked for local welding courses, watched bugme videos and considered purchasing a entry level lincoln. It's intimidating though because in the back of my mind I think, what if I screw this up? then i'm out all the money and time i've put in, and would still have to pay someone to fix it! The going at it all on my own with nobody to instruct other than online or video sources makes me hesitant

I'm not afraid to pay a shop to have it done right if I have to. I know that what i spend I will never get back in terms of the cars value. But for me this car isn't about profit or worth, just about spending time with my kid and hopefully one day him taking the car over as his and having those memories to look back on.

[Raj]

This is my general outlook on a VW's. ( my house too). If something is broke.... I can pay some one big bank to fix it, or try it myself. 98% of the time ... I can fix it. 1% of the time... I cant fix it and may need to get someone to fix it if it needs to be fixed. The other 1%.... I f'ed it up more then it was. ( this hasnt happened yet.... thank god).

The bug being safe.....thats all in one's perspective. Yes, the rust will weaken the integrity of the car, but even a bone stock all new 60s' -70' s bug wont fare too well against a 6k lbs SUV driven by a Starbucks drinking, facebook updating, soccer mom ( no offense to those of you reading that fall into this category)
If the channels are rotted in a bug, I usually pass on it, unless is a org paint, vert, sunroof, small window car. Pans are easy, and you shouldnt be afraid of doing them. The rear shelf.... ehh.... depends how bad it is.

I like the idea of you getting a welding. Cutting stuff up and welding it back is kinda fun.

[Fahrbomb]

image by Nybonsai

image by Nybonsai

image by Nybonsai

[Brown]

Hey welcome to the site/club!

If you are looking to replace that package tray I have one that is taking up lots of space In my garage that I would let go at a reasonable price! Let me know if interested!

[Fahrbomb]

Hey welcome to the site/club!

If you are looking to replace that package tray I have one that is taking up lots of space In my garage that I would let go at a reasonable price! Let me know if interested!

I know those are expensive to ship too! Where did you get yours?
It's a big job to replace the whole thing. Mines pretty crusty though.

[Brown]

Hey welcome to the site/club!

If you are looking to replace that package tray I have one that is taking up lots of space In my garage that I would let go at a reasonable price! Let me know if interested!

I know those are expensive to ship too! Where did you get yours?
It's a big job to replace the whole thing. Mines pretty crusty though.

I had a yellow bug i cut up and took it out of there. I live in Baldwin so shipping is not an issue, in fact if you go to the meeting on Wednesday i can bring it with me and you can check it out!

[Fahrbomb]

Hey welcome to the site/club!

If you are looking to replace that package tray I have one that is taking up lots of space In my garage that I would let go at a reasonable price! Let me know if interested!

I know those are expensive to ship too! Where did you get yours?
It's a big job to replace the whole thing. Mines pretty crusty though.

I had a yellow bug i cut up and took it out of there. I live in Baldwin so shipping is not an issue, in fact if you go to the meeting on Wednesday i can bring it with me and you can check it out!

OG metal is always good. You know how to weld? If so, where did you learn?

That is part of what makes me so hesitant to cut things up and try and replace myself. I have never welded so it's a whirlwind of confusion when reading about gases, wire gauges, the different kinds of welds etc... It just seems it's hard to find a place to learn it all that isn't a career center. I can't possibly be the only person out there who wants to learn this at a leisurely pace...

[Brown]

I did some very basic stick welding in high school and then many years later did some more arc welding at my parents upstate. When I got involved with VW's I purchased a Lincoln Mig welder andracticed some on prices of metal then I just jumped in and started making some repairs.

Start with some areas that can't be seen and get some practice there. Also I'm sure we could get some people together for a welding tech session! I little guidance to get you started is all you need.

Boces has some welding classes but they tend to be kind of pricey!

[Tom]

I did some very basic stick welding in high school and then many years later did some more arc welding at my parents upstate. When I got involved with VW's I purchased a Lincoln Mig welder andracticed some on prices of metal then I just jumped in and started making some repairs.

Start with some areas that can't be seen and get some practice there. Also I'm sure we could get some people together for a welding tech session! I little guidance to get you started is all you need.

Boces has some welding classes but they tend to be kind of pricey!

I have a welder but most of my welds look pretty crappy, I would attend said tech session if we have one.

[ObnoxiousBlue]

If Ken is teaching, I'm in!

[Brown]

Sounds like we have something going here. Lets find a date that works and i can have it at my garage!!

[Glenn]

I have a old Dell desktop if you need it

[Fahrbomb]

I like where this is headed!!!

I won't be able to attend the meeting tonight to meet you all in person, but can hopefully make the next one.

[Markus]

welding tech session? I'm in.

[Brown]

I have a old Dell desktop if you need it

Always with the dig! I'll have you know I've moved on to old refrigerators!

[Big_kid]

Older dishwashers had removable sheet metal panels in front to make color changes easy. That's where I went when I needed to make baffles for behind the refrigerator in my old popup camper.