Hi, I started a thread on another forum but thought I'd add my buggy here too - as you're all buggy enthusiasts.
I'd been hankering for a fun self indulgent project that was retro, iconic and topless - And could be towed behind the T4 campervan.
I figured a beach buggy ticked all those boxes and more. Plus it's an air-cooled VW with no heating for our chilly British climate but roofless for those lovely summer days...
It's currently yellow with an attempt at a WWII bomber mascot emblazoned on the bonnet and hips. But underneath there's evidence it started life orange.
The tale begins as many do with an eBay listing that's near enough to take the missus to as well...
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/68d662e31f92.jpg)
Thankfully my wife is pretty understanding when it comes to the number of cars in my quiver! And it's a beach buggy! Who wouldn't want such a fine example of mindless simplicity and unadulterated fun?! Thank you Mr Meyer.
So I headed over to the seller to check the buggy over. He had it for about a year but it'd never left the trailer. Not even fired it up, so it was no surprise then that we couldn't figure out how to get it started. Once we got power to the coil the 1600 burst into life!
Long story short - a deal was struck and it arrived on my driveway that evening!
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/7d0c39e5f0b3.jpg)
I took it for a short drive around the neighbourhood, the magnificent exhaust announcing to my neighbours that it had in fact arrived to disturb their tea time.
Now it sits waiting for me to begin the inevitable process of making it mine...
For fun I made a video: https://youtu.be/peOkc888doY (https://youtu.be/peOkc888doY)
Happy days.
;-)up
A drivable project and a nice easy tow behind the camper van. Plenty of info on here buggy and towing wise. enjoy your buy.
Great intro video and your smile will only get BIGGER looks good. :D
Hope you keep showing us your developments. ;-)up
Cheers H
It`s a hi from me ;-)up
Excellent light touch video showing you know that essentially its a good un and just needs fettling up to sort where the weather and time have degraded seals etc.
It's given me a solution for if a gear shaft needs a new knob - I've already got some insulation tape !
Let us know if you keep it essentially rough and functional or go for a significant face lift with shiney bits.
Thank you guys! ;-)(-; I appreciate you taking time to drop in and add feedback.
It's not going to become a show buggy like some of the beauties on here, I like the way you put it "essentially rough". It's got 58 years of history - I think I'd like to hold onto at least some of it while I add my chapter. How I don't know yet...I've got a fair bit to do in the mean time.
Well you have posh wet gear so it's an all year bit of fun.
Yes that's true Hugh. I may need one of those heaters from CBS!
Once I had a chance to start going over the buggy, I began identifying what I want to change, what needs sorting and dreaming a bit.
I don't know anything really about these flat four air-cooled engines so I'm looking forward to learning. What I do know is this thing sounds fab when it fires up!
I've got a massive history file and back in 2000, only about 2000 miles ago, this bug got a rebuilt 1600 motor with twin 36 Weber's and some other smart bits.
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/89bee4f0959b.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/d2aec09e96e2.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/b50822efbd01.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/37ce5060fbdc.jpg)
It starts on the turn of the key and idles smoothly with a raspy rumble through those trumpets. I figure I'll leave it well alone for now but start tidying bits up.
There's a good few other things that need sorting out first like the gear shift which I managed to 'break' leaving it stuck in gear. Turns out the coupler on the shaft came undone while I was trying to man-handle it into reverse - So that was my fix mechanical fix.
:D
Connect the breather oulet next to the oil filler cap to the air filter intake. 20mm id hose at breather end. At air filter diameter may reduce and you may have one without connection. This is quite important to maintain crankcase ideal conditions.
Hi @Paul1953, thanks for pointing that out. My filters don't seem to have a place to connect a hose to. Can I use a crank case filter on the outlet - I've seen that done on other beetle motors?
After lockdown ended and we shot off to France, Spain and Portugal in the campervan without the buggy. Now the weather is getting pants and the cold makes me lazy but I'm getting stuck into fixes.
Firstly I needed to get that awful looking snarking bumble Bee off the bonnet so I could feel like I was accomplishing something on this 58 year old.
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/bb6f56da0547.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/7551ec26b305.jpg)
There was a good idea at the start but the execution was just, well how can I say politely, not my cup of tea. If the face had been more pleasant and not something that reminds you of a snarling mother-in-law then this graphic could've worked for me. Remember the Hornet on the Jordan's F1 cars? Those were very cool. No I don't think I'm going to do that!
Anyway pictures tell the story...
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/40f08a783970.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/dd2e06829e41.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/b6068c0bef2d.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/eb478985d48d.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/0621b8586e34.jpg)
With buxom bumble bee gone from the bonnet it was time to try polish out that colour fade.
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/00d7a4e7725a.jpg)
Out came the cutting paste and polisher.
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/30ec551663f5.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/15585bac47ca.jpg)
Off for another drive!
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/d9dac49ad210.jpg)
Then I removed all the fake carbon vinyl sticker from the sides as well and made another video cos some people liked watching the first one: https://youtu.be/ZxJTBZhHUOI (https://youtu.be/ZxJTBZhHUOI)
Happy days!
Yes that wasp was pig ugly.
Looks sooo much better already.
I thought the wasp would have looked better without the Dracula fangs, but the Buggy looks so much better without it ;)
Hi just like to add looks much better without the wasp. 👍 Deb
Definitely agree, looks so much better now - and what a great colour!
:)
Yes the colour is real class.
That was one freaky bee and better removed
Hi @Paul1953, thanks for pointing that out. My filters don't seem to have a place to connect a hose to. Can I use a crank case filter on the outlet - I've seen that done on other beetle motors?
Hi Delux. Sorry for the delayed response......
There are many buggies & beetles out there running with crankcase breater filters fitted and no connection to air filter......
Here is the theory as VW saw it...... Briefly..... Crankcase develops positive pressure as a result of what is going on with the mechanicals. (Those with well worn cylinder bores have high plus pressure and you will see the blue smoke from the exhaust).
Now then the bit that has baffled others that have spoken to me is how can air get into the crankcase and oil not get out ?
Air is drawn in by design via the action of the scroll. Thrower ring stops oil going back out. (No seal required). The crancase breather is present to draw away and maintain pressure and return oil mist\fume back to cylinders to be burn via the air filter. Under normal conditions you are just talking very small amounts of oil within the air.
Some years of beetle engines had twin connection at the oil filler point. One went to air filter and the other to the atmosphere at low level in engine bay.
Is the air filter connection needed.... VW thought so. I have seen type 1 engines struggle to idle well until the pipe is re-instated. I have seen type 1 engines run ok without.
There you have it.. My opinion.... If VW deemed it an integral part of the engine I won`t argue. The type 1 engine, in my opinion, is one of the finest engine designs ever.
Only thing I would add is the oily air can play havoc with twin carbs, works better with singles
My ICTs just wouldn't run well when I tried it
For chapter and verse have a look at Peter's site, manxmaniac
Cheers Dave and Paul. Thankfully, the buggy idles very well. Thanks for the link I'll investigate.
Dave are you saying that with twin carb setups it's better with a small filter?
Clearly my buggy had wiring issues after 58 years and not knowing air cooled vw's at all I needed some help.
Gauges not working. Warning lights not working. Dodgy connectors. Scrambled wires. Left front indicator not working and when I switched on the headlights all the lights on the left dimmed...You get the gist.
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/534e32d17351.jpg)
Someone recommended this book... and then I began to realise I had a lot of rewiring and fault checking ahead of me.
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/4b2f6b51e4a3.jpg)
Got to say this book is filled with ace illustrations too!
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/43a8d33a8836.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/5759ab25be80.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/b66eb37b0311.jpg)
I read in the book that there should be two warning lights appear on ignition - a red one and a green one. My '71 beetle owning friend agreed. I had the bulb holders but no illumination, I changed the bulbs but no lights.
That's when I decided to start ripping wires out and using an early wiring diagram and posts from this forum to find a way forward. Who the heck knew the wiring on early beetles (mines a 1962 base) changed so much!
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/bcc2959fc47e.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/4988810d9903.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/1a868ef4f47c.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/7c000f652b9e.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/ee42caf87219.jpg)
The wiring was a complete mish-mash of different colours and thicknesses. Clearly someone had a lot of yellow and blue wire laying about at some point in this buggies history, so figuring out what wires went where for what, was a big challenge. I'm no auto electrician but I could tell that was a problem!
Next step was ordering a lot of wire and connectors online then systematically replacing each wire and old connector with new. It took me a good few weekends and I kinda enjoyed the experience of learning new skills and getting this right.
Now it all works perfectly!
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/8650251af2df.jpg)
Happy days!
Is that a (large) hole in the top of the chassis tunnel?
Quote from: JonFuller on November 06, 2020, 08:57:53 AM
Is that a (large) hole in the top of the chassis tunnel?
Ouch! Good spot, that needs patching asap. The whole torsional stiffness of the chassis is in the centre spine.
Quote from: Manxdavid on November 06, 2020, 01:27:23 PM
Quote from: JonFuller on November 06, 2020, 08:57:53 AM
Is that a (large) hole in the top of the chassis tunnel?
Ouch! Good spot, that needs patching asap. The whole torsional stiffness of the chassis is in the centre spine.
Need to get that hole welded up asap as others have said :o
Well done on the wiring it is satisfying when everything works on first switch on. Agree on the tunnel also check the corners for cracks going down as small hole drilled at the end will stop them getting worse.
Thanks for the input guys. The hole cut in the tunnel looks like it's been there for a great many moons, no evidence of cracks or bends etc in that area. Getting in there to weld it up will be tricky. I'll have it taken care of once I've worked through the other issues like fuel lines.
Another fix on the buggy - the pedals.
The accelerator pedal was completely loose and needed a new floor bracket and springs. After buying an incorrect part to start, I learned that this year beetle chassis needed a different floor bracket... any way, the pedals are all sorted now complete with new VW logo rubber covers, ready for sandy bare feet straight off the beach.
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/bc362e5decba.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/17370cac7337.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/f422efc4c145.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/1473df36951c.jpg)
Im happy with the end result.
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/602a62a29d3a.jpg)
And another video for you to watch https://youtu.be/Zm9yKjJEows (https://youtu.be/Zm9yKjJEows)
Happy Days!
👍🏻
Enjoyed the video's - welcome to the madhouse - you'll have to wait for Manx David to post and confirm that I don't think its a GP = although the gel coat looks exceptional after getting all that sh..e off of it ;-)up
Roll on next summer 8)
Merry Christmas ;D
Thank you Hudge Buggy. I am looking forward to enjoying the buggy in the coming years warmer weather. Hoping to get a trailer to tow it behind the camper.
Forgot to post an update...
I've not been a fan of the stripes and buxom bumble bee as you may know.
Next to face eviction were the flaking stripes. They'd been painted over the original black paint at some point - I'm guessing in the nineties or early noughties. I had a good chat to a previous owner who'd owned the buggy during the eighties - he'd painted the buggy yellow but not added the graphics.
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/15f997133f91.jpg)
I figured they come off with a good blast from the jet wash.
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/a3a5eda54472.jpg)
With the flakey stripes gone all that remained of the previous bumble bee was the smaller version on the left rear fender.
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/388eccb36ee2.jpg)
So out came the hair dryer and slowly removed all the sticker.
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/27e0ce52e92c.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/d1e8647c19ff.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/54c788c32105.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/7032dd3e874e.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/58e8e083c6ce.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/73be7bd2eea3.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/ad716e659e44.jpg)
I decided to try foamy glass cleaner to see how well that removed the residue, and I'm surprised to say it worked very well.
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/c4bb7716c2bf.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/e3bae3424af6.jpg)
The fender will need buffing out, but then again so does the whole body!
I tried some time-lapse on this video - quite satisfying to watch.https://youtu.be/4TSS20SLWck (https://youtu.be/4TSS20SLWck)
Fuel lines next.
Now that hibernation is almost over, I've finally got round to finishing another video about my wiring saga - the previous picture post tells only a very small part of the story.
Part 1: https://youtu.be/G7Z_1bdoFoE (https://youtu.be/G7Z_1bdoFoE)
Hope the weather warms up soon!
;-)up
Wiring wise when they are a mess it is better to remove the wiring, then fit any new electrical items you want where you want them also replace faulty items then start the wiring from scratch keeping joints to the minimum.
I have seen buggies with 4 or 5 bits of different wires joined up to get a wire long enough rather than fit a long wire and one turned up with a completely blue loom made from a reel of wire so tracing wires was impossible.
keep up the good work you will get to a safe usable buggy but they are never a finished buggy.
Quote from: snoopy on April 15, 2021, 03:26:35 PM
one turned up with a completely blue loom made from a reel of wire so tracing wires was impossible.
I saw a beetle show car at Volksworld a few years back and all the wiring was red. Looked very nice, but what a complete nightmare.
;)
I can imagine! Fashion before function...
The flip body GP that Adam Talbot buult was all blue wiring I think.
And my mate did his Volksrod all in black, but he did put circuit identifiers on. Just hope they haven't faded.
JCBs are all wiired in yellow with identifying codes printed on the wires.
More entertainment rewiring my front lights 8)
https://youtu.be/hZp7zgd-4C0 (https://youtu.be/hZp7zgd-4C0)
Excellent Steve.
I don't know how you make accessing, let alone working, under/behind the dash look so roomy and straightforward. Admittedly I've always had the seats in when sliding into the foot-well but its still a dingy, cramped and disorienting space as the blood accumulates in the head.
Your video will surely encourage more to have a go at some wiring issues, and if it means another yellow buggy is on the road then its a win win !
Thanks @hugh - I did try with the seats in but there was no way I could get in! in hindsight I could've left the drivers seat in but it did make running the loom easier.
I was recently sent some images of the beach buggy by a previous owner - what a time warp they are!
The buggy started off life on a different number plate and was originally orange with completely different wheels and 1200cc motor:
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/56e087d7014a.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/5a2de3df7539.jpg)
It was then sprayed yellow and had white wheels fitted in the early-mid eighties, and at this stage had some purple paint applied but the owner changed his mind & went full yellow - I found remnants of purple while doing some body work. Interestingly the buggy also featured an engine cage which is no longer fitted - presumably removed when the new 1600 engine was fitted:
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/e4418cbcad63.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/4fc68f4564f9.jpg)
It was then transformed again with nice shiny slot mags and a new registration number - notice the canopy which is still fitted today.
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/f45640822e34.jpg)
(https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/delux/d632f78db667.jpg)
It's fascinating uncovering the history of this buggy - which is sixty years old next year.
Great snaps of history and you have to love an orange buggy sprayed yellow !