The Restoration Progress Week 8, 9 and 10

9/19/97 Friday

Not a whole lot going on this week. Had to go out of town to see my Wife's sister and husband so no time to devote to the Beetle.  I reviewed what additional parts I needed and updated the parts list.  I decided to take one small step away from installing a completely stock interior.  I decided to go with 3 point safety belts for the front driver and passenger rather than the stock 2 point lap belts.  My reasoning is simple, safety.  I will be using my Beetle as a daily driver.

I plan on adding a camber compensator also to the rear suspension for the purpose of safety. 1968 and earlier models did not have the IRS (independent rear suspension) and because of this beetles had a tendency of being blown all over the place during cross winds or buy a passing 18 wheeler (see VW Trends, Oct '97 Issue).  We will come back to installing the camber compensator when I install it.

Hopefully, I will have the Beetle back middle of next week so I can start installing the interior, The Paint and Body Shop is working on the Beetle between other jobs. That is why it has taken them so long to finish the Beetle. Bottom line, it is saving me major bucks by them taking their time. That was the agreement I made with them regarding the work they are doing.

9/24/97 Wednesday

The Beetle has been painted today.  I went over the entire body and it is flawless. The pearl white paint job looks great! The following still needs to be done before I get the beetle back to start installing the interior. The pans need to be   repaired and marine coated. All new exterior rubber needs to be put on. The new Hood, Deck Lid, Running Boards,  and Fenders need to be put on.  The gas tank needs to be removed and painted and along with the wheels.

9/27/97 Saturday

Took a road trip (not in the my Beetle of course) to New Braunfels, Texas to attend the Great Texas Bug Run. They had allot of nicely restored beetles there. Of course I have no updates on my restore since I was attending this event. I was able to talk to fellow enthusiast to get some ideas and tips on my restoration.

10/09/97 Thursday

The Beetle is now being reassembled. All the new rubber is on along with the wings and deck lid. The gas tank has been removed and needs to be cleaned and repainted. Also the wheels still need to be repainted.

Check out this pic of the Beetle in it's present state! The new paint and Rubber looks great! Soon I will clean up this engine.

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