1972 VW Beetle Stripdown Continues



As the stripdown continued it was clear to see it wasn't going to be a 3 year job as was originally planned. A year to strip down, a year to fix the body and then a third year to re-spray and re-build. How naïve? The year to strip down was fairly easy to keep on track, but then life started to get in the way, with baby's, house moves, jobs etc.

Deck lid removed & engine out shows the extent of previous repairs and wiring.

It's probably the original wiring of the car, so it was destined to be taken out and replaced with a new wiring loom. I detest electrics at the best of times - a box full of wires and stuff going on that you can't see! The last thing I anted toward the end of the project was to be chasing bad earth's, loose wires and bad connections. Oh no.




Wiring loom destined to be replaced. I'm sure the red/white wire isn't original!

Ahhhh, the good old voltage regulator. I remember when I was driving around in it for the first time round this little beauty used to provide a handful of headaches once in a while. Wiring diagram made - and probably lost!




Voltage regulator, looks comparatively new to the rest of the car.

One of the brackets for the deck lid in its original racing green colour. I grew sick of this colour the first time around, but clearly some still remains to this day, over 20 years on!


Deck lid bracket in original British Racing Green colouring.

Under the bonnet and wheel well looked pretty sound to others that I've seen in books and magazines. It's normally an area prone to corrosion and rotting. I think the strut mounting area will be getting some attention.



Under bonnet and wheel well area in pretty good nic.

As I kept going taking parts away and discovering more areas that I wasn't happy with, the project grew arms and legs. I'm wanting to spend some time showing the car around the UK at a few VW events, so nothing short of perfection is the standard that I'm working for.

After various youtube videos and a few magazine articles, I made the brave decision...........Bessie was to be separated! I need to get the floor and chassis out make sure it's rust proofed and in sound condition. After all it's going to get passed down in the family!

See how the separation went in the post!

Ziggy

Re-United Again & Taking Stock!

A poor wounded 'Bessie' finally returns!

 

 

It's been quite a while since I added my first post when I was once again re-united with old faithful, and a lot has happened, moving house, new baby etc etc. But work has picked up pace! What was once going to be a 'repair and replace' project has turned into a bit more of a strip and re-build.

 

I've decided to take everything off and get the shell blasted. At least then I'll be able to get rid of the rot and make a decent attempt at starting again!

 

So where to start? I'm no professional at this so I just picked a corner and started working away, rear left was were surgery was to begin! Once I'd emptied the contents of the car out and taken stock of what I had, including removing the remnants of an unwelcome rodents nest!

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see there's a decent amount of corrosion to deal with when I get that far, removing the rear brake drum was a bit of an issue as one of the retaining pins had snapped due to rust and so the brake shoe was binding on. Plenty of WD40 was used as I knew plenty of the brake components will be getting replaced anyway. Take note of the 6lb sledge hammer in the background!

 

Rear Passenger Brake Shoes with Drum Finally Removed!

 



The brake shoes were straight forward to take off, well, one was about ready to fall off of it's own accord anyway. Once the bearing retainer was off by removing the 4 bolts, it was fairly straight forward removing the stub axle shaft with a sturdy piece of wood and a mallet. Just left with the bearings to remove. Thought might as well replace them whilst I'm at this stage!









Let me Introduce Bessie - A classic 1972 VW Beetle

Welcome to "Bessie Rides Again", my personal blog on the continuing restoration of a 1972 classic VW Beetle; Bessie. At this present moment I'm not sure what format this blog will follow, be it full of hints, tips and tutorials or the journey of the restoration itself, so forgive me if you are an enthusiast and these threads are not what you're looking for.

In The Beginning
Over 20 years ago for one of my birthdays, this faithful little car became a member of my family. The day we bought her I was so excited to go and pick her up, she was my first! Even then she looked a little sorry for herself, but in a dull British racing green with plenty of rust and dirt a connection was made that I'm sure all enthusiasts can identify with, I fell for this troubled little car. It cost just £500 to buy from a private sale, it was still drivable, though I'm not sure how it had managed to get an MOT! I still couldn't drive yet, but it was bought with the intent of being a project for me to learn about car mechanics and bring back to life. I learnt back then and I'm still learning today. Although 16 years on there's far more information available than the trusty Haynes manual and a few magazines.
I think it took about 2 years to complete the project including replacing the floor, heater channels, quarter panels, new upholstery, undersealing the underside, new trims and a re-spray to, from what I can remember was Renault Colorado Red. My first car and I loved it to bits!

I drove it for about 4 years, and in which time went through several engines! They don't seem to go very well without oil! How was I supposed to know the oil light wasn't reliable? I bought a chrome dipstick for the next engine for about £12, I figured if I spent that much on a dipstick, then I'd be more likely to check the oil more frequently. It worked as well. The next engine was ruined by a hole in one of the pistons, from what I can gather was from a loose end cover from the crankshaft? That's what seemed to get dug out of the crankcase anyway. As a roadworthy proudly loved beetle, Bessie never quite recovered from that last engine failure and although the engine was stripped and re-built back to an original 1600 spec for the model of car, it never got to a roadworthy state again.

I've recently been re-united with my old faithful from years gone by, she's been shipped from pillar to post, from Maidstone to Gloucestershire, back to Maidstone, then to Durham and now to Edinburgh. I have to admit when I first set on eyes on my little red v-dub, I can't ever remember her looking that sorry for herself. I suppose 16 odd years of neglect can take its toll!

Well the restoration has begun, and roadworthy once more will poor ole Bessie be. So I've started a blog as a means of documenting my journey of restoration. I'm not sure what format it'll take, whether it'll just be a diary of the project with pictures of the various stages or whether I'll be a bit more adventurous and upload a few YouTube videos along the way. Maybe some VW beetle enthusiasts will identify with my journey and enjoy reading our road to recovery.