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.
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