6-21-10  This project is a fun change of pace. Working on older cars is always fun and the options always seem endless, so when Mike came to us a month ago with his vision for his 1974 VW Beetle we were all over it. 

To start out with this car looks amazing from the outside and has already been resprayed a light tone but bright green and some of the gaudy late model parts have been shaved off of the body. The interior and engine/drivetrain on the other hand needed some work. Basically Mike wanted the restoration to be finished and complete.

On the list is

Clean up engine and freshen it up

Add Chrome engine/engine bay kit

Paint inner fenders

Paint Underside of Body

Paint Pan and Chassis

Install Freeway Flyer transmission

Install Wilwood front and rear disc brakes

Install full Air Ride suspension kit

Reupholster front seats

and some other misc. items.

Here is what we are working with. (Initial pictures were provided by Mike)

After all the design work was done it was time to start tearing it down.

First was pulling the engine and transmission and then it was time to pull the body off.

Update 7-6-10

We have washed everything down and started to clean and seal up all of the rusted areas. We have also painted the chassis and underside of the body black along with painting the engine and sprucing up the engine with chrome!

 

Update 7-15-10

Finally we had some parts arrive. Today we received the air bag suspension along with everything else we needed to get it installed. Before starting the install we noticed that the rear axles were trashed. Rolling the chassis around the shop we noticed parts falling out as it was rolling so we ordered up some new ones. First we opted to cut into the rear trailing arms so that the car could be slammed all the way down to the new low profile bump stops. By the end of the night we had the rear mounts tacked in place and about 90% welded up until we ran out of wire around 11pm so it was time to shut it down for the night. Enjoy!

 

Update 8-12-10

It's been a while since our last update, but we finally have the Beetle running and near completion.  We finally received all the parts we needed and were able to put everything back together.  We got the front and rear brake rotors, brake calipers and emergency brake lines installed.  Then, we completed the restoration of the front bucket seats.  The installation of the front bags, rear bags, narrow beam, new ball joints, and all new hardware completed the suspension.  The airlines were routed successfully through the tunnel and into the air compressor and tank mounted in the trunk.  With the chassis nearly complete, we were able to bolt the transmission and engine back in place.  Now that the inner workings of the car were nearly complete, it was time to put the body back on.  After a slight snag while trying to mount the body, we successfully attached the Beetles' body back the newly finished frame. 

Wheels and tires will complete the Beetles' upgrade.  Mike decided to go for some 17 x 7 Porsche Fuchs wrapped in 205/40/17 Toyo tires.

More to come!!!