Kermit- 1969 Peru Green Beetle

[Glenn]

An old car is like an onion, when you remove one layer you find another and then another.

My car back in 1997 was going to be, fix some rust, repaint and finally fix the oil leaks. Well, there was way more rust than expected, the interior had to be removed to fix it correctly. That meant new headliner and carpet also. The engine needed more than some oil leaks fixed so it became a rebuild. So 2 years later and more hours than i can count and money that I expected to lay out it was done... so i thought. 2 years later I replaced the front beam. 4 years ago I had a engine failure and put a new engine in and last year i replaced the rear brakes and stub axles. This year the engine is out, the tranny is being rebuilt and the car is going back to the body shop to fix some "issues" that have come back after 14 years.

It's never done or as Jay Leno one said "restore it to a 100 point car and then drive it till it's a 30 point car. And then do it again".

Your car is never going to be perfect and if it is... you'll never want to drive it. I say that unless there's a issue that MUST be address now, you should drive it for a season and then think what your want to do.

[beetlejessica]

Persoanlly, if your car is already a 7 or 8 out of ten and you want a driver, I'd leave it alone. Driving a ten in NYC after months of paint/ body and all the cost would be nerve racking.

Not just driving in NYC but parking too. You'd think people who had to parallel park all the time would be good at it but in the last year we had one incident requiring body work and repainting (fender), one incident requiring rubbing and buffing (same fender), one incident of someone hitting a tailpipe and cracking the muffler, and last week we came outside to one of our bumper guards hanging off. Our neighbor hit it so hard it almost split! And that's not counting the two accidents we were in when someone hit us (from behind and sideswipe). I think in reading one of your old posts I saw you had off-street parking so that'll minimize your exposure to folks who can't park. For those who can't drive, well there's not much to be done about them. I think even if I had a garage having a 10 of a car would be so stressful I'd hate driving it no matter where I lived.

[Kermit]

All good points.

I'm not looking for a 10 car and I only use it for light summer driving, so it doesn't get a ton of use at all. Maybe 2000 miles/year. But some of the imperfections on the paint sorta bug me and this car is basically the only thing I spend money on besides liquor and food.

I realize it's never "just painting", and would involve taking plenty of stuff off to do a good job. Though I'm pretty confident in the integrity of the body and the pans.

That said, Glenn's advice is probably best: drive it for a season, then see how I feel. Though I'm still curious who people have been using for this kind of work. Glenn, I think you once said you work with someone in RI?

I also remember hearing someone named Dario being thrown around, though people seemed to have really mixed opinions about his work.

[Raj]

Persoanlly, if your car is already a 7 or 8 out of ten and you want a driver, I'd leave it alone. Driving a ten in NYC after months of paint/ body and all the cost would be nerve racking.

Not just driving in NYC but parking too. You'd think people who had to parallel park all the time would be good at it but in the last year we had one incident requiring body work and repainting (fender), one incident requiring rubbing and buffing (same fender), one incident of someone hitting a tailpipe and cracking the muffler, and last week we came outside to one of our bumper guards hanging off. Our neighbor hit it so hard it almost split! And that's not counting the two accidents we were in when someone hit us (from behind and sideswipe). I think in reading one of your old posts I saw you had off-street parking so that'll minimize your exposure to folks who can't park. For those who can't drive, well there's not much to be done about them. I think even if I had a garage having a 10 of a car would be so stressful I'd hate driving it no matter where I lived.

I was actually of thinking about your bug , Jess, as I typed that..... but as you mentioned, your car is truly daily driver status as its left to defend itself all by its lonesome from the savages (other drivers) in brooklyn day after day. My wife drives to queens everyday and leaves her truck parked in the street. There isnt a clean corner on the poor thing and its not even that old.

[Glenn]

Glenn, I think you once said you work with someone in RI?

Tim @ 401 Restoration.
I've known Tim for years and have seen his work. Some of it years old and it still looks good.

[Tom]

the only thing I spend money on besides liquor and food.

At least you have your priorities straight !

[mannys66]

the only thing I spend money on besides liquor and food.

At least you have your priorities straight !

LOL

[Raj]

the only thing I spend money on besides liquor and food.

At least you have your priorities straight !

LOL

That was pretty awesome.

[beetlejessica]

I was actually of thinking about your bug , Jess, as I typed that..... but as you mentioned, your car is truly daily driver status as its left to defend itself all by its lonesome from the savages (other drivers) in brooklyn day after day. My wife drives to queens everyday and leaves her truck parked in the street. There isnt a clean corner on the poor thing and its not even that old.

You know, we were thinking about getting some 3 foot tall magnetic flag poles to put on the tailpipes and the front and rear bumpers with "do not hit" or "if you hit us, please leave your number" written on the flags. Or we could just hang some tires all over it like a tugboat and hope for the best.

[Kermit]

Well, thank you all for talking me out of doing something silly [for at least a few months].

[Glenn]

Well, thank you all for talking me out of doing something silly [for at least a few months].

If talking didn't work, we'd breakout a Louisville Slugger and convince you.

The trick is to use your head and move slowly. Otherwise you tend to waste a lot of money.

[Kermit]

Yup, I tend to prioritize speed and making sure everything looks ship-shape. Which makes me good at my job, but bad with 43 year old cars.

[Glenn A]

Yup, I tend to prioritize speed and making sure everything looks ship-shape. Which makes me good at my job, but bad with 43 year old cars.

You should take it slow with a 43 year old it will pay big dividends in the end. Patience young grasshopper.

[Kermit]

Yup, I tend to prioritize speed and making sure everything looks ship-shape. Which makes me good at my job, but bad with 43 year old cars.

You should take it slow with a 43 year old it will pay big dividends in the end. Patience young grasshopper.

I'll wait a few dates before I start stripping and painting. She's more old fashioned.

[Raj]

She's more old fashioned.

old turkey makes good soup.

enjoy the meal

[Glenn]

old turkey makes good soup.

enjoy the meal

Am I reading between the lines incorrectly?

[Raj]

Just saw this in on CJVWS. Oh well, Hind site is always 20/20

http://www.cjvws.com/phpBB3/posting.php ... f=16&t=142

[Kermit]

Slightly broken link, doesn't work without registration. This will work if you aren't a member there:

http://www.cjvws.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=142

I actually saw this on TheSamba a few days ago: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/ ... id=1243893 (same car)

I even chuckled when I saw it because I think I got a much better deal. My engine and interiors are in really great (rebuilt) shape and I paid several thousand less than he's asking. I'm not sure if he'll get what he's asking.

Though, if we're to believe that this is really all-original (I'm always a bit skeptical of those claims), it was nice to see my interiors are so close to the original color scheme. Though I like the green on the dash, I may consider that at some point.

[Kermit]

Now sitting at GT for a bunch of little things. Took almost two hours to get there; never seen so much traffic on the Southern State.

[Glenn]

New clutch




Pretty solid car.

[Kermit]

Awesome, thanks for taking and posting! Nice surprise after my call with Tony today about the clutch.

I take it that shine under the transmission on the second photo is all the oil? I'm really looking forward to the new clutch. I'm going to teach my mom and sister how to drive it this summer. The old clutch was so heavy they would have given up on the first try.

I don't suppose that's one of your distributors, is it?

The second photo actually illuminates an area I just wasn't able to get a great look at before buying (mainly because the engine was in the way. These pans aren't as good as Smurf's, but looks like there's no nasty surprises there.

[Tom]

Why would a new clutch be less "heavy" ? Did they have a Hi-Performance pressure plate installed ? or are you not talking about the amount of pressure you must apply to the pedal ?

[Brown]

I don't suppose that's one of your distributors, is it?

What am i missing?????

[Kermit]

I don't suppose that's one of your distributors, is it?

What am i missing?????

Glenn has sold some to the guy who restored my car, but I have no idea if one of his was actually used on mine.

Why would a new clutch be less "heavy" ? Did they have a Hi-Performance pressure plate installed ? or are you not talking about the amount of pressure you must apply to the pedal ?

You've got it right, I was talking about the pressure being applied to the pedal. The car came with a clutch more suited to drag racing than normal driving. It also happened to leak oil. So something close to stock specifications is in order.

[Glenn]

Kermit on FOX News.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO-DL_Iz ... 9YpSXzYijQ