Bill's Blue Bug     
History
Inspiration:
  • Karl-Heinz Lange's '68 sedan -- painted euro bumpers with impact strips, early front fenders with late rear fenders, blacked out window trim, light lenses, painted Fuchs wheels, and attention to details.
  • Zen's ride -- GermanLook style, wide fenders, carbon fiber
  • Jake Raby -- passion for doing it right
  • Karl-Heinz was in VW Trends, Feb 2004
Scanned from VWTrends, Feb 2004
  • Zen is at www.volksport.net
  • Jake Raby is at www.aircooledtechnology.com
History:
  • Bought car when 16 years old for $400 with money earned from working at McDonalds
  • Always have dreamed about having a Porsche
  • Painted with laquer paint in driveway when 17
  • Learned how to maintain and fix car throughout high school/college
  • Drove daily for 15 years until first children were born
  • Began restoration May 2003 -- coinciding with the end of the Beetle production in Mexico and after owning the car 20 years.
  • Got into GermanLook style June 2003 and things snowballed from there.
  • Enjoy researching design choices, learning new skills, creating "car art", and sharing experience with others.
Picture from www.volksfolks.org
Bummers:
  • Zinc plating kit from Eastwoods did not work.  Rusted bolts  were painted.
  • Stripping heater channel bottoms was a bitch.  Should have used spot weld drill.
  • Welded rear apron on without fixing alignment of deck lid surround.  Rear deck lid had 1" gap on left side.  Had body shop fix it.
  • Bought flimsy floor pans.  Just live with it and learn.
  • Bought new doors from CIP.com and had 4 damaged in shipping.  Had crate built and courier pickup and ship.
  • Steering column assembly difficulties -- put together about 5 times before getting it right (horn, steering bearing, binding coupler).
  • Brake line fitting leak melted new chassis paint at master cylinder.
  • Stripped Mesa oil cooler fitting with wrong pitch fitting.  Upgraded to Setrab cooler.
  • Three trips to parts store getting right AN fittings for Setrab.
  • AN fitting leaks at first engine fire up.
  • Fitting exhaust mounting brackets to transmission took a lot of fussing.
  • Fitting carbs with head breather tubes on took clearancing of intake manifold.
  • Fitting engine tin took a lot of fussing.
  • Put engine seal in up side down.  Removed and replaced with engine/carbs in.
  • Left rear brake line rubbed on  muffler when car was lowered from jack stands after exhaust install.  Oil filter was also too close to tire.  Re-routed brake line and re-mounted oil filter.
  • Left rear body bolt did not line up.  Had to loosen traction bar,  left pan bolts, and beam bolts to get bolt in.
  • Locating front bumper impact strip was tough.
  • Bought Mexican bug front bumper without knowing the impact strip recess height was too wide for the Europa impact strip.
  • Stock accelerator cable was too short.  Cut the universal cable too short on first install.
  • Broke flywheel snout causing engine to seize.  Jake rebuilt it.
  • Lost headlight adjusters.  BFYObsolete had used ones to replace.
  • Running light lens melted.  Memo replaced with new and provided new style housings.
  • New (non-German) ignition switch spring return did not work.  Had to replace with German unit.