Shaun@TDi Posted May 15, 2007 Report Share Posted May 15, 2007 Basically, for the last 18 months, i've been changing my classic car from a show piece - to a go piece! Just wondered if anyone would be interested. Its a little different from the usual on here..... I'll make amendments and posts in my own time so it could be rather slow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janey Posted May 15, 2007 Report Share Posted May 15, 2007 Basically, for the last 18 months, i've been changing my classic car from a show piece - to a go piece! Just wondered if anyone would be interested. Its a little different from the usual on here..... I'd be interested Shaun, have always had a soft spot for Bugs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellz Posted May 15, 2007 Report Share Posted May 15, 2007 Yeah would be good to see it, slap some pics up from waht it started like to how it is now then go from there My dad had loads of these when he was a little youngers lol so he might actually be interested as well (be a change) :crying: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted May 15, 2007 Report Share Posted May 15, 2007 sounds good, i like things as old as me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted May 15, 2007 Report Share Posted May 15, 2007 Me.....me!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun@TDi Posted May 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2007 OK. I'll kick it off at the weekend then. A quick teaser for you then - heres what she looked like as a show car 18 months ago. The cars show name was 'Appletease' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted May 17, 2007 Report Share Posted May 17, 2007 OK.I'll kick it off at the weekend then. A quick teaser for you then - heres what she looked like as a show car 18 months ago. The cars show name was 'Appletease' Looks well clean for the year... I'm looking forward to the weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted May 17, 2007 Report Share Posted May 17, 2007 Never been a fan of beetles but for some reason I like that Will be a good read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adie Posted May 18, 2007 Report Share Posted May 18, 2007 Looks very nice Shaun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorps Posted May 18, 2007 Report Share Posted May 18, 2007 More plz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted May 18, 2007 Report Share Posted May 18, 2007 Looking forward to seeing the 'showpeice-to-go piece' with the skirt up.... Or down in this case! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorps Posted May 19, 2007 Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 OK.I'll kick it off at the weekend then. Saturday = The w/end :rolleyes_anim: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDIPLC Posted May 19, 2007 Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 Shaun, do you have any green corderoy trousers to match the Beetle? :rolleyes_anim: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted May 19, 2007 Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 Shaun, Mark's dissing your dress code..... Hope no one leaves a drawing pin on his seat :rolleyes_anim: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark H. Posted May 19, 2007 Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 Do you have regular "That 70's show" dress up days at TDI :rolleyes_anim:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted May 20, 2007 Report Share Posted May 20, 2007 Do you have regular "That 70's show" dress up days at TDI . ........... Yo Shaun tiss Sunday, don't you have something to show us :rolleyes_anim: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkO Posted May 20, 2007 Report Share Posted May 20, 2007 Hi shaun its now Sunday afternoon we would like to see the blog before bed time i would like to see the beast I'm trying to find the tyres for.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun@TDi Posted May 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Ok people, my apologies for leaving you all hanging! Had work all day saturday, a party saturday night, a VW show all day sunday and today off work - unfortunately i had to spend all day working for myself to earn extra cash to spend on the bug. 'Ce La Vie' So, the story begins..... Summer 2005 starts with me having far too much disposable cash from mostly earning and rarely spending - all help by the fact i lived 120 miles away from my girlfriend. She cant spend it if she's no-where near it. Trawling through the usual publications, i find a bug i like the look of. I go see it, i like it, i buy it. Simple Not off to a great start, as it has a series of electrical issues which seem to go away when the missus drives it - sods law i think its called. These are some pics from a photo shoot it had after a few months. As it turned out, the car had some pedigree history and had ties with a company called 'thump-thump'. Back in the eighties, these guys were THE modding guru's in the UK VW scene. They had churned out show car after show car after show car so i was quite proud that i had some association with them. This is a typical hump!thump! creation; Since retro was the big thing a few years ago, i managed to blag tickets to various summer shows on the provisio that i had my car in show and shine line-ups. Lovely!! After an exhausting summer of cleaning, polishing and waxing it came to the point where the weather was starting to turn and anyone who's ever owned and maintained a classic knows that this isnt a good time to be driving your pride and joy. I took it off the road and hid it under a cover on the driveway. For some particular reason (i cant remember why now) it spent new years eve 2005/2006 parked on the roadside. When i returned the following morning from a party, i almost cried. Kids had jumped all over it, kicked in the doors, bent the running boards, jumped all over the bumpers. In short - it was a mess. All the customisation involved in the smoothing of the door handles and removing all visable hinges had been ruined. Original 1965 panels were bent out of shape and so was I. I dont think i've ever been so angry in all my life. Have ever been so angry, you couldn't even stand? The most distressing thing was that the police couldn't do anything without witnesses and the insurance would have probably declared the car a rite-off, as the work involved in replacing/fixing would have been more than the car was worth, if done professionally. Unfortunately, no pictures were ever taken of the damage at the time. Its late - i'm tired. More later in the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 I've a few friends into their bugs and vans who are all going to some meet this weekend, you taking yours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun@TDi Posted May 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 The only one i know of this weekend is Run to the Sun in Newquay. I havent done that show in a few years - pretty expensive but good if your into surfing and all that. I had a particularly bad experience at the last one involving a mountain board, some lazy chilli's, a blindfold and a can of silly spray. 'it'll be fine' they said..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted May 24, 2007 Report Share Posted May 24, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun@TDi Posted May 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 I'll take that as a hint shall i Tony? After the initial shock of the damage had worn off, i set about trying to do what i could to at least make the car presentable. Whilst it was ultimately pointless (as the majority of panels were now scrap) this was mainly for my own personal gratification. I suppose it was a pride thing. A friend of mine said that he'd be prepared to help me fix the damage and restore the car to its former glory. A few days later it had found its way to his unit, deep in a hidden location! I booked two weeks off work so the job could be concentrated into a smaller time frame. The last thing i wanted was to drag the experience out over god knows how long. Stripping the car down started almost immediately, although anyone who does bodywork knows that nothing happens before the kettle is boiled. By this point i'd taken the initiative to generate as much cash as possible in order to finance the make-over. The rare BRM wheels were sold for very good money, as was the custom white leather interior. Infact, anything that was worth something was sold. It never takes too long to start removing ancilleries, especially in a bug. There are never more than 3-4 bolts holding any one thing in place. In fact, i was quite shocked to find that most of the nuts and bolts were missing. Once all the main bits had been removed, slightly more technical items were addressed. Things like engine and electrics all had to come out. If you've ever removed an air-cooled engine, you'll know what an absolute s**tter of a job it is. Executing decision - extensive re-modification of the rear end. More on that later..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun@TDi Posted May 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 Ever get the feeling you've bitten off a little more than you can chew? The deeper i delved with the bodywork, the more rot i found. Check out how much filler was on this lower front quarter! After cutting away certain areas of rust and badly repaired panels from long before i had the car, it became quite clear that the rust wasn't just surface concentrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mat Posted May 27, 2007 Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 tis a good write up, ill have to find a few pics of the bugs ive had......... the 66 import being the best, it took me 2 years to completely rebuild it.....as i told you , a few weeks back, everything from the middle of the 1/4 panels down was completely renewed......every single panel, nut and bolt, so can totally sympathise with you excellent..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun@TDi Posted May 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 Luckily, being a master panel crafter and welder extraordinaire, nothing was impossible. New panels are pennies but because they are being made in places like brazil, they never ever fit. I dont think i've ever had a panel that didn't need modifiying in some way or another. This bit was weird. We found a delicious mixture of window putty, pea shingle and blue gasket sealant. Some people will do anything for a quick fix i guess. Again, its lucky all these bits are readily available. another panel replaced..... properly this time! Whilst i left Shaun to finish off the exterior (yes, My mates called Shaun too) i decided to turn my attention to the interior. One of the things i wanted to do was blank off the heating ducts. Whilst this may not sound like a good idea, it's far more practical than it sounds. This is a classic area for moisture to get in and didn't want to be doing this all again in 2-3 years. If you look carefully at the picture above, you can see the tyre tread through a small hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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