Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

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89rallye
Posts: 110
Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 8:19 pm
Location: Widnes, Cheshire

Re: Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

#31 Post by 89rallye » Fri Nov 29, 2013 10:15 pm

It's a shame your not local (or even in this hemisphere!) as I've got a set of wide chrome beetle rims you could of had :o
Mark.

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TerryG
Posts: 6754
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 1:54 pm
Location: East Midlands

Re: Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

#32 Post by TerryG » Fri Nov 29, 2013 10:17 pm

I wonder how many stops we could get on the Pony express to get them to oz ;)
Understeer: when you hit the wall with the front of the car.
Oversteer: when you hit the wall with the back of the car.
Horsepower: how fast you hit the wall.
Torque: how far you take the wall with you.

bnicho
Posts: 761
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 8:35 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

#33 Post by bnicho » Sun Dec 01, 2013 9:42 pm

Thanks guys. I missed out on a set on eBay last week that were only a short drive away.

Widened steelies pop up online fairly regularly, so I am not fussed. I should avoid spending money on wheels until I get the car back anyway.

A mate gave me a pair of 93 Suzuki Swift GTi seats that sit nicely onto VW bases and rails. So it will be just a quick job to fab some mounting tabs and that's the seats sorted.

Cheers.
Brett Nicholson
1965 Morris Mini Traveller - Trixie
1966 Austin Mini Super-Deluxe - Audrey
1969 Morris Mini Van - Desert Assault Van
1971 Morris Moke - Mopoke
1974 VW Super Beetle - Olive
2009 Nissan Pathfinder

bnicho
Posts: 761
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 8:35 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

#34 Post by bnicho » Wed May 21, 2014 8:04 am

I told the repairer I needed the Beetle back by the beginning of December as I was going on a month's holiday over Christmas. Reasonable considering I dropped it off in September. I ended up getting it back the day I left - Dec 19th! :o

Image

Still, she came back looking great. The body and paint is excellent. No more rust, new right rear wing, bumper brackets, and genuine tail lights . The rear bar is a re-chromed and straightened original as it's better quality than the new Brazillian and Mexican types.

I did have a new exhaust fitted. They rushed the job and it hung too low. I was not happy. I took it back and they dorked around with it and didn't solve the problem. Then it developed a noise. It sounded so bad I was sure the engine had a loose head. In desperation I took it to my usual exhaust bloke for a check up before pulling the engine. Fortunately he is quite experienced with classics generally and VW's in particular. He found it wasn't a loose head. The muppets who fitted the exhaust had stripped a stud and it was blowing badly. He replaced the stud and various gaskets, re-bent the exhaust and re-hung it. Now it sounds awesome and does not scrape going in the driveway.

So after three months of using the MR2 as a daily, Olive was pressed back in daily service. The sporty exhaust has made her more enjoyable to drive, partly due to the extra power it freed up, but also I like the noise. :)

Cheers,
Brett Nicholson
1965 Morris Mini Traveller - Trixie
1966 Austin Mini Super-Deluxe - Audrey
1969 Morris Mini Van - Desert Assault Van
1971 Morris Moke - Mopoke
1974 VW Super Beetle - Olive
2009 Nissan Pathfinder

bnicho
Posts: 761
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 8:35 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

#35 Post by bnicho » Thu Jul 10, 2014 4:16 am

I had some time off last week and Olive was due some attention. The front strut inserts have been leaking for some months so they were in dire need of replacement.

After pulling the strut out on each side I found some of the factory applied seam sealer was cracked flaking away. Scraping it back revealed this. Nice clean bare metal. A put a coat of Killrust black paint over the bare bits.

Image

I fitted two inch lowered springs to the struts. The back end had sunk a good deal over the years resulting in the car riding with a nose in the air attitude. The lowered springs were fitted to bring everything back to a decent level again. The idea here was not "slam it".

Image

This is the result. The actual drop was about 1-1.5 inches. It does not look lowered, which is what I wanted.

Image

Image

After a wheel alignment Olive is now handling very nicely. The ride over the moonscaped backroads around here has improved a lot too.

I have finally located a set of widened and chromed stock rims in the correct offset so they may be the next little personal touch.
Brett Nicholson
1965 Morris Mini Traveller - Trixie
1966 Austin Mini Super-Deluxe - Audrey
1969 Morris Mini Van - Desert Assault Van
1971 Morris Moke - Mopoke
1974 VW Super Beetle - Olive
2009 Nissan Pathfinder

kevin
Posts: 856
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 7:49 am

Re: Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

#36 Post by kevin » Thu Jul 10, 2014 7:10 am

Looking great!
Daughter is learning to drive and will need a car for the commute to Uni next spring, She wants either a vw polo or a beetle.
Whilst the polo would probably be the sensible choice, if i can drop on a tidy (reasonable) beetle the insurance premium would be a lot easier on my pocket!

Kev

bnicho
Posts: 761
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 8:35 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

#37 Post by bnicho » Thu Jul 10, 2014 7:57 am

As long as you don't buy a rustbucket a Beetle should be fine for a first car. The heater is not much good and there is not much in the way of creature comforts. On the good side though, they are very easy to manage on a DIY basis and most of the parts are cheap.

I reckon this has to be the cheapest daily transport I've owned. :)
Brett Nicholson
1965 Morris Mini Traveller - Trixie
1966 Austin Mini Super-Deluxe - Audrey
1969 Morris Mini Van - Desert Assault Van
1971 Morris Moke - Mopoke
1974 VW Super Beetle - Olive
2009 Nissan Pathfinder

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