Down to the metal

Saturday was the first serious work day on the bug. We got just about everything removed from the interior and it's almost down to the metal (or what's left of it). Since there has been a threat of rain and I haven't received my new car cover in the mail yet, I haven't attempted to remove the convertible top or the windows.

The biggest challenge was finding out how to get the front seats out. Neither of my manuals gave a good description, so a quick Google search got me on my way - it was actually crazy easy. Release the spring beneath each chair that connects it to the seat frame then just lift up on the front release knob (the one that moves the seat back and forth) and shove the chair all the way to the front until it is completely off of the seat frame. On both seats, I needed a rubber mallet to get the seat moving . The drivers seat came right out, but the passenger seat wouldn't budge. I found that there was a small release lever on the front door-side of the seat. When I pressed this down with a pencil, I was then able to easily move the chair. This was probably required on the drivers side but there was probably something already busted on the seat mechanism.

As we pulled off the rear panels, we definitely weren't expecting to find black plastic and duct tape. What in the world? I'll need to read up on this a bit more - I think the hole is supposed to be there and maybe they taped it up to keep the cold out?

We already knew there was rust, it was just a matter of how wide spread it had become. The area below the battery was rusted even when I was still driving the car, but once we pulled out the carpet and sound proofing... oh my... We pretty much can't step in the area behind the front seats without falling through, and the rear area... You can't really tell from this picture, but one wrong move and you are going to have rusted metal scraping your sides as you fall to the ground below.
The most time-intensive part of the job was probably removing the dashboard. Neither of my books did this any justice - they pretty much just showed where the various screw placements were. If I was to do this again, I would have started by removing the brace that holds the wiper motor. This was in the way the entire time until I removed it - it's only one bolt! The hardest parts were the 2 nuts holding the dash in the upper corners (from the trunk) and the 2 nuts holding the handle above the glove compartment.I was also really worried about getting the various knobs without breaking them. I couldn't find any information about how they came off. The cig. lighter unscrewed and the two top-middle knobs popped off easily. The cig. lighter itself pulled off but I'm not sure yet if I broke it or not. The lights and wiper knobs pulled off pretty easily as well.

During the job, I did my best to put screws/bolts/nuts in individual ziploc bags and label them as best as possible. I tried to take pictures of everything. For all wires, especially in the trunk, I used a labeler to label the wire (hopefully they stay on!).

The next step is finishing the teardown, especially the top, but I haven't decided what the next step after that will be. Repair/weld the sheetmetal? Examine the suspension and fix as necessary? Re-do the braking system and put new tires on? Take the engine out and start working on that?

It's time...

Just over 20 years ago, I bought my first car on my own. I had already wrecked my first 2 cars, but that's another story altogether. I had been searching for a convertible bug, but everything was either too expensive, or completely rusted out. But then...

I found it, and it was love at first sight. And, after spending $3,500 of my hard-earned cash, that love didn't come cheap! Turqouise with a bit of sparkle, a shiny black vinyl top, and cloth seats (my wife calls it microfiber?) - I was so proud to be driving that car on the road. I took better care of that car than any car I owned before or since.

Outside of the usual bug issues, it was a great car for a long time. After our 1st child was born, it was really clear that a 71 bug was not made with car seats in mind. We got through that, but then it broke down at the wrong time and it was suddenly time to "grow up" and get something a little more dependable - and with bigger seatbelts. I still drove it for awhile, but then it stopped running, and I stopped caring, and it ended up sitting out in the weather on my in-laws property for the past 5 years.

5 years, and a lot of sun, and a lot of rain - well, you'll see the pictures in a minute.

About 3 weeks ago, my wife surprised me with this idea - let's fix up the bug and start driving it to save money on gas, and then our oldest can start driving it when she turns 16. What? Hmm - and then the vision hit me! My car, that car I loved so much 20 years ago, can we really bring it back? A couple of nights staying up into the wee hours reading VW restoration sites, a couple of books ordered from Amazon, a car cover ordered (why didn't I think of that 5 years ago?) - and the project was on!

Here's a shot of the bug in better days. I've got photos around from those 1st years somewhere...