Can make it look like 2000 Beetle?

[aircooled]

alex is correct. Never ever chop any car to change it to convertible. You are just creating nothing but a piece of metal fit for the scrapyard. The roof hold the shaped and rigidity of the body. Chopping it off is a big NO.

the 121 sunroof idea is good, but if u look at it closely, it will still be out of shape..something i will never do.
also, it will not be 100% watertight as the original. The original VW sunroof....despite the looks are water and wind TIGHT. I have sat in a converted car that uses the whole roof section from an original ragtop...and it was COOL.

alex, you have a good way of building a VW...hope it will become a reality. One word of advice, just build a mild engine.....a full blown engine VW is just too expensive and not worth the money.

edman, yeah, i have a beetle too.

 

[alexz]

hi there aircooled. saw your for sale ad for your beetle. you have done alot of stuff with your beetle there. too bad its a later model + i cant afford it...

anyway yeah i have my dream beetle totally planned in my head. i even ordered the Westcoast Matrics and JCWhitney catalogs for the beetle (phew the WCM catalog is almost as thick as a dictionary !). for now no budget + still studying... so maybe give it 5 years time for me to get one?

i dont think there is alot of the fabric sunroofs out there (ive seen a stock standard unmodified one in faded light blue color. OMG! it was so cool!). so that means to have a an original sunroof grafted on.

im the one in the purist camp of modifying, so that means no perlude seats and no airconds for me...

so aircooled are you retiring from VW-ing or you are getting another one??

 

[Seraph]

all sifu here please teach me okay :)

maintainence go, whats it like for beetles?
for my proton now i just check my radiator and wiper water once a month.
black oil around 6 months top up once. once a year change filter.
brake pads around 2-3 times per year, and brake fluid once.
gearbox maybe once a year change oil and ATF.
air filter reusable/washable aftermarket thinggy.

all very cheap stuff.
for beetle how?

 

[alexz]

wah, 2-3 times a year for brakepads. must be a very fast driver :lol:

the beetles are simple beasts (should i say insects?) mechanically. the engines are built similar to the honda cubs. maintainence, whats like? hmm... aircooled could shed some light on his experience i think. oh and for the beetle you dont have to check the radiator coz it doesnt have any :D

 

[Seraph]

erm...well i go genting often :P
figure brakes cheaper to replace than gearboxes :lol:

no radiator coz aircooled, right?

 

[delimaputih]

coolies! we have ourselves a ZTH air cooled club eh? heheh

about the roof chopping thingy, i was thinking about it too, but not doing the convertible but instead to lower the roof...

VW beetles enthusiast knew this by calling a chopped-top beetle...any one ever do this here? It'll look bloody smashingly low down sleek i'd tell ya!

here's a sample...http://www.oldbug.com/MVC-003F.jpghttp://www.oldbug.com/MVC-008F.jpghttp://www.oldbug.com/MVC-007F.jpg

oh yeah...this is a rare split beetle (check out the rear windshield if you know what i mean) i think it's something in 50's model...the one before the oval :D

Yummy!

 

[aircooled]

alex, not really retiring, i have invested far too much to stop now. but just currently bought a house, renovation costs a bomb, beetle sitting down doing nothing, till tyres and battery go flat, nobody to take care and i seldom in kl, also looking for a Cit or Alfa for daily driver and toy. Parts are much easier for those cars. . Another reason is i am also looking for the early model for my 2 litre Cal Look project.

seraph, beetle is very cheap to maintain provided u keep the engine stock. the only thing i ever care for is just the engine oil. That's it!! Brake pads? they last very long. air filter is the oil bath type, no replacement. to run a beetle is cheap...but to keep it in nice shape is expensive. yup, no radiator..no need to check. go up genting often? no prob with beetle. Only need some upgrades done to the brakes to make it more efficient. For modified engines the story is DIFFERENT.

delima, the chop top idea is very good...but i also won recommend it in malaysia. this is because other the the amount of work involved in creating the 'look', you will also have difficulty in getting the correct windscreen, reaqr door windows etc etc. they are custom made according to your cut. You also have to modify your wipers. Simply not recommended due to difficulty in getting the above right. yes, the split beetle was made till 56 for US & Japan models but till late 57 for European models. Malaysian cars are mostly based on the European models.

 

[alexz]

so looking for an early model too? abt a year ago my grandpa (well got this automotive itch from him laa) bought a 64' beetle for 3k, spend 1k repairing it and sold it off for abt 4.5k... all without telling me!!! (yeah im still mad abt it... susah wanna find 1 so cheap now) :(

cal look project eh? hmmm that should be interesting.

anyway any other beetle mania out there?? show yourself guys :lol:

 

[Seraph]

whats a CAL look bro's? :(

 

[alexz]

Originally posted by Seraph@Dec 19 2004, 23:41
whats a CAL look bro's? :(

cal look is a concept of modifying beetles.

lowered to the max (usually front lower than the rear) with old school modifications, most of the chrome trims and sometimes even the bumper is removed. others repaint the bumper with same color as the body.

its a very general term though.

look at :

http://www.cal-look.com

 

[EDMAN]

wawawa...finally got somany beetles sifu edii...you all must teach me u noe...im still young...own beetle but dunno anything bout it...hahah

 

[alexz]

what year is ur Bug? care to introduce your ride??

 

[Beetle]

Originally posted by alexz@Dec 19 2004, 23:23
so looking for an early model too? abt a year ago my grandpa (well got this automotive itch from him laa) bought a 64' beetle for 3k, spend 1k repairing it and sold it off for abt 4.5k... all without telling me!!! (yeah im still mad abt it... susah wanna find 1 so cheap now) :(

cal look project eh? hmmm that should be interesting.

anyway any other beetle mania out there?? show yourself guys :lol:

new beetle allowed? :D

 

[alexz]

Originally posted by Beetle@Dec 20 2004, 02:54

new beetle allowed? :D

yeah sure :lol:

 

[aircooled]

alex, i won recommend getting a 64 model. I prefer 66 due to the front suspension design. king pin beams are almost absolete. Due to the parts reason which is why I say Beetle is not suitable for daily driving anymore. 2nd or 3rd car yes, only car NO. Also the quality of the restoration is very important.

the modified engine and drivetrain is the most expensive parts of the whole car.

By the way, I just test drove a 66 2 weeks ago and still considering it.

another thing is , cheap is not the key word when buying cars like beetles. Gettinga SOLID car is. solid, complete body parts, ...another word - virgin car. Nowadays, most are hacked for a modern CD player, dash drilled eevrywhere, chrome engine, etc etc etc.

 

[alexz]

Originally posted by aircooled@Dec 20 2004, 07:12
alex, i won recommend getting a 64 model. I prefer 66 due to the front suspension design. king pin beams are almost absolete. Due to the parts reason which is why I say Beetle is not suitable for daily driving anymore. 2nd or 3rd car yes, only car NO. Also the quality of the restoration is very important.

the modified engine and drivetrain is the most expensive parts of the whole car.

By the way, I just test drove a 66 2 weeks ago and still considering it.

another thing is , cheap is not the key word when buying cars like beetles. Gettinga SOLID car is. solid, complete body parts, ...another word - virgin car. Nowadays, most are hacked for a modern CD player, dash drilled eevrywhere, chrome engine, etc etc etc.

yep must look at original not modified cars. the one my granpa bought a year ago was so stock, the interior and even the faded paint was factory standard (he still keeps some pics of that car). difficult to find something like that anymore... so thats cheap plus its a virgin car ( still methinks its an opportunity lost for me... )

 

[EDMAN]

volkswagen old beetle 1976(not sure abt the actual yr)
fuel :petrol
cc : converted to 1.6
transmission : manual
exterior colour : metalic apple green + metalic silver
interior colour : cream colour
others : airconditioned,cassette player,new s.steel bumpers and side mirrors...etc

 

[delimaputih]

any idea where can i make or rebuild an old 1.6 engine? was told to send to La Berg. Just checking out other options available as i want to put it in my 1.3 beetle...

 

[EDMAN]

wow...1.6 engine is very very rare in m'sia edii...unless u buy from india or other countries...

 

[aircooled]

Hello Delima,

To get a 1.6 engine, you really need to do a lot of shopping. They are getting very rare now. You must also bring along some people who are familiar with these engines.

Try to get AS and AJ code engines. You will not regret it. Price starts from RM2500 for complete engine and gearbox. They are many 1600cc engines runnign around. Mine is one of them. But just getting lesser nowadays.

After getting the engine, you may consider doing a full engine rebuild for piece of mine. Considering your engine block is good and does not require machining

New pistons and barrels German Kolbenschimdts RM1000 +-
New crank main bearings RM200 +-
conrod bearings RM50+-
New exhaust valves - forgot price
Clutch and pressure plate RM400 +-

One more thing, never ever convert a 1300 to a 1600. you are just wasting your time.