A Big hello to the beetle faithful out there!
A silent viewer & admirer of the exceptional and dedicated beetle fanatics out there
Am one of the clan myself, with a couple of beetles running in the family for a long time (though one was sold a few yrs bak)
the other was left standing for a good 7-8 years as other cars joined the foray and the bug left well alone in a garage with the ambition of restoring it once the opportune time arises. And that time well has finally come.
The car in question is an african red 1974 beetle, 1300 , uk spec(as far as i can tell).It has been with our family for exactly 20 years now, and has 2 owners before us.
The car is still in its original color, but has had considerable rusting on its right door & the battery area floor panel. The rest, including the heater channels are all gud.
Interior Parts & trims are original intact (almost in its entirety), with the driving seat in need of some spring repair only.
Mechanically the care is ok overall (except for worn suspension rubbers, brake linings, a weird noise from the generator and obviously a worn exhaust).
The car is currently standing at Khalid sb's workshop for the past 2ish weeks, undergoing proper denting for all dings , beating across all fenders etc and removing all the patchwork that was applied over the years. All trims & interior parts are removed and kept safely save the windows , steering and a few other thngs.
Arshad sb is responsible for the denting. The beating work is almost complete with final grinding and smoothing out to be completed in a couple of days. Arshad has actually lived up to his promise and is on track to complete a satisfactory denting/beating job before the stipulated time( contrary to the numerous horror stories & warnings I was foretold).
Which brings me to my current challenge & main area of concern. The car needs a paintjob, and quick. Honestly I wasn’t expecting the denting to be done so quick, and hadn’t started my homework on the paintjob.
My question, and plea for help would be on the paint job for the car. A few points worth mentioning:
• The car paint needs to be prepared base up, with the necessary filing, primer etc . I need recommendations for someone who can do a great job esp on a bug.
• The option of rust proofing( if available)
• The best bake paint painter/paint shop in rwp isb(keeping in mind the base paint preparation also needs to be done). A 50-60k budget is what I have in mind for the paintwork, and considering the fact that all required parts etc are being imported personally along with the fact that this car carries immense emotional value for the whole family, the paint job has to be just perfect.
Any recommendations, at the earliest, would be highly appreciated
Secondly, I need some help on the car seats, specifically fixing the spring system and inner foaming. The Seat clothes etc are all intact and just need the driver seat spring fixing. Arshad mentioned a VW seat specialist who operates out of his home( I forgot his name),considering the tightly knit VW crowd in pindi/isb im sure you guys get who I am talking about. All I need to know is whether the guy’s work is satisfactory or is there any1 else that you ppl can recommend.
Thirdly, is the question of a front disk brake conversion. Is it worth spending the 35-40 k for a complete conversion? Are the results worth it? I have always opined that the OEM tire size is as much a culprit as the braking sys…..so still sitting on the fence on this one…..valid opinions would be of gr8 help.
The car is standing at Khalid’s place the next few days, and if any of u do happen to visit the place do check out the red 74 bug with reg # rid 1300, any opinions & comments on the work & future course of action are welcome.
im sorry I don’t have any current pics( I always plan to take them but checking out the work done, discussions and more imp checking out the other gr8 vehicles arnd jst makes me forget the pics ).
Thankyou for having the patience of reading through the long winded story ive put up there, and PLZ, HELP ….il b waiting!