My 59 Bug

[thelonerife]

I have always liked VW bugs and other VW's. I've never owned one but I would look at what they're selling for on Ebay and Craigslist. I recently found one in my town and wound up buying it. Its a 1959 with a 69 pan. It has a 68 or 69 motor. It runs well. Doesn't smoke or anything. It does have the typical oil leaks that I want to take care of. It also has a lot of small things that need attention. Some lighting problems and the passenger door doesn't open from the outside. I think something isn't connected to the latch. No hood latch on front. The funny thing is it didn't come with a gas gauge. It does have some newer parts with it. The door panels and rear side panels, sun visors , a head liner thats not installed,a retro sound stereo with bluetooth. It also has electronic ignition, drop spindles,disc brakes up front, narrowed,lowered front suspension. Newer Impy wheels and shifter. New carpet too and running boards. It currently has 70 or so front seats but the original front seats came with it.

My plans are to fix the small things, clean up the engine, and drive it as my daily driver.

[thelonerife]

I didn't want the roof rack thats in the pics so the owner kept that and took some off for it. I did take the stickers off of it along with the bug deflector on the hood and the antenna ball.

[thelonerife]

more

[Kerry P]

Very nice. Pre-65s looks so great. In HS I had a '70 and a friend had a solid '63. Back then mine was worth $1200 and I think his was $300

[JRANGER]

How did i miss this? They are pretty cool, my buddy bought one a while ago and uses it as his daily driver. Miss ya man!

[Boog]

That's cool Chuck. Makes for a great dd.

[68Timber]

With all the decals I was expecting to see "Fukengruven". Cool ride.

[flashed]

That thing is so cool ,always loved bugs but never owned one .A friend of mine used to borrow his dads when we were young and play in the snow ,it would go anywhere and was very tough too. Did you get the cooler with it too ?

[thelonerife]

Originally Posted by Kerry P

Very nice. Pre-65s looks so great. In HS I had a '70 and a friend had a solid '63. Back then mine was worth $1200 and I think his was $300

I think the earlier ones are the best looking. Wish it was a split window.

Originally Posted by JRANGER

How did i miss this? They are pretty cool, my buddy bought one a while ago and uses it as his daily driver. Miss ya man!

Miss all you guys.

Originally Posted by Boog

That's cool Chuck. Makes for a great dd.

I hope it will.

Originally Posted by BRUISER

With all the decals I was expecting to see "Fukengruven". Cool ride.

LOL All those decals are off the bug. Some made it to my cooler.

Originally Posted by flashed

That thing is so cool ,always loved bugs but never owned one .A friend of mine used to borrow his dads when we were young and play in the snow ,it would go anywhere and was very tough too. Did you get the cooler with it too ?

They are tough and fun to drive as long as everything works lol. No I got the cooler from Rus. I have covered it with a ton of stickers.

[thelonerife]

I worked on it today. I got the brake lights working. And the front parking lights. There are no turn signals in the front. When I rewire it, It'll have those. I cleaned up a lot of the wiring behind the dash. I removed the wicker shelf under the dash too. Just not my style. I removed the D on the rear and moved the tag holder back to the original spot. The pic of the front parking lights look more orange in person than in the pic.

[lolife99]

Cool bug.
Your "clean up process" agrees with my style also.
Sometimes less is more.
Never owned a VW,... but sure think they are cool!

[thelonerife]

I agree. They look too cluttered with all that stuff on em. Thx.

[JRANGER]

Id have to ask my friend but his bug had an all in one gage. Could always get one of those 5" guages with multiple gauges in it

[JRANGER]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Volkswagen-V...47156f&vxp=mtr

[Tx Firefighter]

No need for a dash mounted gauge. You got the magic lever under the dash. When it sputters, kick the lever over to reserve with your right foot and start planning for your next gas stop.

Remember to turn it back to normal position when you fill up though. Or you're gonna be walking next time it sputters due to your dead empty tank.

[thelonerife]

I don't have this petcock thingy on mine. Someone must have removed it.

[thelonerife]

I moved it out of the basement to clean up a little and noticed a fuel smell. I found it on the plastic fuel filter. Eliminated that and the hood metal where the spring attaches is totally stressed. Took the hood off and am going to reweld it up. I replaced the headlight only to find that the new one does the same as the old. Most likely a wiring cross up. I changed the Orange 1156 bulbs on front. They look a lot better now. And my e brake is working although the spring or something isn't just right. I'll look into that later.

[thelonerife]

pics

[Boog]

It has already been converted to 12V hasn't it Chuck? Those lights look bright front and rear. A stock 53 horse 68 engine will move it right along.
It's getting better with everything you do.
Now I'm wondering just how long you will DD this thing before you blow it all apart for a full resto. huh?

[thelonerife]

Yes its been converted to 12 volt already. I was told that it was a 1670 motor with a mild cam but who knows for sure. My motor # starts with 5H which codes it as a 1500 from 68 or 69. But who really knows till ya tear into it for the rebuild. It sounds good though. Just dribbles a little oil on the floor. Ha I will probably learn some more about it before I do a resto on it. Thanks I am doing a bunch of other stuff just to make it useable. Door latches and stuff like that.

[thelonerife]

I did a little on it today. I put on a new trunk latch that I bought. And also got a snap on ring to hold that darn spring on the stud. That kept getting on my nerves. I also took the hood off to weld the top part of it where the spring attaches. It was so stressed and cracked. It was previously repaired by someone but they braised it instead of welding it. Although I got it to work, it was difficult because the metal was thin due to rust. I will most likely be on the lookout for a replacement in the future.

[thelonerife]

I've ordered a new matching wheel for a spare, 3 point seat belts for the front, (already have rear belts installed), and a pair of good door latches, My passenger one has an issue when its locked..It will open on the outside once then it won't work at all then.. I also need to replace the drivers door handle that has the key made into it. Then every panel will open and close and lock properly. It doesn't sound like a big thing but it is time consuming to get everything working right. I think my drivers side sill plate is kicking the bottom of the door out. I'll address that next. I already replaced the screws that hold it down on the passenger side and the door works better now. I can see where the wrong screws were installed and they have been chewing away at the metal on the bottom of the door. Somebody clearly didn't do something right there.

[JakeDW]

I thought the small 4 lug wheel pattren was a 68 and up.67 and down have the wide five pattren.I have always wanted a bug 67 down with the wide 5 wheel pattren and raise the trans and narrow the front and bag the beam and rear of course and a set of Randar wheels.Maybe one day when the truck is done.

Jake

[thelonerife]

Jake I have no idea if what I was told is the truth. Lol. I understand what your saying but to tell you the truth I don't know what else to check to make sure. I just am learning as I go. The year of the pan I was told a 62. If the suspension was from a different year. I don't know.

I pulled the new headliner out and I think I know what goes where. If I get too lost I'll just take it to a professional.

[thelonerife]

Can someone tell me what these are?