1967 restoration page 1

Restoration of my '67 Beetle

"Noodles"

This is Noodles. The car has been in our family since 1987. It has spent the last 3 years in this exact spot. I had thought about buying the car several times but my mother and I could never finalize an agreement. I finally decided to buy a VW in Sept of 1998 and originally decided on a Bus. I looked everywhere but I could not find a decent bus. In the beginning of Oct. I decided to buy a bug. Once again I looked everywhere but every single one I looked at was in horrible shape. Well, in the middle of Oct. I decided to check out Noodles again. From what I could see the car was very good and solid. It did not run but I was buying a project car anyway. I struck a deal with my mom and became the proud new owner of Noodles, the 1967 bug.

Here are some general photos. On the bottom left you can see that the restoration has finally begun. We removed the windows and discovered rust in the window channel. You can see that the wheels have rusted. The wheel on the left is the one in the best condition. The engine is very greasy and grimy. It did not work when we bought the car. All of the rubber seals have dried out as well. On the bottom right is the spot. This is the spot where Noodles sat for 3 years. This pic was taken April, 20 1999. The grass is just starting to grow back.

This is the trunk. On the left you can just make out the seal. It is what looks like the line of rust along the opening of the trunk. Sitting exposed to the sun, rain and snow has taken its toll. I don't know if Noodles still has the original spare tire, but the one in the car is very old and very bald. The trunk has also become a storage place for gas cans, rope etc. The car still has all of its original tools as well.

Unfortunately I don't have any pics of the interior with all of the carpet and seats still installed. I got a little enthusiastic and just started working away. These are some shots of the pans. The drivers side is in pretty good condition. It only has some minor surface rust. The passenger side on the other hand needs replacing. From the seat rail back there is basically no pan, just a flat sheet of rust. I had hoped to put in a partial pan but it turned out that the pan was beyond hope.

Here are some more interior shots. In the upper left you can see the luggage space. After removing the carpet and tar board I found a rust hole between the luggage space and the engine compartment. I think it can be patched though. The bottom left shows the battery tray. It is completely rotted. The rust has also gotten to the heater channels. Both sides will have to be replaced. On the right is the headliner. Not to bad for a 32 year old headliner but not quite what I want in my car. There are metal clips that hold the headliner in place. All of them are rusted but I believe the majority of them have surface rust only.

I tried to get a good pic of the bumpers but none of them came out. Both are rusted bad, real bad. In the middle left you can see that the heater channel has rusted through. This is the panel next to the battery tray. VW bolted the running boards onto the heater channel so I had no way of knowing this rust existed. I have already decided that the heater channels will need replacing. On the right you can see a before and after shot. I still had hopes installing only a 1/4 pan so I had coated the passenger pan with Eastwoods Corroless to try and stop the rust from spreading. It turned out not to matter. I am replacing the pan anyway. You may be wondering why there is a tarp on the car in the pic on the bottom left. That is because I don't have a garage. All of my work must be done outside and the car must be stored outside. I used a plastic tarp to keep the rain out and I uncover the car whenever I can to let it air out.

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