Me and my '66 Beetle

[Bugzie]

One week ago last Saturday I picked up a very nice 1966 2dr. Sedan. The car is drivable and is in fair to good mechanical condition with only a few things that need some attention. The suspension rides a lot stiffer than I remember. The engine has been rebuilt with 1600 jugs on the stock 1300 block. The distributor looks like an original that is very dirty inside but runs ok for now with a stock set of points. The right headlight will not adjust so I guess that's going to require some attention and maybe a few parts. The car was converted from 6 to 12 volts and the stock radio will not work. I have a reconditioned radio on order and soon will at least have some tunes to listen to. The drivers seat backrest release mechanism is a bit worn and need to be repaired or replaced. The car has a new set of Nexen stock 165/80/15 tires. I will be replacing them with a better quality set of Whitewall tires in the future. The self-cancelling turn-signals are a bit gummed up and will need some TLC. The interior light doesn't work. I don't know yet if it just needs a bulb, fuse or some electrical work.

[aussiebug]

Nice looking car Bugzie.

The Nexen tyres are apparently quite good, according to others who have them (haven't tried them myself). Some folks say the whitewalls are difficult to keep looking nice, and many are just whitewall rings rather than built into the tyre.

Looks like the wheels are 4 lug, not 66 5-lug wheels, so have the hubs been converted, or are there adapters behind the wheels?

If the radio wont work because it's 6v, you can get voltage dropping devices which will enable you to use the 6v radio. If so, that keeps the car looking period.

The interior bulb has a three position switch - On, Door and Off. The door switches are not very high quality and sometimes need a cleanup with emery paper. One side of the bulb is "hot" all the time and the door switches earth the circuit to complete the connection.

You can get wiring diagrams for your car at www.vintagebus.com

get yourself a Bentley or Haynes manual (Bentley is more comprehensive), but make sure it's for the correct model of car - both books come in several versions.

Muir's How to Keep you Volkswagen Alive is good reading too, although he does have a few pet hates, like dumping the perfectly good auto chokes. He likes 009 (non-vacuum distributors), which are known to be a poor choice these days. And he likes to polish his commutators with emery paper (shudder). But it's still entertaining and very enlightening reading.

[helowrench]

gorgeous bug.
Welcome to the board.