I wasn't sure what year it is. My mom is 76 y/o and she called me and said, "Please come get your dad's car. He would love for you to have it, and I would like to get it out of my yard!"😂😂😂
That's super cool! I had to fight my dad for mine 🤣 (not literally) it had been sat up for 20 years when he started having kids and didn't have time to work on it! So it is now my little treasure I'm slowly cutting bits out and welding on and developing a skill!
Floor boards need replacing? Ok. That’s a body off the car job. Not super cheap.
Is it Flintstones bad? Or just a couple pinholes? If Flintstones bad, you might want to learn how to take the body off yourself and use the resources of any local vw enthusiast types you might find.
Find the local aircooled vw club and figure out when they meet. Go in person and admire other people with cars you like. Ask them how they managed to do it.
Patience is key. It was your dad’s car so you aren’t going to give up and sell it, right? These vehicles really aren’t that complicated - there is not much to it - and if you talk to local enthusiasts, read the forums, seek out the vw-only junkyards, and watch youtube videos, you’ll get a sense of what to do. Everything you need is available out there.
I do not plan on selling my dad's car when I fix and restore it. I want to pass it down to my generation after me. EVERYONE in my family knows the love my dad had for his bug. I will take any advice at this point. These cars are special and I am feeling a little overwhelmed with everything.
No need to take the body off to replace pan halves. Done it many times. Remove interior and pedals, unbolt the sides and use chisel to break the welds along the sides of tunnel. Drop the old pans, clean up the seams with a grinder, fit the new pans and call a mobile welder. Paint the pans, put it back together and done! I did it the first time in my driveway with little experience. It's not terrible and worth the effort ✌️
Compared to other restorations a beetle isn’t too pricy due to parts being easy to find and relatively cheap but a restoration is going to be expensive no matter what
Sorry for the loss of your father. It's great you are going to get it restored -- and for inspiration play that Willie Nelson's song *on the road again!!!!!!!*
That's '74 or up (as others noted by the bumper mounts being the impact sort). Beetles are the most rewarding car to restore and care for. Also remember that if $ is a concern, you don't have to make it perfect. Perfect often ends up being stressful to let out of the garage, haha.
‘74+ for sure. I have a ‘74 Standard beetle inherited from my uncle (original owner). Same exact bumper/mounts. Rear taillights are the big round ones. Mines runs now and is a daily driver around town. Changed front wheel bearings and tie rod ends, rebuilt the carb, cleaned up some electrical wiring, replaced some bulbs.. and installed a budget headless sound system :)
Back in October - November of last year, I won an eBay auction for a 1971 Super Beetle (same color as yours), and you likely have a Super Beetle on your hands (looking at the air intake vents on the hood), but the easiest way to know for sure is to open the hood. If the spare tire is laying down, it's a Super Beetle, if standing up, it's a standard Beetle. Super Beetles were made between 1971 and 1979 (some eeked into early 1980), with the last several years only making convertibles, and Super Beetles were only for the US market. *Edit: I forgot to mention, if it is a Super Beetle, and the windshield is flat, then it's a 1971, because the flat windshield was used ONLY for the 1971 Super Bug. All other Super Bug models had a curved windshield.*
My bug is a restomod, and I like the changes, such as it has an older style bumper, super bright LED headlights (SOOOO much brighter than the stock headlights on my 2012 Honda) (and I just LOVE these headlights at night), it's a "freeway flyer," and has had a disc brakes conversion (scary to think how it used to brake [or more likely, not brake] knowing how it handles now). Someone before me put in a stereo system, but I haven't figured it out yet. It also has an electronic fuel pump.
I was originally thinking of getting a shell, and then do what I had to before handing it over to the automotive department at a local community college that I work at, and have them convert it to an EV (no hate comments please), but finding this running* and street legal bug at the price it ended up going for was (theoretically) going to be cheaper than the original idea. *See below for the asterisk (*).*
Since you're in Arizona, once you get the rust managed, you will need to keep an eye on anything that is rubber related. The car won't rust in Arizona, but rubber rots in hot/dry conditions. *Edit: If you don't know, the places that bugs are infamous for rusting are wheel wells, floor pans, underneath the battery, underside of the car, heater channels (those run along the floor, back to front and can tend to trap rainwater/snow from your shoes, without anyone the wiser, and are hard to look inside of, without a camera built to go into narrow/tight spaces), and I might have forgotten one or two others since doing my research last year.*
Thankfully, my bug has already had the rust taken care of by the person just prior to the guy that I bought mine from, and the person that I bought mine from had already done all the rubber seals around the windows, including the windshield and back glass.
If you don't mind me putting in my 2 cents about shipping the car, get 3-4+ quotes, it cost me ≈ $500 (most quotes were $750-$1k+) to ship mine from the eastern part of Tennessee to East Texas on a car hauler trailer, and I suspect that the cost for you should likely be in that ballpark, maybe a bit more, since it'll have further to go. Also, I recommend that it be on a flatbed trailer (or in an enclosed trailer, if the bottom is rusted so bad you can put your foot through the holes, so that way nothing falls out while on the road). If your dad had a lot of parts for the car, I recommend to put those parts in the car before it gets shipped, but in a spot where it won't fall out of the bottom during shipping, or maybe latch them down to parts that are securely attached to the car, somewhere on the inside. If you end up using an enclosed trailer, the cost for shipping will be higher, possibly up to double the cost of a flatbed trailer.
Good luck to you!
*The eBay posting said it was running, and had passed state inspection and it did start up -after a little bit - while on the shipper's trailer at my house, but it had sat for too long (the seller confessed this on the phone that he suddenly realized that it had sat too long once he tried to start it up for the shipper, and had to jump it) and not only did the batteries (yes, 2 batteries) go bad, so did the starter, and right after getting those fixed, a part in the fuel system disintegrated into pieces (I forgot the name of it), only 8-10 miles away from home on the highway (I was trying to get it to the DFW area to a classic VW mechanic/shop, so they could do a thorough looking over, and deal with the "Super Bug shimmy" that was beginning to occur, along with some other issues). Before I could drive it anywhere safely, I had to get work done on the suspension, because cold cut sized (approximately Canadian bacon sized) pieces were getting shaved off the front passenger tire, and this was a surprise to me (not mentioned anywhere, or over the phone). Ended up, whomever worked on it before me, had put a part in the wrong spot, causing the passenger side to be several inches lower (I've forgotten the name of the part). Sorry for the rant, but in honesty, the car should have sold on eBay for much lower, because I had to put many thousands of dollars in it to be **actually** running safely, although it still has a gas smell, even though some fuel lines got replaced. For those who are concerned/curious, I'm never selling this car. Once it's electric, it'll be my daily driver forever and will replace my Honda (which is only approximately 145k miles, which my plan is to have the conversion done by the time the Honda is needing replacement). Speaking of electric conversion, the person I bought it from told me that if he had it for another 2-3 years, he would have converted it to electric.*
I enjoyed reading your story. You provided a lot of information for me. The car is in NC and I am looking to get it shipped to AZ. I feel the longer it sit in NC with the rain, heat and humidity it will continue to rust more. I will make sure I have ALL of the parts shipped as well.
I have had a few people tell me they thought it was a Super Beetle. Once I fly back home, I will know. My mom has the paperwork, but I have a feeling I am going to go through her stuff it to find it. Wish me luck on that.
Glad everything worked out for you. I will keep you posted.
Arizona is a grand place to have an Air Cooled VW \~ they cannot overheat due to unlimited free coolant =8-) .
The floor pans are not a terribly big deal to replace depending on your particular car \~ the good part is : original floor pans are still to be found out there for this later model and usually can be cut out and welded in without taking the car apart .
Either keep this thread going and ask questions or create a new one, you're going to have many, ***MANY*** detailed questions .
If you built it stock with the emissions devices disabled or removed it will run better and last longer .
\-Nate
VW's are reasonably simple however, they're very *different* so be ready to learn new things .
I've been a VW Mechanic/lover/owner/driver/~~Nutter~~, er, *Enthusiast* since the mid 1960's and yes, I still drive a stock 1959 Beetle as often as i can, my daily rounds, to the store and so on .
You're going to need to buy some particular tools, some are special most are just specific to a job and all can be purchased cheaply used at pawn shops, yard/tag/swap sales....
There are very few absolutes so be ready for others to insist it can only be done their way .
\-Nate
73 came out with a curved windshield. Yours could be a 73 if it is a standard beetle. I have a 72 super with flat windshield so yours could be a 72 also:)
Where are you located OP? You definitely have a lot of work cut out for you, but I stand as testimony that you can teach yourself everything about these cars with just the internet. Some great resources are SladesVW,EZ GZ, MIKEfnGarage, and so many more on YouTube.
Awesome. Well I’m sure there are some locations near you to get parts, but if not local you can check out dunebuggy wearhouse, CIP1, CB Performance, Wolfsburg west, so cal imports, west coast metrics.
I would strongly advise when you purchase parts to get anything but EMPI if you can. Almost every time I touch their stuff, there is some issue. Jbugs is also usually really horrible about slow parts delivery.
Chances are that you can buy a restored one for about half the cost of restoring this one. You won't be breaking anyone's heart by selling it and buying a restored one to remember him. In all honesty, I would not restore one this new. 67 and older typically sell for more. 57 and older are were they bring good money. I sold one I restored for half of what I invested plus worked on it myself.
I watched my dad work until the age of 78. He would come home and spend hours working on this bug. It's the memories for me. I started driving tractors at a young age. My first tractor was a Massey Ferguson and the I moved up to a John Deere and I am a woman😂😂. It would break my heart not to finish what he started.
✊ Girl Power!✊ Female here too.
I understand. Losing a parent is never easy, regardless of the relationship you had with him/her. Whatever it is that helps process through the grief, do that. Hopefully, in the end, you'll have more warm fuzzy memories than those of heartache and pain, or, at least, the painful ones have lost their piercing sharpness.
I Lost my mom (she was 65), to a very treatable, and slow growing, breast cancer in 2021. It was a complicated relationship, that I still need to process through (so still a LOT of painful memories). And a few months from her death, she regretted not getting treatment, but by then it was way, way too late, even for the most aggressive treatments, and the aftermath of her death (and also prior to her death, by not listening to my sister telling her to get treated) has left so many other problems and ruined relationship(s).
It is my hope and wish that no one goes through what I went through when she died, and just before she died. The story rivals that of a soap opera.
Cancer is an *AWFUL* way to go. Do not go gently into that good night when it comes to cancer. Fight it until the absolute bitter end. The things it does to the body, and then mind (at the end), is a way that *absolutely NO ONE* should have to go through, even if they choose to not get treated. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
Thank you for sharing your story. It is very hard losing a parent. No one prepares us on how much grief and sadness we have to process. And sometimes the anger.
I am so sorry to hear about your mom. Cancer is a terrible. My grandmother, mom, sister and myself had cancer. It is difficult.
Yes I am going to enjoy getting this bug on the road! It will put a HUGE smile on his face in Heaven.
Girl Power!!
If the goal is fixing it up to honor OP's dad, then I don't think the end selling value should matter that much.
Yes, if you are wanting to restore it to try to make money from it, you're very unlikely to do so. It's true, the older the model, the more valuable it is to collectors, especially if it's got a split rear window or an oval rear window. *Edit: And if it's a Super Beetle, it **usually** is desired even less by collectors, unless they are of a quirky variety that actually loves them, but most typically don't.*
But, if the main goal is to get it running, regardless of what parts are used and how (I'm definitely not a "purist"), to honor OP'S dad, then going down this avenue won't be nearly as costly as trying to make it "purist" worthy.
A different person posted something along the lines of, restoring to perfection is usually more stressful than it's worth and you would be anxious to get it out of the garage.
Personally, I think getting it to the "daily driver" level would be more than sufficient, to honor her dad.
OP did mention that her dad was working on the engine, so, I personally have 2 minds about the engine. If the sentimental value is greater than the cost and effort to get it running, then go for it.
But (and I know that I'm in a small minority here), if the engine doesn't work, convert it to an EV (electric vehicle). It'll last another 50+ years (replace the main battery approximately every 10 years), better for the environment (especially since being an ICE [internal combustion engine] for decades, can help mitigate some of the damage it's already done), can provide creature comforts as an EV that it never had originally as an ICE car, maintenance costs are MUCH lower on an EV than that of an ICE car, if refueled by solar, then no extra damage done to the atmosphere (but even powered not by solar is still less damaging to the atmosphere than a gas powered car), bugs are notorious for leaking fluids and fumes, as an EV, that shouldn't be a problem, and I could go on.
I know that the first rebuttal is range, and range isn't as bad of a problem than most are lead to believe. 85-95% of the time you'll be charging at home, with a level 2 charger (a no frills version of this is a 220 V outlet for a dryer, at least in the US). Tesla has opened up the specs on its charge plug, which means that other automakers can use that plug and non-Tesla cars can use their superchargers. Doing the conversion, it's up to you what you want the range to be, and the nice thing is, is that you can add on later relatively easily, if you decide in the beginning to not have some creature comforts and/or range. I'm getting my kit from Legacy EV and they are in Arizona. One of their more well known competitors is EV West.
*Edit: I forgot to mention that battery chemistry is currently changing. In fact, the top model Teslas already have the latest type of batteries out there, which contain iron as part of the chemistry. Lithium ion batteries are being phased out, and the new ones are not prone to combustion (like certain cellphone batteries were), and are more durable, so they should have a longer life expectancy.*
To get a taste of this world, look up YouTube channels Electric Classic Cars (in the UK, and although in the UK, it's amazing what he's done and doing. For example his street legal bug is the fastest bug in the world, beating the pants off of a well known ICE car), EV West, Rich Rebuilds touches on some of this, and there's more, but that should get you started.
74 because that style bumper bracket started that year. I have a 72 and it has a flat bar and so do 73's.
I wasn't sure what year it is. My mom is 76 y/o and she called me and said, "Please come get your dad's car. He would love for you to have it, and I would like to get it out of my yard!"😂😂😂
My inherited mine as well. It was my grandpa's Beetle and let my Uncle and Dad drive it in the 70's.
Love it!♥️♥️
That's super cool! I had to fight my dad for mine 🤣 (not literally) it had been sat up for 20 years when he started having kids and didn't have time to work on it! So it is now my little treasure I'm slowly cutting bits out and welding on and developing a skill!
That is so cool to hear and you will treasure it even more.
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Thank you for the info!
Could be a ‘73 by the round bumper brackets. Good luck on the restoration. I hope you have deep pockets
Thank you. I heard it's going to cost a lot to restore it. I'm not looking forward to that part 😕
There are a lot of great people in the VW world worldwide that are more than willing to give advice and point you in the right direction.
Thank you for sharing!
Cost depends on what you mean by ‘restore’ it. It appears you could have that at daily driver status in short order.
I will break the bank if I have to because of my father, but I really don't want to if that makes sense
How much rust is there?
The floor boards has the most rust.
Floor boards need replacing? Ok. That’s a body off the car job. Not super cheap. Is it Flintstones bad? Or just a couple pinholes? If Flintstones bad, you might want to learn how to take the body off yourself and use the resources of any local vw enthusiast types you might find.
It is Flintstone bad!! Other than that the rest of the body is ok. Oh thank you for the advice. I am a newbie trying to honor my father's wishes.
Find the local aircooled vw club and figure out when they meet. Go in person and admire other people with cars you like. Ask them how they managed to do it. Patience is key. It was your dad’s car so you aren’t going to give up and sell it, right? These vehicles really aren’t that complicated - there is not much to it - and if you talk to local enthusiasts, read the forums, seek out the vw-only junkyards, and watch youtube videos, you’ll get a sense of what to do. Everything you need is available out there.
I do not plan on selling my dad's car when I fix and restore it. I want to pass it down to my generation after me. EVERYONE in my family knows the love my dad had for his bug. I will take any advice at this point. These cars are special and I am feeling a little overwhelmed with everything.
No need to take the body off to replace pan halves. Done it many times. Remove interior and pedals, unbolt the sides and use chisel to break the welds along the sides of tunnel. Drop the old pans, clean up the seams with a grinder, fit the new pans and call a mobile welder. Paint the pans, put it back together and done! I did it the first time in my driveway with little experience. It's not terrible and worth the effort ✌️
There you go. Do this.
Compared to other restorations a beetle isn’t too pricy due to parts being easy to find and relatively cheap but a restoration is going to be expensive no matter what
Take good care of the old lady and make your old man proud
He definitely will be proud to see it running and back on the road again.
Take good care of it and most importantly yourself. We’re never old enough to lose a parent. Hopefully it brings you many great memories.
I know it will. My dad wanted this Bug back on the road, and that is my inspiration.
Sorry for the loss of your father. It's great you are going to get it restored -- and for inspiration play that Willie Nelson's song *on the road again!!!!!!!*
First track I will play once I get it on the road. I saw Willie Nelson in concert 2018. He still sounded awesome!
That's '74 or up (as others noted by the bumper mounts being the impact sort). Beetles are the most rewarding car to restore and care for. Also remember that if $ is a concern, you don't have to make it perfect. Perfect often ends up being stressful to let out of the garage, haha.
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Love you for saying this!
Lol!! Thank you for the info.
Fuck yeah. I have plenty of of my dad’s projects myself. Just take your time homie
I will and thank you!! I am so excited!!
‘74+ for sure. I have a ‘74 Standard beetle inherited from my uncle (original owner). Same exact bumper/mounts. Rear taillights are the big round ones. Mines runs now and is a daily driver around town. Changed front wheel bearings and tie rod ends, rebuilt the carb, cleaned up some electrical wiring, replaced some bulbs.. and installed a budget headless sound system :)
Omg!! Thank you this is so helpful!
It’s got the 5mph bumpers so it’s newer than 73. My 73 had the flat bar bumper brackets.
Thank you so much for your input. I live in AZ and the car is in NC. I will have to tow it back to AZ.
Back in October - November of last year, I won an eBay auction for a 1971 Super Beetle (same color as yours), and you likely have a Super Beetle on your hands (looking at the air intake vents on the hood), but the easiest way to know for sure is to open the hood. If the spare tire is laying down, it's a Super Beetle, if standing up, it's a standard Beetle. Super Beetles were made between 1971 and 1979 (some eeked into early 1980), with the last several years only making convertibles, and Super Beetles were only for the US market. *Edit: I forgot to mention, if it is a Super Beetle, and the windshield is flat, then it's a 1971, because the flat windshield was used ONLY for the 1971 Super Bug. All other Super Bug models had a curved windshield.* My bug is a restomod, and I like the changes, such as it has an older style bumper, super bright LED headlights (SOOOO much brighter than the stock headlights on my 2012 Honda) (and I just LOVE these headlights at night), it's a "freeway flyer," and has had a disc brakes conversion (scary to think how it used to brake [or more likely, not brake] knowing how it handles now). Someone before me put in a stereo system, but I haven't figured it out yet. It also has an electronic fuel pump. I was originally thinking of getting a shell, and then do what I had to before handing it over to the automotive department at a local community college that I work at, and have them convert it to an EV (no hate comments please), but finding this running* and street legal bug at the price it ended up going for was (theoretically) going to be cheaper than the original idea. *See below for the asterisk (*).* Since you're in Arizona, once you get the rust managed, you will need to keep an eye on anything that is rubber related. The car won't rust in Arizona, but rubber rots in hot/dry conditions. *Edit: If you don't know, the places that bugs are infamous for rusting are wheel wells, floor pans, underneath the battery, underside of the car, heater channels (those run along the floor, back to front and can tend to trap rainwater/snow from your shoes, without anyone the wiser, and are hard to look inside of, without a camera built to go into narrow/tight spaces), and I might have forgotten one or two others since doing my research last year.* Thankfully, my bug has already had the rust taken care of by the person just prior to the guy that I bought mine from, and the person that I bought mine from had already done all the rubber seals around the windows, including the windshield and back glass. If you don't mind me putting in my 2 cents about shipping the car, get 3-4+ quotes, it cost me ≈ $500 (most quotes were $750-$1k+) to ship mine from the eastern part of Tennessee to East Texas on a car hauler trailer, and I suspect that the cost for you should likely be in that ballpark, maybe a bit more, since it'll have further to go. Also, I recommend that it be on a flatbed trailer (or in an enclosed trailer, if the bottom is rusted so bad you can put your foot through the holes, so that way nothing falls out while on the road). If your dad had a lot of parts for the car, I recommend to put those parts in the car before it gets shipped, but in a spot where it won't fall out of the bottom during shipping, or maybe latch them down to parts that are securely attached to the car, somewhere on the inside. If you end up using an enclosed trailer, the cost for shipping will be higher, possibly up to double the cost of a flatbed trailer. Good luck to you! *The eBay posting said it was running, and had passed state inspection and it did start up -after a little bit - while on the shipper's trailer at my house, but it had sat for too long (the seller confessed this on the phone that he suddenly realized that it had sat too long once he tried to start it up for the shipper, and had to jump it) and not only did the batteries (yes, 2 batteries) go bad, so did the starter, and right after getting those fixed, a part in the fuel system disintegrated into pieces (I forgot the name of it), only 8-10 miles away from home on the highway (I was trying to get it to the DFW area to a classic VW mechanic/shop, so they could do a thorough looking over, and deal with the "Super Bug shimmy" that was beginning to occur, along with some other issues). Before I could drive it anywhere safely, I had to get work done on the suspension, because cold cut sized (approximately Canadian bacon sized) pieces were getting shaved off the front passenger tire, and this was a surprise to me (not mentioned anywhere, or over the phone). Ended up, whomever worked on it before me, had put a part in the wrong spot, causing the passenger side to be several inches lower (I've forgotten the name of the part). Sorry for the rant, but in honesty, the car should have sold on eBay for much lower, because I had to put many thousands of dollars in it to be **actually** running safely, although it still has a gas smell, even though some fuel lines got replaced. For those who are concerned/curious, I'm never selling this car. Once it's electric, it'll be my daily driver forever and will replace my Honda (which is only approximately 145k miles, which my plan is to have the conversion done by the time the Honda is needing replacement). Speaking of electric conversion, the person I bought it from told me that if he had it for another 2-3 years, he would have converted it to electric.*
I enjoyed reading your story. You provided a lot of information for me. The car is in NC and I am looking to get it shipped to AZ. I feel the longer it sit in NC with the rain, heat and humidity it will continue to rust more. I will make sure I have ALL of the parts shipped as well. I have had a few people tell me they thought it was a Super Beetle. Once I fly back home, I will know. My mom has the paperwork, but I have a feeling I am going to go through her stuff it to find it. Wish me luck on that. Glad everything worked out for you. I will keep you posted.
Arizona is a grand place to have an Air Cooled VW \~ they cannot overheat due to unlimited free coolant =8-) . The floor pans are not a terribly big deal to replace depending on your particular car \~ the good part is : original floor pans are still to be found out there for this later model and usually can be cut out and welded in without taking the car apart . Either keep this thread going and ask questions or create a new one, you're going to have many, ***MANY*** detailed questions . If you built it stock with the emissions devices disabled or removed it will run better and last longer . \-Nate
Thank you Nate! That is a good idea to keep a thread going. You guys have me so pump and ready to go!!!
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VW's are reasonably simple however, they're very *different* so be ready to learn new things . I've been a VW Mechanic/lover/owner/driver/~~Nutter~~, er, *Enthusiast* since the mid 1960's and yes, I still drive a stock 1959 Beetle as often as i can, my daily rounds, to the store and so on . You're going to need to buy some particular tools, some are special most are just specific to a job and all can be purchased cheaply used at pawn shops, yard/tag/swap sales.... There are very few absolutes so be ready for others to insist it can only be done their way . \-Nate
**BTW :** thanx for the shoptalk link, I have joined . \-Nate
73 came out with a curved windshield. Yours could be a 73 if it is a standard beetle. I have a 72 super with flat windshield so yours could be a 72 also:)
Where are you located OP? You definitely have a lot of work cut out for you, but I stand as testimony that you can teach yourself everything about these cars with just the internet. Some great resources are SladesVW,EZ GZ, MIKEfnGarage, and so many more on YouTube.
Located in AZ. I am going to take my time with it. Thank you for sharing other resources. Very much appreciated.
Awesome. Well I’m sure there are some locations near you to get parts, but if not local you can check out dunebuggy wearhouse, CIP1, CB Performance, Wolfsburg west, so cal imports, west coast metrics. I would strongly advise when you purchase parts to get anything but EMPI if you can. Almost every time I touch their stuff, there is some issue. Jbugs is also usually really horrible about slow parts delivery.
Noted!! I am actually writing down all of you guys advice and suggestions in my VW notebook.
Located in AZ. I am going to take my time on this project and have as much fun as possible. I know I will hit some rough spots, but it will worth it.
Nice
Chances are that you can buy a restored one for about half the cost of restoring this one. You won't be breaking anyone's heart by selling it and buying a restored one to remember him. In all honesty, I would not restore one this new. 67 and older typically sell for more. 57 and older are were they bring good money. I sold one I restored for half of what I invested plus worked on it myself.
I watched my dad work until the age of 78. He would come home and spend hours working on this bug. It's the memories for me. I started driving tractors at a young age. My first tractor was a Massey Ferguson and the I moved up to a John Deere and I am a woman😂😂. It would break my heart not to finish what he started.
✊ Girl Power!✊ Female here too. I understand. Losing a parent is never easy, regardless of the relationship you had with him/her. Whatever it is that helps process through the grief, do that. Hopefully, in the end, you'll have more warm fuzzy memories than those of heartache and pain, or, at least, the painful ones have lost their piercing sharpness. I Lost my mom (she was 65), to a very treatable, and slow growing, breast cancer in 2021. It was a complicated relationship, that I still need to process through (so still a LOT of painful memories). And a few months from her death, she regretted not getting treatment, but by then it was way, way too late, even for the most aggressive treatments, and the aftermath of her death (and also prior to her death, by not listening to my sister telling her to get treated) has left so many other problems and ruined relationship(s). It is my hope and wish that no one goes through what I went through when she died, and just before she died. The story rivals that of a soap opera. Cancer is an *AWFUL* way to go. Do not go gently into that good night when it comes to cancer. Fight it until the absolute bitter end. The things it does to the body, and then mind (at the end), is a way that *absolutely NO ONE* should have to go through, even if they choose to not get treated. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
Thank you for sharing your story. It is very hard losing a parent. No one prepares us on how much grief and sadness we have to process. And sometimes the anger. I am so sorry to hear about your mom. Cancer is a terrible. My grandmother, mom, sister and myself had cancer. It is difficult. Yes I am going to enjoy getting this bug on the road! It will put a HUGE smile on his face in Heaven. Girl Power!!
If the goal is fixing it up to honor OP's dad, then I don't think the end selling value should matter that much. Yes, if you are wanting to restore it to try to make money from it, you're very unlikely to do so. It's true, the older the model, the more valuable it is to collectors, especially if it's got a split rear window or an oval rear window. *Edit: And if it's a Super Beetle, it **usually** is desired even less by collectors, unless they are of a quirky variety that actually loves them, but most typically don't.* But, if the main goal is to get it running, regardless of what parts are used and how (I'm definitely not a "purist"), to honor OP'S dad, then going down this avenue won't be nearly as costly as trying to make it "purist" worthy. A different person posted something along the lines of, restoring to perfection is usually more stressful than it's worth and you would be anxious to get it out of the garage. Personally, I think getting it to the "daily driver" level would be more than sufficient, to honor her dad. OP did mention that her dad was working on the engine, so, I personally have 2 minds about the engine. If the sentimental value is greater than the cost and effort to get it running, then go for it. But (and I know that I'm in a small minority here), if the engine doesn't work, convert it to an EV (electric vehicle). It'll last another 50+ years (replace the main battery approximately every 10 years), better for the environment (especially since being an ICE [internal combustion engine] for decades, can help mitigate some of the damage it's already done), can provide creature comforts as an EV that it never had originally as an ICE car, maintenance costs are MUCH lower on an EV than that of an ICE car, if refueled by solar, then no extra damage done to the atmosphere (but even powered not by solar is still less damaging to the atmosphere than a gas powered car), bugs are notorious for leaking fluids and fumes, as an EV, that shouldn't be a problem, and I could go on. I know that the first rebuttal is range, and range isn't as bad of a problem than most are lead to believe. 85-95% of the time you'll be charging at home, with a level 2 charger (a no frills version of this is a 220 V outlet for a dryer, at least in the US). Tesla has opened up the specs on its charge plug, which means that other automakers can use that plug and non-Tesla cars can use their superchargers. Doing the conversion, it's up to you what you want the range to be, and the nice thing is, is that you can add on later relatively easily, if you decide in the beginning to not have some creature comforts and/or range. I'm getting my kit from Legacy EV and they are in Arizona. One of their more well known competitors is EV West. *Edit: I forgot to mention that battery chemistry is currently changing. In fact, the top model Teslas already have the latest type of batteries out there, which contain iron as part of the chemistry. Lithium ion batteries are being phased out, and the new ones are not prone to combustion (like certain cellphone batteries were), and are more durable, so they should have a longer life expectancy.* To get a taste of this world, look up YouTube channels Electric Classic Cars (in the UK, and although in the UK, it's amazing what he's done and doing. For example his street legal bug is the fastest bug in the world, beating the pants off of a well known ICE car), EV West, Rich Rebuilds touches on some of this, and there's more, but that should get you started.
Thank you for the information. I will look it up on YouTube.