For Want of a Lever

Greetings and salutations!
It's been a while. What with the nearly incessant rain we had for a few weeks and then my back deciding to knot up on me. Then we had the sub-freezing temperatures and my laziness. But mostly my laziness. Today, however, is a beautiful sunny day and I am less lazy.

Getting around to the part about getting the body off the car ... the first part was easy:

A few wires to the voltage regulator.

Wires from the coil and the sneaky one going down to the oil pressure sender.

I also got the gas tank out which was bone dry so no need to plug it and no need to dispose of the old gas. It might be rusty in there though but that's for later. Tried getting the steering column off but it simply would not let go. I've looked at some references and I am doing it correctly, it's just good and stuck. I doused it real good with some WD-40 and will get back to it later.

I got the clamp off and marked the position but it won't budge.

Having failed at that, I moved to the roughly one billion bolts holding the body to the frame. The two in the trunk came out pretty well. They weren't frozen but it's pretty apparent that they have been there for 55 years! I loosened the two large bolts by the right front tire. They are a lot tighter but also not frozen. The first of the smaller bolts also started coming out. This is where I started to realize that the ratchet I was using was not going to cut it. I have a horrible habit of losing tools. Obviously, these are the tools I use the most. I don't have a 1/2" ratchet driver and I am missing quite a few sockets and a bunch of wrenches. I definitely need more torque if I am to get these bolts off.

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. - Sun Tzu

Okay, it was really Benjamin Franklin who
said this but whutevs, it's still true!

In order to greatly enhance my chances of success in this endeavor, I want to make a bit of a plan for what I am going to do to my bug. I have some general ideas but I haven't really written anything down. That's the basic purpose of this blog.

I was thinking the first thing I wanted to do was to get the engine running. It was running perfectly well when I parked it so after giving it a tune-up, it should run just fine now. I still like that idea although there is no practical benefit since much needs to be done before the car can go anywhere.

Roughly, here is what needs to be done before I can drive the car. A much more comprehensive restoration is for the future as is the list for what that will entail.

1. Body off.
   I know there are the holes in the floor and the right rear quarter panel but there may be more that I don't know. Body off is necessary for a good inspection and other things that need to happen.
2. Patch floor.
   The holes under the seats and the battery tray need to be patched even if I don't need to replace the entire pan.
3. Brake overhaul.
   I think new wheel cylinders and a drum turning would not be a mistake. Eventually, I think I want disk brakes and a dual master cylinder but not now.
4. 12-Volt conversion.
   My biggest problem with this car has been the charging system. I had a 12-Volt battery that I kept on the other side under the back seat just to jump-start myself for when the 6-Volt battery ran dead which it did in about a week if I didn't keep the charger on it at night. I tried a new battery but no luck. Since I want LED lights and a stereo in my future, 12-Volts is necessary.
5. Repair quarter panel and whatever else I find.
   I have NEVER done any welding or anything so I will practice by patching the holes in the floor and then perhaps take care of this. I might just pay someone else to do it ... I don't know.

That's it for now. I would be happy to take any suggestions for how to proceed.

A Bunch of Rust!

Underneath the pax seat. I was working on something years ago and my knee went through the floor. I then took a sawzall and cut out the rot. It's a hack job, I know but all the metal around the hole is solid so I think I will initially patch this.
The driver's side is nearly as bad but I didn't cut that out. I did stab a screwdriver through it so I know it's rotted.

Right-side rear quarter panel. This is the only spot I've seen body rot. I am sure I will find more when I take the pan out from under the car.

The wheel well. Seems pretty solid which kind of surprises me. There are a couple of holes in it but they look like they were put there intentionally to let the water out.

The dataplate showing Roscoe's original heritage. 5440671 ... not a very long VIN! The tag agency gives me a hard time about this every time I go in there. They have to put a bunch of leading zeroes in front of it to put it in the system. One time, someone put in O's instead of 0's and screwed everything up.

More rust underneath the brake reservoir. Also, the paint code sticker which is barely legible. Original color is L478, Beryl Green.

The obligatory hole under the battery tray.

First blog post ever!

Greetings, and thanks for stopping by!

This blog is about my restoration journey for my 1963 VW Beetle.

Meet Roscoe

Roscoe is a 1963 VW Beetle. It was originally Beryl Green.

This car is very special to me. My grandfather owned this car and I remember riding in it when I was a kid. I used to have to sit in the back seat as the front passenger seat was replaced with a platform for his dog, GB (Golden Boy, a retriever) to sit.

In need of much attention.

Grandpa Harry (middle name Roscoe) was a very special man to me and I love him very much. He passed away in 1994 and the car went to my mother. She drove it for a few years before letting me have it. I picked it up from California and towed it to Oklahoma where I drove it daily for a few years.

Roscoe has been parked for a few years now as the repairs that it needs are extensive.