Now I understand
 

It took me a bit,.. but now I understand why you all do your own work.
The answer is simple. IT's called,..

"Since the Bug ain't original getting the right part is a Bitch so why
pay someone to try to put on the wrong part"!!!!!!

Allow me to tell my tale,...

Back on May 20th I bought a 1970 VW Beetle,... some of you might even
remember giveing me advice on what book to buy so that I could
understand it better <G>. But I'm a computer nerd, not a mechanic. But
many of you noticed a few things about the car from the photos and you
all told me that the body type was from a 73 not a 70. After further
examination I discovered that the engine was built in 71. To date I
have yet to find anything On this Bug that says it was built in 70
except the title/registration.

SO when I realised that the brakes were bad (wheel cylindersI I
ordered them from JC Whitney,... Guess what? They didn't fit! As a
mater of fact none of the 4 I bought at $10 a pop fit. My mechanic had
to get them through NAPPA and it took a few days each time for
shipping. He has now had the bug in his shop for 2 weeks (sigh) and
we still haven't really driven it in all this time <another big sigh>.

But the end is near,.. the right parts are on the way. I'm probably
going to have to seel the car just to pay my mechanic for the work
though <G>. I'm gratefull I can trust him so I don't think he will
"Wack" me all that hard. But it really has been a learning curve for
us,... and we are still looking for something on the car from 1970,...
perhaps a knob maybe <G>.

Ken

> wrote in message
...
> It took me a bit,.. but now I understand why you all do your own work.
> The answer is simple. IT's called,..
>
> "Since the Bug ain't original getting the right part is a Bitch so why
> pay someone to try to put on the wrong part"!!!!!!
>
> Allow me to tell my tale,...
>
> Back on May 20th I bought a 1970 VW Beetle,... some of you might even
> remember giveing me advice on what book to buy so that I could
> understand it better <G>. But I'm a computer nerd, not a mechanic. But
> many of you noticed a few things about the car from the photos and you
> all told me that the body type was from a 73 not a 70. After further
> examination I discovered that the engine was built in 71. To date I
> have yet to find anything On this Bug that says it was built in 70
> except the title/registration.
>
> SO when I realised that the brakes were bad (wheel cylindersI I
> ordered them from JC Whitney,... Guess what? They didn't fit! As a
> mater of fact none of the 4 I bought at $10 a pop fit. My mechanic had
> to get them through NAPPA and it took a few days each time for
> shipping. He has now had the bug in his shop for 2 weeks (sigh) and
> we still haven't really driven it in all this time <another big sigh>.
>
> But the end is near,.. the right parts are on the way. I'm probably
> going to have to seel the car just to pay my mechanic for the work
> though <G>. I'm gratefull I can trust him so I don't think he will
> "Wack" me all that hard. But it really has been a learning curve for
> us,... and we are still looking for something on the car from 1970,...
> perhaps a knob maybe <G>.
>

Maintaining a car isn't rocketscience so you can do it as well. Don't sell
the bug but give it a chance. You just have to teach yourself how. I take it
you're doing programming sort of stuff, so you know how to read a tech
manual, right? Now you will get your hands (and manual) dirty as your read.

I'd order tape 1 from bugmevideo.com. It shows you how to do the basics and
work yourself up from there (or not, if you choose - nothing wrong with
that). Order a good manual like Bentleys with lots of pictures and solid
instructions. Lurk this group and see if you can follow along when people
talk about stuff.
On your bug, start with oil changes.

As far as parts go, use aircooled.net if you can. They are honest and know
what they are doing. JCWhitney is ok, but there's no comparison to talking
to a a person that knows and owns bugs (like aircooled). Don't compare JCW's
price to AC, because AC's quality is usually higher and you also get much
better service (AC would have made sure you received the right ones, for
instance).

Remco

Hang in there! Many of the parts for the 70 Bug will interchange with other
years. It would not bother me that the years didn't all match up. It might
matter more if it was a show car. When I started out driving VWs in 1979, I
kept a copy of "The Idiot Book" in my car at all times and it came in handy.
It's easy toi understand and actually humorous to read. You can find it at:
http://www.bfyobsoleteparts.com/volk...iot-Book-p-6.h
tml
or many bookstores. The old ones are still good too. If you can do the work
yourself, not only will you know your car better, you'll save a bunch of
cash.
Andy
63 Camper

> wrote in message
...
> It took me a bit,.. but now I understand why you all do your own work.
> The answer is simple. IT's called,..
>
> "Since the Bug ain't original getting the right part is a Bitch so why
> pay someone to try to put on the wrong part"!!!!!!
>
> Allow me to tell my tale,...
>
> Back on May 20th I bought a 1970 VW Beetle,... some of you might even
> remember giveing me advice on what book to buy so that I could
> understand it better <G>. But I'm a computer nerd, not a mechanic. But
> many of you noticed a few things about the car from the photos and you
> all told me that the body type was from a 73 not a 70. After further
> examination I discovered that the engine was built in 71. To date I
> have yet to find anything On this Bug that says it was built in 70
> except the title/registration.
>
> SO when I realised that the brakes were bad (wheel cylindersI I
> ordered them from JC Whitney,... Guess what? They didn't fit! As a
> mater of fact none of the 4 I bought at $10 a pop fit. My mechanic had
> to get them through NAPPA and it took a few days each time for
> shipping. He has now had the bug in his shop for 2 weeks (sigh) and
> we still haven't really driven it in all this time <another big sigh>.
>
> But the end is near,.. the right parts are on the way. I'm probably
> going to have to seel the car just to pay my mechanic for the work
> though <G>. I'm gratefull I can trust him so I don't think he will
> "Wack" me all that hard. But it really has been a learning curve for
> us,... and we are still looking for something on the car from 1970,...
> perhaps a knob maybe <G>.
>
> Ken

I'm not giving up just yet,... As a mater of fact I've become even
more rabid on getting this Bug going then I was before. I bought this
thing for my wife who has wanted one for years. And once all this
initial work is done the Bug will be ready for her to drive,... which
makes her happy. ANd it will be safe for her to drive,.. which makes
me happy <G>.

Ken



On Sat, 25 Jun 2005 02:42:12 GMT, > wrote:

>Hang in there! Many of the parts for the 70 Bug will interchange with other
>years. It would not bother me that the years didn't all match up. It might
>matter more if it was a show car. When I started out driving VWs in 1979, I
>kept a copy of "The Idiot Book" in my car at all times and it came in handy.
>It's easy toi understand and actually humorous to read. You can find it at:
>http://www.bfyobsoleteparts.com/volk...iot-Book-p-6.h
>tml
>or many bookstores. The old ones are still good too. If you can do the work
>yourself, not only will you know your car better, you'll save a bunch of
>cash.
>Andy
>63 Camper
>

>
>Maintaining a car isn't rocketscience so you can do it as well. Don't sell
>the bug but give it a chance. You just have to teach yourself how. I take it
>you're doing programming sort of stuff, so you know how to read a tech
>manual, right? Now you will get your hands (and manual) dirty as your read.

In the Computer workd we have a saying,.... RTFM
It stands for "Read the F-ing Manual" The problem is that most of us
don't like to read the manual. Bu tin this case I think I'm going to
have to. I'm also going to have to clean out the garage of all the
computer parts to make room in there for the Bug and a set of tools
<G>. I've ordered the Bently's Book,.. 2 copies,... one for the house
and then one for the garage that I'm sure will be covered in grease
and oll by the end of this summer <G>.


>
>I'd order tape 1 from bugmevideo.com. It shows you how to do the basics and
>work yourself up from there (or not, if you choose - nothing wrong with
>that). Order a good manual like Bentleys with lots of pictures and solid
>instructions. Lurk this group and see if you can follow along when people
>talk about stuff.
>On your bug, start with oil changes.

I've been following the group and reading most of the posts. Haven't
learned all that much yet but I do enjoy the posts. You people are a
neat group and in many ways are like the Computer Geeks I hang
with,... You love to argue and have fun at the same time <G>.

>
>As far as parts go, use aircooled.net if you can. They are honest and know
>what they are doing. JCWhitney is ok, but there's no comparison to talking
>to a a person that knows and owns bugs (like aircooled). Don't compare JCW's
>price to AC, because AC's quality is usually higher and you also get much
>better service (AC would have made sure you received the right ones, for
>instance).
>
>Remco
>

My Mechanic also suggested Aircooled.net. I think that is where he got
the Master Cylindar. I'm lucky in the fact that My Mechanic is into
these kind of cars. He is the son of Lester Smalley who was one of the
organizers back in 1948 that started Road racing in America after WW2.
His garage is a Mueseum of Road racing in Watkins Glen, NY. I've been
working on a web page for him in the hopes that maybe he will cut some
of the $ off the Bug Bill <G>. Smalley's Garage was the place they did
the tech inspections for races at the Glen till 1961. So I'm lucky to
have him here helping me with this project.

The end is in sight though,... He called me to tell me that the parts
will be in on Monday to finish the job and I should have it back
sometime midweek. We ended up replacing the entire brake system from
the master cylindar all the way to the pads,.. at least that is one
area I won't have to deal with again for a number of years <G>. I may
have to up what I charge my own customers to pay him though,... but I
don't think I will tell them the reason for the increase. They just
wouldn't understand <G>.

On the Funny side,....

I saw a 1971 Westfalla bus for sale,... the guy only wants $3500 for
it. It's had one owner and has sat in a garage since 1977. The only
problem is that it needs new brakes <G>. I didn't buy it,... though I
seriously thought about it. I think if I'm going to "Take the Plunge"
I really need to learn how to turn a wrench first. Besides,.. I'd
rather get a Bus from the early 60's <G>.

Ken

> I saw a 1971 Westfalla bus for sale,... the guy only wants $3500 for
> it. It's had one owner and has sat in a garage since 1977. The only
> problem is that it needs new brakes <G>. I didn't buy it,... though I
> seriously thought about it. I think if I'm going to "Take the Plunge"
> I really need to learn how to turn a wrench first. Besides,.. I'd
> rather get a Bus from the early 60's <G>.
>

I was into computers just before I got my 1st VW.

I dont bother with computers any more.

This is how I am learning about VW's ;-)

http://www.handmade.f9.co.uk/rides.html

Trying hard not to buy any more before I finish some of these !

Rich

Love the 64!!!!!! I remember driveing around the west coast in a 64
many years ago,... ahh,.. the good Old Days <G>.

Ken


On Sat, 25 Jun 2005 12:10:39 GMT, tricky >
wrote:

>
>> I saw a 1971 Westfalla bus for sale,... the guy only wants $3500 for
>> it. It's had one owner and has sat in a garage since 1977. The only
>> problem is that it needs new brakes <G>. I didn't buy it,... though I
>> seriously thought about it. I think if I'm going to "Take the Plunge"
>> I really need to learn how to turn a wrench first. Besides,.. I'd
>> rather get a Bus from the early 60's <G>.
>>
>
>I was into computers just before I got my 1st VW.
>
>I dont bother with computers any more.
>
>This is how I am learning about VW's ;-)
>
>http://www.handmade.f9.co.uk/rides.html
>
>Trying hard not to buy any more before I finish some of these !
>
>Rich

Yeah - I love that one too !! not used much at the moment, I move it
when I cut the grass but thats about it :-(
It still has that 'antique' smell to it - lurvley !!!
Be a shame to restore it and have it smell 'new'.

I plan to make it my daily driver again by september time.

Rich



wrote:

> Love the 64!!!!!! I remember driveing around the west coast in a 64
> many years ago,... ahh,.. the good Old Days <G>.
>
> Ken
>
>