Questions about Bill K.s ride
 

Click here for more information on this ride.

Introducing Bill's First Car
 

Hey everybody,

I've been using this site for about a year now and have learned alot from you all. I've always wanted a Porsche. But building a GL inspired bug has proven to be more rewarding.

I'm restoring my first car, a 70 bug, that I've owned for 20 years and driven daily for 15 years. It's something I've always wanted to do. Over the years I just got by with fixing whatever was totally broken. I stopped driving it daily when my twins were born and opted for a safer highway capable rig. Now the bug will be a weekender and evening cruiser. No doubt I'll take the long way to work here and there too.

Currently, the chassis, suspension, brakes, drive train, and body are done. The body is at the paint shop now. My gauges are being restored and electrical systems are on order. In a month I should be into final assembly.

Thanks again for all the great ideas and information. Your questions and comments are welcome.

Nice looking car... :agree:

How do you like your RLR bolt in cage...

RLR Roll/Traction Bar
 

The RLR roll bar is really nice. I don't plan on racing much, it's for my kids (SUV protection).

I went full-on with the chomoly construction, dual door bars, and traction bar. It installed easily without seats in the car. The traction bar bolts onto the curved sides of the rear transmission bracket and to the bottom of the luggage compartment where the rear bars mount (sandwiching the skin). Once installed, the seats drop right in. With stock seat, there is about 1" clearance to the door bar and tilt is a little constricted due to the high sides of the 70 seats. Procar Rally seats have a little more side room, can move all the way back, and tilt further back before hitting the verticle part of the main bar. The door bar takes a little getting used to when getting in and out, but not a big deal. I'm having it powdercoated for a durable finish. I don't have a rear seat. If you did, be sure to warm up and stretch out good before attempting the vault and twister.

Thanks for the :agree:

Cool thanks for the information... I too want a roll cage/bar more for protection against idiot drivers than for racing... For some reason people want to park their cars in my engine compartment... :rolleyes: :laugh:

Rear end safety
 

Rear enders in pre72 bugs can rip the seat off the rails and send you head first into the rear window as the car gets shot forward. Procar seat rails bolt to the original pan rails and are way more robust than the original. The tilt mechanism is also beefier. Reinforcing the rails-to-pan welds is also a good idea.

Another rear end safety mod is a third tail light and rapid flashing brake light module. The blink really caught my attention on a New Beetle I saw with this flasher module.

Nothing beats luck with good defensive driving.

Well my car will be red so I can only hope that people will see me. I thought about the third brake light option. I was also thinking about some LED bulbs for my tailights. Only problem is I don't know if the late 73+ lights have the bulb facing backwards or down like my 69 tailights.

LED Brake Lights
 

Good call on the LED brake lights. I'm considering Custom Dynamics 1157 1.85" clusters for my smoked elephant feet. Spendy though at $50 each. Intensity, wide angle viewing, and high intensity differential between tail and brake modes are the factors to check for when selecting a LED tail/brake light. Good motorcycle info here.

LED's would work in all bug rear light assemblies. They all point straight back. It's the reverse light that points down in the 68-72's.

Hey Boygenius, Right now my super is bright orange, and people still dont see it, I almsot had a new Dodge Ram ram me (Sorry for that pun) and he didnt even slow down, the jerk.... had that happen a couple of times.

It has been too long since I last worked on my bug when it had wires in it. :( :rolleyes:

Final Assembly
 

Today paint is done! Chassis is wired and sound deadened. Trany is hooked up. Engine can't wait to run. Windows are powdered and tinted. Steering wheel and gauges are in the mail. It's time to put it all together and go.

Enjoyin' the ride,
Bill

man you work quick. wish my paint would have gone that quick. then again, very little went/is going right with timing on this car.

congrats! make sure we see some pics of the process.

Here's some of the paint:

Chassis ready for final assembly

Painted body off and in pieces

Porsche Lapis Metallic Blue

Smoothed deck lid and rear apron

Filled hood grill

Wiring next -- Watson Streetworks wiring kit plus GM Weatherpack quick connects for engine and lights.

Zen. Ya it's been a fun year and a half. North Highlands Paint & Body took about 7 weeks and I was out of town for about 3 weeks, so that worked out nice. I love making milestones happen. It's great to do things I've never done before and see it all work out. Having this car 20 years has taught me a lot. I've always wanted to do this and I'm thankful for the support from my family and financial resources that were needed to do it.

Keep on keepin' on,
Bill

Hey Bill, any pictures with the wide CCC fenders bolted up. I'm hoping to run the same tire/wheel combo on my '69 . Our front end set-ups are identical. I'm questioning whether I can go with stock front fenders (and a 2" narrow beam) up front and 1 1/2" wider in the rear.

No pictures yet. But I think I'm going to get a 1" spacer for the front. I'll decide after it's all together and settled. I decided to go with wider fenders so the track would be widened for better handling. Plus I like the wide look. I'll post pictures after I mount the fenders in a few weeks (no spacers yet).