| May
20th 2008
'1968
and all that' is a temporary
exhibition at the National Railway
Museum and because Vera is a 1968/69
model she is going to the spend a
week at the museum as part of their
display of other forms of transport
from the era - remember she was designed
to hold two adults and two children
comfortably so could be seen to signal
a challenge to rail travel for the
family market.
I finally got the Bambus parcel shelf
fitted with a few self-tapper screws,
a spirit level and some careful balancing!
It looks okay and should actually
be useful too.
The
shelf will hold the 1968 brochures
that I have so that they can be on
show and too.
The
mounting looks quite tidy and I re-used
the brackets that came with the shelf
so they may be original.
You
can see that the shelf is cut-away
for the left-hand drive steering column
however it is flat on the right so
fits quite nicely - I was worried
about it have a sticky-out bit that
would get in the way of the steering
column but it wasn't a problem in
the end.
Next
job is to Waxoil her underneath and
drill some holes into the heater channels
and get some waxoil in there too -
I primed them well before they were
fitted but the waxoil won't hurt either.
May
15th 2008
Summer
is here and Vera is ready for the
show season and her participation
in the 1968 exhibition at the National
Railway Museum.
We
spent a lovely weekend at Ryedale
Folk Museum in May with our friend
Stuart who spent many summers in the
village of Hutton-le-Hole as a lad.
She
is seen here next to a nice Bentley
that originally came from Sunderland!
January
5th 2008
Leather
luggage straps finished and fitted
today!
The
straps can be altered so that I can
take various size cases but this is
the default size.
I
have been busy making some leather
luggage straps to go with the rear
deck rack and hamper. I decided to
get them made rather than buy some
as I had a clear idea of what I wanted
and luckily for me there is a good
leather shop in Pickering and he was
able to knock these up for me and
after a quick visit to a hardware
shop for some brass nuts and bolts
and a little bit of fiddling I'm quite
pleased with the results.
The
other jobs that I have been putting
off doing but finally got round to
was fitting the rear carpet in the
back - not a great job but better
than the peeling off that was happening
before.
The
rear parcel shelf looks okay now too
and helps to make it a bit neater
in the back. Next job is to fit the
Bambus shelf and carpets in the front
properly.
December
5th 2007
When
the nights are dark, wet and cold
the only thing to do is buy gadgets
for Vera! and thanks to www.thesamba.com
you can get just about anything you
need. We have also booked a few days
in Germany so that we can go to Wolfsburg!
Thanks
to the power of the internet I have
had some new ignition keys from the
VW Key expert Gabriel Garcia in Texas
and after a quick visit to the local
locksmith shop the new ignition key
is ready and working. I have ordered
a nice little Mr Bubblehead leather
key fob to go with this and to match
the one in the glovebox.
I
have also an original Bambus parcel
shelf which was bought on ebay (from
the UK). Although this is an earlier
model than Vera you get the general
idea of how the parcel shelf will
fit.
After
a quick search on the web it would
appear that fitting the Bambus sheld
seems to be a rather difficult job
so we'll see how I tackle it!
Now
the interesting thing will be figuring
out how to get the Atlas whitewall
tyre inserts fitted along with the
four new tyres (thought I'd get it
all done in one go and they are booked
in for next week). Once the tyres
have been fittted I then need to finish
off the boring paint jobs (underseal)
and waxoil her so that she stays safe
this winter.
I
also stumbled accros a good advert
for the Formula Vee Walnut Gearshift
Knob which was in the 1970 VW Accessories
brochure. It also features in the
1969 brochure so is just right to
go with Vera and I have a thing about
wooden interior accessories so it
is staying with her now.
November
11th 2007
There
has not been much progress this month
as the weather is turning and until
I get Vera fully Waxoiled I don't
want to take her out too much.
However
I have had time to create a VW style
hamper which will stay on the rear-rack
as anybody who has visited the site
before knows that I like the traditional
look!
Next
dry weekend we have I am going to
get the indicators fixed, mudflaps
fixed and the whitewall inserts put
into place.
September
30th 2007
The
saga of the mud flaps continues! All
I want to do is to fit Mr Bubblehead
to the car - sounds easy, especially
as they came with brackets.
So
they should look something like this
(obviously not touching the floor,
but you get the idea) when fitted.
The
1969 bumper brackets look like this.
This
appears to be the problem, unlike
the 1966 bracket that Alex showed
me via the Harrogate and District
VW Club forum, the bolts are not aligned
horizontally and the bend in the body
arch follwoing on from the bracket
means that a straight 'L' shaped bracket
is not going to fit.
It
looks like we will have to make some
brackets at I have looked at this
for hours trying to figure out hoe
to get them mounted and they are just
not going to work with the brackets
that they were supplied with.
Anyway,
here is a before shot of the rear
- note how the rusty bumper have been
replaced with the shiny new ones now.
Zack
the puppy makes his first appearance
on the site too - Lucy and Cleo the
labs stayed at home as they don't
fit into the front of Velvet the New
Beetle as nicely as he does.
September
15th 2007
Vera
has been painted now - not the best
job in the world (very hard to get
good quality cellulose thinners nowadays)
but it was quick and easy!
I
have fitted the chrome bonnet grille
but it doesn't want to stay on very
well so will have to figure out a
good way of attaching it to her.
Rear
decklid chrome fitted too - again
not the best fit the the rear rack
holds it in place well. Had all kinds
of fun getting the bumper lined up
to the replacement mounting brackets
but it will do the job now.
The
interior liner could do with being
replaced but not at the moment as
I seem to be spending far too much
money on her at the moment. I'm pleased
that the toolbox fits into the front
though.
The
door that I bought from Simon (Biscuit)
is now fitted and it looks fine. Also
the near wings have painted up well.
The actual fittings are a bit off
- the running board has nowhere to
attach to the from wing but I will
just have to make a new hole for the
bolt at some stage.
Front
replacement wing looks fine too -
again not the best fit but that's
what you get with cheaper parts I
suppose.
Front
wing is now totally rust free! and
Mrs Bubblehead is fitted into place.
The original bonnet stayed on in the
end as the one that I got with the
car was worse than this one. Just
waiting for the engine script badge
to arrive and for a flash of inspiration
as to how to actually fit the mud
flaps as I can't see how they fit
at all.
September
2nd 2007
Getting
ready for a new coat of paint!
Vera
is at the garage ready to be painted.
She is going to have new wings (front
and rear) and a better passenger door
fitted too.
The bonnet that I was going to fit
was not in very good condition so
we just left the old one on.
This
is the last time that the horrible
rusty wings will be seen - the new
ones are not going to be the greatest
fit but at least they are new!
2007
August 18th 2007
Vera
is waiting to be painted now so I
am spending a bit of time (and money)
on getting the accessories sorted
for her. If it is not featured in
the 1969 Beetle Accessories Brochure
then I am not going to fit it - the
only exception will be the Mr and
Mrs Bubblehead bumper badges as I
really like these and they are simple
to remove without damaging anything
too much.
I
have been sorting out the luggage
rack and seeing which options I prefer
on the rack; at the moment the hamper
is winning.
I
am have fitted a little VW badge to
the hamper and I waiting for a few
more badges to arrive from the USA
to add a bit of a VW theme to the
hamper.
The
one piece of kit that I really wanted
was the original (Empi?) wooden gear
stick knob that is featured in the
1969 Brochure - I didn't have much
response from the forums but eventually
found one in San Diego (via Ebay for
about £11.00) so it was fate
- and doesn't it look just right after
a rub down and wax!
Mr
and Mrs Bubblehead are now fitted
but of course all of the little things
will have to removed when she goes
in for her quick paint job - no bare-metal
resto but it will be better than if
I had done it.
I
touched up the number plate as there
were little bits of red paint showing
through - a little bit of Hammerite
paint sorted that out.
|
