The car that Yoda rebuilt: THE BIG REVEAL 17/10/2015

[BlueDog]

Thanks fellas, October is creeping evercloser. Still cant believe I've managed to keep this a secret. Starting on the headliner next week then carpet. Looking forward to seeing the interior come together as the red really sets off the colour of the car.

Also found out that it's actually a 68 not a 69 but has always been registered as a 69 model. As a final touch I've ordered a birth certificate from the VW factory which lists the time and date it left the production line so that should be cool to see. Will update again once interior and windowscare fitted.

Going to keep it as factory as possible mike, if I do add anything it'll be a venetian blind for the rear windscreen.

 

[Michael Sith]

Birth cert is a nice touch

Always good to keep it original, no SW references :lol:

image by Michael j s1, on Flickr

 

[Jediknight3263827]

wow what an amazing job you have done 8) great work,i think your wife is gong to be very happy

 

[Bootyhunter]

Great thread, keep it up up the car looks amazing..

 

[SublevelStudios]

Outstanding mate, really good work. I love bugs and campers, and I especially love to see them restored like this.

Love that colour too.

Looking forward to the final reveal

 

[theslider]

I know bugger all about cars, but this is a great thing to do! Going to keep an eye on this thread!

 

[BlueDog]

Thanks fellas, yeah I really like the pastel colours on bugs. This one's called Savannah Beige and the red interior works nicely with it. When the bugs hit the 70's they started going for really 70's colours like Yellow, green, brown which was taken from the Datsun colour chart here in Aus which didn't really suit in my opinion.

Also didn't realise that outside of Germany Australia was the largest builder of Vw's in the world during the 60's. Our body presses where eventually shipped to Brazil which continued using them until the Beetle ceased production in 2003. Saw another doco on VW which stated that Australia was offered Volkswagen as restitution by the UK for our contribution during WW2 but the then manager of Holden knocked it back as we weren't a large enough country to support production numbers. Amazing to think the VW's could have been an Aussie vehicle at one point but glad it didn't happen as it could have ultimately been it's downfall.

Another update, things are moving quickly now as parts are finally arriving from all over the world, that's the best part about VW's as they are so well catered for with restoration parts.

Finally got the windows installed, what a bugger of a job. It's easier to do if you opt not to put the chrome trim back into the rubbers but it just doesn't look right without it. Intially tried to install some Brazillain made ones but they were crap so ended up purchasing some American made ones instead.

Headliner also installed and back seat reupholstered, just waiting on frames for buckets to be repaired and then I'll tackle covering them. Carpets have arrived from the UK ( Newtons ) so once they arrive to me from the Aus supplier I can get them in to. Looking forward to getting the interior done.

Here's some recent pics.

 

[weasel]

Impressive! It's coming on rightly.

 

[Michael Sith]

Outstanding 8) great work Ryan.

Have you upholstered the back bench yourself? Quality work bud...looking superb

 

[peekaygee73]

That looks absolutely stunning. Huge respect for putting some much into it; I'm guessing you're getting a hell of a lot out of it too, and not just a gorgeous looking car!

I work in automotive engineering (at a turbo manufacturing firm) and some of the guys there are into this sort of a thing in a big way. One guy's restored a number of Beetles to their original state and is currently working on a camper (not split screen sadly).

There are two things I particularly remember from being a 70s kid; playing with my Vader and Power Droid figures, and my Grandad's Marina Blue Beetle. I can still smell the vinyl seats!! :lol: It ended up with my great-uncle when my granddad died in 79, and he sold it on a few years after for peanuts without telling my Dad who would've loved it.

 

[.Q.]

Wow. Awesome work, good arrows Sir. Wanna swap for my beaten up '97 Polo? :lol:

 

[Jediknight3263827]

great work pal,she's really coming along now
looks awesome

 

[BlueDog]

Thanks fellas I'm certainly enjoying doing it but it's starting to wear me down a little to be honest. No the actual resto work but keeping it a secret is bloody hard work. Nearly let it slip on more than one occasion and getting parts delivered has been problematic at times but so far so good. I'll be bloody relieved when its done.

 

[BlueDog]

You should try and track your Grandads beetle down Peek. Thats the main reason I'm doing this one if it didnt hold so much family history I'm not sure I would've bothered. Looking forward to our kids getting to experience the scorching pain of vinyl seats on a hot summers day :lol: it'll build character and create a memory to last them a lifetime.

 

[peekaygee73]

You should try and track your Grandads beetle down Peek. Thats the main reason I'm doing this one if it didnt hold so much family history I'm not sure I would've bothered. Looking forward to our kids getting to experience the scorching pain of vinyl seats on a hot summers day :lol: it'll build character and create a memory to last them a lifetime.

That's not a bad idea. I'd be interested to find out what happened to it.

 

[BlueDog]

You should bud, I've heard of quite a few people being able to track down cars that were owned by parents or grandparents. Quite often they've been found in the exact same condition. Good luck if you decide to try.

 

[BlueDog]

Time for another update, seeing as how the Ashes series has been cancelled due to only one team turning up I've had plenty of time to get stuck in to the dub.

Here's some recent pics :

Always loved the old style venetian blinds so had one made for the rear windscreen, adds to that authentic 1960's experience.

Also wanted to put in a more modern radio but wanted to keep it looking original. Found a mob called retro sound who make modern radios to suit classic vehicles. These come with usb and bluetooth and come with different faceplates and knobs so this actually looks like the original Sapphire Motorola radio that this car would have come with back in 1969. Very cool. They even give you a sticker to put over the screen to mimic the original radio frequency display, when it's turned on it becomes a digital led screen.

Off to the auto electrician to get a few wiring issues sorted, the bloke was so excited to get to work on something old that he fixed all of the wring for me for $200. Very happy considering I'd expected it was going to cost around the $700 mark.

She's so loaded with cool we needed a truck to tow her there. :lol:

Time to start on the carpets which finally arrived from the UK, ordered these back in March and thanks to a monumental stuff up by the company I ordered them through here in OZ they ( they ordered the wrong year ) they only just arrived two weeks ago. Well worth the wait as they are by far the best quality carpets on the market. Newtons UK were awesome and replaced the carpets as quickly as they could.

Back of the rear seat.

Parcel area with seat folded down and wheel arches done.

Seat up.

Footwell and sills in place, bulk head section no glued in as yet.

All done, come up nicely.

Next up to fit the seats and attach all sundry items like seat belts, rear view mirror, sun visors ect.

Cheers Ryan

 

[Michael Sith]

8) this is such an awesome vehicle, looking amazing.

The Venetian blind looks outstanding and as you say gives it a special vintage nod, the radio is a great shout as well, looks brilliant.

What a cooooooool Dub 8)

 

[Grant_C]

This looks amazing Ryan.

Have you considered something Yoda to symbolise what it came from?

 

[Mr-shifter]

Coming along nicely. That stereo is a fantastic find and I love the venetian window on the back. Its little touches like that that show the attention to detail on a restoration like this.