Got partway through the driver's door setup today, when I discovered it's missing a window track piece I need from inside the door. Well, crap. I could tear apart a spare door for my super beetle, but those are in chilliwack. Hmph.
Managed to find an original Wolfsburg badge for the front hood, but had to make up a mounting system for it since the hood on the car is from a later year where they weren't used. A mix of VW trim parts and some 3M trim tape, and it's both on the hood and secured if the tape fails (will just rotate).
Seam-sealed and painted the inside of the pan. Replaced the fuel line, fixed the PO's incorrect mounting of the pedal set, installed an original VW headlight switch, replaced the clutch cable and adjusted the e-brake. Also sorted out a battery mount for the incorrect-sized battery (original was 6V). Discovered the clutch pedal is bent, which is annoying. They're cast, so bending it back is an issue.
Installed my 'killer stereo' setup :P. This should get some good laughs. 1958 Beetles were shipped without radios, but you could buy one at the dealer. I sold my last 50's era radio to fund another project, and I actually enjoy music when I drive, so an ipod compatible setup was needed. Enter the 150w amp I've had kicking around that I pulled from some previous car-flip...an original 50's VW speaker adapter and a sony speaker. Awwww yeah, ready for 150watts of mono sound!
Installed a cigarette lighter and the input line to the amp inside the glovebox. So the entire stereo system is 100% hidden...and I can also charge my phone.
Finished off a few things on the undercarriage, bled the brakes and then attacked the one area of the suspension I knew was bad before I bought the car. Not sure why the PO took the time to redo the passenger side, but not the driver's side...but I pulled apart both to check and confirm it was all done right. Driver's side spring plate cover was a little rotten. Check out the rot on the bolts too, they were threaded all the way up at the factory. Needless to say the car got a new cover and new hardware!
Last job for the day was tearing down a seat to see what I was going to be dealing with. I need to get both front seats to the bare frames for painting. As with everything the PO did, they're black. The frames should be the same colour as the steering wheel. I was also curious to see if I'd find some original upholstery. The black cover on the bottom is what the car came to me with. The very-not-VW cover on the top is the next layer down. Someone sure had an ugly interior in this at one point.
Under the red was the original Blue-Grey cloth upholstery. Too bad it's 57 years old, and badly perished. I do like it, however, and it's making me rethink my interior colour plans...
-Dave