Some serious father-son time ahead!
My eldest son turned 19 a few months back. He’s got a job and finally got his drivers license a couple of weeks ago (who ever heard of a teenage boy who didn’t like to drive?). The next obvious step was for him to save up money to buy his first car, which he did.
He had one particular car in mind, and had been searching Craigs List until he found it. Last saturday, we drove out to Athol, Idaho to pick it up: a 1968 VW Beetle.
As you can see, the body is in damn good shape for a car that’s 40 years old. It also runs fantastic!! The interior and electrical are a different story. So, the project began!
We went through the wiring (which is a spaghetti cluster of patches and re-wiring that makes little to no sense) and have it somewhat under control. We’ve got the headlights, turn signals, running lights, gas gauge, and windshield wipers working now (they didn’t before).
Next, we need to get the brake lights, backup lights, and brakes in working order. After that, it’s the suspension. Once that’s all done, we need to get some good seats for it and it’ll be drivable.
The goal is to restore it to it’s original condition. At the rate we’re going, it’ll be mechanically sound and ready for paint in about a month or so.
I’m really enjoying the time with my son working on the car. There’s a lot of things I can’t do because of my back, so I’ve been explaining to him how it needs to be done and have been watching him do it. It’s going to be a sweet ride once we’re done (and worth about 8x what we paid for it!!).
4 comments4 Comments so far
That is one fine looking ride! Fortunately all the parts needed are available and not too spendy. You guys are gonna have so much fun on the restoration project and end up with one helluva nice car. Congrats!
Don’t forget a major advantage with a car that old. He can get collector plates (like the one on my 72 Roadrunner) and never have to licence it again.
You only get ONE plate for the rear .. so that leaves his front bumper for a custom plate with a peace sign or something 🙂
Damn!! I’m so jealous. I just loved all the bugs I had over the years. Tough & reliable little critters. I drove from N.H. to R.I. at 50MPH with the left bank rocker arm broken off. Also a great car to do a frame-off restoration on in the future:)
Thats awesome. Twice his age but simple with NO computer parts. It also seems like a great project that is giving you something to do for a change. Dont forget to put in that porche motor! The extra umph is nice… LOL 😉