1969 Volkswagen Beetle - Classic

1500CC SINGLE PORT

Manual

119369574

Being offered today is my four year restoration project. As a young teenager it was my dream to someday restore a vehicle. Back then it was the era of muscle cars and cheap gas. Seeing those vehicles back then made me make a promise to myself that someday when I got older and the money became available that I would fulfill my teenage dream by restoring a vehicle that I drove back then and also a vehicle that had a lot of memories and stories. Back then it was my 1967 Beetle. Forward 22 years later and turning 40, it was time. Call it something in my "Bucket List". For my 40th, I purchased a 1969 Beetle determined that it would be my greatest creation by using everything that I had learned as a mechanic. Chassis - New floor pans, new front cross-over support, new adjustable front suspension with shocks, wheel bearings and seals. New master cylinder and steel brake lines. All of the brakes have new wheel cylinders, springs and clips. The brakes adjusters were disassembled, cleaned and anti-seize applied to them. The transmission input shaft seal was replace while the engine was removed. All of the welds were primed and then sealed with automotive seam sealer. Body - The shell, doors, hood and trunk are original. Except for the shell, the other parts required minimal body work. On the shell, the front nose was replaced in pieces (not the one piece nose assembly). The spare tire sheet metal well was replaced and hand fitted back to specs. New gas tank and fuel gage. The bottom half of the “firewall” was replaced, both heater channels (of course), the rear bottom out brackets (behind the rear tires), the rear bumper bracket sheet metal, the rear apron, all four fenders, both bumpers and running boards. When the body was reattached to the chassis, every bolt attaching the two parts together was coated with Permatex anti -seize. Even the bolts attaching the four fenders to the body received the same treatment. All of the fender wells were undercoated as well as the bottom floorpans. Engine – The engine is a 1500 cc single port motor. After removing everything bolted or screwed to the block, the engine internal repairs were done by a veteran VW mechanic who had over 20 years of experience working on Beetles. Cam and crank bearings were replaced. It was line bored and it was “thrust cut” to eliminating the crankshaft end play. I installed new pistons, rings and cylinders. Every piston ring was position 120 degrees apart from each other to help improve compression. The push rod tubes were “stretched” to the specific length then I applied the blue Permatex caulking and new cylinder heads. I attached chrome valve covers. Headers were attached to the motor. Next was assembling the engine chrome. I purchased everything that was chrome that could be attached to the motor. The charging system was converted from a generator to an alternator. It has new plugs, points, distributor cap, plug wires etc. New clutch, pressure plate & release bearing. Painting – The vehicle was painted at a body shop and not by me. Before the bug was picked up for the body shop, I “hung” the four fenders from the body using long bolts so when they sprayed the car I wanted to make sure that the surfaces where the fenders meets the body that it had five coats of paint like the rest of the vehicle. After the painting, three coats of clear-coat were applied. Interior – At first I tried the one piece head liner. After spending hours installing it, when it was finished I didn’t like the way it looked so I tore it out and bought the seven piece kit. Big difference! Every piece of rubber was replaced on the vehicle as well all the chrome. The rear windows were converted to pop out windows. The interior upholstery was custom made as well as the door panels. All the seat cushions were replaced. New carpeting installed throughout including under the front trunk. A new dashboard was installed. The radio has not been installed. (I didn’t want to cut the hole in the dashboard) Awards & Car Shows – The vehicle was entered in four car shows in my area. I was fortunate enough to win first place trophies in three out of four shows. My most satisfying awards were when I entered it in an official VW sanction car show in Concord, New Hampshire. There were over 400 entries that day. At the award ceremony I walked away with four awards: Best in the age bracket, Best Interior, Best Engine and YES, Best in Show! Talk about being happy!! I’ll never forget that day. These awards made me feel that the four years of restoration were worth my time and efforts. All this happened around eleven years ago. Vehicle Storage – The vehicle has not been registered in eleven years. Since then, it has been stored in my heated garage in my home. It has been started twice a year, every year. I would back it out of the garage, drive it for about 1/8 of a mile and return it to the garage. This vehicle has never been exposed to rain. Mileage - There are 622 miles on the engine. Just a foot-note: I have invested close to 10k in this restoration not to mention my labor. On Jun-25-12 at 14:01:19 PDT, seller added the following information: I have had a couple of emails about the vehicle being a daily driveable car. It is. Everything is up to date and functioning. I didn't mention this in the description, but I installed 3-point seatbelts for the safety of the driver and passenger. I wasn't comfortable with the single lap seatbelts. Another question I keep getting concerns the Title. When the vehicle was purchased 20 years ago, they didn't have Titles. I also checked with my State Department of Motor Vehicle and they say that they only require a Title dated 2005 or newer. I do have the Registration that is kept in the glovebox. If someone was to build a car from scratch, how would they get a Title? I recently sold a 1977 Moped without a title. The person who bought it didn't have any problems registering it. The color of the vehicle is called Burnt Orange. That should answer all of the emails that I've had. Thanks for showing interest in my/your Beetle. Mikadees