Our 1971 Super Beetle restoration made its first appearance in our channel update on September 11th, 2017.
It wasn't running and barely rolled.
Now, 4 years later, it's a running, driving car.
Since we are in Oceanside, California, we'll take advantage of some beautiful weather and enjoy a drive along the coast.
We're heading a few miles down the coast so HotVW's can shoot some pictures of the car for an upcoming feature in their magazine,
and we brought our own cameras along so we can film a feature for y'all.
The first how-to video we filmed for this series was an engine removal as when I bought the car, the engine wouldn't turn over.
We pulled apart the engine, found that it dropped an exhaust valve, and proceeded to completely rebuild the engine as a major part of this series.
The engine now has a counterweighted 74MM crank, and thick wall 88MM pistons which bump the displacement up from 1585CC to 1800CC.
All of the original engine tin is color matched to the body.
The carburetor is a 38EGAS 2 barrel from EMPI.
And a PerTronix Ignitor 3 SVDA distributor and coil provide spark to the fuel.
A modern style serpentine belt system turns the alternator and the original cooling fan.
A ceramic coated 2-Tip GT muffler and racing heater boxes take care of the exhaust.
And all of the engine assembly was covered early in our series over multiple videos.
The 205/40R17 Ohtsu tires are mounted on Anthracite Grey, powder coated, 5 by 130, 17 by 7 BBS Sport Classic Wheels from a Porsche 986
The wheels are mounted to 4 by130 cross drilled and slotted disc brakes with custom hub-centric wheel adapters.
The grey wheels look great with the lowered suspension, the Laguna Seca Blue paint, and the satin black Nutech running boards.
Opening the passenger door, we can get a better view of the two-tone saddle leatherette and whiskey unisuede interior.
The tan provides a good contrast from the blue and isn't the run of the mill black or gray interior that you'd normally expect.
The custom TMI Pro-Series seats are super supportive and comfortable and the rear upholstery is made to match.
The rear speaker deck holds two Kicker speakers and hides a 12 inch Kicker subwoofer underneath.
The unisuede headliner is installed over foam padding and HushMat sound deadener which is also installed below the black loop carpet and in the doors and quarter panels.
Like the rear, the front of the car has cross drilled and slotted disc brakes.
The suspension is lowered with color matched adjustable struts and springs.
A genuine and now rare Kamei air dam is mounted below the front color matched turn signal bumper, eliminating the need for turn signals on top of the fender.
All of the trim items such as the headlight rings and handles are color matched and, along with the custom mirrors on the doors, give the car a much more modern look.
Inside the trunk at the front, we went for a somewhat stock appearance although we do have some upgrades with the strut tower brace, gas hood struts, and an electric powered windshield washer bottle reservoir.
The fresh air box has a working two speed fan motor and the trunk liner hides a modern ATC fuse box and all the defroster, fresh air, and heater hoses.
The shaved antenna and body molding help to clean up the lines of the car.
Taking a look inside the driver's side, a Volante black ash wood steering wheel stands off from the original style padded dash.
A full set of VDO gauges, LED warning lights and indicators, and a USA740 Custom Autosound Bluetooth radio.
Front speaker kick panels house more Kicker speakers and the EMPI Billet Plus shifter connects to the 4-Speed Pro Street Flyer transmission.
We've filmed over 90 how-to videos that covered almost every aspect of our restoration.
Some of the things we covered, you watched me do for the first time.
I'm not a trained mechanic,
sheet metal fabricator,
welder,
body repair man,
or upholsterer.
Just the same, short of rebuilding the transmission and spraying the paint on the body, I've rebuilt and restored this entire car myself.
I've learned by reading, everything from VW magazines and manuals, as a kid before the internet, watching YouTube videos later on in life, and simply doing.
I've messed up and broken more parts along the way than I can count.
Just the same, it hasn't stopped me from learning and doing the thing that I love, working on and restoring cars.
Now that this series is complete, this car is going up for sale and we're going to be taking a break for a while while we work on some new and exciting things.
How did you like our car?
What are some favorite parts of our restoration?
What would you like to see us [restore] next?
Let us know in the comments below and as always,
Thanks for watching!