VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE 1300
RUN BY Martin Port OWNED SINCE March 2011 PREVIOUS REPORT Nov 2020
A new year, a new lockdown and the same Beetle still in the garage. That’s not to say that progress hasn’t been made, but more than any other projects that have gone before, I am appreciating just how easily a few small jobs can end up as a nut-and-bolt restoration.
Although I have no problem tackling small welding jobs, I am certainly not proficient enough to take on the task of something so visible as the repairs that were needed to the door bottoms and outer skins. With that in mind, I decided to hand over this job to brother-in-law Patrick Richards, who has the skill to do it properly.
With both doors removed from the shell, he initially planned to make the repair sections himself using an English wheel to replicate the slight ‘crowning’ of the outer skin. But after some research we decided that it would be more costeffective to buy good-quality repair sections and let in those instead.
Shipping delays, presumably as a result of the pandemic, meant that one of the three panels required was on back order, but the inner and outer repair sections that did arrive looked as though they should make his work a little easier.
Next on the order list was a new exhaust system and associated fixings – including those that would enable it to be mated to the used heat exchangers bought a few months earlier. I have been less than impressed with the longevity of previous systems fitted to the Beetle, but the coating and finishing of the twin-hotspot exhaust that arrived from VW Heritage Parts Centre should end up lasting a lot longer.
With the old flywheel and clutch having been finely polished as a result of oil ingress into the bellhousing, replacements were ordered. The clutch, again, is on back order, but a new flywheel arrived for a price that would have been about the same as having the old one refaced by a machine shop.
Having cleaned up the oil from the bellhousing shortly after removing the engine, it was difficult to see just where the lubricant might have been coming from. It could have been the engine main seal or gearbox input shaft seal, so for the sake of a few pounds I ordered replacements for both. They had clearly been in for some time and took quite a bit of effort to remove – the main seal coming out with the aid of a blunt flatheaded screwdriver, but the input shaft seal required a proper puller. Not a problem… until the recently purchased puller sheared on the first pull, but a bit of ingenuity and a large spanner sorted that issue. Then, with some gentle persuasion, the old seal was freed.
Last on the initial order sheet was a replacement seal for the engine tray. The original, which was already slightly perished, had split when the engine was removed from the car, but I was already building up a sizeable list of parts needed for stage two of the process: new door seals, a rear hub oil seal, brake shoes, bumpers… And, of course, I still needed to get the replacement front wings blasted and prepped for painting, along with the repaired doors and the stone-chipped bonnet.
And there’s the issue: once you start digging, it’s almost impossible to stop. I’m already finding myself wondering if now is the time to separate the body from the floorpan and have an even more in-depth root around. Must. Resist.
Long-term readers will recall the halcyon days when the C&SC team had its own on-site staff workshop and it’s fair to say that, more than ever since going freelance, I am missing the productivity that was achieved as a result of lunch-hour garage sessions and support from a few good mates.
Although my garage is now only a few metres away from my desk, it seems more challenging than ever to make positive strides towards getting the VW back on the road.