Some Fresh Air Anyone?

Hey All, this is a continuation of the posts I've been doing on the interior improvements I've done in the last 3 months. Today I'll talk about the ventilation system. This is one thing that I have liked about the 1303 super beetles ever since I got one, they came equipped with an improved ventilation system. VW redesigned their dashboard for the super beetles for the 1973 model year. When they did this they increased the windshield size, and updated the dash style. In doing so they also improved the ventilation system. This includes a better defrost system, as well as an improved fresh air system. The fresh air system includes a vent on the out side and a fan that directs air inside towards the passenger through rear facing vents on the dash board. Its a cool feature that sets aside this car from many vw's. 

When I bought the car the fan and system worked great but it did not have the fresh air ventilation knobs. They were removed by the previous owner. They can sometimes be an annoying part to try and find. I was finally able to find some though. They nicely completed my dashboard for a very clean look. It is now very easy to turn on and off the air with the turn of a switch! It actually makes the car very pleasant to drive in the summer. Role the windows down, turn the ventilation and fan on, and you can't help but grin while driving down a sunny road. :)

Tunes

Hello! Today I'm continuing my posts about my car's "cockpit". This is a series of posts is about all the things I've upgraded on my interior and specifically around the dashboard. Today I wanted to write about my sound system.

When I first bought the car it had a good radio, the same one I have in it right now. But it didn't have an antenna and there were wires running everywhere for speakers that were not installed. He just had two speakers in the back seat area that were loose. They flopped around as I drove. It was really annoying. I wanted to put in a good looking speaker system, a stock looking one. So when I pulled the dashboard off I took advantage of the opportunity, and redid the radio.

I rewired the radio.  It didn't have a memory wire installed. It was annoying to have to redo my presets overtime I started the car. I got that all fixed. Now it keeps time, it saves my presets! I bought a nice speaker from auto zone and installed it in the stock speaker location. Now I have great music, it looks stock, its fun to drive. I can drive down the freeway with the windows open and still hear my music. Its such a small car that the new radio and speaker does just fine. I love how the dash is looking, it really has a clean classic look to it!

Speedometer

If you've read my previous posts you'll note that I've recently done some pretty major repairs on my car. During this process I had the dashboard off and I went through some of the problems in the dash. I'm working on a series of posts to write up all of the different repairs and upgrades I've done in the "cockpit". Today I'll be writing about the Speedometer.

During my repair process I decided to rewire the speakers and radio, unfortunately this required me removing the dashboard. Fortunately this provided a perfect opportunity to partially rebuild the speedometer. Like many of the parts on my car the speedometer has had issues since I've bought it. The lights on it were finicky, When driving at night the light would flicker on and off, They were also not very bright. The second problem was the odometer not working.

So I pulled it out and pulled it apart. I replaced several bulbs and repaired the bulb socket that kept flickering. A very easy repair actually. While I was at it I put reflective tape on the inside, this is a great suggestion I read about online to help brighten your speedometer at night. I would definitely recommend it!

The main problem with odometers in old beetles is a plastic gear that tends to break. You can buy brass replacements for this part. On my gear I realized the break wasn't bad and I was able to glue it with some simple super glue. Very easy fix, and now my odometer works perfectly!

While it was out I took the opportunity to repaint the trim ring. I like it  when the trim ring isn't just plain black but is silver so I repainted it. Even something as small as that has really freshened up the dash board.

I'm glad I took the time to do a partial speedometer rebuild, It makes my car that little bit better, and that little bit more mine. My car I think will continually be an ongoing process. But I really love doing these little repairs, putting my car back to sorts. Making sure its put back together right!

Accessorizing

Good Morning, today I'm going to be continuing to talk about some of the "cockpit" improvements I've made on my Bug. Like I mentioned before I had to take the dashboard off to redo some wiring problems, while the dash was off, I took advantage of the opportunity to make some needed repairs and upgrades. Today's topic is: The 12v outlet on my super beetle.

When I first got my car the previous owner had a really poor electric washer pump hooked up to the car. It passed safety but I didn't like it at all. He had "installed" a button in the whole for the cigarette lighter that operated the pump. He did a bad job of it and it was always falling apart. Over time i have been accumulating all the parts I need to restore the original washer pump system. For those of you interested in how that works, I'll be doing a post on it in a few days, so stay tuned. 

What that did do though is allow me to remove the button and free up the hole there. I have wanted to have a 12v outlet in my beetle ever since I had my first one, but I haven't been able to install one in any of the ones I have owned so far. But this time I decided to do it. Since I don't smoke I didn't want a cigarette lighter, I just wanted a 12v socket. I did some looking around on amazon and found one meant for marine vehicles. that's not super important, but what is important is it worked for my needs, it has a screw on the back to install it with. I had to slightly enlarge the hole so that it would fit, once that was done, I screwed it in and plugged it in into one of the ignition on fuses. 

It works great and I would recommend doing this to other owners as well. It was an easy and inexpensive upgrade. Its rather convenient as well, to be able to charge a phone or ipod while in your car driving!

The Cockpit

 Hello! I'm glad you've made it back to the site here. I wanted to post a few updates on how my 1975 Super Beetle, Felix, is coming along. Since he has been sitting for about two years, and I'm finally now getting around to fixing a lot of problems from the years on neglect, and neglect of previous owners. I still have several lists of things I need to work through, but this the life of an old car owner. My hope is that he will be roadworthy before the local VW car show in July.

Since I have begun the process of resurrecting Felix I have had to take the dash board off to do some rewiring, and as I did that, I fixed up some things on the dash. Today I wanted to write a couple posts about a few things that I've done to improve the "cockpit". Today's topic: The Steering Wheel!

First off let me say, I really like the way a clean 1303 super beetle dash board looks. I think it blends together really well. When I first got this car it had an aftermarket, autozone steering wheel. It was small, and cheap. It would make the car honk every time you turned right when going around a corner. It was really embarrassing. It didn't take me long to start the search for a replacement. It took a couple tries to get the right model steering wheel for my car. Turns out that VW switched steering columns mid-1974.

Once I got that figured out I got the right one ordered. I really love the way it looks with the dash, it meshes really well! When I took the dash apart a few weeks ago I was also able to take a close look at the turn signal cancellation ring. It had been busted off at one time, but I still had the old piece. I glued it back on with a plastics glue, and now have automatically canceling turn signals! Its just like driving a new car, :)

I have lately been realizing how weird it is that I get so excited about odd things, like a turn signal that cancels itself, or a stock windshield washer "pump", or a funky plastic steering wheel. Does anybody else get really excited about odd little things on your car that most people just take for granted? I think the joy of a car is in the details!

Vabalas

Good Day! Today I wanted to post about one of my favorite Lithuanian words. As I have previously mentioned I lived in the country of Lithuania for two years. During that time I learned to speak Lithuanian. Which, incidentally, is the oldest living language in the world. It is a very beautiful language, both in the way the sentences flow and in the way it sounds to the ear. It is also a very difficult language. Just ask any Lithuanian. In fact most Lithuanians were surprised that I would even attempt to learn it let alone speak it fluently.

Since the time i began learning Lithuanian I had long wanted to know what Lithuanians call the VW Bug. I wan't sure if they simply called it the Beetle, pronounced like a Lithuanian, or did they have their own nickname for it?

The answer came when I had been in Lithuania for about nine months. As part of our volunteer work we taught free English discussion groups to help people who were interested to improve their English skills. For this class I only had one student and I told him about my hobby in English and he had to translate what I was saying back into Lithuanian. He did really well until I said the word Beetle. He didn't understand. So I took a piece of paper and drew a VW Bug on the paper. He recognized it right off, and he was able to tell me the translation. They do have a nickname for it. And since that time it has been one of my favorite words. In Lithuanian the VW Beetle is called a Vabalas. Literally translated it is a Beetle.

Now you can impress somebody at the next car show. Show them your multilingual abilities! I'd love to hear in the comments below, what languages do you know how to say VW Beetle in?

The Interesting Things You can do with a Volkswagen

Good Day! Today I'm writing about one of those cool things that is adds the finishing touches to any car show entree, plus it is just cool to have. What might this be? Something that you used to be able to pick up at any dealership for free but is getting harder and harder to find; an accessory brochure.

A few years ago I was browsing online at what things were for sale for a bug, and I spotted this brochure. It is entitled "84 interesting things you can do to a Volkswagen" It is for all 1974 models. At the time I owned a 1974 Standard Beetle so I picked it up. It was definitely worth the $12 I spent for it. Its a bit of nostalgia I get to hold in my hands. It makes me feel like a real VW owner and enthusiast.

I've enjoyed leafing through the pages, seeing the options for buying the car. I can plan what sort of things I want to put on my car that are era correct. I can even spot one accessory that I have in my car now, the center console. Some of the things that VW offered were, interesting. Did you know that Volkswagen offered an official VW tissue box? How about a fanfare horn set? Or a large variety of decals? Pretty cool, huh?

While the part I like in having it is the nostalgia of owning it, it also is an eye catcher at a car show. I believe that a good candidate for a winner at a car show should have a "book collection" of manuals from that year. It adds a cool finishing touch to a show piece.

I'm excited to have shared with you a piece of my VW collection today! I love looking through these old manuals. If any of you would be interested, thesamba website has an archive of old literature and manuals. You can find the PDF version of these old manuals at their website, here is the link: theSamba Archive. Do you have some cool literature in your collection? Share with us below in the comments.