Ok guys, here is a picture of "Buggerfly". If you haven't figured out by my avatar why my car has the name, imagine a butterfly with a beetle instead of a body or a beetle with butterfly wings, similar to my tattoo.
Any suggestons on fixing her up, besides changing the wheels, that's one of the first things to do.
Hiya Strephanie,
Nice looking car!
Have you checked out the top? Those things can really get you deep into your pockets. Preventive maintenance there really pays off down the road.
Going to go back to stock wheels? Or something custom?
Stock for sure, don't care for the look of the custom.
Also trying to find the flat hubcaps with the VW emblem on them, prefer the German made, anyone know where I can get any.
We are having a hard time finding stock chrome 4 lug 4.5 wheels, my parts guy has 3 and last I checked the car had 4 wheels so if anyone knows where to find them please let me know. I've already tried midamerica, jbugs, samba,eBay, and all the local tire and wheel places with no luck, I only need 1.
Hiya Stephanie,
Well, here are a couple of possibilities.........................
http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=ACC%2DC10%2D6622
and.......
http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=251601151AGR
Good hunting!
Mike,
Thank you soooooooooooooooo much!
That is exactly what I was looking for, now my car will have 4 matching wheels.
I'm so glad you guys are here to help us beginners.
Hi Stephanie
with those wheels--
its possible that your Karmann cabriolet may be the only one in the world with those wheels... lol
WOW...
I also had a problem with getting the hubcaps..
I bought New ones and they dented while i tried to get them to go on..
they never did go on...
but they did dent very easilly...
I did find 4 new original german hubcaps that a fellow bought then had re chromed
about 25 years ago
the fellow has since died and the hubcaps were never fitted...
I have them still in a box...
I know how hard it will be to replace them...
they are just beautiful... [if you like Hubcaps that is...
and chrome that is 12 inches deep.... lol
LEE
Lee,
I finally got the new matching wheels on my car and the "VW" hubcaps, all in chrome, it looks so much better than it did when I posted the first picture. Now on to more pressing issues and its not the transmssion or the engine this time, its the top. It has deteriorated so bad its splitting and all the wood pieces have to be replaced, now just have to come up with the money. BTW, I finally got her running the way she should be, I drove her in a 4th of July parade and she did great!
Hiya Stephanie,
Glad to see you back on the board!
Also great to hear that your car is running well.
About that convertible top...........VW installed a quality convertible top - if not the best, certainly one of the best convertible tops available at the time. To be honest, redoing that top can be a spendy proposition. Some have chosen to take a DIY approach to the job. Not being a soft-top kinda guy I'm not sure if that is a wise approach or not. Just thought I'd mention it as an alternative.
In any event, you definitely want to be talking to Chuck's Convertible Parts. Chuck specializes in VW convertibles. He can do either a complete restoration or sell you the parts to do it. Best of all he has a toll free number for advice. If I had a VW convertible, Chuck would be at the top of my speed-dial list.
Take a look at his website http://www.chucksconvertibleparts.com/
Hey Mike,
Its good to be back, the car has been keping me busy, plus we've had a few shows the last couple of months. I had one issue with my car in May when I was getting ready to go to the Monumental Bug Bash show cruise, it was kind of funny now that I think about it , but that night i was mad. As I was backing out of my drive way my gear shift came off in my hand and we couldnt get it to stay on, later we found out the threads were stripped. We got back from the cruise and spent about 2 hours in my drive way, luckily a friend of ours is good with tools because he had to grind off about an inch of the stripped threads to get to useable ones and then resauter the contact back on and now I have no problems with it all. At least I made it to the show even though I missed the cruise. I asked a mechanic friend of ours if I should replace the shifter and he told me as long as its holding and its tight then there is no need to. I'm just thankful it wasn't anything major and it was an easy repair. this time anyway. As far as the top goes, I need to replace ALL the wood bows and window pieces, headliner and padding. I know it will cost but I have no choice at this point, the top we have discovered is the original and because the PO left it sitting outside with no cover the entire time they owned it it became seriously dry rotted and of course I actually put the top down so now it is splitting and cracking. I keep in covered when I'm not driving it so that all this lovely Texas heat and the mass of rain we have been getting doesn't make it any worse.
Did I tell you I took her to the Texas VW Classic? I drove her there and the night before the show my daughter fell off of a swing and broke her arm, so I missed the show. Luckily I have a friend that was at the show that also has an auto stick and was able o drive her to the show and park her for me. I didn't win anything, but just to say my car was there is still good, it was her first show too.
Hiya Stephanie,
Allright, sounds like you're having fun with that car!
I hope your daughter is mending well. I raised two of those little critters so I've been through the dead-of-night trips to the emergency room routine a couple of times. I think it was tougher on the parents than it was on the kids.
And about that shifter. If you should need to replace the assembly they can usually be had for around $25 to $35. But take a look at this one.......
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=631864
It's not complete but it does have the parts you'd need and you'll never find it any cheaper than this.
Good to see You are getting enjoyment from your beetle Stephanie
sorry to hear of you little one's arm
the knob on My gearshifter was a leather one with a VW emblem on the top
it had no thread in it, maybe it had been drilled out to fit our larger rod
anyway, I did use it for a few years until it kept coming off or half off at times
which wasn't satisfactory, so I had collected a type 3 knob
which I have always loved, and i'm now using it....
probably any knob could be glued onto the top of the shifter
with 2 part epoxy cement..
but its good to see that someone fixed the problem by cutting off the top of the shifter rod
very ingenious that Stephanie, its something I would never have thought of.... lol
The Cabriolet top has always been called one of the best ever made
so its going to be expensive to replace..
Last Night I was driving on the highway between towns when I came up behind
a car that was doing 50 KMH in a 100 KMH zone.. Very SLOW
I then noticed that the car was a Ford Capri ,[ probably the only convertible ever made in Australia]
with no roof.... and the temperature was about 40F - much much colder without a top ...lol
I guessed He didn't have a top...
cheers
LEE
I currently have my dads old type 3 wood grain shift knob on mine right now, i didnt like the little flat black one. It was just too small and wasnt comfortable for me. Im glad I have guys that know VWs or the shifter wouldnt have been fixed, it pays to keep VW mechanics handy and fed well. ;D
My top will be very exspensive to replace, I have to get it in pieces so it will take a while before its done. So far I hae the top, still have to get ALL the wood pieces, padding and head liner. I knew cabriolets were costly, but I wasnt expecting this much so soon. At least when I get it replaced I wont have to worry about it falling apart in my life time. LOL
I guess the prson the convertible likes the feeling of the cold wind, or they just have no sense at all. LOL :D
My daughters arm is healed and is now out of the cast, couldnt imagine going through the summer with the cast and her not being able to swim or play with her brother and cousins.
Have a great week!
Stephanie
Well its great time to have a cabriolet or convertible - Summer...
those original tops lasted over 30 years
even when not in a garage
I have a type 3 knob on My gearshifter lever
I've always liked them, and they were also made in gray and Bone
two tone... but they are very rare..
Mine is just dark gray...
I even have two spare gearshifters complete...
I never liked the early beetle knobs which were very small...
although the Autosticks gearknob is OK..
Good to see You can still drive it in the sunshine...
cheers
LEE