You never know though do you? Pretty much everything on the car is either new or restored but there could still be something silly i missed. The lights, wipers and brakes work and its just visible smoke for the engine so what else is there? I'm confident on the bodywork and floorpan side of things and the suspension is all new. They're a good bunch of guys there though and know old vehicles so they're not as piccy as Quickfit or similar.
They're not that petty to give you a fail for an airfreshener. I had furry dice hanging from my bays mirror for years. I think most of the pointless rules they just gloss over.
Bast of luck, having done all this work, surely you’re not going to use it over the winter? Looks great btw
I never used mine over the winter and bought a crappy 205 so I didn’t have to. Until one year I decided that as it was my daily, I’m going to use it. Weeeeeeeee hitting ice on a bend in a bug is an experience, his bum wiggled out so much I could see it in the windscreen! I gave the 205 away and ran the bug throughout the year ever since.
Cheers. I've got the use of an all singing, all dancing, just point it in the right direction and it pretty much drives itself soulless corolla as a daily driver though my bug might make it out a few times over winter on dry days when theres not a couple of inches of salt on the roads. I ran it as a daily while i was at uni and had great fun once on a slippy A59 crossing the Pennines going from lock to lock trying to keep it on the road.
Went to the hospital at Workington today to pick up some chrome trim to replace the last missing piece. Just needs a bit of a polish as its dull. Welded a bit of metal to the mirror nut so when its tightened up it jams in the door and doesn't spin. Mirror fitted. Forgot how pointless they were on a beetle. You can barely see anything in them. Vapour barrier back on.
First time out othe garage in years. Ignition light has decided it won't go out until the engine is revved to about 3000rpm but then stays out. Brushes or voltage regulator? Also i've got the seat back as far as it'll go and my left knee hits the steering wheel when i lift it off the clutch.
MOT was at 1pm. One front indicator went out as we were driving to the garage and i locked the car and couldn't unlock it again. Not from inside or outside. Still put in it anyway and they passed it. 3 miles on the odometer.
Yay I’m proper chuffed for you fella All the ups and downs you’ve had and all the hard graft and time you have put into it has paid off Enjoy it
Sounds like you’ve grown since starting the resto if you weren’t expecting the knees on the steering wheel... how long has it taken you!? I tried to rest my knee on the T5 steering wheel last week, a bad habit I’ve subconsciously maintained since I owned a beetle and to my surprise my knee doesn’t reach! Well done on the pass!!
The drivers seat could ideally do with going back another inch or preferably two but the seat hits the floor before you can get it onto the next locking teeth. Not sure if its the positioning of the rails on repro pans. I might either dent the floorpan slightly behind each seat rail (or dent the seat base) or just fit a smaller sporty steering wheel. Something like this: The gearshift is mega short too. 1st to 2nd is about 2" max at the gearknob. Its got a nice snick into each gear though. I'd also forgotten just how bouncy a bug can be. There were a few bangs from the back end that might be the suspension hitting the bumpstops (not 100% sure) even with gas shocks. The towbar also hits the ground on our drive and my inlaws too making a nice gouge in their tarmac.
Well done @Zebedee all too easy to underestimate how much work goes into resurrecting an older vehicle......
I'd pretty much replaced everything that it could fail on. I know why full restorations cost so much. I think there's over 3000 hours of work in it up to now.
I need to sort out the drivers door lock so i can unlock it and the seat positioning so i can drive it without whacking the wheel with my knee when i lift the clutch. Winder regulator in the drivers door really needs replacing too while the door is apart sorting the lock, though i think the glass and 1/4 light needs removing first to get it out.