Das Auto - 1975 1600 S Beetle

[ELbob]

My mother has just given me her 1975 1600s which has been her daily runner for nearly 40 years. At the age of 91 she has decided that she has driven enough.
My dad had Beetles right through the 60's and I had two 1600's, one in the early 70's which was my first car and which like all youngsters I pounded, wheelspun, drove the country flat and then one in the early eighties. I have also done a beetle to beach buggy conversion with my neighbour in the 60's after he took a corner to fast and turned his beetle into a sandwich. So I remember generally what to expect from a beetle.
My mom's Beetle has been in Amanzimtoti about 200 metres from the sea for most of its life but she has always kept it in good nick (only ever had Michelens).
I drove the beetle back home from the car carriers who moved it and the engine was flat and the front wheels have a wicked wobble whenever I hit a pothole. The brakes have just had a new master cylinder installed but they do seem pretty soft.
The first thing I did was wash the engine compartment out and under the engine. There is rust on the car but I don't have a lot of money to spend on jazzing it up so I am going to do my best to get the engine sorted, the wobble sorted,the brakes working properly and clean away rust and stop it from spreading.
I took on the challenge of taking the plugs out which left me with skinned knuckles. The plugs were a tad dirty but still new so I cleaned them and reinstalled them. Fortunately I found my old Beetle plug spanner in a tool box because nothing takes the plugs out and puts them back the way the original socket does. I hand tuned the timing and already the engine sounds a bit healthier.
I shall be asking a lot of questions as I work through the car and from the responses I have received so far I am at the right place to be well educated.

[VW-rules]

I hope to see this beetle on the road soon.