Aircooled VW South Africa

Hello All

I am not sure if this is the right place to start the project thread, if it is not then please let me know. I have made my first trip to the mechanic and have got some parts that he asked me to get from a very kind gentleman here in Pakistan - who is into VW's BIG TIME. Upon first inspection, the mechanics gave me a green light as far as the core of the car was concerned, like condition of the chassis, frame head and all that. So I am all set for restoration . The biggest problem is the availability of parts.

The mechanics are quite busy and the earliest I could get my car in the workshop is two months down the line. Since this is my only car they have made the following plan for me:

1. Get the mechanics of the car in order, like the base work and tyres, so that I can be on the road asap, this according to them will take them at the most 3 to 4 days. work will include suspension front and rear, brakes, steering. following is the list of parts that they asked me to get:

Front Suspension:

1. King & Linkpins Set
2. Tie Rod End Set [4]
3. Steering Damper
4. Steering Box
5. Brake Wheel Cylinder [front (7/8) rear (3/4)]
6. Wheel Drums [4]
7. Brake Fuel Line [Metal]
8. Brake Fuel Pipe Flexible [front/rear]
9. Shocks

Except for items 1, 6, and 9 I got them all from this gentleman here in my city. But I suppose work cannot start unless I get King & Linkpins set

Wanted to ask you all that I got a list of items for base work from one of the threads on this forum and it included a lot more items in addition to those on the list given to me by the Mechanics here. Following are the other items, can you please advice me if these are crucial to replace or if the mechanic feels that they are ok then they can be used as is:

Suspension (can someone please explain what these parts are and why they are important)

1. Wheel bearings
2. Brake shoes
3. Brake hoses
4. Steering box coupler
5. Axle tube rubber gaitors
6. Axle seal kit
7. Handbrake cable
8. Torsion bar doughnuts

Gearbox (can someone please explain what these parts are and why they are important)

1. Engine mountings
2. Clutch cable
3. Bowden tube
4. Clutch throw out shaft
5. Shift coupler
6. Starter bushing
7. Oil seal input shaft
8. Chassis shift bushing at gear lever
9. Master cylinder
10. Clutch tube inside chassis
11. Throttle Pedal/Mounts
12. Clutch cable hook on pedal assembly

I would really appreciate if someone could explain the above parts to me as it gets difficult to discuss with the mechanics if i dont know what these parts are for and why i need to replace them. Also since parts are non-existant here, i am sourcing them from abroad and that might take its own time; hence i would appreciate if you could tell me what is the bare minimum i need to get done to be on the road, as this is my only car, and as and when i get the parts i can keep replacing the old ones. Sorry a lot of questions

Cheers
Raffay

No one seems to be interested

Raffay,
I wouldn't go as far as saying nobody is interested but the list and nature of the questions is intensive and no doubt best be covered by reading a general motoring book. For us to do answers all this would take too much time when the least you should do is get some background first.

I would suggest taking it to another mehanic and get a second opinion on what is needed. Not seeing the beetle and condition it is difficult to suggest what to attend to first from a safety issue and what items can survive till later.

Alot is common sence eg the braking system and its importance and function really speaks for itself. I would suggest you order the book "How to keep your Volkswagen alive" by John Muir ISBN 0-912528-16-8 this would cover most and it is an easy read.
Mechanics have the tendancy to just replace, it is easier replacing eg. brake drums where you could have them skimmed (depending on condition).

There are also web sites that you could order the parts depending on budget etc
Again, please do not take the lack of reponse as how this forum functions, but rather the extent of your requirements being exhaustive and maybe best be resolved by you getting a background in vehicle basics.
Till later

Another gem is Rob and Daves Air Cooled Volkswagen Pages. Google it, they explain well and searching their website by index or by key word is really easy. Makes for a good read.

Thank you for your reply, I will do the reading...maybe wrong choice of words...apologies

Raffay,
Just don't get disheartened feel free to ask as you go along and we can help step by step....

Raffay wrote:Thank you for your reply, I will do the reading...maybe wrong choice of words...apologies

Dude maybe look at getting yourself a Haynes Beetle workshop manual http://www.haynes.com/products/productID/232
I'm no machanic found this book to be very helpful for general maintenance and repairs!

Retrobug wrote:

Raffay wrote:Thank you for your reply, I will do the reading...maybe wrong choice of words...apologies

Dude maybe look at getting yourself a Haynes Beetle workshop manual http://www.haynes.com/products/productID/232
I'm no machanic found this book to be very helpful for general maintenance and repairs!

I second that, it's a good choice and has been a trusty part of my maintenance and repairs I've done..
P.S. get some pics up of your bug, would love to see what it looks like..

I would love to put up the pics but i am not sure how to reduce the size, as i believe there is some size restriction

Raffay wrote:I would love to put up the pics but i am not sure how to reduce the size, as i believe there is some size restriction

open an account on IMAGESHACK and load all your pics on there ,then you can load them from there onto this site

I use this free program http://bimp-lite.en.softonic.com/
It allows you to resize the image to any size you choose!
From there I upload directly to the forum gallery!

Finally, our beetle got a name...its Monty; and here is the first picture http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/6251/i ... 165644.jpg will upload more images soon. This is what it looked like when i bought it. Now I have removed the stickers and have polished it.

Buggyfan thank you for imageshack...

Raffay wrote:Finally, our beetle got a name...its Monty; and here is the first picture http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/6251/i ... 165644.jpg will upload more images soon. This is what it looked like when i bought it. Now I have removed the stickers and have polished it.

If you click on the "Img" button above the text box and place your file name between the two sets of brackets []here[] the picture will load automatically

here it is

Raffay wrote:Finally, our beetle got a name...its Monty; more images soon. This is what it looked like when i bought it. Now I have removed the stickers and have polished it.

you do know that youve just killed HERBIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1