I now own my first Bug

Alex,

Congrats on the car and welcome to the club. Advice, if you haven't done do already, go over the car thoroughly (even though it made the trip). Change the oil, tune up, valve adjustment. I'd recommend:

1- John Muir's 'How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive" - it has a lot of decent information (although not perfect) 2- Look into the BUGME video series. 3- Look for other enthusiasts/clubs in your area 4-Keep reading this group 5-Enjoy live in the slow lane DB

Oops, How could I forget to suggest Bentley. - DB

Get thee back to eBay and buy the Bentley Official Manual; it covers '66 thru '69 models and will answer many questions you will have. (Also available new.) Haynes has a good manual and many folks find the Muir "Idiot" book helpful.

Speedy Jim

I happen to have a copy of the Bentley you need. Almost new. I think new it goes for $40. I'll let it go for $25 plus shipping from Virginia. (Probably about $4-5 as I think it'll fit in a priority mail envelope.) I owned a 65 Beetle for three days and this book came with the car. (Even though it didn't cover the '65, it was in there for some reason.) Email me - snipped-for-privacy@vcu.edu and let me know.

-Jeff

73 Super Beetle 04 GTI 1.8T Gone but not forgotten: 65 Beetle (Owned for three days) 86 Jetta Diesel 88 GTI 16v

Alex Gilblom wrote:

Well done that lad , i've got a 64 bug with a solid steel sunroof (there a pain but rare but you can get most parts )

:-)

John

Thanks for the responses! I've ordered the Bently book and the Muir book off of Amazon.com and they should be arriving today. My dad had a copy of the Muir book from the 70s that is in a box in a storage space somewhere, so I decided to splurge and get a new one.

I'm in the midst of finals (college) right now, but i'll be devoting my time to the bug and work starting next week.

Thanks again!

-Alex

That's funny to me. I got married in 69 with some of the wedding money we bought a 69 bug because it was the most reliable car in cold NY winters. Got it with sunroof and pop out window for $2000 New. Had that one 10 years and two kids. Have had bugs, ghia,s squarebacks ever since. I am the guy that wrote the Type IV Upright Conversion Manual. My bug now is a 74 with a 914 engine. So it is wild for me to hear a first time buyer. Check out my bug

Lots of luck and by the way, you are now addicted. Joe Cali Next Generation-usa

Have fun with your Bug Alex. I'm just getting back in to the aircooled vw scene myself with a '64 sunroof Bug. I had a '69 years ago. It was good decent transportation

25 years ago, ha! Of course it was my daily driver back then. Had it for a couple of years then sold it to my brother who decided it needed more horsepower. He did the old Holley BugSpray carburetor setup and bigger pistons and jugs. Unfortunately, most of his extra horsepower was between his ears. He missed a shift playing Don Garlits at a stop light. The #3 connecting rod snapped, wedged over against the crank and it pretty much circumcised the engine case. He drove it around with a junkyard motor for about six months before he got t-boned in the passenger side. I started following the newsgroup three or four years back when I had a '59 Bug that just needed more work (and money) than I was willing to put in to it, rusty, wore out....no fun. Had a couple of other Bugs in between the '69 and the '59. Got the '64 now, no rust, great shape overall...having lots of fun with it. Of course I'm getting to be an old fart nowadays so it's mainly a toy. Did I mention that I'm having fun with it? Make sure you have fun with your '69. It's too much like work if you think that everything that needs to be done to it is too much like...well...work. It sounds like you've found a good one in decent shape that'll be easy to work on. Good luck with it, read the newsgroup, ask questions, and have fun.

Thanks! I'm definitely having fun with it. I'm actually looking forward to the tedium of the headliner adventure that is in store for me, but I can't wait for that feeling of 'ahh, it's in, and I did it'.

-Alex

Don't forget to get rid of that plastic fuel filter (if there is one). Get yourself a nice set of metric tools. Feeler gauges and a timing light.

Triple check your seatbelts and remove any rust before it grows. Always carry a spare pulley belt, throtle cable and if possible, a distributor. My dizzy failed once last year, since then I've carried a stock dizzy in the glove box. No more problems. Mechanical components have a tendency of not failing when there's a replacement at hand (See Murphy's law).

One more thing, make sure your wife/girlfriend is in a good mood before undergoing any major repairs or improvements on your bug.

Congratulations. Karls

Ahhhh... 1969... twas a good year... lol

Ah-hum.........."One more thing, make sure your wife/girlfriend is in a good mood before undergoing any major repairs or improvements on your bug."......... or husband LOL

Susan (whose hubby is already raising hell about all the VW parts laying around the living room)

74 Std Betty

>

Better not invite the local lifestyle-cop to tea, lest he impose new indoor appearance standards. Then comes the "no knock" policy, and it's all downhill from there.