Helga, my '66 Beetle

Let's hear about your 1966 VW Beetle - How long have you owned it? What attracted you to this specific model year? what makes it unique? PLEASE - NO TECHNICAL OR MECHANICAL QUESTIONS IN THIS FORUM - PLEASE POST THEM IN THE TECHNICAL/MECHANICAL SECTION. Thanks John
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DeeJaye1970
New Member
Posts: 7
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2018 2:42 pm
Location: Los Angeles

Helga, my '66 Beetle

Post by DeeJaye1970 »

My wife and I bought our '66 (we call her Helga) a couple years ago from a widow who hated to see it just sit in her driveway. Her kids had learned to drive in it and they just used it to "bang around town," a small canyon community in Los Angeles.

The car ran great, there was minimal surface rust, needed new seals all around. The only leak was from the fuel tank, which the owner thought she had overfilled. Turned out there was a hole forming right next to where it connects to the fuel line. That was fix number one, a new tank.

I found out later there was also a leak in the brake line from the reservoir to the MC. Not a difficult fix, but I discovered a family of over 20 brown widow spiders making their home inside nooks and crannies underneath. I had to get rid of them one at a time by opening the garage early in the morning and killing them before the light made them crawl back inside. Fun! They are all gone now. I think.

We had a '72 Super Beetle in Germany, but I've always wanted a pre-1970 Beetle and now we have one. I love working on her, even when it's maddening (wiring!). We don't have a big budget for restoration, so it's one thing at a time. In two years, we've worked up from just moving her across the street every week (street sweeper) to being a daily driver.

I'm grateful to have found this forum, so many people here have shown me how to do things right.

You can see progress at http://instagram.com/helgabug66
darzoom
Senior Member
Posts: 468
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2011 10:32 am
Location: Atlanta

Post by darzoom »

Have fun with her!
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