1966 Athens, Greece

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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Athen_TL
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Posts: 35
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:19 pm
Location: Athens, Greece

1966 Athens, Greece

Post by Athen_TL »

Hi everyone.

Even though i have been a member of this great forum for some time, i have never gotten around to introduce my Pearl White '66.

I bought it in 1999 at an auction from the Greek State. It was in good shape, but the previous owner had changed the front fenders to upright headlights, the bumpers to square ones, the taillights to Superbeetle and had closed the holes in the front apron (where the export bumper supports stick out).

After remedy of all the above the car looked like this :

http://snowman.myphotoalbum.com/view_al ... me=album03

In some of the pictures you will notice that the front rims have changed to 4x130 bolt pattern. This was because we changed the front end to disk brakes. I believe that if you use a Beetle as a daily driver it is necessary to upgrade to disks.

In December 2003 some lady ignored a stop-sign. I T-boned her Toyota with about 60 kmph. The result can be seen here:

http://snowman.myphotoalbum.com/view_al ... me=album01

And a closer examination of the damage:

http://snowman.myphotoalbum.com/view_al ... me=album01

Since then many things have changed - the birth of my first and my second daughter, different job(s) and some personal stuff. Anyway, it was not until 2009 that i took the car out of the garage and decided to fix it. I am currently working on a new Photoalbum that documents what has been done and how it turned out. I will post the result soon.

Thks for looking :)
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jmartini
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Post by jmartini »

WOW - Glad you are alright - it could have been so much worse. Great photos! I can't wait to see the repairs!
Athen_TL
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Posts: 35
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:19 pm
Location: Athens, Greece

Post by Athen_TL »

Finally, some more pics in my album.

Please feel free to check them out. http://snowman.myphotoalbum.com/albums.php
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jmartini
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Post by jmartini »

Very nice!
Athen_TL
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Posts: 35
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:19 pm
Location: Athens, Greece

Post by Athen_TL »

A little update .. and just for the record my first attempt at video editing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww1wKTB9OBo
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agggilli
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Location: Greenville, NC

Post by agggilli »

You really did a fantastic job on your car! I looked at all your pictures in your albums, and you really did a lot of great work. The interior is absolutely gorgeous, and the Subaru conversion, what a sleeper! Nice job and a very nice car! :D
Athen_TL
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Posts: 35
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:19 pm
Location: Athens, Greece

Post by Athen_TL »

Thank you for your kind words. I have to admit though that there were times during the 6 years the build took, that i was totally fed up.

Only the vision of the finished car (the result is pretty close to the desired) kept me going.

Remarks like yours make all the hard work easily forgotten.

:)
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rokemester
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Location: Cleveland, Ohio

Post by rokemester »

Love your car. I enjoyed watching the detail that went into your interior. Did you do all the work yourself? If so unbelievable! The color combo reminds me of the 65 Sunroof Bug I had back in 1973 - 1977. That's my Mom's 72 Vette which she still owns, but without me to detail it.
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Athen_TL
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Posts: 35
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:19 pm
Location: Athens, Greece

Post by Athen_TL »

Thanks rokemester. Apart from the respray and the seats i did everything myself.
The color combination is outside color Pearlwhite (the original color the car had from the factory) and the interior is quite close to the burgundy of the original (color only - everything else has changed).

I'm really proud of the result and seeing that others like it too is truly heartwarming.
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rokemester
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Post by rokemester »

Looks like the work of a pro!
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