the story goes about three years ago i saw a bug sitting in a back yard under a tree. the owner was there and i asked him about the bug he told me it had a broken a ball joint about 4 years earlier and he was going to fix it and it wasent forsale. and as i was leaving he said stop back in a year and if it was still broken he would sell it. the years rolled by and i had forgotten about the bug. about three weeks ago i was in the same part of town and thought i would stop by and see if it was still there. sure enough it had sank to its pan under the tree. this time i got to look at it but just briefly and the owner was ready to sell as he had broken his knee and could no longer drive a clutch so he lost interest in trying to repair. he had mentioned that it had its pans replaced and was not on its correct pan anyways. he also said when he bought it that he was told it had been in nome alaska for awhile. he said he really didnt kow anything about the bug except it was from arizona originally. well i left my number and left not really interested as i didnt want a car that was someone elses resto or hack job. besides it was so covered in moss and tree sap the cheapo cover didnt keep the paint clean at all, it look as if it was in need of another repaint. while i was gone a few days working the girl friend decided she wanted the car and worked a deal! when i got in town i got the info that we needed to pick up the new to us bug on saturday. well to my surprise it fired right up and we drove it out of its holes it was resting in and onto the trailer. after a pressure wash and some cleaning it was becomming very clear that this bug is mostly original and after looking the pans over and checking serial numbers that it was on its original pan. and after closer inspection the paint under the hood door jams, dash , trunk , is all OG. the pans have never been repaired and the heater channels are OG as well. im pretty sure this car has not been off its pan ever. the documentation along with the OG owners manual show this car to have 70k OG miles and to have had 5 owners in all. looks to have been repainted in 96 along with brakes and other items. the seats are OG but the door panels and fron carpets are not they are aftermarket. this car needs a bit of work to get her road worthy. will keep you all posted with the updates and finds as we dig into her. well guys it cleaned up pretty good and deserves better than the tree she was under. this bug will stay as original as we can keep it and be a dailyish driver when the weather permits.
heres a few pics
Nice. I'd suspect it's got a rebuilt transmission in it as well as '66 models did not have a reverse light and the trans was not plumbed for the sender. That bumper brace is also dealer option or aftermarket, but absolutely period correct. Looks like one hell of a find. Congrats!
fatalifeaten wrote:Nice. I'd suspect it's got a rebuilt transmission in it as well as '66 models did not have a reverse light and the trans was not plumbed for the sender. That bumper brace is also dealer option or aftermarket, but absolutely period correct. Looks like one hell of a find. Congrats!
thanks
the tranny is correct there is a toggle switch under the dash to your left for the backup light. it may have been rebuilt in the past not sure on that, its pretty clean under there and she shifts smooth. i was wondering about that bumper brace it seemed period correct to me as well.
Great looking 66! My 66 has back up lights as well and the car is very original, just like yours. Nice find! I'd like to see some more pictures of your car and interior. Sunroof is over the top!
rokemester wrote:Great looking 66! My 66 has back up lights as well and the car is very original, just like yours. Nice find! I'd like to see some more pictures of your car and interior. Sunroof is over the top!
i will post some more pics of the car when i get a few more pics of it.i rebuilt the brakes and took it for a ride, the motor was not running well so i took it out and found the head bolts to be loose so i removed the heads just to make sure things where in good shape. i resealed a few things and put her back togather. she now runs great and purs at 55 mph. we just bought some new tires and found a old saphire radio that i was told works. so i will test it and try it out. this car is a real joy to drive.
It was a beautiful Fall day in Cleveland and I was able to take my Bug out for a spin. Won't be long before the snow begins to fly. I love hearing about your car. You must be pretty mechanically inclined. Keep those posts coming and don't forget the technical forum.
