Walter's 1969 Beetle

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The links below take you to individual pages detailing the restoration project:

June 30, 2009
July 1, 2009
July 2 & 3, 2009
July 4, 2009
July 6, 2009
July 8, 2009
July 10, 2009
July 11, 2009
July 13, 2009
July 14, 2009
July 16, 2009
July 17, 2009
July 20, 2009
July 21, 2009
July 23, 2009
July 24, 2009
July 29, 2009
July 30, 2009
July 31, 2009
August 3, 2009
August 6, 2009
August 10, 2009
August 12, 2009
August 14, 2009
August 19, 2009
August 25, 2009
August 29, 2009
August 31, 2009
September 8, 2009
September 16, 2009
September 18, 2009
September 20, 2009

How do you transport a forty-year-old VW Beetle 700 miles so it can be put in the shop and restored? After consideration of various means of hauling the car, its owner decided the Bug should once again taste the freedom of the open road. The '69 Bug arrived in Alabama after an uneventful overnight drive from Dallas. The old trooper (the car, not the driver....) performed perfectly with the exception of having no dash lights. The '69 was driven as close to 60 mph as possible considering the only way to monitor the speedo was with a small flashlight, and returned 33 mpg for the trip. Not bad for a forty-year-old Beetle with 238,000 miles on the clock!

This Beetle is actually in good condition considering its age and mileage. Walter bought the car from the original owner when it had 12,000 miles. It was a daily driver for many years and even survived three teenage drivers who inflicted a few indignities which necessitated the replacement of a body panel here and there. For the past couple of decades the Bug has been garaged and driven occasionally and has received semi-periodic maintenance. The body is nearly rust-free, and most of the mechanicals are in working order. Interestingly, this is a quite rare matching number car--it still has the original engine crackcase!

Walter and Billie's Beetle is an excellent candidate for a restoration project and should yield a fine example of 1969 VW technology.

Update 9/20/09; The Beetle is now back on the road after an extensive restoration!

Here is the color chart for the 1968 Beetle:

Walter's car was originally Toga White with the Gala Red interior. Interestingly, the original wheels were two-tone grey-black and white.

Here is the color chart from the 1968 sales brochure.

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