Hello VW fans.

My diamond blue VW Beetle 1500 was produced in March 1969. The first registration was in Sweden and it was running there until I bought it.

I wanted a new daily driver and because I am now fully into the 70ies, I wanted an early late model with padded dash and high back seats.

After hunting for about 3 month, I found this 1969 model in original condition. The diamond blue color is aged but mostly the factory paint. The interior as seats, door panels, carpet and headliner are original and in very good condition. Luckily, the VW received a DINITROL rust protection in 1969 but unfortunately, it was not rust free.

I decided to repair all the rust problems and to preserve the visible patina and age.

Before this, I already restored two Volkswagen full “in as new condition”, here for example, details of my VW Beetle 1965 restoration.

In summary, I can say that a patina-preserving restoration is about as costly as an “everything as new resto”. To preserve the patina, many restoration processes are much more time consuming. For example, I removed the rust on the inner fenders with acid to preserve the original paint outside. At a full resto, fenders go with many other parts to the sandblaster and that is it, you have to invest no time to remove any rust “by hand”.

However, I would recommend keeping patina if the paint and interior is good, but it is a difficult balance with patina. My 1969 VW Bug still looks aged after the restoration. I can park it anywhere at any time without fear of paint damages or dents and so I have a lot of fun with it.

The first picture above shows my welder working underneath the front firewall and napoleon hat.

Below further details of the preserving patina body off restoration of my 1969 VW Beetle 1500.

My 1969 VW Beetle 1500 as I bought it before restoration.
Great original Swedish VW dealer sticker from 1969 on the rear window of my Beetle. The text translated means “A VW from bil & bus”.
Great Volkswagenwerk AG side window stickers from 1969 on my Beetle for the swedish market. The text translated means “This Volkswagen meets the US car safety regulations at the time of production” and the second sticker says “safety medal for neck protection as standard”. My 1969 VW Beetle has the high back seats with attached headrest introduced 1968 and so VW put these stickers on the side window. Great!
This picture shows the inner heater channel of the driver side in great rust free condition. All four edges inside were as good as that, but unfortunately outside was rust and welding to do.
My VW received a DINITROL rust protection in 1969. The Swedish Volkswagen dealer made holes in the heater channels, doors and lower area of the rear side panels to put rust protection wax in. After that, they put a cool DINITROL rust protection decal on the vent window (see next picture). My Beetle was partially in very condition due to this early rustproofing.
DINITROL ROST PROTECTION sticker from 1969 on the SEKURIT vent window of my VW Beetle. The Swedish sticker means “THIS CAR IS DINITROL ROST-PROTECTED IN THE ML METHOD”. The Swedish text on the sticker is “DENNA BILAR ROSTSKYDDAD DINITROL ENLIGT ML METODEN”. The DINITROL Company was established in 1937 in Göteburg and they are still in the corrosion protection business.
View under the front hood before restoration. All is aged but complete and the original trunk liner is in good condition.
Start of the VW Bug dismantling. I removed the fenders, seats, tank and body to chassis mounting bolts.
View after I removed the front fender. There is dirt and unprofessional welding patches in the lower area.
Under the rear seat is the battery mount bracket and some body to chassis mounting bolts.
This is an important body to chassis bolt at the VW Beetle rear shock tower. The washer is special and I will reuse it after restoration. Furthermore, there are two bolts between body and front beam and numerous bolts running underneath along the heater channels.
Rescue of the VW diamantblau L50B (diamond blue) paint code sticker that was dirty and over sprayed with 1K spray. I cleaned the sticker a bit and afterwards I removed it slowly. I then cleaned it more and it is ready do mount again.
View on the VW Beetle chassis after the gas tank is out. Now the two bolts between body and front beam can be unscrewed.
VW Beetle body removed from chassis. The body is quite heavy with doors, glass and so on still in. For a full restoration, I recommend to remove all parts from the body before you lift it.
After the body was off, I removed the engine, the front axle, the gearbox and all other parts from the chassis.
Here you see all the dismantled tin parts from the chassis, engine and front axle. I removed the dirt and I had a look at all parts. Some went in the box for sandblasting, some came in the box for welding and some tin parts came on the replacement hunt list.
This is a VW crank pulley puller to remove the crankshaft pulley from the Beetle engine. Without a tool like this, it is likely that you damage the crankshaft pulley.
Here you see a VW Beetle tool to remove the oil filler. My plan was to remove the stock oil filler for sandblasting and painting but I was not able to remove it with the tool. With a lot of strength, I might have damaged the screw. Therefore, I removed the alternator stand with the stock oil filler attached. Later in the restoration process, I covered the generator stand with tape while the oil filler was sandblasted and painted.
This is the original VW Beetle 1500 carburetor SOLEX 30 PICT-2 before restoration. The Beetle was not running very well when I bought it and so I sent this carburetor to oldtimerwensing.de. I ordered an inside carburetor and a “keep the outside as is” resto because I do not like new looking golden plated parts on the outside. It was set with factory settings. This is my second VW Beetle carburetor resto from Oldtimer Wensing and I can recommend the company.
The next step of the restoration was to prepare the VW body for welding. I put the body on a table so that work is comfortable and started to remove all the dirt from the lower area. Sandblasting was not an option, because I keep as much as possible inside, e.g. doors, headliner, carpet and dashboard. I do only a restoration of the lower area of the Beetle to keep most of the visible age and patina.
VW Beetle rear fender well after cleaning and rust removing. The problems are now easy to see. I used an angle grinder with wire wheels and cup brushes to strip the dirt and rust.
VW Beetle rear luggage shelf with lots of dirt before cleaning.
VW Beetle rear luggage shelf after cleaning and rust removing.
VW Beetle rear luggage shelf painted with 2K epoxy primer by hand with paint roller and brush. I removed the dirt and rust as good as I could from the entire lower body and painted all with 2K epoxy primer. My work ends here first and the welder continues.
VW Beetle restoration body welding. My welder working on the front firewall.
Welding the front firewall and napoleon hat area of the VW Beetle body.
After the body was in the welding process, I started to work on the VW Beetle chassis. I ripped out the tar boards on the inner side and removed the tar and dirt from the floor pan rear.
Rust holes on the VW Beetle frame head after I removed the dirt. Fortunate the frame head top side is good. My work ends here first. The chassis will go like this to my welder and then to sandblasting.
The rear floor pan section with some small rust holes. My welder will repair this.
The welding of my VW Beetle chassis was finished within one day. Here the welding repair of the floor pan near the battery tray.
Welding of the VW Beetle cylinder engine tin.
Here the original VW Beetle B2 Eberspächer heater exhaust pipe. The mount bracket was partially rusted and was therefore welded.
Welding the VW Beetle fender edge. Furthermore, my welder closed a few holes on the rear fenders that came from gravel stone guards. It is always worth to save the original fenders because the reproductions do not fit very well.
Welding a new old stock VW muffler. This exhaust came with a sticker with part number # 113251053 AK. The part catalog recommends exactly this exhaust for my 1969 VW Beetle 1500 original engine. Fortunate I checked the fitting early enough. I had a problem to mount the nos exhaust to the cylinder head. After I saw the problem, I knew why the exhaust had a rattle can sales paint job. Thanks to the dishonest seller. I used an angel grinder to cut the exhaust pipe. Then I mounted the exhaust with all screws, drove with the engine to my welder and the problem was past.
Checking the unscrewed parts: After the body and floor was in process, I started to check all the other parts. I put all parts in bags when I dismantled the Beetle and then later I cleaned and checked them.
Here you see a page of my ”VW Beetle nuts and bolts list” which wrote for zinc plating. I also wrote the zinc color on my list, because the sorting will be easier later. At the end of the restoration, in the assembly, I will have a bag e.g. for “PEDAL” and inside are the new painted pedals and the galvanized original bolts and nuts to mount the pedal on the floor pan.
Rusted lower engine tin and an original VW replacement. This rust free tin goes to sandblasting so that the paint adheres well.
Original 1969 VW Beetle bakelite heater flex tubes before and after cleaning.
Dirty Bosch starter before restoration. I restored it by hand, because sandblasting is not good for the starter.
VW Bug Bosch starter after cleaning and ready for paint. I painted it by hand with 2K EP epoxy primer and 2K black.
Original VW Beetle 4-lug disc brakes ready for painting. I removed the rust by hand, because the wheel bearings do not like sandblasting. The discs are stamped with “VW 113 075”.
Original VW alternator # 113903031G with backing plate and cooling fan. I decided that the cooling fan does not need a restoration and that it remains on the generator. Therefore, I removed the old color from the backing plate to prepare for painting.
Original made in Germany VW Beetle front axle. My front beam restoration process chain: cleaning, welding rust holes, welding in Puma lowering adjuster, sandblasting and painting.
Gearbox with swing axle before restoration with lots of dirt and rust.
My VW Beetle gearbox with swing axle after cleaning. Rust-free and ready for paint.
My VW Beetle gearbox restoration. Swing axle and brake backing plates painted with roll and brush in black epoxy primer. The next day I painted it with 2K satin gloss black color. I kept the 1969 mounted one-piece swing axle boots, because they look good.
I sanded and painted brand new rear shock absorbers with black 2K EP primer, because the factory paint is often in poor quality. I also painted new old stock tie rod ends.
These are the original bumpers with a stamped VW logo with number on the bottom. They are dent free and with good chrome patina but with too much rust on the inside.
I polished the bumpers chrome and I removed the rust on the blade inside until I was satisfied.
I covered the bumper blade chrome with tape and painted the backside with a paint roller with 2K epoxy primer for a good rust protection. After that, I sprayed a thin layer 1K primer over the 2K primer. Then I sprayed standard 1K silver wheel color (DUPLI COLOR Felgen-Lack Silber) over it. The original color of the inside of the Beetle bumper is VW L91 chrome silver. The picture shows how the DUPLI COLOR wheel color looks like. I am happy with the result and did the same with a set of bumper guards.
Original VW Beetle rear fender before restoration with lots of dirt and rust on the inside. All four fenders were in this condition.
The rear fender after cleaning with surface rust.
In the next step of the VW Bug fender restoration, I put 31% hydrochloric acid on the rust areas. Here the start of the rust removing process with the rust clearly visible.
Here you see the fender after hydrochloric acid was on it for 1 hour. The rust has disappeared very well from the pores.
Here a detailed picture of the fender inside after one hour with hydrochloric acid. I was surprised how good the acid removed the rust.
Here the fender after the hydrochloric acid rust removing process was finished. I had the acid about 2 hours on the fender. Then I washed the fender with water and painted it with epoxy primer the same day. I did two fenders at the same time.
Finish of fender restoration. The next day, after the EP primer was dry, I painted the fender inside with L50B diamond blue 2K color. Now the inside of the fender is better than the outside. I keep the patina on outside.
VW Beetle tank restoration day 1: View inside the gas tank before restoration. I use 31% hydrochloric acid and 85% phosphoric acid for the tank resto. I cleaned the tank from inside with dish soap and lots of hot water. It is important to clean it very well. The tank is rusty from inside and I put the hydrochloric acid inside. I relocated the tank several times, so that the acid comes on all sides. BTW, I used for two other VW tanks the POR-15 fuel tank repair kit. It works, but it is slow and expensive, because in the “Fuel Tank Repair Kit” is not enough Metal Ready / Prep to remove rust. In addition, the POR-15 fuel tank sealer will come off someday. That is why I had researched the subject again and do it different on this tank.
Tank restoration day 2: View inside the tank after one day with hydrochloric acid. The tank looks rust free inside and I am happy. I removed the hydrochloric acid with a lot of water and dried the tank.
VW Bug tank restoration day 2: After the hydrochloric acid was out and the tank was dry, the next step was 85% phosphoric acid. I put the phosphoric acid in the tank and relocated the tank several times throughout the day, so that the acid reaches all sides. I removed it after about 6 hours.
Result of the VW Beetle tank restoration at the end of day 2: Here the inside of the fuel tank after I removed the phosphoric acid. WOW! The phosphoric acid forms an iron phosphate layer that is highly resistant and protects underlying rust. I stored the tank like that. Later in the process, the tank outside was sandblasted and painted and before I reinstalled the tank, I cleaned the inside with fuel. I am very happy with the hydrochloric acid and phosphoric acid resto. It is cheap, fast and there is no coating in the tank.
Preparations for the sandblasting. Here I protect the lock bar clips and other areas of the oil bath air filter.
The sandblaster was calling. Here VW parts like wheels, front axle, tank, dog house shroud and heat exchanger after sandblasting. I picked up the parts and the painting started the same day.
Sandblasted VW parts mounted on stands and ready for painting. I painted the parts with black epoxy 2K primer and the next day with professional black 2K industrial color.
1969 VW Bug tank painted in black after sandblasting.
VW Beetle parts painted with black EP primer and black 2K color.
Restored and black painted VW Bug parts. At this point, I removed the sandblasting protection tape. I also had a look at each part because some parts cannot be painted 100% because of the paint stands. I put color with a paintbrush on the paint imperfections caused by the stands.
Restored VW Beetle parts. I painted the intake manifold in RAL 9006 white aluminum. All other parts painted in black 2K epoxy primer and 2K satin gloss black. I recommend using black primer for the engine tin. For example, the epoxy primer color will be visible after some miles at the generator pulley system through the movements of the power pulley belt. In addition, it is likely that the engine tin gets paint damages until it fits and the black primer on black finish is an advantage then.
I painted the exhaust with black Mipatherm <800°C color. As you see on the picture, the exhaust has still some grey areas without color. I put Mipatherm color with a paintbrush on those areas. I made about 3000 kilometer until today and the exhaust still looks good.
My stock 4-bolt VW wheels painted in black after sandblasting. The first day I painted the wheels from the rear side with black epoxy primer and the same day with L41 satin gloss black 2K finish. The next day I painted the wheels from the front side the same way. I then used blue 3M Scotch 471 fine line masking tape to cover the inner rim and painted the wheels outer rim in satin gloss pearl white L87 finish.
I painted the VW Bug wheels as original in two colors. Here the outer rim was painted in satin gloss pearl white L87.
Here I remove the 3M Scotch 471 fine line masking tape after the VW Beetle outer rims were painted in pearl white L87. The crevice between the inner and outer rim looks a bit gritty. I used an injection with a hypodermic needle and flooded the crevice between inner and outer rim with black color.
Original 8-spoke EMPI Sprintstar wheels painted in satin gloss black. My plan was to mask the black with 3M Scotch fine line masking tape but it was not satisfying, because the wheels are aged and uneven. Therefore, I would recommend the following order: silver, then black by hand with a brush, then satin gloss clear coat.
8-spoke EMPI Sprintstar wheels painted in RAL 9006 white aluminum. The crevice between the inner and outer rim looks a bit gritty. I used an injection with hypodermic needle and flooded the crevice between inner and outer rim with silver color.
EMPI Sprint Star 8-spoke wheels painted in silver and the crevice between the inner and outer rim flooded with silver color. I keep these wheels in silver only, because they are strong aged at the spokes, which makes a satisfying two colors finish difficult. Later I removed the paint from the lug holes with a drilling machine tool to avoid bolts loosening up. BTW, I used RAL 9006 white aluminum on these but next time I will use VW L91 silver.
My VW Beetle chassis after sandblasting and in process of painting. I painted the floor with roll and brush in the following steps: Day 1: grey 2K epoxy primer / Day 2: black 2K epoxy primer / Day 3: thin layer 2K satin gloss black / Day 4: thicker layer 2K satin gloss black. I turned the floor pan after each layer and painted the other side. My first recommendation is, to paint the chassis ends upside-down, after the floor is turned. My second recommendation is to paint the seat rails less than the other areas. It takes about 1 hour to paint one side and after four days, the floor pan painting was finished.
My VW Beetle chassis painted with black 2K EP primer. After the primer came Sikaflex 221 flexible seam sealer between the frame tunnel and floor pan overlap. The seam sealer can be paint over without sanding within 24 hours.
Restoration of my VW Beetle chassis finished. Both sides painted with 2K satin gloss black. The color is still drying on the picture.
Original VW Beetle bolts, nuts and parts galvanized and zinc plated in silver and black.
Original VW Bug parts new zinc plated. I sorted the zinc-plated bolts, nuts and parts and put them back to the parts bag. It takes about a day but simplifies the assembly and all KAMAX bolts come to the old place. This is how a nuts and bolts restoration works. When assembling everything comes back to the original place.
Here I heat up Mike Sanders anticorrosion grease. The hot rust protection grease comes in a special air-pressure pistol and from there into the frame tunnel.
VW Beetle frame tunnel flooded with Mike Sanders rust prevention grease. WOW.
I also use typical plastic medical syringe to inject hot Mike Sanders anticorrosion grease in certain areas. Here I put more rust protection grease in the frame head.
Lowering the VW Beetle swing axle suspensions. First, I mounted the rear spring plates on the floor pan. Fortunate I had a second chassis from which I could take the correct angle of the rear spring plates. I also compared the correct angle exactly with researched information and the German book „Käfer-Tuning Boden-Gruppentherapie“. After I knew the factory setting I lowered the rear swing axle suspensions by 1,8 cm.
VW Beetle engine tin parts after restoration waiting for the assembly.
Assembly of my 1969 VW 1500 engine with 44 HP nearly finished.
To the left is the old 200mm clutch disc stamped with “VW and F & S”. It looks like that it was the first clutch installed 1969 by Volkswagenwerk. To the right a new old stock “VW and LUK” stamped clutch disc which I put in my engine.
VW Beetle transmission mounted on the chassis. I put tape on the axle tubes to protect them against paint damages from the swing axles.
To the left is the old used VW clutch release bearing of my VW 1500 Bug transmission that still looked good after cleaning. However, I replaced it with the new old stock Fichtel & Sachs VW # 111141167C bearing to the right.
1969 VW Bug engine assembled and mounted on the transmission and chassis. Only the pre-heat tin elbow tube is missing, because it was not there when buying. After I found out how the original pre-heat tin looks like, I bought a used, cleaned it, removed the rust by hand, painted it and finally mounted the tin. Such small things can take a lot of time.
Restored and new brake parts ready to mount. The pedal was blasted and painted. The restored GIRLING brake caliper are superb and from tk-carparts.de. I bought a VARGA brake master cylinder because it is the same quality as ATE but cost less. However, a 1969 VW Bug has three master cylinder switches and the VARGA brake master cylinder has only two switches. Two switches are for the brake lights and one controlled the brake failure warning light. As a result, I had to research on the day of installation “how to wire a brake master cylinder with only two switches instead of three”.
Restored and zinc plated VW Beetle chassis parts ready to mount.
VW Beetle front brake disc and GIRLING brake caliper installation on floor pan.
Red KONI shock absorber for lowered VW Beetle front axle beam suspension. Sold as “for VW Beetle” but did not fit. I shortened the bearing bush in the length as the original ones.
To the left the cleaned original steering gearbox and to the right a restored steering gearbox, both VW part # 311415131A. Unfortunately, my steering gearbox leaked and therefore I had to get a replacement. BTW, I once installed a TRW reproduction steering box in a VW Bug and it was broken within a short time, so I recommend to repair the old Volkswagen steering gearbox.
Here how I installed the VW Beetle floor pan to body gasket. I used flexible seam sealer Sikaflex 221, masking tape and stones to hold the seal in place on the day of installation. Then I cut the holes for the bolts. Volkswagenwerk used nails to hold the floor rubber in place but I prefer seam sealer.
Floor pan to body seal fixed and chassis restoration completed.
The final step on the VW Beetle floor pan was the floor carpet. I took the original tar boards as a template and used quality car carpet. The carpet will cover the floor instead of the tarboards.
Carpet made and installed on the floor.
Original VW Bug 1969 front and rear rubber mats installed over the carpet.
The final touch for the floor pan: Blue WolfsburgWest coco floor mats over the original rubber. This completes the restoration of my VW Beetle chassis.
Happy day: The welding work was completed and I picked up the VW Beetle body.
My welder put red brown 1K primer on all welded sections and I removed it after I had the body back. Here the repaired spare tire well area after welding.
Here the welded VW Beetle rear wheel well and heater channel bottom plate section. I sanded the grey 2K EP primer and the welded area is bare metal. I then painted the bare metal with primer. The next day I painted the old and welded section with primer for a smooth surface and for a good adhesion of the following diamond blue color.
Here the VW Beetle rear wheel well section and crossmember after restoration and painted with primer. I put diamond blue color over the primer within 24 hours and without sanding.
Here the bottom side of the VW Beetle luggage shelf after restoration and painted with a brush and roller in 2K PUR diamond blue L50B. It difficult to paint professional 2K color with a brush and roller. I used 2K PUR color and MS40 slow hardener. The most important tool for a nice surface is a special brush from the German company “Storch” called “Verschlicht-Pinsel PerfectFinish”. I used the Storch PerfectFinish brush to remove bubbles and for a smooth beautiful surface.
Here the VW Beetle front apron before I painted it in diamond blue with a SPRAY MAX 2K TOPCOAD SERIE H rattle can. I sanded the primer and used the spray. I did not remove imperfections with bondo body filler. I also painted the rear apron and a very small area on the lower section of the front quarter panel on both sides with one 0,4 Liter spray can. Of course, I had two spray cans, but one was sufficient.
After the body painting followed Mike Sanders rustproofing grease in the sills and body edges.
Here I put Mike Sanders rustproofing grease in the edges of the VW Beetle front quarter panels under each front lid spring to protect the A-pillars. The grease will crawl down in summer.
Here Mike Sanders rust proofing grease is crawling out of the VW Bug A-pillar drain hole below the lower hinge on the very bottom of the A-pillar.
I put Mike Sanders rust proofing grease in the VW Beetle rear quarter panels. Here the grease is crawling out of the drain hole of the rear side panel. While the body and floor are divorced, it is easy to put grease in the heater channels and sills cavities through the factory drains and bolt up holes.
Here I put Mike Sanders cavity protection grease in the VW Bug body napoleon hat through the holes of the front cross firewall panel.
I installed the restored rear sway Z-bar. Important for a 1969 VW Beetle is to mount the Bakelite heater tubes under the rear seat at this point of the restoration, so be before body to pan marriage.
Getting ready for the VW Beetle body to pan marriage: Here the rear shock pad installation. I used the original old VW pads, because I do not trust in the quality of the repro pads. I used seam sealer to keep the shock tower pad in place. You see also, that love Mike Sanders grease and so I protected the rear of the chassis with it.
The marriage of the VW Beetle body to the pan went very well. Important connections like the rear shock tower bolts fit and the pan to body seal is right on the spot. Now begins the best part of a restoration.
Wiring headlight and indicator and speedometer cable mounted.
VW diamantblau L50B (diamond blue) body color code label mounted.
VW Beetle brake fluid reservoir and lines to master cylinder installed. The original brake fluid pipes between fluid reservoir and the master cylinder had small holes after galvanizing. I bought new brake fluid pipes from CSP (item # 611806111) and they are as the original. I also bought new brake fluid hose from CSP (item # 020350N1) which is very bad quality. It is black brake fluid hose covered with blue cloth and the blue cloth comes off very quickly. I put the original VW brake fluid hose made 1969 back in the upper area and used the new from CSP only for the two short lower pieces.
Brake bleeding with Mike Sanders silicon brake fluid DOT 5. The picture shows how I bled the brakes on my VW Beetle. Many air bubbles are coming out the new brake system. 2005 I put the Mike Sanders silicon brake fluid in one of my VWs and I am very happy with it. The fluid does not damage paint and in addition, the brakes do not rust, even if the VW is stored in the garage for a long time.
Except the tank, everything else installed at the front of my VW Beetle after restoration. The steering column connects the coupler rag joint and steering box. Everything works perfectly, is nice clean and restored. I took this picture to remember, because it will not be so clean again.
Well done! VW Beetle frame head rust protection with Mike Sanders grease after restoration.
These are all the parts of the 12V Eberspächer Gas Heater Typ B2 for my 1969 VW Beetle. My VW is from Sweden where such a heater used to be standard.
Here I tested the VW Bug tank with the Eberspächer B2 heater connector. The Eberspächer fuel connecter seal was leaking. I used an old VW number plate light seal to make a seal for the Eberspächer fuel connector.
Eberspacher B2 back in the trunk of my VW Beetle and connected to the fuel tank. I replaced the old fuel lines, because they were leaking.
Here the ivory Eberspächer heater on/off switch-and the warm air outlet with control lamp mounted in my VW Beetle. In the background is the return air plastic pipe visible. After the heater is on, it takes about 40 seconds until warm air comes. The control lamp burns as soon as warm air comes.
Original Eberspächer B2 air intake pipe and exhaust pipe installed in my VW Beetle.
Here a DIN to 3.5mm stereo jack box. The box connects my mobile with the Blaupunkt Mannheim radio. The box has a 6-pin-DIN cable for the Blaupunkt mono radio and a jack to connect the MP3 telephone. I took the 3.5mm stereo jack out of the box and screwed it under the VW Bug dash (see next picture). The box automatically switches from radio to mobile / MP3 sound. I also installed a special Blaupunkt DIN connector cable that makes out of one DIN socket two. You can see the cable ends under the fresh air box. The cable connects two devices at the same time, e.g. Blaupunkt Traffic Decoder SK1 and ACR 900 Cassette Player or the MP3 box. BTW, the handwritten numbers on the sheet metal are from the production in 1969.
3.5 mm stereo jack socket under the VW Bug dashboard. The previous owner made the hole, so it was already there.
VW Beetle 1969 exterior heater flex tubes. I had to buy spare parts because I made the mistake to paint the rear heater tubes with primer and black color and that destroyed the flexibility.
Original diamond blue VW Beetle 1969 fender beading after cleaning. The part that fits between the fender and the body is in black and the bead only is in body color. Reproductions are not available in all colors.
Here the inner fender well before fender mounting. I put Mike Sanders rust prevention grease between fender and fender beading.
VW Beetle front fender mounted after restoration.
VW Beetle rear fenders, rear bumper and running boards mounted after restoration. I used the third time running boards from kaefervwrostfrei.de.
Original VW Bug 1969 horn bracket. I installed a new old stock 12V Bosch horn and fixed the damaged cable tube with heat shrink tubing.
My Beetle is from Sweden and it came with “GENERAL ELECTRIC SEALED BEAM” headlights. I removed them and mounted original Bosch headlights. The taillights are original and I just removed some rust in the lower area.
VW Beetle headlights and turn signals blinkers mounted.
Battery mounted under the back seat. I used a Volkswagen Original Batterie # 000915105DE, with 12V 61Ah 330A, made in Germany by Varta and it fits very well with the original hold down bracket. Also visible is the chassis number, which I covered during restoration and painted only with clearcoat.
VW Beetle 1969 PIERBURG fuel pump rebuild. At the end of the restoration, I turned the key to start the engine but fail. I soon found out that the Pierburg fuel pump did not pump fuel into the carburetor. I took the pump out and opened it. It was very dirty inside and I think the dirt and long time without fuel, was the problem. All parts inside were still the original from the VW factory. However, I had the new old stock Pierburg fuel pump rebuild kit and replaced some parts. After that, the fuel pump and engine was running and I was very happy.
I installed a Pertronix Ignitor electronic ignition model #1847V in my 1969 VW Beetle. The installation was easy, it works very well and it looks original, except a few more cables. I have not swapped the original VW ignition coil.
My 1969 VW Beetle 1500 running and engine restoration finished.
Driver side view of my VW Beetle front wheel well after restoration.
Passenger side view of my VW Beetle rear wheel well after restoration.
Driver side view of my VW Beetle rear wheel well, heater channel bottom and floor pan after restoration.
I used “TimeMAX 300 WAX” for the final undercoating and rust protection. I removed all wheels and covered the brake system. Then I heated the wax and I used a compressor powered injection gun to put the hot wax under the floor pan and fender wheel well. The TimeMAX 300 WAX is strong and does not crawl like Mike Sanders anti-rust grease and therefore it is only good for the surfaces and as a stone chip protection. I put the Mike Sanders rust protection grease in the edges. TimeMAX offers also grease as “Mike Sanders” but it costs twice. I like the TimeMAX 300 WAX very much and can recommend it.
Driver side view of my VW Beetle front wheel well after final undercoating with TimeMAX 300 WAX and MIKE SANDERS rust protection grease.
Passenger side view of my VW Beetle rear wheel well after final undercoating with TimeMAX 300 WAX and MIKE SANDERS rust protection grease.
Well done! My VW Bug floor pan after final undercoating with TimeMAX 300 WAX and MIKE SANDERS rust protection grease.
Restored EMPI Sprintstar wheels on my VW Beetle with adjustable front beams. I put VREDESTEIN SNOW Classic 155 R15 82Q tires on it and the Puma style adjusters are in the middle position. The Empi center caps are original and the Empi sticker emblem is Paruzzi item #2609. I think the height is just right.
Original 8-spoke EMPI Sprintstar wheels on my 1969 VW Beetle with 1,8 cm lowered rear swing axle suspension. I think the height is just right and the rear lowering is as planned exactly 1.8 cm. But unfortunately, within some time, the rear came down 2 cm more.
The last step of the restoration was polishing original '69 paint. I used a Flex polisher with polishing pads and Menzerna Heavy Cut, Medium Cut, Finish and Power Lock Ultimate Protection polish. The detailing took three days with a great finish.
Padded dashboard of my 1969 VW Beetle. The dash is 100% original.
Passenger side view of the original blue interior of my VW Beetle. This is the original seat fabric for 1969 diamond blue. The whole interior like seats, carpet and headliner are the first from the VW factor and in nice condition.
Driver side view of the original 1969 diamond blue VW Bug seat fabric and interior.
The original blue rear seat of my 1969 VW Beetle.
VW Beetle 1969 wiring under the back seat. Underneath the rear seat is the voltage regulator, the rear window defroster relay and a separate 8-amp fuse holder for the rear window defogger. I have two extra cables connected for a USB power outlet.
I put a Gloria S 2 LW foam fire extinguisher under the rear seat. I had some original VW Beetle carpet left and used it to protect the voltage regulator wiring under the seat.
USB charger socket installed in the Kamei tunnel tray of my VW Beetle. My VW came with the rare Kamei tray and the previous owner made some holes in it for fog light switches. I removed one switch and one control lamp and installed the USB charger. The switch is to turn on/off the charging function. The control light only covers the hole. The cables are hidden under the floor mats and they are connected under the rear seat where the voltage regulator is. The USB power outlet is very handy here and it works very well to charge my phone.
Trunk view of my 1969 VW Beetle after restoration. I installed the original trunk liner and drive around with the following things: 5 Liter VW gas can, ADAC First aid box with new items, WEGU warning triangle, big blue OSRAM bulb box, original VW tools with bag, spare generator fan belt, emergency safety vest, engine oil and some other small period correct accessories.
Rear view of my VW Beetle 1969 after restoration. I was not able to mount the rear window, although I have done this several times. I destroyed three new “VEWIB” seals and gave up.
Front view of my 1969 Beetle after restoration. Ready for the final move to the VW Classic Competence Center.
My Bug at Gebrüder Behling VW Classic Competence Center for final checkup and registration. Only these things are still to do: Install rear window, wheel alignment, set ignition timing, valve adjustment, new papers for historic H-plate with front axle beam suspension and Eberspächer Gas Heater registered.
My 1969 VW Beetle 1500 back home on 2 February 2017 and registered with historic H-plate. It runs, and runs, and runs...