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490 Posts
Many more miles down the road she's still going strong. Picture taken in parking lot at Serpent Mound in Ohio.
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2004 BEW TDI Beetle Resurrection with Broken Crankshaft! (build thread)
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Joined
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490 Posts
Scrubbing through my phone for more Betel pics.
The free engine on it's way home, note the very dirty nature of said engine:
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In-process of refreshing it:
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All new hardware and very clean stuff:
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This was taken just before the 1st time the engine went back in. The trans shown is the bad one. Note that I didn't take pics of the 2nd time I removed and replaced the thing since I was on a binger:
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The PO had the trunk lid covered in a pretty decent looking vinyl wrap, and this was why. There was a bumper sticker here that was removed with razor blade and it destroyed the paint:
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In-process:
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In-process of painting. I spent a bit of time with 800 grit knocking down the orange peel. Trunk lid came out shiny and beautiful:
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I acquired this spoiler from an LKQ Pick-a-Part in Charlotte, NC circa 2016. It was on my crap old ALH black Beetle. I decided to strip and repaint it to install on the red Betel since the 3rd brake light was shot. This spoiler plugs the 3rd brake light hole so no leaks there:
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Not too bad for an amateur:
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Reason for having a hitch:
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The free engine on it's way home, note the very dirty nature of said engine:
In-process of refreshing it:
All new hardware and very clean stuff:
This was taken just before the 1st time the engine went back in. The trans shown is the bad one. Note that I didn't take pics of the 2nd time I removed and replaced the thing since I was on a binger:
The PO had the trunk lid covered in a pretty decent looking vinyl wrap, and this was why. There was a bumper sticker here that was removed with razor blade and it destroyed the paint:
In-process:
In-process of painting. I spent a bit of time with 800 grit knocking down the orange peel. Trunk lid came out shiny and beautiful:
I acquired this spoiler from an LKQ Pick-a-Part in Charlotte, NC circa 2016. It was on my crap old ALH black Beetle. I decided to strip and repaint it to install on the red Betel since the 3rd brake light was shot. This spoiler plugs the 3rd brake light hole so no leaks there:
Not too bad for an amateur:
Reason for having a hitch:
Joined
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490 Posts
More rando's off the phone.
I really like how this engine looks. The design is so clean. I'm going to use the BEW cleaned up even more to build a show car with. Corrado is still on the table.
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I found 1 single picture of the 12 hour long binger. I ripped it back out, popped new trans on, and reinstalled it in one day. Yikes.
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While it was in the driveway taking up my time I tossed the Solowerks on. Note the rusty old brake rotor. I replaced all 4 with new and even painted the rotors red where I could get a brush.
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Had to stop at the store for snaks before dropping the donor Beetle to it's death. This picture is a common sight with me. I really like dragging cars around with the wagon.
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I really like how this engine looks. The design is so clean. I'm going to use the BEW cleaned up even more to build a show car with. Corrado is still on the table.
I found 1 single picture of the 12 hour long binger. I ripped it back out, popped new trans on, and reinstalled it in one day. Yikes.
While it was in the driveway taking up my time I tossed the Solowerks on. Note the rusty old brake rotor. I replaced all 4 with new and even painted the rotors red where I could get a brush.
Had to stop at the store for snaks before dropping the donor Beetle to it's death. This picture is a common sight with me. I really like dragging cars around with the wagon.
Joined
·
490 Posts
Betel made it all the way to Ottawa today to pick up the coveted B3 Syncro rear beams and some other rare stuff. Saw some unbelievable car stuff while there. I'm still absorbing it all, might take a few days. Snow and slush in Ottawa today but Betel handled it great with the Xi3's.
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The man who made this gave it to me as a parting gift. Just installed it on the oil change.
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The man who made this gave it to me as a parting gift. Just installed it on the oil change.
Man I wish I had the mechanical prowess to do the work you did. Lot of awesome stuff here. I always love seeing a restored NB. Makes me miss the two I used to have.
Joined
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490 Posts
Thank you for the kind words. I'm currently in Bozeman, Montana pulling that trailer home to Oregon from Toronto, Canada. Its been an adventure. Frozen radiator from Fargo, ND all the way to Billings, MT where it finally unfroze. I ran the sunroof open and the heater on high to keep the engine cool. I hate cold weather.
Joined
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490 Posts
When I got to Billings it unthawed at 25f. I remember (probably wrongly) putting straight G12 in the thing but evidence shows otherwise eh? At any rate I made it home and the car is none the worse for wear.
Joined
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490 Posts
Small update to this thread to keep the car relevant. I arrived safely home in December and promptly got to work. Bad wheel bearing found to be the cause of a weird creaking sound that plagued me during my entire trip. It failed but not enough to affect the way it drove. Never had a bearing fail like that before.
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3+ months of not having access to my regular detailing setup made me remove the seats and give the thing a super deep cleaning, including scrubbing down the seats and powerwashing them (lightly). Can't be having a dirty car hanging out in the driveway.
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Of course on the way to pick up my new Touareg I hit a tire retread on I-5 wiping out the grill. And of course you cannot buy OEM grills any more. I ended up using the chinesium grill from my parts car but it doesn't fit properly. What a hassle. So now I'm on the lookout for a stock grill that isn't exploded. It doesn't look too bad though.
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4 days after I arrived home.
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I might be selling this car when I get home in May/June since used car prices are insane, fuel cost is insane, and people are going nuts for fuel efficiency once again. I've got other projects taking priority after all. Not sure what this car is worth being so clean and well-sorted.
3+ months of not having access to my regular detailing setup made me remove the seats and give the thing a super deep cleaning, including scrubbing down the seats and powerwashing them (lightly). Can't be having a dirty car hanging out in the driveway.
Of course on the way to pick up my new Touareg I hit a tire retread on I-5 wiping out the grill. And of course you cannot buy OEM grills any more. I ended up using the chinesium grill from my parts car but it doesn't fit properly. What a hassle. So now I'm on the lookout for a stock grill that isn't exploded. It doesn't look too bad though.
4 days after I arrived home.
I might be selling this car when I get home in May/June since used car prices are insane, fuel cost is insane, and people are going nuts for fuel efficiency once again. I've got other projects taking priority after all. Not sure what this car is worth being so clean and well-sorted.
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