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Old 17th June 2012, 18:36   #16
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Re: Need help restoring a 66 Beetle

friends thanks for all the good words. yes, voyager, you almost got it right. how did you guess? the vw has moved quite a lot over kerala, k'taka & mumbai. yes, the car came in from uganda, escaping from under the noses of idi amins troops towards kenyan harbour mombasa & then onwards to mumbai port - 1972
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Old 18th June 2012, 03:02   #17
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Re: Need help restoring a 66 Beetle

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friends thanks for all the good words. yes, voyager, you almost got it right. how did you guess? the vw has moved quite a lot over kerala, k'taka & mumbai. yes, the car came in from uganda, escaping from under the noses of idi amins troops towards kenyan harbour mombasa & then onwards to mumbai port - 1972
best regards
Its an interesting small world ,My family and yours knew each other and the cars .I have been tracking your c ar for quite a bit now to just see that it doesn't get sold off to the wrong people as your cat was in brilliant shape till a couple of years back.I will touch base with you next week when i am back in India and i am sure we will have interesting stories to share.

Incidentally i have another MEX car ,although registered in Mangalore ,had moved out to Bangalore in 1974 .was imported by NJP Vaz (vaz lane) and stayed with that family till 1999 immaculately maintained.


Prashanth
traditionz@vsnl.net
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Old 25th June 2012, 17:51   #18
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Re: Need help restoring a 66 Beetle

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Dear Saurabh, been long time logging in. thanks for the support. all these years it has been difficult to find the technicians to do the restoration job on my 66 beetle. the car is finally in the garage. tinkering work has started on the drivers side. underbody is completely rusted. as far as the mechanicals go, we have not ascertained the quantum of damage. but this has been a car which was on the road running last 2001.electricals - 6v battery has been ordered for & electrician says rewiring is reqd. the main problem which we can see is accessories - door handles, headlight/taillights, turn indicator~dim dip stick. looking for your advice. am based in calicut now. car is being done up in my home town - mangalore. will travel down there soon & post some snaps on the forum
best regards - rohan
Hi Roh

Great! Thats really Great! Keep it up. Keep moving...slowly it will all get sorted. One thing at a time. I am keeping my Beetle original so all 6volt stuff stays as is. You will find most of the stuff on e-bay and internet stores. Try CIP1.com, machine7.com and plenty more. Samba.com also offers you some lovely NOS or used items in great condition. You will ultimately get it all according to your budget.

UK & Oz are great places for RHD specific material & parts.

India is a treasure trove for parts even today. You will find it all. You will also find cheap "jugaads" here. I dont cut corners but to each his own beetle in his own budget! :=))

Let the good times roll.

Good luck and let me know if you require any specific inputs.

Cheers!

Saurabh
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Old 27th June 2012, 13:51   #19
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Re: Need help restoring a 66 Beetle

Hi Saurabh,
Thanks for the links. Initially I was overwhelmed at the scale of work involved. Rightly said to take it one step at a time. We are working on the body/electricals & mechanicals. Once thru & the car is up & running will concentrate on the accessories - interiors & exteriors. This is where the car lost it's original looks due to careless mechanics. You know like the window winding handles, indicator stick, outer door locks etc.
Will look forward to your guidance.
Thanks again
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Originally Posted by SA7VA5 View Post
Hi Roh

Great! Thats really Great! Keep it up. Keep moving...slowly it will all get sorted. One thing at a time. I am keeping my Beetle original so all 6volt stuff stays as is. You will find most of the stuff on e-bay and internet stores. Try CIP1.com, machine7.com and plenty more. Samba.com also offers you some lovely NOS or used items in great condition. You will ultimately get it all according to your budget.

UK & Oz are great places for RHD specific material & parts.

India is a treasure trove for parts even today. You will find it all. You will also find cheap "jugaads" here. I dont cut corners but to each his own beetle in his own budget! :=))

Let the good times roll.

Good luck and let me know if you require any specific inputs.

Cheers!

Saurabh
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Old 27th June 2012, 16:13   #20
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Re: Need help restoring a 66 Beetle

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Hi Saurabh,
Thanks for the links. Initially I was overwhelmed at the scale of work involved. Rightly said to take it one step at a time. We are working on the body/electricals & mechanicals. Thanks again
When do we get to see pics? are there a lot of beetles in mangalore?
Cheers
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Old 8th July 2012, 11:39   #21
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Re: Need help restoring a 66 Beetle

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Hi Roh

Great! Thats really Great! Keep it up. Keep moving...slowly it will all get sorted. One thing at a time. I am keeping my Beetle original so all 6volt stuff stays as is. You will find most of the stuff on e-bay and internet stores. Try CIP1.com, machine7.com and plenty more. Samba.com also offers you some lovely NOS or used items in great condition. You will ultimately get it all according to your budget.

UK & Oz are great places for RHD specific material & parts.
Hi Saurabh, Thanks, checked out the sites mentioned. How do I go about making the payment in foreign currency ?
Regards
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Old 24th July 2012, 12:53   #22
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Re: Need help restoring a 66 Beetle

HI !

Just go ahead and use your credit card or link your card or account to a Paypal and use that. It all works.

Cheers!

Saurabh
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Old 25th July 2012, 17:30   #23
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Re: Need help restoring a 66 Beetle

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Hi Saurabh, Thanks, checked out the sites mentioned. How do I go about making the payment in foreign currency ?
Regards
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Originally Posted by SA7VA5 View Post
HI !

Just go ahead and use your credit card or link your card or account to a Paypal and use that. It all works.

Cheers!

Saurabh
It defies logic when you have access to all those quality spares in INDIA, we still go ahead and pay up those Extra Duty, shipping + actual cost of spares for the spares we buy.
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Old 25th July 2012, 18:57   #24
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Re: Need help restoring a 66 Beetle

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It defies logic when you have access to all those quality spares in INDIA, we still go ahead and pay up those Extra Duty, shipping + actual cost of spares for the spares we buy.
Where in INDIA is the Genuine VW german spares available for aircooled VW's? such spares were available in many shops till about a decade ago,
Now only rarely do they sprout up from shelfs of old shops.
Of course you can get repro and Indian made spares(especially mechanical) in places like Mumbai,Delhi,Bangalore and also Chennai!!
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Old 26th July 2012, 10:05   #25
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Re: Need help restoring a 66 Beetle

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Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM View Post
It defies logic when you have access to all those quality spares in INDIA, we still go ahead and pay up those Extra Duty, shipping + actual cost of spares for the spares we buy.
Yes, Many wholesale and retail dealerships dealing with VW spares have sprouted up in the recent past in India.

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Originally Posted by ajay99 View Post
Where in INDIA is the Genuine VW german spares available for aircooled VW's? such spares were available in many shops till about a decade ago,
Now only rarely do they sprout up from shelfs of old shops.
Of course you can get repro and Indian made spares(especially mechanical) in places like Mumbai,Delhi,Bangalore and also Chennai!!
I would agree with some of your views. Yes, Genuine VW German spares are disappearing from shelves, not only in India, but across the world.

However, I would disagree with your definition of quality spares being only NOS German spares. To illustrate, would you trust your life with a NOS VW brake wheel cylinder that has been disintegrating on a shelf for 40 years? Or would you prefer a NOS cracked distributor cap over a new repro one? I mention these parts because they have been advertised for sale on team-bhp some time back, and apart from a few exceptions, they are generally indicative of what one can expect from the stock of NoS parts that pop up for sale now and again.

If you mean that newly manufactured German spares (aftermarket German or erstwhile OEM suppliers) constitute quality spares, I would broadly agree. However, with many German companies outsourcing their manufacturing processes to Brazil or China, it is not uncommon to see "Kolbenschmidt Germany - made in Brazil" Main Bearings, Or "Febi Italy - made in Spain" Ball Joints. As a restorer / owner, you really need to evaluate if these spares really offer better quality than their cheaper counterparts.

Since I am a spares dealer, I regularly test the endurance of the parts that I sell (with a lot of help from restorers in Bangalore and Mumbai), so that an informed recommendation can be made to customers. You would be surprised to know some of the results! To illustrate : an Euromax (China) fuel pump is far more tolerant to unfiltered fuel than a costlier Brosol (Brazil). The original Pierburg surpasses them all, but is still not my preference, since it is the older non-sealed design and hence, more prone to leakage.

IMO, the Vintage and Classic car movement in India, has not yet matured to a point where people realise that "To make milkshake, you need to buy Cow Milk, not Cow Dung" !! And it is not just the owners to blame, it is the general market conditions. Even if an owner (not a dealer, mind you) did go all out, and use only genuine Imported spares; what are the chances of him recovering his money, if he is ever forced to sell the vehicle ? What are the chances, that if such a car were to be advertised for sale in our very own team-bhp, the car and the quoted price would not be ridiculed and torn down in seconds..
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Old 26th July 2012, 18:44   #26
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Re: Need help restoring a 66 Beetle

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Yes, Many wholesale and retail dealerships dealing with VW spares have sprouted up in the recent past in India.



I would agree with some of your views. Yes, Genuine VW German spares are disappearing from shelves, not only in India, but across the world.

However, I would disagree with your definition of quality spares being only NOS German spares. To illustrate, would you trust your life with a NOS VW brake wheel cylinder that has been disintegrating on a shelf for 40 years? Or would you prefer a NOS cracked distributor cap over a new repro one? I mention these parts because they have been advertised for sale on team-bhp some time back, and apart from a few exceptions, they are generally indicative of what one can expect from the stock of NoS parts that pop up for sale now and again.

If you mean that newly manufactured German spares (aftermarket German or erstwhile OEM suppliers) constitute quality spares, I would broadly agree. However, with many German companies outsourcing their manufacturing processes to Brazil or China, it is not uncommon to see "Kolbenschmidt Germany - made in Brazil" Main Bearings, Or "Febi Italy - made in Spain" Ball Joints. As a restorer / owner, you really need to evaluate if these spares really offer better quality than their cheaper counterparts.

Since I am a spares dealer, I regularly test the endurance of the parts that I sell (with a lot of help from restorers in Bangalore and Mumbai), so that an informed recommendation can be made to customers. You would be surprised to know some of the results! To illustrate : an Euromax (China) fuel pump is far more tolerant to unfiltered fuel than a costlier Brosol (Brazil). The original Pierburg surpasses them all, but is still not my preference, since it is the older non-sealed design and hence, more prone to leakage.

IMO, the Vintage and Classic car movement in India, has not yet matured to a point where people realise that "To make milkshake, you need to buy Cow Milk, not Cow Dung" !! And it is not just the owners to blame, it is the general market conditions. Even if an owner (not a dealer, mind you) did go all out, and use only genuine Imported spares; what are the chances of him recovering his money, if he is ever forced to sell the vehicle ? What are the chances, that if such a car were to be advertised for sale in our very own team-bhp, the car and the quoted price would not be ridiculed and torn down in seconds..
In the post to which you have replied I have not commented that only german spares are the only quality spares.
I said genuine german VW spares.
A cracked/defective part is defective whether it is NOS genuine or Repro.If I remember correctly it was never advertised for sale ,but as a part which was available in some shop .
on another note the quality of German spares of that era versus their Brazilian counter parts are well known among the VW fraternity. For eg:Oil seals of brazilian make seldom,similar is the case of german genuine VW door seals which will last for decades.
you may remember the Morris eight sedan from Hyderabad which was advertised at TBHP classifieds.it was restored using NOS parts hence many of us here have only appreciated the fact that it is a car which can be bought at a Realistic premium .
Hope you also agree Using NOS genuine spares adds more to the originality of the car.

Last edited by ajay99 : 26th July 2012 at 18:49.
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Old 3rd August 2012, 14:07   #27
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Re: Need help restoring a 66 Beetle

@ Pavan : Not all parts are available here in India. Then on top of that those who do have them charge an arm and a leg any way. So its a lot less of hassle to just order what you want from where you want. I do and I am happy to do it. Helps me avoid follow up and un-necessary hassle. I get the parts within a week and quality is fantastic. Restoration jobs each have a budget and each person has to follow his or her budget. Budget is not just the money spent but the intangible costs of follow up and mining to get the parts either locally or imported. If something is faster and easier and saves time (which I consider money) then I like to do it this way.

@ thebulletboy & Ajay : NOS parts vs cost is one huge debate any way which I don't think I am qualified enough to comment on. I pick what is reasonable to me IMHO. Rest I really dont get into.

Simple isnt it?

Cheers!

Happy restoring - whichever way you like - but restore it!
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