1964 Volkswagen Beetle Restoration

This 1964 Volkswagen Beetle restoration was the victim of a “Mary Kay” attack back in the ’80s, which then sat for a decade before she came into our shop. The owner expressed interest in the “Cal Look” that was brought about by one of the originators Ron Flemming, of Fat Chance performance, however, they wanted to go back to the stock “Bahama Blue” color, and ditch the one-piece windows, bring back the stock weather stripping, go with the euro bumper blades, installed an adjustable front end to get that nose-down attitude, install the stock trim with emblems.

We had our work cut out for us, due to both left and right floorboards were missing from all the rust over the years sitting outside, we had to start by pulling the entire body off the frame to get a clear view of the pans which we replaced as well as the rear apron, when through the brake system replaces the front drums with disc brakes, changing out all the lines, installed a brand new 12-volt wiring harness making sure to use a resistor for the original wipers, then lining the entire inside of the body and floor and roof with Dynamat to allow for a smooth quiet ride also another factor in keeping the bug cool on warm California days.

Next, we removed the worn-out original 1300 motor and replaced it with a fresh 1641 engine sporting dual port heads with hardened valve seats so that it can handle unleaded gas that is used today, but keeping the stock 34 carburetor for fuel-efficiency. The 009 distributor was replaced with a much needed new vacuum advance distributor with an electronic ignition from Pertronix. No more hassles with points and condenser.

The transmission was removed and overhauled with upgraded freeway flyer gears to handle higher speeds. And better response off the line. The pop-out windows were an item that was requested and installed. In the last few weeks of the build, the wheels still had not been chosen one of the most important aspects of any restoration is the wheels and the client decided to go with the BRM gloss black alloy wheels to give it that quintessential “Cal Look”. Another impeccable Volkswagen Beetle restoration by DH Automotive, Inc. if we may say so.