HMC- Return of the Cheeky 500

[DaveDorson]

14 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I'm really hankering after another Beetle now though

Get one!

Do you want to be a person who did stuff, or a person who didn't do stuff but wanted to?

DOO EEETT

 

[tom13]

16 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

This is my old 67 in the very early 90s, just before I bought it. I always liked it like this and knew the car well. Unfortunately the PO resprayed it in peppermint green and removed the the banded steels before selling. 

Love this!

[Vimesy]

15 hours ago, jonny69 said:

Full pineapple on the Beetle please. 

Those hand-painted plates, you tend to see them on much older stuff. I usually see them on VSCC-age vehicles or older, Brooklands kind of stuff. Cool find. 

Being an unsociable old fart, I have no idea what the term "Pineapple" means when applied to cars, can some kind soul enlighten me please?

[Bazfr69]

27 minutes ago, Vimesy said:

Being an unsociable old fart, I have no idea what the term "Pineapple" means when applied to cars, can some kind soul enlighten me please?

It’s a bit of a catch all term for the mods that people don’t like (lowered, stacked roof rack etc) but I always think of this…

[Zelandeth]

1 hour ago, Vimesy said:

Being an unsociable old fart, I have no idea what the term "Pineapple" means when applied to cars, can some kind soul enlighten me please?

"Ruined" is usually a pretty good equivalent.

Edit: In fairness, there are a fair number of actually tastefully modified Beetles out there on which the work has clearly been done as a labour of love.  However there are also a huge number of what were lovely clean cars which have been slammed to the floor in the cheapest way possible and had a ten minute blow over of fake patina because that's the trendy thing to do.  

I have nothing against owners modifying their cars... they belong to their owners after all.  Beetles just seem to fare badly in this department.

[Vimesy]

1 hour ago, Bazfr69 said:

It’s a bit of a catch all term for the mods that people don’t like (lowered, stacked roof rack etc) but I always think of this…

 

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

"Ruined" is usually a pretty good equivalent.

Ah, it's all a bit subjective then 😉, thanks guys.

[DaveDorson]

Thing is a lot of the stuff people consider ruined on a beetle is absolutely reversible.

You don't need to chop out any of the original metal work to fit a decent engine in, unless you're going for a wider stroker engine and massive carbs, but frankly given that people have made nearly 200bhp on a 69mm crank, unless you're racing it, you really don't need to.

Dropped Spindles mean you don't have to chop into the suspension beam at the front, in order to fit suspension height adjustment, and even if you did, you can still keep it at stock height, but have the option to go a bit lower.

Other stuff is a case of remove the bits you don't want and store them, and bolt on performance things.

 

But that's me.. everyone is different.

[jonny69]

I thought it was originally about the stuff piled on the roof rack (vintage suitcases, oil drum, random old tyre, bmx, hay bale etc) from that era of modded VWs in the 00s, but it has evolved to refer to the look as a whole (lowered, camber, poke & stretch, roof rack + pineapple additions, sticker bomb, 1 rusty wing, fake patina, whiff of Ankor wax etc etc. 

[DaveDorson]

Just now, jonny69 said:

I thought it was originally about the stuff piled on the roof rack (vintage suitcases, oil drum, random old tyre, bmx, hay bale etc) from that era of modded VWs in the 00s, but it has evolved to refer to the look as a whole (lowered, camber, poke & stretch, roof rack + pineapple additions, sticker bomb, 1 rusty wing, fake patina, whiff of Ankor wax etc etc. 

I found a tin of ankor wax the other day that I paid £9 for..

 

It's good for stopping things rusting.

[Bazfr69]

I’ve stuck to reversible changes on mine tbh. 

Discs, drop spindles and electronic ignition but I also absolutely love my Zoom Tube. 😄

[MiniMinorMk3]

I think I might have mentioned that I have been a VW fan in the past.

I learnt in a Bug, that I crashed 5 months after passing my test. 5 months later it looked like this.

Pics taken at VW Action in Stoneleigh Park, 1982.

In 1986, when Cal-Look hade been imported to the UK I had this 1200 Bug

Beach shot was taken on the first Run to the Sun at Newquay beach.

My last bug was sold in 1992, my 1963 Ruby Red Delux

In the 10 years or so that I had air-cooled VWs I tried all types, including the 1303S, Type and Type 4s. Of all of them I think the 1963 was best. It might have been the slowest of the lot, but for some reason it was the quietest. 

 

I never had a South American VW, but they are know for rusting quicker than a patinated German one.

 

[yes oui si]

On 8/31/2023 at 7:39 PM, barefoot said:

Don't, it'll ride like shit.

Ride quality is overrated tbh... 

Glad you're back @HMC 

[HMC]

Fleet shot whilst i was tinkering with the beetle today….

[jonny69]

Lol, how come the garage doors look so wonky? That’s not the angle of the picture doing funny business!

[Bazfr69]

4 hours ago, HMC said:

Fleet shot whilst i was tinkering with the beetle today….

I hope you’re finding time to drive along with tinkering? 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

1 hour ago, jonny69 said:

Lol, how come the garage doors look so wonky? That’s not the angle of the picture doing funny business!

Tilt your head a bit?

Hope the Beetle is behaving! Love the look of it. 

[HMC]

Solid shifts being put in by both the VW and the jag, both offering something different for a person that just likes driving cars.

 

A clash of styles, earlier.

 

Both are also approved by Dobby (new canine friend) a Beagle x cocker spaniel.

 

 

[w00dy]

Great Beetle and Jag combo and the puppy is very cute.

Reminds me of my ownBeetle/Jag pairing from back in the day (I also had a Mexi that is out of shot)

[HMC]

2 hours ago, w00dy said:

Great Beetle and Jag combo and the puppy is very cute.

Reminds me of my ownBeetle/Jag pairing from back in the day (I also had a Mexi that is out of shot)

brilliant

[Bazfr69]

My Beetle is the only car our cat was ever interested in for some reason in all of the years we had him. 

[Dobloseven]

Bloody hell, this is a trip down memory lane. First car was a Ruby red 1961 Beetle,202 ENP. Second, a 1966 Bahama blue 1300,FJF750D,as in the last photo, next to the Jaguar. How come I can remember their regs, but not the car I drive every day? 

[EyesWeldedShut]

SYR194F, BWT772S
Simples - the modern stuff is just so much more forgettable? Either that or it's early onset gifferdom (in my case it likely is).

[lesapandre]

4 hours ago, Bazfr69 said:

My Beetle is the only car our cat was ever interested in for some reason in all of the years we had him. 

Perhaps he's mistaken it for a Moggy (Minor) - still if you break down you can get him to puss it home.

Or perhaps it's the purr of an air-cooled that appeals.

[EyesWeldedShut]

6 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

Perhaps he's mistaken it for a Moggy (Minor) - still if you break down you can get him to puss it home.

Were you a script writer for the Two Ronnies?

[lesapandre]

Some great motoring jokes...and the Two Ronnies.

 

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

Were you a script writer for the Two Ronnies?

Nah, CATastrophic, old mews

[HMC]

This beetle had a dead auto choke, i was glad  to get the £19 part and replace/ set it up in time for autumn to avoid cold running woes.

When i arrived at the after school club yeaterday to get the kids, it died and would not restart just as i made it into the car park. I established fuel was reaching the carb (pulled the hose and saw the petrol, much to the interest of nearby pupils) and after i very professionally wiggled the condenser it started up fine. HMM. Maybe a dodgy condenser or dodgy wiring.

 

 

Different eras of “peoples car” in use. The UR version looks like a toy!

[timolloyd]

Think it’s a sign for you to move it on.

[Marm Toastsmith]

All my favourite VWs past have had these issues...VW electrics have always been awful, but it mattered less in the older cars. Weird momentary FTPs are unbeatable for giving a car "character". My absolutely fave example was a -£70- hand painted B2 passat that I thrashed down to the south of France in the middle of the night which then promptly died in the hotel carpark...and started again without issue. It never let me down, but eventually succumbed to multiple acts of vandalism. 

1 hour ago, HMC said:

This beetle had a dead auto choke, i was glad  to get the £19 part and replace/ set it up in time for autumn to avoid cold running woes.

When i arrived at the after school club yeaterday to get the kids, it died and would not restart just as i made it into the car park. I established fuel was reaching the carb (pulled the hose and saw the petrol, much to the interest of nearby pupils) and after i very professionally wiggled the condenser it started up fine. HMM. Maybe a dodgy condenser or dodgy wiring.

[Bazfr69]

Does the Mexi get the same hot start issue as the others? 
If so I think there’s a very cheap hard start relay kit that helps.