This was the first major project I did back in 1996. Major steps were to completely dismantle, repair, modify and reassemble my bug. Components like front and rear Kerscher disk breaks, Boxershop Type4 150HP Engine, real leather Recaro seats that I upholstered with the help of my professional friend Klaus as well as 17 inch Porsche wheels.
The restoration and modification of my 1979 Beetle Convertible took me more than 10 years. I am happy and thankful for my friends that supported me in a great way to get this project to a successful end. A convertible has many more parts than a standard beetle and for the next years I will not do another one for sure.
around 2400 pieces of these Jubi Beetles where produced in 1985. This was by then the last Beetle sold official by Volkswagen in Germany. It has the typical grey metallic paint, tinted windows and special grey seat fabric. I like the look of these Bugs really a lot for many years and I have owned more then ten of these cars over the years. I still have 5 left. In August 2003 my friend Joche and I start a restoration project where we tried to get as much done as possible within 4 days of constant work.
I bought this car Oktober 2008 without transmission and motor. The goal for this project was when I started in August 2011 to build a Bug that is really fast but also as much as comfortable driver. Most of the suspension parts are from Porsche 924/944 and the engine of cause Typ4. Most of the work was done during 2 years but lost of fine-tuning took me much longer. It is so far my favorite car to drive.
In 2017 I worked again on the car from 2003 and upgraded the gearbox to a longer ratio and changed many small parts to make the car more drivable, but it will need another set of upgrades to get to the point where I am satisfied.
Dec. 2015 I bought a 74 Karmann Ghia that I found on Craigslist in Tuson, AZ. I believe that you need a good quality car to start a restoration. This Ghia seamed perfect to me because it had very little rust, all parts were included but it was not perfect condition any more. So for me this was the right point in time to save it.