David wrote:
>
> I think Tom was the gentleman who so kindly answered my mexican
> beetle questions, the gentleman who owns two of them. I think he
> lives in Austin?
> I went and saw my bug in Arizona, fun little one day adventure, I
> thought Miguel was nice a guy and felt comfortable with him. My car
> looked great, very tidy, the only thing I did not like is where the
> shifter comes out of the floor the mat cut out does not match up
> well and there is about a two inch gap there. I remember you told
> me if it is a pre 68 pan you will not align well. He told me the
> pan was from a 64, but I noticed that it had new pan halves, they
> were the same color as the car(on the inside, and were very very
> new. I guess just the center part was old-what do yo think. What
> would I need to purchase to get the mat to fit correctly?
> Another question I had was is there any place in the Houston area
> that specialized in aircooled and will treat my car with kid gloves,
> I have seen a place but I had the feeling they were butchers and not
> people who would treat the car like it was their own. I want to
> get the cared completely looked at to make sure everything is
> perfect.
> Also, I have been writing to a gentlman who does vw radios, a guy
> named nick who is putting together an old Saphire am fm for me, it
> looks good, it is a saphireXIX, will it fit, he has a trim ring
> also that will pop into the cut out, you told me it has a modern
> size port, are these the same.
> One more question, do you know if those rag top kits from streetbeat
> cusotoms in Pheonix Arizona are good, they sell a kit for the
> classic bug, it has a billet handle and is similar to the old one,
> it can be had in canvas and comes with the interior side like the
> perforated headliner of car, I was going to have it shipped there
> and have one installed, do these leak? are they durable?
> thank you again for your time, I have been impressed with the
> kindness of you all, I am not mechanically inclined and this is my
> first VW, I fell in love with them when I was 5 when my aunt had a
> red one, and I remember admiring the handles and unique trim items
> that were in it, comparing it to the new americancars (back in 73)
> and thinking how interesting it was made, it really brught back
> memories looking at mine.
>
@@ David,
TomB has two and he is the reason I bought the two that I have, a
blue Ultima Edition for me and a red standard bug for my friends.
I'll answer some questions for you and if TomB see's the post he can
chime in too.
I too like miguel and trust him, I was apprehensive at first but Tom
& some other BeetleMex owners reassured me. I liked my car enough to
order the other one and have since sold 3 or 4 others for Miguel. My
blue car used a '65 chassis and had the same long distance shifter
issue. Order a carpeted floor mat from Sew Fine or J-Bugs to fit a
1964 but WITHOUT the passenger floor foot rest. Wait until you get
the car for two reasons: '64's used a heat knob on the floor just to
the rear and slightly to the pass side of the shifter. You will need
to see if Miguel kept this or if he updated the handbrake flange and
put the lever there. I'd assume he kept the '64 heater knob etc as
is. This way you'll have the correct carpet. Your 64 and my 65 both
used the King Pin style front suspension but Miguel modifies the
frame head decently for use with the new car's front suspension.
The only think 1964 about your chassis is the center tunnel itself
and shift rod, cable tubes. The floor pans that come on a new air
cooled beetle from the factory are same color as the body so I'd
assume Miguel simply cut your out of the original car. In my Blue
cars case since I also wanted the original chassis (seperatre) it
looks like my floors were yellow before he painted them all black.
I'd assume they originally came on a "Summer Edition" 2003 sedan.
An OLD Saphire type radio will not fit in the dash of a new classic
beetle, the hole in the dash is now "DIN" sized and takes a modern
radio.
The Saph's snap in place and will not as the hole it too big. For our
red car I found a very nice Pioneer Super Tuner AM/FM/CD that came
w/4 nice speakers on special at Wal Mart for $99.00. Miguel can
supply you with a factory VW accessory rear speaker deck that us
very nice as well as the proper antenna. J-Bugs can supply front
speaker (kick panel) mounts so you don't have to cut your new door
panels.
The street beat kit I got 8 years ago was realy junk, I have heard
their newer stuff is oK. BUT: DO YOU WANT TO CUT UP A BRAND NEW CAR
LIKE THIS ?? Yes they do leak a little as there is really no seal,
just a flange and the fact that the outer cover is a little bigger
than the hole, this is called an "Umbrella Seal". Anyway this is not
a modification you could ever un-do if it was a problem. Don't get
me wrong,I love ragtop sunroofs, just make a sensible decision and
do your homework. Also the inner headliner of your car is not
perforated but solid grained vinyl in an off / white / grayish
color.
Hope you loke your car ! I love mine,
Tell Miguel that Darby said to say hi !