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VW Beetle Wizard Roadster - Part 1

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Build a VW Beetle Wizard Roadster

If you are interested in VW Beetles in any way you will want to take a look at this lens. There are loads of pictures of the build of my Wizard Roadster.

For those who don't know the wizard roadster is a soft top conversion for the standard Beetle.

Read on for lots more information.

Beetle Background

If you have already seen this lens or are looking for the other lens chronicling this project you may want to check out these links:

You may also be interested to check out my other VW Lenses

Inspiration

This is one of the cars that originally inspired me to have a go at building my own. Not entirely convinced about the colour but what a fantastic car!

Getting Started

Ok, Lets get started. My Beetle came from a farmers field and cost me nothing. Yes Nothing.... Well I had to pay to rent a truck to collect it and bring it back to my garage, but split that cost with my Brother-in-Law who was taking his '65 to be sprayed.:)

Anyway this is how it looked when it finally ended up in the garage at the bottom of my parents garden.

Take a look at these great items.

Notice the bent front beam, damaged front end wheels way out of alignment. small ding to rear quarter panel. Distinct lack of other panels, wings, doors etc. The best part of the car was the roof which was going to be binned.

Get a Beetle Mug - Classic Car Beetle Boxed Mug

Some more great Beetle items

Another view... Also note lack of glass (not a problem). Is it going to be worth the effort? Many people reckoned I must be mad....

Beetle Books

If you need some inspiration for your project or are just a fan who likes browsing. These books have loads of pictures for you to look at.
UK BUYERS click the UK Buyers Link to save on postage costs.

Another view of the front end. Damage was due to a front end bump.

Need a Manual?

Check out these titles for the manual you need.

Another picture of the front end damage. Note the bent metal, all that is going to have to come off and be replaced. No room left for a spare wheel!!!

Not a great picture, but you can make out the damage to the rear quarter panel. This will be repaired when the major work is done.

Right what is it like inside? Well the floorpan has loads of holes. When this was being done (late 1980's) replacement panels were available but not cheap and budget was non existant so repairs will be done in the best most economical way possible. Just like to point out that this was being done whilst I was a student and did not have any cash to throw around. Looking back, why did I decide to build a Wizard at that time. No idea now...

Another view of the inside. Notice the lack of good metal in the floor. Why the trolley jack? That was need to try to extract it from the farmers field.

On with the Build

Right, Off with the roof. No Wizard kit yet, but can't wait to make a start. Any way the body is lighter without all that metal in the roof. And I may be able to use some of the roof metal to repair the floorplan... Amazing what you come up with when you've got no spare cash.

Another view just to show I am not kidding. Need to get to the floorpan somehow..

No it is not a buried Beetle and I am not trying to grow a new one!

This is roof out of the way in the back garden.

Bent front beam comes off. Probably only fit for the scrapyard.

You can see the damage to the front end. Apart from this the body was in quite good condition. Not a great deal of rust. Pity the same can not be said about the floorpan!

Floorpan needs some work next. Cut out all the rot and weld in new sheet. The body has been completely removed. Fortunately there is just enough room in the garage to keep both under cover.

The rear of the drivers side has been cut out and most of the passenger side will follow. Unfortunately lack of photos means I can't show you everything. All welding was done with an Electric Arc welder. Couldn't afford a MIG or anything else at the time. I would not recommend trying to use Electric Arc for this type of work, it is extremely hard. Nowadays use MIG or TIG, they are much more available than they used to be.

Check out some of my other VW Lenses

Earn Money from your Own Project

Show off your own project.

If you have a project of your own and want to tell people all about it, you can create your own lens. It is free to do, does not cost anything and you don't have to pay a cent/penny. Get the idea, it is free. All you have to do is click the link below and sign up to Squidoo and off you go. Simple as that.

By creating your own lens you will even earn a commission from Squidoo each month if your lens is popular and does well. Get better doesn't it?

So to sum up, you can Get Paid to create your own web page about your own project!

Want to create your own lens click this link:

Create Your Own Lens

Featured VW Project

Chug Chug the 1977 Westfalia Helsinki - VW Camper Restoration Story at its best.

If you are interested in VW Campers, vans, buses or just VW's in general you will certainly enjoy this restoration project. Chris (aka ChrisRadioMan) has spent many hundreds of hours giving this Camper Van a new lease of life. Read his forums by clicking on the links below.

Part 1 : Early Days of the Restoration

Part 2 : Major Work and Final Build

Part 3 : End of the Road!

Please remember to mention this lens if adding to this forum. You can use this link VW Wizard or copy and paste this text:

[B][URL="http://www.squidoo.com/vwwizard"]VW Wizard[/URL][/B]

Vw Beetle Blogs on the Net

Check what other VW Beetle Fans are talking about

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Props team keeps pieces in place as 'Love' cast flies: Buy this photo Craig Norman, left, and Renee McHenry reassemble the shell of a Volkswagen Beetle that is held together by magnets. » Buy this photo Props technician Brett Geiger uses a remote control to move a prop back to where it is stored after the ...
1971 VW Beetle: "Rousseau" is a 1971 yellow convertible Volkswagen Bug. When I was very young, it was the only car I ever wanted, so I started saving all my babysitting money - which I earned at 50 cents an hour - and in 1976 I bought her from a college teacher who ...

What do you think?

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Reply

b4ndit Jan 29, 2012 @ 9:34 pm | delete

Nice lens

Reply

Paul Griffiths Aug 3, 2011 @ 11:11 am | delete

Roy, on the Wizard that inspired you - do you know what the headlight/indicator unit is called? I was told, looked it up but have had my laptop stolen and lost the info. Thanks, Paul

Reply

ByRoy Feb 2, 2012 @ 3:16 pm | delete

The headlights are a US spec clear lens unit incorporating the indicator socket to take an orange bulb. These are available from Hella and Bosch among others. The headlight behind the clear lens is a standard unit and used to be available as a sealed beam unit or with a halogen bulb. I imagine if you look you could get some very modern high spec lamps now if that were your taste.