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Now I've always been a firm believer that Volkswagen knows a lot more about the Beetle than I ever will, so these must have been put there for a reason. (Don't even get me going about whether the Beetle can run without a thermostat or not, it shouldn't!) So, wanting my Beetle to be as close to 100% stock as possible I set out to find these illusive vents. I searched VW parts swap meets, eBay and The Samba, but the ones that I found were ugly to say the least. Most were yellowed and cracked and I don't think that they could ever survive installation. What to do? I don't know if it was fate but a few weeks later in my Mid America Motorworks newsletter I spotted them, and for under twenty bucks to boot! When they arrived I went out to install them and thought, "I am going to have to cut six holes in my near pristine headliner ...maybe I'll wait". So the other day I was getting my SB ready for a VW event and saw my vents sitting on a shelf in the garage. I guess I was feeling brave that night (or maybe it was the adult beverage that I was drinking at the time) and I decided to put them in. I felt around the rear glass until I found the first oval hole and then lined up a new vent with the indentation and pushed into the liner. This left an oval impression that I quickly slit from end to end with a blade, GLUP! To my surprise the vent snapped in perfectly! The moral of this story is that it's the small things that can really make your Beetle complete and it's companies like Mid America Motorworks that can supply them for us. Chrome Vent Covers: For those of you that love the look
of chrome there's a perfect inexpensive accessory for your Classic
Volkswagen Beetle, Chrome Vent Covers from Mid America Motorworks.
With these two half moon covers you can Made in Denmark by the JP Group the quality of these vents is flawless and since they are made with chromed plastic there is no worry about them rusting or losing their shine over the years. While replacing the original ones with these is a matter of preference and taste you are certain to get a lot of questions about them at the next Volkswagen event that you attend. Me? I think they are great and I'm going to get a set for my Super Beetle before the season starts in the spring! "2009 Dubism" VW Calendar by Peter Gibney: Yep, it's time for a new Volkswagen calendar. Last year I got one of those big-hang-on-the-wall versions, so this year I wanted something that is a little more tasteful, compact, and with  better
pictures, not just a series of twelve different Beetles parked on the
grass somewhere (and no NEW BEETLES, sorry). Enter Peter Gibney from
Surfing Art of Australia. Peter is an awesome photographer with a passion
for surfing and Volkswagen's. His web site is a mix of beautiful photographs
of Bryron Bay, Panorama photos, Surf and Coastal pictures, Volkswagen
photos, greeting cards (featuring Beetles and Buses) and of course his
new calendar called "Dubism" for 2009 . Peter says, "The
12 month (210 mm x 300 mm / 8.27" x 11.81") 26 page VW Calendar
features 13 New Photos from my Volkswagen photo collection. The 2009
VW calendar will fit nicely in your VW glove box or hang proudly on
your wall. It's the Perfect Gift for the VW Lovers in your life."
With thirteen outstanding photos of vintage Beetles and Buses this calendar
will brighten the day of any Volkswagen lover and would make an excellent
Christmas or birthday gift. It's not too late to get one for this year
so go ahead and spoil yourself, you deserve it!
Retractable
Lap and Shoulder Seat Belts:
My seat belts were done. Once you took them off they would lay there
unless you fed them back into the retractor, not good. You could tug
at them all day long and they wouldn't lock up, not too I was reading the latest Mid America Motorworks catalog and noticed a complete set of front belts that would fit my Beetle on the back cover. As a matter of fact they fit 1966-1977 Beetle Sedan and 1971-1977 Super Beetle Sedan, nice. I ordered a set and within a few days they were sitting on my desk at work. Inside the package I found two black original-looking seat belt retractors, two buckles, two brackets and a whole bunch of bolts, washers and nuts, along with a small diagram on how they all go together. It didn't seem like a big job so I decided to tackle it one Saturday. All you need is a socket set and a bit of patience to install these in your Beetle. The first thing to do is to take out the old belts, which is simple because it's only three bolts each. Then you have to figure out which way the brackets that hold the retractors go, not so simple. Make sure you take a good look at the original brackets BEFORE you take the old ones out.
Retractable Lap and Shoulder Seat Belts Chrome
Wheels and Hub Caps: I
own a 1975 Volkswagen Super Beetle of the
La Grande variety. It's close to 100% stock and that's the way
that I like it. The only problem is that the "Sports" wheels
that came with this Special Edition are For me the answer was a set of stock Volkswagen wheels paired up with a set of stock Volkswagen wheel covers, but done in chrome! The stock wheel that came on the VW Beetle never came in chrome, which is a shame because the styling is timeless. I checked all of the usual online stores and ended up getting a set from California Import Parts. The wheels that I got where manufactured by Mangle of Brazil, one of the largest O.E. wheel manufacturers in the world. Unfortunately from what I've heard these wheels won't be available for much longer, so if you are looking to upgrade your whip, you'd better act fast. You could always have your stock wheels chromed, but finding a good plating shop isn't easy and it's very expensive too. So I took my new wheels to work and mounted them on my stock rubber. Oh yeah! I don't know what it is about these wheels, but installing them on my 1303 added a huge WOW factor. Best of all my VW is still considered "Stock" and it looks fantastic! Now all I get is complements where ever I go. Nice. Robert
Bentley Repair Manual: There
are a lot of repair manuals out there for your classic Volkswagen
and I've seen just about every one of them. The most famous would
most likely be John Muir's "How
to keep your Volkswagen Alive". It's Here is a sample of the kind of up-to-date information you will find inside: Tune-up and oil change. Specifications and procedures for all models up to the latest 1979 models. Troubleshooting and replacing or repairing every component of the electrical system, complete wiring diagrams. Troubleshooting and repair of the electronic fuel injection system used on 1975 and later models. Troubleshooting, repairing and rebuilding the clutch, manual transmission and Automatic Stick Shift. Rebuilding the carburetor, including the 1974 California-only carburetor. Rebuilding disc and drum brakes. Rebuilding the front axle and steering gearbox. Strut front suspension for the 1302 and 1303 Super Beetle and Convertible, including the suspension modifications for the 1974 through 1979 models. Rack and pinion steering for the 1975 and later models is also covered. Spark advance curves for all distributors, including the latest type emission controls for the 1974 through 1979 exhaust gas recirculation systems. Official Volkswagen tolerances, wear limits, settings and tightening torque specifications for every part of your VW. This Volkswagen Type 1 service manual for the 1970-1979 Volkswagen Beetle and Karmann Ghia contains 720 illustrations, 27 pages of wiring diagrams and 466 pages of what Volkswagen dealership technicians use in the workshop, so you can't get any better than that. Official
Service Manuals by Robert Bentley
VolksWorld
and their New Website: If you're a fan of the air-cooled
Volkswagen then you must love reading about and looking at them in
print. Over the past few years some VW publications have gone, some
new ones have sprung up, and Along with a fantastic magazine VolksWorld has reworked its web site into a world-class offering. Now featuring such sections as Car of the week, Latest news, Video of the week, The VolksWorld Blog, Buy and Sell, Events and Clubs, and Downloads, you could spend hours just cruising the pages. Make a note to check out the Download section where you'll find some of the most beautiful Volkswagens in the world just waiting to grace the desktop of your computer. So pick up a copy at your local bookstore, go online and subscribe. That way you'll never miss a VW-packed issue! 1/10th
Scale - Radio Controlled VBugz Beetle by Maisto: Take a
close look at the Oval window Beetle in this review. From the picture,
it's pretty hard to tell this 1/10th scale Beetle from the full-sized
original. It's Liquid Bronze in colour,
You control Herbie through 8 tracks with the other cars playing as obstacles at the beginning of the races until you get a large enough lead. There are a few special moves that Herbie can use to help you in out racing your opponents. By collecting a colored star, you can make Herbie either drive backward, stand on two wheels, shoot out a tire from his hood, or jump. These moves are what really make the game fun. And, since the other racers can’t use these special moves, you won’t have to worry about being hit once you’re in the lead. Actually, the only time we ever lost in the races was when we hit a wall and was unable to pull Herbie away. However, this was before we realized that you can drive in reverse by pressing the brake simultaneously with the D-Pad. After we figured this out, we had no more problems with finishing the story mode (which consists of pictures of Lindsay Lohan paired with optimistic messages) and beating the three difficulties on championship. The graphics are probably the most notable feature of this game. The game sprites look very good on the Game Boy Advance and the animation is smooth. The level environments simulate a 3D area to an extent and the menus are also fairly good looking. The background designs are pleasing to the eyes and it isn't painful navigating through the somewhat small amount of menus. Bottom line, if you love Herbie and video games, you've got to have this one! Herbie Fully Loaded for Game Boy Advance Ultra
VW: I love to get my "fix" of the air-cooled
Volkswagen by picking up a few VW magazines every month. I used to
subscribe to (and write for) VW Trends magazine, but was disappointed
when Primedia decided to shut it down. After that The first thing that I noticed when I opened Ultra VW was the outstanding photography. Full page, great composition, and ALL of it was in full colour. What a great idea! The magazine is actually larger in size than most its American cousins. And this mean bigger pictures, more articles, and more of our favorite subject, the air-cooled Volkswagen. Contributors to the magazine include Stephan Szantai (from almost every VW magazine on the planet), Dave Conklin and John Plow from Cal-look.com, and Dean Kirsten from Hot VW's magazine. With Keith Seume as the managing editor, you know that this magazine is for real. VW events from around the globe are covered and air-cooled VWs of every type are featured on a monthly basis. There are lots of (full-colour) ads that feature the best that Europe has to offer and it's nice to see a bit of what's happening on the other side of the pond. This months issue Ultra VW included a full-color poster of a 1955 Type 2 fitted with an Okrasa TSV1300/30 tuning kit, which had yet another poster of a 1966 Deluxe Microbus on the flip side, pretty cool eh? This is great magazine that deserves a look-see! PS: You can get a 20% discount by using our club password WFEKNY while subscribing online.
Besides the handy nibbed rubber backing, they also have a rubber heal pad that is sewn into the drivers mat to protect it from heel damage and a matching vinyl binding that is sewn around the edge that trims this vintage look floor mat off quite nicely. These floor mats are very easy to clean as well. You simply vacuum them to freshen them up, or if they get really dirty you can pressure wash them with soap and water and then hang them out to dry. I have had a set of the Tan and Brown Coco mats in my Super Beetle for a few years and have found them virtually indestructible. Coco
mats - Mid America Motorworks Bug
Me Video - Electrical Troubleshooting:
I'm glad that I have the full set of Bug Me videos on how to maintain
and repair my Volkswagen. These videos have saved me countless dollars
in repairs and maintenance to my Super Beetle. Volume #10 - Electrical Troubleshooting starts off with basic battery care and then moves along to the Starting System. This is where Rick and his son Chad go over a very common problem with almost any car; no start. Working from the battery, to the ignition switch, and then on to the starter motor, you'll learn that it's not always one of these three items that can cause your trusty VW to play dead. Problems can range from old wiring to a starter solenoid that is drawing too much or too little current. And this DVD shows you how to pinpoint the problem by using a series of methodical steps. Other topics on this informative DVD are Charging System, "Turn Signal Arm", "Install Guages", "How to Solder" (you can get a sneak preview of this in our Tech Talk with Rick section) and one of the most popular questions that we get at the web site, how do you go about "Converting 6 volt to 12 volt"? The DVD is a full three hours long and after watching it you'll be confident enough to take on almost any electrical problem that might pop up. Visit their web site and check out the nine other titles that will have your VW purring like a kitten. And remember what Rick Higgins says, "You can do it - Let us show you how!"
Window Regulator - Mid America Motorworks Replacement
Sun visors: The sun visors in my
Super Beetle were looking pretty bad. They had turned from white to
yellow, became baggy as the stuffing fell to the bottom and the passenger
mirror was flaking off. So I decided to replace my
Well this is where Mid America Motorworks steps in with plenty of hard-to-find items that can have your Beetle looking right proper. The item that I was looking for was the plastic trim that goes in the inside edge of the drivers seat. It's a piece of plastic that is quite brittle and in most cases cracks (as you can see in the picture of the old VS the new one). I was online at the MAM site and easily found the item that I was looking for. After a couple of clicks of the mouse it was on its way to me. When I got it in my hands I found that it had been improved over the original. It looks almost identical but is now made of a plastic that is pliable and won't break after a few years of use. The only thing is, I wish I would have ordered all four! Seat trim - Mid America Motorworks The
Volkswagen Super Beetle Handbook: Okay, so you might think
that this review may be a bit jaded since I wrote the first chapter
in the book, The rise and fall of the Volkswagen Super Beetle,
well it won't be. I'm reviewing the other 25
Reef
Designs Calendar: Reef Design is a unique company designing
and producing original air-cooled VW based Artwork. Justina and her
partner Carlos both work from their Studio based at home in Leicestershire,
UK. All of Reef's To have your book or product reviewed here please contact us at mail@superbeetles.com Product reviews
are opinions of the author and are for informational use only
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