The real appeal of the Beetle is the ease of repair. The car was designed so so long ago for a guy we won’t talk about (sorry, if you don’t know who it is). Removing the engine should have been a breeze. Four bolts for disconnecting the transmission. Two hoses for the heater. Two wires for the heater control. One cable for the accelerator. A few minutes to disconnect other wires and components and BAM. The engine is ready to be lowered out of the back. I said should because the previous owner had done some silliness. One of the mounting bolts was reversed. Instead of being removed from the back like it should have been, the nut sat on the underside nestled up behind the clutch. The rusty quarter panels made reaching said nut a hazardous affair. Twisted up like a pretzel with safety glasses and my hoodie over my ears and mouth, the nut required two ratchet extensions and a rotating connecter to reach. Dirt and rust thankfully defeated by my Kenny from South Park appearance.

In under 8 hours in wet and rainy conditions with no prior experience on this vehicle, we were able to remove the whole engine, the interior, four fenders, and swap the rear tires. The next segment of this build will be taking apart the engine. We will inspect it for worn parts, doing our best to refurbish instead of replace. Hopefully, we will only need to give it a thorough cleaning and strip it so it’s ready for a refreshing revival of new paint and polish.