Our New 1968 Square!!

[vwkombi1966]

ok, so long story short, my 71 square got totaled. i'm ok, and so was the guy who hit me (thanks for not checking your left for on coming traffic A$$HOLE!!!). that said, my Girlfriend and i sold our 2.0 Porsche 914 engine, and have struck a deal with a gentleman for a 1968 square for 1850.00 (delivered). It's currently in pieces, but it comes with an interesting story, lots of original paperwork, and some strange options that i am hoping to have some guru's help me out with. so here goes the story:

It was purchased in 1968, in west Seattle, by a Canadian who had it "special ordered" to meet Canadian specs. I'll list the oddities i've noticed further down the thread. The gentleman was very meticulous about saving receipts for all maintenance and services performed on the square. After a few decades, and being housed in a garage most of it's life, it showed only 33,000 Km. the original owner sold it to the gentleman that we bought it from. he drove it once, and then stripped it down for media blasting. he boxed all the parts, stuffed it into a trailer, and there it sat for 10 years. so he finally put it up on Craig's list, and we promptly jumped all over it! it's completely apart, but we'll have a blast putting all back together as a family! so, here's what i have noticed about this square:

- Factory black with brick red interior
- bullet style turn signals
- Euro style tail lights
- high back seats
- dealer installed roof rack
- some weird oval grills inserted into the lower portions of the front fenders (about the size and shape of 68-70 bus tail lights, but with vertical bars)
- dual external reverse lights
- Kph Speedo
- blade style bumpers
- pop out side windows
- no side marker lights on the front fenders
- late style rear hatch

so, more pics will get posted after we get the square delivered this up coming weekend, but i would LOVE to hear about Canadian vs. U.S. specs, and what to look for. thanks for the help ya'll!
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Aircooled VW: more expensive than CRACK!

- 1968 Squareback (Scarlett)
- 1969 Westy

[dc]

"some weird oval grills inserted into the lower portions of the front fenders (about the size and shape of 68-70 bus tail lights, but with vertical bars) "

These openings were for a car equipped with air-conditioning!
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1963 Karmann Ghia

[ataraxia]

A 68 would have high back seats as standard equipment, bullet turn indicators, the hatch changed in 68 to the 'late style', back up lights on the rear bumper were standard, as are pop out side windows...side marker lights weren't really 'a thing' for North American market cars by 68, the KPH speedo makes sense for Canada and the oval grills on the front fenders are for air conditioning.

[Erik G]

Black is uncommon and works good with the india red interior. nice find
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Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[vwkombi1966]

after the square gets delivered this weekend, my girl and i will take a ton of pics, and we'll post 'em up for ya'll
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Aircooled VW: more expensive than CRACK!

- 1968 Squareback (Scarlett)
- 1969 Westy

[Nate M.]

I was glad to get your call this AM and hear you found a "thinner" replacement for your '71.

Making lemonade out of lemons right here in the PNW!!!
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Regards,

Nate M.

Squarsche build
Heavy Metal Affliction feature

For heaven's sake, put a type4 and a Porsche 5-speed in there. . . It's the right thing to do!!

[ALLWAGONS]

Nice to see another square get restored and driven.
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I'd be UNSTOPPABLE if not for Law Enforcement and PHYSICS.

I recycle old cars and parts, other than when I rot, that's as Green as I am going to get.

Thanks to my Tesla driving neighbors, I feel more relaxed driving my SUBURBAN and old VW's.

NON INFLUENCER APPROVED

[Bobnotch]

[Tram]

[vwkombi1966]

well, i'm really curious to see if this car has all the factory A\C stuff that i've only seen picture of! OH! and there will be plenty of pics to post after we get it. it's all apart, but we'll make sure that everybody gets the idea! I just can't believe how amazing this find is! the previous (2nd) owner even called me the next day, and told me that he was truly happy that the car was going to us, and that he knew that we were the right ones to get it. He totally loved the idea that we plan to restore it (partially), and actually use it as our daily. It's truly going to be a member of our family.

Does anybody know:
- how good the original painting techniques were back in the day? the previous owner claims that the paint is original, but I remember there seems to be a bit of orange peel here and there. Seems a little, um, odd seeing a new car, and the paint isn't perfectly smooth. but, maybe that's just the way it was back then? there's some small scrapes we will have to address, but we can paint match those small areas, and blend them in. ideas?

- can anybody confirm if there is such a thing as a "DELUXE" edition squareback? Linda (my lady) stumbled across some info that said black paint and brick red interior is a deluxe option only. I've heard of deluxe beetles, but never type III's....

- If a car was special ordered, what paperwork would the customer get from the dealer? build\spec sheet? window sticker?

well, thanks to all for the interest, and support through all of this. it hit us HARD when we lost Gerty (71 square), and now things are looking on the up. We look forward to sorting through 48 years of history (and dealership paperwork\reciepts) that come with our new square! Good times ahead!
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Aircooled VW: more expensive than CRACK!

- 1968 Squareback (Scarlett)
- 1969 Westy

[Tram]

[MonT3]

Congrats on finding a nice replacement for your car. Looks like you're headed for a ton of fun putting it back together and making new memories of your new ride. Look forward to seeing your progress.
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MonT3
67 Squareback
64 Squareback
63 Squareback
Engine rebuild
Trailer rebuild

[ataraxia]

[vwkombi1966]

so FINALLY, here's the update i promised! so to start we've taken LOTS of pics!

so this is what kicked off our story here. Our 71 square took a front end that nearly ended not just the square, but ME too! so the family and i took to finding a new square..

the day of delivery! this is a pic of all the people who came together to help make this beautiful car a reality for my family and I. from left to right: Nathan (previous/2nd owner), Dave Jacobsen (me), Linda (my other half), the boys Johnny & Kenny, Derrick, Nate Morse, Rachael & Jesse.

our new 68 square nestled proudly in our garage. it took 6 people to push the square out of the trailer (seized brakes). Of course, the car had been sitting for 13 years in the back of Nathan's covered trailer, so it was to be expected...

looks like this 68 has had the front clip replaced at some time. I'll have to address the weld later...

I am wondering about the RED RING around the nose badge. looks old, not sure if original, but looks cool! can anybody confirm if a red ring was ever an original option?

The pans are looking pretty straight. a few pin holes, but overall looking good.

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Aircooled VW: more expensive than CRACK!

- 1968 Squareback (Scarlett)
- 1969 Westy

[vwkombi1966]

Our work continues...

here's the new Aluminium engine case (punched out for 94mm, and already clearanced!)

here's a shot of the brick red interrior...

SO, here's a pic of the weird little vents that go in the front. strange thing is, i cant find any evidence of A\C in the car, other than these vents....

here's the front fenders (hanging up)

fuse box is broken... ugh!

the next day, work begins!

At the end of the next day. Transferring nuts and bolts and parts from Gertrude (our crunched 71 square)

The ORIGINAL SPARE!

no more engine in Gerty!

IT'S ALIVE!!!!

short throw shifter.

Even my youngest is getting down on the project!

my other half. taken JUST before the 68 moves for the first time in 13 YEARS!!

Me at the helm, about to give the first test drive (around our drive way)..

So, we've all been chipping in to get this old gal road ready. she moves, and now the fenders are on. still have to get the fender beading on, and get the lights plugged in, but we got everything mocked up. she looks good, and we are discovering what parts we need, and how well everything fits. good time for all! i'll post more pics as work gets done! would love to hear any thoughts, ideas and opinions!
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Aircooled VW: more expensive than CRACK!

- 1968 Squareback (Scarlett)
- 1969 Westy

[vwkombi1966]

well, it's been almost a week, and we've finally got some traction on getting our new square closer to being on the road! went through the electrical yesterday, got everything working, except the fuel guage. i THINK i have a faulty ground some where. the needle pegs out to FULL when lights (parking or otherwise) are on. even with lights out, the needle swing wildly with every bump of the road. so, loose ground. Soooomewhere. yay. oh, and now the blinkers only work, when i literally PULL in the (cheap aftermarket NAPA) blinker relay. so, a little investigation there should yield positive results. anybody got ideas about the fuel sender issue? this sounds familure, but i just can't for the life of me remember what the hell causes this issue, and i don't wanna waste time chasing my tail... anywho, i'll try to take some pics today or tomorrow and get them posted for all to check out. now, it's time to hit the garage!
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Aircooled VW: more expensive than CRACK!

- 1968 Squareback (Scarlett)
- 1969 Westy

[W1K1]

run a ground to the gauge, the pins on the gauge are supposed to ground it. it solved my similar issue
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http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/jim_martin_engine_build.php

1973 super
1965 squareback 1500E
1971 bay window westy- subi swap

[vwkombi1966]

thanks W1K1. that helped. the fuel gauge now sits steady, and reads properly. i have now started running through ALL the electrical. ugh. good times. so, it would seem that some PO installed an earlier year emergency flasher switch (replaced with one from my 71 square), and it would also seem that a PO attempted to re-wire stuff under the dash to install some cheap made in Taiwan\NAPA turn-signal relay. SOOOoooo, i started to gut all the good original wires out of my 71 square, and start putting the electric back to STOCK. there's few things more frustrating than looking under the dash and seeing just red, green, black, and white wires running to who knows where. so, i now have the emergency flashers, high\low beams, turn signals (borrowed from my 71), dash lights, running lights, brakes, and the interrior dome lights all working! still have to sort through the reverse lights (likely the light switch at the tranny), and why the wiper motor is not working. funny thing is, it work before (but only on fast). SO, i am looking at the POSSIBILITY of transferring the WIPER MOTOR (and switch) from the 71. yeah, i'm aware that the wiper ASSEMBLY is 1971 specific, but with a little luck and some elbow grease, i might be able to not only have two speed wiper again, but ALSO "self parking" wipers! nice upgrade that isn't easily noticeable. and that's just the ELECTRICAL WORK!

as far as the rest of it, well, the fenders, bumpers, steering wheel, tires, hatch seal, front trunk seal, deck lid seal, head lights, turn signals (front and rear), roof rack, glove box, mirrors, fenders (front and rear) bumpers, front A\C grills, dash pad, gauges, and pop out windows are all now installed! been busy, but made LOTS of progress! it's actually looking like a proper car now! i'll post some pics over the next week.

lastly, i noticed that this car HAS been re-sprayed, but in it's origional color (black). also, i noticed that somebody went to the trouble of welding up all of the holes for the side trim. additionally,there are NO HOLES for the rear little red reflectors. weird... Thoughts?
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Aircooled VW: more expensive than CRACK!

- 1968 Squareback (Scarlett)
- 1969 Westy

[raygreenwood]

Yes......its common to weld up the trim holes. The only seal for them is the little red disc that is on the trim clips.....which works ok until they get old.

If you are studious and keep an eye on them and replace them when....and if....you catch the leaking.....its fine. Otherwise they are rust magnets.

I weld mine up. Since you have to have trim....in my opinion. ...because they can save many a door knick......there are a handful of ways to get around the rust magnet issue.

You can seal with low acid silicone or acrylic caulk....the pins on the clips. Set them straight and let them dry before installing trim.

Another method is to take the tike to fill the back of the strip cavity with 25 year, acrylic architectural caulk. Fill it level....let it dry. Weld up the holes and use 3M 468 MP adhesive tape. Look for the 5.2 mil. You can get thicker if needed.

That will NOT come off.....unless you remove it with 3M adhesive decal renover...which will not hurt the paint if used properly. Ray

[vwkombi1966]

wow! QUITE informative Ray! Thanks! so, on to today's progress report:
well, i've swapped out the original brick red seats for my 71's newly upholstered black ones (we're saving the original seats and interrior for shows only, since they are in such great shape!), removed and rebuilt the wiper motor (which now has two speeds and self park), re-wired every switch in the dash back to stock, replaced any "odd" colored wires with properly color coded wires (donated from my 71 square, whose wires were in excellent shape), installed the old carpet kit, and replaced the short throw shifter with the stock one from my 71 (with new shift knob and shifter boot). oh! also verified that all gears work on a VERY short test drive. i'm bushed!
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Aircooled VW: more expensive than CRACK!

- 1968 Squareback (Scarlett)
- 1969 Westy