Joey the Beetle
Book coming soon
JOEY is a 1979 Volkswagen Superbeetle.
Joey is named that way as it’s got a pouch in the front. Like a kangaroo. And it’s a small car with a pouch in the front, so it’s a baby ‘roo which is called a Joey. ….sometimes I call it ‘roo though.
Joey promotes products for MAHI Outfitters. Working on a car stimulates the brain and emphasizes the Innovation part of the MAHI lifestyle.
This is meant to inspire people to enjoy life. To see that sometimes less is more. This cars pokey speed and simplicity is what I love.
10/21
I spent an entire day with a cordless drill wire wheeling the paint off my sporty rims for the beetle. They had black paint on them and were kind of plain looking. I wanted to do something unique.
I love the bare aluminium, but would like to find out how to polish it better. I'm not a chrome guy. Somewhere just a bit shinier than brushed metal.
Discount Tire has repeatedly proven to be the place to go if you want test fit to see what you’re buying.
The Falken Tires look SO awesome. I can’t wait to keep working on it.
This Car has tilted the universe. With its guppy headlights and pokey speed it’s a super fun combo. Slow, manual, gas. No radio. No Wi-Fi, No blue tooth. No map system. Joey dials it up to 11.
3/11/2022
Joey got some upgrades.
Joey has had some issues lately. Running rough, won’t stay running, burning tons of gas.
Got a new carburetor, starter, coil and fuel pump. Ran great for a day. at the end of the day, it sputtered and coughed for the last 30 minutes of the drive. All that work and still not playing nice.
So my plan is to rebuild the fuel system and electrical system.
Then the engine will come out and get rebuilt with some performance upgrades as well. JBugs has a great kit.
3/15/2022
Joey recently got new headlights, LED’s. I could barely see the road with the stock ones.
The new ones I have are not quite set up right, but they are awesome!! Got em on Amazon.
While I have the dash off, I may have the clock repaired or replaced as it doesn’t seem to work. Again…wiring.
A stereo system is needed as well. Harmon Kardon, JBL or Bang and Olufson. I’m guessing the German company will win this one. Lots of room under the deck lid for this.
An oil pressure sending unit and gauge is a nice addition for monitoring the health of the engine. Oil Temperature senders with gauges are available as well. As are volt meters. $300 about….but it could save your engine. Cylinder head temp kits are also available.
Im putting wooden veneer on the doors to figure out wiring for the sound system. Then the panels will be made. JBugs has some really cool new window handles. Those will be after the wiring.
pictures coming.
The wood for the door panels, window handles and stereo have been purchased and waiting to install.
It has a new home. A bigger garage with outlets and water and all sorts of space for tools.
08/2022
Wolfbox sells these on Amazon. So convenient for the superbeetle as the soft top sticks up too far to see with stock rear view mirror.
It's a touchscreen. here's the deal...after I bought it, I saw the one with apple car play. That is the one I'd get. It opens the whole dash for other opportunities. More gauges and lights.
Main reason I got it is for the rear camera. The beetle mirror is tiny and is not well situated for when the top is down.
Once I get the Optima batteries picked out, I'll start the new electrical system. The current one has a bad ground somewhere and it drains the battery constantly.
The car originally came with a fuel injected motor. Everyone took them out and went back to carbs. But the old wiring harness is still in there along with a fuel system for a fuel injected engine.
Tail lights are next. I could only find them on eBay.
Hope they're a good fit. The project is to mimic a drawing I did of a beetle.
Eve from eVokt, thank you!! Tail lights are here. Can't wait to get them on.
They're on!!! I could not love them more!! These were worth waiting for.
I like:
the degree they smoked them.
the look and sparkle they add
the pre wiring they came with.
the black rubber mounting seals.
There was no need to cut ANY wires.
Room for improvement:
Labeling process was good. But the specific labels themselves were misleading. "Fog" was a label. ???
There were no instructions in the box.
No videos on their website.
Advice:
Take your time. There's delicate parts.
Be patient when putting metal screws into plastic sockets.
Wrap the lense in Seran Wrap while you're working with it to prevent scratches during installlation.
Do not use power tools.
Press the new sockets into the cube VERY deep. If you don't the tabs you're plugging into won't reach.
These are poor photos, but figured d offer them anyway.
I'm thrilled with them. All lights are working. Thanks to Crumbley auto.
Radio
Well here's the deal. There's only so much you can do with a radio in a beetle. UNLESS ITS A PIONEER!!!
Crutchfield to the rescue for classic cars!
You can jam the guts of this thing anywhere you want. And mount the display a few inches away(see photos below).Aptly named Pioneer, the Best of 2022 DMH-WC5700NEX, finally answered the question, "can't we do it better?"
For just under $800 you have one of the most versatile car audio gems on the market in your car. This may not be in the budget this year, but it's going in the Beetle at some point.
I was going to use plywood for my wire loom. But came across this on Craigslist. $150 + traded some tools I wanted to upgrade. This is going to be how I test the new dash I plan on putting in. Gauge clusters are going to be red and white. In dash stereo is some garbage I got from Amazon. Looked great in the picture, but the wiring and lack of directions is going to make this a nightmare.
There'll be 3 cameras in it when it's done. One on the security system(separate battery)motion activated and Wi-Fi. A rear live camera, and a dash camera.
I think this car is gonna be better than the Audi when it's done.
Nuetrino Aurora
iPhone app driven, programmable electrical accessory controller (eac).
THIS is magic!!!
These are built for motorcycles. But when has that stopped anyone from soldering some version of it into their Franken-car?
I found this on the website from the link above. Now this one is for motorcycles. I can't find the website for the manufacturer. If there is one, it may have systems specifically for cars.
This wiring system is gonna be coooooool.
3/7/2023
everyone claims these are easy to work on....no one has been able to fix it yet. Or at least bring it back to me undamaged.
This is very frustrating. There's no better craft to learn than fixing your own stuff.
I guess it's time to start ringing out wires. And sending work to the manufacturer.
04/28/2023
Finally ordered the Boot Cover from JBugs.
This now puts it in the next step to being the star of the book series, The Adventures of Joey. Couple more interior changes and he's ready for publishing!
So thrilled this is coming!
6/7/2023
Decals came in as did the boot for the top.
this is so close to my book character. I'm really diggin it.
JBUGS! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!
That Boot cover takes this thing from classy to sassy. Freakin LOVE it!!! A perfect snug fit. I'll be calling you for a roll bar soon.
Decals.com Brianna hooked me up with this decal. We went back and forth about 20 times with format and other stuff. And I'm so glad we did! Thank you!! It's perfect!!
I'm pretty sure the roof latches are next.
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