Restoring a vintage vehicle had been something I wanted to do since I was about ten years old. For a long time, I either did not have the money, the time, or the space to take on a project that large. Once I started university, I finally decided to make it happen.
I started the project in the summer of 2024 with a shortened 1973 Volkswagen Beetle chassis, a dune-buggy body, and two donor Beetles for parts. Rather than just getting the buggy running, I wanted to take it apart and rebuild it properly.
At the time, I had very little experience working on cars or engines. That quickly changed. I stripped the donor vehicles, removed the engine and other mechanical systems, and gradually worked through almost every part of the buggy. By the end, nearly every nut and bolt had been removed, inspected, replaced, or reinstalled.
The engine remained a mostly stock 1600 cc Volkswagen unit, apart from the addition of two carburetors, but the rest of the vehicle needed a lot of rebuilding, fitting, and adjustment. I had to learn how the braking, steering, suspension, fuel, electrical, and engine systems all worked together.
The fibreglass body also needed a lot of work. I repaired damaged areas, reshaped sections of the body, prepared it for paint, and made several custom parts. I also built the side pods and trunk lid using simple fibreglass hand layup.
A mechanic friend helped guide me throughout the restoration. Whenever I ran into something unfamiliar, he would explain how the system worked or point me in the right direction. I still completed the physical work myself, which made the project one of the biggest hands-on learning experiences I have had.
Time, tools, workspace, and manpower were probably the biggest challenges. I worked on the buggy whenever I had a break from school, including summers, winter breaks, and spring breaks. A lot of the work had to be done with whatever tools and space I had available at the time.
More than anything, this project was something I had wanted to do since I was a kid. Finishing it was less about creating a perfect car and more about proving to myself that I could take on a project I knew very little about, learn along the way, and eventually put it on the road with my own hands.