Forum Friday: Heezy’s 1974 Super Beetle Build Thread

Thank goodness this classic Volkswagen Beetle escaped the Cash for Clunkers program. With VW killing of the Bug once-and-for-all in the very near future, it’s prime examples like forum user Heezy’s 1974 Super Beetle that remind us of the spunky blank-canvas-of-a-car the early Beetle was.

This Beetle has undergone a complete transformation. It’s a great example of how well these little cars hold up if you’re willing to put in some elbow grease. And Heezy did. In its current state, the ’74 is a driver’s car with the looks to put its best foot forward in the local concourse, but it wasn’t always that way.

A Hot Mess

Heezy has done a fantastic job documenting this car’s transformation with beautiful full-size pictures on its dedicated build thread. The pictures from day one show a two-tone paint job that doesn’t exactly scream class. There’s so much paint on the car. It’s difficult to tell whether the body is straight or not.

To the previous owner’s credit, the car’s interior is passable on day one. It looks like there are some period-correct seat covers going on and an acrylic shifter, but as fifty-year-old Beetle interiors go, it’s pretty well sorted out.

Heezy Overhaul

A look at Heezy’s garage reveals that this is an all-VW family. Parked alongside the ’74 Super Beetle is a very pink GTI. Soon that same garage would become the operating table where the bug would undergo total transformation. With the GTI living in the driveway, the new acquisition was stripped down to bare metal and primed for a new look.

Heezy did a little bondo work along the way to help restore flat spots in the Beetle’s fenders. The next time we see it, there’s a whole new thing going on with the car. It’s still two-tone, but the application is much more uniform. This time the colors are a lovely deep shade of metallic green and clean white to compliment it on the car’s sides.

To use Heezy’s own words “crazy transformation a little paint and bodywork can make.” You said it. For the finishing touches, Heezy painted the wheels matching white and added a few metal eyelashes to the new car’s front end. We love them, they give the car a nice bit of Love Bug character and make it stand out from the crowd in a way that blotchy red and black just never could.

Check out more images of the build below.