Bug Update: Out with the Old, In with the New

My shipment of new parts from Wolfsburg West arrived yesterday, and as soon as I had time I popped the hood open on the Bug and got to work.

Here's the old fuse box before I removed it.

To get the old box out I had to cut one wire, and I ended up replacing one female connector, but other than that it was a straight-forward job.

A couple of posts ago I wrote about using Gorilla Glue to hold the far left terminal to the fuse box, and I have to say the hold is rock solid. I twisted and pulled on the terminal once I had the box out of the car, and it wasn't going anywhere.

The problem is that I have no idea what electricity would do to the chemical makeup of the glue. For all I know it would melt, or worse emit a poisonous gas when heated. Why take the risk when a new fuse box is only 20 bucks?

Here's my newly installed fuse box. I first disconnected the battery, and then I labeled the wires before I started yanking them off. With the help of the metal clip, the box snaps in place.

I briefly considered buying a used fuse box from a Samba seller in order to keep the Bug as original as possible, but that's silly. It's like buying a used light bulb - it can't be useful for much longer. Besides, the original fuse cover keeps everything looking authentic on the inside.

The trouble with Wolfsburg West is that their minimum shipping cost is $10. It doesn't matter if your part is only a buck, you're going to shell out ten more to get it. To save money I buy parts I know I'll want in the future, even if they'll sit on a shelf for awhile.

When I bought the Bug in the early 90's it didn't have sun visors, and I bought a new pair from JCWhitney. They were cheaply made, and there was no way to anchor them to the support bars. As you drove, the vibration of the car would cause them to slowly descend until they were in your way. All you could do was push them back up and wait until they got in your way again.

Last year I rescued a used pair of visors from a junked VW, but I didn't know the padding inside of them had rotted. Any time you squeezed the visor it would cough out a spray of putrid grit and dust. I ended up tossing them away.

So for this Wolfsburg West order I threw in a pair of new sun visors in my online cart.

I think they look pretty good, "A visor for a visor!" (Sorry. I taught Romeo and Juliet for 13 years, and sometimes I can't help myself.)

I'll get to that headliner sometime...

Link to Beetle Junkyard