Wiring a "system" into My 73 Beetle

[BeetleNewbie]

Hey all, I'm new to the board, and was wondering about my 73' beetle.
I got the car for free, and it is in need of some cosmetic restorations. I'll start thinking about the mechanical upgrades later on :-).

Being a total newbie to all of this, I have a question that might sound quite stupid...

If I wanted to wire a brand new amplifier, sub-woofer, head unit and 4 tweeters into my volkswagen...would it be able to handle it?

If not, how would I be able to modify the car so that it WILL handle it?

Also, I need to restore the inside of the car.
This means I need to have the front panel/dashboard redone. It's old and cracked, and it needs new switches and gauges. Any ideas on that?

Also, I'd like to install some really nice "race" or "bucket" seats for the driver/passenger seats in the front...and I am totally clueless what to do with the back. I don't know whether I can replace it, or change it...or what? I do, however, need the seats in the back for the passenger/cargo space.

Finally, what can I do with the "flooring" of the car?

I'm working with a budget of about 1500$ for the interior of the car. I'm not a mechanic myself...so whatever work that has to be done will be done by my uncle/grandfather OR mechanic.

Everybody's input is greatly appreciated.

|TempesT|

[boygenius]

There are at least two tech articles on "system" installation in a bug on the main page.

When you said "flooring" did you mean that you have holes in your floor pans. If thats the case then you will have to either replace the pans completely of just halfs of them depending on how bad they are rusted.

[BeetleNewbie]

I appologize for being the helpless newbie that I am, but could you please direct to me to those articles?

No idea where to find them :-(

I'd really appreciate that.

As for the flooring, no the floor pans are in tact, I just want to do something really cool with it...Like make it diamond metal pattern or just carpet it, or even just restore it...any ideas?

Links and suggestions greatly appreciated my friend :-)

[boygenius]

On the main page after you enter the site. There will be six pictures on the screen. The two on the top are the tech articles. click on the text that says "More Tech" and that will bring you to the list of tech articles. there is enough information in there to keep you reading for hours.


I just painted my floor with two coats of epoxy paint and wet sanded between coats. You can read the time on your watch in the paint.

[paulgrey]

I have a beetle that I have just finshed upgrading the interior in, It is a 1970 1500 beetle. I have put in two times MOMO T-2000 bucket seats http://www.momo.it/. The reason I choosed to use MOMO was that they have anchoring points in the bottom of the seats that you can bolt straight into. I was able to use the stock seat rails and just weld a bars across them to put the seat bolts through.

With regards to the stereo, you have a huge advantage when it comes to car audio simply because it is going into a beetle. The beetle provides a very solid environment for car audio because of its soild steel construction. You will be supprised how much base you can achieve buy using high quailty audio components and a good amp. I am running Infinty 6" by 9" three way speakers (300W max) in my rear parcel tray and 6 1/2" inch (300W max) Infinity component speakers in the quarter panels behind the drivers seat. The tweeters are mounted under dash, near the top of the stock carpet... all the wires are hidden behind the carpet. The whole system is run by a 85W per channel by 4 channel Alpine amp... I know it is not the most powerful amp on the market by at the moment I don't even have it on half gain and its very loud. I have thought about putting in an sub but when people get in and hear the stereo in action they ask where the sub is hidden... when I tell them that there is none they don't believe me. As I said above the beetle is a great acoustic shell for audio... proably the worst thing you could do is over do it.

If you are getting a new head unit, get something that will play MP3 as you can put up to 13 CD's on to one disk... very handy + a stacker for good measure.

[zen]

i would suggest putting your money into the mechanics first. you will be much happier and have more fun with a good handling and more powerful car and safer with more modern upgrades (rear disc brakes, etc). don't make it all show and no go.

that say, do you have a super or standard? the dash pad is easy to install in a standard and relatively easy in a super. just install new carpet. the acoustics are better, it dampens road noise, and is easier to maintain (and cheaper too). easily a do-it-yourself job. there are an abundant amount of posts on seat options. you will find just about everything being done. you just have to fabricate the seat mounts. Porsche seats tend to be the favorite do to comfort and looks. if you don't plan on having more than 2 in the car, remove the back seat. saves weight and solves that matching problem.