We were supposed to turn over our finished project car, a 1973 Volkswagen Beetle 1300 S, back to its owner, Ildefonso “Fons” Caluag, on Sunday, June 23, 2019 the day after the World Beetle Day. Unfortunately, the day before we were supposed to drive it out of the workshop of JSK Custom Paint and Auto Works in Marulas, Valenzuela City, their shop ...
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1973 Volkswagen Beetle 1300 S Part 6: Last Minute Thrashin’
Our 1973 Volkswagen Beetle 1300 S Project Car has been in the JSK Custom Paint and Auto Works garage workshop since February 10, 2019. Now, four and half months after we took the disassembled special Bug from the residence of its owner, Ildenfonso “Fons” Caluag, in Pandacan, Manila to the JSK workshop in Marulas, Valenzuela City, we are finally scheduled to drive ...
Read More »1973 Volkswagen Beetle 1300 S Part 5: Some Assembly Required
When we last visited our 1973 Volkswagen Beetle 1300 S project car, its paint was being buffed and polished to perfection. Between now and then, the Beetle’s four fenders were painted and polished, and then installed along with the fender beads, or fender liners as they are more commonly known here in the Philippines. The mechanics at JSK Custom Paint ...
Read More »1973 Volkswagen Beetle 1300 S Part 4: Come Together
Loyal followers of Power Wheels Magazine will notice that we changed the nomenclature of our 1973 Volkswagen Beetle from “1600” to “1300 S“. That’s because we finally found out what Beetle model our Project Car was after we found its original “VW 1300 S” emblem that goes on the rear engine cover. This is also significant because we now can put ...
Read More »1973 Volkswagen Beetle 1600 Part 3: First Coating and Parts Sorting
When we last saw the 1973 Volkswagen Beetle 1600 of Ildefonso “Fons” Caluag, it was getting a thin coat of body filler prior to it receiving its base paint. The painter assigned to work on the Bug by Johnson Tan, the proprietor of JSK Custom Paint and Auto Works, was all praises with the VW’s straight body and minimal rust. ...
Read More »1973 Volkswagen Beetle 1600 Part 2: Hidden Issues
When we got the 1973 Volkswagen Beetle 1600 of our family friend and VW enthusiast Ildefonso “Fons” Caluag, our initial assessment is that we just needed to continue the paint wash-over that was abandoned by an unscrupulous journeyman painter. We got a wash-over sponsorship from Johnson Tan, the proprietor of JSK Custom Paint and Auto Works, and we had the ...
Read More »1973 Volkswagen Beetle 1600 Part 1: Fons’ Baby
Ildefonso Caluag is a certified Beetle fanatic. He owns two Volkswagen Bugs – a green 1974 Super Beetle 1303 S and a cream 1973 Beetle 1600, which he loving refers to as his “baby”. Fons, as he is known to his friends, narrated that he sold his slightly used locally-assembled 1980s VW Brasilia and with the proceeds, bought the ’73 ...
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