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Zelda the 1303S.

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  • Zelda the 1303S.

    Hey all!

    I've been lurking over in the Australia international board for quite some time now, and figured I might as well start my build thread over here instead of on my previous forum that I was a member of. Let's just say, the members over there are all purists and **** the direction that I'm going with Zelda.

    She's a 1973 Volkswagen 1303S Beetle. If you're from Australia, they're called L Beetles.
    Factory they come with a 1600 twin port Type 1 engine. However, mine was purchased with a 1500 single port engine.

    A quick run down of what has happened so far.

    About a year ago I got Zelda like this.


    One of the major things I disliked about her were the taillights the previous owner had put on her. Some things just aren't supposed to go on a VW.


    Since then, she has broken down on me on more than one occasion, had three engines inside of her, odd wheels and a sound system upgrade. I also added some LED's under the dash to give the car some more lighting inside.


    I de-chromed her by removing all the outer trim besides the front bonnet piece.




    I have since rectified the rear, putting 1971 VW Beetle fenders on the rear with the old style Tombstone taillights.


    Then I kind of blew up the distributor on engine number one. So in went engine number two, a leaky 1600 twin port, with unbalanced and very shitty dual carbs.


    Random photo I took of her while she was in one of her "not driving today" states.


    So, I just drove her for a while after that. Engine number two in, exhaust number two on, and she was just driving me every day, to and from work. Had a couple of cruises with mates, got some nice photos, the normal.

    But, let's just say Zelda has been the target of vandals twice. Back on the 20th of June last year, I woke up to find the passengers side mirror destroyed, and the drivers side one down the road twenty metres. I thought nothing of it and just replaced the parts.

    And then this happened.




    Now, Zelda is my first car, and as much as people were telling me to get rid of her, I knew I couldn't. Volkswagens have been in my family since day one, when Mum and Dad were together they had an old Type 3 Stationwagon which I remember fondly as a child, probably the only times Mum and Dad were happy together. Hell, even my Grandma used to have a Beetle, she used to race it until she blew a piston through a head.

    So, as much as I wanted to give up, I knew I had to keep going, I knew I had to resurrect Zelda into something bigger than before and give the guys who jumped on my Zelda the finger.

    Within two days, the second engine was out and getting stripped down to add the third exhaust, new tinware and a new carb setup. Soon, Zelda looked like this.




    And then came engine number three. Like I said, engine number two was leaking oil like no tomorrow, so I replaced it and put all my good bits onto the new block that had been rebuilt from the bottom up.

    So with engine three in and running smoothly, it was time to work on the aesthetics of the car. I thought, what better opportunity then to put in some new front struts and get her down a couple of inches from 4x4 status. The best part about Zelda is that she is a strut front end and IRS rear, probably the best combination to ever be seen on a Beetle.

    Dropped 2.5 inches.


    At this point in time I was actually given a new body for Zelda! Probably the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me was to actually give up his time for me and help me work on the new body, and all the customisation I wanted to do to it.

    So started the new Zelda.
    IG: @sebastienaudeon
    1974 Porsche 911S

    Originally posted by TRaNz
    *pats Sebs head*
    there there.
    keep calm, go mash your face on a car window.

  • #2
    The first major part of the new Zelda is the dash.
    Being a 1303S they were brought out with a padded dash, many people **** it, but when it comes to customisation, it is perfect.

    So, I went out and bought a 2003 GDB Subaru Impreza WRX STi dash cluster and have started moulding it into the dash.

    It's currently at this stage.




    We have actually got the dash cluster working properly too, minus the fuel sender.
    We're using new technology to get the speedometer working, we're using a GPS Antenna called a SkyDrive from Classic Instruments. We've taken it for a test drive too, and it works great!


    Other than that, there is a massive list of modifications that are going on behind the scenes that I have yet to take photos of. There is a security system being installed into the new body, with central locking being installed too. There are all these tiny tweaks that when all pulled together will look amazing.

    But the one thing that I am extremely excited about is what came in the post yesterday. All the way from Japan, thanks to Streeter, these arrived.
    IG: @sebastienaudeon
    1974 Porsche 911S

    Originally posted by TRaNz
    *pats Sebs head*
    there there.
    keep calm, go mash your face on a car window.

    Comment


    • #3
      Damn, rough start but I like where it's going! To hell with the h a t e r s. Do work man!
      - Bagged '98 Chevy S10 - Stock '88 Volvo 240DL - Broken '87 Mitsubishi Starion ESi-R - Also Broken '87 Shelby Lancer #707/800 -

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      • #4
        Can't wait to see where this goes

        IG: Nick475

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        • #5
          Damn vandals :/ Good to see her being brought back to life, the dash is pretty cool too! Keep up the good work.

          E30 V8 Build thread

          Go here be happy!

          Instagram: stuartrussell

          Store: alwaysindividual.bigcartel.com

          Comment


          • #6
            Is it bad that I love the tails that came with the car?

            Restore that shit to its former glory, you're killing me mang.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by SebastienPeek View Post
              And then this happened.




              What happened? Did an elephant decide to make your car it's bed for the night?

              Comment


              • #8
                Poor thing, you're making progress in the right direction though. Unsure how RSs will look on a Beetle but definitely try it. Dash idea is cool as fuck too. Hope the LEDs have gone to suit it though?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Also I **** the blue interior leds as well as the sti gauge cluster.

                  It's a beetle, the nazis didn't have light emitting diodes.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Xtra Big Kahuna View Post


                    What happened? Did an elephant decide to make your car it's bed for the night?
                    Pretty much man, out the front of my house and some dick head decided to jump on her.
                    Have photos of the foot prints from whoever the heavy arsehole was...
                    IG: @sebastienaudeon
                    1974 Porsche 911S

                    Originally posted by TRaNz
                    *pats Sebs head*
                    there there.
                    keep calm, go mash your face on a car window.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Jorge View Post
                      Poor thing, you're making progress in the right direction though. Unsure how RSs will look on a Beetle but definitely try it. Dash idea is cool as fuck too. Hope the LEDs have gone to suit it though?
                      Yeah, hopefully they look alright man, trying to be a little different with my beetle, that's for sure.

                      As for the LED's, they went a while ago. Now the interior is just pitch black at night time when I get in it...

                      Will see what all the new shit brings to the interior, that's what I'm working on behind the scenes at the moment.
                      IG: @sebastienaudeon
                      1974 Porsche 911S

                      Originally posted by TRaNz
                      *pats Sebs head*
                      there there.
                      keep calm, go mash your face on a car window.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Stupid Kid View Post
                        Also I **** the blue interior leds as well as the sti gauge cluster.

                        It's a beetle, the nazis didn't have light emitting diodes.
                        Like I said, each to their own man.
                        I'm making my beetle a lot more modern, utilising new technology and all that.

                        At the moment, I've got central locking installed in the new body, including a full security system too. Stuff like a hidden stereo head unit is going into the glove box, all this crazy shit is coming in the next two or so months.
                        IG: @sebastienaudeon
                        1974 Porsche 911S

                        Originally posted by TRaNz
                        *pats Sebs head*
                        there there.
                        keep calm, go mash your face on a car window.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          That sucks! Some wana be gang bangers did that to my buddies '69 because it was blue. I'm loving where this is going especially the wheels and cluster. And since I'm a VW guy I know I'm not supposed to, but I kinda like those funky tails. Good luck!


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                          • #14
                            wtf happened, somebody stage dived into that????


                            nice to c another beetke on here
                            Floccinaucinihilipilification

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by SebastienPeek View Post
                              Like I said, each to their own man.
                              I'm making my beetle a lot more modern, utilising new technology and all that.

                              At the moment, I've got central locking installed in the new body, including a full security system too. Stuff like a hidden stereo head unit is going into the glove box, all this crazy shit is coming in the next two or so months.
                              That's pretty cool actually, going for new inside and old out?

                              Is the central locking pneumatic or electric?
                              The compressors and vacuum lines and everything that are part of oem central locking systems seem like a really complicated way to solve a simple problem, I've always wondered why they just didn't run wires to a motor in the door...

                              Comment

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