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My VW

I possess this Jeans beetle since january 2004. It is my third VW and second... Jeans beetle ! I transformed my first Jeans in Cal look (sorry, I would not restart anymore... promised! ) and I participated in many VW meetings in the first half of the 90's with this car. Between the two beetles, a 67's Type 2 Split accompanied me from 1996 to 2001. In 2007, a Westfalia Bay Window came to join, after a long restoration, the Jeans beetle in the garage. 

Yes, it was a Jeans beetle ! what did it become???

My 67' Split Windows. 

My Jeans at the "Vintage Classique 2004" at Rambouillet

After a long restauration a 79' Westy joined the Jeans beetle


My Jeans beetle

The beetle at its former owner

this is a S761 Jeans beetle constructed October 23, 1973. She left the factory October 25 for France. She has probably been stocked a long time because she has been sold new (12.270 Francs !) in the month of April 1974 by the VW dealer Leroux in Aubervilliers near Paris. her first owner, a woman who lived in Noisy Le Grand, kept it during nearly 30 years. Then, She passed at the NewTeam garage (77) where the bodywork has been restored for the account of the second owner that only used it some months. I bought this Jeans in January 2004 near Orleans. Some Jeans parts were missing, as the headlights trims, door handles and handle for bonnet and replaced by chrome elements. The rear lights are smoked "German Look" model. Various other pieces have been given me with the car.

The invoice of purchase, dating of May 3, 1974.

I have all documents of the car since its purchase in 1974. Among these documents, there are the invoice of purchase, the invoice of the 10000 kilometers checkup and the maintenance notebook with all tampons of the agents that worked on the beetle. 

The maintenance notebook with the tampons of the different VW garages where the beetle have been reviewed. We can see regularly the tampon of the VW dealer Masseron at St.Georges des Groseillers, Normandie, at about fifty km from my home.

he invoice of the 10.000 km checkup, dated December 1974, done by the Leroux VW dealer, near Paris.


Very interesting element, the Factory card giving the details of the car like the list of its options (M-equipment or M-Codes). this card was kept with the documents of the car. 

 On the first line, the chassis number, engine number, and the factory card number. 

On the second line, the equipments (options) present on the beetle. They are defined by the M-Codes.

A05: I didn't find the significance of this code.
M040: Speedometer with fuel gauge. 
M095: Radio "Wolfsburg". 
M173: 155 SR 15 radial tyres
M282:

Passenger sunvisor

M610: 12 volts system.
M616: Reverse lights in rear light.
M761: Special Edition "Jeans"  
M976: Lemmerz "GT" sports style wheels. 

On the third line, different infos as the model of the beetle (here 111 011: 111 left hand drive, 011: 1200 engine) 
the color of the car (here E9 E9 30: E9 color L16M Tunis Yellow, 30 code for the upholstey in Jeans Blue fabrics) 
comes then number of importer (here 995).

 

These two book come from my first Jeans beetle and are dated of August 1973

 

Ordered to the VW museum, the birth certificate of my beetle

 

Return to the Jeans beetle standard
Engine: 

The engine have only 40000 km, I didn't have too much work. A good cleaning of the motor with change of some gaskets and painting of the equipment for a nice visual aspect. A small mechanical revision followed, with a complete repairing of the ignition (with an original distributor). The carburetor has been disassembled and all gaskets has been changed.

The 1200 engine cleaned and repaints. the 009 distributor and the blue coil on the photos have been replaced by original elements

Bodywork: 
The beetle have been repainted 8 months before my purchase, she is in perfects condition. While waiting to find black original parts, I repainted chromium-plated elements as the the headlights trims, door handles and front blinkers. Bumpers recovers their grey stripe

In 2004, I searched for, on the web or among VW specialists, the reproductions of Jeans's stickers , but without success. While searching for in my archives, I recovered a tracing and all measurements necessary to the reproduction of these stickers. One of my friends, Jeannot, had restored one Jeans beetle in the beginning of the 90's, and had asked me to redo him of the strips in black adhesive.

Jeannot's Jeans beetle in 1991. the creation of the stickers with adhesive satin black
Cut it is delicate enough! new blade only! this one, it's OK !
On the car now... It's finished. they are always on the car 9 years after. 

It is after I found a shop that produced reproduction of stickers. I even found some in N.O.S (New Old Stock), but I don't know if it is possible to use them on a car, they have 40 years old...

reproduction stickers N.O.S stickers

Pursuing my quest of original parts, I find the front black blinkers and the door handles at the "Super VW National", french national meeting, in 2004 (first meeting with the Jeans!). At the meeting of the Cap d'Agde in south of France, I find a N.O.S headlight trim , with its V.A.G reference always in place ! I would recover in my old parts stocked in bulk, another headlight trim belonging to my first Jeans beetle. 

N.O.S headlight trim with the V.A.G reference

On the left: the original VW rear light, on the right: the Brazilian part, faded after 3 months of use... and I don't speak of the tightness! 

I had bought new rear light to replace the "German look" models that were in place at the purchase of the car. Unfortunately, after 2 or 3 months, they filled themselves of water to the least rain (and I live in Normandy...) and lost their colors quickly. Fortunately for me, at the VW meeting of Trun, in Normandy, a participant proposes me N.O.S rear lights, for 35 euros the pair. An very good opportunity ! While replacing my rear light some days later, I saw the difference of quality well between the Brazilian parts and original VW parts ! the calculation is quick: 50 euros for "made in Brasil" parts of very mediocre quality and 35 euros for original parts... I can only counsel you to make Swap-meets to find original parts. Our Jeans are "recent" beetles and parts for 70's beetles are not again too difficult to find . 

Seen on a swap meet, this rear bonnet of a S716 Jeans beetle with the stickers of the vw dealer.

Finally, and to finish some with the outside parts, I bought at the VW Nat 2005, a pair of new black door handles from Mexico. Additionnal headlight Bosch and mudflaps come to complete the voiture. 

 

Inside:
Inescapable element in the restoration of a Jeans beetle: the upholstery. Mine is used, torn, faded.... The front seats come of two different Jeans beetles models and are not the same color. the passenger's seat comes from a "PhoenixRot" S716 Jeans beetle and cloths used on these cars is grey-black with orange sewings and black piping. 

Did you say worn-out?

The difference of the cloths

Door panels are pierced to receive some loudspeakers, the headliner is loosened. The sunvisors are used. To finish, the carpet, in good condition, doesn't correspond to the original look.... brief ... lot of work in perspective. 
someone contacts me for seat covers in jeans cloth . These seats covers are new and made by VOTEX that provides some upholstery for VW. They are of good quality, but unfortunately, they don't have the pocket on the backrest, pocket so characteristic of the Jeans seats. Besides, the chrome buttons are either in place on these seat covers. (in fact, it was seat covers of the "Jeans kit" (see here
), but, in 2005, I ignored the existence of this kit). I abandon this option therefore, to make a interior that either nearest possible of the original.

The N.O.S "Jeans Kit" seat covers in its packing ... ... and unpacked. 

I go to Paris, to the market St. Pierre situated near Montmartre, with a piece of the original cloth to find jeans cloth. There is a lot of choice:  black jeans, jeans with flower, faded.... but simple cloth jeans... difficult to find it ! finally, in a little boutique, a roller waited for me, very hidden under a heap of coupons . It is a darker than the original cloths, but the difference is minimal. for info, I bought 10 meters of cloths (on 1,50 m width).

The old cloth of the seat and the new cloth that will serve me to redo the seats. There is a light difference (accentuated here by the flash) but to find one cloths identical must not be easy thing (and I looked for well....)

It's Nathalie, a seamstress, who will redo the seats while using the old seats for model.

the bottom ready to be put. The blue piping has been recovered on the old seat.

The backrest ready to be threaded on the armature. stuffing is new

the buttons are in place

A finished seat.

The seats disassembled, I benefit from this for to scrape the floor and to redo a little paintwork. Door panels, found to the Trilbardou meeting, to undergo a cleaning. To note that the rear panels come from my first Jeans and have again the colors of the first version of my first Cal Look beetle ! It was in 1990 !

Then, the new headliner takes place. It is a short model that come from Auto-Passion. The sun visors are replaced by new from TMI

To finish, I install a car radio Blaupunkt "Wolfsburg" found on Ebay. The original had been replaced by a more recent model. 


 


 

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