A BAD GIRL ... a '73 VW Vert
Background
Our '73 Classic VW Convertible was purchased from Ron Hall (Windsor Ontario) in September 2013. Ron is a VW enthusiast who loves VW Beetle Restoration. Back then, he had restored 3 VW Super Beetle convertibles for personal use... one for his wife, one for his daughter and one for himself (of course).
Ron had completed a meticulous frame-off restoration of this VW Convertible for his daughter in 2011, and the May 2011 appraisal showed a value of $18,000. His daughter was entering university in 2013 and so a family decision was made to sell her Vert. There simply was no way the Classic Bug was practical for university life. Boy, that was good luck for me!!
In September of 2013, I started looking for a restored VW Convertible as a gift for my wife at her surprise birthday party to be held the next spring, in April 2014. I hadn’t expected to find such a beautifully restored Classic VW Convertible so quickly but here it was! Ron sent me some photos and I quickly drove the 300 miles to Windsor with my trailer, cash in hand. The deal was made and I trailered the Vert directly to Last Chance Auto Restoration...ostensibly just to add some bling.
The VW Convertible remained hidden away at the Last Chance shop from September 2013 until the surprise birthday party in April 2014. With all that time on our hands, little improvements grew and grew into a major overhaul of what was a flawless build in the first place.
A BAD GIRL Restoration
Ron Hall began the restoration of the '73 VW Convertible in March 2008 in his home garage in Windsor Ontario Canada.
There were no signs of rot or body damage.
The car was completely disassembled. Every nut, bolt, screw, body panel...everything was removed and restored.
Each panel was completely disassembled, prep'd, primed and painted individually. Notice that hinges, strikers, window channels...everything... is removed from the doors in this photo.
Notice the clean fit of reinstalled doors and rear deck. Ron was meticulous and burned the midnight oil on this reassembly.
New soft top assembly with proper wooden rear bow. If you need a soft top parts, check out M&T Manufacturing.
Upgrades
So it begins...
After buying the car from Ron Hall, the VW Convertible was taken to Last Chance Auto where it was to stay hidden away until the surprise birthday party 7 months later. The idea was to add some bling and dress it up a little while waiting for the big day.
The above photo was just one of the upgrades given to A Bad Girl.