Last Updated: Tuesday 7 January 2025
We’ve bought a cheap project Beetle to show young VW fans how easy it can be to get your first classic car on the road without spending loads of money.
We recently picked up this 1971 1300 VW Beetle as our latest project, which we’ll be getting back on the road for as little money as possible to prove that getting yourself a classic Volkswagen doesn’t have to be massively expensive.
Pete Dempsey, who’s been with Just Kampers almost since the beginning, is getting stuck in to fixing up the Beetle in our on-site workshop here at JK HQ. Pete has a long history of fixing up all sorts of VWs and other vehicles, but he’s much less used to being filmed while he’s working!
Luckily, Pete’s quickly getting used to slowing down and demonstrating what he’s doing and why, so we’ll be able to get loads of great new how-to videos filmed as we work our way through the project to get this Beetle back on the road.
It won’t be an award winner, but the Beetle will be perfect for cruising around and attending car meets and upcoming VW shows.
We’re hoping the project will inspire younger classic car enthusiasts to take the plunge and invest in their first classic, so the Beetle is a fantastic place to start.
Now, we know that most young and aspiring VW owners won’t have a full workshop with a four-post lift (or a warehouse full of spare parts next door!), but we won’t be doing any work that you couldn’t do at home with the right tools, information, and patience.
Crawling around underneath a Beetle on your driveway is a rite of passage, and we’re taking shortcuts like using the lift because it’s quicker and makes filming much easier!
You can keep up with how we’re getting on with our project Beetle here at justkampers.com and follow along on the Just Kampers YouTube channel where we’ll be posting regular updates!
About the Beetle
Like most people, we started our search for the project Beetle by looking through Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and of course the JK Marketplace. In the end we found this Beetle up for sale by Donald from DTH Vehicle Welding Services in Scotland, and it looked like a great option!
The Beetle cost us £1,200 and we did have to travel up to Scotland from JK HQ in Hampshire to pick the Bug up, but luckily Matt from the JK Team needed to go up to Scotland anyway, so it wasn’t quite such a massive detour!
If you’re looking to start your own classic car project, it’s worth keeping in mind that the ideal vehicle may well be a long way from where you’re based, but the journey to go and get your new classic is all part of the adventure, especially if you hit the road with some friends who are happy to help you get it back home.
We rolled the Beetle straight into the on-site workshop we’ve got here at Just Kampers to give the Bug a good look over. The workshop’s usually used for working on our own vehicles and testing out parts and accessories, so it’s the ideal place for getting stuck into this new project.
Overall we were pleasantly surprised by how good the Beetle is, especially for £1,200!
There are definitely a few areas on the Beetle we’ll need to look at, but there’s no serious rust, damage, or dents, which is great. Any areas that do need work will be a great excuse to film some more how-to videos to help fellow VW owners work on their own vehicles.
It’s a really solid base for a project which is already shaping up to be a lot of fun.
One of the first mechanical issues we need to tackle is the engine – which is missing!
Obviously we knew about this ahead of time, so it didn’t come as a surprise when we picked the Beetle up, and Donald at DTH Services was very open about the lack of engine and why the engine was missing. It turns out that at one point in the Beetle’s history it was running a Subaru engine, and was also upgraded to an IRS gearbox and rear suspension.
Donald also included a complete gearbox for the Beetle, as well as swing axle arms, swing axle plates, and torsion tubes. We’re not sure if we’ll be putting the Beetle back to swing axle, or fitting a new IRS gearbox, but we’re a way away from having to make that decision yet!
If you want to get a proper look at the underside of the Beetle, and learn more about it and what we’ll be doing with our latest project, then check out the video above, or click here to watch it on YouTube.
Beetle Project Episode 1: We bought a classic VW Beetle for £1,200!
Beetle Project Episode 2: Time to remove the Body from the Floor Pan!
Beetle Project Episode 3: Repairing The Body & Cleaning Floor Pan
Beetle Project Episode 4: Narrowing the front Axle on the Beetle!
