A boy and his 2.0: 'Bugging Me'

[AbuNigel]

I have a 2.0l 2000 red, New Beetle GL.
What it started as:

As it is now:


It was originally my dad's commuting car, bought new. We were supposed to get a silver one with the leather and all that, but something happened and they needed to replace the roof or something. I was about 8 at the time and didn't really know what the deal was, but long story short, we ended up just getting this red one that was on the lot. To be honest i would have liked to have the silver one, but it's ok haha.

I got my license about 5 months ago, (i'm 17) and was pretty excited knowing that the beetle would basically become my car. I love to drive it, and think it looks pretty cool, especially from certain angles. Only real problem is the comments i get from certain people. It's kinda a 'love it or dickishly make negative remarks about it', relationship. I try not to let them get to me but suffice to say, it's 'bugging me.'

I will not be stopped though, i think modded bugs are some of the coolest looking cars out there, and i think with a little work, my NB can be one of the 'cool' cars too


Mods:
-Black and grey GTI sport seats in the front
-DRL disabled
-20% tints sides and rear
-black lower valance
-blacked out emblem
-Pioneer head unit
-Infinity Reference door speakers
-Painted hub caps
-Steering wheel cover
-Painted shifter boot
-black painted center console and door handles
-Some stickers and little figurines !
-Audi tt 'short' shifter
-Snowbox removal
-VR6 OEM alloys (painted black)
-smoked taillights

Desired Future Mods:
-Roof painted black
-Joey mod headlights black
-Get rid of all that hideous creme stuff in the interior. Idk who's idea that was...
-clear corners
-shaved hood and trunk

Dream Future Mods:
-turbo
-exhaust
-chip
-coilovers
-etc.

So i'm sure most of you didn't read my autobiography up there, so here are the pictures!


Before:

[AceJay]

Hell yeah another guy. I like the wheel cover treatment you did actually, it looks pretty good for covers.

Oh and lol TD Bank pen

[AbuNigel]

haha, yea, not even my bank actually. But i cashed a check there and i saw a big bowl of pens. couldn't resist!

[AbuNigel]

Some new shots with a couple new mods.
Angry vinyl eyelids
Black lower valance
Red painted trunk cover












My friend Justin

















A little 4k burn out :P

[RedThunder94]

definitely do the joey mod on the headlights, it'll make it look even angrier, hehe, nice job though.

use nightshades on the rears, i did it on ours and it made a helluva difference, just be sure to hit em with a few coats of clear afterwards.

[Yello_jellybean]

I think your car looks really nice. How one earth did you get a red trunk shelf/lid... parcel shelf thing?(I have no idea what to call it) Did you just have it re-carpeted?

Looks GREAT! Nice job.

[RedThunder94]

Originally Posted by Yello_jellybean

I think your car looks really nice. How one earth did you get a red trunk shelf/lid... parcel shelf thing?(I have no idea what to call it) Did you just have it re-carpeted?

Looks GREAT! Nice job.

i think he painted it.

[Yello_jellybean]

Painted carpet? WOW! Really? You can do that? What????
Talk to me here. I don't understand.

[AbuNigel]

Originally Posted by Yello_jellybean

I think your car looks really nice. How one earth did you get a red trunk shelf/lid... parcel shelf thing?(I have no idea what to call it) Did you just have it re-carpeted?

Looks GREAT! Nice job.

Actually, it's top secret though..spray paint! lol
It doesn't feel all the great, but i figure it it's a piece for looking, not touching

Originally Posted by RedThunder94

definitely do the joey mod on the headlights, it'll make it look even angrier, hehe, nice job though.

use nightshades on the rears, i did it on ours and it made a helluva difference, just be sure to hit em with a few coats of clear afterwards.

I want to joey mod them, but i'm worried that if i heat up the lense to get the cover off, i'm gonna ruin the adhesive of the eyelids and have to do them over again, and those were a pain to get on without huge creases (still are some near the black rubber part, but oh well.) Maybe i'll gain the courage to do it some day though

As for the taillights, i dont really like the matte look. You suggest coats of clear, but i was thinking of maybe putting like 5% tint on them or something, know of anyone who's done it that way?

Anyway, thanks for the feeback guys

[AbuNigel]

Originally Posted by Yello_jellybean

Painted carpet? WOW! Really? You can do that? What????
Talk to me here. I don't understand.

Well, i was bored, so i took the piece out, grabbed a can of red spray paint i had lying around in the trunk, and just got to it!

[Yello_jellybean]

I must say, that I never thought of that. VERY creative.
Anyhoo...I like it. It looks really nice. It works, I suppose...as long as you don't touch it. LOL!
Hey man, if it gets the job done, that is what matters.

[AbuNigel]

Originally Posted by Yello_jellybean

I must say, that I never thought of that. VERY creative.
Anyhoo...I like it. It looks really nice. It works, I suppose...as long as you don't touch it. LOL!
Hey man, if it gets the job done, that is what matters.

yea, it's just kinda rough, not like sticky or anything. Let's just say you wouldn't wanna use it as a pillow or something

[mybugrocks]

Wow, you have a VERY nice looking red beetle You have done a very good job so far, keep it up and if you can get tinted windows DO IT!!!!! first off it looks cool and second it keeps the heat out well keep the pics coming, I'm enjoying them so far

[AbuNigel]

Originally Posted by mybugrocks

Wow, you have a VERY nice looking red beetle You have done a very good job so far, keep it up and if you can get tinted windows DO IT!!!!! first off it looks cool and second it keeps the heat out well keep the pics coming, I'm enjoying them so far

definitely planning on doing tints, just gotta figure out what is the best shop.
Thanks for the compliments!

[Benderbeetle Rodrigues]

Originally Posted by Yello_jellybean

Painted carpet? WOW! Really? You can do that? What????
Talk to me here. I don't understand.

I used this paint to refinish the peeling rubber on the interior grab handles on the door (and it worked great):
High-Perf Vinyl & Fabric Coating
I think if you just wanted to touch up various interior trim it would be ok. I hate painting. It's usually something trivial that will screw up my whole project, right at the end when you've spent hours setting it up.
I'm not sure if I would ever want to "paint" a flexible surface but the hatch cover might work. With my luck, I could see myself totally destroying the car with a $10 spray can project
e/Learning :: Vinyl & Fabric Coating
Cheers.

[BTLJUCE]

I like the eyelids! What are the joey mod's you guys are talking about, can someone post a photograph?

Did you DIY the eyelids or can you purchase those online?

[Yello_jellybean]

Hi Benderbeetle, I actually don't think I am planning on painting the interior parts of my car, except maybe some of the dash pieces. I just thought that it was an interesting idea that someone would paint the parcel shelf/ trunk lid.
Thanks for the information though. I could not paint my trunk lid/ parcel shelf, even if I wanted to, mine is black. Well...I suppose I COULD buy a cream one and do it, or I suppose MAYBE you could paint a black one a different color but, I am not so sure that would work. Anyway, it was an interesting idea, none the less. I am not really planning on doing it, but the idea is still there.
I also agree with you on screwing up a project with paint. I could SOoooo see myself doing that too. That is ANOTHER reason I would not want to go down this road.

Thanks to all.
Oh and I still really like how AbuNigel's car turned out. It looks really good.

Originally Posted by Benderbeetle Rodrigues

I used this paint to refinish the peeling rubber on the interior grab handles on the door (and it worked great):
High-Perf Vinyl & Fabric Coating
I think if you just wanted to touch up various interior trim it would be ok. I hate painting. It's usually something trivial that will screw up my whole project, right at the end when you've spent hours setting it up.
I'm not sure if I would ever want to "paint" a flexible surface but the hatch cover might work. With my luck, I could see myself totally destroying the car with a $10 spray can project
e/Learning :: Vinyl & Fabric Coating
Cheers.

[AbuNigel]

well i wanted to paint it black, but didn't have enough black paint so i just did it red. This mod, if you wanna call it that, could not have been more spur of the moment lol, trust me.

[Growler]

you need one of two mods to your wheels..

Retro Steelies..with beauty rings




or Pickle caps with beauty rings

[AbuNigel]

hmmm. can't say i'm a fan of either lol. i'll give it some thought though