For this 75' (back-dated to 74' bumpers) project and before touching any rust issues it looked OK.  Of course, the rust was hidden here and there, and over there, and under there, and under there, and over there, and beneath there and....

 

▪I've been playing with these cars since 2001, first a 74', then a con-man in Georgia with a 73', then a 72' and finally this 75'.

▪For this 75' back-dated the bumpers and I'm keeping it.  

▪Best Oh S&$@ thrill was when the nylon gas-pedal bushings cracked and left the motor singing at Wide-Open.  I had a rebuilt pedal set with bronze bushings from the 1974 and put that in the same day as the thrill-ride.

▪Gas-Burner wheels with nice rubber.  I have the original Fuchs too from the 1974, but they are not real.

▪The paint was taken down by the prior owner, not much of a paint job up close  A 5 footer.

▪Donor cut-up car is the 74' that I got in 2001.

▪It has the rebuilt 2.0 motor form the 74'.

▪It has BMW 320i brakes machined and installed.

▪You could sit in my garage on a quiet night and hear the donor car rusting...

▪Procrastination, overloaded with projects, loss of interest, etc. and then I got cooking on this since 2014 and it was finally on the road in May of 2025..

 

 

Overall Plans (more on the Plans page):

▪With values up for Air-Cooled mania and Porsche cars built while the man was still living, it was time to invest in it.

▪Dealt with the Hell-Hole, the engine bay, the engine shelfs, the engine firewall holes, the jack-plate rust, the rusted hinge mounts, rusted doors, rusted front trunk channels, etc.

▪I have replacement all rubber seals

▪Rear trunk panel (including conversion to back-dated chrome bumpers F/R). There are no panels available for the 75'-76'cars with 5mph bumper shocks, would be a fab-job to do it.

▪Headlight drain buckets were rusted under headlights, I have donor car parts for that.

▪Cleanup interior metal

▪Stainless fuel lines

▪Install rebuilt motor

▪Suspension refresh

▪Interior update

▪Drive it!

 

Reading-PA for the German Festival in Oly, PA - At the Reading Pagoda, Summer 2016:

 

More Recently, Circa 2026 Before Interior Refresh:

 

 

 

 

WAY BACK IN 2013, SOME TIME AFTER 1975 and from more than 5 feet away the rust hides beneath.  The 75' was originally a 1.8 Liter setup, I got it with carbs.  This is the car BEFORE restoration and the bumpers back-dated.  Pint s actually nice looking here in the photos, but it is really not good at all when you get to 4 feet away.

 

 

Driver's Side:

 

Front:

 

Back: