DeBug GarageTemecula
The pistachio Bug on a palm-lined street at sunset

Build notes · Physical

Body off.Everything done, engine last.

Buy the car, pull the body, rebuild the chassis as a roller, fix the metal, paint it inside and out, put it back together, then build the engine. Twelve to fifteen hours a week.

A clean two-car garage with a coated floor, wall storage, a workbench, shop lights and a compressor, ready before the car arrives

00 / Prep the space

The garage comes first.Before the car comes home.

  1. FloorCoated, so it sweeps clean and shrugs off oil.
  2. StorageCabinets and shelving, so every part off the car has a labelled home.
  3. LightBright, even shop light for bodywork and for the cameras.
  4. AirA 60–80 gallon two-stage compressor on its own 240 V circuit.
  5. ToolsA workbench, wall boards and a rolling chest, all in reach.

Corner cameras go up too, so the build films itself.

Order of work

Eight phases.Each one gates the next.

An air-cooled VW engine on a rolling stand beside the workbench, with the pistachio Bug parked outside the open garage door

08 / Engine last

The engine goes in last.Found, rebuilt, then the first start.

Body first, engine last. Finding an engine, rebuilding it on the stand and the first start close out the build.

Budget

Three tiers.Lean, target, dream.

Switch tiers to see the total move. Click a system for its parts and where each number came from.

Calendar

Dates that matter.Software first, while the car money builds.

Vote on the car →Read the build log →