TheSamba.com :: View topic - June 1952 molested split slow and painful refresh

Thu Aug 28, 2008 6:33 am

so, today the split came to my home. at a first glance, all ok... but wait!

i've never seen such a raped car... :( the rear view enlargement i can understand, but they went o a lot of work to change the dashboard... the rest you will see in the link i will post, a photobucket gallery.

http://s421.photobucket.com/albums/pp291/mihai525874/split1952/

this car has so many incorrect parts that it's easier for me to improve the windshield view to a 58 and that'as about all.

notice the rear clip is riveted and not welded as i thought, but the dash modification is a mess. hacked, welded... bleah!

the best is that it has original solid fllorpans, and some accessories.

i will try to give it a chance... after all it's still a split..

Thu Aug 28, 2008 6:52 am

Damn, that sucks.

Thu Aug 28, 2008 8:43 am

Enough to make a grown man cry! ...or take up drinking...

It really is a mess. Guess the previous owner(s) was proud of his creation.

Thu Aug 28, 2008 8:58 am

the story goes like this:

the car was imported from Germany already modified. here sat at an old man some years, before another guy bought it. he attempted a restoration, but... as you all may see, got the parts incorrect, without any documentation about what a real split was. he changed the 25hp engine, with a stock 34 horse from a mexican bug, he also changed and threw out the og seats :( .. well i'm very surprised he didn't close shut the crotchcoolers like he has done with the semaphore openings.. guess he thoght it's funky to have the small flaps over there :P

he asked 3900 euro for it after the restoration, but no one wanted it.. an abortion and very expensive for the work done to it. so... it sat in his yard for sale another 2 years...
after a while the ad dissapeared, so he got his client. the man that bought it paid some over 2000 euro for it... in unning condition. he had not driven it for some other 2 years ... and he decided to sell it .. and then i bought it.
well, the difference is that i know a little about splits, so i will make it a split.

the floors are the original ones, but welded on to the chassis on the right side.. the plans for this year/begining of 2009 is to put a split rear clip and the correct dash, and also to fix the door jambs where it was heavily welded.

this is the oldest car left in my country, so it deserves a better future. i will try to get it's original engine back, but for the moment all i need to fix is the sheet metal. in time i will collect every missing bit and try to put it back where it belongs.

it will not be a show car... but all i need is a decent car and the scars of the past will not bother me. as you see it runs well,stops , all electrics work, it's even road legal :)

P.S. the PO was very proud of it that "is not rotten, it drives well".. but was an ignorant.. so he sold it cheap.

the car is on it's 52 pan, but has the front beam and the gearbox changed... there's so little left it can barely be named a split..

Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:48 am

I must have got sent to the split "Concentration Camp"

Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:53 am

is the old dash underneath or totally cut out?

Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:55 am

the dash is completely cut out. and so the firewall, and the dash part between the fuel tank and the dash... well, it won't be long till someone put this into the abortion thread :lol:

Thu Aug 28, 2008 10:02 am

vwbeetleeurope wrote: the dash is completely cut out. and so the firewall, and the dash part between the fuel tank and the dash... well, it won't be long till someone put this into the abortion thread :lol:

Your car really isnt as uncool as some people might think, infact it was a pretty normal thing to do these upgrades for safety or general asthetics back in the old days and as long as it was done well I cant say I would call it an abortion, just a little plastic surgery. Infact if I had one and it wasnt a bad job I would probably leave it alone or find another one to restore.

Thu Aug 28, 2008 12:15 pm

well, the rear window is done properly, but the dash... there's a problem. the crotch cooler openings are almost closed shut, no springs, no seals, nothing, the door jambs there are crumpled, cut and welded in oxyacetylene and it's very poor welded.
some pics: does anyone consider that must stay like this on a car?

Skim, i guess you know i really like your cars, but belive me, this is the best i can get around here. ii can't afford to buy a complete split in better shape, and because there isn't any in this country, i'm stuck with it. :lol:

it will cost me a fortune to do this car at least as it deserves. the task is to enjoy the car and not spend a lifetime restoring it, so no complet eteardown in the future, no trailer queen.. :)

Thu Aug 28, 2008 12:52 pm

Damn...I hope you do fix it...cuz someone really screwed that poor car up. Good luck with the parts hunt.

JGW

Thu Aug 28, 2008 2:39 pm

it was poorly done, but not an abortion.....Just get it fixed!!! :)

Thu Aug 28, 2008 2:59 pm

It can be fix, its metal just take your time and get alot of good metal and go from there. I know first hand on what it takes to bring these cars back from the dead and that car is easy to repair :!:

Thu Aug 28, 2008 3:24 pm

Looks good, atleast they did a nice job. I'd leave it alone.

:lol: J/k of course.

Thu Aug 28, 2008 4:09 pm

Skim wrote: I must have got sent to the split "Concentration Camp"

Thanks skim ,That makes my stomach turn. There has to be like 236 oval and split windows there :x

Thu Aug 28, 2008 6:50 pm

volkswagenut wrote: There has to be like 236 oval and split windows there :x

how many ? :lol:

Thu Aug 28, 2008 8:30 pm

RattieFattie wrote: volkswagenut wrote: There has to be like 236 oval and split windows there :x

how many ? :lol:

No more than 237..........I think :?

Fri Aug 29, 2008 3:50 am

Even though the split stuff is gone its still a piece of history. Id leave it too... and im not known for that.

Fri Aug 29, 2008 7:47 am

well, i can understand both of the point of views.

1: leave it as is, was modified during an era when that was normal, and the work they have done , although nasty, is a part of this car's history...

2: turn it back into a split, with dash, firewall, doors, rear view etc, all that's missing. a split is plain beautiful.

my opinion is that i should try to get her right. it has suffered alot in the past, it's high time for a complete resurrection.

these poor welding sheets of metal will rust and the car will turn to dust. i don't have a close-up of the left windshield pillar, the inner sheetmetal is sliced by rust allready!

a friend here on thesamba found me a dash and the sheetmetal to the fuel tank. the rest i will be fabbing, i have gathered quite a lot of pics to see what it was before.

the rear window is not difficult to get so in time i will have all i need.

of course i could use some measurements, but only when i will start cutting/welding i will request some info from you guys.

Fri Aug 29, 2008 8:12 am

Skim wrote: Your car really isnt as uncool as some people might think, infact it was a pretty normal thing to do these upgrades for safety or general asthetics back in the old days and as long as it was done well I cant say I would call it an abortion, just a little plastic surgery. Infact if I had one and it wasnt a bad job I would probably leave it alone or find another one to restore.

Clark Kustoms wrote: Even though the split stuff is gone its still a piece of history. Id leave it too... and im not known for that.

I agree with these thoughts.
To me, a car like this is a snapshot in time and a part of the typical history of Volkswagens. This was a car being used as it was intended.
Left as it is, it is a conversation piece that you can look at and imagine the owner using it to haul around his family or to get back and forth to work. If it's completely restored it's just another split Beetle.

Fri Aug 29, 2008 9:35 am

I would try to turn it back into a split if if was mine. I could see leaving it alone if the work was done properly and looked alright, but it looks pretty much slapped together to me...

But, it is going to take a lot of work and money to fix it correctly, so that is something you need to take into consideration...