TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sun Nov 09, 2008 5:11 am

Hi

Found this car, let me know what you think (pictures in gallery).

The good facts:

Original car (from september 1951).
No rust ever.
Original motor.
Matching numbers.
Running condition, everything works.
Same owner for over 40 years.
Few kilometres on the clock, says current owner (Steeringwheel very worn?)
Almost not driven the last decades, but maintained and serviced regularly.

Errors:
Repaint in the ´70-ties (in original colour Pastel Green).
Right front fender/headlight replaced at some point (No grill on fender (pre ´51), no VW-logo on glass).
Semaphores not correct.
Doorpanels not correct.
Interior original but quite worn.
Bumperhorns not identical on front and rear bumper.
Knop for adjusting clock not correct.
Black rubbermats in front, should be brown.
4 very miner dents in fenders (max. one inch).
Rearpanel damaged.
Fabric on b-posts not correct.
Not correct straps.

There are probably more things to correct, you tell me.

It’s a nice car, but what is it worth? The current owner is willing to sell.

Thanks for your help.

Tomas

Sun Nov 09, 2008 5:17 am

The car looks great. Nice barnfind. What are your plans with the car :?:

Sun Nov 09, 2008 5:52 am

Well, I am (of course) thinking of buying the car. When will I find anotherone in that shape? But what is it worth?? I know there is a lot of prices on these cars, but an indication would be helpfull.

Thanks

Tomas

Sun Nov 09, 2008 6:34 am

Looks nice, but there appears to be water stains in the headliner under the rear window and RR side window. I'd make sure there's no hidden rust under those seals.

Sun Nov 09, 2008 7:04 am

Looks like a great car, Cool it has the pillows. I would think its a 20k car at the very least.

Sun Nov 09, 2008 10:38 am

Looks like a garage to me.... :lol:

Sun Nov 09, 2008 1:52 pm

Looks very nice in the pics, but I have seen many like that that don't look so well from the bottom. I've have never seen an original car of that age, that was truly "rust free".....

Check the bottom of the doors, and even if the heater channel bottoms look solid, stab them with a blunt plastic object like a BIC pen. As you may know, they rust from the inside out.

The "errors" you list are mostly minor and fixable, if that is truly all that is wrong, its a good find....

Keep us posted.....!!!

Sun Nov 09, 2008 1:55 pm

johnshenry wrote: I've have never seen an original car of that age, that was truly "rust free".....
Keep us posted.....!!!

Next year in june you will see a few :lol: :wink:

Guido

Mon Nov 10, 2008 2:41 am

Hi

Just posted some extra fotos of the car.

I have not found any rust in doors or heaterchannels. Difficult to see, but it looks like there is minor spots of rust on the chassis, where the undercoat has been scraped off. It can be red primer (?), I´ll have to check that.

I can not find any weldings that indicate that there has been repairs on the chassis or body.

The car has new MOT/TÜV without any problems and has not been restored/changed for the last 35 years.

Should there not be a aluminium/cromestrip around the windshield on a september ´51 car? The two heaterboxes does not look identical, see picture. Any explanation on whats right?

Best regards

Tomas

Mon Nov 10, 2008 6:41 am

wow. lucky find! looks amazing

Mon Nov 10, 2008 6:54 am

Nice car !!
The aluminium strip is 52 !
Where is that car located (country??)

Guido

Mon Nov 10, 2008 7:55 am

Again, the car looks very nice and solid. But until you have pulled up all the carpet and pounded the heater channel bottoms, jury is still out....

The lower tin "shoeboxes" the ones with the big square flaps) are 25hp and have the "X plate" flanges. So they are probably original to the car. The X plate is missing, but repros are available.

I can't tell if the heater boxes are different, but they appear to have bolt holes, but no bolts/screws, and the bent over tabs holding the halves together. If this is the case, they are probably the later '58-'61 style and possibly VW supplied aftermarket replacements (LMB or VW).

See the "Zarwerks spy cam" thread here for details on what boxes are correct for a '51.

Too bad 10-20 of us couldn't all just meet up wherever the car is and crawl all over it......!!

Mon Nov 10, 2008 8:37 am

Thanks for the replys and the link to"Zarwerks spy cam".

By the way, the car is almost always on jacks, because its so rarely used.

I did not know the heaterbox-differences, I´ll have to investigate.

I agree, lifting the carpets throughout the car is a good thing before buying. A lot can be found here. The round holes for the heating under the dashboard looks a little odd to me, but maybe the channels are original.

A little tale about the car: The current owner learned to drive in the ´51 when she was 18 years old. She is now in her mid 60ies......

Tomas

PS. The car is in Denmark (Europe.....)

Mon Nov 10, 2008 10:00 am

Nice find!! Looks like a great split! The best thing is you can get most of the history of the bug from the owner who it seems like has been around the car for 40 plus years.

Invest in precious metals buy vintage VW's

Mon Nov 10, 2008 10:48 am

sorry wrong topic !!