How to "vintage speed" a 1961 convertible

[Pirulero1986]

i'm looking for expert of vintage speed themed bub for my 1961 convertible i'm working on
engine will be the next step now i'm looking for interior and external accessories to create a great sport look
i'm planning to use a empi coach steering wheel . it's 1961 period correct ?
for the exterior i'm planning to use:
metal grilles for headlight ( the big ones )
rear 3rd stop light ( will be used for omologation in italy for the side indicators)
2x foglights
mudflaps
front and rear chrome guards.
any other suggestion?
thanks
michele

[gimmesomeshelter]

Porsche 356 wheels.

Michelin XAS tires.

Cheers,

Paul
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"I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned."

Richard Feynman

[Komissar]

Porsche wheels would be indeed an option. Or maybe taking some stock wide-5 wheels and finding a machine shop to drill holes in them.

Besides that, i am afraid to say that most of the things you mentioned in the original post is not vintage speed, but vintage bling, except the foglights and wire mesh headlamp guards which could have some "vintage racing" justification.
Vintage speed is all about period correct performance modifications - and this includes both improved engines (dual carb setups and other technical mods done to the engine), improved brakes and suspension and going lightweight.
Regarding the lightweight approach any unnecessary ornaments would been removed. Chromed fender guards do not serve this purpose.
Further more, a set of vintage speed mods might include discarding the hubcaps, omitting the chromed middle line ornaments, and discarding any interior/exterior fittings that are not absolutely necessary.

However, It is clear that your 61 convertible is not a racing car anymore, therefore all those functional mods are no longer necessary plus it would be insane do discard anything from the original car.

With this in mind though, think that a quality vintage speed "conversion" must have this ethos: period correct, performance oriented, lightweight and practical.
Among the things you could do:
- practical headlight mods, as you mentioned
- as said above, Porsche 356 wheels or drilled stock wheels
- porsche 356 brakes or Maico brakes
- okrasa kit, or period correct dual carb or supercharger, and/or a porsche 356 fram oil filter,
- period correct vintage speed ehaust
- maybe a camber compensator
- a period correct rev counter (VDO or other brand) mounted on the steering column


Good luck
_________________
1965 Sunroof Beetle
1972 Type 3 Squareback
1978 Skoda 105S

[Pirulero1986]

i the engine i have plan a 1385 single carb setup or study to do a empi stroker x300 replica
fram oil filter i think is necessary also for a normal use of the car
i have a 356 engine in garage but i don't want to cut the rear of my bug and
in the past i have a 1776 engined ragtop and with the standard transmission was only a waste of money... good accelleration but top speed was more or less the same and fuel economy just crazy
i have a camber compensator and i think i will install also a front stronger bar
i have also the reinforcement for the fronte axle used on police cars for example

[Komissar]

Hello,

A 356 engine would be the "ultimate" vintage speed mod done to a VW Beetle. It should fit inside the engine bay of the beetle without cutting anything from the car. Here is a picture from the internet: http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s...56ob52.jpg
and another one
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/449074.jpg

Maybe you will have to modify the rear sheet metal of the engine, but that's it.

Interesting comment though regarding the 1776 - with a standard transmission it's to be be expected that the only gain is acceleration (and perhaps pulling power = torque - good when you climb an alpine road or when you have the driver plus 4 people in the car i guess )
With your current engine you should maybe consider dual carb. A good dual carb kit such as the Riechert might even get you better fuel consumption (if you resist the tentation of driving it hard, of course ) .
The ideea behind the dual carb is that multiple fuel delivery points enable a shorter and straighter path to the heads (two short and relatively straight manifolds VS a long one with a lot of turns), thus improving efficiency , and improved efficiency means more power and also less fuel consumed to achieve that power. It a bit similar to fuel injection: multipoint injection is better than singlepoint.

As an inspiration, here is a very cool Vintage Speed beetle. Besides the engine (which of course is a very expensive collectible unit) it's interesting to see what they have done to lower the overall weight of the car (

[Dr. Denzel]

I installed a Porsche 1957 356A engine in a 1959 beetle sedan. I had to make a small cut on the right side to clear a corner of the valve cover. If I had made a larger cut, I could have removed the valve cover to set the valves with the engine in the car. I didn't want to make a larger cut, so made the smaller cut. To adjust the valves for cylinders #1 and #2, I had to drop the engine.

I also added 356A front brakes and a 356A transmission with close ratio gears from a wrecked Porsche. I then added Porsche wheels and tires with sticky recaps. The car definitely impressed a few people. So you will know that hot rodding VW's is not a new thing, I'll tell you that I did this in 1963, over 50 years ago.

Jim Perrin

[Alstrup]

The 1385 cc displament along with stock 1200 intake and carb is not a good set up. The engine is choked so hard that it falls on its nose at about 3300 rpm.
If you are really into it you can modify the "K" manifold from the stock 13/1500 engine and then make it taper down to the 1200 head intake. That will wake it up and make it run decent.
The right thing to do is installing a set of dual 28 pci or Pict1, or even better 32 mm pci carb.
The cylinderhead itself will be the limiting factor, but then the engine can breathe and make a little extra power.

[[email protected]]

You guys are saying a porsche 356 engine would be the ultimate engine ?????? I think the porsche 4 cam would be ultimate 😯🤔 but only if you have $200,000 just for the engine 😔 I'll say go for the 4 cam engine 🤣😂🤣😪😪😪.....if I where you I'll i go with a 40hp okrasa 1500cc 69x83 or you can go 1600cc 74x83 have the 69mm connecting rods journals turned down to 36hp journals size and use 36hp rods and it gives you a 74mm crank ..

[[email protected]]

[rzepko6194]

[Glenn]

[Alstrup]

[rzepko6194]

Alstrup, I appreciate the tip about using a 40hp intake manifold over a 36. I’m ok with HP output in the low 40s range, as I don’t want to go with the additional complexity of dual carbs or with a dual single.

[Teeroy]

A 1961 would have a 40hp so the 36hp manifold isn't an option. They also had an Okrasa kit available for the 40hp engine as well as the 36hp
_________________
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Founder Derr Wheat Panzers (DWP)
ARR #3
www.autosportsnorthwest.org

[Robert Chambers]

A Judson II would be a nice correct 40 horse Vintage Speed option for a simple effective power increase. Every thing bolts right on. The only exception being mounting the oiler requires drilling a couple of holes in the fire wall.
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'63 OG 117 Herbie Replica
'56 Euro Oval Deluxe
'52 Standard Zwitter
'63 OG 117

[rzepko6194]

[oldslow]

Try looking at this empi catalog.
https://www.oldspeed.net/images_catalogue_empi_64_65/index.html
OP states engine is for later - he is looking for accessories to create a sport look

[John Moxon]

You'll also find most of the EMPI Catalogs in The Samba Archives here: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/lit/accessories.php
...as well as a number of period road tests in The Vintage Speed stickies here: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=325053
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John.
Judson Supercharger Information on The Samba
My 1958 Shorrock Supercharged Karmann Ghia
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[oldslow]

Updated link for 1964 EMPI catalog
https://www.oldspeed.net/empi-catalog/images/catalog64.php
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- better to drive a slow car fast than fast car slow -