Need help on '56 Oval

[[email protected]]

Greetings from Malaysia!I just recently purchased a '56 Oval. Chassis No.-1382292 Engine No.-1659303. Ovals are extremely rare here...rumoured to be less than 10 and none are on the road. The bug I bought is just a shell with a chassis. The original engine is complete but very rusty, there is no gearbox. The doors and bonnet are also missing which bring me to my first question...

1. Can I use doors from a '60's bug? I notice the handles on ovals are the pulled type while the other is a push button type. can i just buy the handles and swap?

2. Whats the difference in the bonnet design? Will a pre '64 fit?

3. Fenders...what's the difference? What's a 'Veng' valance?

4. Seats....closest possible to an oval?

5. Can I use just any 1200 gearbox with the original engine?

6. If I would to buy a donor car, which year models should I look at if I wanted to restore it as close to original as possible?


Thank you...any help is much appreciated!
Keep those Bugs alive!!

[RareAir]

Greetings from the US! I'll try to answer your questions in order that they were asked and to the best of my ability...

1. Yes, you can use doors from 1956 thru 1964. Even though VW changed the handle style, the mechanism is still the same. When you install the pull handle, you'll have to weld-up the smaller hole left from the "push button" handle.

2. Yes, a hood made up to 1967 will work, but there are small sublle changes. You want a "flat 4-tab" hood to be correct. The differences being where the VW badge mounts. Early is flat, later has a raised section. Also, the earlier hoods have a plavce to mount the hood crest, whereas after '63, they no longer have trhe crest. One other thing, since later hoods no longer feature the crest, there is an extra hole to accomodate the longer chrome trim.

3. Fenders are obvious. You want "bullet" fenders, unless your Beetle is equipped with semaphores. Original Pre '59 fenders are a little more bulbous as compared to '60-on. All year fenders up to '66 will fit/work. But which ever year fender you buy, you can allows modify it by shaving the tun signal & welding a "bullet" housing.
I don't know what a "veng" valance is or have ever heard of one.

4. Seats from 1956-64 are all compatible. Seats from any year Beetle will fit, it just won't look "vintage" if you have the later model "headrest-syle"

5. If you have the OG pan, you can only use a crash box tranny, unless you modify a late model trans (using a Type 2 nose cone & hockey stick) or weld in an adapter mount.

6. Try buying another Poval, but that seems unrealistic. A '58-'64 can be a possible donor for sheetmetal, but not for the Oval-only parts such as the dash components. The earlier the better as many components (fuel tank, seats, suspension, doors, glass etc....) are all interchangeable.

Hope this helps......

[[email protected]]

Hello...thank you for the reply. Luckily for me the oval dash is still intact and I manage to get the 'W' decklid from the previous owner...looks like I will have to look for an early '60 bug as a donor. Even those bugs are quite rare here...

Another thing is the six volts, Can I use a 12volt batt and then use a step down transformer? ..or..is it possible to modify the original dynamo (keep the original casing) to 12volts. Has anybody done or know how this can be done?

By the way, If any of you happen to come by this way to Malaysia, I'll be glad to give you a free tour of Kuala Lumpur trough the windows of a VW!...Cheers!

[Trayle D. the real oggfk]

I think that all your questions have been answered pretty well. Accept the donor car question. If you can find a 58 or 59 for a donor that would be a wealth of parts for an oval. Same steering wheel and turn signal switch. Same engine and trany. Same front and rear apron. Same speedo. Same gas tank, fuel tap, and gas cap. Same wiring and wire harness(accept the turn signal on an American car). Same front beam. Same steering column. Although there is a difference in the door lock mechanism inside the door from oval to 58-59. But the doors will work. 58-59 uses all the same outside trim as an oval down to the emblems and Wolfsburg Crest.

Alittle note if you are gonna do that oval correctly you should use front fenders from a car earlier than 59. 1959 was the last year for wire tube fenders. And rear fenders should be 1959 or earlier because early fenders had dimples on the flats where the mounting holes are. You will know them when you see them, they are like nothing else.

If your oval needs a front clip stay away from 1960 clips. Although they look the same there are subtle differences. Where the number badge is there should only be 2 horizontal indentions. If there are 3 you have a 1960 front clip. And 1960 front clips dont have the holes for the wire tube fenders to mount, the headlight wires would come out higher in the body through a hole by the gas tank.

Good luck, and keep asking questions. This is a great place for info.

[paul.cathy.andresen@xtra.]

well, it looks as is most of your questions have been answered
a "veng" valance,

"veng" is a Danish brand name that make patten vw parts

[Trayle D. the real oggfk]

For your battery question there is another option. You can have a 6v generator rewond to 8v and run a 8v battery, like would be used in a boat. Then run the same 6v lights and they will be as bright as a 12v system. That is an old Hot Rod trick.