Aussie RHD Turkis.......actually a '62

Andy P · Last edited by Andy P on Mon Oct 24, 2011 5:59 am; edited 1 time in total

My wife has wanted a smaller VW than our '67 Panel or '98 LWB Eurovan to run about in and she likes vintage aircoolers. I opted for a pre-67 Beetle as they have the classic sleek look of the 50s models but can still be had for reasonable money. I've known about this Aussie '61 it for 3 or 4 years now and so when the missus told me she wanted a smaller vintage VW I thought this was a real goer. I'm finally getting it delivered this weekend. I was supposed to pick it up in June or July but due to a new baby and other factors it's taken a while. Here's a few pics:

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Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

I know, you're all thinking "That isn't Turkis!". Well, it isn't white. Note the engine lid hinges. The underside of the engine lid is also faded Turkis paint as is the underside of the bonnet. Unfortunately Aussie '61s are 1 yr only models. The bumpers are gone and the tail lights are wrong....both rare 1 yr only parts. The interior is also a hotch potch. However the motor is almost certainly original, definitely model correct, and there's very little visible rust. I need to check out the heater channels and battery tray but it's stayed relatively dry and is not under trees. I can't wait to tear into it on Sunday evening. Very Happy

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decobugma07 · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 7:11 am Post subject:

Super nice. that can be a fun ride with the right side style. cool!!
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silvertonguedevil · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 7:12 am Post subject:

Congratulations! Keep us posted on your progress!
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smitty24 · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 11:54 am Post subject:

looks like no one one knew where that was, or it would be missing everything! That will be fun to work on. That engine would look perfect after a cleaning and some paint!

Lahti35 · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 3:07 pm Post subject:

Photo #3 confirms my theory that at one time or another lauan plywood was used for eveything!

Nice car.... be sure to evict the spiders Very Happy

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hitest · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 3:26 pm Post subject:

That shifter is original to the car. Looks like the US is not the only place folks buy white paint by the 5-gallon bucket. Pretty straight- good job.
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Bassdude404 · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 3:35 pm Post subject:

Andy P · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 8:47 pm Post subject:

First thing to do is to pull the seats and let a spider bomb off in the interior. Y'know, like a roach bomb. That'll get rid of them. And I really need to make sure they're gone. We get Redback and White Tail spiders. The first gives will make you feel really ill and the second leaves a wound which doesn't heal properly. So they need to go. I don't mind house or garden spiders or the hairy Huntsman spiders that kill all the flies and mozzies around our place but Redbacks and White Tails are serious persona non grata and I won't risk my kids getting bitten.

Then I need to find the extent of the rust. I know there's some under the front wheel guard...a couple about 50c piece sized. I just hope the heater channels are in tact...... Neutral

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Cheers & God Bless

'62 Beetle
'62 Panel project
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'98 T4 EV Transporter LWB

Jägdwagen - Busse Vom Australis

Andy P · Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 6:10 pm Post subject:

Well, the Beetle finally arrived home yesterday arvo around 5pm.
I don't own a trailer and the PO, who's a local mechanic and does, said he'd deliver it for $70.
Since a tilt tray tow truck is the same I said "Thankyou!" and it was tons easier.
Here it is rolling off the trailer.
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Gotta love those widened steelies, eh?
No sooner was it off the trailer my kids were into it and all over it like a rash!
Just as well there were no spiders.
The big brown mouse spiders, of which there were plenty of carcasses, had killed any white tails or redbacks and the car was bug free.....arf, arf!!
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My eldest was sitting in the car and said to my wife who was weild the camera "Look, I'm being cool."
He failed to understand the distinction in having your hand around the right way when giving the peace sign....... Laughing

The chassis number on the pan is 4955176 which apparently dates it to August '62 or there abouts.
That's fine with me.
In a brilliant turn of events the motor turns and has decent compression so I reckon washing out the fuel tank, doing an oil change and replacing the fuel hose may get this baby firing up.
The most amazing discovery was that the 6v battery was still in the car.
It's probably shot but the PO said he'd bought it about 20yrs back, driven it home from Canberra and parked it in the paddock by his house.
Turns out he wasn't lying.
First plan is to push it out into the yard again and my wife is desperate to wash the grime off it.
We'll pick a nice sunny day and she wash it and the younger 2 boys can "help" her.
Then I'll do the motor stuff.
Any tips on how to get that baby spinning?
Is it likely I can resurrect the battery or is it likely had it?
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Cheers & God Bless

'62 Beetle
'62 Panel project
'67 Panel
'98 T4 EV Transporter LWB

Jägdwagen - Busse Vom Australis

Boom · Samba Member Joined: September 29, 2007 Posts: 948

awesome car I look forward to seeing the progress pics
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dragsters for life · Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 9:50 pm Post subject:

congrats on the car, cant wait to see it cleaned up
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Andy P · Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 6:02 am Post subject:

Today I jacked it up and put it on stands, crawled underneath, pulled the sump plate and drained the old oil out of it.
I also washed off the metallic sludge that had solidified on the sump plate with petrol and made it all clean before putting it back on.
Then I put in 3 litres of Nulon 20-50w oil as that was how much had come out.
As I lay on my back my hands being liberally coated with elderly motor oil I was overjoyed to see NO rust on the pan as I look forward across the bottom of the car.
The battery tray was fine and the halves looked spankingly solid.
I don't know about the heater channels.
There are small rust bubbles on the sills above the running board behind the driver's door and both front inner wheel arches have rust holes but I was overjoyed to see the pan perfect, well, at least from a distance.
I'm more than a little clueless about old engine tin and the like but the flaps on the bottom on each side are still there.
Does that make sense?
I'll take more pics tomorrow and you'll see what I mean.
Tomorrow I'll pull out the fuel tank and swish some new petrol around to clean it out a bit and replace what little fuel hose there is about the car (most is solid line).
I'm also going to put a fuel filter in as despite my efforts to clean the tank it's sure to pump gunk for a little while yet.
The jury is out on the battery.
I haven't tested it yet but my mate has a 6v charger so I'll check the wasser and then see if it'll charge.
It's probably dead but, hey, it's worth a go.
I rang a local place here and they gave me a rough price of AUD$150 for a new 6v unit.
I know.....I should go 12v, but it's just easier to stay 6v for the moment and not mess with stuff until I have to.
Plus I don't plan to drive this everyday and long distances continually.
On the spider front a redback poked its head out in the engine bay, of all places!
Redback spiders love enclosed spaces, are venomous and will make you quite ill.
There's now redback juice on the doghouse.
There was also a big schwarz garden spider under the bonnet I sent to spidey heaven.
The most impressive one though was the 4 inch huntsman that dropped out of the passenger door when I opened it to spray WD40 on the hinges.
I like huntsmen spiders and they're harmless so he was allowed to go and find some mosquitoes and flies to kill.
Apparently they kill redbacks too......hope so.
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Cheers & God Bless

'62 Beetle
'62 Panel project
'67 Panel
'98 T4 EV Transporter LWB

Jägdwagen - Busse Vom Australis

Andy P · Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 6:14 am Post subject:

Got more progress today but not as much as I'd hoped. I pulled the rubber fuel hoses on the engine and replaced them with new hoses. The old ones were shot and the hose between the pump and carb was garden hose! Shocked

I also added a fuel filter between the hard line and pump to try and stop the gunk in the hard line from getting into the carb.
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I also pulled the fuel tank and emptied the old fuel - it was a lovely shade of dark orange. It also stank of anything chemical but not petrol. Mad

Here's the tank out....note the wasps nests. There are a few about.
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I intended to rinse the tank with some new fuel and put some in ready for the attempt to start it but the missus was picking up a can of fuel and it was dinner and kiddie bathtime by the time she got back so I'll have to do it tomorrow. While I was waiting I had a chance to take some more pics of the car. Here are a couple of the pan from underneath. First from the front.....
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And from the back.....
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As I first suspected there seems to be zero rust there. There is some in the front wheel arches though, more specifically the driver's side although the passenger side also has a little. Driver's side....
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And the passenger's......
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There's also these rust holes in the bottom of the driver's door....
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And the beginning of bubbles behind the driver's door....
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What I really do love however is the seats. They're this gorgeous blue with white backs. Unfortunately the driver's seat bottom is ripped badly, the top corner on the passenger bucket is worn right through and bottom has been exchanged for a basket weave. But the white backs are almost perfect and the rear bench, aside of some split stitches, is excellent.
I really wish I could get these repaired but I just BET no one makes new covers with this colour combination. To be honest a scrappy car on the outside can be as rough as you like if the interior is nice and I'd like this to be like that if I can pull it off. It'd be much nicer for my wife too. Here's some pics......
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That said, making the seats nice is sorta rearranging the deckchairs on the Titannic. The headliner and door trims are filthy fabric that has turned brown. You can see them in the pics. Ah, well, one thing at a time.
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Cheers & God Bless

'62 Beetle
'62 Panel project
'67 Panel
'98 T4 EV Transporter LWB

Jägdwagen - Busse Vom Australis

Slow Steve · Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 8:59 am Post subject:

Nice grab, looks like a good start. You wife pretty cool too! Congrats on the baby and the new bug to the fam
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6Kabrio7 · Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 1:35 pm Post subject:

I'm surprised that bug was sitting there for so long it looks a solid project.
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Culito · Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 5:53 pm Post subject:

Andy P · Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 7:00 pm Post subject:

This car is definitely a find but Beetles are not nearly as popular as Buses, even pre-67 Beetles compared to Baywindows.
I paid $500 for this and while it was a good deal for a car with everything bar the bumpers and (possibly) a running motor, it's a standard price for a non-roadworthy Beetle.
As much as getting the car back to OG Turkis paint would be nice if it cleans up enough without going mad I'm happy with white.
I guess a good session with a gurney and then some oven cleaner would probably reveal the Turkis but I wonder if it's worth the trouble.
The aim is to make it look acceptable, sneak it through rego and drive it.
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Cheers & God Bless

'62 Beetle
'62 Panel project
'67 Panel
'98 T4 EV Transporter LWB

Jägdwagen - Busse Vom Australis

Joel · Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 7:03 pm Post subject:

Andy P · Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 9:16 pm Post subject:

Andy P · Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 5:59 am Post subject:

The Guru (as I'll call him) came over to see what he could do. He also brought a 6v battery, a 6/12/24 volt jump starter and his tools. First we worked out the ignition was playing up so the guru (he shall remain nameless!) crawled under and did something encouraging to the starter.

Link

Then we managed to get it firing.....

Link

Cop the dirt it blows out! But there wasn't any fuel getting through from the tank so courtesy of a heavy gauge guitar string the hard lines were unclogged and the magic happened. The guru also sorted the dud cable in the ignition switch.

Link

Keep in mind this was done without changing the plugs or changing and setting the points. It confirms the fact that it was parked 20yrs back in running condition. If the brakes were fixed it would be a fully functioning runner. Mind you it wouldn't be roadworthy. The tyres are shocking. A couple are even cracked out retreads. The wipers also need to work to get through here. But hey, that's all part of the fun.
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Cheers & God Bless

'62 Beetle
'62 Panel project
'67 Panel
'98 T4 EV Transporter LWB

Jägdwagen - Busse Vom Australis

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