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mdvanderploeg Samba Member
Joined: November 06, 2011 Posts: 126 Location: Raleigh, NC
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Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 7:14 pm Post subject: |
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Bought some jewelry for the Bug today......pre '52 headlights courtesy of Rico Pohlan.
It's a damn shame that the backs of these headlights will be hidden!
Last edited by mdvanderploeg on Sat Oct 11, 2014 7:28 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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vintage fiberglass Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2006 Posts: 485 Location: Reading, Pa
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 5:19 am Post subject: NOS headlights |
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Wow! They look amazing! I would have loved to have a set like that for my 1950 split. Where in the world did he find them, or were these restored? Tim |
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joel55bug Samba Member
Joined: January 26, 2005 Posts: 297 Location: Texas
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 5:24 am Post subject: |
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I believe he restores them and they are near perfect. I've got a set on my '52 as well. |
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vintage fiberglass Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2006 Posts: 485 Location: Reading, Pa
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 8:36 am Post subject: Split headlights |
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How do I get in contact with Rico? I am thinking I should know who he is but I do not. Can you PM me an e-mail or something? I want him to restore my 1950 Hella ones. Tim |
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GermanRust52 Samba Member
Joined: February 04, 2005 Posts: 352
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 11:13 am Post subject: Re: Split headlights |
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vintage fiberglass wrote: |
How do I get in contact with Rico? I am thinking I should know who he is but I do not. Can you PM me an e-mail or something? I want him to restore my 1950 Hella ones. Tim |
here you go.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1684204 |
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mdvanderploeg Samba Member
Joined: November 06, 2011 Posts: 126 Location: Raleigh, NC
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 11:18 am Post subject: |
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I don't know where he found them, but he did restore them. My car came sans headlights, so I consider myself lucky that he got his hands on them. |
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johnshenry Samba Member
Joined: September 21, 2001 Posts: 9359 Location: Northwood, NH USA
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 11:23 am Post subject: |
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mdvanderploeg wrote: |
Today, I installed most of the new wiring harness from John Henry (Zarwerks). I was really impressed with both the quality of the harness and the thoroughness of the instructions. He even spelled out where things would go awry if you went down the wrong road (unfortunately, I went ahead and tested that out). All in all, a fairly straightforward installation, with only a little cussing when trying to get the dome light wire pulled in.
Here's the main harness laid out before pulling...
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Thanks for the kudos Max. I have to say, in addition to funding all of my VW antics, it is wonderfully rewarding to see my wires going into so many amazing restorations. Your pics here remind me of the installation of the very first split wiring harness that I ever made; my own Bordeaux Red '50 back in 2003 (there are pics of it in my installation manual that I send out with every kit). In the years since then I have made lots of improvements to my methods, materials and process. It has been lots of fun as a one-man, micro business in my basement at home.
Really looking forward to seeing this one done! You just need a nice speedo pod to connect those wires to, huh?? _________________ John Henry
'57 Deluxe
'56 Single Cab |
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mdvanderploeg Samba Member
Joined: November 06, 2011 Posts: 126 Location: Raleigh, NC
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 12:59 pm Post subject: |
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Oh yeah, my speedo pod, I forgot all about that! Seriously, I've been proud of my self control with not sending you a daily "is it done yet?" email. Can't wait to see how it turns out! I'm grateful that you agreed to take it on on at the same time you were trying to take a little break from customer work to get some things done on your own project, so no pressure. |
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mdvanderploeg Samba Member
Joined: November 06, 2011 Posts: 126 Location: Raleigh, NC
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 7:18 pm Post subject: |
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On the topic of lighting, I put my semaphores back together tonight after getting the newly painted metal strips back from the painter. They were restored by John Henry and look beautiful. Keeping those little bulbs in place while putting the whole sandwich of plastic, brass, and metal back together was enough to make me cuss and drink beer. Actually, I was already drinking beer, so I guess it just made me cuss.
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roymartian Samba Member
Joined: May 22, 2011 Posts: 377 Location: MELBOURNE
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Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 2:54 am Post subject: |
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Great job - the beer must have helped |
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mdvanderploeg Samba Member
Joined: November 06, 2011 Posts: 126 Location: Raleigh, NC
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Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 8:10 am Post subject: |
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This is kind of cool....I finally opened the boxes containing the windows for the first time, and discovered the remnants of a Johnson campaign sticker from the 1964 presidential election on one of the rear windows. You can barely make out the very bottom of the JOHNSON letters, and in tiny letters Democratic ..... Committee. They must've been a real fan to block that much of an already tiny window with a campaign sticker!
I also found an almost equally torn up Strategic Air Command decal on the front windshield. Interesting tidbits on the history of the car. Maybe a Democratic member of the US Air Force originally brought the car to the states from Germany.
Unfortunately, I also discovered that the other rear window is missing, but I also discovered an extra driver's side door window with a decent bottom frame still attached. If anyone needs one, let me know.
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mdvanderploeg Samba Member
Joined: November 06, 2011 Posts: 126 Location: Raleigh, NC
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Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2014 2:20 pm Post subject: |
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Added the first piece of bling today.....
Also, got the carbs and linkage installed.....
Definitely getting into the fun stuff now! |
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mdvanderploeg Samba Member
Joined: November 06, 2011 Posts: 126 Location: Raleigh, NC
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Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 8:15 pm Post subject: |
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A few things accomplished and not accomplished today. I continue to be very disappointed with the quality of reproduction parts. In fact, the word "quality" shouldn't be used in the same sentence. Today, the struggle was with the dual filament tail light holders. What a total disaster. The bulb sockets were so poorly formed that the bulbs kept falling out. Incredibly poor quality parts that the vendor should have been embarrassed to sell. The vendor has agreed to replace them, so we'll see.
I also can't seem to get the correct copper fuel line for the Okrasa kit. I have two versions at this point, neither of which is correct. One has the correct sized banjo fittings for the carbs, but the wrong size line for the fuel pump. The other has the correct size line for the fuel pump, but the wrong size banjo fittings for the carburetors.
I at least installed the pope's nose, front fuse block, fuel tank valve, master cylinder reservoir, and seat belt bolts.
The fenders are loosely attached at this point.....
Yes, the fuel tank should be body colored, but I like the 'bling' of the gloss black tank. It's another one of those details that can very easily be altered.
Here are the seats set temporarily in place, just to keep them safe and out of the way.....
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Beetlebaum Samba Member
Joined: December 04, 2008 Posts: 2181 Location: Virginia Beach, VA
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mr. warehouse Samba Member
Joined: February 27, 2001 Posts: 5001 Location: Nor Cal 707
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2014 10:32 am Post subject: |
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Sounds like you have everything needed for the correct fuel lines. Why not swap around fittings to make the set up you need?
Car is looking great. Like John I too have a soft spot for Bordeaux red.. |
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Mr. Okrasa Original Old Speed
Joined: May 20, 2000 Posts: 726 Location: Eastside, Costa Mesa. So. Califas...Loco's ;-)
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 12:13 am Post subject: |
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mdvanderploeg wrote: |
I also can't seem to get the correct copper fuel line for the Okrasa kit. I have two versions at this point, neither of which is correct.
One has the correct sized banjo fittings for the carbs, but the wrong size line for the fuel pump. The other has the correct size line
for the fuel pump, but the wrong size banjo fittings for the carburetors. |
Hi Max. Thought I would chime-in here. The W.West kit uses 6mm fuel lines that have the small banjo ends which are correct to fit onto the carburetors supplied but will not work with the "flat top" 25hp fuel pump.
There have many options on how to get a fuel line fitted to your engine. 1) I offer a service where I can supply a 8mm Okrasa style fuel line with the correct 8mm end where it goes into the fuel pump and still uses the small W.West banjo ends at the carburetor or 2) I can modify a W.West fuel line where it goes into the 8mm flat top fuel pump so it would work with an 8mm "sleeve" or 3) You can send me your carbs to have the tops modified from the W.West 10mm banjos for the larger 12mm Okrasa banjos AND supply an Okrasa style 8mm copper fuel line with the correct fuel line diameter to fit the "flat top" 8mm fuel pump. See this link: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1406604 With this set up, the engine will look like an "authentic" Okrasa engine when the decklid is opened as the fuel line will be identical to an original Okrasa fuel line. See this thread and photos of what my 8mm fuel line looks like installed onto a W.West 36hp dualport kit. Obviously the line going into the fuel pump will be 8mm instead of 6mm as on this correct 1954 engine I built for Steven G. Cheers! Mr. Okrasa http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=506021&highlight=okrasa
_________________
See my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/okrasa/
1959 VW Karmann Ghia Coupe / Bamboo-Green / Denzel 1300cc / OG. owner, paint
Denzel engine running. See this link: https://youtu.be/DgUlsQDTXTE
VW www.Okrasa.com
356 www.PreA356.com |
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mdvanderploeg Samba Member
Joined: November 06, 2011 Posts: 126 Location: Raleigh, NC
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 5:25 pm Post subject: |
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Hey, Joe, thanks for the reply. So, as you describe, I have a 6mm line at the fuel pump outlet and 8mm carb inlets. I'd rather not remove the carbs and ship them back at this point. I pondered the idea of inserting the 6mm fuel line from the fuel pump into the 8mm line to the carbs (with a little sanding and reaming), and soldering the connection, but that could be aesthetically unappealing. Given option 1 and 2 above, will there be a difference in performance between the two choices? Seems like it's all a matter of where it transitions from 6mm to 8mm, so on the surface it doesn't seem like where that happens (at the fuel pump outlet or at the banjo fitting to the carb) would matter. Am I thinking wrong? I'm an Electrical Engineer, so fluids isn't my thing. |
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dlware1 Samba Member
Joined: August 16, 2007 Posts: 39
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 8:21 pm Post subject: |
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mdvanderploeg wrote: |
I don't know where he found them, but he did restore them. My car came sans headlights, so I consider myself lucky that he got his hands on them. |
Ditto the comments posted about Rico's work - you will surely be happy with the headlights.
Question: how long does Rico's restoration usually take? I shipped a pair for my 50 on Jan 24, 2014- Rico confirmed receipt on Feb 24 and indicated a 6 month approximate processing time. My emails of Oct 29, Nov 21, and Dec 1 have so far gone unanswered. I highly respect the obvious quality of his work and I can be patient with his workload. But it sure would be good to have an update on the status of my headlights - just anxious to move on with the 50.
Thanks for anything someone can share.
Doyle |
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nlorntson Crazy VW Lady
Joined: March 13, 2004 Posts: 3776 Location: Twin Cities, MN
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 9:09 pm Post subject: |
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mdvanderploeg wrote: |
Hey, Joe, thanks for the reply. So, as you describe, I have a 6mm line at the fuel pump outlet and 8mm carb inlets. |
You appear to have a 36hp engine there. The fuel pump is a late 36hp pump. That pump would normally use a 6mm line in and out.
If the WW carbs take 8mm, I'd think you could just swap out the late 36hp pump for a 25hp pump which takes a 8mm in and out. |
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Mr. Okrasa Original Old Speed
Joined: May 20, 2000 Posts: 726 Location: Eastside, Costa Mesa. So. Califas...Loco's ;-)
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Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 12:47 am Post subject: |
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Hi Max
Please post a photo of your carb top that shows the banjo bolt and also post a photo of the fuel pump top. I'm trying to see what you are trying to do but must "SEE" what you have.
This I know for sure: 1) The W.West comes with a 6mm fuel line going into the fuel pump and 10mm banjo ends at the carbs. 2) The original Okrasa lines come with a 3" section of 6mm
copper line that goes into the fuel pump and has 8mm dia. copper line going to each carburetor with 12mm banjo ends.
I want to see what you are going to ACTUALLY use on the engine PLEASE... _________________
See my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/okrasa/
1959 VW Karmann Ghia Coupe / Bamboo-Green / Denzel 1300cc / OG. owner, paint
Denzel engine running. See this link: https://youtu.be/DgUlsQDTXTE
VW www.Okrasa.com
356 www.PreA356.com |
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