practicalities of a daily '54

[BigFatDuck]

i have a '54 oval that's mostly original. i've been storing it because it's not a very practical car for driving around in the city (brakes, it's been lowered, semaphores, gear box). i've had the car for sale in order to buy a car i can actually drive (lost my walking-distance job, need to broaden my range of transportation), but no serious inquiries and i'm not willing to give it away for less than it's worth to me. so now i'm thinking about just making it streetable. this would most likely invovle a more powerful engine, different transmission (or just gearbox if that's possible... need syncro), upgraded brakes, maybe some sort of turn signals to attach to the bumpers.... anything else i can't think of at the moment.

now, i'm not very mechanically inclined and have no place to do this work myself even if i was, so i'd have to pay someone else to do it. i'm just wondering how easy it would be to have this stuff done and make it easy to revert back to original gear later on, and how expensive this would probably be. i'm thinking it might be more cost effective to get a 60's bug in good condition, but being on the east coast good bugs are hard to find and overpriced ($4000 for an average '69-'73 for example). i realize being such an old car a lot of people will say keep it original, and for the most part i agree, but the car isn't 100% original to begin with and i need a car i can drive. what are your opinions?

[Skim]

if you keep the stock drivetraim and just update it with later drivetrain I dont think you will be doing any irreversable damage to the car itself. Just dont go cutting up anything and you should be alright.
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[EverettB]

It'd be cheaper all around to just install a later engine and tranny.

Don't worry about the semaphores, most people don't use turn signals anyway so just don't use them at all.

Or just drive it stock, a properly-tuned '54 should be fine for normal driving.
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[the dayzwalker]

I say keep it as original as it is right now

get a super beetle to put around town in.
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[oldovaldriver]

There are lots of things you can do, but most of them will cost you if you can't do it yourself. But if you have $4000 or so to spend...

Swapping out the drivetrain with a rebuilt 1600 and a syncro tranny would be easy. It will probably cost a minimum of $2000 installed, and likely more, depending on the quality you want and any unforseen complications.

Disk brakes are easily available now, even for your wide-5 rims. They will cost you $1000-$2000 installed.

However, if you are really on a budget... I would recommend having the car thoroughly tuned up so that it gives 100% of its 1954 performance. I would have the brakes renewed--new shoes and turn the drums. I would put on new, quality road tires, like Vredesteins, and have them well balanced. This basic work will probably make the car feel better than you imagine.

And counter to what someone else already said, I would have someone install some turnsignals. They could either be generic accessory fixtures clamped to the bumpers like you suggested, or you could easily install later model VW taillights and front turnsignals. A custom car or VW shop could do either for a few hundred dollars.

Good luck!

-Paul

[FL_VERT]

Just buy a beater....... VW or what ever......

[Shane]

Hate to say it, but for what it would cost to update your 54, you could get a beater super. And it would be a shame to mess with an original anyway.
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[6d7vdub]

either buy a beater, or take your 54 to a shop and have it inspected to find out what exactly you would need to do and not need to do.
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[jakedaniel]

First of all, My only car is a 56 Beetle I bought in New Mexico and drove all the way back to Houston w/no problems. If you get it into good shape it'll do just fine on the road. You're not going to win any races in a stock oval but as long as you have patience you'll get where you're going. As far as the semaphores I had a friend in the Army who bought a 56 Euro spec while stationed in Germany. Legally a 56 beetle doesn't require turn signals to be inspected(at least in Texas) But in Germany the laws are very strict and he couldn't drive the car legally without turn signals. I don't know exactly how he did it but he converted the back taillights so they would blink, mounted tiny orange lights onto the bottom of the bumper for front turn signals (He told me that he didn't have to drill any holes), Put a second turn signal switch on the steering column, opposite the original switch and there you have it. If you have to have turn signals then look into that. You didn't notice the front lights until they lit up, no holes were drilled that I know of, and the semaphores still worked.
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[BigFatDuck]

my biggest concern is the transmission. to get it back into first i have to come to a dead stop. no good in even the mildest city traffic (traffic really doesn't get that bad around here, but i've driven my car enough to know it would be a real pain to try to do daily). the brakes are next, they probably just need some maintenance i guess. the power of the engine isn't really that much of a concern. i'd definately need turn signals, at least in the back.

like i said i would just buy a car if there was one around for a decent price. but i refuse to pay $4000 for anything later than a '64 in pretty good shape. my first vw was a super and i'm really not fond of the idea of another one. "not that there's anything wrong with that"

[jakedaniel]

I know what you mean about Non-Synchro first gear. I just stopped caring about all the people stuck behind me honking and going crazy. Actually, I'm starting to like it a little.
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