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My 1954 build thread "Beatrix"
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TheLadyBug
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 19, 2014 9:40 pm    Post subject: My 1954 build thread "Beatrix" Reply with quote

I was encouraged to start a build thread to document the journey that lies ahead. I'll start with a little story so you can get to know me, I'm sure I'll be spending a lot of time around here for the next while Wink

I grew up in a 'car family'. Cars have always been a source of pride in our family. My dad's first 25 cars (or so, he lost count) were VW beetles. He'd buy them, drive em for a bit and sell them for profit. He'd worked on them so frequently that he could do it in his sleep! Anyhow, I grew up with my dad always pointing at bugs and being able to tell the exact year by its subtle differences. I always envied that. Ever since I can recall, I wanted a bug for myself.

When I was 12, I distinctly recall wanting a 'lime green beetle', knowing very little about them other than what my dad had said in his stories of all his cars. In high school, a good friend had a 73 and that was the first beetle I drove. I loved the sound; I had to have one. Around 19, I worked at a local coffee shop and would see the patrons pull up often in beautiful cars, it seems that it was a hot spot for people to show off their rides. I met a few VW enthusiasts while I worked there and began to learn more about the cars. I took a patron's car out for the evening as he knew I was a 'car girl' (he would become a close friend and was one of my future husbands best friends). It was a '61 bug. I tried to buy it but at 19, I did not have the funds. I asked my dad to help but I had no where to store it or work on it. I knew I wanted something older anyway; I wanted an oval or a split because of how much emphasis my dad placed on them being the most sought after.

I went to university, convocated and bought a house - these years were not conducive to buying an antique car. When my husband and I started dating, as he was a huge VW enthusiast (drove an air-cooled 911 at the time), we frequently went to car shows, I bought my first GTI as my daily driver and the quest for 'the right beetle' began. There was one particular bug in town that I wanted as I saw it at a few local car shows... '57, Oval, numbers matching and done to spec. I harassed the owner to sell it to me, but it wasn't for sale. Years went by, still not actively looking for a car but hoping that this '57 would eventually be mine.

Last year he called me and said he was ready to sell. I began doing my research had offered him what I felt it was worth, based on the sale of other similar bugs. I found in my research that this car didn't have the correct color interior but I was willing to overlook that. There were also imperfections in the paint and I hated the color, but it was oval and it was restored and it was matching. He and I couldn't agree on a price so I decided to wait.

I let a friend of my husband (Trevor) know I wanted an oval or split (knowing I was pushing my luck asking for a split). He began pointing me in he direction of cars he knew for sale as he was a fellow enthusiast. Nothing grabbed my attention as I didn't want to travel to buy a car sight unseen; I now had a baby and didn't want to invest travel time and expenses if I got there and didn't like the car. I nearly sent my dad, who happened to be in Vancouver at the time, to go look at a car, but then I saw up close pictures and determined it was gonna be too much to get it home and not worth it.

This summer, we looked at a couple local cars but one had been done up with a huge engine and it was a '64 so it wasn't right for me. We looked at another "57", I put that in quotation marks because the owner didn't know it was a 54, but the pan/engine was a '57 with a '54 body and it was full of body filler cracks so it wasn't for me either. I kept comparing all the cars I saw to that '57 I had my eye on. Each time we went to look at a beetle, my oldest son cried because he wanted us to take it home. One time I let him sit in it and he wouldn't get out. Another time he said "I love you, bug", in tears as we drove away.

Trying to make my son happy. I called the guy again with the 57. Much to my dismay, he wanted MORE for it than last year. Disappointed, realizing we'd never agree on price, I spent the money I had put aside for the car into more house renovations. We completed our 95' driveway and finished drywalling our 4 car garage. THE SAME DAY the renovations were complete and we put the garage back together, my husband got a text from Trevor.

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My husband didn't tell me. He just said he had something to show me on Sunday, August 17. I pestered him all day that his surprise had to be that he bought me a beetle because there was nothing else I wanted.

We drove to an unfamiliar address and this was sitting outside.

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Hesitant as I wasn't quite sure I wanted a project car, I fell in love with the idea of building her from scratch so my kids could have the memories of it from their childhood. This car was in such good shape, it was the car to build. All numbers matching, in amazing condition, and complete. Trevor hesitated selling it to us as his wife expressed interest in it; but after some interrogation (lol), Trevor felt confident in selling her to us because our plans are to build her to stock specs. She was found a couple hundred kilometers north of where we live. She had been stored in a quonset for the past 30+ years. The previous owner's intent was to restore her but she sat instead. She was put in an auction last minute and that's where Trevor, luckily, found her.

Deep down I wanted a car that was 'mine', and not someone else's baby, so this just made sense to do the restore and not buy something already done. I realized I didn't want to be the girl who takes credit for someone else's work by showing off a car that had previously been shown by someone else. I need my very own.

She was delivered right then and there to our garage that we had completed drywalling and painting only hours before. My son was ecstatic. I asked him as I tucked him into bed if 'I was the coolest mom ever' and he replied 'if you fix bug'. What a kid.

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Here is my oldest son, who is obviously happy as punch that we took this one home! He's loved Herbie movies for the past year and but has been watching them on repeat this past week... Coincidence?! He also carries one of numerous beetle hot wheels cars in his hand AT ALL TIMES (even to bed and the bath!) Wink His vintage beetle pedal car (turned into a lowrider wagon) that my brother restored for him is also shown (yeah, my bro is a car guy, too... Does insane body work, paint, hand pinstriping and mods.)


Here is me and my youngest. With two boys, I can't wait to start working on the car with them as they get older. I hope they inherit the same love of Volkwagens that my dad instilled in me.

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Anyway, this is Beatrix and this is my build thread. I look forward to getting to know some of you! I am so excited as I've been waiting for this forever
(I'm now 32!) and I finally found the 'right bug for me'. Sorry for the novel, but hey.. I'm a girl so I get to be wordy and nostalgic Wink Am I an asshole for wanting to see the owner of the '57 I pined after for years, to tell him my offer to buy his car no longer stands? Razz

She's from February, 1954. Type 113 Deluxe, Canadian car. I plan to put her back to her original ultramaroon color with beige upholstery.

I've only had her for 2 days and I've already ordered a birth certificate from the VW museum, done a ton of research into parts needed, sources for parts and places to have things done, and ordered a Bentley manual.

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1954 Beetle - because I can
2016 Golf highline - hubby’s daily
2016 Golf R - my daily


Last edited by TheLadyBug on Wed Aug 20, 2014 12:21 pm; edited 1 time in total
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henry roberts
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 12:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ultramaroon is a cool colour. it looks nice and un-molested, always a good thing. I hope the rear bumper bracket isn't indicative of the rust state of the rest of the car though.

please post some more pics.
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TheLadyBug
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 8:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The passenger rear bumper bracket/wheel well and the drivers side rear door jamb are the only places that new metal needs to be grafted in from what I can see. The rest looks pretty clean! Heater channels appear solid.

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I can't get the drivers side door open so this is the best shot I could get of the rust in the body of the door jamb.
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 10:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Congratulations on your new project . . . looks like you found a very solid car to start with.
The hood is not cracked!?!?! AWESOME!
Looks like the car has never been crunched! AWESOME!
All the fender bolts came out without breaking? EXTRA AWESOME!
I count those as all good signs!

Get a big jug of penetrating oil to use for the rest of the disassembly and take you time removing ant stubborn fasteners. Bag and tag EVERYTHING you remove as you remove the parts.
DO NOT throw anything away until you are finished with the restoration . . . even if you think an item is trash, save it!!
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TheLadyBug
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 10:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hehe, thanks!

Yep - the hood is not cracked Smile

The car looks like it's never been in a major accident. When it was resprayed the two tone colour, the fenders had been given a thin coat of body filler. A couple dents in the fenders as well but nothing serious! A bit of body filler is also on the rear deck lid.

Only thing I can see thus far that isn't correct is the muffler, and one of the headlight lenses is plastic. One semaphore is black so it much have been a replacement. Also, Sad the front fenders have holes drilled in the tops for bullets.

Gonna rust-check everything before we begin taking it apart.

Gonna bag, photo and label EVERYTHING very meticulously. My hubby completely disassembled the 89 cabby we have - it all sat in our basement. So much of the car ended up in the basement that I was sure he was going to reassemble it down there! But hopefully 9208738452 zip lock bags and sticky notes inside the bags will help it go smoothly.

I couldn't be happier with the find - it's an awesome car to sink money into, haha.

I'm really curious to see how those semaphores work.

I took a group shot last night Razz

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2016 Golf highline - hubby’s daily
2016 Golf R - my daily


Last edited by TheLadyBug on Wed Aug 20, 2014 9:59 pm; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 11:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Glad you started a build thread Char. Lots of good advice from the experts on here.
Take a pic of the bumpers with the over rider tubes for all to see. I wouldn't be surprised that the car has the "ram protection" M code option. My first thought when I picked it up was that someone added them but they fit too well. I'm sure someone else on here has seen these before.
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 12:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Haha, thanks again Trevor for finding this awesome car for me. My dad was pretty excited to see it. He's not convinced the bowes added to the bumper are OEM, but you're right, they fit too nicely to not be from factory.


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 12:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is there a way to get the glass out without breaking it? Is it worth salvaging? I like the idea of using as much of the original car as possible, not sure if the glass is a good idea.
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 12:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sweet project!! Great! Rolling Eyes Another Ultramaroon car! For such a rare color, there have been a ton of them coming out of the woodwork lately! By the time I get mine done, it will be a common color!
You have yourself an awesome start to an awesome project car! You already have tons of the "hard to find" 54-55 parts!!!
Please please please, be careful with your original glass. Best way to remove it, is to use a brand new razor blade, and carefully cut the lip INSIDE the car as close as you can to the glass. Follow it all the way around the seal. Sometimes it takes a few passes to get it all off. Once you get that out of the way, gently bump the glass from the inside (while someone outside the car is there to catch it). I generally use the palm of my hand, and keep bumping it near the seal....just a little bit at a time. It will eventually give way. If if it's cold out, use a heat gun to warm the seal....sometimes that helps a little. You should have large font SIGLA glass, that can be a real bear to find. Good luck!!!
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 1:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks!
I am so stoked for this car - and the color. Love!!

I'm hesitant to begin disassembly without reading the Bentley manual but I can certainly start with the glass. I want this car apart before it gets too cold... This way I can start bringing pieces inside to work on over winter. My dad said he'd never been able to get the glass out without breaking it; I'm a little nervous. The windshield is shot but the other glass is good (have to scrape off those fog shields, lol). I will also try to get the door glass our, they both appear to be there but are rolled down. I don't think I have the door hardware - I'll check again in my box of parts.

I think I will put the baby on my back in a carrier and start working Wink I want this pan blasted before winter!

I registered her yesterday so she's officially mine. Her serial hadn't been in the system for 30+ years so I got to pick my specifics... And the nice insurance lady let me put this as the car color Very Happy
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 2:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Like already mentioned the glass will come out if you cut the inside lip of the seal....easy peezy. I know a trick to replicate original look glass if ever needed, look at my single cab glass sometime, the devils in the details. Wink
I like the color on the registration, I never thought to ask. LOL

Before you go to blasters take a scraper and peel off all the undercoating in the wheel wells and underneath, the blaster won't take that off. Sounds like a romantic evening in the garage with you Mike, a heat gun and some scrapers. Razz
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 2:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice project.
Hope you enjoy the journey.
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 2:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

motofly196 wrote:
. . . gently bump the glass from the inside (while someone outside the car is there to catch it.)
Don't forget that second part!


Charmaine's54 wrote:
I'm really curious to see how those semaphores work.
My '56 was a European model, so it had semaphores. Many people have never seen them before, so I had lots of fun seeing some of the reactions from those folks!
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 4:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lol, I won't try the windows alone.

Trevor, I saw your awesomely clever window etching! We'll do that for the windshield Smile is your brother able to do some blasting for us?

Perhaps Michael will watch the kids for me on friday so I can start scraping the undercoating off. *insert lack of excitement here* Wink

I went out and bagged all the hardware from the inside of the car and the box of parts it came with. Turns out the inside door handles and window levers are there. At least that's all bagged up so nothing gets lost.

I did find this guy in the car. Where do you think he belongs?!
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 6:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Possibly the original owner? Laughing
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 6:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Congratulations on finally finding your bug! The bumpers on your car are outstanding. I have been looking for a set like that for some time now.
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 9:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sweet start! 54's are cool and Ultra maroon is a rad color.


Interesting how they Bolted the bars onto the Euro overriders.

Charmaine's54 wrote:


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 10:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

rlmartinez wrote:
Congratulations on finally finding your bug! The bumpers on your car are outstanding. I have been looking for a set like that for some time now.

In fact these are from factory and came on the car?
I'll know more in 765 years when my certificate comes from the vw museum, lol. I'm curious to see if there's an m code. Seriously though, they quoted me 16 weeks to complete my certificate request.

So I take it, if these are original, they're worth straightening out and rechroming? I honestly don't care for the looks of them but will do what I need to put them back on if they're original.
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1954 Beetle - because I can
2016 Golf highline - hubby’s daily
2016 Golf R - my daily
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 21, 2014 12:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

they had similar thing in New Zealand, but not the same.


pic from the gallery.
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 21, 2014 12:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Amazing Story Charmaine, love your oval and his color! there is no better way then restoring a beetle within your family! While restoring the Oval you will find out that the oval will take blood, sweat and tears and on the other hand you'll get the pleasure and memories that it will bring with it that you and your family never forget. Your oval looks amazing and is the perfect project for a body of resto! looking forward of the progress and remember take as much photos as you can, store and label every part that you take off the oval. Only consider buying original/nos/donor panels or good quality repro parts/panels, there is a lot of repro junk these days that not even is close to the original specs.

love to see more pictures and stories from the progress!!! Cool

BTW i love the vintage pedal car too from your son, very cool toy!!!

best regards

Steven
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