TheSamba.com :: View topic - My black 58 euro bug or: "The Neverending Story"

Sat May 01, 2010 3:54 pm

Hello Sambaists

I thought of sharing with you the story of my black 1958 bug.

I bought this export beetle in 2003 near Stuttgart, where it sat in the back of a workshop of a local audi dealer since 1992. It looked like a real barnfind bargain, but turned out to be in need for a full-blown restoration soon.

I didn’t have the skills, time or money to do this, so the bug had to wait for another three years until my brother and I disassembled it in late 2006.

We then started the restoration of the car in my parents little one-car-garage.

It was going really slow and although my brother is a trainee for becoming a mechanic we had to figure out all the how-to’s ourselves and this always took us some time. But at the end we did get a lot done!

Between 2008 and this spring the restoration paused as working and studying for masters degree in parallel didn’t leave me any time to go on with it.

Now, I have restarted the restoration and I am absolutely certain that at some point in time, I will have my own fully-restored black 58.
My intention is not to build another show-winner, I only want to have a decent ride which does not hide its +50 year history. And my goal is to do it all by myself!! :) (But please be patient with me, I am a business administration graduate and have no professional background with this kind of work :wink: )

I am posting regular updates on my blog at http://black58.blogspot.com/and will do this here as well

Sat May 01, 2010 10:07 pm

Hey great project!

Sat May 01, 2010 10:31 pm

Looks good! Don't forget to enjoy the journey so the ride is that much sweeter :D

Sun May 02, 2010 4:33 am

Thank you guys! - Here are some more pictures of the process so far...
All the dirty details can be found on the blog http://black58.blogspot.com

When we tore the bug apart in late 2006, the major problem was that the PO somewhen welded together body and pan with multiple layers of sheet metal in order to pass the German vehicle inspection (TÜV). And, in addition, they sealed off all this with silicone.

So, heater channels and the outer sills of the pan were pretty much gone.
We then sandblasted the pan in our garage - what a mess!!

replaced all rotten sections

and colored the pan and all attachment parts with POR 15

So, by mid-2007, the pan was complete again

Rookie Mistake: Back then, we thought we were half way through ... HAHA :roll: :roll:

Next step was to start with the body

and to fit in the new heater channels

We replaced the complete rear section

and all other typical areas in the rear section and most of the front part

a big challenge were the enhancment parts of the inner rear wheelhouse because I did not want to use the replacement parts.

In the meantime, we disassembled the original 30 hp engine and gave it a fresh looking

So, now, May 2010, we removed the body again from the pan and i can start to finish off the bodyworks...

Next steps will include :

- Repair the lower corners of the front fire-wall
- Weld the fuel tank seating
- Renew the spare wheel front section
- Restore both lower windshield corners
- Finally weld, grind and seal all welding seams
- etc...

Again, my intention is not to build a perfect car, but i want to show with these non-pro pictures that i think that everybody can build an own bug (because i seem to can do it somehow too :wink: )

Wed May 05, 2010 2:47 pm

I was really busy the last nights, so here's a mid-week rear luggage compartment update for you :D

Check out the blog at :arrow: http://black58.blogspot.com/

From

to

Sun Jun 20, 2010 11:19 am

Today, I have updated my blog. I got quite some things done the last weeks so here we have a few news. Have a look!

:arrow: http://black58.blogspot.com/

Happy Sunday! :D

Sun Jun 20, 2010 6:39 pm

boy you have done alot of work. looking good

Tue Jun 22, 2010 5:24 pm

She's gonna be a sweet ride when you get her done.

Tue Jun 22, 2010 10:58 pm

Thanks guys. She's still so much work, but I can't wait to have her up and running. Hopefully by next spring/ summer...

Thu Oct 14, 2010 11:58 am

Hi Folks,

I just added some fresh content to my blog :arrow: http://black58.blogspot.com. I finally have got the front section finished. Enjoy the pics.

Approaching "Milestone 2010" --> Finish welding .. is going to get close... ;-)

Sat Oct 30, 2010 3:22 pm

Today I finished the wind shield frame. I first thought that this would become a tricky task, but it worked out to pretty well. Eventually, those corners will need some tin-coating, grinding and sanding and then this will suit good.

More, as usual on my website :arrow: http://black58.blogspot.com/ :wink:

Sun Apr 03, 2011 10:12 am

Finally, the "old lady" has got a pretty new butt - like it was when she was young :wink:

:arrow: http://black58.blogspot.com/

Slowly it reminds me of a car again ... remotely :wink: :wink:

Sun Apr 03, 2011 10:19 am

mario_0609 wrote:

Nice work on your resto. I have one of those black and decker work horse tables. It's good to know it will hold a VW body :shock:

Sun Apr 03, 2011 10:33 am

hehe, :D The good old Black& Decker Table. Yeah, it absolutely does hold a body. But indeed, it's a bit shaky and I never fully trusted it when I was lying under it. My new frame is more reliable I'd say...

Sun Apr 03, 2011 12:54 pm

nice work....

Ant

Tue Apr 26, 2011 12:42 pm

Got the back pretty much completely finished. Woohoo \:D/
From this point of view it almost looks like a car again :D

Now off, to get the front fenders finished as well

:arrow: http://black58.blogspot.com/