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Thu Aug 21, 2014 9:31 am

As with our home renovations - we take pride in doing things ourselves. I joke that I have so much blood, sweat and tears in my house that I couldn't ever sell it. I'm certainly not afraid of hard work and I love learning how to do things myself. Not really your typical girl ;)

This will be a bit different as I have never done bodywork and I am not a mechanic - but I'm certainly supported by family and friends that are!

Already began the bagging/labeling process as I packed up the odds and ends that were in a box when I got the car. Too bad I didn't get to disassemble it all from scratch as the fenders, doors and interior had already been removed. The hardware I packed up may already leave me to scratch my head as to where it belongs. There was even a distributor cap in the box... Who knows why.

My hubby and I spent a couple hours looking at repro sheet metal and other parts last night after the kiddos went to bed. Eager to buy some known pieces we need - we might wait until after the paint strip to see just what we're dealing with in case we need more panels. I kinda suspect I may need a whole new rear apron and not just the bumper bracket/wheel well area but Wolfsburg West doesn't appear to have a rear apron for our vintage.

I am going to keep slowly taking it apart as I certainly want to see what condition this pan is in. I am concerned the pan under the battery may need replacing. So once we get that pan stripped we'll order the repro metal we need for the body and possibly the pan.

Definitely not going to spare any expense when it comes to repro parts - I have learned a few times in my life that you get what you pay for.

And I'm certainly warmed by the welcome here :)
And last night, my hubby lamented "why didn't I go to school so I could be a Trevor?" ;) Haha.

Thu Aug 21, 2014 11:14 am

Autocraft and Wolf parts both make the correct non pee shooter apron. I think you would be best to change it out as the apron is probably the worst part of the car and you will be replacing the RR bumper bracket area anyway.
http://www.wolfparts.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=80
http://www.autocrafteng.co.uk/shop/beetle_63/panel...1--55_173/

Thu Aug 21, 2014 11:26 am

Back to the glass removal- cutting the rubber from the outside lets it stay put with you there to catch it if it moves. It worked with my bus .

THEN there was my first car in 1965!

Thu Aug 21, 2014 12:17 pm

I have used Wolfparts rear bumper bracket mounts on my '59 and they were perfect. Highly recommended.

BTW I'll be passing thru Saskabush in a couple of weeks, I'd love to meet the local VW community.

Don

Thu Aug 21, 2014 1:34 pm

What ^^^ he said..... I also used Wolfparts on my 55 oval, the fitment was perfect.

See page 8 for pics in my build thread under diceman55 Oval.

Thu Aug 21, 2014 2:08 pm

sunroof wrote: I have used Wolfparts rear bumper bracket mounts on my '59 and they were perfect. Highly recommended.

BTW I'll be passing thru Saskabush in a couple of weeks, I'd love to meet the local VW community.

Don

Thanks I'll check out Wolfparts!!

When exactly are you coming through? There's a community of enthusiasts here, perhaps post on dub union 306 air cooled rollers fb page and see if anyone can make it out when you're here.

Thu Aug 21, 2014 8:37 pm

Congratulations, A very nice 60 year old beetle find! Have you checked the engine # in the technical section? There appears to be some mis-matched stuff. Perhaps somewhere along the way some engine exterior components have been replaced. I raised my daughters on VWs also. I had dozens while they were growing up. They played in my 54 as young children out in the garage. After owning and storing the car for 32 years I first restored it mechanically six years ago. I drove over to my older daughters house and we went for a short ride. She was thrilled! She said "Dad, it's got that old Volkswagen smell!" Good luck to you and enjoy the journey!

Thu Aug 21, 2014 9:10 pm

Nice find will be keeping an eye on your thread! In terms of repros yes you get what you pay for but often even when you pay good money they just don't match the original or sometimes what you need for your year is just not available so don't chuck out anything!

My bug is a '60 and also has the accessory towel rails (looks slightly different from yours) - I don't know the full history on them apart from seeing a few cars from New Zealand with them but they aren't an easy find in good condition so I choose to rechrome them with the rest of my bumpers ...I'm glad I kept them, they are unique!

Thu Aug 21, 2014 9:31 pm

3foldfolly wrote: Congratulations, A very nice 60 year old beetle find! Have you checked the engine # in the technical section? There appears to be some mis-matched stuff. Perhaps somewhere along the way some engine exterior components have been replaced. I raised my daughters on VWs also. I had dozens while they were growing up. They played in my 54 as young children out in the garage. After owning and storing the car for 32 years I first restored it mechanically six years ago. I drove over to my older daughters house and we went for a short ride. She was thrilled! She said "Dad, it's got that old Volkswagen smell!" Good luck to you and enjoy the journey!

That's awesome! My dad will probably be the first person I take for a spin :)

I did do a detailed number search in the docs provided here and the numbers all check out. Plus I have the certificate coming.
What appears to be mismatched?

Don't worry, Karly, I won't 'chuck' anything! Even if something goes awry and I want to throw the car across the room, lol.

Thu Aug 21, 2014 9:51 pm

Charmaine's54 wrote: 3foldfolly wrote: Congratulations, A very nice 60 year old beetle find! Have you checked the engine # in the technical section? There appears to be some mis-matched stuff. Perhaps somewhere along the way some engine exterior components have been replaced. I raised my daughters on VWs also. I had dozens while they were growing up. They played in my 54 as young children out in the garage. After owning and storing the car for 32 years I first restored it mechanically six years ago. I drove over to my older daughters house and we went for a short ride. She was thrilled! She said "Dad, it's got that old Volkswagen smell!" Good luck to you and enjoy the journey!

That's awesome! My dad will probably be the first person I take for a spin :)

I did do a detailed number search in the docs provided here and the numbers all check out. Plus I have the certificate coming.
What appears to be mismatched?

Don't worry, Karly, I won't 'chuck' anything! Even if something goes awry and I want to throw the car across the room, lol.

Except for the strap air cleaner, the engine appears to have a lot of 1956-58 vintage parts.

Thu Aug 21, 2014 9:55 pm

I'm not convinced it's the correct engine. When I looked at the # I didn't see it start with the "1" prefix. It has a thin slot generator but no big nut, and the oil filler is wrong. It also has the wrong fuel pump, voltage regulator and crank pulley. The air cleaner is correct which is a good thing as we know how easy those are to find! LOL
Post up the engine # if you get a chance.
Check this thread out...
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=179439

Fri Aug 22, 2014 7:46 am

Very cool project I saw pictures of it on Facebook and am glad to see it is getting a full restoration. The VW bug does seem to run in some families. You are very lucky to have family and friends with experience fixing them. I can't wait to see your progress.

Kent

Fri Aug 22, 2014 9:14 am

Well that sucks if it's not the right engine.

Here's the number:

0730261
Now when I look in the docs, that number checks out but yes, is missing the 1- prefix. Sigh.

Gonna begin scraping the undercoat off today.

Fri Aug 22, 2014 11:19 am

That's strange cause that # doesn't correlate with any later 36hp engine either. You're correct that # fits right in the proper year/month of your car, it's only missing the 1- in front.

Fri Aug 22, 2014 11:33 am

Here is what I found that appears to be incorrect:

Square aftermarket Bosch regulator cap
Fuel pump not correct - gas line into top
Lower pulley has rolled lip

But the fan shroud has no dimple behind the oil bath air cleaner, which is correct?

Inside the distributor appears to be all new parts.

Fuel pump is all wrong with the gas coming in the top instead of the bottom.

Now. Based on that number, where did this engine come from? There is no split in the shaft below the air cleaner.

Fri Aug 22, 2014 8:49 pm

Thought I'd make an appearance as well. I'm the better half of this equation, however she is the cuter half :wink:

I can attest that her love-affair with VW Beetles is deep-rooted, and she definitely knows what she likes. She has always been adamant that 'her bug' had to be pre-'58, and I agree - nothing beats the lines of the early cars, I'm glad we held out.

Definitely nice to have a girl who appreciates cars and is willing to get greasy, however I must say I am impressed with her initiative moving forward on this project! I am glad I was able to 'convince' her that embarking on this journey would be much more rewarding and satisfying than buying a built bug, hopefully she remembers to agree with me when the going gets tough from time-to-time.

Here she is, first day on the job. I should have taken a pic of the VW patch she sewed on prior to commencing haha.

Here is another picture the night we brought her home

Thanks for everyone's insight thus far, we will be relying on this community heavily for info along the way.

Special thanks to Trevor P. for finding us this diamond in the rough!

Fri Aug 22, 2014 9:59 pm

Trevor P wrote: That's strange cause that # doesn't correlate with any later 36hp engine either. You're correct that # fits right in the proper year/month of your car, it's only missing the 1- in front.

I know, that's what made me think it was the original engine.
I looked to see if the number fit in elsewhere but it doesn't. Wierd! Anyone else have some insight?

I have the feeling the engine was rebuilt using a donor engine for parts from a 56-58 vintage.

And Trevor, after getting under the car today, that rear apron needs to go. 4 rust holes in it. Also, a hole in the pan under battery as I suspected.

Sat Aug 23, 2014 8:42 pm

I've sprayed all the bolts with liquid wrench so it can sit a few days before we begin removing the body from the pan. Also began removing the rock guard. What a time consuming, gross job! I can't wait to get the body off the pan as I can't get in near the rear axle with it on. At least I didn't have to scrape it off that rear bumper mount :lol: cause it's... missing, lol.

We did manage to cut two windows out today without breaking them ;)
The windscreen was cracked so we started with that and got it out in one piece. Going to keep it so we can have a new one cut.

Also got the passenger rear quarter glass out successfully. I'll pack those up and clean them up over winter. Still not sure if we'll put these back in as they're pretty scratched (on both sides) from being scraped... Looks too deep to be polished out. They aren't etched SIGLA, just have the single SEKURIT and the ~~ underneath.

Feeling good that I got some stuff done.

Sun Aug 24, 2014 3:11 am

the big logo SEKURIT is right for all the side and the back window.

when you are doing the body to pan bolts, don't be shy about taking your time. crack them all, then wind the first one out till you feel it tightening up then spray some WD40 or similar on it and wind it back in. then out again till it tightens then in 1/4 to 1/2 a turn and back out again to about the same spot and repeat half a dozen times or more. then take it 1/8th or 1/4 of a turn more or till it tightens up again, spray, turn it in and out then the 1/4 turns again etc.

the last car I did took over 4 hours to get all the body to pan bolts out. a slow, boring, uncomfortable and after a while painful job, but not one bolt snapped off. well worth the time spent IMO, for me getting out snapped off bolts is 10 times worse.

Sun Aug 24, 2014 8:07 am

Thanks for the tip! One bolt is already snapped (came that way) but I will definitely take my time and be extra careful removing them.