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Sun Aug 01, 2021 5:55 pm

Hello.

My name is Jim. I recently inherited a 1952 VW, and some extra parts. I plan on getting the car running again.

I ran into thesamba while researching and decided to start a thread.

I dont have any idea what im doing, but im excited to start this project!

Sun Aug 01, 2021 6:50 pm

Wow, you inherited a 3 fold sunroof zwitter! Very nice car to invest time and money into :D

Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:22 pm

Lucky!

I will be following along! Have fun!

Mon Aug 02, 2021 7:57 am

We are in Oklahoma - not many splits in these parts - When we had our 11-4-52 Zwitter - mosta' the time, we had the only split at the local shows - an 11G is a nice car to have - do you need an owner's manual? - we have an extra...

Looked in your gallery and from your chassis number, looks like your car is an 11 of '52 - nice - look forward to your restoration - have fun - z

Mon Aug 02, 2021 8:54 am

Start reading a long time knowledgeable member by John Henry
Thebugshop.org its his restoration of a 57 oval...on how to's
Thomas

Mon Aug 02, 2021 8:57 am

bloody hell! where's the jealous emoji...!

Mon Aug 02, 2021 9:01 am

Please post lots of pictures, we on TS. Like pics :lol:
Thomas

Mon Aug 02, 2021 1:31 pm

yes, and the history/backstory too

Fri Aug 06, 2021 6:36 am

sweet

Fri Aug 06, 2021 9:13 am

Congrats! Before you do ANYTHING… get to know the details of early split and oval vw’ s. Zwitter’’s are a rare 1 year only car… with a LOT of very specific details. They are part oval… and part split. It’s really easy to screw up and get the wrong parts. Find a local mentor. Someone who knows early cars. Learn all you can before buying anything as there are tons of things that will work but that are wrong for a zwitter. Enjoy the process… Don’t focus on “getting it done”. Make a list of what you think you need and post it here so others can help guide you to the correct part. Show photos of what you have… so others can help you understand what is correct or not. TheSamba users’ collective knowledge set is a great resource. Be very careful to save all the original nuts and bolts. Save everything!

Fri Aug 06, 2021 7:41 pm

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ALL EXCELLANT ADVISES^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sun Aug 08, 2021 6:31 pm

Thank you all for your interest! Its cool to see people being excited about my dads car!

Here is some of what i know about this car at this time:

I have a ny state registration from 1956. A notarized bill of sale (typed on a 3x5) from Wyoming in 1975. My father titled the car in Wyoming in 1985. Our family lived in laramie till 1988 when we moved to kansas city. The car has been garaged in roughly its current condition since that time.

My dad, Steve, was pretty involved in VWs as well as cars in general. In Wyoming he worked for a guy called bug doctor don. In KC he became involved in the Vintage Volkswagen Club of America. I think he was the editor of the newsletter. Dad taught auto tech at the community college.

Dad passed away earlier this year.

There is an attic of parts. Some for this car. Some for others. Im currently sorting through stuff. I found windows and rubbers. Semaphores and heart lights. A labeled wiring harness. New rag top. Og bambas tray.

Im mostly spending my energy organizing and cleaning at the moment. After i have my head wrapped around whats here i will start to formulate a plan of action.

Sun Aug 08, 2021 7:50 pm

Are you the kid standing under the decklid? Makes me think of my upbringing! Good stuff!

Sun Aug 08, 2021 8:27 pm

Holy. Shit. That attic full of parts!
Where's that convertible that's buried in the snow?
You've come to the right place, tons of experts on here, as mentioned earlier you have a one year only car. Sorry to hear about your father =( Post up more pics of the car, you have a very special split!

Thu Aug 12, 2021 2:26 pm

Cool that you are taking up the beetle from your dad! Seen way too many VWs inherited and soon sold out of the family. Not dissing anyone that goes that way, to each their own. We have a MAR52 sunroof that will require lots of work to get it back on the road. Looking forward to seeing how your journey with your 52 goes!

Thu Aug 19, 2021 2:18 pm

hello again!

i am the kid in the picture! i think that was taken in 1988. turns out the split in the snow picture isnt this car. i found some more pictures of it and the vert.

i have the car out of the mess and have been finding pieces. it looks to be in pretty good shape. looks like the pan was redone and the body was simply placed on the chassis. its not bolted together. looks like the car may have been involved in a front end wreck? idk. my paperwork says it was garaged from '56-'75 and that could be the cause.

i found a 25 hp case (early 1953). those are spider webs. turns out my pops was storing his classic car collection in Shelob's lair.

A friends of my fathers (and me) gave me a wiring diagram and some shop drawings. now i am starting to make an inventory of the parts. Mike is going to be super helpful. he know more about vw's than i know about anything.

i discovered that the workbench was 3/4 of a 54 single cab truck. most of the cab is missing. it has the vin and i found the case and some parts for that too. super rotten. dad always told me it was scrap and im pretty sure the only reason he didnt scrap it was because he couldnt get to it. ill probably start another thread about that vehicle at some later date.

Thu Aug 19, 2021 5:27 pm

I've seen miracles performed with a lot worse to start with, actually, it looks pretty good !! Once you have an inventory of what you've got, you can make a plan and start looking for what you need, but seems like you've got what we all lust for, a parts department ! Good luck and enjoy the build. An 11G is the holy grail of Splits ! I'm sure your Dad would be proud you're picking up the torch.

Thu Aug 19, 2021 6:27 pm

Something that caught my eye...

Heater channel outlets and A pillars - they look like oval vs. zwitter. I've owned zwitters and the front heater channel holes were round like earlier splits, and the A pillar interior light switches were also rectangle with screws like earlier splits. Spare tire well there is a mounting area for the brake fluid, but that coudl easily have been a front grafted on.

Fri Aug 20, 2021 6:23 am

thats pretty interesting about the heater channels. if you notice more things like that i am all ears. if you need or want pictures of anything let me know. im here to learn.

its possible this car is an art project or something. i can identify some of the front bits as being from an oval. the ashtray is wrong. the dash behind the ashtray has been modified. the front clip number doesnt patch the chassis. (i havent checked the axels yet) the rear clip was modified from 1 exhaust cut to 2 and then back to 0 cut outs. it had 16 inch tires on it.

i found something else interesting. the spare tire is on a 4jx15 rim that has an april 52 date stamp. my (admittedly shallow) research tells me they didnt start using that size till october 52. seems odd to be producing spare tire rims 6 months ahead of schedule. does anybody know if that is normal?

Fri Aug 20, 2021 7:55 am

hi Jim check your p/m .got a question for ya.
my 1946 lived in Laramie Wyoming in the 70's .
your dads name wasn't larry by chance?

Steve.