TheSamba.com :: View topic - 1958 Swedish Beetle

Thu Aug 15, 2024 8:45 am

Hi All, this is my 1958 Swedish import i recently picked up in the midlands of the UK. I don't have too much history on the car just that it was brought into the UK around 2006 and was on the road and sold to the previous owner in 2007, it then sat in his garage till last month when i purchased it.

Here are some photos of me picking it up. I know it hasn't really been touched or altered too much. Which is really good for originality. It was a bit of a shame that it didn't have the original bonnet but it did come with the right 4 tab one. I have one original wheel but still looking for a full set. Thinking it would be great to see it back to stock for a while.

Theses are also a couple of photos after cleaning the car, I still have the original front carpet and panels so once I tidy up some areas of rust I will look at putting them back on.

I have a few more updates on the car and will put that in my next post.

Thu Aug 15, 2024 9:19 am

After a couple weeks I wanted to get it ready to go to my local village show, It didn't need to go far just a mile in total. I managed to source a set of 4 60s patina wheels and new tire's 155/SR15 82s (Sprint Classics) as they were relatively cheap. I cleaned up the wheels with scotch pads and some fine steel wool then placed a clear over the front and backs.

I needed to clean out the tank, place a filter under the rear and rebuild the carburetor. There was some rust in the tank that i was able to shake out and clean. To be expected the carb was full of junk. Here is the engine after.

I also found a service sticker and thought it was a cool thing to see still on the door frame.

My local VW aircooled parts place sells the old classic number plate style that I like. I knew that it was going to be the first thing i would change.

So after not being on the road since 2007. Here is the beetle at the local village car show.

Thu Aug 15, 2024 9:31 am

very nice 8)

Thu Aug 15, 2024 10:05 am

Nice work, those wheels came out pretty nice and original looking after your clean up.

I hope you can find a black hood, for it or is the other one black?

Thu Aug 15, 2024 10:18 am

I have a Trico windscreen washer and wondered if anyone had any info on this accessory as i am looking at rebuilding in the near future.

Over the last weekend i quickly painted the front bonnet of the beetle and ordered clips for the chrome. Also ordered the rubber cones for under the front but going to wait till i properly clean and paint underneath prior to sticking them on. I still need to get a 4 tab vw emblem and bonnet crest.

We went for a test drive on Sunday and the engine started to give us some trouble. First in third, it felt like it was being choked and starving of fuel. It got worse the longer we drove. By the time we got home it barely made it up the hill of our drive in first gear after losing all power. I then let the engine cool down and it started up fine.
This week i have since cleaned the dizzy, rotor, plugs and gapped the points (Starts much better now). I then set the timing statically and gapped the valves, some were actually too tight (might have been an issue). I went for a short drive after doing all the above and it seemed okay, i will need to go for a longer drive to confirm if the issue has been resolved.

Is the above a common issues with the 36hp engine?

I do need to re check the lines for debris or blockages. Would it be the fuel pump having issues when the engine gets hotter and not supplying enough PSI? I did try the fuel tap on our drive in reserve to check if that was blocked and it made no difference.

Look forward to your help.

Thu Aug 15, 2024 11:54 am

Very nice!
Valves get tight as they wear, so thats expected.
Check your fuel filter, first runs tend to glog them up pretty fast lol

Thu Aug 15, 2024 4:00 pm

Pull the filter on the top of the fuel pump and see how clean it is.
Blow the debris out if need be, reinstall. Go for a ride and see if history repeats. If so look to the fuel tank and fuel tap screens.

Thu Aug 15, 2024 5:51 pm

Painting the bonnet really made a difference! Looks great.

Fri Aug 16, 2024 4:15 am

Wow what a great find! Good for you it looks fantastic, congratulations.

Wed Aug 21, 2024 1:52 pm

Thanks for all the kind words.

I haven't managed to take the beetle for a drive this week as I have been busy removing the under coating. I think it looks much better and gives me an idea of what needs attention. For the last 2 evenings I have been using a heat gun and some white spirit to remove the old underseal. It has preserved the original paint quiet well but where it begins to crack it tends to hold water and start to rust on the surface. It is a long and slow process and i will look to buy some better scrapers to speed it up a little. They have put a thick coating on and it is not dry meaning it wont flake off in chunks.

I have only managed to do about 70% of one arch and fender so it is going to take a long time but very rewarding. I will then rust convert the areas needed and seal it off.

Wed Aug 21, 2024 4:15 pm

What is really interesting is that Sweden used to drive on the LHS of the road until 1967 when overnight they changed to RHS.

According to some articles they said that their surrounding countries were driving on the RHS so they needed to change over. I guess Norway and Finland.

Apparently most of their cars were already LHD so your car I guess is one of those imports albeit much earlier than 1967.

It must have been tough to drive on the LHS with a LHD car as judging the distance to the centre line would have made things interesting. A bit like trying to dodge the traffic down Pittwater Rd at Dee Why. :wink:

Wed Aug 21, 2024 10:11 pm

Looking good! I like it.

Thu Aug 22, 2024 7:36 am

Great find! I love what you're doing with this car. It's beautiful!!

Thu Aug 29, 2024 1:39 pm

One wheel arch pretty much done there is a bit more to go on the inside of the fender but that can wait.

Next up is the front.

Thu Aug 29, 2024 3:40 pm

Just be careful with the heat gun and solvent. Heating those old undercoatings may give off toxic fumes. Who knows what it was made of? Some of those undercoating products were made with oil based aromatic bitumen like products that are now known as carcinogens.

Try using a fan to blow the fumes away from you or preferably wear an organic respirator.

Thu Aug 29, 2024 7:57 pm

Lovely car congrats! Following this thread along for sure.

Sat Aug 31, 2024 1:42 pm

Great looking car! X2 on the fuel issues- the tank may need to be pulled and cleaned out. Check also the conditon of the pickup screen- it may need cleaning (or replacement if itʻs missing).

Tue Sep 17, 2024 1:22 pm

Its been a while since posting an update, This evening i decided to tackle the fuel system and issues that i had been experiencing. Thanks for all the comments. I ordered a new fuel filter & tank screen. I had only just put about 15L of fuel in the tank so it was a bit of a bugger to move around. I had previously been in the tank to clean out the rust so I was used to the process.

I replaced the screen ( I just assumed it made a seal with the lower part of the fuel tap & it did) no leaks in the end.

This is what came out of my fuel line whilst flushing. it cleared up a lot after 3 to 4 flushes so i changed bottles to confirm. I used a bit of curtain bungee to push down the line and clear any debris that may have been caught.

Started the car after putting on a new fuel line filter. No issues running. I am yet to take it on a long drive but will do that in the coming days to confirm no more issues. Also i had cleaned out the hard lines in the engine bay to make sure that wasn't an issues.

I have also been working on removing the underseal in the drivers side wheel arch. Here is the results. Once i removed the the under seal I have been converting the areas that have surface rust and been effected by water getting through the cracks. It seems to be a problem more around the arches where dirt has built up. I also accidently cut through the front bucket drain plugs but managed to order some online and put new ones in. Always good to pull the headlight and clean behind. I have also replace the bump stop as it was completely rotten away.

Cool to see all the original spot welds. I will continue to update the progress.

Sun Sep 29, 2024 1:09 pm

I managed to do some work to the beetle this weekend. Took it out for a spin and the same issue kept occurring. It will Sit's idling really well and when you rev it up it has no delay or hesitation, then when you drive around it stutters in 3rd and tends to die sometimes when off the throttle also if you drive longer than 10 minutes it starts to loose all power. After doing a lot of work on the fuel lines it has lead me to believe it could be an electrical issue. Although I am going to do a proper carb rebuild to tick that off the list.

Things I have done so far:
- Empty Tank and Clean (Twice)
- Add proper fuel tap filter
- Clean fuel tap and make sure no debris
- Cleaned all the fuel lines
- Replaced Inline fuel filter (location next to gearbox)
- Made sure the fuel lines are not getting hot/located close tot he exhaust to cause vapor lock
- Once over on the carb - quick teardown and clean
- New Engine Seal (thought this will help with temps)
- Checked plug gaps and cleaned
- Valve Adjustment (Adjusted as per last post)
- Static timed (all good - set to the right mark)
- Checked points (Right Clearance)
- Dizzy cap, rotor - make sure free from corrosion & Checked connections and cleaned
- Pulled the vacuum advance off dizzy cleaned and made sure it was working
- Pulled off condenser (Made in Germany One) Cleaned the connection
- Checked all spark lead connections

Next I'm thinking it could be electrical or a part of the fuel system I haven't checked/ need to replace. (Please let me know your thoughts)
- New 6v Bosch Coil - (Ordered)
- New spark plug leads (Ordered)
- Carburetor Rebuild Kit (ordering)
- New Condenser (Ordering)
- Possible look at fuel pump rebuild (need to confirm Pressure)

Here is some photos of the weekends activities. First is the engine seal replacement, I definitely noticed the difference in the engine bay temperature after the drive. Bit of a pain to replace with the engine in but i just needed to remove the front tin and work it around. The previous seal was nearly non existent and super dry.

I polished up the hubcaps that have a bit of patina using Autosol metal polish.
Before:

After:

Also cleaned up the original stainless gravel guards.

One side of the beam was previously cleaned so I have been working on getting it ready for painting. I have also been slowly working on getting the underseal off to match the other side.
Before Cleaning

During & After Cleaning

I have since painted the beam end, king pin spindle and replaced the bump stop. I am also still progressing slowly with he underseal removal.

Sun Sep 29, 2024 1:35 pm

Good work, keep it up!