1958 Swedish Beetle - In a garage since 2007

[jordiando]

Received the new (Old) working 6v Bosch coil & new spark plug leads. I wanted to get the yellow cotton style to match the look. Happy that the coil still had the original 6v sticker on the front.

I noticed that the spark plug wires were quiet old and almost froze in position. So it was good i ticked it off. I tried to identify the 6v coil but had no idea as the markings were barely visible. There are a few wires that I would like to re terminate but that will have to wait.

This is after mounting it all up and feeding the spark plug wires through. It started right after and seemed like there was no issues. I haven't taken it out for a spin but i will do that after I rebuild the carburetor and place the new condenser on.

[jordiando]

Took the Beetle for a drive last night and it seemed like there was no longer a stutter in 3rd and felt like it fired right up. Also it didn't stall during the drive around the block. It could be a win. I still will replace the condenser and do a carb rebuild as the old gaskets are pretty dry and weren't looking the best when i last opened it up.

I also like to put my stamp on things so I ordered some Mooneyes valve caps and put them on. A bit subtitle but it will go with the long term vibe.

I have seen that there is a Uk business doing fuel cap holders for splitscreens and baywindows and thought that it would be quiet handy for the beetle. I know there is a lot of flat spots to place the fuel cap down but sometimes you forget where you put them. So I did a little paper template up and thinking i will get my mate who does leather to make one.

[Sun Devil Brain]

Looking good. I like the idea of a leather gas cap catcher! Make sure he stamps the front of it with the VW logo!

[Redfox86]

It’s nice to see another UK owner on here and also a LHD one too! A lot of people are frightened by LHD in this country but it really doesn’t bother me. I own another LHD car and switching between them and my RHD cars is hardly noticeable.

[jordiando]

I have managed to get a the carb rebuild /semi finished. I ran into 2 issues when trying to put it back together.
1. The Emulsion Tube holder was previously cracked (Went unnoticed when i did a quick overhaul previously) I tried to re tighten the jet and it separated even further. After reaching out to the Facebook group for 58 & 59 beetles I was advised that this was a common problem when you overtighten the jet and it is a replaceable part. I was concerned i was going to have to replace the lower body of the carb.
2. The vacuum port threads had been burred up and was almost barely holding. I managed to loctite and gasket seal in the adaptor without restricting the flow. There was remanence of gasket seal on it prior to me removing it anyway. It is all sealed up and holding strong.

I went through a fair bit of carby cleaner in getting it all cleaned out. I did want to put it in an ultrasonic bath (have done in AUS in previous rebuilds) but didn't have the time to source one/look locally.

After tearing down the carburetor I saw that there was a crack.

I reviewed some previous photos and found the below, Seemed like it had been cracked for a long time and only expanded when I went to tighten the jet.

After a discussion on Facebook and being sent the below, I went ahead and ordered the new emulsion tube off eBay. It is currently on the way from Germany and hopefully i will have it on the weekend so i can finish the rebuild.

This is what it looked like after i removed it with a pair of pliers and a rag so i didn't damage the rest of the carb. Also the emulsion tube itself was quiet corroded in meaning it had not been out for a long time and cleaned.

This is who I bought the new one from.

At the moment the carburetor is sitting back together temporarily as I wait patiently for the delivery. Hopefully once all back together with all the issues fixed it will make the beetle run better. The issue I was experiencing could have been a number of thigs adding up to be something bigger.
Also the carb rebuild kit didn't come with small split pins so I went on to amazon and ordered new ones to finish it off as the old ones were rubbish's.

[jordiando]

I have rebuilt the carb and replaced the emulsion tube housing. When pressing in the new brass tube I found it difficult orientating it to be the same as the original. It didn't have a locating notch so i hope it should be okay.

I'm still having some issues with the vacuum port sealing as the hard line tends to pull it over to one side. I have used a little bit more gasket seal to try and elevate this issue.

I went ahead and started it up and it seemed to start up straight away. I will take it for a road test.

As I am cleaning the inner fenders i have been trying to fix a few things along the way. I went through and polished up the fender grills and tidied up the backing plate, still all original. I placed a clear over it so it doesn't rust any further.

[jordiando]

I have a question for the Brains Trust. I am doing a tidy up of the front wiring and it has a twin 6v relay wired into the headlight loom. I can't work out why that is. My front lights all work and have no issues. Below you can see the relay in the front right.

It isn't running the window washer motor as it has a separate positive wire from the push button, Also the horn wiring has been re run separate (Due to not working, my guess)

I did some rust converting to the surface rust around the brake reservoir. There has been no accidents in the front just some paint over the original black. With a bit of a scrub it comes off.

I did look up the relay and it is usually used for fog lights etc. Here is an up close of the twin relay.

Any help is appreciated. I can get some more photos if that helps.

[jordiando]

After a bit of thinking, I believe I figured out the reason for the relay. It doesn't have a front headlight fuse box. Jumped on eBay for a hunt around and ordered the below.

Hopefully this will eliminate a bulk of the wiring and get it back to a bit more original. Still don't know why they put a relay in instead of a fuse box though?

[jordiando]

Managed to get some time to install the headlight fuse box. Unlike the original it doesn't have a link/join underneath between the 2 fuses so you have to run a jumper wire.

There is a red and black wire running down to the horn but the original wires are still there. I will have a look and see if i can get the original wiring to work.

[jordiando]

Over the weekend I finally had some spare time to replace seals, start polishing and paint my hub cap vw logos.

I used a sign writing brush along with 1 shot gloss black paint to fill in the VW logos on the hubcaps. I managed to get everything I needed form a local signwriting supplier Hadover. This was all done inside the house as it is too cold in the shed and a lack of lighting.

Replaced the decklid & Bonnet seal. The quality wasn't the best in terms of dimensions/width compared to the original. I ended up trimming a small portion off the seal to get it close as possible. Super easy to do as all the channels were rust free and not bent up.

This week I purchased a variable speed electric car polisher and started on the roof. I will work my way around over the next few months weather permitting. I was using the G3 fine polish and it seemed to turn out okay. I did wash and clay bar first just to try and get the best result. Cant wait to do it over the whole car and see how it turns out.

I was super intrigued with the Trico wiper washer kits and managed to find a glass one from an old Jaguar that was vacuum operated off eBay. It wont be operational just there for looks. The lid is super rusty so treated and cleaned it. The old one was a 6v washer motor that i pulled apart fully rebuilt.

[jordiando]

I have just recently sourced a NOS 4 tab VW emblem for my bonnet but need to get the the right chrome trim to match. Currently I have a long chrome trim for possibly an early 50s car or later beetle? It doesn't properly work with the front crest and extends in to where the VW emblem would be. It came with the beetle so I thought I would place it on, whilst I source a few bits.

Would any one be able to identify it form me. Also any suggestions for a place to source a quality one in the UK would be greatly appreciated.

[jordiando]

Received the 4 tab emblem.

Ready to do a little work over the Christmas Break.

Do you use a sealant? thinking bit of gasket seal on the underside.

[mukluk]

Yes, the emblem tabs are sealed over with sealing compound on the underside of the hood.

Car's looking good, keep up the progress.
_________________
1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[pastellgreen]

[mukluk]

[pastellgreen]

if you need new window rubber, I can strongly recommend the ones from Käferland Frankfurt. They have their own production, best quality and stock look, in and out.
One other thing: I recommend to cut a little "v" into the deepest point of the eninge deck lid seal to let water drain. When you don't do so, your engine will turn to be a watercooled....
not really, but it will rust your deck lid from the inside out because water will be held back.

[pastellgreen]

The material for your seats is still available, for the case you want to repair them.

[jordiando]

Thanks mukluk & pastellgreen for the advice. I am going to wait until I get the chrome trim for the bonnet before I seal it off. I will most likely use the Butyl tape under each of the tabs to weather proof. Also as advised i have cut a small V in to the rear decklid seal incase i become a water-cooled VW. hahaha

I purchased a rear floor mat and a Swedish fuel tank breather from Seller: Rietbergen in the Netherlands and they arrived today. I was super excited and got straight to cleaning and installing. I wanted to clean them up so there wasn't any debris but made sure I retained the protection layer.

For installing it was a little tricky as the internal plate that the screws go into was required to be placed in the tank. I looped a piece of wire in one hole and held it up whilst I screwed the other one in. I did mange lose one screw for a short period of time in the tank but recovered it using magnet on a long screw driver. I just need to order some braid covered fuel line to vent out of the trunk.

I also managed to replace the rear bumper rubber grommets this week with some form Wolfsburg west. The old ones wouldn't stay in place and were brittle.

Next on the agenda is fixing the accelerator pedal. the return spring is snapped and it seems to be catching a little as it is very sloppy. This will be tomorrows job provided it isn't raining.

[mabbo]

Lovely car.

Id say the bonnet chrome is from a 64 on without the crest, so any earlier one should fit. The retro ones dont have the notched section to go over the crest, the og ones do.

Id try Seb at German Junkies for things like that. I bought loads of parts from him for my 55 and 58.

Did it belong to James Peene? I had some OG seat covers from my RHD Swedish 58 I sold a while back and he was interested in them so just putting 2 and 2 together.
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West Midlands, UK
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[jordiando]