Looks can be deceiving: A 1954 Beetle Build Thread

[mkhanshaw]

Hello All -

I have posted questions here and there but have never really "posted" about the car I have and trying to build.

The truth of the matter is I thought I was buying a car that would not require a complete re-do.

Well....as the thread title says.

Quick (hopefully) story -

Im 51 years on the planet, and I had a few Beetles back in the day. My first car was a 1970 Standard Beetle. It was my grandmothers since new. I got it in 1988 and it had seen better days. After new paint, interior and a dual carb 1835 bolted to a Rhino-cased performance trans... I gave my buddy's 6 cyl Mustang a run for its money.

Fast forward - Ive always loved VDubs...and thought one day again i'd venture into the pool. Last year June I made it happen. I bought this 1954 Semaphore'd ribbed-door and heart-taillighted cutie home with me from my hometown in SoCal to where I am now (Paso Robles, California). It ran ok, the interior done(ish), semaphores worked but it needed what I thought was *some* TLC.

Well.... Upon closer inspection it needed more. Quite a bit more. At some point in its history it had been hit front and back...maybe the same accident. The framehead was damaged on one side but the car sat so low I could not see the damage at time of purchase. Lesson learned. The pan had some swiss cheese to it but nothing bad at all from a few feet away.

I thought I could just get away with a battery area patch panel and have the framehead damage fixed as it sat.

I don't know what got into me but I decided to just go full force into a resto-mod. Tear the body off the pan.

Im glad I did. The framehead was holding on with one side weld. It was broken free of the spine hump. The pan rust was worse than anticipated and the heater channels are in dire straights.

Right now, I have the pan at Washburn Metal in Orange, Ca for a full rejuvenation and upgrade. I am having the following done:

new pan floors installed
double-weld the entire pan
add IRS conversion brackets
add Inspection holes
add Dual AN-6 Fuel Lines
convert the e-brake adjustment to inside the car next to the handle like later models
Repair the framehead (duh)
Install seat belt mounts
Install a billet e-brake bracket
Run new Clutch and Throttle tubes
Powdercoat.

The body is currently on the dolly you see, but at the end of March I have someone else (hopefully) lined up to do the heather channel work as well. He is local and revered by people I know. Crossing fingers he comes through. I have others ready to call and were equally revered but lets see where we get.

Out of sight, I have a new Oldspeed front end with a 4" narrow, 5x130 pattern and Wilwood discs ready to attach to the pan. I also bought a host of new fasteners for the chassis and pan stuff...all 12 point Titanium for fun.

I just bought a new Steering Box from @heimlich on here and its on the way. Next is the rear disc brake kit from Oldspeed to match (5x130, Wilwood).

Next month - start the motor build with someone I selected. My plan is a 2110 Fuel Injected motor with all the bells and whistles

When the pan is back, assembly of the pan items (new pedal assembly, Wilwood master cylinder, etc, IRS Arms).

Simultaneously - New Rancho Trans etc.

I may not get to paint until later this year. After that I have a new wire harness to install, and then all the little things.

Not sure how often this will get updated but I will update.
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54 Oval

[vw356]

Sorry to hear of your buying a nice looking car and then find this many issues.
The good news is now you know everything about it and the car will be awesome when you are done.
And a '54 is a great car to have!
Best of luck!
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Current projects:
1950's Volkswagens!
51,52,54's,55,56's,57,58's,'60's And then a bunch of '60's, but the '50's are my favorites..

[mkhanshaw]

Metal Work Updates!

The heater channels were semi-bunk. They were rotten toward the rear of the car but strangely good by the door support / A Pillar area, so no need to replace everything. I went with Jason at Buswerks in San Luis Obispo California near me and he did not disappoint. He also installed my "Weber Windows" in the rear fender wells. This will allow me ease of maintenance on my future dual carb motor. Spark plug changes will be a breeze!

Just look at all that rust coming out the bottom...eeassh!

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54 Oval

[mkhanshaw]

Pan Updates!

So full disclosure - the photos you are about to see are either my pan or a 52 split that is having the exact same things done to it at Washburn Metal. It was not clear to me whose the photos were taken of.

The pan will most likely be done in the next few weeks and I cannot wait!

What you are looking at is a) moving the shifter position 3" back closer to the driver, b) Adding Torsion Adjusters to the Rear of the car so I can select the drop from inside the car vs clocking the spring plates. The pan is also getting an IRS conversion, clutch tube relocation to the passenger side so I can run 58-66 Pedals with my Wilwood dual master cylinder, dual AN-6 fuel lines, Seat belt bosses, and a host of other things.

All of these ideas are from a well-known VW guy I highly respect and I am glad I consulted with.

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54 Oval

[mkhanshaw]

Steering Updates

I spent some time refinishing the Steering Shaft. I made a tube out of PVC, put a cap on one end and soaked the shaft in Evaporust. I then hit it with an air tool to clean it up...and then finally clearcoat to prevent rust again

I also purchased a fresh late model steering box from VWNOS (Marcel on here) to use with my Oldspeed narrowed front end. Very excited! His quality is top-notch

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54 Oval

[56Cabrio]

[mkhanshaw]

[motomwo]

[quote="mkhanshaw"]Pan Updates!



What you are looking at is a) moving the shifter position 3" back closer to the driver, b) Adding Torsion Adjusters to the Rear of the car so I can select the drop from inside the car vs clocking the spring plates. The pan is also getting an IRS conversion, clutch tube relocation to the passenger side so I can run 58-66 Pedals with my Wilwood dual master cylinder, dual AN-6 fuel lines, Seat belt bosses, and a host of other things.

All of these ideas are from a well-known VW guy I highly respect and I am glad I consulted with.


I don't see how you will be able to adjust the rear torsion bars from inside the car. Maybe I am missing something? I like the idea.

Marty
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1961 Bug, 2276 cb wedge ports 44x37 11.1 comp fk10 1.5 rockers 48idf's 1 3/4" header Rancho pro street trans SAW axles Airkewld 4# narrowed beam, Koni shocks, Airkewld dis brake all around. 5.5/4.5 BRMs

1966 Bug, 2127, panchito heads, fk8, 1.3 rockers, dual 44idfs, 1 5/8 merge header, Rancho pro strt flyer, empi axles, Airkewld's 4" beam and discs all around and adjustable shocks. 4.5 & 5.5 BRMs

[67rustavenger]

[quote="motomwo"]

[motomwo]

Hey Perry,
Doing good over here in Eastern Oregon.

I was trying to picture this in my pea brain head and I thought the adjusting bolts have to face toward the bottom of the pan due to the weight of the car and direction of force on the spring plates/adjusting lever arms. Everything I have seen when this type of adjuster is installed the adjustment bolts are accessed from under the car.
If it can be made to be able to adjust from inside the car that would be great.

Marty
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1961 Bug, 2276 cb wedge ports 44x37 11.1 comp fk10 1.5 rockers 48idf's 1 3/4" header Rancho pro street trans SAW axles Airkewld 4# narrowed beam, Koni shocks, Airkewld dis brake all around. 5.5/4.5 BRMs

1966 Bug, 2127, panchito heads, fk8, 1.3 rockers, dual 44idfs, 1 5/8 merge header, Rancho pro strt flyer, empi axles, Airkewld's 4" beam and discs all around and adjustable shocks. 4.5 & 5.5 BRMs

[mkhanshaw]

[motomwo]

The pictures would be great! Thank you in advance!

Marty
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1961 Bug, 2276 cb wedge ports 44x37 11.1 comp fk10 1.5 rockers 48idf's 1 3/4" header Rancho pro street trans SAW axles Airkewld 4# narrowed beam, Koni shocks, Airkewld dis brake all around. 5.5/4.5 BRMs

1966 Bug, 2127, panchito heads, fk8, 1.3 rockers, dual 44idfs, 1 5/8 merge header, Rancho pro strt flyer, empi axles, Airkewld's 4" beam and discs all around and adjustable shocks. 4.5 & 5.5 BRMs

[mkhanshaw]

Wiring DONE!

https://youtu.be/4qnYyX3dBbc
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54 Oval

[Rome]

Will the seat belt mounts be welded to the vertical sides of the center tunnel such as on '62 and later Beetles, as well as a reinforced mount on the outer edges of the pan? Will you also have a 3rd mount welded to the body so that you can use 3-pint belts?

When I modified my Dec. '52 Beetle body for safety belts over 30 years ago, I had chiseled out the B-pillar shoulder belt mounting plate from inside the B-pillar on a '74 parts Beetle. It's a long approx. 1/8" thick metal plate approx. 6" long and 2" wide, that was curved to match the pillar. I positioned the plate so that the weld nut was just below the semaphore box, drilled a round hole in the pillar below the bottom of the semaphore box which was large enough to fit the plate's weld nut, then had my welder do a continuous weld all around the plate onto the B-pillar. The plate was thereby on the interior-facing surface of the pillar, and was covered over by the factory padding on the B-pillar vinyl. Its height was not as high as on a '68+ Beetle but still had the protection of the 3rd belt. Would be similar height to the factory nut on '62-'65 just below the side window bottom line.

Have you considered replacing your H apron with a later one (e.g., '62+) so that you can fit your 2110 cc engine much easier? I had a '56 Beetle 35 years ago that had a 1300 engine, and even that was a bear to remove and install with the body's H apron. That '52 I had already had a replacement later apron and it was much easier to install a larger engine because of it. The top edge of the later apron is a few inches lower than on the H, so that you can pull the engine rearwards a few inches more to clear the trans input shaft.

[[email protected]]

What happens to the e-brake after you move the shifter back?
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70 bug was my first car
68 bug second car
59 rag top bug third car
54 bug had for years need to restore
66 bug currently driving
70 bug son is restoring into a Baja
73 bug other son restoring stock

[mkhanshaw]

[motomwo]

Well dang it. I was hoping someone figured out how to make the rear torsions adjustable from the inside. Your pan looks so very nice! I can see this is going to be a quality build. Thank you very much for the follow up and keep up the good work and updates.

Marty
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1961 Bug, 2276 cb wedge ports 44x37 11.1 comp fk10 1.5 rockers 48idf's 1 3/4" header Rancho pro street trans SAW axles Airkewld 4# narrowed beam, Koni shocks, Airkewld dis brake all around. 5.5/4.5 BRMs

1966 Bug, 2127, panchito heads, fk8, 1.3 rockers, dual 44idfs, 1 5/8 merge header, Rancho pro strt flyer, empi axles, Airkewld's 4" beam and discs all around and adjustable shocks. 4.5 & 5.5 BRMs

[pondoras box]

This is going to be one heck of a build if you keep it up. All top notch parts and work, if it comes out half as nice as that Chevy in the background it’s going to be bad ass!
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Looking for anything from Hal Casey Motors out of Hamburg New York, from license plate surrounds to matchbooks.

1961 23 Window (Bobo)
1965 11 Window (Zelda). https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=563183
1965 13 Window (Lucas)
1957 Oval ragtop
1960 hardtop
1964 hardtop
1965 hardtop
1988 Cabriolet VR6 conversion
Plus a lot of other rusty junk

[mkhanshaw]

June updates!

Got the Oldspeed 4" narrowed front end on with the Wilwood discs and 4.5" Fuchs.

Got the late model pedal assembly in and I drilled to customize the pedal stop to make the clutch and brake sit at individual preferences.

Got the custom GPS enabled Speedo and Tach from Speedhut

I needed to shorten the shift rod 3" as I moved the shifter location back 3" on the 54 pan. Its essentially the original, numbers match pan updated to late model set up (sans the link pin front end. Im nostalgic like that lol)

Got the Wilwood dual master in, as well as the Rancho freeway flyer IRS trans.

I test fit the Coolrydes Kafer Bar and Koni shocks as well

If I get my torsion bars this weekend I will assemble the entire rear end this weekend and next week. This includes narrowed IRS arms, narrowed CV axles, Wilwood rear brake kit from Oldspeed.

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54 Oval

[mkhanshaw]