The Edmondson Testimony- Judson Blowers

[oldbusboy]

Look forward to progress.. please don't make us wait until summer 2013

Trevor
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1958 kombi
1968 porsche

[Hector]

Yeh Dustin! Update us..are you still alive?

[Altema]

I got goosebumps for some reason with these pics. Something about bringing it all back together again...

[52brezelfenster]

Thanks for checking back in on this thread.

I'm hoping to have updates prior to summer 2013. The updates will be worth the wait.

[Basketcase]

beautiful Ghia!
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'72 Karmann Ghia Coupe (the Boss's)

[52brezelfenster]

Greer Raceway, South Carolina, circa 1960. Straight from the Edmondson Family's photo album.

[John Moxon]

[52brezelfenster]

John, it's quite possible. I'll ask Phillip next time I talk to him for clarification.

[henry roberts]

this thread has made my day.

it's so good to see that the car is not only still around but is being returned, with serious dedication to originality, to it's original race form.

[52brezelfenster]

Thanks for the feedback henry roberts. Glad to hear this thread was worth the price of admission.

It should pick up some momentum as we get closer to summer.

[SCVWfreak]

I actually spoke to Mr. Edmonson's, the guy in the pictures, son tonight. He met my dad a couple of months ago and I got to talk to him. He actually lives about 15 minutes from me and we talked for about 2.5 hours about VWs. He is a very interesting man who I will enjoy gleaning information from over the next however many years.

[52brezelfenster]

That's pretty awesome SCVWfreak. Phillip is one heck of a nice guy. He has played a major role in bringing the car back and getting it right.

Since the last update we've got the Edmondson ghia road worthy. The Judson Supercharger is the last piece to go on. It's being rebuilt currently by George Folchi.

[Jeromerino]

Incredible story!
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1964 Karmann Ghia Coupe
1971 Beetle Sedan

[52brezelfenster]

Thanks Jeromerino for taking the time to visit and read the thread. The first post is dated 2005 so we've captured 9 year's worth of the cars history in one place.

The ghia has come a long way since then, and every owner to date has improved the car in one way or another. I've met some great people and made new friendships along the way.

The next chapter of the Edmondson story will set a new bar for the VW hobby as a whole. There are some exciting things to come.

[52brezelfenster]

2014 is off to a good start.

Short summary for those that don't want to sift through 10 pages of a thread. The original Judson Supercharger that was used for competition, well documented, back to the original sales invoice and shipping paperwork (Serial # 47536) was located a few years back after a hunt that covered the globe. Rumor was that it had popped up on ebay for an absurd amount of money and then disappeared shortly thereafter to an unknown high bidder that won the auction.

Whereabouts were unknown for quite some time. A good source thought it had landed in Japan. Come to find out it was still in the United States.

With the help of some Samba members and vintage speed junkies that were very generous with their time, I was put in touch with the gentleman that had made the purchase off ebay. He lays pretty low, will let him decide if he wants to be known. He's aware of this thread and might chime in. He made the purchase because his collection is centered around Vintage VW speed equipment and this was the crown jewel of his collection.

After confirming it was the correct Judson, with the right serial number and many other small detals that were unique to the Eddy Judson, a deal was struck, and I bought it as a core needing to be rebuilt. It was sent to George Folchi based out of CT for a rebuild, and is now ready for action.

I was adamant about leaving the body of the Judson original paint along with the 3 hand-painted silver ribs done by the Edmondson’s many moons ago. The hardware is also still original finish.

It will function as new, but still has its beautifully aged character - earned from several passes down the drag strip.

To be installed soon.

[grailoc]

any update since last year.
Was interesting watching the rebuirt of the car!!
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My 59 low light ghia: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=452128
My 56 beetle convertible: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7796259
My 60 SO23 westy: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=341539
My oldspeed 36hp autotechnik express build: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=670827
My garage build: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=199438

[Blauchen L331]

It's so amazing!

After this car's crazy shady break-up and sale, (too bad you couldn't save/acquire the original engine block, didn't it go to an Oval?)

But to have found the original Judson blower, really that is amazing and many kudos to you Dustin for preserving and saving probably the most historically significant Karmann Ghia coupe since the prototype.

Hope someday you might share photos of the car with our Vintage Volkswagen Preservation Society https://www.facebook.com/groups/498344806992329/
as you see to find the time.

Keep up the great work, I think it's wonderful that you have support from the original owners family too!

Tom
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OG PAINT L331 JUNE 1957 TYPE 1 OVAL WINDOW
(US Army In Germany POV/Grey Market Special Ordered Car from MAHAG Munich)
Delivered with Semaphores - German "Puntchen" Cloth Polkadotted Interior -
USA RAM Protection/Export Overrider Bumpers - MPH Speedometer -
Sealed Beam Headlights and Bullet Front Turn Signals!
99.9% ORIGINAL PARTS WITH ONLY 33,000 ORIGINAL MILES/ GARAGE FIND/ UNRESTORED CAR

[52brezelfenster]

It's alive!

Blauchen L331, the original engine is long gone, verified with 100% certainty. It threw a rod through the case back in the early 1960s and went into the scrap pile. "not repairable". The mechanics at the dealership knew when the car came in by tow, what the car was and it's accomplishments, and the useable performance parts were quickly gobbled up by employees of the dealership. That's a great story for another day.

The engine you're referring to was a dealer replacement that was installed in 1964. It doesn't have any historical significance, other than it pushed the car around during daily driver duty, wearing the original Judson, when Phil Edmondson drove it to College (all post it's race days). You are correct, it did go in an oval, and has been found.

There was a lot of misinformation about this engine and lots of assumptions were made... many people thought it was original to the car and swore by it, others weren't so convinced. The Edmondson historians spoke, and that was proven to be false information.

I'm in contact with the current owner of that replacement engine, I think it would be a nice addition to have on an engine stand, since it does have ties to the car and is part of its back story.

[Blauchen L331]

Wow!!!!!

That car got the owner it deserved, very very nice work Dustin!

Tom
_________________
OG PAINT L331 JUNE 1957 TYPE 1 OVAL WINDOW
(US Army In Germany POV/Grey Market Special Ordered Car from MAHAG Munich)
Delivered with Semaphores - German "Puntchen" Cloth Polkadotted Interior -
USA RAM Protection/Export Overrider Bumpers - MPH Speedometer -
Sealed Beam Headlights and Bullet Front Turn Signals!
99.9% ORIGINAL PARTS WITH ONLY 33,000 ORIGINAL MILES/ GARAGE FIND/ UNRESTORED CAR

[Altema]