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Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been parked since the 70s
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Mr. OGPaint
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 13, 2016 6:56 am    Post subject: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been parked since the 70s Reply with quote

This is my recently purchased 1952 L73 Chestnut brown car. It was parked by the original owner in Germany in 1976 and came to the U.S. a short time after that. Since the late 70s it has been in a Porsche collectors hands. it looked great and was kept clean but it was never driven or ran for most of the last 30-40 years.

I love this color on buses and beetles and have dreamt about owning one for years. Chestnut brown cars rarely pop up for sale, and Crotchcooler era splits are my favorite. Even though I prefer original paint and a more patina'd look, this car with its original interior and a 30 year old repaint was something I felt I couldn't pass up

I'm from Oregon and I took the redeye flight out of Portland and headed to Boston to spend a few days getting this old girl running again and hopefully back on the road. In this thread I'm gonna document the cars history, the process of getting her running, back home and my ownership/driving experience

These are the pictures from the original ad here on thesamba, the owner was honest in the ad when he said the car didn't run. Sounded like it might just need a tune up, but it ended up needing a lot more than that.

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More to come soon
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Last edited by Mr. OGPaint on Wed Aug 17, 2016 8:56 am; edited 1 time in total
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davetaylor
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 13, 2016 10:23 am    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been stored since the 70s Reply with quote

Beautiful car
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 14, 2016 9:07 pm    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been stored since the 70s Reply with quote

Nice!! Glad you got it home safely and look forward to more pics of it's transformation into a driver!!!
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Mr. OGPaint
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 8:31 am    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been stored since the 70s Reply with quote

Thanks for the compliments, the car has been well loved thru it's life and I hope to continue that. There will be more to follow John, and thanks again for your help.

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Original German Kraftfahrzeugbrief for the car
This is the cover and shows the 3 license plates the car was issued between 1952 and 1976. I'll be watching the vintage photo thread for these numbers
F-BY 2739, AB240-459, and SF-M420

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Original motor number and the corresponding stamp for its removal in 1975. I'm on the lookout for this motor, it's a May 52, nr 430093

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Letter on factory letterhead letting the original owner know they did not approve of installing a 34ps engine in the car. I believe they cite brakes as the reason to not do this. October 1975

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TUV approval of Installation of new/rebuilt 25hp. This is a 1953 dated engine. November 1975

I believe some mistakes where made when this engine was installed and most likely led to this car being parked, sold, and not driven much by the subsequent collector/owner in the United States.
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 1:49 pm    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been stored since the 70s Reply with quote

Nice car Very Happy
some information for you...
F-BY 2739=French occupation zone (Lindau)
AB240-459=US American occupation Zone (Bayern)
after 1956 they changed to a ny numberplate system in Germany
SF-M420=Sonthofen (Bayern)
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Mr. OGPaint
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 2:43 pm    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been stored since the 70s Reply with quote

Porsche904 wrote:
Nice car Very Happy
some information for you...
F-BY 2739=French occupation zone (Lindau)
AB240-459=US American occupation Zone (Bayern)
after 1956 they changed to a ny numberplate system in Germany
SF-M420=Sonthofen (Bayern)


Great information! Thanks
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 7:47 pm    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been stored since the 70s Reply with quote

When looking to purchase, the owner of the Beetle said John Henry had looked at the car and was open to talking about it. I contacted John and got his opinion, which was extremely helpful. The car presented well in the nearly 100 photos the owner sent, but John really helped verify condition and some particular split window detail I was concerned about.

A great insight that John shared was his observation that the car had a 36hp manifold (701E) on it. If this manifold hadn't been modified (or was the rare 701 manifold with the scratched out "E") to fit the 25hp heads it could explain the symptoms the owner said had caused them to never drive the car even when it had last run 10 years ago. I arranged to get a 36hp modified by John that I would grab on my way from Boston Airport to the car. I'm excited to get the correct jacketed-k manifold from John next time he does a run of them. This is a great guy folks, spend your money with people like JohnHenry.

So I grabbed the redeye out of Portland, Oregon and landed at Boston Logan about 7am. I got a free upgrade at the rental car desk to a Dodge Grand Caravan. My plan was now finalized, I would be driving and sleeping in the van for the next 72 hours. I loaded my 45 lbs tool chest full of spare parts and tools in the van, time to go meet John finally.

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A beautiful Massachusetts coast summer Monday morning and John is driving his oval to work and taking it to a local cruise that evening. Life is good.

I've got a long day in front of me, next stop is the autoparts store to pickup a long list of fluids, funnels, cleaning, supplies, and other things I didn't think TSA would appreciate in my checked baggage
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 10:50 am    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been stored since the 70s Reply with quote

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This shows the original German owners registration info. 27 May 1952. In 1952 he was a cheese makers apprentice, in 1953 he was promoted to cheese master and moved. The car got new plates, this address is where the car lived for the next 23 years

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This pages shows the original wheels being swapped out in November 1973 for 15" w/ 5.60 tires. It's back on the 16" now

Below that entry shows the factory signoff at Volkswagenwerks, date of birth 23 May 1952
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 11:02 am    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been stored since the 70s Reply with quote

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Jacked her up and placed on jackstands to check her out

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First the decklid came off. After that the top end engine tin, generator, carb and intake off in preparation for the modified 36hp manifold I got from John Henry
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 7:10 am    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been stored since the 70s Reply with quote

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Grabbed a great New England Diner at a roadside diner, clamchowder and clam cakes. So good.

After diner a quick 28pci bench rebuild. This carb will do for now until I can source the correct 26vfis.

It's now near the end of day 1 of this story. At this point I'm hoping to get her running tonight.
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 7:17 am    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been stored since the 70s Reply with quote

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Just realized the fuel pump on the car had the correct top but the incorrect bottom (no screw). That won't do. For some reason the first thing I always look at on early motors is the fuel pump, I have a fuel pump obsession.

Thankfully I brought a cleaned up spare 8mm fuel pump and rebuild kit in my checked baggage, time for a quick bench rebuild
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 7:20 am    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been stored since the 70s Reply with quote

Happy to have been a part of this "find". I was alerted to it BTW from a friend on the west cost who saw thesamba ad and sent me a quick message "Hey. This split is only an hour away from you, do you know anything about it??"

So if course I had to go check it out.

I spent about an hour crawling around and under the car and speaking with the seller. It had been his late father's car and his father had an interesting and rich history with Porsches.

First and foremost I was impressed with how solid and original this split was front to back in the metal department. Yes, it had a quick respray/resto back when it was probably worth barely a thousand dollars on the open market. But the interior was mostly all original and in short, it is these kinds of splits that show up very infrequently. Rock solid and original underneath.

I milled a 36hp intake down for 25hp heads and got it to Ultramoron. Kudos to him for the "adventure" of flying out and spending a few days working on a split with very limited tools and resources. A bubbly new split owner as they all should be. I have a skinny star coil and jacketed K manifold in my shop that will one day sit in this engine bay. Keep the pics coming!!!
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 7:25 am    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been stored since the 70s Reply with quote


Link


Crappy cell phone vid

A fuel IV to bypass the rusty tank and fuel lines. That's Brian, the previous owner, holding the IV, his dad had the car since late 70s and he's never seen the car leave the driveway under its own power. Brain said the car has never ran better. He and his dad had lots of car memories together though, mostly Porsches. I think he was tearing up seeing it run again.

This is around 10pm on day one. After swapping a manifold, rebuild of carb, adjusting the valves, changing the oil, points, plugs and wires, and a few other things
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Last edited by Mr. OGPaint on Thu Aug 18, 2016 8:49 am; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 5:00 pm    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been parked since the 70s Reply with quote

cool you're taking the time to do a thread on this new badass car of yours Pat! cant wait to see it in a couple days buddy, safe (slow) travels man Very Happy


Wink Pssssst if anybody wants to check this car out in the flesh they better be at the Great Canadian VW show this weekend in Vancouver BC Wink
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 8:38 pm    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been parked since the 70s Reply with quote

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The last remaining Porsche from this collection, a real 1958 Carrera GT. Recently sold I believe

http://www.typ356ne.org/prior-members/Joel-Horvitz/index.htm

Here's some info on the longtime owner of this beetle, Joel Horvitz. After talking to his son Brian, I did some research about his dad. These two were doing Porsches and were deeply embedded in the community for years. This brown beetle was Joel Horvitz's only VW and took residence among his many very special Porsches for years. No wonder it never got driven Very Happy


http://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hsx/2007/02/Giant-Killer---1956-Porsche-550-Spyder/1407640.html

While reading forums posts and etc about Joel, some written by Brian I really felt like this car was the right one, because the people who owned it were so special. Joel Horvitz was well known for taking his very low mileage original Porsche 550 Spyder to events and letting people set behind the wheel and even taking them for rides in the car. What a cool guy! That's what I wanna be like that when I grow up.

This info is shared with permission and with intention of honoring those involved and their commitment to our hobby
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2016 8:28 am    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been parked since the 70s Reply with quote

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Time to figure out why the fuel tap won't work

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The metal "selector disc" you see inside was completely clogged with congealed or evaporated fuel. I had to look at it for a while to even find the original fuel passages, It was a very solid blockage! I ran some finger operated drill bits thru it and cleared it up.

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This section and the brass tubing wasn't clogged at all, this is where I've usually found issues on other cars

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Somehow I got it all back together without a bench vice, which is basically impossible. I ended up using a deep socket and an oil filter wrench to reassemble, you had to be there


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I almost forgot, while the generator and shroud was off I decided to install a WWest oil baffle that I brought in my checked baggage

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This is what you it looked like all bent up. I had to take some liberty with the shape as the directions were not 1:1 scale or quite the right shape

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What it looks like installed

In our story here this brings us to the end of day one. It is now Tuesday June 14th 2016 at about 2am. The car is now running beautiful when it is bottle fed fuel.

Tonight I've also discover that the brakes are completely seized and when you do force the pedal they lock up and the car won't roll because of bad hoses. The fuel tank is full of rust and a past tank sealer is pealing off and causing a mess. Tomorrow we will go thru the brakes system completely and deal with the fuel tank system.
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 6:58 am    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been parked since the 70s Reply with quote

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Time to go thru the wheel cylinders. Thankfully my checked baggage included 6sets of replacement wheel cylinder cups from NAPA. Grand total cost of about $12
I brought:
16mm equivalent =5/8"
17mm equivalent =11/16"
19mm equivalent =3/4"

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The rears were still original 4-bolt style. They were 16mm, which you can see cast on the housing still. I put 5/8" cups in these

The fronts were still 4-bolt backing plates, but had been converted to 2-bolt oval style wheel cylinders. I'm pretty sure they were 19mm, I forgot to take a pic

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I really debated whether to bring this NOS master cylinder on the trip. Glad I did, because the original was totally shot. The master cylinder was from a bunch of parts for 54/55 beetle I purchased years ago. I'm pretty sure the master cylinder is actually for an early bus and is at least 30 years old. But it works great. Original will get rebuilt and returned to the car eventually.

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Master cylinder after the swap, before cleaning up my brake fluid mess.

Also did all new hoses (from local NAPA), but left the original lines. Another thing I learned is that early style thick brake line clips are of the devil!! I hate those things, I actually broke off a front brake line holder trying to remove one....spent a lot of time on those dumb clips or the combination of those clips and the brake lines that were on my car. Once getting those awful clips off I cleaned them of rust and they went on me much easier than they were removed.

I reattached the brake line holder with an angle bracket while in Massachusetts. As soon as the car got home I properly welded the bracket back. No pics
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 7:43 am    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been parked since the 70s Reply with quote

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Sorry no pics, but the fuel tank was very thoroughly cleaned because it was a disaster inside. I cleaned and rinsed the tank at least 25 times. Not only did it have rust, but it had an older ketone based tank sealer that was not well adhered. My preferred cleaning method is to put a clean truckers chains in the tank, add water, and wiggle dance in all directions with the tank. It's very good for your core!

In this case, I had no chain so I went to my backup plan which has always been sharp edged gravel (crushed rock) that I clean before putting in the tank. Add water and wiggle. It works, but doesn't have the heft and scrubbing power of a chain. It's also much harder to remove all the gravel.

POR-15 Cycle Tank Repair Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H9K4JQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_osXTxbQ5AE4G7

Near the end of my cleaning process I went thru the steps of POR marine clean and metal ready. Then as I got ready to ad the tank sealer I realized I wouldn't have the required 96hour dry time, so no choice but to skip that step.

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Finally the fuel tank and hoses were reinstalled with new filters. Brought all this in my checked baggage, glad I brought 5mm and 7mm rubber hose because it's kind of a mish mash for now. I'll get all to proper 8mm hoses and components when it's home.

I decided to go with 4 fuel filters:
1. Stock sock filter in the tank
2. Stock screw on filter at the bottom of the fuel tap
3. Inline fuel filter under tank (also adapts hose sizes from 6mm incorrect fuel tap to 8mm pan line)
4. Inline filter coming out of the pan to catch pan line rust
-No filters in the engine compartment

This rear most inline filter coming out of the pan has caught the most material since I've been driving the car. The forward filters have been pretty clean so far.

So, this post brings us to the end of day 2 on the process of getting this old girl roadworthy. Brakes are done and adjusted, fuel system is back together, a few other tasks also are done. I've checked the electrical system and EVERYTHING WORKs except the semaphore dash indicator. Even the dome light works, Amazing!

It's now 4am Wednesday morning June 15th. I wanna drive the car SO BADLY, but I would wake the neighborhood most likely. Also, I've promised Brian a seat on the first ride in the car. His dad had this car since 1978 or 79 and he's never seen it driven beyond the driveway. This is gonna be fun, I'm gonna retire to the catch some sleep in the rental van. See ya tomorrow.
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 4:49 pm    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been parked since the 70s Reply with quote

UM, I saw your car today at the GCVWS... it is a really beautiful car!

Please update this story Smile

Trevor
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2016 7:55 am    Post subject: Re: Chestnut Brown 1952 Crotchcooler, been parked since the 70s Reply with quote

Hi Trevor!

Updates are coming as soon as I get home, so far I'm at 1800km in the last two weeks on the Chestnut. Great seeing you and everyone at Great Canadian

-Patrick
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