Ovaltine Build. My new 56

[buggerdman]

Hello Ladies and Gents,

I have dabbled in vws for a few years, 2 bay window bus, a hacked 66 that I have been converting into a acreage buggy, and a 68 I had to sell about a year ago.
However this month i officially purchased my first oval window. Shes a beaut! I bought her from a fellow enthusiast who was clearing out some of his projects to focus on his wifes build.

Its a 1956 Canadian Standard with numbers matching pan and body, (engine is within 1 day of pan/body production so very likely original also.) It was originally a prairie beige/red vinyl car and that is how it is going to stay...the color is similar and being an oval I couldn't help but name her Ovaltine.

It is overall a very very solid car with original pans in great condition apart from some pinholes in the battery tray area.

I want to maintain as much of the original pieces as possible as this will be a driver, not a show car.

Over the next 6-8 months I hope to have it up and running and ready to go....however these things always take much longer than expected.

[superhenk]

Awesome car! Had my eyes on that one as well.. Probably will see you around since I'm building my '56 Prairie Beige Oval just south in Beaumont
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1956 Oval De Luxe, build in progress

1956 Oval Canadian Standard Judson Supercharged, build in progress

1970 European Standard Beetle, in storage in The Netherlands at the moment

[finster]

'...focus on his wifes build' is an interesting expression!

[buggerdman]

His wife's oval window beetle build that is. =D

I am keeping as much of the original materials as possible to save the true character of the car. My seats were grimy and faded so I thought rather than reupholster I would clean and rejuvinated.

I will be getting the seams restitched next week . As you can note the Canadian standard seats have no piping!

The Front seats..before and after!

and the rear.

I then scrubbed away decades of grime with dishsoap and a scrubbrush.

and then once it was cleaned I rubbed them with olive oil to bring life back into the old vinyl. Works wonders.
Does anyone have any tips on how to get rid of the stains on the rear seat bottom?

[boxkiteflyer]

Very nice! Is that steering wheel what came with the car? Your cleaning of the seats is working very well and reminded me of the Seinfeld episode whereupon Kramer was cleaning and rinsing the lettuce and other vegetables for the salad he was preparing for everyone while he showered! Don't ask me why...

[buggerdman]

I can assure u, the seats never entered the shower =D
it is a Canadian standard so they have the black 3 spoke wheel factory. kindof a neat little touch, as well as no radio,

It was essentially the same mechanically as the "deluxe" edition but had less trim inside and out. There was no outside trim in the window rubber or running boards. Steering wheel was different. Headliner did not cover as much area and there is no vinyl on the interior pillars etc.

[buggerdman]

The build is coming along not to bad, I started the basic tear down on the motor (it does run well but needs oil cooler seals.) I uncovered a few interesting things...

It appears stevie wonder brazed my intake manifold....with his feet, will definitely be cleaning that up.

Im painting all my tins in the prairie beige color to really set it off.

does anyone have a popes nose for sale? mine didn't come with one and I will need one =D

Moving these motors when you are home alone can definitely be a bit of a pain!!!!

[motofly196]

You have an early thin lip crank pulley on that engine. I wonder how many other early parts you have on it? Before you start sanding down that original tin, you might want to see what else you've got. Original paint tin is where it's at....for me anyways

[buggerdman]

Interesting, the motor is within 1-2 days of the pan and chassis build date from what we can tell. it is very likely that it was rebuilt however, as it does seem to be in really good condition overall.

On a bright note....my $1800 order of parts arrived today!

New clutch and pressure plate
Brakes
Carb
Carpet, front, rear and trunk,
Window rubbers
Fender bead
Trim
Mounting bolts for pan and fenders
some trim pieces
wiring kit
fuse box
shocks
etc etc.

the body is coming off the pan this week as soon as my Goliath of a buddy is back in town. Likely Wednesday =D

Then i can start the pan resto with new paint and etc.

[buggerdman]

So.... The pan is off!
At long last. The 2 of us lifted it off with not to many hiccups.

Let the resto begin =D

[joey1320]

Nice bug. Work is coming along nicely.

I'm surprised you have wooden floors in your garage.

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**1971 Super Project
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[buggerdman]

It seems to be coming apart well....hopefully its a good sign!

and yes, the garage is on piles as the land slopes off, there is a truss system with wood flooring. Most of the time it works great but it can get a bit cold in the winter tho.......

Can anyone answer affirmatively on whether the 56 used a shift bushing or not? I seem to be getting mixed results in my search. and if it didn't originally would it make it shift nicer if I did install a bushing.

[buggerdman]

one other question, it might seem crazy but I cannot seem to get the rear decklid off and the handle has been disconnected, is the best way to get up underneath and undo the hinge bolts?

[buggerdman]

well. its official.
The transaxle is out on the floor. it appears to be all intact although grimy.
Going to pressure wash it off and get it all cleaned down to basics before i go through and replace worn and damaged parts.

i am lowering the rear a notch as well to make it ride slightly lower, super nice and easy compared to when you do it with the body on. and some more pics taken of the lift off.

[Mielke]

Following! Looking good!

I was watching that one as well when it went up for sale. Not in the budget for me. So glad it stayed local!
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Greg
1966 Canadian Standard Beetle
1967 Beetle

[buggerdman]

Thank you for the kind words, glad that it stayed in Edmonton area as well. You can never have to many ovals in the area.

I picked up a set of used 165r15 tires to get me started, im not sure what sizes im going to go with longterm and got these with rims/tires for a good price. if anyone is interested in a set of 4 bolt rims im sure we could make a deal.

when picking them up I checked out the guys volksrod, not an oval but still a very cool project nevertheless. 10" beam extender and lots of custom metalwork.

I finished turning the rear spring plates up, I hit the whole rear suspension assembly with a Pferd knotted wire cup brush, smoothed it up and primed and painted with Seymour cast iron grey paint. the pan will be all gloss black but I want the suspension components to all be cast iron grey.

Before....

after....;

[Mielke]

PM me about the wheels. I might be interested for my 67.

Greg
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Greg
1966 Canadian Standard Beetle
1967 Beetle

[buggerdman]

at long last we are back =D

i sold my rims to our fellow samba ite Mielke on Saturday, was great to see them go to a good home on his 67.

I have taken a massive dislike for whatever the underlay material of tar and horsehair is. I performed a full delete with a 4" knotted cup brush on my grinder. supreme results.

I ground all the areas with surface rust on the pan, (im still mindblown by the condition) hit it with some light grey primer to seal it up, and then layed a nice coat of Seymour Semi Gloss black down.

Its not perfect, but it will be a driver not a show car and all i can say is its a LOT nicer than before.

the finished result =D

i also took my transaxle and pressurewashed it for some clean results.

clean as a whistle =D

[jason]

Shift rod has no bushing. Metal on metal. There is a springy piece on it to keep it from vibrating. If you change to a bushing the hanger has to be replaced also, drill spot welds.

[buggerdman]

Thank you for the tip on the shift bushing! I will stick with original I think.

I got my trans all cleaned up and repainted with Alumablast paint (contains aluminum flake) it is a market improvement. will post pics as soon as my axles are painted black and my cv boots are on.