Resurrecting a 1959 Beetle

[EverettB]

Recap for people who don't want to scroll up
Whitewalls:

[Bug-nut]

Thanks Everett!
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1959 Fjord Blue Volkswagen Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite

[mukluk]

Looking good.

The thin whitewalls were pretty classy, but I'd much rather have blackwalls than end up with tires flying apart and throwing the car in a ditch.
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[sunroof]

My other car is a Triumph TR6 so I also have been to many British car shows with my beetle. Here I am at a fall supper next to a friends beautiful E-type:

Don
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Better and better mistakes!

[Bug-nut]

Well I went and ordered the pop out window kit from Koch’s today. It should be the same one FlyerTim used in his installation tutorial. You have to call them to order it however; they don’t list it on their website. The guy told me it’s because they sell out so quickly they don’t like to keep them listed because people get mad it’s always listed as “out of stock”. He currently has one set left. When it gets here I’ll do a quick review on the quality and how I like the set. FlyerTim was pleased with it several years back - hopefully the quality is still pretty good and they don’t have any crazy big etched logos on the glass like some of the other brands do.

https://kochs.com/


Your car is absolutely beautiful Don! Thanks for sharing! What year is your TR-6? There are a few in the British car club I’m in here in Maryville TN. I’ve yet to bum a ride in one though. Definitely need to do that!
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1959 Fjord Blue Volkswagen Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite

[Cointelpro]

Wow just ran across your thread and its amazing. You have inspired me. We have virtually the same car. I just bought a '59 ragtop in Fyord blue with the same interior. But my interior is in really rough shape comparatively. I've just stared a thread about my car that I plan on updating as I go. You can see it here:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=731624

[Bug-nut]

Well just a heads up fellas, Koch’s pop-out kit is no longer the high quality kit it was when FlyerTim installed one. The fit and finish was so incredibly poor that even one of the latches fell apart right out of the box! Needless to say I sent them back in a hurry. Afterwards I was incredibly fortunate enough to score a set of VW Sekurit popouts with all the hardware - and the seller was local as well! So after some cleanup and polishing, I replaced the rubber seals and am currently in the process of installing them. So far I got the right one installed and finished and have the left and rear windows out while I do some minor rust remediation on the frame area. The rear window drain holes were all clogged up with trash and that combined with the fact the old rear window seal wasn’t installed correctly by the PO it had started some rust. But no biggie, I have it all cleaned and and repainted now so hopefully tonight I can finish the left window installation and then the rear. I’m also going to replace the windshield and its seal also. The windshield isn’t original and is also scratched and wavy so while it’s out I might as well. But first I have to locate one...

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1959 Fjord Blue Volkswagen Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite

[flyboy161]

I like those pop-outs! Your back window frame didn’t look bad at all. Caught it just in time
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My father's 1970 Beetle-
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=603879

The 1964...Diamond in the rough
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=612776

My 1958 Morocco Bug-
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=611483

[Bug-nut]

[Bug-nut]

Wow what a crazy past couple of months it’s been! But I’m not here to talk about that. I finally got around to replacing the front windshield, rubber, and trim piece. Just like the rear window, the front one went in surprisingly easy! I had to do a tiny bit of rust remediation, but nowhere near the amount the rear window frame took. Afterwards I washed the car and am happily able to report that not a drop of water ended up inside the car!

Not to get this thread derailed and potentially locked, we also had our first little car get-together of the year last Saturday. It was just a small coffee and doughnuts show at a local speed shop, but they had a very good attendance nonetheless. Sadly my 59 was the only VW there, but I did meet a guy who started lamenting he brought his S-10 instead of his 1971 Ghia. Oh well maybe next time!

(There were a lot more cars but these are the only two pics I can upload here)
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1959 Fjord Blue Volkswagen Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite

[Bug-nut]

Well guys as pretty much all of you know this year has been a massive fail of a year. Pretty much all of my car and airplane shows and events were/have been cancelled so I haven’t been driving the Beetle as much as I normally do. Instead since my Uncle moved back down here from Connecticut I went out and took a motorcycle safety course and got my class M license. I then found and bought a ‘07 Yamaha FZ6 so I could go riding with him. It’s been a lot of fun and is such a completely different experience from driving cars. I wish I had started dabbling in motorcycles sooner. However now that it’s starting to get colder here I’m starting to appreciate the enclosed comfort and warmth a Beetle can provide so I’ve started taking her on trips again instead. Last Friday I took some family down to Fall Creek Falls state park in Spencer, TN to see the waterfalls. Boy it’s so beautiful there this time of year! The leaves are almost in full color and the waterfalls were flowing really good because of all the rain recently. We spent almost there entire day there and had a really good time. If you are ever in the area I highly recommend you stop in and check them out. All of the falls are incredibly close to the parking lots and minimal walking is needed to see them, however if hiking is something you enjoy they have lots of trails that can take you right up to and underneath most of them.

On our way back we stopped and checked out two more AT&T Long Line towers, the Spencer TN one and the De Rossett tower. The Spencer one is almost completely intact, including almost all of the waveguide tubes and I would almost bet most of the equipment is still inside the building.

Checking tire pressures before heading out.

At Fall Creek Falls overlook/trailhead parking lot.

I love driving along old roads and seeing these old towers peeking up over the trees.

The Spencer tower.

This is on highway 111 headed into Sparta after you come down the big hill.

The De Rossett tower. It is right off highway 70 between Sparta and Crossville on the eastbound side. This tower is part of the chain that linked Knoxville to Nashville and was in full operation by at least 1960 (per one map that I have).

I’m happy to report the Beetle ran great on the entire trip, without a hiccup one. My little sister had lots of fun riding in the back seat keeping track of all the people who waved at us. It was rather chilly that morning and I could definitely tell the engine thermostat system was working - I’m still tickled pink about that being reinstalled and functional. I only wish now that the Beetle was a sunroof model - but oh well I guess you can’t have everything!
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1959 Fjord Blue Volkswagen Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite

[Chickensoup]

I love the photography in this thread
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-'85 c10 5.3 LS, 222 cam, long tubes, x pipe, 3 inch spin tech's
-'05 B5.5 TDI Wagon 17in sport rims ;EGR + BSM + ASV Delete, Stage-2 Tune, straight pipe
'65 Tourist Delivery Build
'66 RIP
'69 RIP
Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"

[Bug-nut]

[Bug-nut]

Well fellas here's another update. Due to utter boredom I started working on tracing my Beetle's former history, and have actually been pretty successful! I will edit/upgrade this post as further details and dates come to light. Some of these dates could be inaccurate as we are still hashing out all the finer details.

The furthest back I've traced it is the 1970's, when it was bought by Jerome Bernauer of Florence, Alabama. He has since passed away, but I've been in communication with his grandson Jeff. Jerome bought it sometime in the 1970's and restored it sometime in the 80's. Jeff remembers seeing it sitting in his shop. Jerome also had at least one other (later model) beetle which I was told he bought new. They used to drive the Beetles out west to Cali and the like on their family trips.

Sometime in the 90's Jerome sold it to Paul Connolly (also in Florence). Paul was/is a VW fan and has/had many Beetles but for some reason he didn't drive the car much and it sat a lot in his shop. Paul's brother Matt Connolly saw the car and really liked it so he started driving and enjoying it. He sorta took it over and had the car worked on by a shop near him named D&B VW Restoration in Athens, Alabama. Matt says the place is still in business. I have a few receipts from there still in the glovebox and also a Beetle shaped keychain with their name and address on it.

At one point Matt started getting into British sports cars so Paul ended up selling the Beetle to David Glover around October 2012. I haven't been able to talk to David yet, and I believe it's possible that he has passed as I've found an obituary with his name on it, however that could be someone else. David sold the car to Todd Hensley here in Knoxville sometime in 2014. Todd sat on the car until I bought it on December 2nd, 2015.

I've asked Matt and Jeff if they have any old pictures of the car back from back when, but so far I've not gotten any. One day I'd like to take a trip down to Florence and let them see the car and also stop by that shop and see if they have any information they could share (maybe they also still have the 28PCI carb they took off and swapped for that EMPI POS... )

Unfortunately I really don't think I'll be able to go further back in the car's history than Jerome. Jerome and his wife are both long gone, and I've no clue where he bought it from and a VIN search probably won't help because there's not much information that has survived from that far back. The only other clue I have is that the birth certificate says "Washington" as the point of origin.
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1959 Fjord Blue Volkswagen Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite

[Bug-nut]

Another little update - sorry no pictures this time. Too lazy and can't be bothered. Plus you guys know what replacing king pins looks like. On the drive home from Bug-a-palooza this year, I decided enough was enough and decided to fix my loose front end. So far I've completely disassembled the king and link pin assemblies and pressed out all the old bushings. It is a little sad because all the parts are still the OE VW stamped parts, but due to the wear they've gotta go. The link pins and bushings are completely trashed but the king pins weren't too terribly bad. However I'm gonna go ahead and replace them because the pins had some pitting and rust issues due to years of neglect and lack of greasing. Three of the four lubrication holes in the kingpins were clogged up so they weren't getting any grease when I would lube the front end. I also have to replace the OE ball bearings in the hubs because one side has some pitting starting in the races and with how much I drive the car I don't want them to fail on me somewhere out on the road.

I've bead blasted and painted the spindles, king pin carrier, torsion arms, and brake backing plates (yes I taped everything off that shouldn't get painted). My parts should be in Wednesday. So then I can press in the new king pin bushings and get them reamed at my local machine shop. Hopefully they will be able to do it. Then I can reassemble everything and install my new front shocks and get an alignment. The old shocks were on their way out so I'm replacing them also. It was pretty neat, they were stamped "Sears" on the top and I'd assume are from the 1980's based on some historical info I found out about the car. I think I'll hold onto them just for conversational pieces, since Sears is pretty much gone now.
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1959 Fjord Blue Volkswagen Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite

[Bug-nut]

She is finally back on the road! Boy I sure wish I had tackled this job a lot sooner, the ride is SOOOO much better than before! Nice and stable, even in strong winds and over harsh bumps. Even the wifey noticed the difference without me saying anything. She said, "It doesn't feel like a buggy anymore!"

So for a quick recap. All my parts came from the usual culprit, Wolfsburg West. Completely rebuilt both front kingpin assemblies with all new German made parts. Cleaned and painted the parts, pressed in new king pin bushings, and had Larry at Larry's Speed Shop in Harriman TN ream them for me (he was awesome and did a fantastic job by the way). I then used a 20 ton press to assemble the rest. I had to sand down the new phenolic washers to get them to the proper spec, but other than that it all went beautifully.

(Oh, and by the way, I just gotta mention, for the love of all VWs everywhere, PLEASE buy, borrow, beg, or steal a press to rebuild your king pin assemblies. It makes life so much easier and will make the job a breeze. Otherwise, you could watch the Jbugs video on how to rebuild them instead. You will feel bad for all tools and parts involved. WARNING - tools and parts WERE harmed in the making of that video!!!)

Ok ok, now that THAT is all out of my system...

I measured my torsion arm offset and ended up going with the 7.5 measurement. So I followed the chart and installed the correct number of new shims to get them all in spec. Installed the backing plates, safety wired the bolts with aircraft grade safety wire, and cleaned and degreased the brake shoes. I replaced all four ball bearings with new tapered roller bearings. Once again the press came in clutch to install the races. Make sure you don't press too hard or you can crack and break the inside lip of the drum with the race while pressing it in. Then I packed the bearings with grease and installed new seals. I thought about cheating and buying the later clamping style axle nut but decided to stick with the original double nut/lock plate style.

So after all that was done, I installed new front shocks and greased and adjusted the link pins. Then it was off to the shop to get a proper alignment. Hayes alignment in Maryville did a wonderful job and like I said she rides better than she ever has before. I also noticed that the tight spot I used to have about halfway while turning to the right is gone now. Maybe I had a king pin that was trying to lock up before?

Here's a few random pics. Don't worry, the messy background is included free of charge!

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1959 Fjord Blue Volkswagen Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite

[Bug-nut]

Well it's been a while, but so far I've put around 500 miles on the rebuilt front end and I wish I had done it sooner! She rides so smooth now and after getting an alignment tracks straight as a stock VW can! My latest project was to go over the entire car with steel wool and CLR to knock down all the red rust/cancer. Then I treated the paint with two applications of No. 7 car show glaze and then two coats of high quality wax. Even though it took several evenings and my arms just about fell off, I'm very pleased with the results.

I'm planning to head over to VWs in the Valley in Maggie Valley, N.C. in the morning for their annual VW show. Fingers crossed the rain holds out!
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1959 Fjord Blue Volkswagen Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite

[Rome]

When I just saw this same photo in the "At the Pumps" thread tonite, I thought you sprung for a paint job on the wheels. Did the factory original paint on them really turn out so well with your cleaning and waxing job? Car looks great now from your efforts.

Did your cat jump up on the table and tip over your "random fasteners" bin?

[Bug-nut]

Yeah I was really surprised at how well the existing paint came back to life with a little elbow grease. The Meguiar's #7 glaze did most of the work, as it soaks into the paint and helps bring the shine back out before waxing it. I used the #7 before on another car with heavily oxidized paint after buffing it out and it also did wonders for it as well. When I apply it, one trick I do differently (saw it on a YouTube video from a guy who restores old original finishes professionally) is that I apply a heavy coat of the #7 and then let it sit overnight. Unlike what the bottle says, it doesn't dry out (at least not after one day) and then the next day I'll go over it all again with a second coat and let that sit for several more hours (or overnight again) before then wiping it all off and waxing it. That gives the glaze plenty of time to soak in and help restore the paint. The biggest issue I had this last time was finding a new bottle! All my local auto stores stopped carrying it with the exception of one Advance Auto, so next time I'm running low I guess I'll be forced to buy it online somewhere.

I usually go out to a local airport club I'm a member at to work on the car, as I have access to a lot of tools and equipment I don't have at the house. A lot of the guys out there are somewhat messy and disorganized, so that's what the background mess is from in the spindle picture. They have since cleaned it all up, but to be honest, being messy and disorganized while working on aircraft isn't the best of shop habits. But it's not my hanger so I don't have a say in the matter.

Thanks for commenting!
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1959 Fjord Blue Volkswagen Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite

[67rustavenger]

You can buy Meguires #7 at Harbor Freight.

I never heard of the "Soak" technique. But it makes sense.

We used to add 1Tbs. of cornstarch to a bottle to help reduce the buffing pad swirls after heavy cutting. I don't think it would be a good idea for the soak though!
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I have learned over the years.
Cheap parts are gonna disappoint you.
Buy Once, Cry Once!

There's never enough time to do it right the first time. But there's always enough time to do it thrice.
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo!