56 oval project

vee dub dan · Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 7:05 am Post subject: 56 oval project

Finally got around to taking some pictures, hope you enjoy! Looks to be a July 56

My brother and I found this car last fall at an auction. The ad said a 65 or 66 bug, but we saw a picture of the oval and had to investigate. Got there and checked the numbers, and the body/chassis matched. No engine. We were the only ones interested in it.. so my brother picked it up nice and cheap. (No title is the only problem, but I'm going to go infront of a judge and if that fails use Vermont)

It sat in an enclosed car port, we were told since the 70's. Some things look brand new, although probably replaced. 18xxx miles on the speedo, probably original.

This thing is very solid, there is a little bit of putty in a few places but nothing major that I've seen. It's missing the W decklid, my brother found one local and I'm going to buy it from him when I repaint. Ordered a Birth Certificate because it looks cool and I'll (hopefully) know what color it was.

The goal for now; redo all the brakes, check electrical and put in a 6v 1641 I picked up recently (I'm making it 6v, it was just a long block).
It will eventually get restored and have a period correct engine, I need to get out of college first..

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

gallery - more pictures http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f302/veedubdan74/56%20oval/?start=all

We got 2 seats at the auction, not the correct year (I think).. so not sure what to do as the driver seat is in great shape and passenger is missing

Brake shoes were all wet in the back.. something leaked in the drum and just spread it all around, probably brake fluid but unsure. Going to replace all brake shoes and wheel cylinders as well as probably the master cylinder
_________________
1974 Standard Beetle - Slammed
1956 Deluxe Oval - Running project
1969 Deluxe Transporter

Fresh Air VW Car Club - Pittsburgh, PA

L378 · Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 7:42 am Post subject:

good luck with the title (surprising to me how often this seems to come up). Good luck with the project, looks to be a coral red bug. Incorrect engine lid & rims. Do the rear fenders have dimples? Hunt up a passenger seat - they appear in the classifieds pretty regularly even if you have to buy a pair. What are your plans?

vee dub dan · Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 8:41 am Post subject:

Yeah, not sure what I'm doing with the Rims.. I'm actually borrowing them for now from my brother. We used them to pull it home.

stale air · Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:51 am Post subject:

Wow, im not sure what you paid, but it looks like you got a pretty clean straight car. Coral red is a great color, and im glad to hear you are going to restore it. Oh, and good call on getting a Bc, in my opinion well worth the money. Very Happy

Keep us posted on your build. Cool

L378 · Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:59 am Post subject:

Dimpled fenders - check your rear fenders behind the tires as the fenders are attached to the body. Between each bolt you should see a rectangular/oblong bump or dimple. That means you have og fenders which is NOT that common - I can't tell if your tail lights are riding high or not from the angle of your photo (tell tale sign of replacement fenders). Again, good luck with everything and there is plenty of info on the samba to assist you along the way. If you can't find it, ask.

vee dub dan · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 5:58 am Post subject:

No dimpled fender's unfortunately. I think a lot of this car is *new* (we were told it's been sitting since the 70's), but so much is so clean.. it probably isn't very original. Not a big deal to me now, I'll sort that out over the next several years.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f302/veedubdan74/56%20oval/P6210424.jpg
Anyone know what this motor is? I'm going to assume it was a random add-on by a PO, but on the off chance it's an accessory.. There appears to be a toggle switch under the dash to the left of the steering wheel for it.
_________________
1974 Standard Beetle - Slammed
1956 Deluxe Oval - Running project
1969 Deluxe Transporter

Fresh Air VW Car Club - Pittsburgh, PA

stale air · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 8:34 am Post subject:

vee dub dan · Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 10:42 am Post subject:

Fuel line was blocked, tried to break it free but no go. Ran new line yesterday.

Couple of questions..
First one is from my last post, is this something the PO installed or is it an accessory of some sort?

I'm actively looking for a passenger seat, I saw through the classifieds that the seats for a 56 are the same from 56 to 64. Are all the seats the same from those years or just the way they mount into the car?
_________________
1974 Standard Beetle - Slammed
1956 Deluxe Oval - Running project
1969 Deluxe Transporter

Fresh Air VW Car Club - Pittsburgh, PA

vee dub dan · Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 6:32 am Post subject:

Ok so I got power to the car. No engine, still trying to find one and no ignition, getting it keyed.

My right side turn signals work, but do not flash. I assume the flasher box is junk, or not wired up correctly.

I have correct power to all my headlight wires, probably bad bulbs in the headlights or I didn't get them hooked up correctly.

The speedometer light and high beam indicator still work. The speedo light is awesome looking, never saw that before.. kinda like skylights lol.

My main concern is that when I turn on the left turn signal, both rear lights turn on although very dim. When the right turn signal is on, that light is quite bright so it seems like when I have the left turn signal on it's running the running lights. Any helpful hints to look at?

Also have no power what-so-ever at the running light wires. Will have to trace where they go to in the fuse box area. Can't test the brake lights atm.

Still trying to figure out what this is.

I believe that this connects it, and under the dash is a toggle switch (that doesn't seem to toggle)

Fuel tank and fuel reserve valve is all installed. Mainly just some few oddball parts, brakes, electrical and installing the engine left!

Any tips would be appreciated, especially the left turn signal mix up.
_________________
1974 Standard Beetle - Slammed
1956 Deluxe Oval - Running project
1969 Deluxe Transporter

Fresh Air VW Car Club - Pittsburgh, PA

vwsonmybrain · Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:09 am Post subject:

For your rear left turn signal, it sounds like a bad ground.

As for that other contraption... it looks like maybe a "custom" interior fan set up or something. I'd completely remove it and the wiring associated with it. It's not original to the car and it looks like it was wired with speaker wire or a house lamp cord.

conrad1468 · Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 11:59 am Post subject:

Awesome find!!!! Keep up the good work before you know it you'll be driving it!
Keep us updated on any new developments!!

Dimples in the fenders. Interesting fun fact!!
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German U-Boat · Samba Member Joined: October 07, 2004 Posts: 389

Cool ride...stay focused on school and stay focused on the oval. Hard work pays its dividends in the long run. Looks like you need a few things here and there, but if you had them than where's the fun, right? Wink

vee dub dan · Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 11:43 am Post subject:

Haven't had a whole lot of time to work on the oval. Been doing some things with the other Bug to go to car shows (and work). Did a few small things however.

Got fully functional headlights and after properly grounding the headlights, the rear turn signals fixed themselves. Not sure if that was really the problem, or just when I was fix a few wires.

Turn signals still don't blink. Going to get a new relay shortly, it's also currently taped in place.

Unhooked the wiring for that stupid thing in the back window. I'll get to the actual thing itself eventually.
_________________
1974 Standard Beetle - Slammed
1956 Deluxe Oval - Running project
1969 Deluxe Transporter

Fresh Air VW Car Club - Pittsburgh, PA

stale air · Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 12:36 pm Post subject:

vee dub dan · Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2012 5:47 pm Post subject:

Got a July of 57 36hp for the oval this weekend. It's complete and ran 3 years ago, just needs cleaned up.

The main thing I saw is the fuel pump.. stand? Is that correct? Anything else that anyone can see that is interesting or wrong?
_________________
1974 Standard Beetle - Slammed
1956 Deluxe Oval - Running project
1969 Deluxe Transporter

Fresh Air VW Car Club - Pittsburgh, PA

vee dub dan · Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 1:23 pm Post subject:

Is this the ground for the horn on the steering column?

I thought at one point that these were the horn wires, albeit too short. After looking at the wire diagram, I think whats currently connected to the horn is for brake lights. Stop Light Switch?

I have 2 wires in the spare tire compartment, one is always hot (when the car is on I think) and these are probably horn wires. I'm hoping that once I connect the ground? for the horn on the steering column that the horn will work.

Used the Vermont method to get a title for the car. I now have a vermont license plate and registration. Need to get some insurance on it and go get it transferred for PA!
_________________
1974 Standard Beetle - Slammed
1956 Deluxe Oval - Running project
1969 Deluxe Transporter

Fresh Air VW Car Club - Pittsburgh, PA

747frieghtdog · Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 1:54 pm Post subject:

Were the heater channels replaced?
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55 Oval

3foldfolly · Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 7:34 pm Post subject:

Looks like some fool actually relocated the horn so he could get it where he needed it to attach the brake light wiring. Classic.

vee dub dan · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 6:39 pm Post subject:

vee dub dan · Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 11:48 am Post subject:

Correction, the heater channels were replaced. Found evidence of that in the front wheel well.

So I bled the brakes with a pressure bleeder, it held pressure and all the lines bled quite easily, but I still have no pedal. It slowly starts to get harder by the time the pedal is just about touching the firewall. I've adjusted the brakes at least 3 times, we did 2 rounds of bleeding of the brakes.. The piston/pushrod at the brake seems to be adjusted just right (I didn't touch it, but there is a small amount of play before it starts to push on the MC).

I bench bled the new MC, new wheel cylinders and brake shoes all around.

Also I installed the engine, except I only have 2 of 4 bolts in atm. The bolt for the starter does not appear to be a half moon, as I tried using one. I looked at WW and say the half moon fits all upright a/c, but they also have a kit for pre 70 that does not have a half moon in it.
10 X 70mm, seems like its the driver side top bolt, what about the passenger side?

Any ideas?
_________________
1974 Standard Beetle - Slammed
1956 Deluxe Oval - Running project
1969 Deluxe Transporter

Fresh Air VW Car Club - Pittsburgh, PA


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