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Hecubus Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2005 Posts: 206 Location: Calgary Alberta
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Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 3:17 pm Post subject: Hecubus's 1957 Deluxe |
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I have been keeping my eye out for an Oval for years but it seems if they look good and the price is right they are always sold before I have a chance to see them. Last week my brother sent me an add for a good one the owner had only put his email address and not a phone number in the add so I waited impatiently all weekend to see if he was going to reply. To my disappointment by Saturday evening the add was at almost 2000 views and was taken down. Once again I had missed a great opportunity.
Monday afternoon I received an email from the owner saying. "I have been overwhelmed with hundreds of interested buyers, I have decided to respond in the order I received them. Give me a call". I called right away and it turns out I had been the first person to respond to the add. The Seller is the son of the original owner who had bought the car new in Manitoba and had used it steadily until 1970 when it was parked in a barn. A little while ago the farm was sold and the son brought the car to Alberta with the hopes of getting it back on the road. It ended up getting parked in a shed and has been left untouched since. When I looked at the car on Tuesday evening I was expecting to find it in much worse condition. It looks to be a very solid car the original owner obviously took very good care of it. I bought it on the spot and made arrangements to pick it up on Saturday morning.
My intention is to keep the car mostly stock and get it running reliably so it can be enjoyed as is. The body and pan numbers match it was built in July 1957 but the numbers on the engine block say October 1959. They do not remember what happened to the Original engine. Other then that is there anything you guys can see that looks to have been changed over the years? Here it is let me know what you think.
Thanks
Kent |
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wayne1230cars Samba Member
Joined: April 05, 2010 Posts: 2684 Location: Canada
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Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 4:12 pm Post subject: |
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That looks like a great find. Congrats!
The invoice is interesting. The dealership is in Montreal, Quebec and sold to Mr. Gratton from Winnipeg, Manitoba and included a trade in.
Love the VW emblem on the right rear fender. That was a Canadian feature for that time.
Please post pics of of your restoration progress. _________________ 1960 beetle
1970 beetle convertible |
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aa390392 Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2007 Posts: 3602 Location: So.Cal
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Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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very nice.....wax it out get it safe n drive it......its perfect as it sits _________________ .
getting grumpy & less tolerant!
55 ragtop
56 delux sedan
56 Kabriolet |
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54bugn Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2005 Posts: 492 Location: Parksville BC, Canada
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Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 6:36 pm Post subject: |
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Very nice, yes clean it up and get it driving. Its amazing how many cars are coming out of Manitoba. I already rescued 2 from there.
Keep us posted on the clean up.
Mike _________________ "Schwing wrote:
You either have to be too cheap to hire a pro or determined to do it yourself, but it helps to be both!"
54 European Sedan deluxe
Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=414940 |
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RHD Notch Samba Member
Joined: April 06, 2007 Posts: 1412 Location: Joshua Tree, CA
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Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 9:50 pm Post subject: |
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Very nice...congrats. I too know that 'looks good, priced right, sold feeling... _________________
Lind wrote: |
I am at the point where I hardly want to own anything that isn't original paint. |
campingbox wrote: |
I have some other projects I'd like to finish first and I want to drive this bus while I'm working on those to help stay motivated. |
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Hecubus Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2005 Posts: 206 Location: Calgary Alberta
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Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 10:32 pm Post subject: |
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Here are some pictures of the interior. There are quite a few stains but it is in pretty good shape considering the age. I can see why that back seat is as dirty as it is since there were extra engine parts stored there for who knows how long. But how would a head liner get that bad? Does anyone have any suggestions on how to clean the head liner and seats with out causing any damage to the old cloth?
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Hecubus Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2005 Posts: 206 Location: Calgary Alberta
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Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 11:02 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks.
I am hoping that in the next couple days the weather stays in the positives so I can get it cleaned up. I am planing to keep it very close to stock. I am going to need to replace a lot of the rubber that is old and cracked. Fuel line, brake lines, CV boots, and tires. The engine turns over and I am going to give it a tune up and see if she will still run.
Once I have had a chance to drive it a bit I think I might lower it a little. I am not talking slammed I just want it down enough that it doesn't have positive camber in the back. That is the only modification from stock I have planned at this point, |
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aa390392 Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2007 Posts: 3602 Location: So.Cal
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Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 11:53 pm Post subject: |
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Just a hint...only buy good German rubber... the interior is in well preserved shape. _________________ .
getting grumpy & less tolerant!
55 ragtop
56 delux sedan
56 Kabriolet |
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Lidpainter Samba Anti-Hero
Joined: January 21, 2004 Posts: 2045 Location: 41.77 | -83.56
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Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2013 5:20 am Post subject: |
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I can't believe that the interior has not been destroyed by mice after all those years in a barn. Nice. |
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downsbs Samba Member
Joined: July 17, 2009 Posts: 540 Location: Avondale, AZ
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Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2013 7:36 am Post subject: |
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Pile of junk. I'll relieve you of it, won't even charge you.
Sweet car. I wish I could help on the headliner cleaning but I have no experience in that area. Good luck and keep us up to date on your progress. _________________ 1956 Rag W/ Semaphores |
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rlmartinez Samba Member
Joined: December 09, 2005 Posts: 233 Location: Whittier, CA
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Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2013 10:20 am Post subject: |
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Very nice find. Looking forward to seeing your progress. _________________ 54 Bug
56 convertible |
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wayne1230cars Samba Member
Joined: April 05, 2010 Posts: 2684 Location: Canada
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Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2013 6:35 pm Post subject: |
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That is quite impressive. Keep it as original as you can. Looks like some water stains on the headliner near the rear window. Really a great find! _________________ 1960 beetle
1970 beetle convertible |
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Hecubus Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2005 Posts: 206 Location: Calgary Alberta
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Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2013 7:42 pm Post subject: |
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I got a chance to give it a quick wash down this afternoon. It looks drastically better. It is interesting to see how good the paint is on the back half of the car but how warn the paint is on the front half. I wonder if it was parked in such a way that the front was getting a lot of direct sun light and the back was well shaded.
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Rich's 50 Samba Member
Joined: February 18, 2004 Posts: 10781 Location: San Diego, CA
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Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2013 9:14 pm Post subject: |
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Very nice find |
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Hecubus Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2005 Posts: 206 Location: Calgary Alberta
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Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2013 7:16 am Post subject: |
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The original owner also just sent me these three picture of the car when it was new.
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RichOakley Samba Member
Joined: August 30, 2004 Posts: 1108 Location: Midlands, UK
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Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2013 9:57 am Post subject: |
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Wow! What a great find, especially in Canada! Seems odd that the first owner purchased the car in QC but lived in Winnipeg? Any ideas why?
I can just picture the day in August 1957 when Mr.Gratton collected his car in Montreal. His question to the salesman must have been "why does my new car have an 'oval' shaped window and all the other Beetles in the showroom have large, rectangular rear windows and bigger windshields??"
With a history like that, I would be very inclined to leave this car as it is with no modifications. |
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aa390392 Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2007 Posts: 3602 Location: So.Cal
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Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2013 10:42 am Post subject: |
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I agree with the previous comment...why not just leave as is..you just sont find em like this ...IMO _________________ .
getting grumpy & less tolerant!
55 ragtop
56 delux sedan
56 Kabriolet |
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laneven28 Samba Member
Joined: January 09, 2007 Posts: 312 Location: Cedar Hills, Utah
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Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2013 3:21 pm Post subject: |
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x3 - agree with the last 2 posts. Really cool original car. _________________ 1950 Pearl Grey Hoffman Standard Split Window
1954 Iceland Green Euro 3-Fold Oval
1955 Strato Silver Transitional 3-Fold Oval
1956 Iris Blue Convertible
1958 Pearl White Lowlight KG Convertible
1961 Turkis Ragtop |
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Hecubus Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2005 Posts: 206 Location: Calgary Alberta
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Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2013 11:38 pm Post subject: |
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At this point that is what I plan. I don't want to changing anything about it that does not need to be changed to get it insured and registered again. I have lucked out and it has been warm enough that I have been able to do quite a bit of cleaning on it. We will see how many days like that I get this year but I am definitely going to get it running in the spring.
Thanks everyone for your interest. I can not wait to finally drive my dream car.
Last edited by Hecubus on Tue Nov 26, 2013 8:02 am; edited 1 time in total |
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AlanInMass54 Samba Member
Joined: August 29, 2003 Posts: 1065 Location: Massachusetts
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Posted: Tue Nov 26, 2013 7:49 am Post subject: |
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You must be the envy of everyone else in the Pit of Ultimate Darkness! |
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