58 beetle from stocker to period styled rally car build.

[henry roberts]

thanks, but no thanks. i've been trying to make up my mind about selling a 60's 1300 sp carb kit for 6 months now... and i seriously doubt i will ever have a 1300 sp car. selling something i will use, with my hoarding tendencies... just not going to happen.

thanks artguy, i'll see if he can help.

[lovinbronx]

[artguy1]

.....and the carbs desperately need a rebuild, thankfully there are kits available that include new throttle shafts and bushes. if anyone knows a source of the flat elliptical bell mouths for 1 1/8" SU please post it.

Hey Try Jeff Palya at:
http://www.paltech1.com/index.html

Paltech Micropolishing LLC

Jeff Palya
3931 Miller Dr.
Brunswick, OH 44212

He did a resto on my SU's for my EMPI Speedwell Sprint Kit and did an amazing job...sourced all the parts needed to complete resto. He IS your man for this.

All the best
artguy1

[henry roberts]

hi pete, not much at all. an old unpaid fine caught up with me so my licence is suspended till i sort it out. on top of that i've been distracted with a new hobby.

[petemart]

What's happening with this Henry??

[henry roberts]

with the silly season and a little distraction, all I have done to the beetle is drive it.

the distraction was rescued on Tuesday and is safely in the hands of a total loony. expect some 36hp silliness when he starts posting about the build.

yes it is another horizon blue 58/9.

[79SuperVert]

"...my wife asks me to come grocery shopping with her "just to get a few things". i hate shopping (for anything other than car stuff) but she really wanted me to go... so i went."

Happy wife, happy life.
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Central Jersey VW Society

Wanted: Art Collins VW (Savannah, Georgia) items - license plate surrounds and other items. Also ivory "AM", "FM" and "SW" buttons for a US Blaupunkt Frankfurt.

[henry roberts]

for a while I've been thinking I desperately need a separate tool kit to go in this car. up until now I've only ever run 1 set of tools, but over the many years between last having a registered vw and getting this car, my tools moved from being carried about in ex army steel ammo boxes, to living in my fake assistant. (one day i'll find a real one in my budget)
as you can imagine you can't really fold up the assistant and put it under the bonnet.

I had been putting it off as i couldn't justify spending good money on a spare set of tools and really didn't want to buy a cheap nasty set.

fast forward to the weekend, my wife asks me to come grocery shopping with her "just to get a few things". i hate shopping (for anything other than car stuff) but she really wanted me to go... so i went.
as we got there i saw the local farmers markets were on in the park opposite. after a little negotiation i got 5 minutes to go and have a look.

i had five minutes and a grand total of $5 in my back pocket but had that feeling I'd find something good. after briskly walking past some stalls selling garage sale type stuff and others with new age/crafty gear i spotted a box of tools on a table. normally they are cheap nasty stuff, but this guy had snap-on etc. it was all imperial but i asked about hazet and stahlwille anyway. he pointed to a HAZET sparkplug socket.

$5

i damn near ripped the pocket off my pants getting the note out.

he was a bit chatty and was interesting but i was getting antsy as i didn't want to annoy my wife. just as I'm about to make my excuses and hustle back to the shops he says "I've got some metric spanners too, i got them when i bought out a tool shop in the 70's" ... ok. maybe stay a little longer and deal with the trouble when it happens.
he goes to his car and pulls out a tool box full of quality gear. he picks out some HAZET 600 spanners. I'm getting excited but dreading the price. he says the full set isn't there so he'll have to get the others from his shed and will bring them back next markets... $20.
I'm trying not to bounce up and down like a little kid, but am worried about the wait as i always forget when the markets are on... he looked a bit iffy about giving me his phone number but gave it too me anyway.

so to cut a long story from being any longer.

i would have loved lower case stuff to match the car, but won't complain. the 11mm is missing but it is a damn good start to my car tool kit and so so so much better than cheap nasty new stuff.
the extra one is a 9mm 605 shorty. he also had a HAZET 17-19 ring-ring that would have been the perfect addition, but still uses it regularly, so I wasn't going to hassle him for it.

PS. I got back to my wife just in time too... well before she noticed how long I had been anyway, which is good enough.

[henry roberts]

thanks chris, in my dreams maybe. for the time being i'll settle for drivable and fun.

not much progress to speak of. I made the bracket to hold the clip that stops the map light drooping when not in use... the double sided tape I tried first just didn't cut it.
it would have been so simple if I was willing to drill a hole.
it amazes me how I take so much time to make even the simplest part.

no pictures as I'm not happy with how it sits... it works, but will get replaced with a nicer flush fitting version at some stage.
for the time being there are plenty of things still in the works that are more interesting/important than making a pretty bracket.

[ChrisMac]

looking like this is gonna be some incredible
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Click to view image

[Mildoval56]

[henry roberts]

[D-train]

[henry roberts]

thanks mildoval, you will remember this car from it's past life (on the slammed oval pan) as nuggets "bumhole".

unfortunately the paint didn't like living by the sea, then some time it spent under a tarp. the climate where I live finished it off... so it's a shadow of it's former self as far as presentation goes.

the updates will only be in fits and starts as things progress.

the exhaust will be standard for the time being, TDE tailpipes are on the cards though. I may be getting a set of period sonic 4-2-1 extractors to try out at some stage too.
there are further plans but they are a long way down the track and part of a full engine build, so will come out if that actually happens.

[Mildoval56]

This looks great Henry, keep the updates coming! What style muffler/exhaust will you go with?

[D-train]

noce work henry, looks like a country buggy bash plate too!!
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shiny paint doesnt make it worth any more

[Zebedee]

That thread on VZI if full of great piccies. I think i've posted up the majority of my photos in there.
Factory towbar seems like a pretty good mod and can have a plate installed under it too if you feel like adding even more protection (and weight).

I'm still in two minds as to what to do with my beetle when i eventually finish it. I'd love to compete in historic rallys but think i'd cry if i stacked it into the trees or put it in a ditch.
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If you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.

[henry roberts]

I'm planning to add both front and back plates at some stage. I've looked at the drawing you posted before and always hoped someone had a plan for the earlier version, if there is one. if not i'll just make a cardboard mock up from the plans and adjust it till it fits.

for the back I'm unsure, I'd love a full length alloy engine / gearbox plate, but I'm not sure if/when that will happen.

for the time being I have considered adjusting this 12-1600 factory sump guard design to fit a 36hp, have more bars, turn up at the front etc...

but I have a friend with a couple of factory tow bars so if I can bring myself to add the extra weight, i'll save up some $, then fit one for now.

edit, Zebedee, I just realized why your name looked familiar... I've read the VZI rally beetle thread end to end several times looking for ideas.

[Zebedee]

Looking forward to seeing this progress.
Are you planning on running a sump guard front and back?
These might be useful if you are:

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If you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.

[henry roberts]

a little update.

the car didn't come with floormats but thankfully a friend had given me some for the green std beetle in the driving light pictures above. (thanks dion). in total there was 4 or 5 mats but no front drivers side. I ended up going out to another friends who had a heap of 6v beetles hunting for one, none of them had the correct matt so I chopped the drivers floor remains off a early 60's 1 piece matt. (don't worry it was already stuffed) it did the trick but is slowly getting smaller and smaller as bits break off. something needed to be done.

the options were find an original which virtually never come up for sale over here or try to get a repro RHD oval set which go in and out of production, aren't cheap and would need to be hacked to fit around the pedals. + floor matts are heavy and I don't want to pay lots of money to make myself go even slower.

I needed a plan B and saw something in another thread that gave me the idea
(this tread I think: http://www.germanlook.net/forums/showthread.php?t=11341)


grip tape.


I doubt it's period correct but it works for me. for now I will keep the front floormats in for everyday use, but for events they can come out. it should help protect the drivers matt too as it is the sliding around that is destroying it.

of course I have to do everything the hard way, so it took 3 times longer than I thought it should, but I'm happy with the result... it gives good grip but isn't too rough to drive barefoot and looks ok too, IMO.

before: (no idea why it uploaded sideways???)

halfway:

done for now: sorry about the blurry pic.

for now the co-driver won't get a footboard as just bringing your feet back to near the seat brings your knees up to a good position for resting the map board on.
I may yet add a last row of tape on the floor and once the carpet glue residue is cleaned off, add some to the firewall and sill, but need to get my co-driver in the car first. (and take him for a drive to see if he really wants to do it. )