Inherited My Granddad's '57 Beetle

[KingOfAces]

Hello Samba. I have had this car for a few months. I wanted to learn a few things before coming onto here and asking stupid questions. I have lurked this site for a couple of months, and now, I am ready to present this project that has landed in my lap. Also, I would like to apologize ahead of time for the plethora of unorganized information I am about to spit out at you guys, also for any stupid questions I may ask, they will crop up.

In short, I inherited a 1957' VW Beetle. Most of it is original from what Grandma tells me, and it was well taken care of. That was until my Ex-uncle tossed the poor thing into a shed about 25 years back.

I found her like this:

So me and a friend of mine dragged her out and put her in my Grandma's garage, which thankfully had a free side for me to put her in.

I apologize for the awful pictures up to this point, after this I had used a much better camera.

Now, she looks like this.

Since I am currently a College student, and Grandma's house is over two hours away in one direction, I am unable to work on the poor thing too much. However, in between now and then, I have cleaned most of her out and taken plenty of pictures.

Now here's the kicker; This is my first car.

My parents are nice enough to allow me to use a Buick Century, which I do as many repairs as I can do on it. However, it seems to be well built, and the most complex repair I have done on said Buick is a break pad change and a radiator flush. I hardly consider myself mechanically incompetent, but this will be a starter car for me.

Before you scream "Sell the thing to me for a massively low price since you don't know any better you stupid kid", like a million people have before, I am not selling it, and if I ever feel like I cannot or unable to do something, I will get someone to either help, or tow the poor machine to a mechanic to take care of the problem, but I am going to fix it.

I have some spent time with the thing in the past few months. Here is what I have learned/know.

It was stored with a nearly full gas tank. The car reeks of varnish, so it's obviously bad, not that I would try to use it in the first place. She was also stored with Oil still in the engine. The Engine is not seized and turns, however the Carburetor is frozen, though I did not expect anything stellar from an engine that has sat for over 20 years. The Battery Tray, the Spare Tire Pan, and a part of the interior body work has rusted through, however it is not too severe. (It's not the heater channel, I have no idea what it is. I do have a few pics of this part). The accelerator cable has snapped, I can get her into every gear, however the brakes do not work. I depress the pedal and nothing happens, not even the noise of anything moving or compressing. There's a large amount of surface rust under the fenders and all over the floor pan, aside from the Battery Pan it seems pretty solid. I have yet to see if the Engine Turns over, I am saving that for Winter Break this year. The front hood is dented and just a tiny bit warped and won't close completely and properly. According to my aunt a distant relative smacked it into something the first time he drove it, however it doesn't look like it affected anything else thankfully. The paint seems to be in really good shape, aside from some really minor scratches and chips. The interior is in a mixed condition. The couch and seats are in good condition, but everything else is either falling apart or yellowed from decades of smoking and family car trips. The steering works, the glove box opens, and a lot of people want to buy it, even before hearing what condition it is in and just based off of the Oval Window alone.

Now, I have plenty of pictures, some of which I will post in here to emphasize certain problem areas that I have a few questions about, if you all don't mind me asking. The rest are in albums because I don't want to spam a million useless pictures.

EDIT: These pictures have now been uploaded to TheSamba under the same name as their corresponding imgur album titles.

http://imgur.com/a/GxaSJ Here is how I found it. Sorry for the quality of pictures, all I had was my awful iPod.

http://imgur.com/a/zj8lg First day in the garage, not many pictures are in here.

http://imgur.com/a/Fu3aa Right after I washed it. I tried to take a few pics of the floor pan, but I wasn't very successful and seeked a better camera.

http://imgur.com/a/4LjVo This was before I cleaned it out. A few pics got mixed in with this album, but I don't feel like fighting Imgur anymore, so they stay.

http://imgur.com/a/mOEWl I cleaned out as much as I could without tools. A few pics of the floor pan condition are in here.

http://imgur.com/a/kDOdC These are the most recent pictures and probably portray the most information. Also yes I know I put my stands in the wrong place, I have realized this. Ignore the pics of just my few tools, I needed something aside from a receipt if they get stolen.

Picture of rusted through body panel thing. Could someone be kind enough to inform me of what part this is? That lip is where the retention bar bolts to the body for reference.

Picture of Battery Pan

Picture of Spare Wheel Tray, it's the best I have currently

Engine

My current plan is to do some work on it over winter break, and over that period of time I am going to attempt to get her running again. From what I know this involves redoing the spark plugs, fuel lines, rebuilding the carburetor and fuel pump, replacing the fuel filter and accelerator line, and cleaning out the fuel tank, restoring the tank, and giving it a battery and then turning the key. Next will be brakes, but I need to do more research before tackling that.

Over the summer I am going to take the pan off, and attempt to fix and restore the pan and body, and maybe, maybe an Engine rebuild. I will have someone nearby and do plenty of research before I tackle that. Hopefully I'll have it done before the local September Cruse-in, but I wouldn't place any bets.[/list]

[Gwdghiaguy]

Ok, I'll go first. Congratulations! Take care of your family heirloom and have fun with it. You can get tons of great info from samba folks and don't worry about stupid questions. Looking forward to watching.

byron
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1957 Oval Window
1963 Alabama Camper Bus
1971 Ghia
1971 Baywindow Bus

Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[aa390392]

Car look solid for being 70 yrs young...the rust you see is the heater channel, the gas tank looks like it needs to be boiled out...fuel line blown out and cleaned..so put the back tires back on jack up the front end take off the tires and start with the fuel system. start learning how to surf thru the Samba and you will learn oh so much...take little bites, try not to tear it all apart..I think you need to buy "how to keep your volkswagwen alive" ..... go slow and know what your looking at.....keep all parts you take off labled and in zip lock bags...all those bolts and nutz are valuable..... are to replace/hard to find..I hope this helps..and dont be afraid to ask questions.
Thomas
also use these threads
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=509505
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getting grumpy & less tolerant!


55 ragtop
56 delux sedan
56 Kabriolet

[aa390392]

also take lots of pictures like Byron did in (byrons barn find) sounds like you 2 have the same thing going..his pic;s are great!
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getting grumpy & less tolerant!


55 ragtop
56 delux sedan
56 Kabriolet

[KingOfAces]

[Abscate]

You are way ahead because:

You found this site.

You wrote a level headed, thoughtful first post outlining your situation


You are going in with the right attitude.

Leave the body off restoration until you are out of school. In WV, rust will wait another few years. The car is in excellent shape for it's age and doesn't need emergency surgery.

Get rid if that old gas and just get one gallon fresh gas when you are ready to fire up. For now, each time you visit, put a tablespoon of oil into each cylinder and turn the motor over with a wrench on the crank pulley several times.

...and get a fan belt!

Young people like you make me fear not for humankind.
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.ssS!

[dmcglynn]

Well, at least the fact that the car didn't crumble when you held the rear of the car up from that point speaks to the fact that it is in pretty good condition for it's age Looks like you've got a nice find.

I agree with what others have said - read read read on here and ask plenty of questions. I too have been lurking around here for the past few months - and everyone seems very eager to help if you are respectful and honest. You seem like you will fit right in. Good luck with your project - The other thing people definitely love here is when you share your adventure with the rest of us via plenty of pictures and posts!

Have Fun!

[57BLITZ]

Welcome to The Samba! This is gonna be FUN!!! You have a great car . . .take care of it . . . we will help ya when we can!

[Eric&Barb]

Nice project! Even nicer that the oval has so much family history for you.

Suggest you just get it running for now. Both since you are a starving student with little time and be able to take your grandma for a few rides before it is too late. Do record her stories of her life with the VW.

Gas tank can be cleaned out by a radiator shop.

Underside of the pan and spare tire area can be soda blasted to be zinc primered, and painted in place. Inside can be wire wheeled, then phosphoric acid, repeat till shiny silver clean of corrosion, and then zinc primer and paint.

Take the brakes apart and leave apart for three weeks to dry out all the old brake fluid. When you rebuild the brake system install a dual master cylinder for safety and use silicon brake fluid that does not attract in water right out of the air causing rust inside the brake system.

Install three point seat belts and a collapesable post 1967 steering column shaft for added safety.

Clean up the electrical system, so voltage at the battery is as close to same as getting to headlights/signals, wipers, etc...

New tires are a must before you take it over 20 MPH.

Get this manual ASAP:

http://www.amazon.com/Volkswagen-Workshop-Manual-T...hop+manual

If need be, search the WWW for a used copy for less, but just get one!
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[Blue Baron]

[Eric&Barb]

VW 101 is just take it to a shop and have them fix it for you for $$$$.
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[bugman1955]

[Zwitterkafer]

Nice car, excellent project, congrats! There will be differing opinions on this, but in the haste to get a long-stored engine running, there is the possibility of inflicting damage. It may not be worth doing this, if the goal is to run it only for a short time before dismantling it anyways.
If there are mouse nests in the heater channels, expect same in the heater boxes, and under the cylinder head covers. There could be a real cloud of smoke as any nesting material burns off! Piston rings can stick in their grooves, valves can stick, and so on.....there is enough to be uneasy about. Get as much history on the engine as you can, (exhaust valves have how many miles on them?) Best of luck!
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"Criticism comes easier than Craftsmanship"
- Zeuxius, 400 BC

[KingOfAces]

Wow, lot's of opinions and good advice You guys seem mighty friendly though. I had the misconception that you were all old master mechanics with no time or patience for newbies like me. Anyway, onto some questions.

[Bret2094]

There's nothing wrong in getting some stuff done this winter. You can remove the fuel tank and clean it along with blowing out the old lines and replacing the rubber in a weekend. You could easily rebuild the fuel pump, carb, and distributor without causing any damage . I'd definitely soak each cylinder with oil and turn it by hand for a week or two before thinkinh about startin her up. Next thing to do would be to adjust all of your cables and clean all of your connectors for the various wires on the car. After that it is really up to you to decide whether you want to start her up. You will want to change your rear main seal before any serious running. If you decide to start her up, make sure you have changed the oil and adjusted valves/ points. It's really a toss up if you try and run her before disassebly, but many of us have been known to clean points and throw a battery in along with gas and voila. Personally i say that's the way to go. It helps keep you interested, especially beginners


Bret
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1959 baja beetle ragtop( going back to Full body)
1959 beetle
1960 Beetle frame Custom buggy
1962 Karmann Ghia
1967 beetle( august 66, first car)
1967 beetle (parts car)

1977 Westfalia Camper

1972 Plymouth Duster

Just another 22 year old jackass who caught the bug, and lives by the motto " NO fatchicks allowed" , I've got too many cars as is (buses N/A)

[Hnoroian]

Great score! Keep it for ever, and take your time working on it. Don't get discouraged you will learn a whole lot while working on it and there is A LOT of information on here and people to help.
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Stupid people do stupid things.

[Abscate]

Trying to be careful with money here. If you buy a battery to get it started, you need a battery charger too, as letting it sit all winter will likely kill it. You do want the engine warm to change the oil too, though. Let's pull the dip stick and have a look at the oil in the crankcase to see how much water is in there next visit.

Okay, we have to go for naps now, so be patient before we post again.


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.ssS!

[allsidius]

[txoval]

This may sound dumb to you, but the first thing I'd spend money on are tools.

The good thing about tools is they are always needed and generally last a long time. The right tools will make your life much easier as well.

Get a good screw driver kit, pliers kit, metric socket/ratchet set. There are a few VW tools as well, 36mm socket (rear axle nut, gland nut), 30mm socket, a rear axle nut tool is helpful. You can go to several vw stores online to find the VW tools. My favorites are Wolfsburg West and Aircooled.net

I'd start by throughly cleaning it out, rebuilding the brakes, suspension, cleaning all wiring, lights, weatherstripping, and then think about the engine/transaxle. I'd also want to clean the heck out of the bottom side of the car. Get it jacked up, spray degreaser everywhere, let it sit a bit and then pressure wash everything.

[Eric&Barb]

36 mm socket needs to be at least a 3/4" drive one or break the lesser sized drive ones all too often.

Find a solid (without slider or flex joint) Proto 3/4" breaker bar for the socket. Craftsman 3/4" breaker bar just gets bent up over time.
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In Stereo, Where Available!