Oval parts ..

[73VwBus73]

well i have my 54 oval in my garage just mainly the shell on some wheels. i need almost everything except the semaphores.. the glass for the oval window .. and the foot pedal assemblies.im only 16 but iwant to start putting the car together slow and steady. any one know where i can get some parts for it? i live in so cal. i know theres alot of places to get stuff but what do you recommend?
thanks brian.

[DMNCLNR]

yo Kuch hoomeboy. i dont have messenger hit me up on the PM. homie!
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To his their own PBJ
Pl@y@ #1

[oldovaldriver]

If you only have a rolling shell, then you probably need to buy another parts car or a donor car. Buying so many parts individually, whether new or salvaged, will cost you a fortune. If you're building a custom or aren't too concerned about authenticity, you could buy a later bug (a more complete one)and drop the oval body onto it. Most of the parts would be compatible up through 1967.

After you have a more complete project, you can get your remaining parts from junkyards, swap meets, internet classifieds, Ebay, or mail-order ads, websites, and catalogs. Junkyards and swap meets are the cheapest and most fun if there are any near you. Internet classifieds and Ebay involve shipping expenses and the risks of sight-unseen purchasing, but they are a good way to get hard-to-find used parts.

But in the end you will rely heavily on catalog/mail order purchases for all the new parts you will need--rubber parts, internal mechanicals, bearings, electrical parts, upholstery, etc. The nickels and dimes for these things will quickly add up to thousands of dollars and will overshadow the relatively good deals you got the major parts for the project. Beware of this fact as you budget the project!

Surf the net and buy some magazines like Hot VWs and VW Trends. There are more options out there for VW parts than you can count. Good luck!

-Paul

[DMNCLNR]

I think hes got pleanty of time to work on the car from what he says. My recomendation would be to make a list of absolutely everything that you want original vw on your car and seek it out. and this is the right place for that. Other stuff like tires headliner, rubber seals, and other small odds and ends are readily avaliable. Just make a list and slowly get everything that you need. while your doing that you can get your shell and pan restored to receive all the parts you are getting.
For a 17 yr old i think its a bitchn project. who cares if your not done til your 20. how many 20 yr olds do oyu know who have completly restored a 54 oval to stock specs, and done a good job?
my advice is take your time and have fun! your in socal, youve got freinds that wioll help you!
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To his their own PBJ
Pl@y@ #1

[Dominic]

I have parts for you. I have windows, a wire harness and some other stuff. Let me look through all this new mess that I got with my 55 and I'll set aside what I dont need.

[Kals57rag]

I would like to say BFY.
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Maui No Ka Oi
OGJHC- #1,311,112

[Major Woody]

Having bought a basket case 56 ragtop oval myself, I have a few things to add that might be of possible value.

I agree that a parts car would really be helpful. BUT bear in mind thatost of the body trim, panels and other unique parts for your 54 will not interchange with a 60-67 car. These parts are all very hard to find, and you would be way ahead to start by finding a car that had been hit or was very rusty, and strip it of parts.

If you have to have the correct floorpan with the correct seats (they are differently shaped and have flat tracks on a 55 and down bug) then you are in for an expensive quest unless you can find a parts car. A car that had been hit hard would be a better parts car than a rustbucket, but with a 50 year old car, you will have to take what you can get. If you can compromise on authenticity a little bit, then you could get a swingaxle parts car up to 64 with engine, trans, running gear etc. The pan would be a bolt up, and you would have your heater controls there on the tunnel like your 54 had. Your choke cable conduit tube would be missing and the pedal assy would be wrong but these could be overcome. For that matter, you could weld early seat tracks to the later pans, if you could find '55 and down deluxe seats and tracks. You would not have a splitcase trans, which would not be the end of the world. But you would have a swingaxle pan with a link pin beam and all the parts to make the car a runner.

This is a really big project.

If I could do mine over, I would have sold the parts collection that I bought, and obtained a complete car for another thousand or two more instead. That's really chump change compared to all the time, money and effort it will take you to turn your shell into a correct running car a piece at a time.

Good luck. Chris

[bk63rag]

If you live in SoCal id check out the Pamona swap meets and VW shows
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63 rag under construction for 30 years and counting.