Our latest restoration "Ragnar" 1955 three fold rag top

[nlorntson]

I thought I'd toss up a thread on our latest restoration, a 1955 ragtop we have named "Ragnar". This car is a result of combining three 1955 cars, some that came to us through unexpected circumstances.

The chassis showed up one day via a phone call from a local VW guy who said he has a complete rolling pan with a split case tranmission and a title and did we want it? Um....yes we did!

The engine appeared via storing some parts for another VW friend while he resettled on the west coast. It was a completely empty case from the same month in 1955. We struck a deal to buy it in exchange for some work I was doing on his split beetle.

So next was a hunt for a body, fenders, etc. This time theSamba came to the rescue and we found an amazing rust free 1955 three fold rag top also from the same month but without a chassis or title. Once again fate struck and we made the deal to buy it and had it shipped out here to MN.

Although the 55 came with many miscellaneous parts, many were for a later two fold so I did have some hunting and collecting to do to find everything else over the past 8+ years we've had the chassis.

We finally felt like we could get moving on this car so last Summer, hubby knocked out the body work and metal repairs and I got the engine, tranny, beam and chassis all restored. The car went to the painter last Fall.

While the car is off at the paint shop I've been collecting and restoring all the different pieces and parts so reassembly should go rather quickly. Since this car is a bit of a jigsaw puzzle I'm sure I'll be missing some stuff but I'm in no rush to get it reassembled. I'll try to take pictures of the different components as they go together.

We'll pick up the car in a couple of weeks and bring it home. For now, here are some pictures.

[Rome]

Fantastic! Since you are piecing together the major components, was the body color choice based on your favorite, or do you have documentation that it was originally this color? Will you build up the engine to stock specifications, or take some mild performance liberties?

[joey1320]

Great paint job.

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**1971 Super Project
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[nlorntson]

[D-train]

This is sweet!!!
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shiny paint doesnt make it worth any more

[iamdonquixote]

very nice

[Major Woody]

That's a really nice paint job and really nice prep. There are some serious hours there.

[nlorntson]

[Basketcase]

great project
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'72 Karmann Ghia Coupe (the Boss's)

[nlorntson]

We picked up Ragnar today and we're over the moon with the color and the quality of the work.

We did a temporary assembly to be able to transport that car home.

We also dropped off a 1952 ragtop split beetle for a customer. It will be Azure blue.

Now the journey home and the slow, careful reassembly.

[Rome]

!

[Basketcase]

beautiful!
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'72 Karmann Ghia Coupe (the Boss's)

[Skim]

Amazing!
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GFK
Samba since before the towers collapsed. Still here.
1953 Kabriolet
1954 Sunroof
1959 Lowlight Ghia vert
1960 Lt Grey Double Cab SMZ LEGIT
1963 Deluxe Turkis Walk Thru 15 Window OG Paint

[bwaz]

Looks great!

[Kjell Roar]

Seems to be a really nice car!
And a nice scandinavian name, Ragnar
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I got a historic car, every scratch got a history...

My car, Aug. 4th, 1955 / an early 56: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=610438

[nlorntson]

I forgot how fun it is to assemble a freshly painted car.

I'm working on assembling the bolt on stuff in clean, carpeted area, one piece at a time.

I was going to assemble the license light and get that on the decklid. I have the seal between the housing and decklid, a larger, rubber seal for the engine side, a clear plastic lens and wing nuts for the engine side.

My dilemma is I have two license housing lenses and only one works with the bulb holder I have. Which one is right for an April 1955?

Both fit loosely in the groove of the housing so I assume there must be a seal of some sort that belongs in the channel? I've found nothing listed in the usual supplier websites.

Finally, the seal between the housing and decklid seems very tight and does not want to stay on. Also, the bottom edge looks like it should seal on something, but it doesn't. Any suggestions on installation?

[nlorntson]

I also got a few things done on the chassis in preparation for the body to be married back to the pan.

Transmission gear oil filled
Engine oil filled
Outer axle boot straps installed on the one piece boots.
Was going to hook up the heater boxes but I need to replace the cable
Tighten down some of the front end components
Mounted the tires and wheels on the chassis
Filled the strap over air cleaner with oil
Fitted the choke cable and then realized it needs to come out so it can run through the body
Was going to connect the accelerator cable to the carb but I cant find the conduit, spring, etc.

Here's where the transmission gets filled.

So many details to follow up on, but I'll tackle one issue at a time until the car is done.

[nlorntson]

OK, I found this picture in the gallery. Does anyone know what year this light and lens are for?

[nlorntson]

I assembled my heart taillights for Ragnar.

I started with complete, original Heart lights but had to disassemble for painting. Here's what I started with.

There was some sort of crumbling sealing material between the heart lens and the housing, between the oval lens and the chrome trim, and between the chrome trim and the housing.

Brezelwerks advertises they sell a seal for two of the areas, but I placed an order with Gary and waited and waited and waited and never heard a word so I got a refund and set about an alternate path.

The stuff that was under the heart lens and between the oval glass and the trim seemed to be similar to plumbers putty. I read other descriptions of this stuff being used in similar applications so that's what I went with. If it doesn't work out, I can disassemble things and go an alternate route.

Here are the pieces

I put a liberal amount in between the lens and the trim and in the housing.

I then pressed the trim and lens into the housing and used a small angled needle nose pliers to crimp each of the chromed teeth over the housing edge to lock in the lens.

Once that was done, I cleaned up the excess putty using a small wooden coffee stir stick and finally my finger.

The lens feels tight in the housing and I think when the putty firms up a bit, will be quite fine for what I need it to do.

For the heart lens, I basically did the same.

I think they turned out ok!

[gimmesomeshelter]

Is that an aluminum case?

Cheers,

Paul
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"I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned."

Richard Feynman