New Owner of Original 1958 Capri Blue Beetle

[type1vwjapan]

Well, here she is. The final product for now.

Just got some basic photos of if for now but will bring all the better stuff to the table soon enough. These pics were before I had the 3 point retractable seat belts put in which actually look fine in the car.

I actually got it last month but had to send it back to the shop for them to work on a few small things since it's still under warranty.

Had been garaged for about 20 years and even though they went through the car very well they said there'd most likely be a few Gremlins come forth, which they did, but now have been straightened out for the most part I think.

Car had a complete tune up as well as the carb, brakes, and fuel pump overhauled. Runs and drives soo nicely. Got new tires on it too.

It's in great condition and I'm so happy with my purchase. it's mostly original except for the front window, had one exterior repaint , the speedometer was changed out, as well as a later style headliner and new seat covers.

it's numbers-matching and as far as I can tell the engine and transmission are original to the car. however I'll confirm that for sure later. If they're not original then they are within the same production month at least. Loving the original carpet and door panels every second of the day too. No way in hell I'd give them up for anything.

Car has NEVER been in any sort of accident. Not even a fender bender. Every body panel is original, even the bumpers and all the brackets! I'll show some shots proving it later of course.

Even has the original key and the deeper I dive into the car the more genuine I find it to be. I was surprised to find the original fuse box labels that tell what each terminal is. One of the neatest things I found was a sticker on the sunvisor that says "Made in West Germany." It's a real time capsule and had been so we'll preserved.

The floors are pristine even if the pictures dont do them much justice. Has an old thick layer of undercoating on. I pulled the mats up and the floors don't have hardly a speck of rust anywhere! Everything is rock solid and straight.

And just for the record, the front tire well is as solid as can be despite the surface rust around the brake reservoir area. Looks to be from brake fluid spills over the years. The rust has been treated and it's as smooth as can be. Not touching it.

The heat is by far the best I've ever had in a VW too! Just goes to show when everything is stock and the way it should be! And here I used to scalf at reading through the original '58 owner's manual there mentions the heating system "blasting" hot air. It's definitely no joke!

Sorry the photos are so poorly arranged! Not easy uploading from a smartphone.

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"My treasure. My favorite things notebook." Spinning on a chair. Winding slopes. Echoes in the bathroom. Making eye contact with cats. The sound of walking on snow. Clouds in the night sky. Cream soda. The sound an umbrella makes when it opens. The smell of the road after it rains. The backseat of a bicyle. Being hugged. "Don't write what you don't like. Don't think about anything you hate. Think only of your favorite things, and nothing else." -Mana Ashida as Rena Michiki in "Mother"

[62ItalianRagtop]

Nice beetle ... I love color capri.
I can't see semaphores ...

Headliner has been replaced and also seat cover.
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LOOKING FOR 62 ENGINE WITH NUMBER FROM 6.904.xxx TO 6.915.xxx
http://tettodistraccio.blogspot.com/

[type1vwjapan]

Thanks! Yes, as I stated it had the headliner and seat covers replaced. It's still a mostly original car within reason of being one you don't feel guilty driving.

It's a US spec bug so it shouldn't have semaphores since it's a '58.
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"My treasure. My favorite things notebook." Spinning on a chair. Winding slopes. Echoes in the bathroom. Making eye contact with cats. The sound of walking on snow. Clouds in the night sky. Cream soda. The sound an umbrella makes when it opens. The smell of the road after it rains. The backseat of a bicyle. Being hugged. "Don't write what you don't like. Don't think about anything you hate. Think only of your favorite things, and nothing else." -Mana Ashida as Rena Michiki in "Mother"

[62ItalianRagtop]

[type1vwjapan]

Here's another pic from the gallery I somehow missed.

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"My treasure. My favorite things notebook." Spinning on a chair. Winding slopes. Echoes in the bathroom. Making eye contact with cats. The sound of walking on snow. Clouds in the night sky. Cream soda. The sound an umbrella makes when it opens. The smell of the road after it rains. The backseat of a bicyle. Being hugged. "Don't write what you don't like. Don't think about anything you hate. Think only of your favorite things, and nothing else." -Mana Ashida as Rena Michiki in "Mother"

[type1vwjapan]

You can see it in the one pic with the wire cover removed a little but is there supposed to be some sort of tarboard underneath the hardboard trunk liner that runs all the way down to the gas tank? Seems like it's been in my car for a very long time and I wouldn't doubt it's not original to the car given all the other original stuff on my car. The front trunk area was never repainted and still has the original paint so that leads me to believe it's supposed to be there even more.
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"My treasure. My favorite things notebook." Spinning on a chair. Winding slopes. Echoes in the bathroom. Making eye contact with cats. The sound of walking on snow. Clouds in the night sky. Cream soda. The sound an umbrella makes when it opens. The smell of the road after it rains. The backseat of a bicyle. Being hugged. "Don't write what you don't like. Don't think about anything you hate. Think only of your favorite things, and nothing else." -Mana Ashida as Rena Michiki in "Mother"

[meranda]

There is padding material under the cardboard trunk cover,that was factory.

[meranda]

[type1vwjapan]

Thank you so much! That's one beautiful bug you've got there. Looks like your's is mostly original inside the hood area too.
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"My treasure. My favorite things notebook." Spinning on a chair. Winding slopes. Echoes in the bathroom. Making eye contact with cats. The sound of walking on snow. Clouds in the night sky. Cream soda. The sound an umbrella makes when it opens. The smell of the road after it rains. The backseat of a bicyle. Being hugged. "Don't write what you don't like. Don't think about anything you hate. Think only of your favorite things, and nothing else." -Mana Ashida as Rena Michiki in "Mother"

[type1vwjapan]

Another question, I've been going through the wiring and making sure all is in in order. Everything is wired factory as far as I can see and it is 99% original German wiring! There were only a few places in the engine compartment where the ends were clipped off and new wire connectors were crimped on. Just on the 15 coil wire and the oil pressure wire.

I was tightening up a few connections in the trunk area and it seems like most of the wires were a tad loose on the screw terminals. Nothing would have jiggled free but I still made sure to tighten up all the screws a little on the fuse box and on the wiper motor since it's wired hot. The hot wire on the wiper motor was a little loose and messy so I took the wire off and tightened it back up as good and neatly as I could get it.

This might sound like a silly question, but how tight should the screws be to make sure nothing comes free? It's a bit tricky with stranded wire but it seems like all of my connections have been soldered together to make them a little neater and hold together better.

Thanks again!

I tightened everything just a hair bit more and snugged it down. Didn't Hercules anything on I believe. I also want to make sure I didn't overtighten anything and run the risk of stripping a thread or something.

Sorry to be OCD here, lol.
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"My treasure. My favorite things notebook." Spinning on a chair. Winding slopes. Echoes in the bathroom. Making eye contact with cats. The sound of walking on snow. Clouds in the night sky. Cream soda. The sound an umbrella makes when it opens. The smell of the road after it rains. The backseat of a bicyle. Being hugged. "Don't write what you don't like. Don't think about anything you hate. Think only of your favorite things, and nothing else." -Mana Ashida as Rena Michiki in "Mother"

[sunroof]

Sounds to me like you're doing it right. Something I have done in the past is to take out all the little screws one at a time and put a little anti-seize on each one.

Don
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Better and better mistakes!

[sunroof]

Amazing to see such an original car. One question I have is: I wonder what happened to the wheels? Can you find date codes to see if they match?

Don
_________________
Better and better mistakes!

[type1vwjapan]

Well, just lost a long reply I spent over a half hour typing. Nice!

Thanks, Don! I'm honestly not too sure about the wheels. When I have a wheel off I'll comb the back side for a production code. Would it be on the back side?

I'd take one off for you now but I've learned my lesson to leave very well enough alone until it's absolutely necessary on these 50+ year old cars.

Can't tell you how many times I've gotten myself into a bind and barely got back on road the next morning for work. Also, don't feel like losing a clip since those old clips are notorious for snapping off.

What color are they supposed to be? I'm not thinking black...However, I like them but have been wondering myself. I too immediately noticed the black wheels. I'm guessing the previous owner just liked black wheels and when the exterior was painted he changed the wheel color.

The wheels have a nice patina on them when you get up close and look. Appear to be original. Not sure if the hub caps are original but they look and feel very similar to an original set I had on my previous bug.

Now, another question. Hope I can pick your brains a bit. I decided to adjust the clutch free play last night since it seemed a bit too excessive. Everything was fine and shifted great. No chattering or grinding.

Just turned the wingnut a turn or two. Seems about right now and within the 3/4 to inch range. Before it was about an inch and half or a little more.

Drove fine this morning and same as before but now I'm all worried I tightened it too much and am causing the cable to wear excessively. I watched a few YouTube videos but am a little confused on how to gauge the free play.

This might sound nuts, but is the free play measured from almost no resistance (being able to push it with even just a finger or two with very little effort) to a slight resistance (requiring more effort to push it down), or from a slight resistance to heavy resistance?

Seems like to me it's almost no resistance to a slight resistance.

Again, call me OCD but this comes from my past experience of cables snapping. One was an old clutch cable a few years ago and another an accelerator cable this past winter when I went to fire my previous bug up one freezing morning (possible too tight after I had replaced the carb.)

Thanks!
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"My treasure. My favorite things notebook." Spinning on a chair. Winding slopes. Echoes in the bathroom. Making eye contact with cats. The sound of walking on snow. Clouds in the night sky. Cream soda. The sound an umbrella makes when it opens. The smell of the road after it rains. The backseat of a bicyle. Being hugged. "Don't write what you don't like. Don't think about anything you hate. Think only of your favorite things, and nothing else." -Mana Ashida as Rena Michiki in "Mother"

[sunroof]

The date codes are under the hub caps between the wheel bolts. It is a small circle with month over year.

This is what your wheels should look like:

Your wheels probably came off a later car.

Clutch free play: you should get about a inch of pedal travel before the release bearing hits the pressure plate. If you press on the pedal with your fingers it's pretty obvious when this happens. You cannot damage the system by over or under tightening, it just won't work. Broken cables are a part of life for these old cars.

Don
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Better and better mistakes!

[type1vwjapan]

Thanks for letting me know that! Sounds much easier than having to take a wheel off. I might try and pry a hub cap off and see what I can find out.

I'll try peeking at the spare tire first. It might be the actual original wheel while the other 4 were changed out.

What makes you think they are most likely from a later car? Are they shaped differently? Sorry for my ignorace.

Tried comparing the wheels but they look the same to me other than the white walls and wheel colors. I must say that the original color scheme is much more attractive but I'll live with what I've got.
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"My treasure. My favorite things notebook." Spinning on a chair. Winding slopes. Echoes in the bathroom. Making eye contact with cats. The sound of walking on snow. Clouds in the night sky. Cream soda. The sound an umbrella makes when it opens. The smell of the road after it rains. The backseat of a bicyle. Being hugged. "Don't write what you don't like. Don't think about anything you hate. Think only of your favorite things, and nothing else." -Mana Ashida as Rena Michiki in "Mother"

[Sharp64]

I think the question has been raised due to the paint difference. My guess is that when the car was repainted they resprayed the wheels as well. Perhaps it had aftermarket wheels on it so they didn’t have anything to reference and sprayed them reverse of what they should have been painted. Checking the datecodes would give an indication as to whether they are original or not.
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1960 Indigo Blue Ragtop (Blue Barry)
1967 Ghia
1985 Westy Money Pit
“...some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” - Michael Caine

[type1vwjapan]

Yes, the car has obviously had the exterior repainted as was explained earlier and made very clear from the shop when I bought the car. Sorry for the confusion as that was probably lost in my walls of text.
The attractive part to me about the car was that it was advertised as still having the original interior paint as well as in the engine bay and front hood and spare tire well.

What I can't figure out as why it's being speculated that the wheels are from a later car or even after market. Is it because of the color? Do they look off or strange?

Wouldn't make sense that everything survived but the wheels, considering how original the car is. Has every original body panel down to the some of the bumper bracket plates.

Not trying to doubt anything just trying to think out loud here. Appreciate the insights!

Maybe there is something obvious I'm missing here. I honestly believe that the wheels were just repainted.

I checked all of the wheels this evening and I didn't find any dates stamped. All foud was some 14 x something number (looked like wheel size), the VW stamp, and what I think was a "T."

I'll verify and get some pics later. Sorry for the delay!
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"My treasure. My favorite things notebook." Spinning on a chair. Winding slopes. Echoes in the bathroom. Making eye contact with cats. The sound of walking on snow. Clouds in the night sky. Cream soda. The sound an umbrella makes when it opens. The smell of the road after it rains. The backseat of a bicyle. Being hugged. "Don't write what you don't like. Don't think about anything you hate. Think only of your favorite things, and nothing else." -Mana Ashida as Rena Michiki in "Mother"

[Sharp64]

The wheels are painted incorrectly. I was just saying that maybe they were done so because they didn't have the originals to go by. No one is saying they are aftermarket. However, what tire size do you have? If the rims are 14", they are definitely not original as they should be 15".
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1960 Indigo Blue Ragtop (Blue Barry)
1967 Ghia
1985 Westy Money Pit
“...some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” - Michael Caine

[60ragtop]

date code

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Rick
Certified Mechanic by the State of Michigan in 1977
ASA certified in 1987
Certified Hunter Wheel Alignment Master Technician 1986

[sunroof]

There we go, they're not all as clear as that but that is what you're looking for.

Look at the wheels on this car, a '65, correct for that year.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1965-volkswagen-beetle-11/

Don
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Better and better mistakes!