1959 Bug Lazurus, Resurrection

[Artistic gearhead]

Greetings from Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. I have decided to post a build thread of my efforts to resurrect a very rusty and neglected old VW. I will be travelling over very familiar territory for many of you but new to me. I found this car in a field in Quesnel, central BC. I made the purchase based on a few photos, then travelled into the interior to load and trailer home. Lazurus is much rustier than I hoped but I decided to at least save him from even more deterioration. Here are a few photos of my new project in situ. This restoration will be done on a very tight budget with very few tools. I am an artist and so any headway on the project is dependant on sales of my paintings. I expect that the end of this effort will see me spending a lot more money than I predict and with me having acquired an abundance of tools. Wish me luck.

[Eric&Barb]

Looking forward to how it goes. The driver door interior panel is from the 1958-59 only era, might be original to the bug. If you decide to replace it or other panels of same look, do consider passing it onto someone who would use it for their beetle.
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[Artistic gearhead]

Arrived home safely. Lazurus was completely seized, no rolling or steering so trailer dismount was not pretty. Provided neighbours with some amusement but I’m confident, this is a great car, right? Set about freeing up wheel bearings and steering. With those problems solved I sandblasted the wheels, painted them and purchased some near new tires so I will be able to easily roll he little beast about.I spent some time cleaning the engine. I plan to attempt to get the engine running first before anything else.

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[mg50]

Nice! Please keep posting your progress.

[far rider]

Looks like a great project. Will probably be more work and $$ than you anticipated but will be worth it in the end.
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67 zenith blue sunroof

Contentment; when what you have is what you want.

[Artistic gearhead]

[Artistic gearhead]

[Artistic gearhead]

[Artistic gearhead]

So I am scuffing off the nasty green paint and exposing the Mignonette Green original. So dented/bondo areas, split/ cracked panels, some rust in lower body and a totally rusted chassis. I am most likely going to proceed with this as a patina build. That will save me a lot of money to spend on other , more practical issues. There is a charm to these original patina cars. I will repair the really ugly rusted bits , paint them and see if I can blend them into the overall original look. I was able to locate some almost unused but old tires from the local tire shop so I sandblasted and painted the wheels. Great to be free to roll the car around when I have very limited room. My next pressing task is to focus on the engine to determine path forward there.

[lboos]

Looking good, don't give up, you have already came a long way.

[Artistic gearhead]

I haven’t been able to open the doors really. Hinges are seized. PO obviously been heaving on them so metal has been damaged on a pillar as well as inside doors. I tried penetrating oil and heat to no avail. Discovered a purpose build hinge pin removal tool made specifically for our little cars made in Britain. Isn’t that cool. Christmas came early and my Lucky 8 Ball Garage tool driven today. Looking forward to trying it out soon.

[sportin-wood]

Nice save! The wheels came out nice. Rattle can, or compressor/sprayer?
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Paused 66 project bug
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"Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman. He's got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it." --- Jeff Spicoli

[Artistic gearhead]

[Emeraldlion]

So far it looks like you have a very solid beetle! Nice front aprons, rear apron. Pretty complete and correct engine, interior. I'm looking forward to seeing progress
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1967 Sunroof Beetle: tourist pass car
1961 SWR Kombi

[my59]

Engine number looks like a May, 1959 number, but having a hard time enlarging photo on phone.
Nice save, great color!
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my59: Well son, my grandfather died before I got to drive it, so does that answer your question?
our79: sunroof bus w/camper interior and 2.0 FI
Other:'12 Jetta, '77 Benz 300D, and a 74 MG Midget.

[Artistic gearhead]

Yes , this is a May1959 production. Numbers matching. It is actually pretty rusty. Bottom of front apron is gone as is spare tire well. Lots of other lower body corrosion. Today did not go well with my door hinge removal tool. More about that later.

[Artistic gearhead]

Some background on engine situation. Original engine, fairly complete but hasn’t run for over 30 years. It was a bit of a production sorting out the old starting system first. Once I got it safely cranking from the key I replaced everything in ignition circuit as well as oil. After many attempts to sort problems I am down to no compression in 1 and 2. 70psi static in 3 and 4. Nothing for it but to pull the engine down and rebuild what ever I need to.
I have ordered a bench mount engine stand and until it arrives I can only pull the little magnesium lump out and set it aside for now.

My original intention was to tackle one thing at a time so I could prevent this project turning into a scattered overwhelming mess. I see now that’s going to be difficult. Problem is this car really needs attention everywhere. My budget prevents me from pushing through anything quickly so you will see me bounce around working on the cheaper more labour intense things until I can afford the tool or part that gets me over the line on a more expensive area.Make sense? I hope so.

[Artistic gearhead]

Major tool fail. My shiny new hinge pin remover wasn't up to it. Broke. So in true cave man fashion I cut the hinges off. I’m afraid to attempt the A pillar hinge screw removal. I know where that’s going. Yuckkk!

[Artistic gearhead]

As the man said “ most of this will buff right out.”

[Eric&Barb]

A good quality wire feed welder goes on your list for tools to get.
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In Stereo, Where Available!