My 56 garage restoration

[xraymatt]

A little over a year ago I picked up this sweet 1956 oval window. This is not the first oval that I've owned, but definitely the most expensive one! Back when I was in the Navy, I had a 55 and later a 56. Regrettably, both of those cars have come and gone. When I was growing up, my dad owned a 1961 black ragtop, which he later sold to the kid working behind the counter at Baskin Robbins in Downey, Ca for 800 bucks. Man, would I love to find that car today!
Anyhow, this 56 is in great shape, but as with any VW, touch-ups are inevitable.
I've been a longtime student of the VW Samba university and I've learned a lot, so I finally decided to put my restoration journey out there for everyone to see. The biggest difference is that I'm doing it all in my garage with only the skills that I've learned here. Thanks to the influence of "Dougs 56" (look it up, it's amazing), I'm going for it. Stay tuned and enjoy.

[xraymatt]

One of the first things that I did was to sand down the surface rust on the seat rails and repaint them. I really like the color of the seats, so for now those will stay. At some point I'll remove everything and completely restore them.

[xraymatt]

I'll hit the fast forward button here..... Over the past year I've done several things to the 56. I ended up switching out the transmission for a pro street transmission from Rancho, replaced the rear brakes, refurbished the fuel tank and drilled a hole for a fuel sender as well as adding a Dehene fuel gauge. I also added an ivory banjo steering wheel.
Towards the end of last summer I decided to address some of the rot and rust around the rear fenders and the hood. As much as I didn't want to mess with the original paint, I felt like it had to be done.
As 2023 approached, I had plans for a full teardown and ground up restoration after seeing Dougs 56 project. That's exactly what my 56 needed, but where would I find the time?
Well, last month my dad passed away unexpectedly at the age of 78. Thinking back to his 61 ragtop, I knew now that this project was going to be dedicated to him. The full teardown of the 56 has begun. This project will serve as therapy and something to keep my mind busy. I anticipate that this will be a slow-moving project since it gets quite hot out here in the California desert, but I'm going to enjoy every moment of it.

Best wife ever!

[markendee]

Great car to start with.

The old saying "if you want to end up with a good car start with a good car"

Really like what you have done already.

Will be watching along with interest.

Regards,

Mark.
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Member # 145244

[xraymatt]

Found some time in the past week to separate the body from the pan and I only broke 1 bolt! You could tell the body has never been taken off. Makeshift breaker bar sure helped!
It was my first good look at the pan, which did not look too bad at all.

[xraymatt]

This morning I spent a few hours in the garage before it got too hot. I managed to remove the front axle and the rear axle/ transmission. As far as the tear down goes, I think this is as far as I’ll go. I’m planning on taking a wire wheel/ grinder to the pan (both sides), then applying an anti-rust coating. Stay tuned. 🤙🏻

[Rome]

What was in that rectangular hole at the top of the tunnel near the Nap Hat? And for what was that quarter-size hole in the Nap Hat on the passenger side? Will you install a replacement front beam so that you have the shock towers and front shocks?

[xraymatt]

The rectangle cutout on top of the tunnel is an access point cut by the previous owner (I assume to access the clutch cable hook). I'm planning on putting in an access panel that can be covered up. I don't want any unnecessary holes in the tunnel.
The quarter size hole was also cut by the PO to run the fuel line inside of the car. I'm obviously going to resolve that issue.
Front shocks is a must, so yes, I'm going to look for another beam that has the shock towers. Thanks for the questions! Good eye!

[xraymatt]

With the weather projected to surpass 100° this week, I headed out to the garage early this morning. I began to clean up the pan, which like I said before, is in pretty good shape. I placed an order for some rust sealer and top coat from Mastercraft yesterday, so that’s out of the way. I also sprayed the transmission cradle and the back half of the chassis with engine degreaser. While that marinates, I’m in the pool!🤙🏻

[67rustavenger]

[xraymatt]

[xraymatt]

The temperature yesterday didn’t quite reach 100°, so I got out there and put in some work on the 56. The pan got degreased and power washed, also I tried to see if the original fuel line was still viable, which it is not. So I’ll probably look at replacing that, along with all of the crusty rubber grommets. The brake lines all still look functional, so I might not mess with those.
After power washing the topside, I flipped it over and started grinding the bottom half. It’s in good shape, but the surface rust is pretty labor intensive to get off. Little at a time, but it’s getting there. 🤙🏻🍀

[xraymatt]

Got the bottom all (mostly) surface rust free.....

[Dan22]

Good time to bang those dents out of the floor pans!
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1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[Busstom]

Holy smokes, I thought my pans were dented. At least you can easily dolly them while it's apart (my body is off right now too, I'm doing the same).
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My name's Steve and it's pronounced "Bust 'em" (cuz people think I'm Tom)

[xraymatt]

Good suggestion, guys. I banged on them for a bit, but decided to just roll with them how they are. At least there isn’t any rot! The silver Mastercoat rust sealer goes on real smooth. I got the top and bottom done and also got the topside done with Mastercoat gloss black.
Temperatures here in the desert are going north of 110° this coming week, so I’m hitting pause on this project. Stay tuned.
Again, I appreciate the comments and suggestions. 🤙🏻

[xraymatt]

Well, the heat has finally started to subside out here in the desert, so it's time to get back out there. In the past couple of weeks, I managed to get the front beam mounted, front brakes connected, pedal assembly re-installed and clutch cable inserted. Also got the transmission back in and the rear axle seals replaced. The new 61 ragtop is currently using the BRM's, so I put the smoothies on and got the pan rolling. The next steps are to bleed the brakes, and start insulating the floor pans. After that I can roll the pan out of the garage and start working on the surface rust on the underside of the body. The OG paint will be left untouched, with the exception of a clear coat. Nice to finally get the ball rolling on this project again!

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1956 Reed Green oval window
1961 OG Black ragtop

[Busstom]

Hey, at least the pans are solid and sound, no one gonna be seeing em
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My name's Steve and it's pronounced "Bust 'em" (cuz people think I'm Tom)

[VW_Jimbo]

Nice work so far!

On the pan….is that rear portion/patch welded in or just sitting in there? Looks like an open seam on the bottom. Maybe it is a shadow, but if it is an open seam, you should seam seal it to keep water from entering into it and rotting that section out again.

Seams like that lead to body rot. No lap seams in automotive body work, ever! They never hold up, long term.

Just a heads up and an easy fix. Seam sealer, than paint, done!
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[xraymatt]