New project 1958 Beetle

willieo · Post by **willieo** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 2:24 pm

My first project in nearly 10 years, found an awesome 1958 beetle 100% complete just need a new paint job and a bit of cleaning and here and there some new rubbers.

No body putty on the body or any damages just some surface rust here and there, cant wait to get started. Please if anyone have a workshop manuel for a 57/58 beetle that you want sell please give me a shout

65bug · Post by **65bug** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 2:28 pm

The one I bought Last year seems to be the exact same colour as yours maybe even built the same month. Vin starts with 18585**.

65bug · Post by **65bug** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 2:31 pm

Here is mine

Dutch_Diver · Post by **Dutch_Diver** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 11:42 pm

Now that's a great project

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=50.838349,-1.817860

willieo · Post by **willieo** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 2:52 pm

Dutch_Diver wrote:Now that's a great project

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=50.838349,-1.817860

yip and i cant wait to get my hands on it this december, the bug arrived on saterday and i took it further apart and to my surprice there is no rust on the floor or enywhere else on the body and still have all the original parts and all numbers is matching, this car was last on a tar road in 83 and was parked to to the death of the owner at the time and was standing since then, na parts been taken of or sold and the motor also still looks ok

willieo · Post by **willieo** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 2:53 pm

65bug wrote:The one I bought Last year seems to be the exact same colour as yours maybe even built the same month. Vin starts with 18585**.

i will check tonight maybe, when are you starting with yours

MINCE · Post by **MINCE** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 2:54 pm

brilliant stuff. lucky bast@rd

willieo · Post by **willieo** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 2:58 pm

MINCE wrote:brilliant stuff. lucky bast@rd

Thanks, took me a few months to get a decent one, was hoping for a oval but i will settle with this one as i couldnt get a decent oval and at the right price

MINCE · Post by **MINCE** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:01 pm

nothing beats a complete car. Less headaches less time spent on sourcing parts.
you have a winner. You gonna roll as is or do a complete resto? sandblasting, new paint, all that stuff?

willieo · Post by **willieo** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:18 pm

MINCE wrote:nothing beats a complete car. Less headaches less time spent on sourcing parts.
you have a winner. You gonna roll as is or do a complete resto? sandblasting, new paint, all that stuff?

All that there is for me to do on this car is to sand it down and paint it and get some new rubbers and redo the seats and roof lining. There are only two small dents on the car, one on the roof and one on the bonnet should use about 50g of filler to sort it out

The previuos owner wanted to restore the car himself and have already stripped all the paint off to check for rust etc so now i just have to paint and start putting it back together

i am two minded at the moment one is to restore it to original specs(green) with a brake upgrade and one is to paint it two tone(blue and white) with disk brakes, lower suspension and a nice set of wheels, still not sure what to do and will hopefully open my mind when i get to the paint store later this week.

I keep on telling myself i am dreamimng as i have never saw a bug in this good nick for that year model, i have check all over the body and pan to make sure they have not welded new panels but could find any trace of any mods dome to it

MINCE · Post by **MINCE** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:22 pm

my 2 cents, original specs. you can still do the lowering if you want, but you will eventually grow out of the 2-tone thing.
and by nice set of wheels, I hop you do not mean 'after-market' wheels.
Check out options you can do with the smothies, or check out some empi sprinstars, or empi-5's or Radars.
Those suite the beetle better than anything else.

If you wanna put on disc brakes, you might want to narrow your front beam as it will add extra width to your front beam.

But, my 2-cents.

willieo · Post by **willieo** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:34 pm

MINCE wrote:my 2 cents, original specs. you can still do the lowering if you want, but you will eventually grow out of the 2-tone thing.
and by nice set of wheels, I hop you do not mean 'after-market' wheels.
Check out options you can do with the smothies, or check out some empi sprinstars, or empi-5's or Radars.
Those suite the beetle better than anything else.

If you wanna put on disc brakes, you might want to narrow your front beam as it will add extra width to your front beam.

But, my 2-cents.

thanks, i am going to the paint shop later the week and hopefully i will get the mind together as i don't like the original colour and yes i agree no aftermarket wheels, was thinking of widening the originals front with 1 to 2 inch and rear 3 to 5inch (colour code rims with crome hubcaps and white walls) or n nice set of old porche rims

MINCE · Post by **MINCE** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:41 pm

well good luck with that.
I am just weary of 2 tone jobs. they look cool but can get get old very quickly.
Maybe it is because i don't actually like them. I did once but not anymore, hence me saying that.

werner w · Post by **werner w** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 8:32 am

Willie,

Do you have any idea what you have bought? When last did you find a car with the original seats still usable with minor repairs, perfect door panels, original green rubber floor mats, all the hard to find bits and pieces? Restore her to original specs, including the weird green paint. Out of a value point of view she will be worth 20 times more if restored than just redone with some widened wheels, two tone paint job and silly modifications. Out of experience I can tell you that it is more satisfying to perform a proper restoration than just a redone. Yes it will take longer, cost maybe more and so on. Will you derive more satisfaction out of a proper restoration or a redone? Just something you need to ask yourself.

Knowing the car very well she does not deserve anything but a proper restoration.
Just my opinion no harm intended.

Good luck and enjoy it.

willieo · Post by **willieo** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 8:55 am

werner w wrote:Willie,

Do you have any idea what you have bought? When last did you find a car with the original seats still usable with minor repairs, perfect door panels, original green rubber floor mats, all the hard to find bits and pieces? Restore her to original specs, including the weird green paint. Out of a value point of view she will be worth 20 times more if restored than just redone with some widened wheels, two tone paint job and silly modifications. Out of experience I can tell you that it is more satisfying to perform a proper restoration than just a redone. Yes it will take longer, cost maybe more and so on. Will you derive more satisfaction out of a proper restoration or a redone? Just something you need to ask yourself.

Knowing the car very well she does not deserve anything but a proper restoration.
Just my opinion no harm intended.

Good luck and enjoy it.

Hi Werner

It is stil feels like a dream and still cant believe my luck and i have decided to keep it as original as possible (even with the green paint), i have orderd the paint and hopefully by xmas she would have a nice new paint job. I am busy cleaning the floor pan ( not that there is a lot of work to be done )and hopefully this weekend i can have it repainted and then in two weeks or so start to strip the motor and gearbox to check for defaults and to make sure that once i hit the road sometime early next year that all is in good order

will keep you guys updated as i clean and paint as there is not much more to do on it(just time)

Aircooled VW South Africa