1953 Standard Model Oval VW Beetle

The rear quarter was in a right state... replacement would have been nice... but repair and panel beating is the way forward when you cant afford to replace it!!

Jan 2009 - found the chassis...

Starting to prepare for brakes etc...

Whilst cleaning for paint, got carried away and took the beam off

Front nearly all back together with all new brakes... but Hayden wanted the chassis back...

hayden is going to repair the front spare wheel well and replace the front valance..

we have been repairing and not replacing as this is a budget "get it back on the road" project and NOT a resto...

Jan 11th 2009 - Hayden has finished his magic .. its now back home - thanks to Hayden for working on it most of the weekend!

I'm gonna finish the chassis now and start on the prep for drab green paint...

Just collected my 356 chromies (well rusties with painted bits) but they will hold my larger tyres perfectly...

Thanks to Fatboyhog1 from Dunstable!

Feb 2009 work has come to a halt as I'm building up my chassis for my '53

meanwhile these blasted wheels came home...

not done anything on this for a while.. and then suddenly hayden knocks up a lift kit!

its a sturdy piece of kit!

So, an update..

I've pushed the car to the back of the garage and stored things on and in it for the last couple

of months

I really need to do something with it.. but its cold out there!

So today I dug it out and started some more prep work... I rubbed the roof a bit!

The lift kit is painted but no holes drilled yet and not fitted.

nothing else has been done.

Just found the old MOT - last on the Road - 12th September 1973 - Mileage was 95866 the previous september (1972)

I've been rubbing and red oxide priming the whole shell - but still loads more to do!

yesterday the shell was lifted off the chassis and some prep done on the lift kit -

Got 3 or 4 hours on it today...

Managed to clearance the gearbox for 12v flywheel

Fitted 12v Starter bush

Half installed front shox

Painted axle shafts

removed rear suspension / doughnuts

Painted spring plates etc.

No real progress

Rear brakes are together - New cylinders and shoes...

There are the old suspension doughnuts -

Even though the car was only on the road for less than 20 years, it looks like it got well worn!

Today I -

Decided to remove the single jacking point ... leaving a big hole - so I welded it up... Its not up to Haydens standards so please dont look!

I've fitted the heater cables and glued down the rubber body to pan seals (one to the pan and one to the lift kit) - I'm as high as a kite!

I've also fitted one side of rubber doughnuts and rear suspension covers...

starter motor fitted and tested

only a few more jobs and the body can go on

Todays "progress"

Spent ages trying to unblock the fuel line only to be splattered in the face by 36 year olf petrol lumps!

Then to find the fuel line is leaking.

So installed a new fuel line in the passenger foot well.

Finished the rear suspension.

Bolted the engine up and ensured it turned over on the starter 9clearancing the bell housing)

Dropped the engine and gearbox oil.

replaced gearbox oil.

Removed engine to build and service it.

Made holes in the rubber body to lift kit seal and pan to lift kit seal .. for the body bolts.

Eventually throw the body back on

heare are the pics... its not lined up or bolted down yet.

Progress is slow.

My back has decided it doesnt like the cold and is trying to kill me.. so I've only spent an hour or so out there in the last couple of days.

I've decided that lying on the floor isnt for me, so I'm striping and servicing the engine on the floor of the garage. i've stripped it down to the heads, adjusting everything, new seals and cleaning everything, full service and back together... its 1/2 done..

A small bit at a time...

This weekend the engine came mostly back together ... not finished but serviced and on its way.. Found some genuine heat exchangers and with a quick weld and coat of paint, they will be toasty warm. now waiting for a carb rebuild kit.

I've almost finished bolting the body down...

bought some long (90mm) M8 Bolts this morning and have managed to get them all in bar the 2 at the rear (tomorrows job) ... the worst bolts were the 4 M10 bolts at the front... 2 were ok, then the other 2 took an hour each... the problems are having to pass through the chassis, then a rubber seal, then box section bottom and then top, then a rubber seal and then into the captive nut in the heater channel. Its not easy! And the more you get in the harder it gets.

The body is now bolted down, along both sides and one each side under the rear seat.

I have just made 6 body mount spacers out of the same steel tube and drilled them, they now need fitting.

The engine bay is now painted black, along with other things that have had a coat of hammerite too.

Slow progress.

Today i have slapped some paint around the inside and under bonnet area to tidy it up... its rough and ready but clean.

I have also repaired the rear valance and welded up the exhaust cut outs (I'd normally get Hayden to do this but my welding is fine for this as the valance is the wrong one any way!)

I've also reapired the B post holes and the W shape engine lid had lots of drilled holes...

I've repaired both of thse, and have got as far as slapping some filler on, but have left the filler to harden before I flat it off.

More tinkering this afternoon...

The engine has been in and out a couple of times!

More gearbox clearancing as it was still too tight, then I realised the reason it wasnt turning over properly was the freshly charged year old GSF battery

Engine back in, held with one bolt.. thats all you need isnt it?

Carb rebuilt and fitted.

Had a look at some of the wires, tidied up and threw away lots of them, have installed a non broken fuse box and started to lay in some of the wires, unfortunatelly, many wires have been cut short, so there is lots to do. I fitted a key switch to the dash... it now turns over and fires for a moment from fuel in the carb (no fuel tank or fuel pump yet!)

The exhaust i was going to fit sits too low... I found another... and i still think its too low, so may go for something stock ish?

The engine looks weird now its in...

I have got some brake fluid into the brakes for the first time.. no brakes yet, but dribbles at the nipples... so hopefully a case of getting an assistant to help.

gear lever is on...

seems to be lots going on, but no real progress.

o today wasnt so good.

With the help of Darren we bled the brakes for the first time... so we now have a brake pedal of sorts... the brakes are all new and will need to bed in a bit!

then i fitted the exhaust, and fired her up... KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK....

After lots of playing, the engine is out and being pulled apart... its been bench run on the floor to check and its coming from within...

I drove this engine from Norfolk to Home.. and it was fine... 2 years on the garage floor and it is now broken - WHY~?

So after my last post, I went back out into the cold and tore the engine down.

Looks like a washer got into it whilst it was standing...

(and yes it did have a rag down the manifold)

I've been out and "found" some 1641 P&Bs... and some Push rod tubes... tomorrow I get to rebuild the top end.

I'll have a look at the head tomorrow... its got some damage, but may clean up?

another day wasted.

Got out there just after mid day... and back in the house by 5pm...

The engine is a slapper..

The sort you slap together and pray!

1641 P&Ps installed on one side... lunch time.. then do the other side...

Engine in and running - 4.30pm

Standard exhaust - for ground clearance!

I've got lots of finishing to do, but it runs without banging!

pruple came round today... with a "borrowed" tyre to try on the rear... 265/70/15 ... the same as my buggy, but its too big

Think I may have to try 235/75/15s now ...

Cant find anything taller at the moment.

Cleaned out the fuel tank this evening... full of lumps of rusty black tar... and it stinks! It hasnt been filled up since the early 70's!

Just washed it out now and will see how much is left inside it in the morning...

The passenger door doesent look original and that would match with the accident damage on the rear 1/4.

I've just been looking through the import paperwork from 1968 (it is / was on a G plate but the DVLA have no records of it!)

The car had done 178,000 kms at that point.

So I assume that the MOT in 1972 that says 95866 is actually 195,866 kms

give it another year on the road, and you've got to assume that its at 200,000 kms in 1973 when the MOT ran out

Col Robert Frier Jardine and his wife Mary Ann Valerie Jardine from Lymington were in the Army in Germany and bought the vehicle in 1966.

They came back to the UK in 1968 with the car. The car was registered to B F Germany.

just worked it out.. its 125,000 miles.. ish

Dave came round tonight.. with my new tyres that pruple had collected.. and passed to dave at the ace last night - Thanks guys!

We fitted a tyre to one of my rims and bolted it up to the rear of the car.

It rubs on the spring plate.. but only just..

so we spaced the rim out by a couple of mm and it no longer rubs... so I need to try some spacers..

anyone got any spacers for a 5 stud car?

Jan 31st - The oval has had a busy weekend...

It got taken by A frame to Hayden on Friday night

Dave & I went to Karmann Konnection on Saturday morning to get a small bag of rubber seals...

Hayden played with the doors and door gaps and made everything look and fit much better...

And he moved the hole in the bulk head that the stearing column goes through .. it needed dropping as the body is lifted 50mm

Then I fitted some new engine lid brackets and hayden helped me get the lid to fit across the top..

he only problem? The rear impact the car has had in the past had twisted the rear end... so the valance was sitting about 1" too far to the left...

These things dont worry Hayden... he pushed, coaxed, hammered, tickled it untill the rear was back where it belonged...

This afternoon i have thrown the wings and bonnet at it ... in a trial fit kind of way.

Lots more prep to do still...

The 4 wings have had a coat of hammerite underneath...

I've managed to get the whole thing including wings into some form of grey primer...

Next is the pot of Drab green and a paint brush..

Well..

Its getting there..

Tonight was the maiden voyage..

First time out since 1973.

Only a short trip up the doad and back down, but it moved under its own power and stopped too!

The lights worked and the steering pointed it in the right direction.

Some pics in the dark -

Well, it FAILED its MOT this morning... at last hurdle..

The brakes were being tested, and then suddenly "bang" and the pedal dropped...

Everything in the braking system is new.

Loosing fluid by the master cylinder.. Hayden sugested it could be the new brake light switch... Aparantly there is a batch of black ones that fail!

I had a look and there was fluid all around the switch

Hayden lent me a white one and I fitted it. bled the brakes and it PASSED the MOT!

Thanks to GSF for the crap and Dangerous switch

So this afternoon I went to the DVLA to try to get it registered / re-registered..

When it was bought to the UK in 1968 it was given a 1968 number plate and so is not age related.

Not that it matters as it dropped off the DVLA records a long time ago.

So I needed them to re-register it (usually £25 fee) AND give it an age related plate. (usually free)

They ended up deciding to register it from scratch, so I've had to complete customs forms like you would on an import and had to pay the £55 fee for a vehicle just imported.. even though its been here since 1968 and has been registered here before!

and they they want to inspect but it will take them over a week till they can see it!

Today i painted and fitted some bumpers and brackets etc and adjusted the clutch, added some waxoil to some cavities.

DVLA phoned and changed the date of the inspection.

We now have bumpers..

and a set of door cards with help from Dave....

and new indicator units nearly made...

Well..

I've been to the DVLA today in it.. its firts proper run since 1973!

Got to the DVLA and met up with my school friend Glen who was also having his oval inspected!

The oval has a huge flat spot, an oil leak from the oil filler neck and its developing what I hope is an exhaust blow and is a bit wobbly at speed but it made it there and back!

Just gotta fix things and wait for my tax disc and registration number.

7.00 x 15 tyres www.vwoval.co.uk vw oval beetle project body lift baja.JPG (272582 bytes)

6th

We have a Tax Disc.

Number plates ordered.

Properly insured on its new number.

We now have number plates.

The speedo sciezed and snapped the speedo cable.. I've made it work again and replaced the cable.

Darren and i spent a lot of time changing the carb 3 times and then the distributor this afternoon (after drinking lots of tea) and it now runs quite nicely..

Oh and Its even got a door seal on the drivers door...

one day it will be finished.

Well I made it down through Luton on the M1 to the Ace Cafe, back across to Rickmansworth on the A40, Across to Smallford and back home oop north againm on the A1 tonight - about 100 miles without a trouble

We went to Big Bang for the day on the Friday - and even got our photo in Volksworld!

today some little changes...

I changed the headlight lenses to earlier style ones... Found a pair of lights on ebay and robbed them for the lenses...

Its been a year already...

Today it passed its MOT - no problems.

Just need to swap the front wheels / tyres back onto it