Author Topic: 1957 Oval Beetle  (Read 4040 times)

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Offline Jonathan

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1957 Oval Beetle
« on: August 08, 2015, 12:39:18 PM »
My name is Jonathan. Here's a little about my love for Beetles over the years. I bought my first 1968 Beetle when I was 16. It was all original (beige). I had the heater channels cut out and replaced, installed an adjustable lowered beam which led to some major water issues (leaks). In the winter I would have to chip the ice away so my peddles would operate freely, and of course there was the scraping on the INSIDE of the windshield. So, no, the heater channels never worked properly again. Also installed a nice 4 tip exhaust and had a lot of fun with it as there was a bit of a gap in the set up and flames would explode out the back at times. I also fried my entire wiring harness when my air filter popped off and shorted my electrical through the entire car. Lost some money on that one, but some good experience was gained.

My next Beetle came from Port Coquitlam approximately 20 years ago (thanks to Chris Baker!). I convinced a guy to sell me his 1959 convertible Beetle that was definitely not for sale, and completely disassembled it after my tranny seized and never got it back together. I had plans to completely restore it of course, but that never happened, sold it in 1997. I've seen it at past GCVW shows put back together nicely.

I have also had a string of Beetles in between (1965, 1967, 1969) and recently my baby blue 1968 Beetle that I flipped last July after I installed some drop spindles and rebuilt the 1500cc engine; but I had been searching for on oval window Beetle ever since I was 16 and had my first Beetle.

So here is my mostly original 1957 Beetle that I picked up from Vancouver Island last summer. You may have seen it on the Samba. Awesome family that owned it since 1977 and sold it to me for a great deal. There are a few little things that I am working on with it currently, but no big projects yet. I'm going to wait a bit until something really needs attention. Too often in the past I have gotten too deep into a project with the proper knowledge, so I am going to approach this one slowly. I picked up a correct "w" decklid at the Spring swap at AVR (thanks to whoever sold it to me for $60). I would like to find an original Bosch 010 to pair this up with (if I can find one at a decent price) so I can keep things period correct and improve my pick up off the line. Eventually I will drop the ride and upgrade the tranny and engine and convert to 12v, but for now I am just going to enjoy as a "stock ride".

Anyways, thanks AIRSPEED community for reading, I love reading all the posts and seeing your pics!
« Last Edit: August 24, 2015, 10:55:43 AM by Jonathan »
1963 Beetle
2010 Golf
1997 Golf

Offline pittwagen

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Re: 1957 Oval Beetle
« Reply #1 on: August 08, 2015, 03:42:42 PM »
Got to see your 57 at the Westkuste Dubfest a couple of weeks ago.  Very nice indeed. It was good talking to you. 

An 010, 019 or a full mechanical BR8 would all work well.  Used them all but I liked the 019 the best with its broader advance curve.

Someone will have what you need at the Great Canadian.

Offline Jonathan

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Re: 1957 Oval Beetle
« Reply #2 on: August 08, 2015, 03:58:34 PM »
Thanks for pointing me towards AirSpeed.

Yes I have been reading a lot about the differences between the 010 and 019.
Thanks again, really nice talking with you at Dubfest.
« Last Edit: August 24, 2015, 10:56:20 AM by Jonathan »
1963 Beetle
2010 Golf
1997 Golf

Offline buggy1

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Re: 1957 Oval Beetle
« Reply #3 on: August 08, 2015, 04:34:21 PM »
Johnathan how did the bug run going home after the dub Fest?
'65 buggy
'58 baja in progress
Sunset Buggy Club

Offline Jonathan

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Re: 1957 Oval Beetle
« Reply #4 on: August 08, 2015, 04:56:02 PM »
Runs as well as an old unrestored 36hp can; but I still lack a bunch of power at lower rpm which I think is due to the distributor and carb not being paired up properly.
Thanks again for your help with tightening up the pulley. Here's a before pic. I have capped off the vacuum on the distributor for now.
1963 Beetle
2010 Golf
1997 Golf

Offline silas

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Re: 1957 Oval Beetle
« Reply #5 on: August 09, 2015, 03:00:01 PM »
hi jonathan and welcome to the asf!! as you've already found out, it's a great local community with lots of friendly & knowledgeable people!!

i love your oval! looks great the way it sits and it sounds like you're on the right path...get that distributor and carb setup sorted and tuned and enjoy this car!!

hope to see you out for the gcvws events...it's going to be a great weekend!!

Offline Jonathan

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Re: 1957 Oval Beetle
« Reply #6 on: August 09, 2015, 04:53:35 PM »
Thanks Silas for the encouragement and welcome; yes, looking forward to the GCVW weekend!! Maybe I'll find some cool stuff at the swap :)
1963 Beetle
2010 Golf
1997 Golf

Offline Jonathan

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Re: 1957 Oval Beetle
« Reply #7 on: August 19, 2015, 07:24:59 PM »
Picked up some good engine and narrowed beam parts from vwboop's garage sale, thanks Chris!

I am having a bit of trouble getting my "new" distributor set up properly, it won't start. I think I still need to rotate the distributor a couple of degrees clockwise to get the rotor in line for #1 at TDC, but the vacuum metal line and can is right up against where the metal fuel line comes up from the fuel pump and it can't move any further. I put the other one back in and it fired right up. Any ideas, has anyone encountered this issue? It is an original Bosch VJU 4 BR8. And it turns out that my carb isn't a bus 28 PCI, it did have the vacuum port at the back, so now I have a back up 28 PCI carb I guess.
« Last Edit: August 19, 2015, 07:34:16 PM by Jonathan »
1963 Beetle
2010 Golf
1997 Golf

Offline bwaz

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Re: 1957 Oval Beetle
« Reply #8 on: August 20, 2015, 10:32:47 AM »
180 degrees out?
brian waz

Offline mitchy965

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Re: 1957 Oval Beetle
« Reply #9 on: August 20, 2015, 11:28:59 AM »
may be your dist drive is indexed incorrectly. roll the motor over to tdc on #1 and verify by watching the rockers on that cylinder. remove the dist and look down the hole .note the the drive lug is off set to one side. if you set the rotor to the hash mark on the dist body, does that match the eccentric (half moon ) position  on the drive? if not you must re index the drive to the proper position.
1991 964 turbo- 1967 2007cc beetle-01 95" wideglide-2276cc turbo drag bug

Offline Jonathan

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Re: 1957 Oval Beetle
« Reply #10 on: August 20, 2015, 01:49:22 PM »
Thanks for the feedback guys.
bwaz - not 180 degrees out, I know that can be a common mistake.
mitchy965 - I did make sure it was TDC for #1 by checking the valves on that cylinder. I believe I have checked the off set, can you explain a little more about re-indexing, how this is done?
Jonathan
« Last Edit: August 24, 2015, 10:58:00 AM by Jonathan »
1963 Beetle
2010 Golf
1997 Golf

Offline Jonathan

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Re: 1957 Oval Beetle
« Reply #11 on: August 20, 2015, 02:29:09 PM »
Okay, so I see that I need to remove the distributor driveshaft to "re-index" it. My drive shaft is not perpendicular to the crankcase seam at TDC which is probably the source of my problem. My manual says to remove the fuel pump, pushrod and intermediate flange before removing the driveshaft, and that a special tool is required to get the driveshaft out. Is there an easy way to do this? Can the driveshaft be brought up slightly and rotated? My inexperience is probably very evident at this point.
:c017:
1963 Beetle
2010 Golf
1997 Golf

Offline pittwagen

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Re: 1957 Oval Beetle
« Reply #12 on: August 20, 2015, 02:48:23 PM »

Offline mitchy965

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Re: 1957 Oval Beetle
« Reply #13 on: August 20, 2015, 03:37:13 PM »
with out the tool i have used flat bladed circlip pliers in the past to remove the drive,sort of a squeeze and rotate while you pull up kinda dance. be careful of the shim(s)! use a magnet on a stick to retrieve  and slide em down a push rod or screwdriver to install. take a couple practice tries with just the drive to make sure it lines up (the gears are helical so it turns while installing,make sure the bore is as clean and burr free as you can make it.
1991 964 turbo- 1967 2007cc beetle-01 95" wideglide-2276cc turbo drag bug

Offline Jonathan

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Re: 1957 Oval Beetle
« Reply #14 on: August 20, 2015, 05:07:16 PM »
Thx for the info and advice!
1963 Beetle
2010 Golf
1997 Golf

Offline Bruce

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Re: 1957 Oval Beetle
« Reply #15 on: August 20, 2015, 09:24:52 PM »
While you're trying to lift it out, use a finger on your left hand through the hole for the fuel pump to help lift it.

Offline Jonathan

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Re: 1957 Oval Beetle
« Reply #16 on: August 20, 2015, 10:32:47 PM »
Sounds like you have some good experience with this Bruce ;)
1963 Beetle
2010 Golf
1997 Golf

Offline Randy

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Re: 1957 Oval Beetle
« Reply #17 on: January 04, 2016, 10:41:51 AM »
Bruce knows it all!