I've lurked on this forum for quite a while now, though I don't post much. After meeting some of you at the 'Pod, I figured it was maybe time I put up pics of my rides over the next few weeks starting with this one....!
Its a February 1953 VW Zwitter which is a changeover model from a split window to an oval window model. It is so called 'cos it has characteristics from both worlds.. i.e. a split bodyshell, with an oval dash, hydraulic brakes (splits had cable brakes! eeeek!) a syncromesh gearbox, except for first gear so no double de-clutching for me.. though it does mean I can't get into first gear unless I'm at a complete standstill. These cars were made for 6 months only between Oct '52 and March '53 and many of the parts are particular to the car. Its a royal pain when I need new parts as they cannot normally be purchased from a parts supplier and I spent many months hunting for parts for it around the world. To give you an idea, I needed an aluminium brake fluid reservoir cap, and my search took me 9 months and as far as Canada when I found one for sale for £280!
The story of the car goes something like this.. It was found in a barn in Sweden in late 2001 where it had sat for 30 years unused. It had spent all its like living in the same town in Sweden, having been owned by neighbours until it was laid up in 1970.
It was then unearthed by a friend of mine called Owen Warlow who is a vintage VW career hunter. He brought it back to the UK, where it quickly transferred into my hands and was towed to my workshop where it was stripped down mechanically to see what parts were needed.
Here are a few pics of what it looked like when I got it.
It was covered in 30 years of dust, but the car turned out to be 100% solid, needing absolutely NO welding at all. The car had been really well maintained, and my records show it had been repainted somewhere around 1965 by the previous owner using coach paint. The paint is very close to the original colour of L36 Azure Blue.
The mechanics needed a complete overhaul and the person who last worked on the car did some dubious work on it. I ended up rebuilding the top end of the original 25hp engine, but I found some problems with the engine in the process which needed attention.
Since the car mechanics were stripped, I renewed all serviceable parts, and all new brakes which proved to be very expensive.. you can't buy the correct brake shoes anymore so I refabricated later brake shoes to fit. It needed all new wheel cylinders which set me back around £300! Eek! While the suspension was apart, I removed the original front axle beam and got a spare beam from my parts stash, welded in adjusters and dropped the front end 3 inches. The rear was turned one inner spline to suit. It took me nearly a year to find all the parts and get the mechanics sorted. After a minor rewire of the dangerous
electrics, the car fired to life, coughing out 30 years of dead spiders through the exhaust.
The car flew through its MOT, first time, registered with the DVLA on UK plates and was taken straight to VW Action where it was placed in the show and shine, complete with its 30 years' of dust.
The car was really well received, and it won 4 trophies in 5 outings!
However, the engine was never quite right and constantly threw loads of problems at me. I was one week away from driving to Spa in Belguim and I decided enough was enough and dropped the engine for the umpteenth time and located a 30hp engine from a '60 beetle which had been found in a garden where it had sat for 20 years. I got the engine home and after a check over, I fitted it the day before I was to leave for Belgium and fitted a NOS correct exhaust and eventually got it started. I smoked the entire neighbourhood out - the smoke from the exhaust was so dense, I was standing 3 feet from the car and I couldn't even see it in front of me..! ;D
I tuned the engine, and the following day I set off to Belgium. I'm not sure if Keefy posted my adventures with the car in Belguim..but the car broke down 13 times due to problems with this untried and tested engine. you can read about it here..
restowagenuk.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=2529
This adventure culminated in me having to strip the engine in the middle of the show and shine! the breakdowns were all overshadowed by the car winning a top 5 trophy and this made all the roadside repairs worthwhile!
I drove the car around for a few more months and decided it needed a revamp for 2006..
Off went the 30 years of dust, most of which got washed off in the rain storms on the way to Spa anyway and off came the front beam for some major suspension surgery..
I narrowed the front axle 5 inches and refabricated it to clear the headlamp bowls as I was suffering from the tyres rubbing the inside of the wings on corners..
The front track went from this..
to this..
After a fiar bit more work and another mechanical and engine overhaul to get everthing in top nick, and 5 days' polishing the 35 year old paint.. the car ended up looking like this..
I was also pretty happy with the suspension height too..
Before you ask, yeah I do drive it this low. There are virtually no speed humps near me, though it is quite a task getting it out of my front drive, once it is out, it drives like a dream! - just ask Keefy!
Although I took it to Stonor Park VW show recently and got the beam firmly stuck in the entrance cattle grid...
lol!
As seen at CaRS...(pic by Keefy)
Cheers,
Larry
Its a February 1953 VW Zwitter which is a changeover model from a split window to an oval window model. It is so called 'cos it has characteristics from both worlds.. i.e. a split bodyshell, with an oval dash, hydraulic brakes (splits had cable brakes! eeeek!) a syncromesh gearbox, except for first gear so no double de-clutching for me.. though it does mean I can't get into first gear unless I'm at a complete standstill. These cars were made for 6 months only between Oct '52 and March '53 and many of the parts are particular to the car. Its a royal pain when I need new parts as they cannot normally be purchased from a parts supplier and I spent many months hunting for parts for it around the world. To give you an idea, I needed an aluminium brake fluid reservoir cap, and my search took me 9 months and as far as Canada when I found one for sale for £280!
The story of the car goes something like this.. It was found in a barn in Sweden in late 2001 where it had sat for 30 years unused. It had spent all its like living in the same town in Sweden, having been owned by neighbours until it was laid up in 1970.
It was then unearthed by a friend of mine called Owen Warlow who is a vintage VW career hunter. He brought it back to the UK, where it quickly transferred into my hands and was towed to my workshop where it was stripped down mechanically to see what parts were needed.
Here are a few pics of what it looked like when I got it.
It was covered in 30 years of dust, but the car turned out to be 100% solid, needing absolutely NO welding at all. The car had been really well maintained, and my records show it had been repainted somewhere around 1965 by the previous owner using coach paint. The paint is very close to the original colour of L36 Azure Blue.
The mechanics needed a complete overhaul and the person who last worked on the car did some dubious work on it. I ended up rebuilding the top end of the original 25hp engine, but I found some problems with the engine in the process which needed attention.
Since the car mechanics were stripped, I renewed all serviceable parts, and all new brakes which proved to be very expensive.. you can't buy the correct brake shoes anymore so I refabricated later brake shoes to fit. It needed all new wheel cylinders which set me back around £300! Eek! While the suspension was apart, I removed the original front axle beam and got a spare beam from my parts stash, welded in adjusters and dropped the front end 3 inches. The rear was turned one inner spline to suit. It took me nearly a year to find all the parts and get the mechanics sorted. After a minor rewire of the dangerous
electrics, the car fired to life, coughing out 30 years of dead spiders through the exhaust.The car flew through its MOT, first time, registered with the DVLA on UK plates and was taken straight to VW Action where it was placed in the show and shine, complete with its 30 years' of dust.
The car was really well received, and it won 4 trophies in 5 outings!
However, the engine was never quite right and constantly threw loads of problems at me. I was one week away from driving to Spa in Belguim and I decided enough was enough and dropped the engine for the umpteenth time and located a 30hp engine from a '60 beetle which had been found in a garden where it had sat for 20 years. I got the engine home and after a check over, I fitted it the day before I was to leave for Belgium and fitted a NOS correct exhaust and eventually got it started. I smoked the entire neighbourhood out - the smoke from the exhaust was so dense, I was standing 3 feet from the car and I couldn't even see it in front of me..! ;D
I tuned the engine, and the following day I set off to Belgium. I'm not sure if Keefy posted my adventures with the car in Belguim..but the car broke down 13 times due to problems with this untried and tested engine. you can read about it here..
restowagenuk.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=2529
This adventure culminated in me having to strip the engine in the middle of the show and shine! the breakdowns were all overshadowed by the car winning a top 5 trophy and this made all the roadside repairs worthwhile!
I drove the car around for a few more months and decided it needed a revamp for 2006..
Off went the 30 years of dust, most of which got washed off in the rain storms on the way to Spa anyway and off came the front beam for some major suspension surgery..
I narrowed the front axle 5 inches and refabricated it to clear the headlamp bowls as I was suffering from the tyres rubbing the inside of the wings on corners..
The front track went from this..
to this..
After a fiar bit more work and another mechanical and engine overhaul to get everthing in top nick, and 5 days' polishing the 35 year old paint.. the car ended up looking like this..
I was also pretty happy with the suspension height too..
Before you ask, yeah I do drive it this low. There are virtually no speed humps near me, though it is quite a task getting it out of my front drive, once it is out, it drives like a dream! - just ask Keefy!
Although I took it to Stonor Park VW show recently and got the beam firmly stuck in the entrance cattle grid...
lol!As seen at CaRS...(pic by Keefy)
Cheers,
Larry
Loving your work.
