Zwitter semaphores and reg plates - opinions please! · International Vintage Volkswagen Forums

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Pricivius
Regular Topic Starter

16 years ago

I have a couple of questions regarding my Zwitter - several people on here are previous owners of my car so know him well but feel free to offer opinions...

1. My car has smooth semaphores - 1959 semaphores to be precise. To be correct to his age (January 1953), he should have ribbed or grooved semaphores. However, he was restored in 1990ish with these semaphores and has therefore had them for almost 20 years, and probably a while prior to that. They work very well. So... would you leave them as they are on the basis that they have been there a long time and are now part of his history, or would you change them (if you can find/afford correct ones!) on the basis that he should have what he rolled off the production line with?

2. He was imported into the UK in 1969 and has a sixties reg number. Are his current reg plates the correct style? They are a little shabby so I was going to replace them but want to check that I get the right thing. Any suggestions of online stores would be appreciated.

Here he is:

Thanks in advance!

Dawn

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VW Stan
pre67vw Junkie

16 years ago

Unless you're after concours points, I would leave the semaphores as they are,
but keep an eye open for a bargain pair should they ever pop up!

I've bought this style for my '58 but I reckon the style you have are fine...

https://pl8s.co.uk/

https://www.tippersvintageplates.co.uk/

Malc

It's hard to say what my girlfriend does for a living...

...She sells sea shells on the sea shore!

mrsherbie
pre67vw Junkie

16 years ago

Personally I think it looks super fab as it is :beer: plates look perfectly fine to me and I would let the ones fitted now age naturally, the only plates I would love and am considering myself for my oval over the standard black pressed or standard raised letters would be the hand polished raised letter plates that are hideously expensive, but they are slightly overkill on a beetle really but if you want to throw a bit of money at the car and dont need anything else! :lol:
We have kept the og very tatty but nice flat pressed plate on the rear of our 356 even though it is rough, and just had a new front made up in the type you have already.

Owens 50 beetle has later smooth semaphores as it does'nt bother him one bit as he prefers them to work well. Also the car was missing one grooved anyway and they are like hens teeth to find in good condition these days! Ditto the black 50 in my avatar has old black smooth ones too although the rest of the car is pretty correct. I agree it can be seen as a period update as it was so often done.
I do love to see other peoples splits with proper grooved ones though, but equally I would'nt lose sleep over not having them as I think it is one of those acceptable things nowadays :d

Edited by user 16 years ago | Reason: Not specified

"it'll wreck the patina you haven't worked so hard to create" - 50Karmann

Pricivius
Regular Topic Starter

16 years ago

Thanks, Malc and Mrs Herbie - truth be told, I prefer the smooth semaphores so I have been waivering on the side of leaving them be. Thanks for agreeing! No chance of finding us anywhere near a concourse, that's for sure. I shall keep half an eye out in case some grooved/ribbed ones come free with my next McDonalds Happy Meal. :wink:

As for his reg plate, thanks again. I like the ones he has so I will go for the same style.

:d

Edited by user 16 years ago | Reason: Not specified

Dawn

Standard split
pre67vw Junkie

16 years ago

Why can't grooved semaphores work as well as smooth – they rocket out on my '51 Standard:o

Find the grooved if you can, fit them and fit flashing signals on brackets under the bumpers for safety with a left hooker. You don't want to keep hammering those very expensive grooved semaphores every time you drive or end up with a Routemaster bus nosing into the passenger side:shock:

1969 registration would have an F or G year letter at the end of the registration. You have a standard DVLA age-related (pre 1963) registration:wink:

Nice car, a Zwitter like my Rattletrap - is the interior original:?:

Rattletrap – the Volkswagen Beetle that has covered an incredible mileage equivalent to over 35 times around the planet :omg:
Running nifty since 1950… the King of Volkswagens:beer: Why not make friends with this famous little VW – he's on facebook! :d
http://forums.pre67vw.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=16378

Pricivius
Regular Topic Starter

16 years ago

Standard split wrote:

Well, I guess I'll look out for some and go from there. I will fit some bike indicators when I get a second. Thanks.

Nice car, a Zwitter like my Rattletrap - is the interior original:?:

Standard split wrote:

Afraid not. If you fancy rifling through your Volksworld Library, he's December 1992's cover car. :wink:

Dawn

Etzhold1
pre67vw Junkie

16 years ago

Owens 50 beetle has later smooth semaphores as it does'nt bother him one bit as he prefers them to work well. Also the car was missing one grooved anyway and they are like hens teeth to find in good condition these days! Ditto the black 50 in my avatar has old black smooth ones too although the rest of the car is pretty correct. I agree it can be seen as a period update as it was so often done.
I do love to see other peoples splits with proper grooved ones though, but equally I would'nt lose sleep over not having them as I think it is one of those acceptable things nowadays :d

mrsherbie wrote:

Hens teeth :lol: Are they realy that rare !!!
How rare are the semaphores in picture # 2 ??:shock:

Guido:wink:

IMG_7428.JPG You have insufficient rights to see the content. IMG_7429.JPG You have insufficient rights to see the content.

Edited by user 16 years ago | Reason: Not specified

English Eyes

Pricivius
Regular Topic Starter

16 years ago

Hey! How many threads does Rattletrap get to hijack!!![-x :lol:

And Guido - that's not fair. Spread the semaphore love around. I know of a good home for a pair...:d

My Zwitter's interior may not be original, but it's very nice. I believe a Mr Newbury had something to do with at least some of it...

Dawn

RoRoVw
pre67vw Junkie

16 years ago

Yes I would also leave the semaphores as there are. They do work very well.
The registration number is an age related plate that was issued at the time this became possible and so the actual plates themselves only date from the early 1990s when the restoration took place. If you want to have new plates made then you should do some research to check what options were available and legal in early 1953 and then order some of those. When the car was first registered in the UK it had a 'G' suffix registration mark and I think you'll find reference to that number somewhere in the paperwork with the car.
The interior was re-covered in an incorrect fabric by Bernard Newbury, but is extremely well done and actually suits the car very well. He also replaced the headling and its a magnificent job.
I do have 7 metres of the correct upholstery fabric for this car (from Himmelservice in Hamburg) if you wanted to recover the seats and door cards. If you're interested in purchasing it then let me know (or anyone else for that matter).

Cheers,
(One of the many previous owners!)

Etzhold1
pre67vw Junkie

16 years ago

#10

Is it me or what !

Correct parts are not importend anymore ! But a 1953 licence plate is importend !:roll:
That car is doing something with the owners and ex owners brains !:?

Guido:wink:

English Eyes

Pricivius
Regular Topic Starter

16 years ago

#11

Thanks RoRoVw - I was hoping you would pop up as you know him so well!

The headlining is really good and I do love the interior. I had forgotten about his G registration number - it is on some of the paperwork.

Guido - I don't quite understand what you are saying. In an ideal world, my car would be 100% as he was when he rolled off the production line. However, at some point in his long history, he gained a pair of smooth semaphores and his interior was replaced. Some people would therefore argue that his "new" parts are part of his history - it is possibly the case that he has had the smooth semaphores for longer than he had his original ones! So it's a matter of opinion whether I should look out for original parts or whether his history is more important - so I asked for people's opinions. I'm guessing your opinion is that he should be put back to original? Would that include removing the Bernard Newbury upholstery and making up new upholstery with the original fabric?

Thanks again everyone for your help - we can't all be megastars like Rattletrap!

Dawn

mrsherbie
pre67vw Junkie

16 years ago

#12

I'm guessing your opinion is that he should be put back to original? Would that include removing the Bernard Newbury upholstery and making up new upholstery with the original fabric?

Pricivius wrote:

I definitely would'nt as I love a bit of BN! especially when he was doing the tartan/checkered style inserts of which I saw a coral coloured one once which was delicious! :d Also I think nowadays everyone automatically refits the og style cloth but sometimes its nice to have a quirky interior that is part of the cars provenance. I can think of a few vw's I know done before the og repro cloths became available and its very cool in an 80s way! :d

Edited by user 16 years ago | Reason: Not specified

"it'll wreck the patina you haven't worked so hard to create" - 50Karmann

RoRoVw
pre67vw Junkie

16 years ago

#13

Is it me or what !

Correct parts are not importend anymore ! But a 1953 licence plate is importend !:roll:
That car is doing something with the owners and ex owners brains !:?

Guido:wink:

Etzhold1 wrote:

I think that I would have said that a pair of the correct semaphores should be sourced if it wasn't for the fact that they are so incredibly expensive and hard to find (at least here in the UK).
It was the intention of another previous owner to replace the Bernard Newbury seat upholstery with the correct material (which I still have) but he never got around to it. I took the view that the Newbury seats were so well done and looked so great that it would be virtually criminal to rip off the coverings and throw them away - so the Newbury coverings stayed and subsequent owners seem to have been happy with that fabric. If I had kept the zwitter then my plan would have been to source another set of seats and door cards and have those covered using the correct fabric. SSU would then have had two interiors to wear. (I'll bet even Rattletrap can't boast two sets made solely for his personal use!!)

pre67vw
Administration

16 years ago

#14

OK, I've cleaned this thread up of all the posts that weren't relevant to this topic. Can everyone please try not to hijack threads. Thanks :beer:

Rob Amos
Happiness is a stock VW

Pricivius
Regular Topic Starter

16 years ago

#15

I have been looking around for a photo of his interior but I haven't got any to hand... so this one is the best I can do for now. And yes, I know one of his windscreen wipers is missing - it's back now. :wink:

EDIT - found another one!

Edited by user 16 years ago | Reason: Not specified

Dawn

GKL 7
pre67vw Junkie

16 years ago

#16

I used to own that car:d

Standard split
pre67vw Junkie

16 years ago

#17

I used to own that car:d

' wrote:

You should have hung on to it – very nice:wink:

GKL 7
pre67vw Junkie

16 years ago

#18

You should have hung on to it – very nice:wink:

Standard split wrote:

Yes,i'll never understand why a later owner ripped the original interior out:x It was better than 75% of other cars of a similar age.

dry&heavy
Regular

16 years ago

#19

quick question Pricivius about the photo of your dash is that a grab handle ?
just looked strange as my rust bucket december 1952 zwitter never had one fitted, or was that drilled at a later point

Edited by user 16 years ago | Reason: Not specified

Pricivius
Regular Topic Starter

16 years ago

#20

quick question Pricivius about the photo of your dash is that a grab handle ?
just looked strange as my rust bucket december 1952 zwitter never had one fitted, or was that drilled at a later point

dry& wrote:

He does indeed have a grab handle but I am afraid I have no idea whether it is original or a later fit - I know I didn't do it!

There are at least two of his previous owners on here so maybe they can help? Or anyone else? He's a late January '53 if that helps anyone...

Dawn

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