Posted by: ben '56 - 19 May 2011 08:54:14
Hello! Thought i would introduce myself and my latest purchase... I have always wanted an older Beetle and this one came along by pure coincidence and i could not walk away from it. So my name is Ben and this is my '56. I will warn you, i am probably way out of my league as i have only ever owned 70's Beetles (and a 64 splitscreen panel van that i still have). So i will no doubt be bugging you about every little thing if possible! Anyway, here are some pictures. thanks [IMG]https://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk120/bendy_bucket/IMG_2026.jpg[/IMG] Thats not me by the way... thats my dad... [IMG]https://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk120/bendy_bucket/IMG_2027.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]https://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk120/bendy_bucket/IMG_2036.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]https://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk120/bendy_bucket/IMG_2035.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]https://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk120/bendy_bucket/IMG_2033.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]https://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk120/bendy_bucket/IMG_2032.jpg[/IMG] So there you have it... hope you like... I will start a list of questions soon!! ha ha! Thanks

Posted by: JD - 19 May 2011 09:17:13
Looks really nice!:thumbup:

Posted by: GKL 7 - 19 May 2011 14:04:56
Looks a good car Ben. Is it an Australian import?Just with the colour it is painted(unless it looks different in real life,maybe coral red),i know they used different colours than Wolfsburg.And i've not seen it before. Anyway welcome to the wonderful world of vintage Volkswagens.

Posted by: mooney3019 - 19 May 2011 14:26:12
lovely looking car !!! (fanbelts on upside down though !)

Posted by: 59 Ragtop - 19 May 2011 17:46:25
Agreed. Lovely car. Coral Red is a smashing colour too:thumbup:

Posted by: ben '56 - 19 May 2011 21:30:32
thanks for the nice comments guys... much appreciated. Its actually from New Zealand, got quite a bit of paperwork with it, some service history from Christchurch etc. It looks like the guy who owned it in Christchurch bought it over here with him. The colour underneath the 'coral red' is orangey... im assuming this was the original colour or something. I want to get a birth certificate from Germany at some point (although it looks like the New Zealand owner did this back in 1987, its a bit more crude than the lovely looking certificate you get now). To be honest, i have not had time to read through all the paperwork yet and discover all the gems. I thought the fan belt was upside down too but it does chamfer in on the opposite side to the grooved edge. weird... anyway, thanks again. oooh one more thing - is there anywhere you can get good repair panels? Its had very little welding on it (the pans are amazing!) but the heater channels need replacing. Can you even buy replacement panels for a beetle of this age? Thanks!

Posted by: pre67vw - 19 May 2011 21:34:28
[quote=ben '56] oooh one more thing - is there anywhere you can get good repair panels? Its had very little welding on it (the pans are amazing!) but the heater channels need replacing. Can you even buy replacement panels for a beetle of this age? Thanks! [/quote] You can't get correct Oval heater channels yet, but there are a few people working on producing them. If they're not crumbling to dust then it would be far better to repair them than to bodge it up with later channels...

Posted by: ben '56 - 20 May 2011 15:07:54
[quote=pre67vw]You can't get correct Oval heater channels yet, but there are a few people working on producing them. If they're not crumbling to dust then it would be far better to repair them than to bodge it up with later channels... [/quote] Ok cool, thanks for the info.. to be fair the tops of the channels are fine, its just the base has rotten through completely all the way along! the only thing holding them together was a 3mm thick layer of underseal. thanks

Posted by: GKL 7 - 20 May 2011 15:29:15
[quote=ben '56]Ok cool, thanks for the info.. to be fair the tops of the channels are fine, its just the base has rotten through completely all the way along! the only thing holding them together was a 3mm thick layer of underseal. thanks[/quote] Steve Hook @ Hookys Panel shop makes excellent heater channel bottoms.

Posted by: vintagebug - 20 May 2011 17:05:52
Wolf Parts in Sweden also make excellent quality/fit panels. I don't think they do complete heater channels bottom plates though, possibly only sections. See here:- https://www.wolfparts.com/shop/index.php?cPath=21&sort=4a&language=en

Posted by: 48REME - 20 May 2011 18:23:34
Yes, looks really nice and original, good choice!:smile:

Posted by: Old Blue - 21 May 2011 14:05:44
What a great find!:smile: Is that the original colour, it looks like there is a different colour (blue/grey)paint alongside the motor? Nice to see Dad helping out too.

Posted by: Sunroof53 - 21 May 2011 23:35:57
I have bought a heater channel from status VW .they are german made and i am assured they are a good quality .I will post a pic when it arrives. https://www.status-vw.co.uk/

Posted by: ben '56 - 24 May 2011 13:54:52
Excellent! Thanks for the heater channel advice guys. A friend of mine recommends Hookys panels too but i will look into the other options for sure. I get the impression from the paperwork that the original colour was some kind of Orange and the red has been painted on since then. It might have even been sent to New Zealand from Germany in pieces and assembled there, then they painted it with whatever colour they could get their hands on, orange in this case. Does this sound like something that might have happened?? thanks

Posted by: GKL 7 - 24 May 2011 14:10:33
[quote=ben '56] Does this sound like something that might have happened?? [/quote] For Sure. The car is probably a CKD.

Posted by: 66brm - 25 May 2011 09:00:57
[quote='50 Karmann]For Sure. The car is probably a CKD. [/quote] Check the body number, if it starts with MKA then its a CKD car that was assembled here in Australia and shipped to NZ

Posted by: ben '56 - 31 May 2011 14:35:50
cooooool, thanks for the advice. will have to look at the number tonight. It all points towards a complete knock down to be honest. Got a new 6volt battery over the weekend (the one that came with it had killed itself from the inside out). Spent 30mins tinkering with the motor - she fired up and runs like a dream... could not believe my ears! Cant get it in gear at the moment but hopefully that will be a quick fix then its onto the small matter of the welding. yay!