Well here is my new bug, its a '55 Oval which I picked up on Saturday after a 20hour round trip and only 4 hours sleep. It seems the bug has bitten so to speak. I love my 59, its style and looks with the whole rod period mods and thats the whole reason I wanted another for a different look. I've always wanted and oval since I picked up my first VW magazine back in 1995 and lately really wanted a rat/Hoodride style bug and this one is going to be my ratty project, bit more of a traditional rat/Hoodrider. A few pics below from the tow trip home, and thankfully it fits into my garage, with about only 2 inches to spare between it and the 59!
Its pretty straight, rust free, and all the parts are in place, its been sitting for 2 years but was a regular driver prior to that, so now just to get it running, regoed and drop it!
The interior is pretty tidy, dirty but decent condition and all there
The 2 together happily in the garage
and a quick bugselecta of how it should look first stage of mods which will take a month or 2 while I save some more $$$$.
[ Edited on 10-5-2007 by dvs_vw ]
[ Edited on 14-5-2007 by dvs_vw ]
Dasdubber 路
Nice pickup mate - loved looking over your 59 at dubs by the pub....can't wait to see the 55 in the flesh! 馃憤
VWFOOL 路
nice, looks like my 54 but in better condition. good luck with it.
kroozzn63 路
wow sweet find dude
dvs_vw 路
thanks guys, VWFOOL - your 54 is something I've been keeping an eye on as inspiration for this one, hopefully it can be just as ratty one day 馃榾
Das, was a few cars back from yours on the cruise up there, very nice oval, kept having a good look at yours aswell!!!
frenzix 路
thats very very nice just as it is!
boristherat 路
Excuse the pun, but I am green with envy. That is a beautiful machine, congrats on the pick up, awesome.
bond 路
yeeeaa! sensational find - unreal interior - looking forward to seeing this on the streets of brisbane! 馃憤馃憤馃憤
nick
reub 路
Sweet
newoldmanx 路
very nice very very nice if it were mine id ditch the funky indicators, hook up some og semi's, straighten and respray in orig code and drive it like you just got it back from being stolen.:blah awsome find:bounce
VWFOOL 路
yeh i recon a polish and a clean up will bring it closer to stunner than ratter. too nice 馃檪
oval TOFU 路
looks tight - good find!
Type3Sicko 路
Have fun with that beasty! Are you going to get the semaphores working again? Hope your chequebook or wallet doesn't take too much of a beating...It would be worth it anyways 馃檪 Nice Bug
whatnow 路
thats very nice, you have to be happy.
has anyone noticed all of the early ovals coming out of the woodwork lately?
dvs_vw 路
Supposedly the semaphores still work, or did when he last drove it but the wiring in the whole car was a bit dodgy he was saying. I'll most likely be getting rid of the tragic indicators, some new 135/165 tyres, pintripe whitewalls, paint the stockies satin black with no caps, slam it, get it running nicely and give it a bit of a clean up and just cruise it in that stage for a while!
I'd like to do a pretty full original style resto job on the exterior/interior and 36hp, but with a few nice little mods thrown in later down the track, but we'll see what happens!
Its a bit rattier in real life than what it looks in the pics, not so much rust wise, but dodgy paint, primer and colour thinning in places, wobbly bumpers etc etc, but I won't be trying to make it any more ratty by doing anything dodgy!
twoguns 路
thats a seriously nice project, you got there! :thumb
DubbinDan 路
Great score. Inspiring find. What's the story behind it - i.e where'd you find it?
Enjoy.
dvs_vw 路
I found it in the Trading post actually, I'm sure some of you on here saw it aswell...he said he had heaps of calls! It was down in Taree, or Old Bar actually, a nice 20 hour round trip in a non-turbo diesel chug-a-lux....good road trip though, they are always fun!
Now, another thing, I don't want people misunderstanding my intentions with this car, basically I've always loved the rat/hoodride look, and my 59 is a bit too good to go down that path. So this 55 will start its life with me as that style. Simply lowered(alot), cleaned up with a few accessories, black stockies with no caps and some new tyres with whitewalls, the interior cleaned up a little, get it running nicely and cruise it, same as my bugselecta pic. I won't be intentionally be trying to make it any rattier than it is, its in too good a shape for a 52 year old car for that. After being in that state for a while, if I'm over it, I'll sell, if I'm in love, I'll do a resto/mod makeover!
twoguns 路
mate. right out from under my back door! damn it!! i will have to start reading the papers again, as obviously my word of mouth tecnique is not working sufficiently!馃檯
geez mate, i am happy for you. but as i look at the pics... its like a stab in the heart. :cry
[ Edited on 21/2/2007 by twoguns ]
Special Air Service 路
dvs_vw wrote:I found it in the Trading post actually, I'm sure some of you on here saw it aswell...he said he had heaps of calls! It was down in Taree, or Old Bar actually
Not happy Jan, (take a look at my location) how could I not have heard about this.:puke
Seriously though, good luck to you, she looks pretty sweet & solid.
Cheers
Brendan
242 路
Is that Rosie's car?
Nice find
dvs_vw 路
who's Rosie?
yeah pity you missed it being so close to you, especially in a small town....but things always pop up, keep your eye out!!
dvs_vw 路
Thought I'd chuck up a few very small update pics on the '55.
Got the tyres taken off the wheels and sprayed the smoothies in satin black, cleaned and refitted the 2 decent 165s that were on the rear and put them back on the rear and some new 135s put up front ready for the slam job. Fitted my new RAT:055 plates ready for rego and stuck a few little accessories on, its looking a bit better now, its amazing how much better clean wheels and tyres make a car look. I got it running, but it has a small fuel leak, so I need to get that sorted, and the wiring for the lights is a bit dodgy, so I'm going to have a look at that too.
Maybe another few weeks and I'll have it roadworthied and regoed, then I'll have the beam narrowed 2-3 inches and the front will be dropped and the arse will get a slam aswell!!! Maybe some 1/2in white walls and chrome rings, and I am on the prowl for a few ratty old accessories too if anyone has any!?!?!?
Thought I'd chuck in another interior pic, which will stay as is for now because its in pretty decent original condition except for thr roof liner which needs some help to stay stuck to the roof with some pins and tape but overall its still pretty ratty....and one of the engine too.
jhp1 路
Is that the one that was on the trading post website sitting in a garage on crpet I hink you beat me by about 20 mins BASTARD! Well done mate shes a nice one and a Bargain!
dvs_vw 路
yep that'd be the one, I got in a couple of hours after the ad went live on the net, and I hadn't looked at the trading post for about 2 years!!! It is pretty solid, a few tiny little rust bubbles, otherwise clean and dry and was a good price and I think he knew it when he said he had about 40 odd calls after me and probably could have gotten more....but don't worry I'll treat her well!
[ Edited on 17-3-2007 by dvs_vw ]
jhp1 路
Yeah when I rang him he said the same I told him he could double his money 馃槀 didnt know it was you who'd bought it. Oh well at least it went to a good home
Cheers
Jase
dvs_vw 路
Another minor update, got it roadied and regoed yesterday and took it for a small spin. Totally different to drive to the 59, seat position, rear view is not real good, and the gear stick further forward and straight is odd, and the gears/neutral are in totally different positions. Runs really well, got a slight shudder in the clutch, and a decent gearbox leak but all good otherwise.
Should be about another week or so, and she'll be slammed on a 2in narrowed beam, and dropped in the rear, then I can chuck a few more pics up.
bond 路
nice ones! look forward to pics
nick
Nevada51 路
Looking forward to the narrowed beam pics. What colour is it, it looks awesome. :thumb
dvs_vw 路
well picked it up this morning, pretty happy with it, not quite as low as I wanted, but it looks pretty damn good at this height, but I will do something about that after I cruise it for a few weeks and enjoy it. May get spindles and come down another spline in the rear later on.
Sat in peak hour for 1 hour and didn't miss a beat, pretty good for a car that hasn't been driven for 3 years and just a new battery and some fuel.
2in narrowed adjustable beam, pretty much all new steering and suspension components all round, rides pretty nice, now just to chuck a few accessories on it and cruise.
Only one quick pic as my battery died, will take more later!
DubbinDan 路
Looks great. Who's doing the work?
dvs_vw 路
Custom Off Road
OvalGlen 路
very nice find, enjoy.....
Glenn.
dangerous 路
Can't wait to see it from the front corner!
Sweet colour.
333000 路
Looks good Mick - cant wait to see more pics!
What are the spec's on the suspension on your '59? Is the oval much lower that it now?
I giving Pete the '65 tomorrow to do the opposite to mine - ie. raise the rear a notch, and see what he ca do with the front pre-rego change.
dvs_vw 路
the 59 is about a 1/2 inch lower in the back, but about a 1/2 inch higher in the front and no narrow at all. Both ride as good as each other, but this ones steering is much tighter having just replaced everything! The rake on this one looks really good and suits the style I'm going for.
Ideally I'd like the 55 to sit about another inch lower in the back and front, so it would be quite a bit lower than the 59.
But something needs to be done about its wiring, its very sketchy, may get the whole car rewired by an auto eleccy soon, for safety sake.:thumb
333000 路
Also - another query for you...
Where did you get the roof rack for your '59 - 'classic vw' (I see on the web site they have both stainless and powder coated)? I want one asap, and just want to know who got theirs where, how good the stainless is, for how much etc? SMS me if you would rather not post prices etc on the forum? [0420 902 784]
dvs_vw 路
mines a powdercoated one, can't remember how much exactly as I bought a few bits at once, around $350-400 from memory.
Pain in the arse to put together by yourself, scratched mine a little doing so....but I guess that contributed to the slightly worn and used look of the whole car so it didn't bother me really!
captainvw 路
awseome car good cut and polish to good to rat!preserve,preserve,preserve! drive and enjoy then slam the f*#k out of it 6'' beam and 3 clicks in the rear that would be so so sweet again awesome find! 2 guns find a wall and head but it!...gently though
dvs_vw 路
captainvw wrote:awseome car good cut and polish to good to rat!preserve,preserve,preserve! drive and enjoy then slam the f*#k out of it 6'' beam and 3 clicks in the rear that would be so so sweet again awesome find! 2 guns find a wall and head but it!...gently though
thanks, but a cut and polish won't bring that matty green finish back to shiny. Its not that I'm 'ratting' it as such, I just call it a rat because its ratty, not shiny, old, not clean and in pretty used condition. I plan to preserve, don't worry, but its not as good as some of you may think from the pictures! She shall be slammed soon enough, just got a few more niggles to clear up before though!!!
dvs_vw 路
a few more pics from the weekend, just some quickies to chuck up.
got a yellow fog to chuck on, a venetian and a visor...gonna throw a few things inside aswell, so a few more things to accessorise with soon, but the wiring is still a bit iffy and needs redoing, and a new clutch wouldn't go astray either.
But good fun to drive, liking this one as much as the 59 in a different way!
333000 路
Looking better and better - can you provide any insight on where to find good accessories - eg. yellow fog etc?
dvs_vw 路
egay is your friend...even US ebay, postage is a little more, but more to choose from too.
dvs_vw 路
Again some more of the 55, just some pics I took on the weekend after fitting some new bits
On another note, after having the oval rewired and everything working really well, even the interior light(!), I decided to chuck the 3rd brake light in the middle for safety sake. The sparky tells me that the heartlights are actually the brake light and the main light is the parker, I wasn't sure(anyone know?), but the hearts aren't really visible during the day so I had the other light put on, same round trailer style as the trashy indicators, which I kind of like and it sort of works with this look.
And no, I didn't park under that billboard on purpose 馃檪
bond 路
hoodride?
cool pics man! love it
nick
dvs_vw 路
yeah the Hoodride stencils may have been shortlived, seeing as it seems to have all crashed a burned, but was a good site to be a part of for a while!!