Nuggets 1958 beetle "Bumhole"

Thought its about time i tell my story of my 58... some might have seen it gettin around brisbane or at the last valla...

dont ask how it got the name bumhole.. 😂

i bought this off simon (Volumex) in december 2010.







Cleaned/polished everything and anything on it... ground back the surface rust and reworked few of the minor imperfections...

once it was all in a "good enough" state, i blended some paint over the roof, guards, bonnet and a few other patches that had previously been hit with primer. I got the paint matched at MPA birkdale, they matched it by eye and just played around with the mixture till they were happy and i trusted there judgement. i had to wait a weekend or 2 until the weather was right before i layed it on..

it got new rubber though out..





at the time i did have a fresh engine.... only one that we pulled out of a wreck that ran without blow smoke.... so i reconditioned it with a can of paint 😂







rebuilt the old carb...



the captive nuts in the heater channels had alot of bolts snapped off in them... i tried easy outs and then drilled them out but neither work well so i cut em out and made new ones and welded them back in (was much quicker in the end)

purchasing this thing in decemeber i set a deadline...



it had to be register by then cus i wanted it to attend the first show of 2011...

everyone helped do something.... even the missed got in at put new matts on the running boards...



Polished the old stockos (old against the new)





i also have an oval project which i have been restoring for the past 4+ years to a standard i want close to a resto cal look... but as i have already restored the pan on this... it was quicker to through the 58 on my already assembled oval pan.... (i welded 2 new pan halves on the oval pan and painted it years earlier...)








my brother an i built our own 4.5 inch narrowe and adjustable beam with bugboy shock tower and i bought rear adjustable springplates to make easy work of ride height adjustment...

got the tyred swaped onto the 58's stockos with fresh white walls (165 rears with 135 fronts)







my brother (omr-007) is a wizz with electricals so he got the wiring sorted... mmmm semaphores and snowflakes....



gave the do cards a clean... old against the new



then had a go installing a headliner... slow old job but came out ok...





fitted the old 40hp now running a fresh coat of satin black...




installed rest of the windows... Note the old dealer sticker on the rear windows





got the brakes relined and machined to match..



fresh lowered shocks all round...





then it was time for rego!

Nice car! Now how did it get the name bumhole???

Nice mate.

Oh to have a shed / workshop.

i got rego on febuary the 8th 2011.... that was 2 months of really late nights... very empty bank accounts and alot of hard work.... i spent 9 out of 10 weekend on it... i still owe a big thanks to my older brother dibba and my girlfriend shana for the help and support...

it was a great feeling to get it on the road...



and lets just say it made it to dubs by the pub 2011 without a drama!





i then got it in my mind "lets drive it to day of the Volkswagen in Victoria" so the same year i got it registered on the clapped out old 40hp i decided to take it on a few long trip to build up the confidence for its maiden voyage to vic!

while doing so i took it for a country drive out to ask one sunday where it chewed a rear main seal and left us stranded on the highway with no oil in my engine or spare in the car (last time that ever happened)



mum and dad to the rescue bringing 14l of cheap oil to get me home...! and my brother thought he would catch up with us 2... check the leak!

1916baja wrote:Nice car! Now how did it get the name bumhole???

as a thread was started on the original strip down on melburgluft by the previous owner... i had no way in renaming the thread from simmons 58 to nuggets 58... so i pmed the mods and with stupid didnt really state what i wanted an just said can you rename the thread with my name in it... so they did "nuggets bumhole" and it stuck 😂

found out those 2 lip rear mains were prone to tearing apart...



so replaced it with a stock german one and didnt have any drama after that....

added a few accessories... one being skirts.... they needed alot of bodywork to get into shape and i had to move the tabs so they actually worked but i liked them to change things up for a while...

bugboymatt wrote:Nice mate.

Oh to have a shed / workshop.

thanks, my brother and i got pretty heavy into vw pretty quick so the oldies pored a slab in an old shed on there property and it has been ever evolving into "workshop" since... we are now at the point we got a dirty shop (paint and panel work) and a clean shop (finished cars and mechanical work).... so handy!

you've got some cracking VW's - the 58 is sweet, nice work.

Gorgeous car mate! LOVE THE SPATS!

what do you call those wing mirrors?

thanks guys... the story goes on....

come a week befor Day of the volkwagen victoria we were loaded up a ready to go!



first stop was in the back of byron... where it hit dirt road 😂





first night was in yamba where it temporarily broke down...



as im abit of a stress head i didnt get much sleep that night and got up at 5 am to pull the carby down and blow out the jets.... i tell you fuel doesnt taste really nice as that time of the day... but it was worth it cus it fixed our no idle problem

next night was coffs harbour...



then to port macquarrie!!





hit sydney and didn't like it there much... had a look at bondi



between sydney and bendigo we we had one night stay in Yass... we really liked the one street town..

made it to Bendigo to catch up with some friend befor heading to the day of!

...

Got to day of the volkswagen 2011 and had a fantastic time!

got voted Number 1 car of the year by Melburgluft... was really stoked!

Nickster wrote:what do you call those wing mirrors?

albert mirrors.... type it into ebay and there is a gold coast seller that sells em dirt cheap... not the best quality chrome but good for a car like mine

Oh, was it you that came around and bought the buggy off Dan on newnham rd?

long story short we made it home perfectly fine!

this is the trip we did after leaving melbourne (day of) we keep heading southeast and hooked back up the coastline back to brisbane.



after the trip the old 40hp got really smokey! dont froget i pulled this out of a wreck not knowing what condition it was in...

a guy dad introduce me to (in country buggies) offered to show me how to build motors... so i took him up with the offer as i wanted to build a 36hp for my oval but would run it in, in the 58...



Dave, the guy my dad introduced me to showed me how to pull an engine down (im only a young fella and always learning!) and got me on my way with a machine shop he uses regulary...

anyway pulled it all down...





water blasted everything!!! and wire brushed the outside of the case for abit of a shine!





then took the case, crank and rods in to get worked.... case got line bored for new bearing, crank ground (and crack tested) and new small end bushes and big end machined for new bearing to...







ordered a heap of fresh parts! at this point i decided it wasnt gonna be the stock motor i had first thought....

my brother then bought me an okrasa spec cam for my birthday....



then kept with the okrasa theme...



some straight cuts for the lovely whine!



and the rest of the new parts arrived..

1916baja wrote:Oh, was it you that came around and bought the buggy off Dan on newnham rd?

yeah... bought it for my old man, thats me 🙂

Cool car mate!

when came assembly, the guy that offered to showed me how to build an engine fell really sick for quite a while... and while i had all the new parts and a really smokey 40hp i couldn't help myself... and with a little help from my brother... and the book "keeping your vw alive" i nutted it out all by myself... massive learning curve which turned out super rewarding!

i didnt take pictures but i spent hours cleaning the case, all the journals in the case and crank and nearly anything that went near the case with shellite (good shit!) i took my time and checked 3 times befor final fitting.... (this was very nerve racking, as an apprentice chippy with what was alot of money i could throw to the wind if i buggered something up!)


fitted the staight cuts to the okrasa cam... with lock tight to 18ft pound



checked the clearances with the aftermarket cam gears and bolts... all good...

as mentioned... i cleaned out all the journals with pipe cleaners and shellite... did it serveal times till the pipe cleaner came out as clean as it went in...



then using mums cooking scales a balanced all my rods withing 1 gram of each other.... (to this day she still thinks my girlfriend needed them for cooking 😂)







then i assemble my crank as per for book...



check to make sure all the rods fell evenly under there own weight etc..

then lapped my oil pressure relief valve into the case making sure it wasnt "sticky"







nice a smooth...



then checked all the clearance on the lifters/pushrods and number them on so they went back into the hole i had checked them in...

then came assembly!



line up the dots...



and matt the to side together... obviously i scored and checked the bearings for fitment etc, checked for free spin etc....

while tightening the case to spec a 6mm stud over the oil pump decided to snap off flush with the case... my heart sank and i thought i was goin to have to split the case again... then i thought... i wonder if i could weld a nut to it and turn it out?

3rd time lucky... the weld grabbed and i got it out...





called the old owner of this car an asked if i could steal a stud off one of his spare cases... got it out and whacked it in that night so the case was then DONE!!

changed the head studs to suit the okrasa heads...



fitted pistons and barrel with the arrow facing the flywheel...



not forgetting the under cylinder tin...





then on with the okrasa heads tightened as per the book...







in with the pushrods to the hole i had numbered them to...



cleaned up the rockers...





fitted the oil relief valve..



rebuilt the fuel pump...

then came the oil pump...

the old oen was ratty byu very serviced able... so i got a piece of glass and went to town surfacing it... first on 1200 wet and dry... then 1500 then 2000.... mmmm shiny!!!!

BEFOR




DURING


AFTER...











had to cut the cylinder head tin to fit the manifolds... then i welded up the fan shroud and bodyworked it ready for paint...

when it came to an exhuast i was pretty tight for money to get an abarth.... so i thought i would make my own which i named "the ghetto abarth". Using abit of left over gal water pipe... i went to work...









and in it went....



the cam makes it sound really lumpy and the exhaust sound super awesome for a backyard job!

this thing gets up and boogies for a 36er! much better then the old 40hp i had it in...

a listen from inside the cab! its a video taken at night... so just listen to the noises!

had a few gremlins which i sorted out, bloody dodgey ignition connection!

its maiden voyage was to ash and bobs dubs and diner cruise...



the picture above is me winding it off the clock 😂 for a 36er im super happy sat on 70mph the hole way to and from valla which was this engine next big trip... to which there was not one hiccup! super stoked with this little goer!





5th car back from the front..



then my girlfriends 61 and my 58 parked up in valla!



sorry its so picture heavy but that the story behind my 58 to date! if you see me round feel free to come say g'day

Cheers, Nug

Bob down wrote:Gorgeous car mate! LOVE THE SPATS!

thanks mate, think we cruised to valla together?

looks good, but i think it would look better with a tree painted on the door.

i have one of them too 😂

good story mate
so much detail
love your work 😉

Great write up on a great job!!

👍

Thanks for the kind words guys! It's been great experience and a massive learning curve.

It's great fun to drive 👍

Awesome I have seen it around at a few shows and cruises in the like, great stuff, also read the build up on melburg luft. great stuff. catch up with you next show for a hello?

Love ya bumhole mate,
but you already know that.

many of people have been in my bumhole too bob! 👍

RODZ that would be great, do your have the grey oval and the burnt orange lowlight? or am i thinking of 2 different people?

RODZ that would be great, do your have the grey oval and the burnt orange lowlight? or am i thinking of 2 different people? [/quote]

might be someone else I have a 66 beetle grey/blueish colour, and a lotus white 69 bus the bus runs 510VW plates.

but Im just as cool haha.

NUG637 wrote:

Bob down wrote:Gorgeous car mate! LOVE THE SPATS!

thanks mate, think we cruised to valla together?

vividly recall u rounding me up over one of the bigger hills on the way down and being very impressed, again beautiful car man!

RODZ wrote:RODZ that would be great, do your have the grey oval and the burnt orange lowlight? or am i thinking of 2 different people?

might be someone else I have a 66 beetle grey/blueish colour, and a lotus white 69 bus the bus runs 510VW plates.

but Im just as cool haha. [/quote]

oops, sorry mate... would be nice to meet you 😎

Bob down wrote:

NUG637 wrote:

Bob down wrote:Gorgeous car mate! LOVE THE SPATS!

thanks mate, think we cruised to valla together?

vividly recall u rounding me up over one of the bigger hills on the way down and being very impressed, again beautiful car man!

cheers bud 😂

Thats a sweet 58! nice work man.
What shocks did you use?

thanks andrew, just the lowered empi ones on cip1...

👍😍🥲

top build

Seen you around to....that NUG keeps following me 😉

Cool car

Love the 36er - gr8 to hear that it was faultless on the trip

You would think it was cold the way Shana was all rugged up in the pic

thanks mate, shes a cold fish, shes usually got a jump close by most days of summer 🤪

Cold hands , warm heart 😉

Great work ...love that Jif ...... mmmmmm

Shame you didn't give it a good paint job?
Other than that it's ok I spose.

yeah i know... i had the house paint and roller there and everything... just got lazy i guess 👍

Love this thing. Great build up too!

No whale tail or flared guards for future plans?

Baja 😏

Thanks blackbug see you Sunday?

NUG637 wrote:Baja 😏

Thanks blackbug see you Sunday?

I'll be there, but my car won't 🙁

a few things arrived this week which i was hoping for last week so i could have them in before action day last sunday...

anyway a brand new glen ring bosch 010 and some vintage cloth leads to get rid of the hideous 009 and blue leads

as seen on sunday.....



As of today.....



Love my vintage speed shit..... no more flat spot either 8)

only one thing left thats bugging me in that engine bay now is the reg.... but once it goes into my oval it'll be 6 volt again and a small reg can go back on :wink: 8)

luvin those leads man, looks hot

Much better 👍

thank guys 👍 I'm alot happier to...

Marcus, shana said she saw you on sunday... but you must of been hiding from me cus i didnt get to catch up with you once!

That has made an unbelievable difference, I can actually enjoy checking out your engine bay now Nugget. Choice 👍

your telling me! the blue leads and the 009 were ment to be just for run in.... but then valla came, then i took the missus to nz for her birthday, then i had debts to pay and its now that im ontop of things... i could fix a few things that were buggin me and the fun can begin again 👍 👍

Nice one love it. The leads will look great in the oval.

great work, a good read too. love old school though.
well done. 🙂

well this thing has been onsold to a friend who has now taking a a big step in his career path and will be moving overseas so it will probly be on the market again so so i thought i should update what has been done to it befor he bought it....

the matching number pan had a full resto with every single thing replaced or refurbished....



finished piecing the front end together...



got the drums machined and i pressed in all the new bearing races and fitted them with all the new bearings...





fitted my new master cylinder, ran all my brake lines, set up the pedals, adjusted the brakes fitted new shocks etc etc...

finished piecing the steering together.... making sure i had a good earth.





adjusted a few things, fitted my axle boots... did a big clean and that's yet another 50's pan resto done at QLD HQ







holy shit!!!! im getting vertigo from up here!

befor...



After....





think thats about 10inches of lift, still to put 165's on the front yet

well after bolting the body to the pan this thing has really been put on the back burner until now as we are in need of a nice strong 6v engine 8)

i pulled down a shit load of 36ers earlier in the piece and with a few good cases i got the nicest one lined bored.....



crank is still within spec so its just the first over on the O.D. and standard on I.D.

Thrust was all good to....

no fucking nylocks or bunnings washers.... all og german spring washers and nuts

cleaned the case with stale fuel tonight.... that stuff is a great degreaser 8) makes you smell like shit tho... then i did a final washout with shellite and it came out as clear as it did when i poured it in 8) ended up getting the oil relief valve undone to. i find with engine assembly it all about the cleanliness, my ovals 36er oil change is still fairly clear 8)

next was crank assembley.... gave the journals a once over with some 1000grit wet and dry to clean them up and then pressed on the gears/bearings/spacers and cir-clips.



checked the gudgeon pin on the rods that were on that crank originally and only one was useable :roll: had abit of an epiphany and remembered one of the other cases i pulled down had alot of nice bearings in it other then the oil galleries being covered with glue... so pulled the rods off them and the small end bushes were perfect on the new AA pistion gudgeon pins 8) cleaned them all up and started balancing them... the book says within 5 grams of the lightest one.... on the oval i got them within 1 gram but that was alot of fucking around.... 2 were really close then the other 2 were 20 grams apart :roll: but got that sorted ok...










you can see where the meat was removed from....




then it was bearing scoring time.... i do this to help locate the bearing "seat" at final matting stage.... sit the bearing in place located on the dowels and score it flush with the case half...



this will leave a mark so when you lay the crank in with the bearings attached you can see if it seated properly





next was rod assembly.... place the crank so number 3 piston throw (1st one back from the flywheel) is to your right then attach all the rods with the numbers facing up.... i use a far bit of assembly lube as with acts as your oil while turning your engine over the first time, pumping the oil through all those clean oil galleries....



first i get them on all finger tight and make sure they fall under there own weight, then i get them as tight as one hand will get them with the socket, then torque to 25lb and finish off with 36lb. i re-checked them for "free fall" after each interval of tightening.

crank is ready to trial fitting into case.....



was gonna put a cam in this thing but the more i think about it the more i wanna do a el-stocko 8)

one thing i have learn about this on clunkers is they are one hell of an engine if looked after.... so i wanted to keep it simple.

ill start by explaining that stock 36 cam gears come in a range of sizes as the cam and crank bore could change a little between cases and there for having bigger and smaller cam gears to compensate for backlash etc...

when i pulled this case down the lifter had worn away by 10mm and absolutly destroy the cam lobe but the cam gear to suit this case was a +1



they arent always that easy to spot either..... some are just drawn on with a dremel.... not stamped.... like on some below...









-1



thats why its a much easier route to go straight cuts if you dont have the gear to suit your case/cam

with having pulled down 8 36ers and only rebuilding 2 so far and both using aftermarket cams... we have quite a range to choose from....



i found a nice cam with a +1 cam gear to suit my case so i was over the moon.... it was then time to test fit the crank and cam into the engine case....

to test this theory i layed another 36hp crank in my fresh bearing and lined everything up and spun the crank and cam assembly..... smooth as a babies butt!



got onto the cam followers.... these need to be test fitted and adjusted befor the case is put together... they can go in later but it is critical to make sure they fit and move freely.... i test this by adjusting them so they are firm with very little movement but still fall out (slowly) under there own weight. and if you have to adjust them.... make sure you peen over the nut lock.... otherwise ive seen it gets ugly!



once they are falling out under their own weight i mark which one goes into which hole.... might be a little over board but this makes assembly much easier then having to sort through which one moves better in which hole etc....





next i lap the oil relied valve into the case.... i saw KCW did this on one of there previous builds as they once had a abit of drama with one (cant remember the exact problem) so for the little time it takes... i do it too.... Note the full shiney circle on the valve where it has be lapped into the case...



it started getting abit late by this stage and i was getting too tired to think about matting the 2 halves.... so i got a sharp blade out and cleaned off any old gasket or glue etc they has stuck to the mounting surfaces....

well got the bottom end all buttoned up, thanks for the extra hands while matting the case dibba 8) assembly lube on all shiny/moving parts befor the reunion 8) tighten it as much as one hand on the rachet will get it, test everything turns freely then its 20 pound torque on the centre studs and 10 pound on the perimeter bolts... check everything turns freely then 25 pound on the centre studs and 14 pound on the perimeter bolts





once that was done it was refacing oil pump and cover time....



i go through a number of wet and dry grits till the face is fully polished... i also put the gears in and lay a ruler over the housing and there should be no clearance.... the paper gasket that goes between the housing and the cover should be all the clearance you need.



then its piston and barrels time 8) make sure all the arrows face the flywheel and dont forget the paper gasket between the barrel and the case.... make sure all the circlips are seated properly and be careful with the piston skirts 8)

gotta clean up a set of recoed heads that were on a 36er for less the 1000mile befor the crank broke.... a little dirty from sitting so will get them clean and on tomoro

the oil cooler needed a hell of a clean so first was hit with the waterblaster... then washed out with shellite about 30 times till it was coming out as clean as i was putting it in....

then the rocker gear.... pulled them all down... cleaned out all the oil galleries and oiled and assembled them, put em on and torqued to 14ft pound. then i adjusted my valves ready for run in.

i then cleaned up all my tinware with a good water blasting after being soaked in the parts cleaner.... most the paint blew off so i gave them a quick rattle can job to be presentable...

then onto fuel pump.... mmmm clean and rebuilt.... and pretentioned on the engine block...



by this stage I'm finally getting somewhere and then it was home time to make it in time for a dinner reservation :roll:



ready for tinware and exhaust.... 8) this is when it gets exciting!

shana wanted to watch a disney movie today... be dammed if i was having a part of that.... so i did my chores and got an hour and a half in the shed 8)

its awesome having torn down a few 36ers in the past... found heater boxes, fuel lines, dizzy vac line in the shed.... thought i was gonna have to purchase these items 8)

got my tinware all on, my manifold all cleaned up.... even unblocked the heat riser with a burred balustrade wire and the waterblaster "clean as a whistle".

bolted on a 36hp muffler i picked up at the towoomber swap a while back 8)

just got to rebuild a carb, bolt on my clutch, connect fuel lines, and dizzy, sort out the genny, and fill it with oil
8)





i love these old clunkers!!!

pulled down a 28 pci carb tonight (first time)... nice and simple.

was filthy even after a thinners bath... so blasted it with mums bi-card soda out of a homemade blasting nozel dib made years ago 8)

befor....





After....



if your do the same... blow it out with compressed air rather then bathing it out with liquid.... i learnt the hard way last time....

everything else is on other then fan belt and ignition wires 8)

gotta build a run in stand tomorrow night and if dib can wire it up in the next night or so we will have it run in and ready to be put in the car for the weekend 8)

and she runs!



one nice new fresh 36hp to matt to that crash box for the real 50's era feel of driving 8)

How it always should of been.... But didn't have the money or the knowledge back then 8)



here it is looking really high and ready for some bush bashing



This old thing was toast both the outer skin and the inner reinforcement...



Dion donated this beauty (was yellow) no rust and reasonably straight.



sanded it back last night and blew some paint over it this morning....






pretty close on the colour match! didn't want to paint it's original popes nose as its the only thing from stopping it looking "too good"




and there you have it.... this thing has had every bit of running gear worked on or replaced.... as i said i had then sold it back to the previous owner who is now moving over seas and is looking to move it on himself..... if you would like a nice old honest car send me a pm for his details 👍

Enjoyable read mate. Ive got one the same. Thanx for the tips and inspiration!!

Blue '59s rock 🙂