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GHE Grab Handle
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jbannon
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Joined: September 19, 2020
Posts: 180
Location: New York
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 05, 2024 12:21 pm    Post subject: GHE Grab Handle Reply with quote

I thought I would share the restoration of my GHE grab handle for those interested in bringing their own grab handle accessory back to life.

Mine came with my March 1958 L334 Glacier Blue Euro ragtop beetle, which I purchased in Germany in January 2023. The car had been sitting in a barn for the last 30 years and was surprisingly rust free and in very good condition. While the car was solid, it had some issues. As you can see from the photos a previous owner had spray painted the interior a flat black color and covered everything in spray paint. I was also informed from the person I purchased the car from that one of the previous owners was inspired by old Porsches and vintage speed racing, which unfortunately resulted in some holes in the dash and the rear apron being cut for a Porsche exhaust. I’m in the midst of restoring the car and have returned the car mainly to stock, but have tried to honor the vintage speed heritage of the car. I’ll post more photos when it’s all done.

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My initial plan was to replace the rubber insert and polish the aluminum. The paint was easily removed with acetone and the metal buffed out pretty well. However, after a discussion with my local polishing / metal plating / chrome shop, they said they could chrome the aluminum, which would look far superior to just polishing the metal. The results speak for themselves. They did a fantastic job and the chrome didn’t add any additional bulk to the handle. I further had the retaining nuts and mounting hardware zinc plated.

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I purchased the full rubber replacement and wire retention kit from Samba member, Jan Kricke (56samba) in Germany. He was super helpful and the kit was high quality. I had to trim the edges to fit the rubber inside the handle, and the replacement rubber had to be cut to length, but it was an easy process and the fitment was excellent. While I ended up using the original retention wire and nut, the replacement was an exact copy. My wire and nut were in excellent condition and I wanted to keep as much of the original hardware as possible. Here is the link for the kit:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2604974

Finally, here is a photo of the finished handle mounted to the dash. The kit comes with the rubber pads where the handle mounts to the dash, which fit and mold to the handle and dash very well. In all it’s a great kit and an easy way to make your handle look new.

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_________________
59 Beetle - Diamond Grey
58 Beetle ragtop - Glacier Blue
58 Beetle ragtop - Black
56 Beetle - Stratos Silver
62 Beetle - Turkis
67 Beetle - Savannah Beige
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my3bugs
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Joined: June 18, 2003
Posts: 488
Location: Moreno Valley
my3bugs is offline 

PostPosted: Sat Oct 05, 2024 1:03 pm    Post subject: Re: GHE Grab Handle Reply with quote

i also bought the replacement rubber kit from Jan . the hardest part was just getting the old nut to start turning inside the handle to loosen everything up .........then you had to really be carefull cutting it down to size as it comes a bit long ........mine came out sweet too with just the polished aluminum ........
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my3bugs
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Joined: June 18, 2003
Posts: 488
Location: Moreno Valley
my3bugs is offline 

PostPosted: Sat Oct 05, 2024 4:48 pm    Post subject: Re: GHE Grab Handle Reply with quote

well besides the nice work bringing it back Smile

what caught my eye here was mine is on an earlier oval dash , im not sure or i didnt know it fits the same dash curve .......this is not the one i rebuilt , but another bug here . this one is still original ivory darkened from age ....


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56Cabrio
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Joined: May 22, 2008
Posts: 1963
Location: San Fernando Valley, CA
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 11:16 am    Post subject: Re: GHE Grab Handle Reply with quote

my3bugs wrote:
well besides the nice work bringing it back Smile
, im not sure or i didnt know it fits the same dash curve ......

There are at least 3 different grab handles,curves are different at the base.
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[/quote]
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Here are my two
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1956 Rag Top owned since 1988
1956 Convertible owned since 2000
1963 Hard Top

RIP Dad 4/20/1951 - 2/4/2023
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56Cabrio
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Joined: May 22, 2008
Posts: 1963
Location: San Fernando Valley, CA
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 11:20 am    Post subject: Re: GHE Grab Handle Reply with quote

The one I restored last year from Jan's insert for my vert.
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_________________
F#CK CANCER
Make a donation

1956 Rag Top owned since 1988
1956 Convertible owned since 2000
1963 Hard Top

RIP Dad 4/20/1951 - 2/4/2023
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