Aug 50 split

[esde]

I made arrangements to pick up this split a few weeks ago. I know I'm not the first person to "find" it, but the fact that it had been buried by 30-40 years of leaves, and trees had grown all around it had kept it from leaving..

in the end I decided to trailer my skid steer down to it, and pick up the whole crusty shell from under the pan, which was under several inches of sand and a huge thicket of thorns

We ended up having to cut the rear apron off, actually just pull off, so it would fit through the trees

Here, passing another forgotten comrade

It's essentially shot, with a few treasures still intact here and there. Front door glass is there on both doors, and regulators, handles, etc. Though I suspect the passenger handle has been replaced as the chrome is really nice

Here it is barely hanging onto the trailer behind a 65 standard bus. Not many people tailgating on the way home

Back home in Philly

Tank intact, surprisingly

VIN may be visible if I am very careful with the tag. The stamping on the pan is lost to iron oxide

Dash

Lever shocks

So, it's a wreck from the trim line down, and bad from the trim up. The roof and dash are pretty much what I've bought, but I suppose the doors can be saved. I have yet to weld up a frame to support it, so I can get a good look at the pan. By far, this is the worst car I have dragged to the shop, ever. Really by a good margin. But it's not beyond my ability, and I have made worse items whole again for clients so I may give it a shot. There are a few oval shells available to me, and a ribbed door oval project that could be organ donors for the lower 16-20" of sheet metal. Looking on a little feedback, as to where people have drawn the line between parts car and project before..
SD

[splitjunkie]

It always amazes me what people leave outside to rot. Several ovals, this split and that Porsche 912. What else is sitting out there?
_________________
Chris

You know, a lot of these scratches will buff right out... Jerry Seinfeld

[pastellgreen]

Nice! I believe, the condition is not so far away as from Nancy's `49 split when it was found... so it is possible that it will turn out very nice!

[janerick3]

The body dates from August 1950 and since it is a Deluxe, there's a possibility it's a Hoffman car...
_________________
Thanks,
Jan K.

[Rathguten]

Congratulations on the save! I will be waiting to see what route you decide to go with. It looks very similar to mine and I decided to move forward with rebuilding it.

[esde]

So, I have been doing some reading, trying to help decide which direction this should go. I have this oval, which is very complete, but rough. It could be a donor for the lower parts, but that might be a shame.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=653142
There are several other early cars that might be able to provide the rear luggage area, quarters, front firewall, and a pillars. It appears that the A pillars changed in 63, so earlier than that. So long as I'm replacing the pans and heater channels, any small windshield car should have the correct profiles, correct?
To be honest, I have no clue what distinguishes a deluxe split form a standard. I have only had a few oval cars, this is a first for me.
SD
Here's the snake that was living in the split, nasty black racer. He was not pleased to be evicted

[joel55bug]

I'd start by checking out the inventory of all 3 of these sources (Gerson, Wolf1 and Virtanen) here on samba and not in any particular order, I think you'll find a lot of what you need right here without sending another car to its grave.

By the way, your car is a deluxe. Deluxe cars have all the dress up parts the standards are lacking, such as the chrome trim on the outside of the car and around the dash pods. All the pods and small plastic interior items are painted white as opposed to black, including the steering wheel which also is athree spoke on the standard models. Chrome parts on standards are almost all painted the same color as the car, except the headlight bezels. Front seats are adjusted by wing nuts instead of slides.

Here is a couple of good examples of a standard model. The green one is a '63 that belongs to one of my close friends and the gray one is my '52:

[nlorntson]

[OvalTeenAZ]

cool find… I'm jealous
Thats pretty toasty!



If your gonna cut it up for clips I'm crazy enough to fix another one…


PM SENT

[johnshenry]

You may know this already, but have the thing media blasted inside and out once you have it apart. Especially on cars that rusty, you don't know what you have (or DON'T have) until it is media blasted. Hopefully you have access to a shop that does this kind of stripping.

It is very rusty, but I also think I see a lot of good, straight metal there too. Good luck....
_________________
John Henry

'57 Deluxe
'56 Single Cab

[tisius]

Real exciting shit....ehhh... i mean....split
Assess the condition (strip the rust, looks like everything is rusted), and then it's time to determine whether it could be saved.
You could always part it out if it turns out to be too rough.
I love split bugs, but me that one looks like a parts (car?), but who knows after an awful lot of time and sweat equity...may be.... well, you decide.
_________________
drive it like you just robbed the bank
you don't have to be crazy to be into VW's, but it sure helps!!
.... if it ain't dutch, it ain't much!

[vandenabeele andries]

Definitely rebuild it. Metal looks very straight. If it were a 70s bug id scrap it. But a split is always worth a try.

[esde]

After looking at a few of other peoples projects, I've got a good idea what I'm up against, and feel certain that it's worth the time to collect parts and do the work. Here's a few pics that show the damage better. The rear inner fenders and luggage shelf completely collapsed when I unloaded it off the trailer, so now it's sitting in a heap waiting for me to jack it up and weld a frame inside to keep it together..

It has some nice purple door panels, and surprisingly the door handles and such..

Zoom in and the left a pillar is shot all the way to the dash

Right hand side as well

I'm gonna need to find some pretty big clips to make this happen.

[vintage fiberglass]

Sorry guys but I have to disagree. I would never start with a project car that rusty unless it was a Hebmuller?? I would pay more money up front and buy something a bit more solid and with most of the parts. Once you blast it, even a car that looks pretty solid there will be surprises. The parts will eat you alive individually unless you don't care. All depends on how original you want it. If you are making a custom, I am wrong and go for it. Original?? I would not restore this one. Just my opinion. Tim

[bugman1955]

I guess it depends which area you're from. On the west coast that would probably be scrapped with no questions asked, while on the east coast it might be a a restoration candidate. Worst case scenario it's parted out to help restore other projects.

[vintage fiberglass]

Let me rephrase my comments, I didn't want to offend anyone. I live in Pa. the rust state for sure. If a car is really rare, like a split convertible or a ragtop than people try to save cars that are pretty rough. Just a basic split, even though they are getting hard to find, this car is still a major. If you can do all the metal work yourself and are up for the challenge, than yes, it can be saved. If you are paying someone to do all the work, than no, find another car. The metal work alone will cost you $5000 if not more.

I am saying this because people get in way over there heads and lose all kinds of money. I don't want that to happen to anyone.

[OvalTeenAZ]

Tim this car needs more like $15,000 in labor or welding.



I would still take it on.... Find yourself a 54 an start cuttin

[pastellgreen]

Ok Nancy, after I see the last pictures, I have to revice my words. It's very crispy... so no comparison to yours.

I join the comments of vintage fiberglass...

[esde]

So, yeah it's a wreck, and most people, especially west coast people would have cut it up by now. But they don't grow on trees any more, and this one's already mine. I'm not into it for very much money, and I've tackled some bigger projects lately
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=607359&highlight=
So, while daunting, this car is something I can do. If the end goal was a perfect restoration, yes this is the wrong car to start with, but that's not where it's likely to end up. Actually I may be better of starting with this, as I'm less likely to be tarred and feathered by the purists when I lower it and stuff a 2 liter engine in it..
Right now I'm assessing several early shells, to see which one may be the best match, and figure out what seams will have to be separated to make it happen.
SD

[h~moto]

My opinion:
Don't restore it, refurbish it. A "proper restoration" would not be practical. There are ways to bring a car back to life with methods that would result in deducted points if it were judged at a show. I'm a purist in that I don't care for custom but I prefer a driver over a trailer queen. Fix it up and drive it.