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 Post subject: 1958 Semaphore Bug
PostPosted: Wed Aug 21, 2019 8:13 am 
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Posts: 23
Hello All,

Quick introduction, My name is Todd, live in Houston and love aircooled VWs and Porsches. Over the years i have had close to a dozen VW's. My current project is a '58 bug. The car i have actually owned for about ten years and just now recently got time to mess with it. Fortunately the car is in very good condition, very original and all this time i have stored it in my dry garage. I bought the car for it's originality but was curious/skeptical because it had both semaphores and US spec. over rider bumpers and fender blinkers. However, both seemed to be factory not to mention found a KMPH speedo in the glove box? Upon doing some research I learned that my car is more than likely what is referred to as a "Grey Market" car. Essentially this means that the car was manufactured for one country or region's market (Europe, etc.) but ended up in another country and in my case the USA.

I did some research on thesamba and traded PMs with some of the VW authorities on the board there. The story i got was; VW officially started sending bugs to the USA in the early 50's. By the mid to late 50's the USA demand had picked significantly beyond original expectations. To keep up with the demand Wolfsburg started retrofitting Euro spec. manufactured cars with USA spec. equipment (turn signals on fenders, over rider bumpers, etc.) and shipping them to the USA to supplement.

To try and shed more light on what exactly my car was and how original it was or wasn't i decided to get the Birth Certificate. After what seemed to be 6 months of waiting it finally came. I was most interested in "Country of Destination:" and expecting to see something European. Again, i got another surprise. My bug's country of destination cites: "VW Factory members". Again, I went back to thesamba and learned that my car was literally bought by someone working in the factory, pretty cool. Upon buying it i knew it had seat covers, one respray and a handful of other non-correct issues but mostly a honest survivor.

Enough of the intro. Since buying the car it has hemorrhaged oil from the rear main seal, pushrod tubes and all of the usual places. I have finally pulled the motor and perhaps this may be the first time the motor has ever come out. Upon pulling the sump plate to drain the oil i felt sludge in the bottom of the case. Note prior to pulling the motor there were no knocks, or any issues with the motor mechanically even end play was slight. However, considering this is my car's numbers matching case, i do not know the condition of the internals, have sludge etc. I think the smart thing to do is split the case and rebuild the motor. Now in my VW past i have put together a few later motor's on the 1600 case platform but i am completely lay to 36HP. What are everyone's thoughts about tackling myself? Who do you use for 36HP machine work? I understand bearings are VERY difficult to come by? Are there any local experts? Lessons learned? I am contemplating sending the motor to Mr. Okrassa out in CA but he only does concourse quality restorations starting at $3.5K. I am not too sure I want to drop that kind of coin unless the gap between building the motor myself and sending it to him is not that much different not to mention I would feel like a wimp. I look forward to any and all feedback.

FYI the builds documented on this site are extremely impressive. Back in the 90's when i was more engaged in the Houston VW scene nobody had VW's like these much-less the appetite or some of the skills to produce them. I recognize the painter seems to be the same guy for many of these, his metal work and painting is freaking awesome.


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 Post subject: Re: 1958 Semaphore Bug
PostPosted: Wed Aug 21, 2019 5:50 pm 
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Der Luft Doktor
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Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 3:31 pm
Posts: 7220
Location: OC CA
Man, that's a NICE car! Cool story and history too! 8-)
And welcome to the board :beer:

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-Brian
IG: @mkzero55vw
'55 Outlaw Oval- 231 hp daily driver :shock:
'56 Oval Vert- Okrasa 36 hp
'52 Standard Split Window
1953 Fleetwood Travel Trailer
2010 FJ Cruiser- The Mountain Goat
30 Ford Model A Pickup Hotrod
Conklin Performance & Engineering


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 Post subject: Re: 1958 Semaphore Bug
PostPosted: Wed Aug 21, 2019 6:00 pm 
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Der Luft Doktor
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Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 3:31 pm
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Location: OC CA
On your 36'er... The_Half_Bus built a nice one for his bus (I think he built it anyway), he can probably give you some insight or point you in the right direction.

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-Brian
IG: @mkzero55vw
'55 Outlaw Oval- 231 hp daily driver :shock:
'56 Oval Vert- Okrasa 36 hp
'52 Standard Split Window
1953 Fleetwood Travel Trailer
2010 FJ Cruiser- The Mountain Goat
30 Ford Model A Pickup Hotrod
Conklin Performance & Engineering


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 Post subject: Re: 1958 Semaphore Bug
PostPosted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 5:58 pm 
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Joined: Mon Aug 12, 2019 6:48 am
Posts: 23
Brian,

Thanks for tips. I am hoping someone here steers me on this 36HP stuff.

I just got done going through your car's page. Your motor is very impressive and i love all of the attention to detail; balancing, blueprinting, etc. I am sure peoples jaws drop when you drive to the motor's potential.


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 Post subject: Re: 1958 Semaphore Bug
PostPosted: Fri Aug 23, 2019 11:27 pm 
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dLk Redneck
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Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 5:58 pm
Posts: 10199
Location: Spring
That is a nice car and awesome history!! Welcome to the board Tom. I am a lover of the 36er motors. I have built around 5 in the past year. They are just as fun and gratifying to build. Just as easy as building a stock 1600. I have been really getting into the okrassa clones. What part of town are you in?

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Ethan Dunlap
Spring, Texas


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 Post subject: Re: 1958 Semaphore Bug
PostPosted: Fri Aug 23, 2019 11:29 pm 
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dLk Redneck
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Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 5:58 pm
Posts: 10199
Location: Spring
Here is my 36er. And two that I built for a couple of club members. The blue 55 happens to belong to Jeremy the painter. The tan 56 belongs to Eliot


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Ethan Dunlap
Spring, Texas
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 Post subject: Re: 1958 Semaphore Bug
PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 12:02 pm 
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Der Luft Doktor
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Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 3:31 pm
Posts: 7220
Location: OC CA
Texas_1958 wrote:
Brian,

Thanks for tips. I am hoping someone here steers me on this 36HP stuff.

I just got done going through your car's page. Your motor is very impressive and i love all of the attention to detail; balancing, blueprinting, etc. I am sure peoples jaws drop when you drive to the motor's potential.


Thanks! Its fun for sure. But in all honesty, I'm rarely able to use much of its power. It purs like a kitten in traffic though, so its a pleasure to drive even when I'm driving like an old lady.

Ethan, is that your 36 in the black one? Looks amazing!

Is the '55 rag Paul's old car?

_________________
-Brian
IG: @mkzero55vw
'55 Outlaw Oval- 231 hp daily driver :shock:
'56 Oval Vert- Okrasa 36 hp
'52 Standard Split Window
1953 Fleetwood Travel Trailer
2010 FJ Cruiser- The Mountain Goat
30 Ford Model A Pickup Hotrod
Conklin Performance & Engineering


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 Post subject: Re: 1958 Semaphore Bug
PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 5:44 pm 
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Joined: Mon Aug 12, 2019 6:48 am
Posts: 23
Ethan:

I am in Bellaire (SW side of town). I am in love with those ovals. The blue rag on the fuchs is freaking AMAZING. Do you know of any ovals for sale? Are there any upcoming shows or events planned? Please PM me if your open to bending your ear and giving me some machine shop referrals and any lessons learned building a 36HP. Is there some place on the web with more pics of the blue oval?

Todd


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 Post subject: Re: 1958 Semaphore Bug
PostPosted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 1:25 am 
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dLk Redneck
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Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 5:58 pm
Posts: 10199
Location: Spring
mk-Zero wrote:

Ethan, is that your 36 in the black one? Looks amazing!

Is the '55 rag Paul's old car?


Yeah that is the 36 that is in my split, looks black but its Bordeaux. Nope that is not Paul's old car. Paul's car actually went to one of Buddy Hale's customers. I would be willing to bet you will see it in Cali soon.



Texas_1958 wrote:
Ethan:

I am in Bellaire (SW side of town). I am in love with those ovals. The blue rag on the fuchs is freaking AMAZING. Do you know of any ovals for sale? Are there any upcoming shows or events planned? Please PM me if your open to bending your ear and giving me some machine shop referrals and any lessons learned building a 36HP. Is there some place on the web with more pics of the blue oval?

Todd


Don't know of any ovals for sale at this time. The next show will be the NHVWC show in Tomball 9/28 and then the VW Harvest in Austin 10/19-20. You can give me a ring any time 832-768-0456 text if I dont answer and I'll ring you back.

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Ethan Dunlap
Spring, Texas


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 Post subject: Re: 1958 Semaphore Bug
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2019 6:38 pm 
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Joined: Mon Aug 12, 2019 6:48 am
Posts: 23
I will try and make the next show, any clue if the area VW shows these days still have the swap-meet section? I need a few things. As if getting my '58's 36HP rebuilt was not enough I impulsed bought a FG dune buggy. I have absolutely no use for it but stumbled on it in my neighborhood and since it was not running I bought it cheap. Instead of staying focused on the '58 I have been tinkering on the buggy. I'm proud to say i have not lost my edge. I was able to get it running in <24hrs. of bringing it home (battery, points, firing order and timing). I think the firing order being off is probably why the previous owner gave up on it when they did. Oh well, now i just need to sort out the title process. Apparently the TXDOT revoked dune buggy and sand rail registrations. But just recently the dune buggy group in Texas lobbied and got some sort of law or amendment written allowing buggies back on the road. The caveat is the registration process has not been defined yet. Anyway here are a few photos of my latest distraction. Anybody have a clue as to what type of buggy it is, or ever seen it before. The previous owner said he owned it for about 20 years.

PS does anyone have an old pre 68 steering column and shaft for sale? The buggy has a later one with the key/lock cylinder on the column and is really bulky not to mention ugly. I want to relocate the ignition to the dash and go with the earlier column.


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