Well, I finally got motivated to clean my garage and move a few of my projects to new homes for the winter.

I needed the 29 to roll, so I put the new tires on and got the electrical working while I was at it. I have owned the car since I was 15, so about 5 years now. I bought it with the intention of a hotrod, but with the guidance of my uncle and this website and a few local hotrodders, everyone says to leave it as is, and I agree.

I also just wanted to mention that the tape lines on the roof was a joke by a friend of mine.









thats all for now. I just felt good about making some sort of progress and felt I had to share.

Hey VWguy, Glad you checked in again. That will sure be some nice looking '29 when you you get it finished. I was 24 when I bought my '31 around 1959. Finally got it restored and on the road this spring. Hope yours goes a little faster. Keep us posted with the progress. Oh yes, I see you are friends with some bikers and have a tree house. Ha Ha Thanks for sharing the pictures. Sure wish I had a 60's VW to fool around with. Just curious, how cold does it get in Santa Rosa in the winter time? Was out to San Jose about 4 yrs ago helping to cater a Senior golf tournament. Don't do that anymore.

The coldest it gets here during the day is the upper 40's and the mid to low 30's at night. The weather never gets much colder than that. right now we are still enjoying 80 degree weather. we even hit 90 last week.

Also, why not get a VW? there are still alot of them out there and they still go for fairly cheap. My daily driver is a 1961 ragtop great gas mileage and it is still a classic car.

That '29 Coupe looks like it will be a great tour car. Just get it running and driveable and then drive it. I have always advised people to have one car to drive. That way you can participate in tours, cruise-ins and other events. If you need a show vehicle then buy another and restore it.

Another point is that those old "as they came out of the barn" cars are a piece of history. Fortunately people have moved their opinion to appreciate those cars as they are. When they are "restored" a little bit of history is lost.

I couldnt agree more. they are only original once! As you see it is how it will look going down the road. right now im trying to get the motor unfrozen, then rebuild it. A local wants to trade it for a 35 buick coupe. it has a small block chevy and about 200 pounds of bondo. needless to say I passed. his major selling point: it has a rumble seat.

I'm glad you shared your project with us! It appears you have a very complete and original car which is a huge blessing. You will be able to document all the little details of how the car is assembled, what materials were used, what kind and size bolt is used where, how all the various pieces fit together. Many others start with a basket case and have a very tough time putting it all back together.
Keep us informed of your progress!

good luck with the build. i wish i was closer to you and i`d give you a hand with the build.
i did see on the first picture the tail light is upside down.

see!? i would have never known that. I found the lense in the trunk and put it on the way the face was. ill flip it around today after work.

I never thought of it that way, that because it is so original it could help other people with their restorations as far as what bolt size goes where and such. Are there any specific areas I should take pictures of?

also, one of he headlights is upside down. when I turn the running lights on, one bulb is up top and the other is on bottom. which way is right?

Yep, that is a great original car to start with. You're lucky!

i forgot which way the running lights are on mine without looking..
but i would guess the running light is on the bottom.

also. be very careful around the steering wheel.
they can not be found anywhere. nobody is repo them.
i`m still trying to find one for my 30.

Hey VWguy,
Congratulations!
Your project reminds me to think back...my first car was a VW beetle, I bought it as a wreck from a garden where it was sleeping since years...and after buying I did study the documents and did see the first owner was my teacher at school 1st class when I was 7 years old. But...

5 days before I was ready with everything to bring it back on street I had an accident with my fathers big old Citroen (an american soldier, based in Bamberg, my hometown, had to give way and did not see me, and he was also drunk, so my fathers car was crashed and he was sad and angry about. Instead of bringing my car on street I had to repair my fathers car to bring it back on street...
Later I sold the beetle and bought a 66 beetle convertible, had it about 15 years and sold it...same time I had a T1 split window bus with windows in the roof, you know the model I guess...
Had it 27 years and sold it now, spring 2008 to buy the chevy and sometimes I miss my bus, but I am happy with my chevy, this damned old bucket of bolts :-))hehehe...the whole year I did work on problems, fixed in by unexperienced mechanics, but step by step I get it in good condition and next year I hope I will more drive than repair...

wish you all the best, and you will see, it is much more fun to have this rolling history on the street instead of a hotrod...
here in germany I would never think about a hotrod...but the reason is simple: The rules and laws here are much more strikt, and it is never possible to change things like engine, axles, brakes and everything important for safety. And i dont know the system in USA, but here the car has to pass a complete technical checkup all 2 years, and the sort out all unsafe wrecks and find everything what is not as original. We have to be careful, so no hotrods here.
On other hand an old car has history and a hotrod has nothing of...

Wish you all the best
Stefan
PS: My parents had also a original blue 1960 beetle like the one I did see on one of your pictures. But my father sold it now, 2 weeks ago. He does not use it anymore, and neither he nor I have a place just to keep it. Somebody bought it and is very happy now...could post pics like you, but I dont know how to do it...

thatVWguy29, As far as taking pictures. I thought that I took enough when I restored my 31 coupe. I was wrong. I would probably take as many as possible if I were you and document all of them. As time goes on you tend to forget how things go back together. The 29 looks like it will be a little jewel when it is done. Good luck with your project.

The following was on EBay a while back. The guy did not sell any of these wheels and they looked very good. He said he would make it from any wood you would like within reason. The starting bid as I recall was $138.00. You might give him a call and see if he is still willing to make them. A shame that there was no interest.

See Post: http://vccachat.org/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Main/18542/Number/115733#Post115733

EBay January 2008:
This wheel is correct for a 1930 or 1929 chevy. You need to know what you have before you bid. This wheel is about 1" thick and measures 17 1/4" on the out side and 14 1/2" on the inside. It has no finish it is bare so it can be painted for trucks are finished clear are what ever you need. This patern was taken off of a good unrestored car. It has 12 finger grips between each spoke on the bottom of the wheel. It has 3 small rings around the top of the wheel.This wheel is new and is in exlent shape, It is hard wood, red oak, it is solid wood not laminated.It is asembled in 8 segments being finger jointed together the way they were. If you wish call me at 1-573-266-0002. I can make almost any kind if wheel. Buyer pays only auctual shipping no handling fees. Ships from zip # 63769. Thanks Butch

thanks speedy
i`ll will give him a call after the thankgiving weekend and i`ll post up what i find out. the 29-30 wheel is much better looking than the 31-37 wheel i got on my car now.

No problem, I thought about buying one of these, They had the lines and finger dimples and all. You supply the hub and spokes and screws.

more progress!!!!!

so, its the morning of thanksgiving. its about 2 am Pacific time. my friend and I have been working on it all night and we got the motor unfrozen. we pulled the intake/exhaust off, pulled the head and while i put pressure on the hand crank my friend tapped each piston carefully with a dead blow hammer. sure enough it spun free. I put a little MMO in each cylinder and turned it over by hand to lubricate the cylinder walls. after wiping them clean, the cylinders are beautiful. so friday i am going to order a new headgasket and intake/exhaust gaskets, a carb rebuild kit and some other items from filling station. hopefully i can get this baby to fire up for the first time in 40 years by next weekend. I cant wait. I cant sleep either as im way to excited. during the coming week ill get the radiator tanked and checked for leaks.


and i fell asleep while typing this.ill wait until im fully conscious before i make a list of parts i need. have a great thanksgiving everybody

later...

The small parking light globe(3CP)fits at the top of the reflector,and the main twin filament low beam/high beam globe fits in the centre of the reflector.

The running or parking lights are on the top of the headlights. Sounds like you have things going your way. It sure is great when you bring one of these old Chevys back to life. They are really simple and basic compared to todays vehicles.

One wise man told me that you can have two out of every three things you want. You pick two and then the third one is determined for you. Often it is not in the positive direction. Think of that often when I think about the evolutionary process that vehicles have gone through. Another way to think of it is take two steps forward and then one step back. Sometimes it is one step forward and then two back.

i stand correted on the headlight bulbs.
now i remember why i didn`t call that guy for the steering wheel wood. i need the whole wheel.
keep us posted when you get the engine running.
i remember when i got my 30 engine to run for the first time after sitting for 40yrs.
i had to keep spraying fuel in the carb to keep it running. one thing to check is the fuel pump. i`m sure the diaphgam is bad and that will let fuel mix into the crankcase oil.

VWguy,
I learned computer from my youngest daughter and grandkids so I'm not to versed in them. Also they bought me one of those little cameras with a disc and one of my grandkids took some pictures of my friend and myself when we started up the motor for the first time after all those years. What a surprise when I looked at them and one said "vedio". I pressed it and now have a short vedio of the engine and sound wnen started for the first time. Didn't even know the camera could do that. Not professional but he caught us in our natural working mode. Suggest you take some vedio on the first motor start, first drive, the first time you jump up and down 3 ft off the ground with excitement, ect. By the way, I can't afford one but what would an average 60's VW go for out there?
Happy Thanksgiving.

ill be sure to take video of the first start/drive/100 mph pass.
as far as how much a solid vw would go for? there are deals everywhere. cars just sitting neglected. the red bug i posted earlier was just a shell sitting on the ground and the pan was in a pile of garbage behind the previous owners house. i put the car together and did all the work myself. i could probably get about 6k if i sold it. some models are more valuable than others. convertibles and ragtop sunroof models are more expensive than your basic hardtop bug and euro models.

can someone tell me the head bolt torque specs for my 194? im about to put the head on but dont know what to tighten it to.

VWguy,

Go down on the right to VCCA Home, click on and then on the left go to Favorite Links, then Bill's 1931 Site and then Torque Settings. A lot of other interesting information also.

http://1931chevrolet.com/

or
http://1931chevrolet.com/torque.htm

or
http://1931chevrolet.com/nuts_and_bolts.htm