The story:

VW 2D Sedan 11/2400,
year model 56.

This VW came to Finland on July 7th 1956. Next delivery point was the first owner, Veitsiluoto Oy

After several owners during over 40 years, I bought this oval on October 24th 1999

Two pictures on the right were taken at the place the v-dub was bought.

The car was bought without engine, interior, seats, the electricals were not in that good condition, etc. But it was a good starting point.

And then starts the work.... The engine was changed from borrowed 1200cc to my tuned 1600.

Some problems, as always, the engine did not fit until my friend gave some adjustment to the transmission mounting bolts. Meanwhile, the weather was getting very cloudy... After the grinding of bolts the engine started to slide better in the tranny, but then the cheap jack decided to bleed its vitals...

Luckily the jack did its job and in the last minute the engine was in.

Some photos on the result below.

The fuel tank was taken off and electric fuel pump was added, also everything under the tank was cleaned and painted.

Also the the space above transmission was painted, this was actually done a lot earlier, when the engine and the tranny were off.

Redoing the interior started with the seats and door panels on summer 2000.

Front seats are used leather Recaro's and back seat is an old frame upholstered with new leatherette. The same leatherette was used in door panels.
The Recaro's needed mountings to the chassis, so a welder expert was needed once again. Pessy did the job of course, and after a short while I had the mountings ready.

The interior I did myself from the scratch, and I was doing that for the first time, so I took a lesson there. It was made from black feltmat, and after all it looks ok. First I painted the floor with anti-rust paint, next layer was bitumen, which was shaped with hot air blower. Then a layer of thick sound absorbing sheet and then the mat. And of course on top of all the mud carpets.

Some electrical enhancements has been done, too. Hard start relay was added to improve the starting, and to ease the load on the start switch. There is also an Optima Yellow Top battery, which should provide enough amps and trouble free operation, and the starter is the Bosch bearing model designed for automatic gearbox beetles, it has more power and durability than the conventional starter. Almost all the wiring have been replaced with new wires, also the ones that go from front to back. Cobra alarm has been added, which protects the car, also the semaphores have been trapped!

And to get some grip the wheels were changed from the original to EMPI 5-spokes (American Eagles), with 185-65-15 Pirellis back and 155-70-15 Michelins in front.

Of course, after changing wheels and tyres, I decided to have some measurements done to the angles. They were measured with high precision equipment, and the results showed that front had to be lifted up again and some adjustment was to be done to the camber... At the same point I decided to change the bearings to the front brakedrums.

The story continues on evolution II -page, Porsche disc brakes etc.