1958 Speedster Wide Body

Hello Hoopster,

Assume the motor is a 1600 unless he has some sort of receipts to show what size it is. Ask the owner if he has the rest of the engine tin/engine compartment pieces. When you open the engine compartment and look in, you shouldn't be able to see the ground. There should be tin / fiberglass shrouds to keep the hot side hot and the cool side cool.  There is a wiring diagram available under the 'resources' tab above. It and a host of other useful documents are available to payed members. 

Good luck with the car,
Ted

Thanks Ted, 

I appreciate the advice, i've read a few articles about this on the site and plan on doing just that regarding the shields. Is there anyway to tell the size of the bore without taking off the head? I'm not sure on what the previous owner has, i'm hoping he has a few boxes of bits squirreled away, because from the pictures i've seen comparing it to this car, there seems to be a few things missing from the photos. I'll be subscribing to this site soon, just want to have the car in my possession first

Hoopster posted:

Thanks Ted, 

I appreciate the advice, i've read a few articles about this on the site and plan on doing just that regarding the shields. Is there anyway to tell the size of the bore without taking off the head? I'm not sure on what the previous owner has, i'm hoping he has a few boxes of bits squirreled away, because from the pictures i've seen comparing it to this car, there seems to be a few things missing from the photos. I'll be subscribing to this site soon, just want to have the car in my possession first

Unfortunately the only way to accurately determine engine size is by taking the heads off.  I was in the same quandary and decided if something happens to the motor THEN I'll find out the engine size.  As of now everything points toward my car having a 1915 cc motor. But that guess is based on dual carbs, acceleration, rams at 75 mph, etc. But it's still just a guess.

Welcome to the madness, Hoopster .  Looks like you have more than enough stuff there to drive yourself crazy.  Hope you're happy with your "sight un-seen"  purchase. I did that 8 years ago and got lucky, but that didn't stop me from screwing with it since day 1.  You can find answers to almost any question you may have.  Sometimes you get more than you need, but you'll weed through that stuff. Good luck.

I too bought mine sight unseen. I did send a seeing eye Guamanian down to check it out first.

Welcome to the madness, for it is surely that.  You have a few items to tend to there, and as far as what the seller says as being true, well, I'd apply a lot of salt to that.  with the right attitude and enough patience (and some $$) I think that car could be a stunner.  Paint looks good.  Engine bay looks -- um -- different.  The carb linkage is a new one on me.  But hey, if it works . . .

Thanks everyone, I too was apprehensive about buying something sight unseen, however the deal is actually not done until I get there and hand over the check so I do still have a contingency plan if it just looks way out of whack. The pan supposedly is rust free and has never had any rust repair. The seller also has a fair amount of kit for it that has yet to be installed from the sounds of it so that's promising. I'm hoping to see some paperwork to backup the engine story but given the info I have for oil pressure seems decent. I was going to perform a quick compression test when i get there just to be sure, do any of you have #s that would be favorable for these engines? I know the compression should be consistent but wondering what compression I should expect to see across the 4. 

Post '72 up engines are dual port and dual pressure relief valves - AH (but others too).  What is chassis # *VIN)?  That might point to year of engine - again '72 chassis up would in US be IRS. Check how it is titled and registered and if as a VW that the chassis VIN matches the title.  Many are registered using the VW title and VIN - others special construction and some sneak by as 57 Porsche Speedster (probably not desired unless it says replica or such).  Get all documentation/receipts/build manuals - see if PO has the Certificate of Origin from the body manufacturer.

Those aren't original seats - see if he has the original speedster buckets.

A lot depends on what you are paying for the car.  If you are only paying $5,000 for the car, don't bother with a compression test.  If you're paying $10,000 or more then the condition of the engine might be a factor to consider.

Hi All, 

So update on the speedster, I got it! Car was better than I expected, I checked everything that the group asked me about regarding parts around the engine to keep the heat out and the seller had all of the bits and then some. Only thing it really needs is to be completed, gave me several boxes of items, carpeting, mirrors, top, tonneau amongst other things. My first order of business is to sort out the wiring I signed up as a premium to get access to the library already. All of the lights work however none of the gauges have been hooked up and wires are a mess and unlabeled. In addition the previous owner boiled the gas tank to remove all the gunk and grime so that needs to be re installed and it also appears to need a tune up. Engine is punched out to 1900 cc owner had paperwork on it, has less than 50 miles on the rebuild but it's been several years. Engine runs on a gas can and I was able to take it for a short drive and made it through all the gears. One thing I noticed is the gears were hard to shift, not the usual it wont go into gear but rather just stiff to move from gear to gear, not at all smooth. An suggestions for this? Overall very excited to get started and will be posting lots of pictures. 

Congratulations. Definitely use the search function (Magnifying glass in the black banner at the top) and some, not all, your questions might be there.  PM with Alan Merklin aka DrClock as he is the CMC megamind when it comes to putting in your 40 hours of labor to finish the kit.

Good luck.

Hoopy wrote: "...rather just stiff to move from gear to gear, not at all smooth. "

There is a horizontal "Shift Rod" between the shift lever and the transaxle.  It is supported just behind the shift lever with a hard-to-get-at nylon bushing.  If that area of the shift lever is not greased well or if the old grease has dried out (a high probability), it will make shifting difficult.  If you have to go to the trouble of getting some grease in there, you might as well replace the bushing, too and then clean and grease the shift rod.

If you go that route, let us know and many of us can give you tips on how to do this job most easily.  It can be a PITA, but doesn't have to be (and you only have to do it every ten years or so.....)

Thanks Gordon, I'll take a look at this over the weekend. Today I pulled the seats, removed the carpet and painted the floor with rustoleum. Also got the tank installed and traced some wires. Overall the wiring looks decent. Major components aka headlights, tail lights blinkers, reverse lights, brake lights are all working. Need to hookup the tachometer, speedometer, fuel gauge, amp gauge and oil pressure. Also the wires need to replaced from the cap and seems like plugs are fouled as well. I'll do that and balance the carbs and see where I'm at. Thanks for the help on shifting will be nice to get that sorted. I ordered sound deadoning mat 8 mil to cover floor firewall doors etc. once that's in I'll do a final rundown on words and install carpet 

Good going, Hoopster. 

While you have the car in a near naked state, now would be the time to upgrade the wiring by adding relays for the lights, horn, etc. Wiring has been and continues to be a weak link for these cars.