Hello everyone, this is my first post on this forum. On Thursday I will be the proud owner of a 1957 oval, although, the first owner thought it would be a good idea to make it look more modern and modify it with a large rear window :lol: ....it still looks great.

I have 3 questions.

1. Does anyone know of a top restorer who would be able to remove the large rear screen and convert my Beetle back to an oval? I have the necessary roof section and glass ready to be welded back on. (Midlands area or close to Cambridgeshire and surrounding counties).

2. Is it worth the effort or should I leave it as it is for the novelty value. It is in immaculate condition.

3. How easy would it be to fit seat belts/lap belts front and back to an oval, and where is the best place to buy them from?

Kind regards

Mike

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Hi Mike,

I'm just down the road near St. Neots. Good to see a local on the site, welcome to the forum. 🙂

For the amount of work involved, I'd probably leave it as is - at least for a while anyway. Get out and enjoy driving it and see the puzzled looks on people's faces when they try to work out what year it is. Maybe later if it really starts to bug you, then look at getting it done.

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Thanks for the picture. This is the actual car I have just bought!!!!!!!

Mike

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Nice car!



😎

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Hi Mike,
Welcome to the forum. That's a nice car you've bought! 😎
I've often admired that one at shows.

There's a section on John Henry's excellent Bug Shop  website about the restoration of his '57 which includes adding seatbelt mounts.

I don't know any people who work on cars in Cambridgeshire but I do know an excellent guy in Hertfordshire, near Hemel hempstead.

Let me know if you want the details and more info.

Malc

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Thanks Malc,

you too have a picture of my car! I would be very interested in the details of the guy in Hertfordshire. I have looked at the website which details the seatbelt mod. I'm afraid that this is way and above my capabilities. I'll have to think of plan B?

Mike

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https://www.panel-kraft.co.uk/ 

His work is very good and I would recommend him.

Ask for Hayden and say Malcolm recommended him, he did the welding in my camper a couple of years ago.

Some of Hayden's recent work over on resto-cal...

https://restowagenuk.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=7410 

😃

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Congratulations that is a super car to own, we admired it last year at VWExpo too! :D
Given how well its been done, I personally would definitely leave the window, it is a unique feature and sometimes its good to be a little quirky, you will never see another exactly the same! I dont think it detracts from its value, in fact in some respect I think it adds something!:D

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Thank you for the kind words. It is definitely a debating point, but personally I feel that the charm of owning an oval is the oval window itself. It sets it off against the more modern cars, making it more distinctive. Not too sure really about how it affects the value?

https://www.pre67vw.co.uk/classifieds/detail.aspx?id=205 

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I think it's part of your car's history that it has come to receive a square window. It would be nice to see it also as it came out of the factory with its oval window...difficult one...
It seems lovely from the photos!

Hi Mike,
Difficult choice :? which shall we look through, the square window or the oval window?
My '53 has some odd bits on it too, an earlier engine lid and some engine tin which were added after a rear ender in the mid sixties, but I've decided to keep these as I think they add to the uniqueness of the car. May be you'll come to love that big view out of the square window 😃

I'm planning to fit seatbelts to my oval too, (I can see the pre67 headlines now - Bun in the oven forces non-original modification to VW)
:lol: :lol: :lol:
I got my belts from Wesco in the US. lots of colours and they look nice but a bit pricey once you pay the postage and tax and post office fees 😞 . Maybe try Status or Karmann Konnection who do some nice ones too.

Cheers,
John