My 1957 Volkswagen Beetle brought to by Leica M8 & some Vintage LTM lenses ~

[LeicaTom]

Hello Everyone,

*Ooops I left out the "you" in my thread title - is there anyone here who can correct my thread title please?*

I've been away from this site for a while, been busy cleaning up and preserving a 1957 Volkswagen Beetle which I found back in October 2011.
While I have been in and out of the VW hobby in the past (I've been out of the scene since 1999) I have recently really missed having a vintage car and a good old camera friend made it possible for me to buy the car I've been dreaming about, after he bought up my vintage US Army Leica collection.
(I kept only a handful of US Army camera bodies for shooting/working with, while my personal collecting habits have shifted to VW now, my car, rare parts and some vintage French VW toys from the 1950's.)

To make a long story about the car short, it was originally bought by a US Navy scientist who was stationed in Germany in 1957, he bought the car from a famous Munich VW Dealer (MAHAG) and then shipped it back to the states, he drove it a short while then gave it to his Mother (ca. 1959) which she drove the car until her death in the 1990's the nephew inherited the car and then I found the car over the Internet and bought it sight-unseen back in October 2011.

The car turned out to be 100% original, had very rare German Cloth Upholstery with Semaphore Turn Signals and for Export purposes the car received at the Munich dealer ALL the DOT USA style Export Parts needed to pass overseas inspection in 1957.

I have service records back to 1964...............the car has only 27,500 ORIGINAL MILES!

My car's name is "Blauchen" it's German for (small and blue) which is very fitting.

Needless to say I am very delighted to have found this and I want to share my photos I take of the car, hanging out, just having fun and I might even have some pretty PinUp gals also adorn/pose with the car shortly so stay tuned!





Here quickly are two photos by the initial cleaning and polishing about 2 months ago, I shot these with my M8 and a 1954 Nikkor HC f2/50mm LTM lens @ f2 about 500sec or so.

Here's a link to the cleanup/preservation of my car and also lots of photos that are *not* Leica M8 photos (mostly snapshots):

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=506556

I will be posting here JUST Leica M8 photos taken with classic vintage LTM lenses.

Enjoy!

Tom

[pakeha]

What vintage will the pin up girls be?
Nice old VW, and this will be satisfying project.Had one from same year, unfortunately i was young and foolish as it ended up `bajarised'

[Keith]

That is sweet!

Be sure to change the IR filter regularly!

[LeicaTom]

Blauchen's First Tankful Of Gas

Here's my car out for it's first tankful of gas (CITGO mid-grade/ non ethanol) about 4 weeks ago and showing off my pretty nice (rare and original) 1957 Florida license plate.
"T " code for under 2,000 lbs. Florida used that letter code for cars of that weight from 1934 to 1961, (after that all smaller cars got "D" code plates up till like 1972 or so) the plates are very hard to find, I got lucky finding that one through a private license plate collector, the "9" is for Escambia county, Florida (Pensacola area) which is really kool since the car has a US Navy history.

This photo is taken with my trusty Nikkor HC f2/50mm LTM lens again @ f2.8 about 2000/sec in Black & White mode done in the camera with no postprocessing.

I feel it has an odd Film Noirish look about it.....like a 1950's Florida Monster Movie.

Enjoy!

Tom

[goodtimes]

Leica tom this is great ! I am a classic car amateur too. A 1950 Ford is my oldest cruiser.
Keep Blaushen on the road safely.


1950 Vedette by Wegothim, on Flickr

[stausauser]

this was my very first car.
I purchased it from a retired postman for 500 DM when i was 18 years old.
It was in pretty good condition.
One year later it was run down and i sold it for 100 DM.

[jwicaksana]

Wowowowowowowowowowwwww...
Really cool car, and an amazing history!!
Keep her warm and do not put too many miles on the clock :$ :$

[MickH]

A lovely car like that doesn't need dolly birds.

Well worth flogging a few old cameras for.

[robert blu]

So nice, so sweet...
robert

[Trius]

Very nice, and cool story.

How did you end up for insurance, Tom? I read two pages of the thread on thesamba, but couldn't go through them all!

[dave lackey]

Tom, you're killing me. I miss my old bug, it was a medium blue and got me through college and marriage during the (then) most turbulent and devastating times of my life. Friends and family died. Homes lost and life was always a'changing.

The only thing that did not change in that long period of time was my Volkswagen Beetle.

I swear at least once a year to buy another, but it hasn't happened.

[John Lawrence]

What a great looking little bug, and the colour is fabulous too - really suits it.

Nice also to see one that hasn't been 'got at'. Many of the ones I see these days bear the scars of late eighties butchering.

John

[johannielscom]

Hello Tom,

happy to see you post again! Hope you are well!?

I sent you a PM on restoring the Sonnar LTM thread last week, I hope you will respond to it?

[jerrybro]

Do the semaphores work? Did the they still use the roller accelerator pedal in 57?

Old beetles are wonderful.

[Bingley]

'Tis a thing of beauty, Tom. I've bookmarked this thread and hope to see more photos of Blauchen as restoration proceeds. That black and white photo is wonderful!

[KoNickon]

I take it the semaphores are street legal? Or do you need to use the hand signals for turning? Love the car -- a few years ago I got a gentian blue ("enzian" auf Deutsch) '72 Super Beetle that always elicits smiles and comments ("what year? I had one just like that"). Kind of like using a folder or TLR! But the older Beetles like yours are a real treat to see. Thanks for the pics and history.

[dave lackey]

I love semaphores...

Seems no one born after about 1970 uses regular turn signals because of their own self-arrogance and lack of training!

Each State is different, but generally, if a car has factory components, it will be legal. If it did not have certain safety items like seat belts, then they must be retro-fitted. I have no idea if the old hand-signals are still legal, given the safety police these days. They should be because it is the most fail-safe evidence that someone is intentionally turning or stopping... if used properly.

I personally do not think either is a real safety issue in a bug. The point is passive v. active safety. I drove over a million miles in my bug and British sports cars without a single accident because I would surely not have survived, IMO...active safety saved me countless times. Really not much different than riding a motorcycle when it comes to safeyt...

Besides, it has to be a mortal sin to crash a vintage bug, right?

[Sanders McNew]

Tom, you're killing me. I love your Blauchen, and I appreciate your find
for what it is. I had a similar (albeit lesser) stroke of good fortune, when
I found an elderly engineer from Berlin who had brought his 1977 Mercedes
280SL over to America from Germany in 1980, put it in the garage, and
drove it only on sunny summer weekends. Low miles, pristine, original
red paint, a high-compression six with a standard transmission, and no
big bumpers to ruin the lines.

But I'd trade it in a flash for your bug.

I've been toying with the idea of getting an M8 or M9. How do you
like yours?

Sanders

[zuiko85]

I'm pea green with envy!

[raid]

I love the car restoration thread, Tom. I still regret having sold my 1977 MB. Restoring a car is a full time job.

I recall our light green VW beetle in 1962 when we lived in Germany. I would sit in the back, behind the back seats. That car even had a moon roof!

[Jonnyfez]

Glad to see you are "preserving" it rather than "restoring" it.
As they say, a car is only original once.

Wonderful!

[FrankS]

I remember that my father's first brand new car was a 1963 bug, and I too fit in the storage space behind the rear seats. Later when I was in high school and university, I had a used baby blue 1971 bug.

[raid]

Frank,
My Dad got his first VW in 1961 in Bonn. I loved that car.

[Dralowid]

Beautiful Beetle!

A bit 'off topic' I know but I am a proud father of a son in his 20 somethings who carries on the tradition of looking after old cars...but he has made a movie of his engine rebuild...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daVDrGsaDME

Watch, it is only a couple of minutes but make sure you have the sound up!

Michael

[John Lawrence]

Originally Posted by Dralowid

Beautiful Beetle!

A bit 'off topic' I know but I am a proud father of a son in his 20 somethings who carries on the tradition of looking after old cars...but he has made a movie of his engine rebuild...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daVDrGsaDME

Watch, it is only a couple of minutes but make sure you have the sound up!

Michael

Great movie - and great soundtrack too!!

John