The Wrenchmen | Todd's 1957 Volkswagen Beetle - Episode 5

In Episode 5, Matt and Davin meet Todd, whose eBay-purchased 1957 Volkswagen Beetle wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Watch as they take on the steering, brakes, clutch assembly, and electrical gremlins to get this old VW back on the road.
Ever had a project that’s stuck, stalled, or over your head? Sometimes it just takes an extra set of eyes and an extra set of hands. Enter, The Wrenchmen. Follow along as Matt and Davin travel the country getting classic cars back on the road.
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[@malaert64]

It brings me nothing other than pure joy to see these cars restored.

[@HomeTedders]

I had a 57 VW soft top in college. Great car, drove it to yosemite backpacking with my friend. Coming back in a light snow was fun...

[@takayama1638]

In 1970 straight back from Vietnam, I bought a 1959 VW for $210.00 in San Francisco from a wealthy college student girl. I drove it all around San Francisco and northern California. On my attempt to drive it across country, valves burned up in Lancaster, CA, so I traded it to VW mechanic for a flight to Yuma. He was private pilot too. Wish I had kept it.

[@bosse641]

Dream car right there. Simple and fun.

[@isaiahdennhardt9409]

I love old Volkswagens, and i cant express how nice it feels to see such an old car be restored

[@kavanghia6908]

You opened the door and all I could say was oh wow. My son and I are working on a 69 Ghia that we saved from the car crushers 👍 We have a couple of videos up and will be adding more as we progress 👍✌️ our goal is to get it running and on the road to enjoy driving!

[@bobbysoriano6036]

You guys are amazing, preserving a part of history great job, well done god bless

[@Idtelos]

Man, I restored my 63' VW bug completely when I was 19. Easy as hell cars to work on.

[@davidwitcher5443]

Damn! Beautiful '57!!

[@fognnorway6471]

I've had a few 57s. along with many other vws. as soon as my new shop is done, i'm looking for another to restore. great video!

[@jclar3565]

I now see the impetus for a frame-off full restoration. By the time you're done with picking systems and parts here and there it's probably worth it just to do a full sweep of the vehicle. Kind of like when you're looking for something in your bedroom that you can't find it's probably easier just to clean the bedroom from the ground-up LOL

[@lastexitgarage1614]

Sweet beetle todd. Great job wrenchmen

[@JSMachineWorks]

I love this show!

[@johnboy384]

First time watching this show. Loved it!

[@racer67]

I love the older 50s bugs i really dig the side pop out turn signals...so cool!

[@longhairbear]

Nice car, and a great show. It gets me in the mood to get our 57 Chevy out of the garage, and back on the streets. It's been 6 years since it's been driven.

[@mynameis9057]

we had a couple of those bugs back in the 70s, choke?yup mandatory screwdriver on those cold days . lol! weeee! 40 years later you just don't see as many on the road anymore, glad this one made it,wouldn't dolf be proud. ▪☆☆☆▪

[@danjones732]

My first car was a 1957 Beetle. Nice auto, sucked in the winter but I was 17 and believe it or not we used an old Coleman lantern to heat it.

[@MikeGuy993]

Another great episode, always love learning something new!

[@jimclarke1108]

Great show, love the time laps rebuilds

[@lionelpayette4628]

Great video, enjoyed every minute of it.

[@alexanderconnell800]

one of the best series love it

[@johnsnowvideo]

Really starting to enjoy this series! Keep it up Hagerty!

[@JMKGarage]

Beauty of a car. Looks real clean and original.

[@stephendmyterko2134]

Great show, my new favorite! !!! Keep up the great work....

[@johnschutt9187]

Great show. Thanks!

[@0616ko]

That's a sweet bug! Really enjoying this series. Thanks.

[@caribbeanrob7374]

Great show, great team. sound and video.. keep the great work up!

[@sonyhk3824]

Fantastic job boys

[@gtoger]

Hey Todd - Welcome to the Wrenchmen Family! Keep that bug on the road now!

[@schneidercom331]

Thanks

[@ohdamnitsthatguy60]

Holy crap did anyone notice that these guys got their hands dirty, they did not use gloves.....damn it's like they were real mechanics. :)

[@kevinhorning3624]

fun, easy, plain old school car. yeah baby. my style.

[@tiyukitv6508]

You guys are awesome. another vw beetle revived enjoying the road.❤️✌️

[@josemessiasamorim502]

Vocês estão de parabéns dois profissionais de alta qualidade adimiro muito vocês que Deus abençoe vocês

[@mariovvv5639]

i am in love with these cars 😍😍

[@shakerattleandrollgarage7223]

Like this series, y'all do a great job of helping guys who have some knowledge but need a little help 👍

[@derekobidowski5784]

its a European 1957 Vw Beetle which have the semaphore turn signals the US Market models have the bullet turn signals on the fenders on the 1956-1957 models oval window beetles. the later 1958-1960 European Beetles had the semaphore or trafficator turn signals as well as the US models the front turn signals were located on top of the fenders. the motor in the bug is the correct 36 HP 1192cc used in the 1954-1960 bugs a Solex 28 PCI carburetor, stale air heating system, all Vw bugs US market 1949-1955 have the semaphore turn signal the German and euro market from 1938-1960 have the semaphore turn signals.

[@christophercordasco1739]

Ayyy turned 21 today and got a Hagerty video as a present!!

[@Hagerty]

Happy Birthday!

[@christophercordasco1739]

Hagerty thanks! Love the vids!

[@ThePlanet_L.I.]

Happy birthday

[@GETUPANDGO]

Double bonus!

[@TheStwat]

Happy Birthday

[@angry.8]

Great episode, these guys really know their stuff!

[@ThePlanet_L.I.]

Awesome series I dig it 👍🏾💯

[@80sandmore94]

13:16 the best part of the video!

[@Abe.Wassenstein]

You can tell Matt is an old skool dude by his calculator watch :D

[@jimpuff8409]

Boy , I could use these guys to help me with some issues on my 1952 split window zwitter beetle.

[@minskmade]

what a great series.

[@oscarpark1523]

That's pretty righteous of those guys .. I like the concept for the show.

[@OctaneMonkey]

This is a great show!

[@truthurts1692]

my first time seeing this channel. I'm impressed. The guys are low key, very competent, and don't go too heavy on the "personality", which ruins a lot of these kind of shows. I'll be back

[@markkligerman6861]

Hope that oil has some zinc in it. Cool car, cool program!

[@getsome4363]

COOL vw bug 👊🤛 no punch backs

[@rayvandiwinata]

wow.. awesome content..

[@DavidPlass]

Would love to see a half-hour (or hour-length!) version of this series.

[@alexmiranda2652]

My God… what color is that?! I thought mango green was the best looking green until this bug popped up!

[@robertbrowne7880]

First car was a 57 bug I got for $40.00 in 1974. Mine wasn't nearly that nice but it did last the summer.

[@waiting4aliens]

the bushings are replaced with the king pins, and reamed or honed ito fit.

[@ShamWerks]

yup.... I cringed a little there...

[@alynicholls3230]

i have seen a lot of bug vids where they take the kingpin and bush as a used part and replace them like this, the bush he hammered in did well not to gall up. would have been nice to see him ream out phosphor bronze bushes and do it the correct way, personally i would have replaced them with ball joint replacements, and disk brakes, authentic is all well and good for a trailer queen show car, but any car my wife drives is not going to lose its brakes going down hill due to brake fade.

[@estpst]

This looks like a fun job to have

[@axllook7803]

Bel video 👍 sempre in gamba, vi seguo

[@Bugmason]

Rock on guys! 🤟😃👍

[@OMENASOSEATYG]

I WISHD ID HAD CAR LIKE THAT

[@bradcampbell7253]

Popes nose. Oval. Semaphores....no left mirror. Did not see the inside rear. Great stuff.

[@bombadeer8231]

Did I just watch an episode of This Old Car? Which one played Norm and which one played Tommy? Great video thanks!

[@bramkeijsers]

5w30 fullsyntetic oil? I would only use 20w50 mineral oil for this VW Bug! Or maybe 15w40...but not thinner. Oil is beside air the coolant of these engines

[@soilmanted]

The original spec was for straight 30 weight which VW kept on inisisting was the only way to go, except in very cold climates where it was ok to use straight 20 if the temperature was expected to be way below freezing for months at a time. This was until around 1973, at which point they finally said you could use a multigrade, and use it even on the older cars, even though straight 30 was preferred and they were very specific about only one grade but I forget what that was. Probably 20W-50. Their story was that by 1973 improvements in oil additive formulations had finally made 20-50 acceptable. Air cooled engine runs much much hotter than water-cooled and needs oil with higher viscosity rating.

[@shwt121]

That true, boys........think back to what was available back in the day for air-cooled engines???

[@shwt121]

ASK CHRIS VALONE.......

[@bradcampbell7253]

1030 is what i did on most of mine.

[@martinharris5017]

@@soilmanted When multigrades took the spotlight VW recommended 20W-50. The catch is that it should be mineral not synthetic and contain zinc additive.

[@reinoudsturzenegger5466]

Suuupppppppeeerrr 👍❗️

[@marv.mon.9845]

Everything needs to be fresh!

[@canalmileduque]

Great bug!!!

[@bradcampbell7253]

Damn....i am a vw God. Been there and done it all. Done everything but rebuild a trans on those cars. Damn good cars

[@waiting4aliens]

Fuel lines as well as checking brake lines

[@1down5ups]

Hey, how much would a owner like the person here pay for your help like this? This is sooooo awesome

[@kfolkjr]

Looks like it's missing the rear engine tin. Might want to get that replaced before the motor overheats from sucking hot air off the exhaust.

[@mattadrev471]

let it...this guy needs to learn about his car - dude has bug for three years and hasn't driven it??????!?!?!?!

[@kfolkjr]

I have a Bug that I haven't driven in 20 years.

[@jnorthrop70]

Todd has fabulous taste in cars.

[@marcryvon]

And women too !

[@danmonson2661]

I used to work at a vw restoration shop, my first resto was a 57, it came out a lot better than the boss wanted but it sold for 6500 more than he was going to ask. I cringed when I saw the wheel nut being tightened with a channel lock. A 36 mm socket is not that expensive!

[@soilmanted]

I cringed too. If I recall correctly, the front drums were each held on with 2 nuts, the inner nut being an ADJUSTING nut, not a fastening nut. The inner nut is used to adjust the wheel bearing play. If I recall correctly, the procedure is to tighten the (very thin) inner nut until the play was gone, and then a little tighter than that, and then slowelyt back off until you have the correct amount of play, which you measure with a dial gauge. Then you hold the inner nut from turning and tighten the outside nut to affix the 2 nuts together at that position. Then you check the play again to make sure the inner nut didn't move when you tightened the out nut. Here the man is saying "tighten it down" and is not shown holding the inner nut from turning. The result of doing that would be no play in the wheel bearings, and rapid wear of the wheel bearings. I also seem to recall that there was a special nut-holding piece of sheet metal between the 2 nuts that you bent IN over a flat of the inner nut and OUT over a flat of the outer nut - to prevent loosening or tightening of the 2 nuts, due to vibration. In newer models the 2 nuts were replaced with a single special clamp-nut that was held in position on the stub-axle when you tightened the clamping part of the nut with a small screw running through the clamp. Several time I found that the front drums had indeed been installed with zero bearing play by the previous "mechanic."

[@danmonson2661]

I had a ground down open end wrench to hold that inner nut, outer nut had to be TIGHT, I saw both move if not very tight.

[@soilmanted]

Damn, you can see the man tighten down the outer nut, without holding the inner nut in place! Furthermore, the remnants of the nut-locker can be seen between the 2 nuts, but they are useless because the tabs are broken off! Meaning that the nuts can loosen up and the brake drum, with the wheel attached, can not only loosen up, but could completely slide off the stub axle while you are driving at 75 mph. Worse, it looks like they have left TWO of the old broken nutlockers in there! If I were going to judge their skills from this video, I would NOT trust these men to work on my car! If I recall correctly the torque for this nut was not high at all. Something like 20 ft lbs. The outer nut had to be tightened to the inner nut to keep the inner nut from turning. Reason for the large size is only because the stub axle had to have a large enough diameter to hold up the weight of the car bouncing up and down. The stub axle did not rotate. Rather, the drums rotated around the stub axle. On later models, the double-nut was replaced with a single clamp-nut that was not torqued at all, and was held in place by being clamped closed with a tiny screw with an Allen head (recessed hex-head) if I recall correctly, maybe a 4mm screw. This was before Torx heads came into widespread use. I still have my thin adjustment wrench which I bought from Snap-On. Part number S5901; made in the USA. About 3 mm thick. It was not a drop-forged tool but looked more like it was just a piece of sheet metal cut to shape and was not particularly expensive. 27 mm open end. The REAR wheels however were firmly attached to the rear swing-axle with a big nut, I think 36 mm, that was tightened to maybe around 200 ft lbs, then tightened a little more until a hole through the nut lined up with a hole through the axle, and then a cotter pin was inserted through the holes.. The swing axle turned at the differential (integrated with the transmission into a "transaxle") and the drum which was firmly affixed to the axle with the big nut, was turned when the axle turned. Once some idiot had overtightened this nut and I bent a Craftsman 3/4 inch driver breaker bar trying to loosen it. I don't remember how I eventually got it off but Sears gave me a free new breaker bar when I brought them the bent one. I gave it to my friend and bought an SK breaker bar.

[@nathanielalias1056]

I was amaze of what the Wrenchmen did . I have Volkswagen myself I some issues on its culcth , brake and electrical wirrings hoe you can see it and do something also with it. Thank s

[@perov_77_26]

Beautifull bug.

[@classic65stang]

Hey. Victory beer. You must be nearby! Cheers

[@TIRVLOGTIRVLOG]

bmw and bug awesome combine

[@waiting4aliens]

they are called semaphores.

[@gregh7457]

New generation of mechanics

[@steveyulenburg129]

AKA turn flipper thingys.. LOL

[@shwt121]

The turn signals or the clients.......???????

[@davidlogansr8007]

I heard of them being called “Machts-Nichts” ( meaning it doesn’t matter) sticks, because in Deutschland people just left them on after a turn, so you never really knew if the car would be turning or not! They can also be made to blink! The car I learned to drive stick shift on was also a ‘57 beetle with roller bar gas peddle which is why I watched this! My old buddy Jimmy the owner had either made them blink or a previous owner had, probably the latter because Jimmy never had any money! He used to borrow my horrible ‘66 Bel-Air when they need groceries because it was easier to put them in the 6 cylinder power glide Bel-Air than in the bug! Forty Six years ago! Where did the time go?

[@karlreinke9653]

You should always use straight 30 weight oil in a bug. Not 5w-30w. The engine runs very hot, as it's air cooled.

[@kealanfrost6491]

Hey Hagerty do you think you could do like a series of your engine rebuilds. Like do what you do in the timelapses but in real time, where you tell us about what to do and how to do it.

[@PONO-go3ee]

That's a Nice 57 Oval Window , You must have paid a large amount at Auction ,

[@nycLPplayer]

Why does it look like the whole thing is leaning?

[@alankuentz4617]

Might be a broken, or weak torsion bar on that side...

[@bava67]

Yes, the cheap repro bumpers are way off.

[@TheStwat]

Gorgeous bug, but why is the front end on the slant?

[@GereDJ2]

He ought to correctly position that front bumper and find the covers for the semaphore turn signals. Maybe get a better steering wheel too!

[@vaffangool9196]

*Is the frame* super flex-y or is that front left bumper mount cocked way high?

[@troyrussell3370]

Did anybody notice that the driver side front wheel well is higher than the left?

[@soilmanted]

The oil drain plug is a commonly found metric size and a socket for it should be easily available in every mechanic's tool kit, yet I see the man tightening it with an adjustable wrench! Not only that, but he is seen to be using the adjustable wrench incorrectly - putting the force on the moveable part of the wrench instead of the stationary part! That's how you round off the hex head of the plug, and wear out or damage the wrench. By the way, while the body of this bug, the part that is easy to see, seems to have had a nice paint job, looking underneath the car you can see lots of rust on the floor pan. Not a lot considering its age, but enough to be concerned about. Offnen putzen und hinten schmutz. Surprisingly little rust for a '57 beetle, but enough rust to present a problem. If it hasn't happened already, it is not going to be long before there are some spots where the pan is perforated, and the first time the car is driven on a wet road, water is going to get into the car and dampen the carpet.

[@iadubber]

Make sure they get the engine tins in place!

[@schneidercom331]

Done

[@robertcallahan4065]

'57 Beetles had front turn signals outside of the headlights. This one doesn't have it, either earlier model or Euro version

[@schneidercom331]

Euro

[@davidlogansr8007]

Yep, European version with “Machts-Nichts sticks! (Means it doesn’t matter!)

[@GETUPANDGO]

I've known a few people who have has this type of experience with eBay cars...yikes

[@styldsteel1]

Shame this car was misrepresented on ebay. I don't know what this guy paid for the car, but the body is so clean, by the end of the day, all the work these haggerty guys put into it, it just seemed worth it. BTW, hot girl you got there, Todd. LOL

[@schneidercom331]

Thanks

[@carolinabeacher1558]

was that an old bmw 1600 in the garage near the bug?

[@Hagerty]

Yes! It's a 1969 BMW 1600.

[@nostalgiarte]

69 ?? she is equipped with a very rare trim line boot from 66' or 67'

[@trixter55able]

Since its a 57 (not a 69) it most likely has a 1200 not a 1600 unless someone swapped the motor (not hard it only takes 4 bolts to drop the engine). The 1600 didn't become standard untill the mid to late 60's.

[@throttleblip1]

Was it missing the grill?

[@jebzjaworksi8378]

Anyone not willing to work on their own bug that has the resources and space to has no business owning one. I fix mine in a gravel parking spot outside and drive it everyday.

[@linovieira5260]

semaphores thats the name of those turn signals

[@cochinero547]

Overhauled the car in the guy's garage, wow.

[@Matthews_Media]

Can someone tell me why the owner has a garage like that but couldnt even get his bug running...... All they did was basic maintance (Exept for the wiring ofcourse, but in truth its simple enough to follow) Nice bug though and cool to see the vid

[@b_mb4948]

Next up... Ford Model T!

[@mrbadx19]

i had a '65 bug 38 years ago, that was a nightmare, main bearing seals leaked, punched the gas pedal through the rusty floor. used a bolt and a couple of nuts as a replacement, then had a hole in the floor afterwards. i traded it even for a '70 firebird that i had to crawl under the car to shift due to a loose shifter linkage to get it home. did the trade with a classmate, poor bastard died about 10 years ago due to cancer. i'd really like a "good" old beetle, simple design, i could swap an engine in 90 minutes, alone with hand tools and a floor jack. mercedes charged me 4 hours labor to change a thermostat in my smart, $900 parts and labor!!!

[@davidlogansr8007]

mr bad example my Dad talked about getting under the family ‘37 Packard ?160? ( biggest one they made he said) to free stuck linkage! He said he got do good at it as a kid during the War, that he could do it in a minute flat and they would continue with the trip. Uncle Pat the owner used to just leave it in second Dad said because that Huge Straight Eight was Very a Forgiving engine! Still could pass anything on the road he said!

[@tomhughes6486]

Nice job guys on an interesting old car. Matt, you didn't want to ride in the backseat?

[@hagertymatt8520]

I would have, but we hadn't put the back seat back in it yet!

[@tomhughes6486]

I spent much of my formative years riding in the backseat of an early-60s Beetle. Great memories.

[@davidlogansr8007]

Been in the back seat of a ‘57 Beetle going from Baltimore to Washington D.C. in 1973. No fun!

[@fjjurroo55]

Is putting in full synthetic oil in a motor that never ran it a good thing?

[@Mikefngarage]

pennzoil in a bug is death. OMG. get that crap out of there and put in some castrol or kendall. OMG

[@waiting4aliens]

why did they first not try to adjust the link pins? that is what we did in the day.

[@gregh7457]

hey, we've got a tv show to run. No time for little things

[@LaserFocused]

You should have done disc break upgrade rather than those drums

[@dethmetel]

So this man has a nice chunk of property, probably a nice house as well, decent garage, has the money to just buy this car off Ebay at a whim and in the 3 and 1/2 years he's owned this car he never once brought it to an actual mechanic shop to have it fixed up properly?What in the fuck? I like this Wrenchman series and all, but you guys just seem to be helping people that have the funds and means to help themselves

[@mattadrev471]

Oh man...I was HOPING one other person realized all this. This guy just seems like he wants to say he has a bug and doesn't even care about driving it....cause literally ANY mechanic could have got this thing up and running. Be great if they fixed up SUPER rare cars where people actually do have an issue getting them running.

[@writerconsidered]

My issue is he doesn't know you can push and clutch to get it started. And the girlfriend at the end looked so fake. And that was my thought buys it than lets it just sit there for 31/2 yrs. He's not a real VW dude. That VW needs a better owner.

[@powermomdoc1186]

@writerconsidered I am very real, thank you very much. And if you were watching the video, you would know that the clutch would not release, therefore it couldn't be bump started. Helene

[@marcryvon]

Hélène G. You are a nice and bright young woman ! Todd is very lucky man.