Restoring a 1959 Volkswagen Beetle | CONSERVATION STORIES
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ก.ค. 2021
- Sculpture conservators typically work on priceless, one-of-a-kind works by artists like Pablo Picasso or Louise Nevelson. So how did a MoMA conservator end up working on an object that was mass produced 20,000,000 times on an assembly line? In preparation for the exhibition Automania-which explores the car as a pivotal object of 20th-century design-the experts at Automotive Restorations, Inc., in Stratford, Connecticut, discovered that under the paint of MoMA’s 1959 Volkswagen Beetle, pockets of rust were slowly bubbling up to the surface. If left untreated, they would engulf the entire car.
Removing the paint down to bare metal revealed the Volkswagen’s entire history. This Beetle didn’t always sit in a museum in pristine condition-it had a life out in the world as a working vehicle, complete with past paint jobs and repairs that suggest it had crashed and rolled. “The automobile is something we all grew up with,” says Roger Griffith, the conservator who oversaw the Beetle’s restoration. “It’s something that’s part of our everyday. And if you’re going to have a collection that is inclusive of all design, I think the automobile has to be included...otherwise we’ve skipped something.”
On March 12, 2020, as we were filming the Beetle being repainted at Automotive Restorations, we received word that museums, including MoMA, would be shutting their doors immediately due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly two years after we began production on this episode of Conservation Stories, we can finally share the full account of how this car was prepared for MoMA’s galleries.
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The comments and opinions expressed in this video are those of the speaker alone, and do not represent the views of The Museum of Modern Art, its personnel, or any artist.
#Conservation #Volkswagen #Beetle #MoMA #art #museumofmodernart #museum #modernart
Looked perfect at the beginning
Why basecoat/clearcoat? Wouldn’t the original single-stage paint be more appropriate and accurate for a museum piece?
The 1959 vw bug sitting in my garage currently 7/27/21 was bought brand new by my grandpa 2/08/1959 he drove it everyday until 1984 when he had a stroke and wasn't able to shift gears anymore. He then gave the bug to my dad, and dad had alot of work done on it and drove it himself well into the early mid 2000s at that point he would only drive it a couple times a month, then in 2017 dad asked me if I wanted the old bug, of course I was happy to have it as my own. It has fresh paint,tires, upholstery, and runs great. I drive it a couple times a month, sometimes around town, it gets alot of attention wherever we go, and I also like taking a 120 mile round trip down an old 2 lane highway as the old bug seems to just love strolling down the highway about 65 or so mph. Anyway you did a wonderful job on the old bug in this video my old bug looks just like it, except it's a beige color. Thanks for posting this.
Thats wonferful with this said keep it in family for more generations😊 i myself just bought a 56 oval which am currently working on.
@@ghalibabubaker88abubaker87 hey, it's been a year since you posted this, have you made progress on your car?
@@ghalibabubaker88abubaker87 did you ever live in Rochester NY ? I once met a Abu Baker through vw's. Late 80's ??
Why not use stripper or an acid dip for initial paint removal? Acid dip could also get rid of all the rust.
Beautiful,....simply sublime! I'm 70, and Beetles were always a part of my youth and coming of age. I never owned one, but all my friends had them. During the Hippie Flower Power years, when I was a teen, anyone who drove one, meant we were likely to become fast friends. In the 1960s, when it was still safe to hitch hike, if a stranger in a Beetle stopped to pick us up, we knew we'd be safe. The longhaired driver and passengers, were sure to share their stories with us, as we headed to an outdoors folk music festival.
All I know is those low bumpers make the Beetle INCREDIBLY vulnerable to American cars and especially trucks. I'd just got my 58 Beetle back from the body shop where they repaired the crunched front hood and was glancing out the window of my third floor apartment when I saw the truck back into my parked Beetle and crunch the hood AGAIN. Ohhh the pain of it. Living in Minnesota with a 1958 red Beetle with a gas heater that invariably leaked gas into the small passenger compartment... it was so small that I always was able to find parking at the U of M campus. What an adventure.
I think it was starting in the early 70's that U.S. cars had to have "regulation bumpers".
My first car in 1973 was my grandfather's 1958 Beetle. Every time I crashed it, i would go to the local salvage yard, here in Cincinnati. After I repaired the bug, I would paint it with blue rustoleum paint with a brush from a can. It had a 36 hp engine. I loved that car and all the memories it made for me as a 16 year old. Nothing will ever replace it in my mind.
I would rather have a cracked original windshield… but it’s just me! I’m a purist! The crack was so small… But I really enjoyed the video and love the fact that you have cars in your collection and truly understand the meaning and importance of these pieces of history! Keep up the good work!
I currently have a 63 beetle ragtop. I love watching these videos of another being restored. Absolutely beautiful.
Bought a '62 Beetle in 1972 for $100. It needed a clutch, brakes, tires and a tune-up. After a great mechanic worked on it, I drove it to Florida and back. In the days before the first oil crisis, the most I ever spent to fill the gas tank was $3. I spent less than $25 on gas for the entire round-trip. After the battery died later--the local gas station had a little trouble getting a six-volt battery for me--I had to push-start the car for a few days; no big deal since the car was so light. I used to store things under a blanket in the area behind the back seat, since the trunk was so small. Oh, to be 18 or 19 again . . . Best car I ever owned. . . .
Honestly I don't have any real interest in cars, but seeing people work on their craft is always interesting whatever the topic. These people are artists, so having some insight into their process is very cool
Amazink
I’ve always wanted a Volkswagen beetle. I loved this episode. I’m actually close to being able to buy one of my own. But I want one that’s the same age as I am, a 1970s Volkswagen beetle is really my dream. Thanks for this vid.
MoMA = best museum I've ever seen
I fooled with VW’s all throughout the 70s, I also worked at a car lot in those years. Since I was familiar with them when we took one in on trade, I was the one that it was delegated to. The door hinges had a little plastic plug that you could pick out of and put lightweight oil in because they would seize up from rust and from the right door not getting used as much as the drivers’ door, the right ones were most likely the ones that would break out of the door post. That’s a bad thing!I love them and wish I could find another reasonable old air cooled one,but that’s just a pipe dream.
I fooled with VW’s all throughout the 70s, I also worked at a car lot in those years. Since I was familiar with them when we took one in on trade, I was the one that it was delegated to. The door hinges had a little rubber plug that you could pick out of and put lightweight all in because they would seize up from rust and from the right door not getting used as much as the driver store, the right ones were most likely the ones that would break out of the door post. That’s a bad thing!I love them and wish I could find another reasonable old air cold bag but that’s just a pipe dream.
Very surprised this wasn’t a pan off restoration.
It’s such a timeless design.
When l restored VWs in the '80s, my research lead my to Acrylic Lacquer as the nearest finish to nitros cellulose paints used in the VW Westall Factory paint shop in Australia. NO TWO PACK is my preference.... Dulux Dulon was a favourite!
I had a 6V, 63 VW when I was in college. It even had a gas gauge, and an air pressure windshield squirter. Black, of course.
1959 , is my birth year, i wish to have one!!... 😍🤩🥰
This should be called "restoration of an already restored vw" lol
Thank you for sharing this. I had a 65’ I loved.
My first car was a 1960 VW in 1968 wish I still had it lots of memories
Parabens, um belo trabalho de restauração. Ficou lindo.
Original and unrestored would also serve the collection, but having a nicely restored 'archetypal' representative works. Certainly the sound of the engine while shifting through the the gears is in many of our memories.
Wonderful restauration
i went to go see this on display! super cool :)
What a work of art!
The Bug is nice for sure, but let me get my hands on the black Ford 1958 Ranchero, now she's a real gem!!!
Excellent restoration! First class! 👍❤
Semplicemente bellissima!!!!
It's hard having to listen to someone that's had no appreciation for the "automobile" as a functioning work of art; referring to it as an "object" in order to maintain a distance from it's unappealing design. Good, bad and indifferent each Car that was ever produced was a labor of love in providing someone, anyone, everyone the joy of owning a work of art that served a purpose. A new car was not only a visual joy but a joy to all the senses. The smell of a new car, the feeling of the seat, the sensation of holding the steering wheel, the feeling of power and movement. And finally the feeling of pride when someone seeing you in it. Having owned a '64 Beetle in Germany, a '71SuperBeetle in CA and a '79 1st year Rabbit; I tend to be a little biased.
Hermoso,saludos desde la CD Mexico.
Very interesting story. But why several layers of clearcote?? Original type 1 had no clearcote.
A thing of beauty
Magnific restoration
Don't forget to add a small woodstove for some heat 👀.
This particular color must have been the most popular one in the late 1950s and early 1960s. My dad´s bug had it!
Boy, what a transformation. Hard to believe it's even the same car.
I think you haven‘t seen a real restauration, with a lot of rust and welding? This is repainting a car in condition 2 not more😂
Such a lovely and fun car. Dreaming of owning one
I need a trailer like your covered one.
Ferdinand swipe the Beetle idea from Tatra.
Todo esto de conjunto y contemplando la vida desde otra perspectiva, nos lleva a una irrevocable conclusión:
-- " Cualquier tiempo pasado fue mejor " -- si no, ¡que se lo pregunten a Don Perignon!
Wanted to see it driven on the road.
WOW!
I have 1960, but Ragtop. I want to restore it too!
Thankful
This green is my favourite colour and I've always called this green the American Green because I see it so often on fridges from the 60s. Didn't know it was German in origin.
This green calls Reseda Green (1949) or Mignonette Green (1959). Its original from Germans VW. The code of the color is L14.
Lovely video. Thank you. But no footage of the engine restoration?
Great video!
I would of like to have seen the condition of the pans especially by the battery area where they really take a beating.
Given that this car will be an exhibit, I'm kind of suprised they wouldn't have tried an acrylic type repair to the original windshield. Being in a controlled environment provides the stability for that type of repair to live a long time.
Either way, great video.
Thank you for recognizing God's eternal love for man using the rainbow in your logo!
God bless you!
Everyone has a Beetle story. I'm no different. Mine was a '71 and my very first car (I proudly bought and paid for it). Parents had a '72 model, and an aunt had a very nice '66. That '66 model inspired the rest of us to join the VW club.
Anybody recall ever seeing whitewall tires on a VW back in the day? Same thing with the ever present luggage rack on the roof we see now.
I am going to remember the name of the restorer...beautiful work...
when i restored one i added some sealent around the door hinches for rainawater not getting inside the door which wasnt there from factory i think
E perfetta complimenti
Good job
This is a cool restoration😂
good video!
estos carros son muy bonitos, su diseño es una obra de arte , rodante , una genialidad , proveniente de la casa Tatra
I have a 1959 VW!
Nice resto.
Pity no work shown in the blind spots and reveals. Most often, corrosion sneaks in from behind.
Also, why not split body off the pan? Or, was video edited? Keen to have seen pan and what was done to it, especially that so much was hidden, during previous resto.
Greetings from South Africa 🇿🇦
GOBBLESS
Was the engine also restored?
Video never explained why this particular car became the subject of restoration and display at the MOMA. Was the history of this PARTICULAR car significant? (Think the Lindbergh VW).
Took it in the shorts, not even close to oe, I liked the guy with the clip board taking notes, you know the guy had an unlimited budget
My Dad had a 1962 one, here in Brazil. 1200 cc engine. His first car.
You put a Chinese windshield in a museum-grade German car? I’m crying a little inside.
Clear coat on a '59 VW ? My guess is that this will look good but not be representative of what it looked like when it left the factory.
Call me purist, but IMO a car to be displayed at MOMA should be all original, especially original paint. Even if the paint is showing a little bit of age at closer inspection, the fact that it is original make it worth. And should be easy to find one all original
Finding an all original unrestored beetle in as-new condition is almost impossible.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Am I the only one that loves that song???
At first, looking at the car it looks pristine, like wow why are they talking about restoring it?
Hello Moma. They could have bought a windshield made in Brazil. More than 3,300,000 of these remarkable cars have been produced here (since January 3, 1959). It is part of the history not only of the car, but of Brazil and its creators.
That’s a great colour on a Beetle . I love it . If it were me I would make it two tone with white sides .
A lot different to the Beetles we were buying in Australia in 1958 ( pop out blinkers from side pillars,no over riders on bumper bars etc)
it looks like the most perfect bug I have ever seen before they started....but wouldn't you want to see an 'original' car in MoMa?
❤
Thank you for restoring her, but….those overrider grommets on the bumpers..is the first thing I saw . VW never used them.
"Overrider grommets?"...I'm assuming you may be referring to the upper tier of those two-tiered bumpers of "Deluxe Sedans". Whereas the base Standard Sedans had those ugly looking single-tiered bumpers that are shown in the new car shipping footage in this video. Both types of bumpers were available in the German domestic market. But (thankfully) they were not allowed on US export models as the cars would needlessly suffer too much damage in a small accident against much larger and higher off the ground American cars. I've owned 4 early '60's bugs back in the day, which all had the identical bumpers shown in this video. I can tell you from experience that had my cars had those smaller German domestic base sedan bumpers in the low speed accidents I have been in, my bugs would have suffered much worse damage. What's sad is that now it appears those are the only bumpers available for replacement bumpers for vintage VW bug restoration. Also, the two-tiered bumpers made these cars a lot cuter to look at.
Its only original once, the public loves patina that's part of the charm of the car that makes it unique. Now it looks like a million other new bugs...just saying
Im a classic VW beetle enthusiast and spent 18 months restoring my early '64. Mine is numbers matching, but "All original" practically doesnt exist. Yes mine is all original. they are original VW parts, but not the same to the car when it rolled off the assembly line. stuff happens to the car throughout its life and parts gets replaced. great looking resto job, but one thing that im torn about is the paint. 4 coats of base plus 3 coats of clear on top of epoxy primer?? Man! The classic VW Beetle NEVER had a paint job that looked that beautiful. These cars were intended to be cheap. Single stage, one coat. later years had primer, base, clear- thats it.
Preserve it for what it is, an automotive piece of history - its a sort of time capsule. Wish they would have said why that particular one became an exhibit.
Frankly, I'm amazed this is acceptable in the restoration world. Would you replace all the green paint from a Picasso because it was showing some degradation? So much for future "paint scholarship"...
That’s not a very good comparison since a painting and a car aren’t subjected to the same same environments. Also, a painter like Picasso painted a particular painting, used materials and made original works of art. Who painted this car originally? No one knows. This car was painted like hundreds of others were. There’s nothing special about the paint job. There aren’t any particular brush strokes or designs that are on this car that should make it so special that you leave bubbling paint. We have the technology to replicate the paint color. Why would you leave it to worsen because of a misguided idea that somehow the original, damaged paint is superior to having a vehicle properly restored? Anyways, if no one told you the paint job was new and not original then you’d never really know it (as long as they did a good job).
Wow, restoring this ancient cutie insect that seems to already be restored really seemed to be fanatical anal perfectionism on maximum overdrive, UNTIL I heard what was said about the danger of corrosion if left undone.
I notice restorations all have a black rubber trim between the fenders and the body. Is the original painted trim unavailable?
0:16 - The Beetle is beautiful but I'll take that Porsche on the lift, thank you very much (912?)
We were all played
I drove a '59 Beetle for 3 years around 1970. I can't for the life of me think why anyone would spend their time trying to restore one.
surely having replaced the original bumpers with reproduced bumpers was not the right choice.
Nice little bug.
Why not just acid dip the whole car and start from scratch ?
What song ?
15:22
Safelight replace, safelight repair!
To this day the nicest Volkswagen paint color IMO is code L90E an Amazing shade of white.......
I'd have been more impressed to see the original paint technology used.
I'd be interested to know how much $$$ the restoration costs itemized
My dad had the exact same car ,same color and everything, it brought 4 yr old me to Vancouver from Calgary in 1966 i always hated riding in the hot stinky rumble seat.......😢
If you don't get an original paint VW, you could uncover an unbelievable amount of butchery. Note: The decklid light and the taillights were a different color... because when they painted the car, they forgot to paint those items (and they couldn't match the paint).
If they were going to bring it back to concurs condition, why didn*t they do a rotisserie style restoration.