1957 Oval Ragtop - the sympathy purchase

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AsadIshaque (AsadIshaque) 2014-02-19 15:34:42 +0500 #141

Ive heard of this seat repair man in Karachi who makes the Coconut fibre pads if they are missing/damaged and makes excellent VW seats. He is a specialist who repairs most old car seats. Charges an arm and a leg for the job but folks say his work is flawless.

nmshaikh (nmshaikh) 2014-02-19 15:41:33 +0500 #142

I am sure there are workmen that take pride in their trade but its sheer luck that you come across one when you need them. Zaheer ustad is an old timer and has been working in this line for more than half a century...

NaveedRizvi (NaveedRizvi) 2014-02-19 16:03:10 +0500 #143

Which one are you talking about?

nmshaikh (nmshaikh) 2014-03-21 05:10:16 +0500 #144

The Oval is being prepped up for paint. The progress has been good even though several days were lost due to rains. I will share the latest pictures soon. The interior is being meticulously cleaned, wet sanded and prepped up. I share with you a picture I just found. this was taken the day I had the car pulled out of storage and brought to the workshop for body work.

nmshaikh (nmshaikh) 2014-03-25 02:58:51 +0500 #145

The surface preparation is coming along nicely. This is the picture I took before the rains. A few days have been lost as a result but I am pleased with the progress.

basic (Nadeem Nabi) 2014-03-25 04:50:22 +0500 #146

Masha Allah

MONOO (MONOO) 2014-03-27 19:15:07 +0500 #147

nice job

nmshaikh (nmshaikh) 2014-03-28 01:49:54 +0500 #148

The seats have been re-covered and are ready to go in the car as soon as its back from the painters. Zaheer ustaad has done a great job. He is doing the seats for two other project cars for me and comes up with excellent results every single time.

nmshaikh (nmshaikh) 2014-03-28 01:52:16 +0500 #149

Zaheer Sb. with the Karmann Ghia seats he did for another project and the base of the front seat for the Oval. Zaheer Sb. works out of his home now but has no shortage of clients who bring the seats to his home. For the headliner work Zaheer Sb. goes to the place where the vehicle is parked (it is difficult to work on the narrow street that he lives in. He is not young anymore so he cannot do a lot of hard work himself but his experience is invaluable. Luckily he is training his son in the trade and from the looks of it Adil is a good student.

RZ (RZ) 2014-03-29 13:15:42 +0500 #150

Assalam alaikum. I have been reading this thread silently. It has added too much to my very limited knowledge. Good luck and really appreciate your efforts.

nmshaikh (nmshaikh) 2014-03-30 16:00:40 +0500 #151

The front seats...all done up , wrapped in plastic and waiting to be fitted

nmshaikh (nmshaikh) 2014-04-08 03:31:30 +0500 #152

spotted this on the internet... This could have been the original colour of my Oval window.

sarsalan (sarsalan) 2014-04-11 19:57:44 +0500 #153

Im not an expert here...but i found this to be the actual color when this old lady was born !

nmshaikh (nmshaikh) 2014-04-12 09:59:33 +0500 #154

Its hard to tell from the picture as the light in which a picture was taken can change it all but the paint appears to be Strato Silver. Amazingly well kept car. Thanks for sharing

sarsalan (sarsalan) 2014-04-12 13:25:12 +0500 #155

You are most welcome sir And i love the rims and caps in it..
how is the paint job going by the way ?

nmshaikh (nmshaikh) 2014-04-13 13:10:34 +0500 #156

The car is being painted but I am in Canada right now. I have requested a friend to visit the painter, take pictures and e-mail me every so often. If I get any updates i will share with them here.

sarsalan (sarsalan) 2014-04-13 16:16:38 +0500 #157

Waiting patiently

Dongskie (Dongskie) 2014-04-14 13:04:14 +0500 #158

Great read and great restoration!

Reminds me a lot of my childhood days when in my neighborhood there was a shop that works on Beetles only, I would drop by his shop everyday to watch them work on each car.

Congratulations to a restoration job well done!!

chemicalqazi (chemicalqazi) 2014-06-22 17:06:42 +0500 #159

This thread has gone cold. Is the car ready? Please share pictures and update

nmshaikh (nmshaikh) 2014-06-25 02:11:19 +0500 #160

Work on the Oval remains stalled due to changed priorities. The car I was restoring for a client had to be moved ahead in the queue as i had lost 6 weeks when I was in Canada. Somehow our workmen need to be prodded like a donkey in front of the cart, every so often, or they slow down. Don't show your face for a few days and you will see that the project has been pushed to one side and other cars being attended to first.