Charles Overton, of Tallapoosa, Ga., didn't start out as a VW guy. He was a Chevy guy, until one fateful day he drove his cousin's 1966 Beetle to a convenience store and fell in love with the car. He promptly traded his cousin his 1968 Super Sport Chevelle for the car and has been a VW fanatic ever since.
In 1988, Overton heard about an Oval in Powder Springs, Ga., which Chris Norris owned. Overton dreamed of a '56 Oval he could call his own, so he went and took a look. What he found would have stopped most VW people cold. No front or rear aprons, shot heater channels and rusted pan halves. That didn't deter Overton; he towed the car home in the pouring rain, after having to use a four-wheel drive truck to get the car out of the field it was in. Upon getting it home, Overton realized that this was a project car, which was going to take a long time to complete. What you see in the pages of VW Trends is only part of the car he dragged out of that field; he located and purchased another body to make one good car out of two.
That was in 1988, when new heater channels were not available, so then the cars sat for about two and a half years, with no work done to them. Overton got sidetracked with dune buggies, a drag car and building a new home and shop. After a few years of on-and-off work to the car, he got re-energized in January 1996 and this car rolled out of the Overton garage for the first time one year later.
The rebuilding process began with the pan--a 1962 unit--which Overton fitted new floor pans onto. Larry's Off Road Center, of Dayton, Ohio, provided the front beam adjusters, which lowered the car four inches. The pan was treated to a coat of black paint after a coating of POR-15. Stainless steel brake lines, urethane mounts for the trans and a SAW Performance camber compensator for the rear. Bilstein gas shocks smooth out the bumps, while the 145 front tires and the 215/75-15 rear tires surround a set of Flat-4 BRM replica wheels. The rear wheels are bolted to a set of modified Type III drums, which are attached to a swingaxle trans, sporting a 3.80 first gear, a 2.06 second gear, a 1.26 third, and a 0.089 fourth, perfect for cruising the Southeast highways and byways.
Now that the pan was completed, Overton turned his attention to the motivation for this outrageous Oval. Starting with a brand new AS41 Mexican case, Overton had Sundance Bug and Buggy, of Plant City, Fla., open up the case for the 92mm slugs and jugs and machine the case for full-flow oiling. A stock 69mm stroke crank, counterweighted and eight-dowelled by Demello Machine Service, coupled with the aforementioned 92mm Cima/Mahle forged pistons, set the displacement at 1835cc. Coupling all this together is a set of balanced stock rods and a 12.5-lb. flywheel.
Oiling chores are handled by a Melling high-volume pump. The 40x35.5 stainless steel intake and exhaust valves, residing in the 041 heads with Autocraft solid rocker shafts and 1.25 rockers are tickled by a BUGPACK 4063 cam, sporting 0.430 inches of lift and 296 degrees of duration. For safety, a 1.5-quart deep sump was added to the longblock. A set of Dellorto 40 DRLA carbs moves fuel to the combustion chambers, courtesy of C.B. Performance linkage, and the mixture is fired by a Pertronix-stuffed 009 distributor. A black powdercoated BUGPACK hideout exhaust with chrome tips adorn the rear apron area. After making one good body out of two rusty-beyond-hope Ovals, new fenders and front and rear clips were added. When all the pounding and sanding was done, Overton (Overton's Paint and Body, Tallapoosa, Ga.) whipped out his spray gun and applied the 1996 BMW Turquoise Dupont base coat and clear coat. Farmac Plating Inc. re-chromed the original door handles and a set of original fluted headlight lenses complement the front fenders. Euro bumpers from Rocky Mountain Motorworks, in Woodland Park, Colo., provide the front and rear of the car with the necessary safety requirements.
The interior is a mixture, with the carpets coming from H&N Trim Shop, in Bremen, Ga., and the headliner, seat covers and door panels coming from TMI, and purchased at California Pacific/J-Bugs, in Oceanside, Calif. Sundace Bug & Buggy was once again called upon to furnish some tan seatbelts. The tan interior really complements the Turquoise exterior, with a subtle, yet noticeable, flair.
After car was finished, Overton wanted to try his hand at a few shows. To date, despite driving this Oval an average of 5,000 miles a year, he has managed to enter 27 car shows in the last three years and has come away with three top 25 awards, two third-place awards, eight second place awards, 10 first-place awards and two Best of Shows. Overton is an active member of the South Eastern VW Club and would like to thank all those who helped make his project car a Bug Jam-winning reality. The list includes his friend, Marty Patterson, his wife Renee, his son Jake, and daughter Chassie. Overton would also like to thank is his father, Jake, who lived to see the car completed.