Times Two
Father and Son Team Up Again to Bring Us this Sweet '62 Vert
By Karl Funke
Photography: Robert Hallstrom
Louis and David Gall, of Woodward, Okla., make a pretty efficient father and son team when it comes to turning out vintage resto-custom Volkswagens. The last time their work was featured in VW Trends was in 1998 with a 1966 Type I covered in some crazy custom graphics ["One That Got Away," April 1998]. Approximately a year after that car went to print, the pair got to work on their next project, this 1962 Convertible.
The younger Gall, David, had his first VW experience with that wild blue '66, but his dad has a little more experience, spanning from 1961 when he purchased his very first Beetle, a Sedan. He really wanted a Convertible, but couldn't bring himself to buy one, reasoning that he could get one when he retired. If that isn't a serious display of willpower, I don't know what is.
Fast forward about 30 years into the future. David Gall was at a show in Oklahoma City when he found the car, which was partially disassembled. Knowing his father had always wanted a Vert, he decided to inquire about its sale. He and the owner began talking, and found that they could help one another out in a way that would be beneficial to both parties. David Gall is a jeweler, and it so happened that the car's owner needed some jewelry work done. For Gall, the price of the work was the disassembled '62.
The Galls had the car trailered to Woodward, where the restoration began in earnest. New floorpans from Rocky Mountain Motorworks provide the basis for the chassis. The car has been lowered in front about 2 1/2 inches using CB Performance dropped spindles. KYB shocks replace the tired old dampers front and rear. Eagle five-spokes, 15 inches in diameter, team up with 145-R15 and 165-R15 tires front and rear for rolling stock. Other than a general cleanup, the remainder of this car's undercarriage remains unaltered.
Louis Gall himself was the project's sheet metal artisan, straightening the factory panels and prepping the surface before applying the paint, PPG onyx black in four base coats and six coats of clear for that depthless, midnight sky appearance. Halogen headlamps were located up front, and the stock bumpers, door handles, window frames and glass were all reincorporated into the newly finished exterior.
Sewfine Interior Products provided the interior goods. The seats were reskinned in "jelly bean" and plum tweed, offset in the floor wells by gray carpet. The convertible top was also installed by Sewfine; in order to make sure the work was done correctly, Louis took the car to Sewfine headquarters in Littleton, Colo.
Motivation for this '62 comes from a new Zero Miles SCAT 1600cc long block, complete with dual pressure relief case, heavy-duty 9mm adjusting screws, Doghouse oil cooler and unleaded cylinder heads. The fuel/air mixture is supplied by a single 34 PICT-3 carburetor. A Bosch distributor and Pertronix Flame Thrower coil provide ignition spark. A ceramic-coated exhaustand hide-out muffler get rid of spent engine gases. Power is transferred to the ground via a 200mm flywheel and rebuilt 1962 transmission with longer "freeway flyer" gearing.
Since its completion, the car has cornered a few awards at various shows, notably at Bandimere Speedway and at the Fineline Bug-In, where it was not only a class winner but also a promoter's pick. What's in store next for the father and son VW restorers? Louis says he is currently working on a 1970 Beetle for his granddaughter, Ashley; it will be her first car. We should have all been so lucky with our first car.
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