The original VW did not use bearing shells. Crank & cam ran directly in the parent metal of the crankcase. Indeed, this is a common practice with overhead cams in many of today's engines using aluminum heads. (Of generous area and running at just half the speed of the crankshaft, in engines fitted with full-flow oil filtration systems the MTBF of the cam's bearings will exceed most other parts of the powertrain.)
As a point of interest, Bob Huggins' first 'long-hub' VW conversion used the hub as the bearing journal, running directly on the parent metal of the crankcase. (circa 1960's) -R.S.Hoover
