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Well,
This is nearly the end of the story. The
bug has been featured in the September 2006 edition of VolksWorld Magazine.
Thanks to Ivan for the words & Tony Butler for the great photo's.
The car has now been sold to a new owner so hopefully will still be seen
on the show circuit soon. Thanks again to all the people that have made
this project possible. They are listed below & have made my life a
lot easier. So what's next? Well look out for a camper of some
sort. More details will be revealed on this site soon...
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I
went brave and painted the stripes on in full gloss 2pac black. They
were colour sanded with 1500 wet paper then machine polished to high gloss.
I used a Beugler pinstripe tool to do the outer lines using 'one shot'
sign writers paint. The wheels have been finished of with gold crested
centre caps.
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I
have made some drastic changest to the bug recently. It was blending
in with all the other 'Cal-Look' cars. I have opted for the 'Outlaw' look
now as seen on old Porsche 356's. I have now fitted 6" Cookie cutter
wheels up front with 175/56x15 tyres & 7" at the rear with 195/65x15's
I have lowered the rear suspention by 1 outer spline to make it sit very
low.
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I
took the Bug out to 'Wheels Day' on Good Friday this year. It is a
great local custom & hotrod show. I am always amazed at what cars
turn up there. The weather dampened the day a little but it was good to
cruz down with the VW Fleet club. Photo is courtesy of 'Tarino' - Thanks.
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The show was
well organised. I don't think the car took any knocks or scratches
& I was away within an hour and a half of the show closing. It would
have been rude not to give it a good blast on the way home. I passed
a few other dubs, and was home quite soon.
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Well,
Here it is at the Volksworld national show. I decided to chance driving
it there as the weather looked OK. There were no problems at all &
I made it into the main hall with no drama.
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So,
it's had a couple of coats of polish, I machine polished the bonnet as
I wasn't happy with the finish, I have cleaned some of the inside &
most of the outside. There is still a fair bit to do to get it spot on.
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I had to buy
some more center caps for the wheels. I lost one while out on a joy
ride. I now have a couple of spares!
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The front
arches were less dirty than the rear. A quick once over with the sponge
& it's good as new.
I polished
the wheels while they were off too.
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I had to fix
a leaking rear hub seal. I got covered in grease. It is the most dirty
I have been building the whole car! There was lots of oil thrown up
into the wheel arches too. It didn't take too long to get it clean though.
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I have been cleaning
like mad to get the car ready for the VolksWorld show. It has to be
there on Friday lunchtime, so there will be a bit of time to give it
a final once over before it is seen by the public.
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I
have made a purchase of a rev counter to finish off the interior.
It is a Silver Monster tach from AutoMeter, I have mounted it under the
dash to keep it out of the way. There is a shift light too in case I forget
to change gear.
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I
have now fitted the carpet set I made earlier, It was easier to make
my own than to buy a set as I only wanted a few bits. I still need to
make a board to cover the battery area, then trim it to match.
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I
have a achieved a nice simple uncluttered look as it would have been
back in the day. I might fit a set of one piece door glass, to go a step
further, as the new quarter light rubbers are tight & fit badly. However
1 piece windows have a reputation of being a nightmare to fit. All previous
experiences have been bad! Fingers crossed...
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I
have fitted Porsche headlight glass as the tinted lenses made the
headlights dim at night. I am now using US spec headlight buckets powdercoated
gloss black & these seem to work quite well. They look as good if
not better than most other light glass.
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The
decklid & lights, are now fitted back to the car, It has given
it a look of a slightly earlier model. The indicators are now in the brake
lights & flash red. I took took this opportunity to give the whole
thing a good clean & polish, It now looks really good.
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I have removed the decklid, for repainting. It acquired a mysterious
scratch during the build up, I touched it in but was never happy with
the repaired area. I have also sourced a pair of Oval tail lights and
a 1961 year only switch to make the brake/indicators flash properly. It
can be done with 4 relays but is much easier & neater this way. These
should be on soon...
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I
have added tinted headlight glass, for the period 70's look. The
whole theme has come together quite nicely now. I am happy with the way
the car looks. There are still a few bits and pieces to be done. Next
job will be to fit the carpets when they are back from being trimmed (JR
& CP Woods). I will make a board to replace the rear seat location
and cover the battery.
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Sittin'
Pretty in the mid day sun, that's what it's all about, getting out
and enjoying it! It really looks the part and is not that slow either.
It's diet must have done it some good with it shedding a few unwanted
pounds in weight. The engine seems to rev very freely even with the very
mild cam, It must be those GAC
heads that are on it!
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A
nice little shot of the back end. Stand off decklid, Turbo muffler
and a glimpse of the HP1 filter hint that all may not be just for show...
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My
Latest show was Beetlemania at the Hertfordshire show ground. The
car drove very well, the clutch is fine but a bit heavy on the leg! It
was cruzing at over 80mph on the motorway & I was clocked at 95mph
by the GTi on the dual carriage way near home. I think a rolling road
session is on the cards to get it set up just right.
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3
point harnesses have found their way into the car for safety reasons,
it's a bit scary on flat out runs, also I can use the drag strip now if
I desire!
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I
have now changed the Scat shifter for a Gene Berg item, gear changes
are nice and smooth now and the selection is not quite so close together.
This has since been changed for a bugpack trigger shifter.
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What's
going on here then?, Time to fix the clutch before Beetlemania this
weekend. Not sure of why it's slipping yet. Rear main oil seal is leaking
a bit, But it only started to slip after a big wheel spin at Santa Pod.
Maybe I shouldn't rev it to 5000rpm & side step the clutch! Oooopps.
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Engine
out! , This was a bit tight coming out, I had to take the rocker covers
off to get clearance. Gearbox bell housing has lots of oil in it. Not
good, but Clutch plate is bone dry with loads of meat left. Bit confused
for a few seconds... look below!
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Pressure
plate is a bit of a funny shape! The small retaining clip from the
release bearing has flown out into the clutch fingers preventing it from
returning. Doh! A Kennedy 1700lb cover & Scat (Veleo) center plate
have found their way in as a replacement. Clutch pedal is now very stiff.
But it does lay rubber much easier! There go my new tyres...
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I
still need to find some nice canter caps, maybe some coloured ones would
be nice. I'm sure it won't be long before something finds their way on
there, so until then...
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I
think the hard work has paid off, although it does make your fingers
bleed in the end! I have finished the back ones & bought a pair of
205/70x15 These look super tough & give a true old school appearance.
The ride is a little suspect due to the high tyre side wall.
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The
wheels are hard work to polish & detail. The rear ones were powdercoated
silver which had to be stripped off. I had Crystal Finishes
drop them in the acid tank for a while as it's much easier than paint
stripper for getting paint off.
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I
have fitted the new front wheels, & they look really good. I didn't
need to raise the front end at all, if anything it could come down a touch.
It has made the steering much lighter but a bit 'twitchy'. I am happy
with the over all result though.
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The
next step is to rub out any marks in the wheel with 80 grade wet paper
& soapy water. This was followed buy 320 wet, 800 wet then 1500 wet.
I then used 'Peek' metal polish with fine wire wool & a final polish
with 'Brasso' The next step is to carefully mask up the shiny bits with
fine line tape & spray on some smoothrite.
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I
have stripped, polished & re-detailed a pair of 6x15" flat faced
Fuchs replicas, these look really good now. I have bought a pair of 175/65x15
tyres & will have them fitted soon. I will have to raise the front
of the car up to avoid wing to tyre contact. I'm not sure how they will
look or handle, so watch this space...
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Decals
are now gone. I have also fitted a pair of deck lid stand off brackets
to prop open the deck lid & allow plenty of cold air into the engine
bay. It makes the car look more tough but at the price of losing the deck
lid spring, a chance of people messing with the engine & the old "Hey,
your boot is open" comment from every other person!
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This
is not too clever in the bad weather & on a stock engine it will run
too cold & can cause frost to form on a standard carb! I will have
to see how it runs. The engine needs a trip to a dyno soon anyway. I better
fix the clutch first!
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These
shots are of mine and Phil's car. He works at Beetlelink and is a
member of the VW Fleet club.
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Here
is a shot at No-Rice meeting at fleet services. It's looking very
nice, but it could be better...
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I
took the bug out to the 'Dubs in the Park' show in Bracknell. Despite
a slipping clutch I had a really good day. I have decided to make some
changes. The race decals are to go & the wheels are to replaced by
flat faced 6x15 Fuchs up front & deep dish 6x15 out back. I will get
some pics up as soon as they are on...
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This
is a lovely little shot. It's like a mag feature or a U.S. Cal-Look show.
I'm not too sure if they would approve of some of my mods though. If you
have time check out the Cal-Look
web site for more inspiration. There is a great nostalgic page too..
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The
front worked out quite well but I'm not 100% happier with the rear. Ride
height and stance is spot on but I think a higher profile tyre is called
for. It has a 6 x 16" rim with 195/50x16 rubber on. Maybe a 205/65x16
will do the trick? I might have to lower the rear torsion bars a little
to get the stance just right again.
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Here
are a few shots of the overall look of the car, All the elements have
come together quite nicely, the beam is just under 2" narrowed, front
wings are 20mm wider and the wheels are 6 x 16". Front tyre size
is 195/45x16. Luck, guess or careful planning?
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I
have opted to make a carpet set my self. I wasn't sure on exactly what
I wanted. I have genuine (later) rubber mats up front but needed something
in the rear. I bought 2 large bits of 'Panther black' carpet from JR
& CP Woods. I have cut a pair of kick panel sections in the front
and made a boot floor area too. Making the rear wheelarch area will require
some sewing. I haven't glued them down as I will have them edged in blue
first.
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Under
the bonnet area is looking quite good, I could do with a spare Porsche
wheel incase of a puncture (not that I have a jack)! I need to get the
filler cap and fuel sender painted too.
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I
have had to take photo's for the insurance company so thought I would
share a few with you. I am still working on bits and pieces to finish
it off properly. I need to change one warning lamp as it has no chrome
surround and fix the winder handles!
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This
is the view from the passenger seat with the nice addition of a period
'Bug-In' sticker. I have always loved this little character and always
wondered what it would be like at a 70's show in California...
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Legal
at last! I know have tax on the car after a trip to the VRO to get
the class changed to 'Historic' So now it's free. Insurance was cheaper
than expected at £180 full comp with Adrian
Flux. My GTi was insured with them too...
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Here
is a blatant cheap plug for Colin at Deluxe
Motorwerks. He is a man after my own heart. All his products are designed
with quality in mind at an affordable price. All parts can be supplied
through Beetlelink. His
polished 'T' bars are superb and are fitted to my car. This is my 4th
set!
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Here
is another shot of the door, you can see I have added my Internet forums
username or 'Drivers Name' too. You can see the new door handle fitted,
These are repro ones and the quality is a bit suspect... These might be
replaced eventually but I bet they won't be cheap!
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I
have a side mirror fitted now too, you can get away without one for MOT
purposes but it does make it easier on motorways etc. with it on. This
one came off a scrap car at Beetlelink
and has been stored for months waiting to be fitted. Looks good and I
can actually see what behind me!
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I
have fitted the door cards bought from JR
& CP Woods and have fitted EMPI style door pulls from SSP
I have used original VW interior door handles but the winder handles don't
seem to fit now I have powder coated the mechanisms. Doh! I will have
to have another look and maybe remove some paint.
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As
Grant has has lent me his workshop, tools, ramps and given me a ton of
parts, it was only right I put the Beetlelink
name on the car. It was proudly parked on the steps at the VolksWorld
show
for all to see. I had only done 10 miles in the car for MOT with very
little testing. It made it there and back with only an oil pump leak and
some moody steering to sort out. I think I have got off lightly!
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I
have lowered the front down on the adjusters too and am kinda happy
with that. I have a pair of 6x15" Fuchs just in case though. This
shot shows how I want the car to sit. Nice old school stance. Fiber glass
wings and 16" Fuchs would have been frowned upon back in the day...
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The
car is looking almost complete now, but I am not happy with the wheels.
The rear tyre is too low a profile so will have to be changed. This might
jack the ride height up and have to be lowered again. Doh!
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I
now have the drivers door fitted up and hung on the car. This one
went right into place almost straight away. I will have to tweak both
doors when the new rubber seals are fitted as it will push them out quite
a bit. New rubbers are a nightmare! You can just see the powdercoated
window mech. and 1/4 light. Nice...
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The car is coming on a bit quicker now although it has been a very long
job so far. Some things are worth waiting for. The drivers door is next
on the list, it will be almost a complete car. Note I don't use the word
finished as there is still lots of fiddley bits to do. These take forever
and you seem to get nowhere. Very frustrating.
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I
had one door painted and it is now fitted to the car. I have used
new window scrapers and seals throughout. I have had the quarterlight
frames powdercoated in gloss black too. Fitting up doors is a painfully
slow process and requires a lot of patience. The look as good on the inside
as they do out. Thanks guys.
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I
now have the fuel tank fitted. I put a small amount of petrol in to check
for leaks, then put a couple of liters in. The moment of truth! Once the
fuel had got to the carbs it spluttered into life. I couldn't resist a
blast up the road even with no doors! This car hasn't been run for about
13 years! It was good to be in a beetle again. It won't be long before
it turns up at shows under it's own steam. It needs to be driven...
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Here
are the components for the doors. I had all the window lifter mechanisms
powdercoated in gloss black along with the latch rods, door stop and windscreen
wiper assembly.
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This
photo is how things looked just before Christmas 2004. The German running
boards are on, and most of the other interior parts are in. I fitted a
new rear view mirror and new sun visors from SSP.
The car is now back at home for the final stages. The car should run and
drive now if it had a fuel tank.
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I
must thank Edd China at Cummfy
Banana for use of the ramp and workshop on the latter part of the
build up. Without it I would have come to a complete stop.
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You
can see that the front beam is a tight fit when it is narrowed. We took
some measurements to the body and the beam before any cutting was done.
I think we removed 46mm in total so not to foul the body. Deluxe
Motorwerks have now developed a scratch built narrowed beam to 4"
undersize with no body mods!
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I
have used axle shafts from an Oval window beetle as they use bolt on brake
pipe clamps instead of welded ones. I had these powdercoated in silver.
You can see the repair to the battery tray from here as no filler can
be used when powdercoating.
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I
had to have the car on the ramp to fill up the gearbox oil and bleed the
brakes, so I took a few photo's while I was there. You can see the detail
to the underside of the pan. You can clearly see the cross drilled rear
discs here too.
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Another
top tip is to fit a latest spec washer bottle, at last the hassle
is taken out for you as it simply fixes to a longer wing bolt. It comes
complete with electric washer pump too. I have hidden a tiny push button
under the dash to operate it. These are available from SSP
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I'm
not 100% happy with how neat the wiring is behind the dash. The fuse box
area looks a bit messy and I may have another look at this later. Once
the wiring cover is on it looks tip top, but I know it's not perfect.
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I
have now completed all the wiring I did most of it over this Christmas
holiday. It's always a good time to sort out your dub. I have used all
new wire from the main loom where it appears from the 'A' post (early
looms go over the roof not the floor) I have rewired the front lights,
indicators, wiper, horn and dash lights. I have had to fit some warning
lamps too as there is none in the new speedo.
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More
details.
I have gone a bit mad with the powdercoating again, I had the wiper motor
assembly done along with the support brackets and even the ash tray!
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I
have had the glove box painted too, as well as fitting the dash board
switches. I have bought polished stainless knobs from custom
and commercial and they look really good next to the Monster speedo.
All the small details really make the difference.
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I
have been distracted again! This time by a lovely MK2 Golf GTi. It
has a later 2.0ltr engine fitted and it really flies! I have been playing
with this for a while which has slowed the progress of the Beetle down
a bit. Ooops, I have always wanted one of these so what the heck! Unfortunately
as I update the site, the Golf is being sold to finance a van. I will
really miss this one.
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I
have now had my tail lights and pope nose painted by my good friends
at Beetlelink as I have been
very busy doing other things. I have fitted them to the car and they look
fantastic. I will be changing the rear lenses for all red items soon to
match the new number plate surround in true U.S. style.
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I
bought some black cloth from JR
& CP Woods. They are a great source of trim parts for all VW's.
With the help of good friend & fellow bug boy Chris, we rolled out
the cloth and cut two large sections to make a 'T' shape. The head of
the 'T' would face the rear and wrap around the 'C' post. As pre-'64 beetles
have smaller windows, it is slightly harder to fit the headliner. The
window frames are larger, requiring more material.
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I
have taken a picture of the engine for your viewing pleasure. The carbs
are now back on and it just needs the wiring and the rear tinware fitting
before it can be run. I haven't looked at it for so long, I'd forgotten
how nice it looked!
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I
have fitted the original fuel gauge and placed some cloth behind the
dash grilles for a even look and to prevent any draught from under the
bonnet reaching the cabin area. I know this from experience and is a sound
move on any bug.
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I
have fitted an HP1 oil filter under the left hand rear wing, The high
pressure handling should prevent any oil leaks at start up. Modified VW
engines can spit an oil filter right off in seconds! I have had high pressure
oil lines made up at Hampshire
Technical Supplies as they can supply any type and length required.
HP1's in stock now.
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I
have had some more parts powder coated, one being the bonnet latch. It
was much quicker than trying to clean it or polish it. I have had the
cover plates to the steering box done too.
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Details,
details, I have gone a bit mad on some bits but a quick clean up with
some scotchbright has made the world of difference to the head light dip
switch. Add a little black paint to the cap, and it's looking the part.
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I have connected the steering together so it is easier to move around.
The track rods are powdercoated gloss black. I have fitted new rod ends,
steering damper, and a doughnut joint.
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The
nice new grab handle. Sometimes it's nice to fit new parts as not to let
the overall standard slide. The dash area is very important as this is
the bit you have to look at most.
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This
shot says it all. I haven't set the final ride height yet until I
get a full tank of petrol in and let the suspension settle down a bit.
I don't want any tyre / wing contact! The wheel, wing and beam combo has
gone exactly to plan, there is no rubbing and should handle quite well.
No skinny tyres today.
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Here
is another shot of the stance. Imagine that in your rear view mirror at
100mph. I can't wait to drive it!
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I
found a lovely pair of front indicators at one of the VW shows from
the Parts
Emporium. They are made by Lucas and have a flat glass lens. Proper
retro! I also bought an NOS bonnet handle and a new dash grab handle from
them too.
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The
paintwork looks lush in the sun light. I can't wait to actually drive
it. Colour is an important choice for a project car. I chose a straight
colour so it could be easily match when painted in stages. If it was a
metallic or a pearl, it would need to all be painted in one hit. That
makes the whole job much harder to fit round workshop time.
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This
picture shows how the car will look when finished. I think it has
all the elements of a true cal-looker, although in true old school style
16" Fuchs and wider wings are a no no, but if that's what parts you
have laying around, it's silly not to use them.
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Both
front wings are now on and the headlights are a temporary fit. There
is no wiring yet and I'm not sure on choice of light lenses either. Alloy
'T' bars have been fitted too now instead of bumpers. These are made by
Deluxe Motorwerks
and can be supplied through Beetlelink.
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I
was soon back painting again, this time it was the front wings. These
are 20mm wider and again fiberglass. My friend Steve had them kicking
around in his garage, so I snapped them up. Even though the beam was nearly
2 inches narrower, I thought the 16" Fuchs might still be a tight
fit. Check out the stance picture below for the over all result. The beam
has adjusters fitted so I can fine tune the ride height.
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Here
you can see the detail to the front end, it does look very good, however
you can see the repairs to the body. I wish I had more time to fill and
blend them in, bit workshop time was limited. Once the wings are fitted
it will be difficult to see.
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The
DubFreeze show was a good place to buy the much needed parts for the
bug. Bernard
Newbury was the man with the seats at a reasonable price. I had some
old genuine runners that had been cut down so I adapted these for the
new EMPI buckets, then had them powdercoated in shiny gloss black.
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Few,
all that work for a pair of wings. Well, they were free I suppose. The
other problem with fiberglass is the quality of the fit, or lack of it.
They have to be pulled about to get them to line up nicely. They went
on OK in the end but next time I will use steel. At least I can use the
hammer then!
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Beetlelink
kindly donated a pair of rear wings of a scrap car, they are fiber
glass so won't rust. There are drawbacks though. Firstly they take quite
a lot of prep to get then looking right. I had to scuff them right back
with 80 grit paper, use a skim of filler in places then loads of high
build primer. I cut that right back, gave it another thin coat of primer,
another light rub back, then the top coat.
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I
could have bought some trick billet bits with gas struts, these are all
very nice but I am trying to stick to a realistic budget and keep most
of the body parts original. They have worked well enough for the last
40 odd years, so I guess they will be OK for a few more.
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Details
are important That is what will make the difference to the overall
job. All the hinges and little bits n bobs were powdercoated in Gloss
black, including the decklid spring. The powdercoat Gives a nice even
finish to very hard to prep and paint items. It is also much much quicker!
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Here
is a nice little shot of the interior, I had one of these 'Grant' wood
rim steering wheels in my
old '65 bug, they are really nice, so I bought one for this bug too.
I had the outer steering column powdercoated in gloss black and the inner
done in silver. The indicator stalk is painted in 2K gloss black.
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The
VolksWorld
Show has
now been and gone and has filled me with some more enthusiasm. I bought
some much needed parts from various traders and have now fitted most of
them. The bonnet and decklid now have rubber seals, there is now an ignition
switch and key.
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Once
I was happy with the over all look, I had to flat off the primer and shoot
on some top coat. This was one of the easiest panels to paint for some
reason, maybe because it was so straight to start with, or all that practice.
Anyway, I flat and polished it the next day then fitted it to the car.
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There
was still a long way to go before I could fit everything back together.
All of the panels still needed painting. It was back to Elgamec
for some more shot blasting, this time the decklid. I etch primed it straight
away to stop it turning brown. There were two tiny dents that needed to
be filled before it could be high build primed.
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The
rear luggage area looks great now. I re worked the previous welding
as it was very solid but untidy. Some grinding, a bit of welding and some
seam sealer have made it look good. This area will have carpet fitted
at a later stage. Shame to hide it really. I have had a few bits powdercoated
in gloss black here too.
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I
couldn't resist fitting the Autometer Monster speedo to the dash.
I had pre-fitted it in the prep stage as the hole needed to be opened
up slightly to make it fit. I thought I had better bolt the pan down too,
so I used stainless steel pan bolts and cups from One-on-One
restoration. And very nice they are too.
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We
then proceeded to do the same with the back, this is quite hard because
of the shape, but eventually we did it. We replaced the rear window at
this point. Now we had to stretch the cloth sideways to take up any slack.
This when it all goes tight and starts looking good, closely followed
by the rear quarter windows. We had to make our own sections for below
the windows and 'B' post too...
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We
measured out the loop spacing for the bows, then had Mother sew up the
loops and two sections together. She did a great job. Now it was up to
us to make it fit. There was a lot of pulling and stretching going on!
we used a heater to get the inside of the car hot, then started with the
bows. We hung the liner up in place and pulled it forward. We glued it
in around the window area, then replaced the front screen.
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The
time had come to
rethink the headliner. When I fitted one I purchased it didn't quite sit
right. There was not enough material to form round the 'C' post properly.
I wasn't happy enough with it so it would have to come out again. My best
option was to make one from scratch, which is actually easier than you
might think.
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It
was a good idea to leave the engine in place as it has made the body
fitting much easier. I would have struggled to fit it without scratching
something otherwise.
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It
was only now I could see how things were really going to look. It
was even better than I could of hoped. The paintwork looks stunning out
in day light and the stance of the pan was spot on. It was a major achievement
to get this far and a fair amount of the hard work had been done.
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We
did a few last minute checks to see how we were going to do the fitting.
There were 3 of us to lift it on. We did the first lift and carried it
back towards the pan, I was at the front and my Dad and long time good
friend Pete were at the back. We lowered the body on the pan carefully
and tried not to scratch it too much.
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It
was now getting close to the time to reunite the two parts. They had been
apart for a year and a half by now and were almost complete strangers.
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The
next day I arranged with Paul at P&C Cars
to transport the shell back to my house a few miles away. It arrived safe
and sound with no damage at all. We sat it on some old tyres to keep it
safe while I wheeled out the floorpan. Thanks Paul.
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The
roof section, gun finish. This was painted on new years eve, 31-12-03.
I went back on new years day to flat & polish it.
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The
front quarter panel, gun finish. I'm no painter but I was rather happy
with the outcome.
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Here
are a few shots of the freshly painted shell. This is the 'gun finish'
before it was wet flatted with 1500 grade paper then polished with the
mop.
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Many
thanks to Sam Eastwood at Automotive Paint Supplies
(01252 313141) for mixing up the VW Oceanic Blue
It
looks stunning!
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With
the underside done it was time to do the hard bit. I laid on a tacky coat
all over to get things rolling, then a sort of half hearted coat if you
like. I let that tack off for a few minutes before shooting some nice
thick wet coats. I had to work quite fast to avoid overspray & dry
patches but slow enough to get it right.
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It
was now time to lay some top coat on. I started on the underside first
working from back to front. I tried to paint as many edges as I could
to get plenty of paint on. I kept going from back to front until I was
happy with the finish & the amount of paint. I went higher up the
body with each pass.
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Once
all the filler work was done, sounds easy doesn't it. It was time to put
on the primer. I sprayed stone chip to the complete underside of the car
first then laid on 3 or 4 wet coats of high build primer. When that had
dried I used a black guide coat to show up any high or low areas. These
were dealt with and re-primed once more.
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The
rear quarter panels had a few dents and some distortion to deal with.
This nearly sent me over the edge but with some sound advice from Martin
(Martins Coachworks 07790 592601) I was filled
with confidence again. This was Christmas and Beetlelink is officially
closed so there was nobody else to ask.
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I
have had to do lots of filler work to the rear valance to get it straight
again, I made hard work for myself by removing the two exhaust cut outs
and moving one to the center, It would have been easier to plate the existing
and fabricate the new one, Oh well, I know next time..
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To
cut a long story short, I started on the filler work on the body,
It had been de-chromed in the past which was fine by me, but the shot
blasting had removed all traces of filler. These would have to be re done.
There were some dents in the roof which needed attention, plus there was
loads of prep work where I had been with the welder. I paid close attention
to the dash area as well. This is the bit I have to look at most.
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I
had to make the lower return lip from scratch from angled section, and
tie everything in together. There was some small repairs to inside the
engine bay side that would have to be near perfect as they would be seen.
I spent hours repairing these section, and now the are sealed they blend
in quite well.
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I
am getting near the back of the car now, so surely not much more to
go. The bumper mounts had been removed and plated over in the past, so
new ones would have to be grafted in. I thought this would be straight
forward bit the panels were a nightmare to fit. They must be for a later
model? I trimmed as much off as I could and made them fit!
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I
welded in the new running board mount, then replaced a strip below
the quarter panel. I made some repairs to the lower quarter then removed
the rest of the closing panel. By repairing it in sections, it always
gave me something solid to weld too. Everything was easier to line up
this way too. Lastly I fitted the closing panel to finish it off. There
were repairs needed to the rear end cap too.
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I
cut out the offending rusty bits, starting with the running board
mount and a section of closing panel. I took my time to work out a plan
before making any mistakes. You can always cut a bit more off if you need
to.
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My
next mission was to tackle the heater channel problem. The inside
was still in good condition bit the underside was totally shot. The section
that the running board bolts to needed replacing. I opted for replacing
sections rather than the whole channel to keep the original look. Access
was awkward, so I used the ramp to prop up one side. I used old tyres
to protect the other side.
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I
had to do the same to the near side of the car too. They were in about
the same condition and were a straight forward repair.
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The
only down side to this is that the repair will still be visible when painted
but only if you are looking for it. Once the wing is on and a big Porsche
wheel is sat in front of it hopefully it will go unnoticed.
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I
welded in the new panel leaving a 20mm overlap so I could seam weld
it from the inside as well, this makes for a strong join. All welds were
ground back before being seam sealed and then underseal the whole area.
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Moving
on to the next area was under the front arches. Some previous repairs
had been done badly and I had no option but to cut a section out. I don't
normally get involved with too much welding, but on my own car I had no
choice. Repair panels are cheap and easy to buy.
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I
undersealed the under body areas I had repaired to protect them from
future rust. I could have prepared them and painted them in 2K but I only
had a short amount of time before the body would have to be painted. It
is very time consuming to get the underneath perfect and some would say
unnecessary. I would be scared to drive it!
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Start
at the front and work back seemed like a good plan. I removed the
old front panel by drilling out the spot welds. I wanted to retain as
much of the original metalwork as I could, this does take longer but it
makes the car look more original. I had to pick apart the bits I needed
from the replacement front clip then graft them on to the body. Once it
was seam sealed it looks a very neat job.
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Now
I had the body sat on the ramp I could have a close inspection of
what was needed. There was some nasty welding been done in the past, and
the shotblasting had revealed some new rusty areas. One heater channel
closing panel was shot, as was the spare wheel trough. The rear valance
would need a look at too.
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Once
I had applied a few coats of etch primer, I went over with some thicker
high build primer followed by a 2K guide coat. The last two were purely
to protect the body as it would be outside under cover during the day,
as all work was done out of hours. I must stress at this point that
without the generosity and trust from Grant at Beetlelink,
then this project would never of happened. For that I thank you...
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I
had to strip all the dash board components out, the steering column,
glove box, ash tray, speedo, fuel gauge. I had to drill out the headlight
switch as it refused point blank to come out! The doors came off at this
point too. They would be done separately.
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The
old body was next to get the major strip down. This too had to every
component removed prior to shotblasting. Many people will advise against
blasting bodies and panels due to distortion, but I trust my good friend
'Chet Barrow, & owner Nigel Clinch' at Elgamec
to do a top class job. They didn't disappoint & It was in etch primer
within 2 hours of collection.
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It
was very quick to build up the floorpan, It took only 3 weeks of evenings
and week ends once I had all of the parts. A pan is not much use without
a body so it's back to Beetlelink
for some hard graft...
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I
fitted the engine at this stage in the thinking It is easier to drop
the body over the top. I fitted the carbs and ran the engine to make sure
all was well. The carbs had to be removed to fit the body as the engine
is too wide otherwise.
Engine close up.
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The
rear disc kit is an EMPI version and comes in 4 stud VW pattern &
solid. I had them redrilled for Porsche pattern and cross drilled by Zest
Performance in Aldershot. They were easy to fit, but the handbrake
cables supplied need to be shortened.
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At
the front I fitted new dropped spindles which allow the car to be
2.5 inches lower to the ground without any other mods. These ones are
for disc brakes & drilled for Porsche stud pattern (5x130 pcd). I
fitted new calipers and detailed them red. Problem: the disc
didn't sit in the center of the caliper. This is a tolerance fault with
the spindle. The easy option was to have 1mm machined off of the caliper.
Also, caliper paint is not resistant to brake fluid!
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At
the back I was lucky to find an AO gearbox as fitted to 1600cc cars.
I cleaned and detailed it before fitting new mounts and a coupling. I
had to refit the spring plates first which requires a special tool (SSP).
It was fairly straight forward to fit up and I used new suspension bushes
throughout.
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I
used a new dual circuit master cylinder for safer brakes, with new
brake pipes and goodridge braided flexi's. New steering damper was fitted
along with used Koni front shocks. Electric fuel pump is fitted near the
tank and the new steering box was bolted on. I fitted the fresh pedals
with new operating cables.
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Grant
kindly gave me an old scat shifter he had lying around but it had no handle.
Bernard Newbury
sells these nice Hurst ones though. I had the hand brake powdercoated
in gloss black along with the pedal assembly, spring plates, axle shafts
and anything else I could find. Crystal Finishes
in Aldershot did the honors here.
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Once
I was back on the case, (Nov. 2003). I took the floor pan home and
set about the build up. I had sourced all the parts I needed to complete
the task. The beam was ready, I had a new steering box, dropped spindles,
front & rear disks, king & link pins, gearbox built up, pedals
powdercoated, Scat shifter, spring plates ready and a box of other stuff
I would need.
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Here
is a quick shot of the back of the engine. I have gone for high level
of detail here throughout, so far as to even powdercoat the cooling fan!
The above shot also has powdered manifolds, alternator strap, coil holder
and dizzy clamp. Have I gone too far? Wait till you see the window winder
mechs!
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I
had built a 1776 for the bus, but swiped it for the bug, hence it's
only got an Engle 100 cam, Line bored case and gas flowed 040 heads by
CAG Engines, cast counter weight 8 doweled
crank. It's got full flow oil and bolt up rockers. It now has 36 Weber's
and a stainless turbo
muffler and electronic 009 dizzy. All the tinware is powdercoated
to mach the floorpan. All Parts were supplied through
Beetlelink, GAC,
or SSP.
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With
the front beam out, it was rude not to narrow it. Just under 2 inches
were removed & Zest
Performance machined up some strengthening collars from my CAD drawing.
The wheels from the Ghia were 6x16"
Fuchs so might be a tight fit under the front wings, but 20mm wider
ones would do a subtle trick & hide them.
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Try
not get distracted.
I thought it would be a good idea to buy a cheap bus to use as a parts
chaser. My Golf
cabrio wasn't much use. The bus ended up turning into a project in
itself, so after 3 engines, a total repaint, new wheels and a re-trim
I could start work back on the Bug! - Doh! , Oh and yes it was a great
parts chaser...
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I
had to work quickly as the bare metal will 'turn' brown over night,
I only had one evening to do all the repairs so I could get it to the
powdercoaters fast. In hindsight it might have been better to replace
both pan halves and wet spray the pan for a better finish, but if you
see the textured hammer finish you will see it is quite striking.
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I
had the pan shotblasted at 'Elgamec' (01252
518177) in North Camp, Farnbourough. This removed every last trace
of dirt, paint, underseal, rust and some of the pan itself! I had to let
in a section of battery tray as it now looked like Swiss cheese. I also
removed the jacking points for a cleaner look as well as some localized
repairs.
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Stripping
the rest of the pan down was done very quickly, once the beam is off
and the gearbox is out, there isn't much left, just the pedals and rear
suspension. The pedals can be a bit tricky to get out and all the parts
need to be kept together. Every cable, nut, washer and grommet must be
removed before being painted.
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First
thing to do was get the body off. I had never done this before, but
a couple of lunchtimes and evenings saw the two part company. It was so
much easier to work on now it was in pieces and I was able to see the
extent of the rust, which luckily wasn't too bad.
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The
original idea was to put it back together very quickly, like our 'Rat-Look'
Oval, fit a hot motor & race it at Bug-Jam that year. But as is all
too familiar a case, I knew I wouldn't be happy with Rat or Tat and it
would only go downhill and be forever fixing it, so it would have to be
done right.
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Problem
2. There's a few things a project needs & the main one is money.
If all else fails then money will sort it out! Most of mine was tied up
in my '69 Ghia so it had to go. My imagination was running wild by now,
I had had big plans. Might need them wheels though!
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This
is how things looked when this poor old '62 bug came to me. It
was an unfinished project & looking very sorry for itself. I took
pity on it as it was such a solid car. Problem 1. It wasn't my car. It
took two weeks of haggling to get the owner to hand over the keys &
log book, then I could get to work...
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you think you need my assistance in any way, Please Contact
Me
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