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Fri Feb 08, 2008 8:45 am

Well where to begin...this is my 1964 build. This is actually my first official body off the pan build. I purchased the car for $600 and what I received was the shell minus the fenders, the pan that appears to be pretty solid and a few boxes of parts and gauges and interior bits. Some of you might say I paid too much but we don't see many early 60's beetles here in Michigan. Shoot we hardly ever see anything pre super beetle.

Here are the plans:

-Masterseries entire pan and every part of the suspension(remember I am in Michigan)
-Masterseries the stock wheels and paint white
-If money(wife) allows, full Airkewld bolt on suspension. If money does not allow then a 6 inch beam and spindles up front.
-I will be doing all the body work and painting myself.

Now on with the pics...

Here she is

Body now seperated from the pan

The Pan repairs that still need to be cleaned up a bit

Thoughts on what to do with this piece here?

I have yet to wire wheel this area but what is the deal with all the weld spots?

Some serious ugliness! Who does shit like this?

Are these tack nails factory to keep the body/pan seal on tight during assembly?

Last but not least...I hate you Arizona! The car lost it's title at one point and Arizona issued it a new VIN as a 77 beetle. Luckily it is just a sticker and I am working with the local PD to help me get the original VIN re-issued. It helps to have family in the PD as the DMV will do nothing for me.

I will keep this updated as much as possible as I have really enjoyed reading everyone else's and being inspired to get off my ass and work on my own. Please let me know what you think and if anything looks out of place or wrong.[/img]

Fri Feb 08, 2008 11:41 am

That's not a bad price, especially considering your location. The engine will be easy enough to replace/build.
Looks like you're set for nice project. Keep the photo updates coming.
What paint colour do you have in mind?

Fri Feb 08, 2008 11:46 am

Those spot welds are normal like that from the factory as crazy as they may look.

Fri Feb 08, 2008 6:01 pm

Quote: That's not a bad price, especially considering your location. The engine will be easy enough to replace/build.
Looks like you're set for nice project. Keep the photo updates coming.
What paint colour do you have in mind?

It did not come with a motor but fortunately I have a 1600dp sitting on a dolly ready to go in. I really like silver but I don't think it's the best color for my first paint job. I will probably go with a blue. Something like this...

Quote: Those spot welds are normal like that from the factory as crazy as they may look.

That is a relief. Thanks!

Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:17 am

Ok so it's been far too long since my last update but Michigan has been very cold until recently. Rising fuel costs are killing us on the Chrysler Pacifica since we car pool so my wife has given the ok to just go for it and complete this car ASAP. This means every waking hour is spent in the garage until she is complete. Since the suspension is shot I will be ordering the complete bolt-on air bag kit from Airkewld later this week. I know what you are thinking..."I thought you want to save money due to rising gas prices now your dumping $1000's on a suspension?" Well I want a car to take to the cruises and daily drive. Michigan roads suck and airbags are the only way to get a better quality lowered ride out here.

So this weekend I tackled the Pan. Started with dropping the trans. MMmmmm years of sludge and dirt.

Took the front suspension/beam off and noticed this little tidbit I missed when I bought her. Got to love PO's.

12v or 6v? Anyone?

I found these in the tunnel under the shift coupler. Anyone know if they are used for anything or are they just PO junk?

If you have stripped the pan and need to take the rear torsion assemblies off you have to put a ton of weight on top or the jack will just lift the pan up... :lol:

So here is where we are. Pan is all stripped of that nasty tar crap. Tonight I will start to wire wheel the entire thing to prep for the masterseries primer and black coat.

Question...Is there anything I should NOT remove from the tunnel if I don't have to? I plan on replacing the fuel line for sure. Thanks!

Mon Apr 28, 2008 12:51 pm

Take the bowden tube off, but don't mess with the clutch cable tube.

Nice work so far.

Mon Apr 28, 2008 12:58 pm

Krmnnghia wrote:

:shock: Holy Crap!!!

Mon Apr 28, 2008 1:42 pm

iaccy wrote:
:shock: Holy Crap!!!

I know...insane. The # stamped on the trans is 945120 so if I am reading the tech sheet correctly I believe this to be the original trans. Can anyone help me confirm this? With all this crud on there it may just be the original and this may be the first time it has been removed. Nasty stuff!

Mon Apr 28, 2008 3:29 pm

The starter will have 6V or 12V stamped on it.

Mon Apr 28, 2008 3:34 pm

Krmnnghia wrote:

Looks like a semi-auto starter, note the short shaft on the gear, a manual one would have an extended shaft that runs in a bushing in the tranny. Auto starters don't have that, and they are all 12vlt.

Mon Apr 28, 2008 4:53 pm

The trans on my 65 is just as bad, does yours smell like 40 year old gear oil too? :lol: Sometimes when Im driving I can smell it cause I got a few small holes around the battery tray. Anyways good luck with the build thats gonna be a cool car!

Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:13 pm

Krmnnghia wrote:

=

Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:32 pm

HAHA, close resemblance :lol:

Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:45 pm

So I finished half of the "crap removal" on the top side of the pan tonight. Getting stabbed by wire wheel pieces is fun. Does anyone know how in the hell to remove the crap in the crevices before I masterseries primer and paint everything? I have circled 2 of the many areas I just cannot get to. Some sort of stripper poured on perhaps?

At this rate I should have the pan done and painted by Sunday.

Oh and a note to anyone that is going to be stripping a pan for the first time. Get a dual canister carbon fase mask. This shit is NASTY on the lungs!

Wed Apr 30, 2008 2:32 am

Does anyone know how in the hell to remove the crap in the crevices before I masterseries primer and paint everything?

Do you have a compressor? If so get you a 30.00 sandblaster and that will

take care of it. After you see how clean it leaves the metal you will want to

do everything with it. Also the best surface prep for your master series

Wed Apr 30, 2008 3:42 am

hpw wrote:
Do you have a compressor? If so get you a 30.00 sandblaster and that will

take care of it.

I have a nice 60 gallon Husky unit...would one of these little deals work? Also what media would I want to use?

Wed Apr 30, 2008 3:46 am

Krmnnghia wrote: hpw wrote:
Do you have a compressor? If so get you a 30.00 sandblaster and that will

take care of it.

I have a nice 60 gallon Husky unit...would one of these little deals work? Also what media would I want to use?

That would work for the small spots but would take some time doing larger

areas as you would constantly be refilling.

I get "Black Beauty" from my local rental store. 100lb bag is $13.00.

I use a big tarp up against a fence and catch most of it and reuse it

after screening it.

Wed Apr 30, 2008 3:55 am

Tried to find one online but for some reason couldn't locate one, but the one

I was thinking of has a pick-up tube that draws the media right out of the bag

and they work very good, although if you plan on doing a lot of blasting, plan

on getting a few replacement tips as they will wear out after a few hours of

blasting.

Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:12 am

Awesome! I noticed HF has one with a 20oz hopper instead of the 9oz one I linked to above. For only $16 I will give it a try. I will report back when I am done using it tonight. :)

Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:15 am

This is what I was trying to locate, Home Depot sells them, but couldn't find

one on their web site.