TheSamba.com :: View topic - Sundogs 71 Squareback Build Thread. (I have some questions)

Mon Jun 23, 2008 5:57 pm

Well, after 4 years fo searching and let downs, a very cool cat in Medicine Hat sold me his Sqaureback project.

I've owned a dozen watercooled cars, have done a ton of work on them over the years, but this is my first Air. I have a fairly good grasp on air, from being in a aircooled-dominant car club for some time now.

I am always open to suggestions and comments, and I hope I get a chance to expand my dub friends. Here's my project...

Saturday June 21, 5 AM

I wake up 15 minutes before my alarm. Great. We loaded the 84 Rabbit last night to bring down to Onoway for the new owner, so we are already making good time once we leave Grande Prairie at 6am.

The sun is out, no dark clouds, no wind. Perfect day to buy a squareback.
Some bad fog early in the morning.

There's very little traffic on the Highway. T

Bye Bye Bunny (sniffles)

We take 36 down to Medicine Hat. This was the longest, straightest, most absolutely boring road I have ever been on in my life :puker:

We make it to Medicine Hat, and go straight over to Brians to pick up the square.

My bud Scott, making sure she don't buck.

We had a good dozen people ask what kind of car it was on the way back to Grande Prairie. Here's our Can Tire stop in Medicine Hat with a pretty nice mini.

est Saturday, June 21st, 11pm

Timmys in Brooks

Saturday, June 21st, 2:30 AM

4 AM

Finally at 8 am in the morning, after such a long tedious 26 hour, no rest round trip, we arrive at my place.

The Maiden Reaper & Aunty Ingrid The Baby Maker
(Scotts 47' International KB-1 & my 71 Sqaureback)

mmm new seats

Rare Empi Wheel

The 99% complete motor

interior shot

trizzunk

The gentleman I bought this car off of, was absolutely awesome to deal with (thanks Brian)

I ended up with a full extra set of fenders and quarter panels, a brand new, never used NOS exhaust, all new window rubber,an original Bentley manual, and a ton of other parts, including two full sets of door cards. Wow.

She needs work, no doubt. But it has less rust then my scirocco did, and I finally have the garage to work all winter in.

I'm planning to go very socal, with a few of my own personal touches. I wll be stripping the entire body down, spraying the pan, replacing all seals and body bead, and painting the entire car.

More to come as I get into it.

Mon Jun 23, 2008 6:05 pm

DAY 2

You know what kicks ass? Taking Monday off of work, to hang out with your new project car.

I wasn't going to work on it today, but of course, I did.

Stripped down the front end somewhat. Only walked away with one in tact Bumper bolt, the others sheered off like butter (gotta love 37 years of rust!)

Don't mind the dark pictures. Our dedicated shop digi cam is old, and makes the paint look alot darker then it is.

nothing too crazy found. In fact there's no rust through in the front at all. I already see how lucky I am for finding this square!

My 18 month old niece lecturing me via Bentley

I'll be stripping down the front entirely right away, and see where Im at on welding and patching.

Mon Jun 23, 2008 6:59 pm

Nice. Just picked up a '71 Square a month or so ago, but haven't started on it yet...still putting the finishing touches on the Beetle.

I'll be watching to see your progress, and hopefully starting on mine in the next couple of weeks.

Mon Jun 23, 2008 7:06 pm

Looks like a lot of work but it will be nice to have it back on the road. Good luck with your new project

Mon Jun 23, 2008 7:36 pm

This car will be a breeze, as the previous owner had already done so much.

The F.I. is complete and working, and I've done bodywork before, so I'm not too worried about that aspect.

The hardest thing about this car, will be not spending all my money, and paying rent!

Mon Jun 23, 2008 8:50 pm

Nice! Seems a lot of '71s are turning up.

Gas heater? Very cool.

Jeff

Mon Jun 23, 2008 9:03 pm

71 was the highest production year for T-3's. That is why there are so many of them.

Mon Jun 23, 2008 9:48 pm

It's funny though, I found more pre 70's for sale then the later models.
But for parts, it seems to be a good year to buy into, and if it was the highest produced, that would explain it

Mon Jun 23, 2008 11:05 pm

sundog kid wrote: It's funny though, I found more pre 70's for sale then the later models.
But for parts, it seems to be a good year to buy into, and if it was the highest produced, that would explain it

great score! has the same red color mine had from the factory. Mine has since been resprayed, but the same color. Just shiny 8)

D-Jet FI! ftw.

Tue Jun 24, 2008 8:06 am

Yeah, I will be going with a tangerine orange (lighter then oem) and white top, similiar to the "Hilda" square on here.

Funny story actually, I almost bought that square, as it was only an hour away from where I live. But the owner decided to ship her stateside.

I really like the cal look, but there are a few thing I have up my sleeve, that will be different

At least this pan is mint. That was a good motivator!

Wed Jun 25, 2008 10:16 pm

Ditched out on a very important band rehearsal, to of course, work on the car!
(Cause we get offered to open for Sam Roberts in front of 1000's of people every day :???: )

Stripped the back down

Bottom trim removed (if someone needs it, I'll probably sell it)

The worst of the rust.....SO FAR

Driver side off

Not as bad as I expected

Pass side off

And my roommates war wounds from paint ball

I was surprised the rust wasn't that bad (compared to what I thought it might be). Of course, all the bolts that mount the fenders from underneath, sheared off with one turn.

The beading for the fenders is still in tact, and there's not too much crazy patch welding to do, plus I have 2 other sets of fenders to make it all groovy again.

The best part about tonight is, now Im commited. I couldve thrown a windshield and soft brake lines on, and driven this car. But now it's all gotta be done. I've got nothing but time so it's all good
(my vr6 sure is getting jealous though!)

Priced out all the major items Ill need for this car via CIP, and the bill came out to about $1100.00 before taxes. Thats not including paint, wheels of course.

That barely bought me suspension for a mk4 years ago.

Thu Jun 26, 2008 8:10 am

sundog kid wrote: My 18 month old niece lecturing me via Bentley

Hey, tell her to put that kid on her lap in a carseat! (she's a cutie)

I just got a 71 Squareback as well but I'm afraid its not in as good of condition as yours is.

Cosmetically, it is nice but I need a motor bad. I'm almost tempted to put a Type 1, just so I can drive it!

Nice Work so far, keep it up. You might inspire me to get off of my rear and do some work on mine

Thu Jun 26, 2008 12:32 pm

Yeah, she's quite the kid. I hope gas engines are still allowed on the road when shes old enough to drive. Gotta get her in a gti or something!

I do plan on building up a bigger engine for this car, most likely carbed, and will take out the iddy biddy stock one, to have some fun, and keep the original in mint.

the engine is the part that scares me. So much watercooled knowledge, and I know squat about Air.

The body is the easy part. Im worried about getting it reliable mechanically.

Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:03 pm

I've been schooled and won't be going carbed now. (thanks samba members)

I do have a question about the body though. the body seal used on the metal thats covered by the fenders, what should I be using?

The original stuff looks like really hard black silicone or undercoating.

Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:08 pm

sundog kid wrote:
I do have a question about the body though. the body seal used on the metal thats covered by the fenders, what should I be using?

The original stuff looks like really hard black silicone or undercoating.

The fender welt? Or the seam sealer over the welds? Seam sealer you can get at auto paint stores.

Sun Jun 29, 2008 7:10 am

Are you meaning the tape at the rear of the front fenders, that Bentley calls D-19 tape? If so, I get it thru my local camping supply store, as it's used for sealing windows. It comes in varying widths, and I use the 1 inch wide stuff there. It's actually gray when new, but as it ages it turns black on the edges. It costs about 5 bucks a roll, and you'll find other uses for the remainder of the roll. I hope this helps.

Sun Jun 29, 2008 1:50 pm

No its the seam sealer on the body, behind the fenders.

Sun Jun 29, 2008 1:53 pm

Little Update:

I have been hummin and hawin' over how far I wanted to go with body work.

Today I decided that this car doesn't have attractive patina, and for what I'm going after, will need a complete teardown and rebuild.

more people then not have told me seperating the body isnt that bad, considering.

Now besides fender bead, are there any other hard to find parts that connect the body to the pan? I want to prepare myself for this now, then later.

Sun Jun 29, 2008 2:41 pm

sundog kid wrote: Little Update:
Now besides fender bead, are there any other hard to find parts that connect the body to the pan? I want to prepare myself for this now, then later.

Just the pan seal, I don't think it's hard to find.

Go here:

http://www.vwispwest.com/home.php

Tue Jul 01, 2008 9:36 pm

I stripped down the dash, and tossed the old dash in storage, of course to save the vin plate for the new dash-that-I-stil-havent-bought-just-yet.

I don't know what the trick is, but man those gauges put up one good fight to get them all out. Ugh.

This brings up my next question. Does anyone have a link to a DIY tear down? I want to know which steps I should be taking to tear down this car to seperate the body from the pan. Plus Im sure, like the gauges, Ill find other items that don't like to be removed the easy way.

So now I'm getting to the point of seat and carpet removal. The carpet looks to have been glued on with some very strong glue, and wants to tear as I try to remove it. Whats a way one could get the glue to soften up? steam? Heat?

Pic of the carpet trim (Im quite sure its aftermarket, but good quality)

So yeah, any help with the teardown would be shaweet