TheSamba.com :: View topic - June 1952 molested split slow and painful refresh

Thu Jan 07, 2010 4:01 am

johan_l wrote: So, if you had put the seam on the inside of the crease it may not have been possible to get the inner panel to go through the opening?
Exactly !

johan_l wrote: This the crease line up for you? If it does, I may try to do at the same way.
Yes, it did. My body by the way is '56 Oval.

johan_l wrote: Actually, I can cut a smaller hole (just inside crease) on the 1953 body to start with, if I get it in I'll make the 1951 clip smaller, otherwise, I'll make the hole in the 53 body larger...
Smart thinking!
Good luck!

I thought to cut the body and clip exaxtly at the crease, but i figured that it would be difficult to get the crease nice again, after welding there on the outside.

The key word here is: patience. Take your time, measure 10x, then cut a little. Fit the panel, mark the panel/body, cut a little more, fit the panel, etc, etc... It took me a whole day to make it fit nicely and to spot weld it in place.

Thu Jan 07, 2010 8:48 am

Johan, the tool you are talking about is called a Joggler. They are very useful for lap joints, but they can be a bit of a pain, especially in the knuckles after a while. I've seen a rotary one, operated with a 1/2" drive ratchet, in Volksworld magazine when Mike Pye ands Steve Gosling were letting in a ragtop section into Steves '60 bug - it seemed to work almost like a small bead roller!

Thu Jan 07, 2010 10:30 am

It is not a continuous welding ... :cry:

Fri Jan 08, 2010 4:31 am

But filled with led in dry locations (as the roof) i believe this method is enough for a car that is not used in damp salty conditions... Though, placed in the fender of a daily driver I guess a continuous weld is preferred.

As I'm not that good of a welder, I'm a bit afraid of welding a continuous weld on places need to bee straight. If the weld is not 100% watertight i suppose it ain't better than the overlap technique.

For those who masters the weld, I agree the continuous weld it better in all cases...

Fri Jan 08, 2010 8:45 am

If you do a "lap" weld, make sure you get some good weld-through primer to spray on the facing surfaces before you weld them together. This will prevent rust from forming in between the panels where they overlap.

Fri Jan 08, 2010 8:29 pm

johan_l wrote: But filled with led in dry locations (as the roof) i believe this method is enough for a car that is not used in damp salty conditions... Though, placed in the fender of a daily driver I guess a continuous weld is preferred.

As I'm not that good of a welder, I'm a bit afraid of welding a continuous weld on places need to bee straight. If the weld is not 100% watertight i suppose it ain't better than the overlap technique.

For those who masters the weld, I agree the continuous weld it better in all cases...

Joggler, cool name. Eastwood sells a similar hand held lap joint tool too.

If you go with a weld-thru primer between the panels, which is a good idea, just make sure you remove any overspray in areas will you will be eventually painting, as it has low paint retention. Then you can also add a seam sealer to prevent moisture sneaking in for extra measure, good auto body shops carry some name brand stuff.

By practicing your welding technique though I believe you would get the results you would really want, even if you need to do a little grinding as needed! Good luck!

Fri Jan 08, 2010 10:22 pm

"AMAZING" build, Eurodub

Enjoy your ride.... 8)

Mon Jan 11, 2010 6:27 am

and a funny event... :lol:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=394461

Cheers

Wed Jan 13, 2010 12:46 pm

ok... got it! see pics on that link ... he's cute! :lol:

Sun Jan 24, 2010 4:22 pm

did some work today.
the split semaphore is really messed up. i put it in acid to melt the rust and after an hour or two, the body was super clean.
the problem is with the arm because the rust have been eating and eating all the already thin metal. it was so crusty that i could see the light shining thorough on some areas. :?
since i don't have any alternative for the moment i covered the crusty but clean metal in lead, filed and sanded it as i could and after a few touches of light bondo it was almost like new.
it's unnecessary to say all the springs were gone, the snale type and the small one, but i already have them as spare. rust ate all that was too fragile to hold on.

for the future i will try to have some patterns made after the semaphore arms and make two rollers that can press the shape out of thin metal. the screws are not easy to come by so i will make them "in za hause"
some of you may say i am the cheap kind of guy when i can buy them outright , but i got the "Zarwerks shop spy cam" virus and i'd rather spend the money in tools and gadgets that can get me the repros, plus it's fun.
Mircea has all the tools i basically need, and is always ready to share his knowledge and teach me something new. i guess we both learn the nice way how to copy or repair very old abused parts, and to be honest right now there are very very few parts left on my split that haven't been examined and restored/repaired by me or Mircea.

all i need now is a swf ribbed semaphore body and a pair of lenses and the semaphore part is over. if i don't get the semaphore body sooner, i'll have to decide on which side i mount it :lol:

pics to follow

Mon Jan 25, 2010 9:09 am

added a very nice snale spring and got a very nice deal from Johnhenry on a pair of lenses, so now all i need is one semaphore body :)

the screws look pretty much original, i collected them ouut of that swf semaphore i broke for parts

that lens in the pic is made from a used SWF one for a saab i think.. (got some broken nonvw semaphores for spares ) cut it in half and superglued it together. add color to pic, isn't it? :lol:

Fri Feb 05, 2010 8:22 am

progress... :wink:
it's been a very cold time with -18 -20 degrees celsius.. now at -2 it's almost nice and warm.. :? . snow was about 30 cm thick, and roads were almost closed in the parking lots. i could not move the split because i could not get thorough the thick ice near the tires.
so..
radio in.
rear view mirror in.
small license plate in the back. illegal though because is for motorcycles only. i risk a nice ticket and the plate confiscated. but what can i do? regular size plates look so ugly on a split :(
another big progress is that i've managed to get a split chromed rear bumper in nos condition, still holdin on the original VW sticker on it. the problem is that i now have to find a similar condition one for the front :lol:
semaphores are due to be completed. John Henry has helped me with the last parts i needed so the rest is up to me. Thanks again John!
in time i will have all the parts original, even part codes correct. the original 25 horse engine will be put back to the car, eventually after a refresh.

Fri Feb 05, 2010 8:37 am

wow, nice work!

Sat Feb 13, 2010 6:42 am

talk about bumper brackets... are they supposed to be Y type? found the pic from the GHE/Happich catalogue (IN2VWS gallery on thesamba) where it clearly shows this Y type.. can anyone school me on these? i was about to throw them away when i was to install the new split rear bumper. :oops:

it gets more and more complicated right now, as i want more and more split correct parts on it. from now on only originals, to be restored or in good shape.

Mon Feb 15, 2010 5:53 am

semaphore done my my friend Mircea, from scratch.. stainless steel scratch actually... :lol:
needed tools are in the picture. it was not an easy task, but after all it was done in several hous time of drinking beer, hot tea and pressing metal. :oops:

Mon Feb 15, 2010 6:02 am

got the certificate from Wolfsburg today.
i am happy not only because i have found out what the real date of birth is, but because i found the dealer that sold my car and now i can hunt the dealer badge that was missing from the right side of my split.. :)

i actually found out from Buggen's website some other cool details like how i could go get my split in those days.. exact location :)

Mon Feb 15, 2010 8:31 am

Nice work on the sems!!!!

Mon Feb 15, 2010 4:15 pm

Interesting that the car spent a month at the factory before leaving.

Tue Feb 16, 2010 2:45 pm

I have one of those dealership badges, i PMed you. let me know if your interested, i love your car :D

Tue Feb 16, 2010 3:25 pm

i would be more than happy to buy it from you. i replied to your PM. i found your thread by search on thesamba, but haven't got the chance to talk to you.

thanks
Mihai