TheSamba.com :: View topic

Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:59 pm

My dad and I just got this car and are starting a restore. It's in good shape with a few little dents and a rear fender bender.
The bad:
Needs new top
maybe frame (bend over front doors)
Needs Windows
New battery pan
seat redone
motor worked
paint
undercoated
Por15 tub

The good:
not to much rust
clear title
Great car

The previous owner cut this out to get a paint match

This will clean up

battery area

"color matched engine"

Bend frame

Like new heater

Duel carbs that came in a milk crate

radio

Standard box of stuff with car

The plan is to get the motor out, see what we can do. Clean the car, por 15 under and inside, new seats and top.
A good buddy is going to do the body work and paint it, that part is a good deal for us.
I've never rebuilt a car, but own two other volkswagens(dune buggy, Ghia). My first car was 65 bug.

I wanted to start a thread to show my progress. I know the samba will help me out the entire way. This car is really for the girls in my life, my wife and two daughters.

Tue Sep 02, 2008 8:44 pm

caseydenise wrote: The previous owner cut this out to get a paint match

I've seen some stupid stuff in my life, but WTF!?!?!

Well, despite stupid POs congrats and good luck with your new Thing!

Another Thing owner, Michael B, started this thread...
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=273089
lots of great photos and details about his 73 Thing. The more of these threads there are the better I say! I love seeing the progress as junkers are transformed back into the great cars they once were. The sheer amount of info that is documented during these kind of restos is priceless.

Tue Sep 02, 2008 10:53 pm

Fun 181 wrote: caseydenise wrote: The previous owner cut this out to get a paint match

I've seen some stupid stuff in my life, but WTF!?!?!

Well, despite stupid POs congrats and good luck with your new Thing!

Another Thing owner, Michael B, started this thread...
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=273089
lots of great photos and details about his 73 Thing. The more of these threads there are the better I say! I love seeing the progress as junkers are transformed back into the great cars they once were. The sheer amount of info that is documented during these kind of restos is priceless.
How the hell are they going to get the car painted with a big chunk cut out of the fender?! I mean really, what paint shop would spray a car with that kinda crap done to it? He didn't trade it to you for crack did he? WTF...

Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:56 am

As far as the cut fender goes, it was dented to begin with and he had a junk yard replacement. But the engine in my opinion is dumb and still din't match. This car has a few "issues" from the previous owner.

Wed Sep 03, 2008 6:48 am

Congrats on the new ride. She doesn't look that bad.
Little or no rust is a good thing. The PO of mine was bondo crazy.

From his collection of photos from the restoration over 10 years ago. :oops: At least I know where it is (sort of) One day, I'll have to fix that stuff. No rust anywhere though. He filled in the panel splices too. See.... no lines. :lol:

Wed Sep 03, 2008 9:00 am

Wow, doesn't matter how dented those fenders are, at $225/pair (used...), I still wouldn't have cut a chunk out of them...

The paint looks ok, but it has been repainted, right? That top and windows really don't look that bad, you can probably straighten the frame easily enough. Your battery pan looks kinda nasty, that would be the first thing to go after (as long as the brakes and engine are good).

And.. while I am not an engine expert, I do not think that much tin is supposed to be missing. :shock:

Nice find, it'll take some work, but these Things are worth it. The stares and comments you will get are almost as cool as driving with the top down and listening to the aircooled engine whine behind you.

Wed Sep 03, 2008 1:14 pm

The Thing Shop sells a top frame reinforcement kit that can be welded on to help your top frame.

http://www.thethingshop.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=181RK

I used this kit to fix my top frame and it works great. It's a little pricey, but it's a whole lot cheaper than a new top frame. I had mine powder coated and reassembled with the killer products top frame nuts. It looks great and works even better. I wish it was the first thing I had done to my thing.

http://killer-products.dk/hood-nuts.html

Thu Sep 04, 2008 5:30 am

I think I might use this, I didn't even know they made it. The top fram is in good shape other than the bends. Those hood rivets are used where? Nice product though. sdwalter wrote: The Thing Shop sells a top frame reinforcement kit that can be welded on to help your top frame.

http://www.thethingshop.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=181RK

I used this kit to fix my top frame and it works great. It's a little pricey, but it's a whole lot cheaper than a new top frame. I had mine powder coated and reassembled with the killer products top frame nuts. It looks great and works even better. I wish it was the first thing I had done to my thing.

http://killer-products.dk/hood-nuts.html

Thu Sep 04, 2008 7:42 am

caseydenise wrote: I think I might use this, I didn't even know they made it. The top fram is in good shape other than the bends. Those hood rivets are used where? Nice product though.

When I refurbished my top frame, I ground off the pivot rivots to separate the pieces. That made powder coating and welding easier. Once I finished the parts, I used the killer products top frame nuts to replace the rivots that I ground off. Here is a picture of the top frame nuts installed from the killer products web page.

Fri Sep 12, 2008 6:13 pm

Not much to update, we have a body shop lined up in a few weeks. We are going to keep it original yellow.
Few questions-
Is my car Sunshine yellow?
How can I get a spare rim?
Can I take the motor out myself (some mechanical know how) before I send it to paint?
Any maintenance manual suggestions?

Thanks

Sat Sep 13, 2008 1:03 am

How can I get a spare rim?

Look for a VW wrecking yard in your area. They usually can't get rid of
stuff like wheels fast enough.

Can I take the motor out myself (some mechanical know how) before I send it to paint?

Absolutely. You need at least a 2 ton floor jack and some jackstands. It's easier to take out then it is to put back in. Look for a Bentley manual for the directions.

Sat Sep 13, 2008 5:31 am

caseydenise wrote: Not much to update, we have a body shop lined up in a few weeks. We are going to keep it original yellow.
Few questions-
Is my car Sunshine yellow?
Can I take the motor out myself (some mechanical know how) before I send it to paint?
Any maintenance manual suggestions?

-If that is original paint, yes it is sunshine yellow.

-Yes. The best way to do this is a sturdy tree branch, a floor jack, and a come-a-long attached to the rear bumper. :lol: (it works on a Bug, but take tstracy's advice and do this the right way)

-Bentley manual covering the 1970-79 Bug/Ghia, How to Keep Your VW Alive, and Kubelmann's ROMTOC cd. There are links and info for these in the "181 Web Resources" sticky.

Sat Sep 13, 2008 6:48 am

The RoMTOC Thing Data CD is available directly at

http://www.romtoc.com/datacd.html

The CD has just been updated (again) and contains even more valuable restoration information.

Wed Sep 17, 2008 12:41 pm

Very nice! Gotta love the color matched engine!

Thu Sep 18, 2008 11:50 am

Nice Trekker/Thing!

Fri Sep 19, 2008 10:24 am

Been working on cleaning it out and taking everything apart for paint. I'm going to need a million little things. I have a full sheet of paper listed with odds and ends.

I want replace from the screwdriver back

New jack ports, There is another thread about this. It worries me a little, both sides need replacing.

Is this a brake line around the jack port

Fri Sep 19, 2008 11:24 am

The pan half you want to replace is available.
But yours looks solid. Check with a screwdriver and make sure you can't puncture the pan. If it is just surface rust treat it and paint. Mine was fine, but the battery hold downs were wasted. I am going to relocate our battery to the engine compartment.

Fri Sep 19, 2008 7:51 pm

The line by the jackport is the charcoal cannister lines. Brake lines are mounted within middle of pan down the driver's side tunnel and then on suspension arms etc. The line you see will run from charcoal cannister in trunk to rear cannister under luggage tray area.

it's a lot of work not difficult/complex but may consider removing the body. The rust signs in the body around the jacl ports kind of scare me. Usually signs of bigger problems. this will allow better inspection along rocker bottoms and ease of repairs.

Sat Sep 20, 2008 5:40 am

I want to remove the body, but I need to get it to my frields body shop first (45miles). After we trailer it there, I think we might pull it in half.

Sat Sep 20, 2008 5:38 pm

It might not be neccessary to pull the body to fix the jack points. Putting the body back on is a BIG hassle, there's a couple dozen bolts securing the body that need to go in straight or they'll cross-thread and it can be difficult to get them in properly, sometimes taking more than a day to get the job done. The battery tray looks salvageable, a wire wheel will get it clean and a small patch welded in to fill the hole. Or the epoxy putty you can get with POR-15, though that wouldn't be a permanent repair.