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Tue Jan 19, 2010 7:41 pm

so here is a couple pics of my dzus fasteners that i installed. all my front end mounts are done. yipee.

THIS

PLUS THIS

EQUALS THIS. HOMEMADE DASH

after i took the pics, i went over the whole front end with a sandpaper wheel and smoothed out all the bumps and stuff. just got to make a spot for my brake and windshield washer reservoirs and then i'll be done with the front. bout time! then it's on to the rest of the body, then fiberglass, then paint. yahoo!! see ya

Tue Jan 19, 2010 8:19 pm

nice dash work. are you going to fill the other holes or you going to use them? (vent, ashtray, and oh-poop bar) keep up the great work.

Tue Jan 19, 2010 8:33 pm

R those rivets or screws in the dash? me likely

Tue Jan 19, 2010 11:54 pm

the vent i actually cut in, i'm using the vent from my 66 it's nice to have defrsost in the center. The 'O' poop handle, i'm robbing the one off my 66, and my coin holder, i mean ash tray, yes i plan on using that also. The covers were more tricky than i thought to make, cause the all have an arc to match the dash, and the glove box door arced both vertically and horizontally. As for the "rivets" they are 8/32 stainless button head bolts. I welded nuts on the backside of the dash. It will make it easier to add switchs and stuff ( i can just pull off the panels to wire them up and mount everything instead of reaching up inside of my dash) screwed up and accidently tacked a couple of the bolts when i welded the nuts on, it was fun fixing that. I took my stock screws for the glove box in and matched them with button heads(stainless) also. I plan on also doing the same for my door and quarter panels but that's going to have to wait a while. 150 bucks for a sheet of 4'x8' aluminum, plus some more $$ for the bolts. thanks for liking my stuff, makes it worth it. I just can't wait until I get to paint. was thinking about doing old school. do the sides, the rear piece under window, and the raise parts on the front ends in a dark metalic purple, and the rest of the car in black. also the cage and bumpers in the purple. Is dark colors really as bad as i hear for showing dents and such, i don't plan on using much bondo(being a baja i figure i might end up putting a couple more dents in it and don't want the bondo to chip off). we'll see what my $$ looks like then. might end up all primer, lol.
Thanks for all the positve feed back, makes it all worth itl.

Wed Jan 20, 2010 4:45 pm

gorgeous

you've inspired me to make my own dash, that thing looks nice

Wed Jan 20, 2010 5:38 pm

That dash looks sweet!!! I was trying to get some different ideas for my interior. Keep up the good work.

Wed Jan 20, 2010 6:02 pm

thanks.
it was actually pretty easy, used 1/8" AL. and just use the old dash pieces as templates, i made sure to gut a little big, and then ground it down to fine fit it. There was one or two spots the grinder got away from me though. after that just sand down the edges nice and smooth and then went over it with the wire wheel to give it a brushed look. i tapped the dash for my 8/32 bolts then decided to weld nuts on the back side after the fact, don't want them babies vibrating out. OH! one thing to remember is that the dash is curved, so i had to give all the pieces a little arc(put an 1-1/2" pipe on the ground and then stood and bounced on both sides of the plate til i got the bend i wanted. the glove door atcually curved vertically and horizontally.
i think i wrote all this already but here it is again. haha

Fri Jan 22, 2010 6:44 pm

so i got my brake reservoir and washer bottle mounted today, did some more smoothing of the metal here and there, filling a couple holes, ect...here's what they look like
this is where they are gonna set.

the brake reservoir has a tab on one end a spot for a screw on the other so i had to fab a little tab holder thingy. My lines run thru the outer fender and I'll fasten them to the side and bring them in to the master.

the way the washer bottle mounted it's supposed to slide into a clip of some sort, so i did my best, works good.

This is with everything. still have room for whenever i convert to a late model tank.

this is what the side looks like with the Dzus fastener, nice and snug.

this is under the hood, still have plenty of clearance.

these next two are the pass. and drivers sides of under the hood, it's all somewhat enclosed, hopefully that will keep down on the baddie stuff in my dash.

been lots of creative time out there. my trunk area is done now though, moving on to the rest of the car. whoooopy!!

Fri Jan 22, 2010 11:21 pm

Nice work Chubs!

I really like a well thought out and usable custom vehicle. Even better when it is a VW baja!!!!

Sat Jan 23, 2010 12:16 am

thanks, unfortunatly i'm afraid i'm going to get to a point where i need to start putting more $$ into it and i just don't have it right now. I'm going to continue to do whatever i can so we'll see.

Mon Jan 25, 2010 2:54 pm

well started working on the rear pass. side quarter panel. This really sucks, I tried cutting out that section off my old baja, lots of rust on the inside. don't think it would be wise to use it. I actually had to vacuum out a bunch of sand that was down sitting on top of the heater channel. really makes you think about making sure your car is all sealed up. anyhow, now i'm trying to figure out what to do, i'm thinking of cutting open some access from inside the car and trying to pound out the fender line as best that I can and just patch the rusted out spots with that #18 sheet metal i used on the front end. I hate body work, although i am learning, i guess that's a good thing.

Mon Jan 25, 2010 8:11 pm

had no luck pounding that out, so i opted to replace it with a section from my other car, the rust on that wasn't as bad as i thought, mainly surface. However, i cut the section out the car I'm building and tadaah!!! more f%$^ing rust. i'm going to repair it the best i can and use some converter on it. man i hate rust. price i pay for living in the NW though. so here is the section I'm replacing

this is the piece i'm using to replace it. it's just held up by magnets right now, got to fix all my cancer first.

This is my cancer. man this makes me angry!! you won't like me when i'm angry.

so i'm gonna have fun here. I decided to open up the drivers side also when i'm finished with this side to see if there is any bad spots and fix. lots of fun. looks like my welding skills are going to be put to the test now. I'm hoping i can do it right and no warping. i'm going to do the hot and quick trick, bounce around about every six inches, and take a break every cycle around to help it stay cool. i figure there is enough other stuff i can work on between welds. I'm hoping to use very minimal bondo when done, i'm really not comfortable with bondo on the car where it could get bumped and crack or chip off. we'll see how it goes tomorrow.
on a different subject, i was fantasizing about painting it. was thinking something like this

or this

figured if i did black on the sides then i could use black bed liner in the trunk, fenderewells, and stuff and not have to worry about it not matching the paint.

Mon Jan 25, 2010 9:28 pm

I vote purple / black, as long as the purple is really dark.

Mon Jan 25, 2010 10:00 pm

that's kinda what i was thinking also, originally i wanted to do those colors, but in reverse. i think it would look pretty cool like that though. first things first, got to get everything repaired.

Tue Jan 26, 2010 11:18 am

so far i've done all my photo downloading from photobucket. I'm going to start redoing all my photos to the samba gallery and then changing the url in my thread. so if this post keeps popping up on all your alls emails that's probably why. should of done this in the first place, oh well... better late than never. I would just hate for something to happen to photobucket and the all my pics are messed up. later dudes, time to go battle some rusty heater channels.

Tue Jan 26, 2010 1:12 pm

taking a break, rust freakin sucks. someday i'll get an arizona body or something with little or no rust. trying to fix my bad spots without rebuilding the whole body is a bitch. doing the best i can, i kind of figure I'll repair what i can with what i have and call it good. it will be better than it was at least.

Tue Jan 26, 2010 3:31 pm

im with u on the rust sucks!!! sand blasted my baja yesterday to fing out it looks like a chhese grader filled with bondo

Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:43 pm

That sucks, nothing like finding the PO's treasures they left behind. good luck with yours.
Well did my homemade fab job, cleaned up the rust the best i could, it will have to do. at least this should add a few more years and some strength to the car.

before

after

This is a panel i cut and welded in, i'm going to cut in 2 or three stock fuse blocks in it. Would go for aftermarket ones, but trying to save money wherever i can.

Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:51 pm

Do they salt the roads there? That thing is down right nasty.

Tue Jan 26, 2010 9:33 pm

no, i think it sat in a field for too long before i got it, then i've had it outside under cover for about 3 or 4 years before i did anything with it.