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Wed Dec 02, 2009 5:52 am

chubby53 wrote: .
found some cheap rust converter, primer and paint( all rattlecan).

This sucks cause i'm starting to get impatient. I just want it to be done, but i also want to take my time and do it as right as i can so down the road when i want to do more i don't run into problems i could have avoided.

there is a way to do a rear alignment but i cant remember where i saw it. my truggy has 1/2 inch notched springplates and with the weight it sits right above the stops with a 2 spline turn. without the weight the rear tires had the camber issue. a little grease of the bushings wont hurt.

i started using HF gravity feed spray guns and using enamels with hardner. a small compressor will work if you dont get in a hurry. at least it will give you feel of painting for real.

your doing a great job and a pan off project takes a long time. (too long for me) like you said, you are doing it right the first time. but sometimes you have to say. " just throw some mud on it" and worry about little things later.

Wed Dec 02, 2009 11:49 pm

well i got the body on the pan with the lift. just temporary, still got a lot of body work to do. and some more work on my lift. here are some pics.

I have a little gap over the rear and front tunnel. And a couple holes i drilled don't line up just right so i'm going to fix those and I'm going to measure and mark it all then pull the lift off and fill in where i need to so it fits better, i got to say though i think i did o.k. being my first real fab work.
here is the rear end about a 1/4 inch gap

and here is the front tunnel, about a 3/8 inch gap here

So i picked up a couple seats for cheap last weekend, they are out of a subaru. here they are

on the inside of both seats there is a j-hook thingy that i think is just reinforcement for the seat belt. I want to cut them off, cause they would interfere with my ebrake and heater controls. here is a couple pics. do you all think I would be o.k. doing that?
this is the j-hook, it slides with the seat tracks

this is what i want to do

So that's it for now. I still got a lot of work ahead of me. putting the body on temporarly really makes me want to kick in overdrive and get this thing done. I guess I'll just take it one bolt at a time.

Thu Dec 03, 2009 5:54 pm

well, today i tacked on a piece for the front of my lift(cut it off an old pan head), and filled the gap in the rear of the lift. going to test fit again tomorrow and see how i did. this is a lot of work test fitting this freakin lift so many times. hopefully this is the last time and I'll be able to paint it and then the next time it goes on will be for good. I've decided do to the $$ factor i'm going to do the best i can with the rusty sections of the body, get it all together and then down the road when i can afford all the upgrades i want to do i'll take it back apart and have the pan/ body blasted and cleaned up, painted right and do a full cage. Just won't have the money to get that detailed now, and really don't want to have it sitting for the next year. this way i can enjoy it until i get the funds i need. i do have ants in my pants though. once the body's on for good it should go fairly quick(i hope) then i can take it out and break it. lol

Sun Dec 06, 2009 1:27 pm

Hey im curious to know if you have any pics of the cover that protects the back side of the dash in the blue, rolled baja. I need to make something like that and i was thinking of using either a leather like material with snap buttons to cover everything up or making a fiber glass cover and trying to seal it up real good. I also have a spun aluminum gas tank up there and im not sure if i should just cover it too to make the cover easier.
Thanks Chubby

Sun Dec 06, 2009 1:34 pm

it's just sitting in the garage, i'll take some detailed pics in the next day or so and post them for ya. that thing worked awesome. I saw something similar on a baja about 16 yrs ago and thought i would give it a try. definately worth it. i've went through some nasty waterholes and didn't even get my stereo wet, plus it kept out just about all the wind that would normally blow through any spots in a dash that wasn't completly sealed up when driving. look back in the next couple days, i should have some up.

Sun Dec 06, 2009 2:22 pm

O.K. got off my ass and went and took pics, here they are hope it helps
this is from the front, i put arrows everywhere i had buttons i missed two though.. they are on the bottom closer together by the gas tank

the same from the side. the top circle shows where i punched a hole for my locking hood pin.

this is a close up of the hood pin

the other side

on both sides i had to cut and fold over the rubber mat to get a good seal. worked great

did the same where some wires and speedo cable ran up to the dash, again seemed to work great

this is with it unbuttoned and pulled back

this is a close up of hood pin and one of button, notice i kept it up high so i could still utilize the gutter from the stock car in case any water got through the top.

and this is the center, the same idea, keep the buttons as high as i can.

well kinda went crazy on the pics, but i like to see as much as i can when i'm trying to get ideas, so i hope this helps you. good luck

Wed Dec 09, 2009 2:38 pm

well did another test fit on the lift. getting real close, just need to throw a couple more bolts in and see how she looks. started working on the body, found a surprise. The rear passenger quarter panel had about 1/2 inch bondo on it. chiped it all off and found some nice lookin rust holes. more metal work. yippee.

Wed Dec 09, 2009 4:28 pm

Ahhh man, sorry to hear about the 1/2 of bondo. I hate when you stumble across it like that.

But thanks for the pictures of the dash cover. I think i'll do like you and use rubber, and also stay above the drain channel. I think the rubber will also create a seal for the hood-cowel, two birds, one stone.

Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:28 pm

did me wonders.plus it's flexible and easy to put buttons on.

Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:00 pm

got my lift done finally, well need to paint it, but no more metal work. sweet. going to start sanding/grinding rust away on the body tomorrow. hopefully I'll be able to bolt up at the end of next week. have a lot of crap to do though, might not be til after xmas.

Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:27 pm

Ill be keeping an eye on this build! I love it and plan to build my own body lift as well, on my baja here soon, for lift and a base to build a roll cage off of.....what size is the tubing you used, so I can order some up myself?

Fri Dec 11, 2009 11:47 am

i used 1-1/2"x3" .095 or close tubing. the hardest part is the piec that goes over the front tunnel because you pretty much have to make that out of flat metal since it's supposed to measure 3" vertically not at an angle. (talked about it earlier in my thread). I would actually recommend buying the front piece that welds to the pan and cut it and ad metal to that, you'll have the right shape then.
this piece here.
http://www.mamotorworks.com/acvw-1-0-9789.html
I had an old body lift that i was able to trace out a template from that and still had issues getting it just right. I think it's worth it though. good luck

Fri Dec 11, 2009 11:49 am

if you go to that link and then scroll down to H and click on 303-324, that's the piece i'm talking about.

Fri Dec 11, 2009 8:01 pm

Well cool, thanks for the info! I see you live in eugene? I live about 45min north in lebanon, just east of albany...havent worked on my car due to this fricken crazy weather!

Sat Dec 12, 2009 1:17 am

no kidding, even with my propane heater in my shop is still freakin cold. makes it really hard to want to go out there.

Sat Dec 12, 2009 3:59 pm

Yeah all I have is a propane heater, and your only warm if you stand in front of it! Definetely doesnt heat the shop well haha! Well shoot when our cars are both up and running lets meet up and go terrorize everyone in the cars haha I dont know anyone that has a baja, all my buddies are jeep, toyota, fullsize chevy dudes although I know I can keep up!

Sat Dec 12, 2009 4:32 pm

how long before yours is up? I honestly don't see me comfortable with mine until at least Feb. and that's at best. It would be fun to meet up though.

Mon Dec 14, 2009 12:20 am

Well if I got a new flywheel and put my motor and some form of heat in my car I could drive it in a day or so....but before I drive it again id really like to get rid of my stock x1 trailing arms and get 2x3s with no camber issues, find a way to rebuild my oo2 5 rib bus tranny and put it in, make body lift and rollcage, and maybe get some softer shocks cuz the car rides incredibly stiff. Hope to have her ready to go by march for a huge dune trip! BOYS RUN 2010, me and a huge group (150-200 or so) takeover coos bay for a week, fun as hell!

Mon Dec 14, 2009 3:02 am

holy cow that's a lot of people. any other vw's or is it jeeps and stuff? is it over spring break?

Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:23 pm

well, got back to working on the body today, sanded down what i could on the inside of the car. it's going to have to do. i'll probably start painting the inside tommorrow and the next day. then I should be able to bolt it together. I hate freakin body work. This is going to be one multi colored baja. You definately won't miss me coming down the road.