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Sun Mar 14, 2010 6:32 pm

So, I bought a '65 vw baja north of the middle of nowhere, GA, for $1500. It has a lot of rust, and I am fairly certain that I got ripped off. Anyways, since I've been lurking here and asking a few silly questions here and there, I figured I might as well put it all in one thread.

Heres the story so far: Bought it about 6 months ago, and after the 3rd day of ownership, and my first time driving the car, I snapped the drivers side axle shaft in two, and put a crack in the transmission casing inside the bellhousing (too much gas and let off the clutch too fast- I was still learning how to drive a manual). Fast forward about a month of it sitting, with me going all over the internet to get manuals and figure out what the heck I did, I take the engine out, put it in the garage, and jack up the rear of the car, and lo and behold, the whole darn axle comes sliding out of the tube!

I decide its time to replace the entire transmission and axles, so I buy 2 (one for a spare), and one was still attached to the original pan ('67- BJ front (for sale) and swing axle rear). Got the transmission out of the pan, and starting to disassemble parts of it to replace a few seals and bushings (still cant get the darn clutch release arm thing off :evil: ).

While the bug is sitting in the driveway, broken, I take the time to really look over what I bought, and I got a lot of body rust, and a lot of redneck engineering. So, I bought all new brake components (anyone know where I can get '67 rear drums turned in zipcode 30519?), and after months of saving up money, I finally ordered almost the last of the parts while on holiday in Florida.

Then, Disaster! Again! While vacationing in Florida over my spring break (visiting my dad), the car rolls off the end of the driveway and into a tree! Its really quite irritating, especially since I had all the wheels chocked securely, and the car in reverse with the e-brake on. I come home to find no sign of the wheel chocks, and the e-brake down, and the car in neutral. I suspect some stupid kids in my neighborhood thought it would be cool to mess up my project.

Anyways, I need a new hood, front apron, and front passenger fender, and rear drivers side fender, for a wide-eye baja kit. Anybody know some deals over in the southeast to help out a broke college kid with a broken-down baja?

Happier times, the day I got it

Sun Mar 14, 2010 6:36 pm

Talk about bad luck. Nothing there two trees, a come along, chain fberglass and bondo can't fix.

Sun Mar 14, 2010 6:46 pm

I'll be pulling it out tomorrow with the jeep's winch. What is chain fiberglass? I am pretty darn ignorant when it comes to bodywork, and only mildly unknowledgeable when it comes to mechanical work lol. I'm still waiting on a lot of parts to arrive, as well as nicer weather to really start tearing into the project.

How do I go about repairing the fiberglass? Its really torn up in the apron, and the hood is cracked all the way across it. The fenders look like they would be pretty easy with a standard boat fiberglass repair/patch kit, but the front apron is all smashed in and cracked and ripped and all in all just messed up. Would it be easier to just go and get a new apron? I think its called an apron, right?

Sun Mar 14, 2010 6:53 pm

go to work for a couple days... order a new bug eye kit.... finished

Sun Mar 14, 2010 7:40 pm

Well, I'm lucky if I get more than 10 hours/week at work, and thats at minimum wage, so I don't exactly have the means to go out and purchase a whole new kit, although I do appreciate the suggestions. Its taken me about 6 months to get a new transmission, brake hardware, and seals and bearings.

Sun Mar 14, 2010 8:39 pm

:oops: It was supposed to be chain/fiber glass cloth and resin. When I had more time than money I fixed lots of panesl by securing one end of a car to an oak tree and using a chain and come along to pull out a pushed in panel. Unless you can find cheap parts fixing them works when you have more time than money.

Sun Mar 14, 2010 9:30 pm

Well then, looks like I'll be picking up a book on fiberglassing techniques and some fiberglass kits. Recommend any decent literature on the subject and/or fiberglass/resin/stuff kits/brands? Thanks

Sun Mar 14, 2010 9:51 pm

The Samba's Body and paint Forum. HP books. Body and Paint forums

Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:06 pm

Thanks, I was reading in thesamba's bodywork forums, and I found an old hot-rod magazine booklet on bodywork, but I cant seem to find anything on fiberglass. To the bookstore! lol. I've got buckets of time, and few hours at work, so Ill probably be more inclined to just repair the panels than to buy new, since I'm significantly short on cash.

Mon Mar 15, 2010 8:37 am

one thing i noticed, looks like your front bumper must of not been attached very well. looked like the whole thing folded up. you might consider making some better mounts for that, it might of saved your front end.

Mon Mar 15, 2010 8:56 am

I,ve got every thing you need. Complete 7 pc. kit and a front bumper for $100 PM me or give me a call, @678-602-0710 Bruce

Mon Mar 15, 2010 10:10 am

^^ $100 for a full kit is a freakin steal man.

what kind of engine do you have man??
when i read you broke your axle shaft in two :shock: :shock: i almost chocked on my pot pie.

man i bet you were killing mad when you found your car. how fast do you think it got rolling?? cuz that bumper should just have a good sized dent in it and the front end should be spotless.

the car really doesnt look that bad.
keep up the good work :)

Mon Mar 15, 2010 10:32 am

Don't get discouraged man... That looks like an easy fix. Just take your time.

And sniff around for some "anti-theft" ideas to keep the vandalizing A-holes away.

Locking wheel chocks, Kill Switches, etc.. even a chain/cable through a wheel with a padlock...

Mon Mar 15, 2010 10:45 am

Baja72, once again you step in with the exact part I need at an amazing price! Gotta wait for the next paycheck, but I'll be giving you a call about that for sure!

As for the bumper, it wasnt on there very well, just like everything else on the car. And the engine is a 1600cc dual-port. My last vehicle ('93 grand cherokee w/ 5" of lift, 33" tires), I managed to go through about 4 front axleshafts, a radiator, 2 tires, 2 front rotors and a rear differential. All within about 6 months, with extremely mild off-roading, like 'ooh theres a dirt road!', then POW! You'd think I would learn my lesson, but no. lol

Mon Mar 15, 2010 10:57 am

Fiberglass is pretty easy but very messy. Go buy some fiberglass resin, hardener and some fiberglass cloth. You might be able to find some cheap at a place that does boats. That is where I get mine, they sell the scraps cheap. When you mix it use about a cup of resin then drip in some hardener. It doesn't take much of the hardener, maybe 5-7 drips. You will know it's mixed right because it turns a dark greenish color when you stir it up. Up at the shop we use old butter tubs or tupperware. Just remember it's very sloppy, slippery when wet, and looks pretty ugly till you get it sanded down. Oh and I can't forget to mention sharp. Don't forget to wear a mask when sanding it or the dust gets in your lungs and it doesn't feel very good. Hope this helps.

Mon Mar 15, 2010 11:12 am

Thanks vdub411, I was planning on using my old military surplus gas mask to filter out all the crap. I ll probably be going with the $100 kit from baja72, since he has helped me out in the past, and $100 for everything is a darn good deal! Ill probably go ahead and repair the old stuff and sand it all down and just rattle-can it red and keep it as spares, in case of any more body damage.

As for ani-theft, I'm looking into it, maybe purchasing or fabricating up a tire boot to deter would-be trouble makers

Mon Mar 15, 2010 8:11 pm

If you do decide to re-glass your old parts, here is a helpful tip. It looks like some of the components may not want to hold their shape, cut up some cardboard forms and bulkheads, position your parts and cardboard, and then masking tape the cardboard and fiberglass together. You can actually fibereglass cardboard into place as well. Boat and rv utility tunnels for wiring plumbing etc are made from cardboard tubes glassed into place. Hope this helps.

Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:01 pm

Man i would put my foot WAY up some ones ass hole if they pulled some shit like that to my bug. Like WAY WAY up there. Like kicken them in the head it would be so deep. Like usin the top of their head as my boot soul, deep. Dam lil basterds.

My $0.02 is, get that baja kit your being offered for $100 (which is a steal) , or wait around for a one piece hood to pop up for cheap. I know you dont have much money, but those one piece hoods are really nice. I love mine. Only problem with them is that you are stuck with: needing a new fuel tank or re-supporting the original supports, making head light brackets, sealing up the dash or you have a "constantly on" A/C, using the pueny bumper that has the flip up hinge on it or create your own bumper, ect. ect. the list goes on.

Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:49 pm

Hows it goin man. i live about an hour away from you, and i got two baja's, and a rail i'm currently working on. maybe one day we can do a little off roading. do you happen to be with any local groups? there are like 5 right around you, lol. are you familiar with georgia-dubs? here's the link:
http://forum.georgiadubs.com/forum.htm

its basically like thesamba, but for GA only. lots of groups, and meets around you. there's even a for sale, and wanted section, for you to buy and sell stuff. most of the clubs are really easy to join. show up to a meet, and your a member, lol. no fees, or any of that nonsense. just a really nice group of guys, who may even come over and give ya a hand with it.

in april there is going to be a huge caravan up to chattanooga tennese for bug-a-pulluza. basically a huge VW show, with a big swap meet. i bought all kinds of stuff for my baja bug when i was there. i got an entire baja kit (fenders, hood, rear cowl, front wide eye piece, etc.) for $20 (if the guy said $200 i still would have bought it, as even $200 was a crazy good deal, lol), two engine sumps for $40, many misc engine parts, an oil cooler for $10, set of pop-out rear windows for $35, etc. i think i spent around $300, and filled my car as much as it would go. filled the trunk, backseat, and even some in the passenger seat, lol.

hope to see you at some get togethers soon. :D

Mon Mar 15, 2010 10:03 pm

oh, and fiberglassing is really easy. if a dumbass like me can do it, anyone can, lol :lol: . scuff up the area your goning to repair, mix the resin and hardener, brush a little on the surface, lay some of the matting down, brush a little resin over the matting, and thats about it. you don't want to use too much resin, just enough to get all the matting wet, and stuck to the surface, bacause if you use too much resin, it will crack really easy. also fiberglass is available in either cloth or matt. cloth looks like a woven piece of fabric. and matt looks like a bunch of shredded fibers just put together. like the pics below:

MATT:

Cloth:

for repairs its much easier to use matt, as it gets into the cracks and tight places much better. also, if you have any awkward angles, like corners or something, you can easily tear the matt into wads, and stick it there. cloth is more rigid, and will basically lie over the surface, and not really get into the cracks as easy. also is hard to get into any angles, or compound angles. personally, i rarely if ever use cloth.

from the pics the fenders still seem useable. the hood seems like its just cracked in half, which is no big deal. and if you really want to fix it, i've taken aluminum rods, or flat bar, and bent them to the desired shape, and fiberglassed them in. since it won't rust, it will be perfect for this.

and the best part is, all of the fiberglass stuff can be found at your local homedepot, in the paint section.

good luck
-Mike