TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sun Mar 11, 2012 10:19 am

I had a post in the other forums but I figured I would start a proper post here. First I am Joe, I have been a mechanic for 18 years. Recently my wife decided she wanted a new start. We lived in Maryland and work for her dried up. So we decided to move to sunny Florida. She makes great money and wants me at home to take care of the kids. For a guy who has worked for the last 20 years it is hard to do nothing. I needed a project. I have built and owned many cars in the last 5-6 years.But never kept a car long after it was finished. But now I was looking for a car to keep. I have always loved VW's. I own two water cooled daily drivers now. So I decided on a pre-67 beetle. Here are a few of my past cars:

79 Corvette I built:

Wrecked at the drag strip had to rebuild:

81 Z28 I ruined by making it un-drivable:

My 1985 Euro 911 I bought for $3000, second pic with my son:

1987 Jeep Wrangler went from crap to pretty nice:

Daily drivers now:

Now on to the project. I already knew the years I wanted and how I wanted it to look. The issue was finding the car. Either they were way more than I wanted to spend or they too cut up. So I setteled on a 64 that had a good foundation but was missing some stuff.

Here are the pics the guy sent me:

The car had been buried in the garage for 6 years. The body had been at a vw restoration shop in Georiga that went out of business. They replaced tons of metal and did a good job. But I would be left to the finish work. The pan is from a 1967. It has been sand blasted, the beam narrowed by 4", and powdercoated. The tansmission is built to handle a turbo motor. I don't know too much about it. It has an Airkewld air ride kit installed also. THe stock wheels are powdercoated. The previous owner put temp spare tires on. I don't know why.

The trip home:

Pulled the body:

I had 3 front fenders and no rear fenders. Two of the fronts are new. I have a new front apron. The body shop had removed the old one. I mocked up the front to make sure everything lined up.

I went ahead a picked out my paint and primer. After $400 lighter here are my colors. I am going 2 tone. I wanted a cream side panel and interior. The main color I wanted a darker red color.

Chrysler Cool Vanilla:

GM Jewel Merlot Metallic:

My son driving the car:

I had to replace both lower a-pillars. THe body shop had replaced the heater channels.

I installed new hinges in the doors and installed them to make sure I had the a-pillars right

The dash had a rotten spot that I cut out and replaced:

Suckered my kids into sanding the a-pillars and under the dash:

Now for my most hated part the finish sanding. I am not the best at getting bondo smooth but I try. The previous body shop started but I had to finish:

Roof dents

And of course one of the new fenders has a dent that I pounded out and smoothed:

Starting on the the hood. It has lots of dents and dings. The front is fairly solid. They brazed all the pin holes. I figured I would go with it.

My tool box that has sat idle till I picked up this car:

We are now current. I am planning on picking up a decklid at the Lakeland, FL VW show and swap meet. I am hoping for primer and paint in the next 2 weeks. I just have to built my temporary booth.

Sun Mar 11, 2012 10:45 am

Cool project.

Sun Mar 11, 2012 11:27 am

Looks real good man. You are making progress real quick. Can't wait to see this one in paint.

Good Luck with it!

Moto

Wed Mar 14, 2012 10:39 am

Here is an update. I have come to the conclusion that there is no straight panel on the car. I have some low and high on the roof. Unless I skimmed the whole car with filler it will never be 100% straight. But it is an old car. The body is finished, except for going over with some sand paper. I have started on the hood and doors. I have my doubts if they are worth fixing but elbow grease is free.

I started on the hood but it is a mess:

The passenger door has lots of issues. I heated and shrunk and few spots. It is low by the front edge:

I also started restoring the headlights, I am waiting on new gaskets and rubber parts:

The body is almost there:

Can't wait till the lakeland show and swap meet so I can dig up some parts. I also plan on taking lots of pics so I know how to reassemble the car. If all goes right it will be in primer then paint next week.

Wed Mar 14, 2012 3:32 pm

Looking forward to seeing it in paint. that colour combo is gonna look sweet!!

Fri Mar 16, 2012 4:54 pm

Well today I stripped the rear fenders. They are aftermarket fenders I bought used. I also mocked up the vehicle again. I ran into big problems. Either my rear apron is out of shape or the aftermarket fenders are not right. The body shop that started the work on my car worked on the rear apron. So I am not sure but I have to figure it out.

I spent a couple of hours on the rear vents:

Here are some shots of the fenders and apron:

Fri Mar 16, 2012 7:18 pm

that looks to be a problem with the fenders not the apron. i believe the apron should have some curve to it.

Fri Mar 16, 2012 8:53 pm

Nice find! Would LOVE to have a bug with an Airkewld set-up.....

Sun Mar 18, 2012 4:23 pm

Well guys here is my weekend update. I figured out that it is the rear apron that is screwed on my car. I guess when the previous body shop worked it they didn't have fenders to check the radius. I went the the Lakeland Show and Swap meet. I found a few small items and a 65-66 decklid. My 64 will have to live with a 65-66 decklid and latch.

I pulled the rear apron. My kids drew all over it:

My neighbor came by a told me I should go ahead and prime the car so we knocked it out:

The show was cool. Took some pics of a couple of cars I liked. They also have a vendor with a Harley V-Twin conversion for a vw. It had an adapter the use a stock clutch and bolt to the stock trans. I didn't get any pics though.

A nice Oval I saw, love the color:

VW powered motorcycle, It used an IRS transmission with a sprocket:

A nice custom, I like the chain hood trim and VW badge:

Another neat car, clear coat over bare metal:

Fri Mar 23, 2012 4:06 pm

Well another update. The rear apron is on the slow boat the america. I have called everyone and it is the same answer. So I have to wait 3-4 weeks for it. So I am stuck. I have been going over the body hitting all the low spots. I am now to the point of wet sanding and paint. So as soon as I get the apron I will be off to the races. Here are a few pics:

I spent time cleaning out the garage and hanging up some VW parts:

I also think I found a 2110 stroker long block in need of a going over. So as soon as the paint is done it will be motor time.

Thu Mar 29, 2012 10:32 am

Here is an update. I am still waiting on my rear arpon and the pieces to rebuild my headlights. I picked up a 2110 stroker motor in need of repair for $50. I couldn't pass it up. I has a bad rod bearing and the case may or may not be good. Here are some pics:

I went to Daytona Beach to pick up the motor, it fit nicely in my Cabrio:

Pile of parts, I have to go through everything. The cylinders and pistons are Mahle and look to be in good shape. The motor had low miles:

Lots of end play:

The case looks good except for the rear main area. It is hammered and worn. Off to the machine shop to be checked out:

The thrust area is also worn. The bearing would move in and out:

The good news is that if my case is junk the machine shop had a few AS21 virgin cases. I told them to set one up for me if my case is crap. So now back to waiting on parts.

Thu Apr 19, 2012 7:30 am

I have a few updates. I will have my rear apron this weekend. I finished the rebuild on my headlights and speedo. I also have my rolling pan in the garage to work on it.

My rebuilt speedo. The needle broke so I had to make a new one.

I finally recieved all my rubber pieces for the headlights. I broke one of my OEM lenses so I had to hit Samba classifieds.

I recieved a few parts also. HPMX 44's

The 4" shortened beam has Airkewld kit to make it independant. The new ball joints were installed wrong by the previous owner.

The previous owner used a 110v stick welder to mount the rear air bag mounts. I was able to rip them off by hand. It sucks that my 220v miller only has flux core. It makes a big mess welding.

My son wire brushing all the rust off the new tie-rod ends.

I am still not sure what has been done to the transmission. I do know it has a locked diff. The previous owner had it built for a turbo motor. I guess I will see when I get it down the highway.

I should have all the engine parts and case in 2 weeks. I will also have the car in paint. So it should go quick in the next month or so.

Sun Apr 22, 2012 2:04 pm

I ordered all my engine parts. I am going with a scat 2110. I orderedallthe parts from them and they are balancing it. I also installed the new rear apron. It is a brazilian piece of crap. It took tons of work to get it close to right. Ialsohad to rework my rear fenders. They are aftermarket and don't have the right curve to them. I started wetsanding and will have it painted in the next week. I have to build a paint booth.

It is welded here and I am working on the fenders

Sun Apr 22, 2012 8:05 pm

Nice work! I'm in the process of the same with my '60. jealous of the Airkewld kit!

Mon Apr 23, 2012 11:14 am

I dig the apron with the kids artwork on it. Looks like you've got it hung up, I'd keep that as a trophy!

Mon Apr 23, 2012 12:07 pm

Once I figured I was going to replace the apron I let the kids have fun. Now it is part of my garage wall art. Along with the rear deck lid I paid too much for that is too rough for me to fix.

Mon Apr 23, 2012 12:57 pm

Great build! Will be keeping an eye on this one. Nice paint combination, sure it will look sweet

Mon Apr 23, 2012 6:31 pm

Were is the engine lid catch on the new valance?

good work by the way.

Mon Apr 23, 2012 7:08 pm

I have it. Since I now have 65 decklid I have the bolt on catch for the 65-66.

Sat Apr 28, 2012 8:30 pm

Well I have paint. My neighbor Todd and I started this morning. Well turned my garage into a paint booth. I used a large fan and a couple of AC filters. It turned out great. No bugs or runs but a few specs of dirt.

Masking off:

Todd pretending to drive after we shot the cream lower base:

Both colors shot in base:

Now in clear. I will get better pics in the sun later. I used House of Color pearl violet in the first run of clear. It really pops under the shop lights:

Pearl and Flake:

Todd with a much deserved beer, after running into issues it took about 11 hours from start to finish. That included having to go and buy another $120 in the red base: