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Schwing
Samba Member
Joined: May 10, 2009
Posts: 2506
Location: Centreville, MD
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 Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 6:46 am Post subject: |
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This work really has me jacked up and brought out my inner rocker.
Tip your waitress  
First I installed my jackpoints, and then I installed my inner rocker. I'm feeling really good with how its coming together. There's been a lot of nights where I haven't been motivated to get out there so its good to see some progress.
At the factory they only weld the jackpoints in a few spots, so I welded the whole seam just to make it stronger, and uglier but hey what can you do.
Marked my holes in the rocker, took this shot before I welded it up
These are not the same holes, but you get the idea
Glideking and Ken I hope you approve. I decided to spot weld the tophat and inner rocker "flap" together. I'll grind flat and edge weld the dogleg closeout per your instructions, but this seemed to add some strength. Artistic License 
And a nice load of funky green showed up on Friday. Gerson if you are reading this you have been absolutely great to deal with. Thank you!
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kenshapiro2002
Samba Member
Joined: April 26, 2013
Posts: 1826
Location: Bawlmer Hon
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| Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 7:36 am Post subject: |
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Looking good. I did my jack points after the inner, and simply edge welded the supports to the inner from the backside. Either way, we're outdoing what the factory did...overkill but feels good. It's amazing how much this has already solidified...stiffened up...the whole driveability of "The Turd". If you check out my updates on the "Cargo Rocker Replacement" thread you'll see that I'm ready to install the outer, but the strengthener won't fit in if it's pre fitted. You're lucky...no such piece on your SC. Going out there now to hack off some of the brand new funky green to make it fit! 
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Looking for a correct 1967 rear seat
Looking for '67 Engine / Block HO 183xxx - HO 194xxx |
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glideking
Samba Member
Joined: February 02, 2013
Posts: 990
Location: California
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Schwing
Samba Member
Joined: May 10, 2009
Posts: 2506
Location: Centreville, MD
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| Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 9:01 am Post subject: |
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Not a lot has happened on the truck in the last week or so. Funeral, birthday projects for my 4 year old daughter, house projects, company parties, just about everything BUT welding on the truck my son calls "Rusty Dusty".
So I had a little time over the weekend and I decided I should mock up the short side rocker, outer rocker, and B-pillar together to see how they all line up. To my surprise, not too shabby. I found some mistakes in how the inner b-pillar was made so I will be fixing those issues.
The best part, I went into my attic to bring down some vintage toys I've been collecting (to show my son), and in one of the boxes I find a mint condition rear VOLKSWAGEN script that I pulled off a bus over 30 years ago when I was 13. Fits perfect! I had completely forgotten all about this part that I had on a shelf in my first apartment. The front emblem for this Truck is also off a bus, perhaps the same bus back in the late 80s.
Cut away the short side rocker and find that there are two layers of steel. Yup someone riveted a panel right over the existing rusty panel.
Funky green mocked up
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Shadetree Westy
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=657279&highlight=
Single Cab - BBXXVII Long Distance Winner
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kenshapiro2002
Samba Member
Joined: April 26, 2013
Posts: 1826
Location: Bawlmer Hon
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| Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 9:49 am Post subject: |
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Looking good. Funny... I had the original crappy metal under my outer and short rocker. Riveted, Bondo'd and with my shirt rocker brazed in. Sitting here finishing up the long seam between my old floor and the new outer foot I installed.
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Looking for a correct 1967 rear seat
Looking for '67 Engine / Block HO 183xxx - HO 194xxx |
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dfusion001
Samba Member
Joined: January 13, 2011
Posts: 233
Location: Orlando
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| Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 8:50 am Post subject: |
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| Hey Man, AMAZING work on the SC! Funny your work seems very similar to mine! Great gabbing work and rue moving along nicely. You def have A LOT MORE replacing to do than me, and it sure is nice to install that Gerson Metal Isn't it??? its good stuff dude. Anyhow Ill keep watching this thread and keep it up dude, lets represent the east coast lol! |
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Schwing
Samba Member
Joined: May 10, 2009
Posts: 2506
Location: Centreville, MD
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| Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 9:31 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the BEAST coast motivation Ken and Dfusion. Both of your builds keep me going and thanks again for sharing.
Decided not to add any metal to the b-pillar after comparing to another OG bus and measuring against my stock rocker. I think my Gerson rocker is just long, because my new Short side rocker and b-pillar tabs line up great. Trim up the outer rocker and I am in business.
B pillar and dogleg closeout done. Hope to tackle the wheel well tonight. I cut steel off of a donor door so its the right gauge.
And yes thats a glimpse of the single port 1500cc runner I picked up in Boston from Stanagon. Feel the power. 
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http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=657279&highlight=
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kafer60
Samba Member
Joined: January 17, 2005
Posts: 363
Location: Fredericksburg, Va
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| Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 1:11 pm Post subject: Beast coast single cabs |
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Its looking good, if we keep welding up the scabs one day we are all going have nice trucks!!!!
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Can't polish a turd!
"Midman- Seems to have worked well for Ted Bundy."
"seems like the right front tire is flat at the bottom, rest looks pretty good"
"The hardest part about business, is minding your own" |
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Schwing
Samba Member
Joined: May 10, 2009
Posts: 2506
Location: Centreville, MD
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| Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 4:25 pm Post subject: Re: Beast coast single cabs |
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| kafer60 wrote: |
| Its looking good, if we keep welding up the scabs one day we are all going have nice trucks!!!! |
How does a mouse eat an elephant? One bite at a time. 
So I had this old splittie door that came with the truck and had a damaged lower hinge. I couldn't GIVE this thing away at swap, so it became donor metal for the truck.
Spent about 3 hours cutting and trimming metal after using cardboard templates. In some ways this area is like a puzzle.
Here is the section of the vertical post that I had to cut away to replace the tophat. I copied the tab that overlaps from a rusted section I kept. I just hammered this in the vice until it matched the profile I made out of cardboard.
In hindsight I should have bought a full b-pillar, but I didn't realize how rusty it really was until I started digging into it. I'm glad I didn't because now I really understand how it all goes together. So I had to build the pillar in phases. On the left corner I added a strip of steel and drilled holes for the spotwelds.
Then I welded in the corner that overlaps and lays on the first flange of the wheel well wall right behind the strip I just welded.
Last was to install the large piece which was spot welded to the tophat, cab divider, and vertical post, as well as a butt weld on the seam.
And last was the b-pillar dogleg close-out. I flanged the metal so it could tuck behind the b-pillar and spot weld just like factory, only much messier 
Feels great to have metal where it used to thin air!!
Next stop passenger b-pillar.
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http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=657279&highlight=
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dfusion001
Samba Member
Joined: January 13, 2011
Posts: 233
Location: Orlando
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| Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 2:01 pm Post subject: |
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Nicely done! Loving this build, u tackling them difficult areas! Keep it up, its inspirational
-D |
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Schwing
Samba Member
Joined: May 10, 2009
Posts: 2506
Location: Centreville, MD
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| Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2014 5:29 am Post subject: |
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| dfusion001 wrote: |
Nicely done! Loving this build, u tackling them difficult areas! Keep it up, its inspirational
-D |
Thanks D!
Got some more done in the last 2 weeks, and I also took this week off from work. So I managed to finish grinding the driver b-pillar and rust treating, welded up the passenger b-pillar, wheel well, and the vertical wall and supports for the treasure chest.
Started by welding the passenger b-pillar, which had a twist to it from an accident. So after lining it up it still wasn't square. I had to cut welds and break out the BFH to undo the accident. Its nice and square now.
You'll see a rust haze on some areas and thats this etching spray which I tried and do not like.
Next was to make templates to close out the passenger wheel well, the vertical on the treasure chest, and the upright support bottom that mates with the tophat.
Traced onto my donor door. It was thrashed and came with the truck so it felt right to cut it up. Like I was saying before, I couldn't give this door away.
My wife likes when I put car parts on the kitchen table. No no, she really doesn't.
I had to copy Gerson's dogleg close-out and make a taller one. I just used a cheapy harbor freight flange tool.
This is the vertical support in the treasure chest:
Treasure chest + wheel well all welded up. Rust reformer sprayed on, its a lot like Ospho.
Back to finishing the passenger b-pillar:
I had to make two more small sections to finishing building out the pillar. I really should have just bought a tall pillar. These two pieces to fabricate and weld took about 3 hours 
Ground down, ready for close-out
Close-out cleco'd in place
And welded
Both wheel wells and treasure chest wall now done! Now I can do the doglegs which I thought I could do back in May! The ole domino effect...can't do the doglegs until you fix those b-pillars, and you can't fix those b-pillars until you do the outriggers, jackpoints, tophats. 
Both wheel wells I ground down the plug welds and applied more Eastwood Rust Reformer. It turns the metal black. Its not perfect, but no filler.
And the drivers side too.
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http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=657279&highlight=
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Schwing
Samba Member
Joined: May 10, 2009
Posts: 2506
Location: Centreville, MD
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| Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2014 6:20 pm Post subject: |
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Today my dad and I fought the dogleg. Dad thanks for all of your help today.
This is a Wolfsburg West dogleg and I have to say it takes a lot of fiddling to get it right. We used a come-a-long, a ratchet strap, a jack, blocks of wood, and I also had to redo all of the flanges and the overall shape near the bumper mount. But at the end of the day I guess you always have to adjust some metal, just some more than most .
Anyway driver is done and over the next day I hope I can start on the passenger.
Oh and that blue door is now velvet green. My buddy painted his bus at my house recently and I thought as an experiment I would brush on two stage paint, and it ran like crazy haha. But hey at least its not blue anymore.
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http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=657279&highlight=
Single Cab - BBXXVII Long Distance Winner
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glideking
Samba Member
Joined: February 02, 2013
Posts: 990
Location: California
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Schwing
Samba Member
Joined: May 10, 2009
Posts: 2506
Location: Centreville, MD
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south_island_surf
Samba Member
Joined: September 23, 2004
Posts: 149
Location: Victoria, BC, Canada
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| Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 9:10 pm Post subject: |
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Kickass build! Great work on the homebrew panels. Pretty satisfying to fab this stuff from scratch, isn't it? Cool that you used some German donor sheet metal as well.
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My '65 single cab project:
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Schwing
Samba Member
Joined: May 10, 2009
Posts: 2506
Location: Centreville, MD
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kenshapiro2002
Samba Member
Joined: April 26, 2013
Posts: 1826
Location: Bawlmer Hon
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| Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 7:59 am Post subject: |
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| Schwing wrote: |
| south_island_surf wrote: |
| Kickass build! Great work on the homebrew panels. Pretty satisfying to fab this stuff from scratch, isn't it? Cool that you used some German donor sheet metal as well. |
Thanks man! I just checked out your build and wow you are the fab king. Appreciate you checking it out. Seems like there are a lot of single cab builds right now. |
Because of their work roles, and greater (bed) exposure to the elements, that these guys are even rustier than the closed versions...like a pickup truck vs. a sedan or wagon.
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Looking for a correct 1967 rear seat
Looking for '67 Engine / Block HO 183xxx - HO 194xxx |
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Schwing
Samba Member
Joined: May 10, 2009
Posts: 2506
Location: Centreville, MD
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| Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 11:46 am Post subject: |
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| kenshapiro2002 wrote: |
| Schwing wrote: |
| south_island_surf wrote: |
| Kickass build! Great work on the homebrew panels. Pretty satisfying to fab this stuff from scratch, isn't it? Cool that you used some German donor sheet metal as well. |
Thanks man! I just checked out your build and wow you are the fab king. Appreciate you checking it out. Seems like there are a lot of single cab builds right now. |
Because of their work roles, and greater (bed) exposure to the elements, that these guys are even rustier than the closed versions...like a pickup truck vs. a sedan or wagon. |
I agree completely. And once that bed leaks water into the floor/treasure chest, well the rest is just chemistry. Iron oxide right?
Anyway got another 2 hours in last night prepping the passenger dogleg, and spent about 4 hour installing it today. Tools were everywhere but we got it to a spot where I was happy. If anyone has to fight a WW dogleg I found its easier to tack in the top corner at the b-pillar and then continue to move along the profile with lots of clamps and wood blocks.
This first pic is my dad playing around with my door gap on the drivers side, which still isn't as good as I would like. For some reason there is still movement at the A-pillar, just need to find it and weld it solid.
And the passenger dogleg done. Had to use a square and keep dollying to get rid of that infamous kick-out at the bottom of the dogleg along the b-pillar seam. Its not perfect but its pretty decent.
In this last picture you can see a flaw in how I repaired the door bottom, There's an extra gap where the dogleg begins to curve downward. Rookie mistake, I simply ground away too much metal, so that will need some attention.
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Single Cab - BBXXVII Long Distance Winner
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jeremy57ride
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Joined: May 23, 2005
Posts: 1318
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| Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 12:34 pm Post subject: |
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Jon,
Keep on keepin' on... I'm enjoying watching your progress!
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kenshapiro2002
Samba Member
Joined: April 26, 2013
Posts: 1826
Location: Bawlmer Hon
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| Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 1:47 pm Post subject: |
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Better than I did. My front floor was my first welding project ever, and wasn't as critical as doglegs. My next job was doing just the lower doglegs. I shoulda waited until I knew more. The gaps at the bottoms, where the leg attaches to the "A" pillar isn't anywhere near as nice as yours are. I didn't spend as much time, and wasn't as critical as I should have been. I could re-do, but it's solid, she's a driver and thankfully, once the bumper went back on most of it got pretty much hidden...at least not as glaring. it will serve as a reminder about my rookie status.
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Looking for '67 Engine / Block HO 183xxx - HO 194xxx |
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