What did you do yesterday on your buggy?

[EVfun]

Uh... My 1963 factory front beam is not welded all the way around the uprights to the torsion tubes. I just ran out to my garage to take a look. I don't see how that is a quality problem if VW didn't do it.
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[YDBD]

yep OEM beams were not welded all the way around:

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'56 pan Dune Buggy since '69
don't live in the past...but when I did:
'67 bug
'64 baja
'60 dune buggy
'73 Personenkraftwagen Type 182 "Thing"

[Skulptorchaz]

There is very good reason for not welding a solid bead on something - less continual stress along that line makes it less apt to break along the weld.

[slayer61]

Stripped the seats and roll cage out of the buggy and dropped the cage off at the powder coaters. Price today is less than quoted a year and a half ago! That doesn't happen very often!

Going blue like the seats & cooling tin
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[Skulptorchaz]

Nice!
Powder coating is the only way to fly. My coater has something he calls "Super Chrome" which isn't "chrome" per se but looks like polished aluminum. I use it a lot!

[slayer61]

Thanks Chaz!

My wife is after a similar scheme as the blue/silver paint scheme that Yamaha has used with some black in it as well

Kinda like this...

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[Skulptorchaz]

This is a rail I did for a friend. It is powdered, and I think in a very cool blue you may like.
When it comes to powder, I understand if it is in liquid paint, it is also in powder.
Good luck!!

P.S> I believe it is a bit darker than the pix show.

[Murphy's Law]

I ended up welding the perimiter of the shock towers, and adding the pad to the top.

I changed the front bump stops, put the refurbed steering box (cleaned and painted, hehe) and associated stuff on. rebuilt and modified the dash support, tried to rebuild the pedal assembly and it broke trying to pull the accelerator pin. Attempted to disassemble the Ghia calipers and the pistons will not move. I said F-it and pounded 145 psi into them both and...nothing.

Problem is, it seems like every time I get an inch forward toward a finished area, I need parts I don't have. Ugh. Mostly (right now) my body so I can fit the steering column and dash/support.

I just ordered new calipers, rotors, and a pedal assembly. The shocks I want seem to be made of unobtanium in my local area so I'm shopping for oem's but seem to be only finding Bilsteins at $100+ each. I can get exactly what I want from several places in the UK but shipping is enormous. I guess I'm just used to the $11 shocks I used to sell when I was a ACVW mechanic in the '80's. I'm trying to get over that

Soon I'll be bringing my body back home. I have a limited time in the body shop to get it done but I'm getting close to my first test mount.

BTW, I bought sidepods for it from bugstuff in PA, they look great and they fit like a glove! I'm VERY happy with them.

[ppilotmike]

Side pods look great! I like the recycled motorcycle lift, good idea, wish I’d of kept mine when I sold the bike.

[Murphy's Law]

It's actually not recycled, we have two and both get used for motorcycles. This just happened to be empty at the moment, my brother got the idea and made it work. It's his body shop, and mostly a motorcycle shop. I gave him an old Harley that sat in the corner of my shop, in return for the use of him and his shop. He has actually done almost all of the work on it since he's retired and I'm not. It's better that way.

He worked on and painted Corvettes, and I worked on and painted VW's in different shops over our careers. I'm good with fabrication, and he's excellent with 'glass so I took him up on his offer.

BTW, in the vein of recycled, I made a plate for the trailing arms when I built the pan for this body and used an old engine stand as a rotisserie. I have a heavy steel roller cart I placed at the front and could pick up the nose to roll it over and work the bottom. Easy Peasy.

I just laid some boards on the cart to level it up, and started drillin' and cuttin'. At the end my levels showed me that it worked like a charm, and all the while I was working at a height that didn't make my back scream at the end of the day!

[slayer61]

Minor stuff compared to most... I s'pose.

While I had the cage out for powder coating I took the seats out and put truck bed liner on the interior floor. I was pretty impressed with the "Herculiner" product. Not so much, their rollers

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[Gary E 21]

Continued construction of the new Manx Remastered kit.

[Bikerndiver]

I finally had some free time to spend with Sandy. She got new tail lights! Sequential turn signals! '65 Mustang style.... I like them! Will get pics posted soon.
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1966 Manx clone (possibly a Joe Poty Enterprises) named SANDY. '70 to '73 1300 cc w/1600 DP heads, twin carbs and headers

[oprn]

What did I do to my Buggy yesterday? I DROVE IT!!!

After a very long time (far longer than necessary but that is a whole separate story) I finally got behind the wheel and actually drove the thing... and it makes it all worthwhile!!!
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[slayer61]

Yup. Us too. I took my little sidekick and assistant test driver out to the grocery store for some fixin's for our pulled pork sammiches! Thanks Theodore!

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[oprn]

Sweet! Wish I still had access to the under dash components like that!
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)