Resurrection

[bmwloco]

I decided to start a new subject/thead as I'm over wrecking my Thing (through a fit of stupidity) and now I'm bringing her back.

Two things showed up today. The Thing Shop sent the front apron and one Turn Signal Lens.

More importantly, at least to me, a good eBayer sent me a vintage pair of RayBan Wayfarer II sunglasses to replace the 24 year old pair I lost in my accident.

So, progress is afoot. Thanks to all of you who have been supportive.

[surfarii]

Aloha Beer MWloco, good to see your making progress allready . So your rocking the Wayfarer's huh . It goes along with that Risky Business
Keep up the progress and the posts

[Skorzeny's G Ride]

Hey post some pics of the progress.

And yeah i know what you mean about the sunglasses. I don't throw things out the window while im driving but if i get a scratch on my sunglasses, no matter how expensive they are, I immediately fling them out the window . Can't stand obstuctions while i drive and i buy cheap sunglasses now.

Oh yeah and if the guy whos truck i hit with the last pair is on here sorry about that.
_________________
...70 type 181
...59 Beetle
...62 beetle baja (new)

[bmwloco]

I find Wayfarer II's fit me best. Not the new Italian versions of RayBan, but the old school B&L.

Be it with my hair blowing in the Thing, riding my motorcycles or just trying to to tire my eyes, the Wayfarers have served me very, very well.

Tomorrow I'll be wearing them when we go to Tennessee in my '71 Dodge D100 pickup to pick up my new original VW Thing Hard Top.

Photos to follow...

[bmwloco]

Picked up the OEM VW Hard Top I bought off eBay. We drove to rural eastern Tennessee and back with no drama. Happily the top fit nicely in the back of the bed of my '71 Dodge D100 pickup.

Once home, I put it on the my Thing. Battered as it is, it fit nicely. I picked up some new bolts at Lowes and snugged it down. Still some fine tuning to do, but I think it'll be a good fit when done.

Photos soon.

[bmwloco]

Shots of the new VW OEM hard top I picked up recently:

Here it is head on, spidered windscreen in all it's glory:

And finally, my interior mods. All carpet is easily removed. I just wanted to make it warm and relatively quiet in the cooler months to come.

Note tool roll from BMW motorcycle in door - almost every wrench you need, plus screwdrivers, etc. New front nose piece from the Thing Shop in the cardboard.

Soon, she'll be back on the road again.[/img]

[emersonbiggins]

Are there holes in the carpet so the back seats can latch in the up position?

[bmwloco]

Yup. There are holes in the carpet for taking the seat backs up.

To fit properly, I had to remove the rubber bumpers. I keep everything I remove in bags, marked as to what they are. I learned that after restoring my old Porsche 912. It may seem obvious when you remove something, but it makes it much easier to mark parts as to what/where they go.

[npconnor]

Nice job, things are looking good. Keep it up!
_________________
'73 Thing
Austin Air-coolers Gang

[Skorzeny's G Ride]

I totally agree. I've gotten so bad as to keep a box of sandwich baggies and a marker on my work bench and i mark everything as i go unless im able to put the bolt back on a part so i don't forget.

Nice carpet by the way. The guy had foam on mine and im not sure why. Its pretty cool that the back seats fold down like a small bed , i mean flat area where you can haul stuff. Im thinking of spray lining the floor, back of the rear seats and the rear top but then your carpet looks great.

How well would you rate the noise reduction? Do you have anything under the carpet(i.e. coating, noise reduction mats)?
_________________
...70 type 181
...59 Beetle
...62 beetle baja (new)

[bmwloco]

I haven't had it out on the road with the top on and the carpet in to see how "quiet" it may be. I'm sure it won't be too bad.

New fender is on the way, and I still have to get the nose repaired before I use her daily again.

I still have to find the latches I saved from the rotted out old convertible top and mount them on the hard top. New rear glass, and a front windscreen too.

Sigh. Time and money will make it right.

[waynewatson]

Is that a "Last Edition" RS? I finally parted out most of my 84 RS, except for the parts needed to convert my 81 R100 to an RS.

[bmwloco]

No, that's my very tidy '83 R100RS. Pearlescent white, with 63k on it.

I did 1001.5 miles in 24 hours on it this past summer. Of all the things I do, I enjoy cross country big mile sorties best.

But given that fuel is going to $100 a gallon, those days may be coming to a close, soon.

[waynewatson]

I know a few Airheads from the Asheville area. I usually go to a rally every year in NC. My 84 had 170,000 the last 10,000 I was pretty lax on maintenance.

[bmwloco]

Back on the road. Fender came in, but I still have to get the front apron fixed before I'll mount it.

My sister is buying me a new front bumper for Christmas from The Thing Shop. Good girl

So... nothing much more to do than replace the front glass, put in new rear glass in the hard top, fix the front apron and get the gas heater working.

Happily, on the road, she's tracking straight and behaving. While she's garaged and being tended to, I'll be in the '85 Westfalia or riding the scooter. Given fuel prices, the scooter is going to get a good work out on the warmer days.

[bmwloco]

A little work on the hard top today. No joy, but I know what has to be done.

Happily, I saved the latches off my toasted rusty convertible top. "...who knows, I may need 'em someday..." I thought, and months ago I put them in a baggie and labeled them "Thing Latch Parts".

I found the bag today and was happy to find I had exactly what I needed to latch the hard top down. Now to remove the busted latches on the hard top.

Ugh. The three screws on each of the latches on the hard top were rusty. Great. I hit them with WD-40 and then tried with a screwdriver. No joy.

I pulled out the Dewalt drill with the phillips attachment. Nada. Not moving. Stuck.

Getting chilly in the garage, and the sun setting, I hit the screws with Sea Foam penetrating oil and called it a day.

I'll give it another go on Saturday or Sunday. In the mean time, any other wisdom on removing obstinate screws?

[Ferretkona]

[Skorzeny's G Ride]

Soak them and while you are taking them out push down on the screwdriver while turning and give the back of the screwdriver a few taps with a hammer as you are taking them out. Im sure you've learned really old screws are notorious for their heads breaking off .
I had 60's cars growing up and that was the only way to get 40+ year old rusty screws off. Some screws were so bad i had to wire brush them to get a screwdriver in there.

Push, turn, and tap... push, turn, and tap. You'll get the rythym.
Good luck
_________________
...70 type 181
...59 Beetle
...62 beetle baja (new)