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codysmith123456
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2010
Posts: 169
Location: SD, CA
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 Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:14 pm Post subject: My Baja Bug Project.. |
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Hey guys i decided to switch my progress on my 1969 baja bug project over here so i can get all the advise available. This is my first project and I am working on it in my free time because I got alot going on. I got the start of my project back in april and have been working on it sense. After getting my first bug, a '69 that had been rotting the last 10 years, I have relied on you guys here at the samba to help me out. so after deciding the 67 was too far gone for me personally to bring it back, I searched craigslist and found a pan and body for a reasonably low price. so since then the motor has been getting work done to it and i have been mainly focusing on the body and cleaning it up. Luckily the bug is already cut to a baja which is what I want because I love going to the desert and offroading. My plans arnt to extreme I just am wanting a street legal bug with some minor suspension upgrade. I'm on a budget so nothing to extreme.. For the motor it is in the process of being bored to a 1915.. Also im going to put a cage in it. Anyways let me know what you guys think all of my process up to current are at this site http://codysmith123456.blogspot.com/
Here are a few pictures of the process so far. Please let me know what you think and if you have questions ask away.
-Cody
What I started with..
motor..
to much rust!!!
New bug!
Ugly rollcage out
Where im at now
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'69 Baja Build http://codysmith123456.blogspot.com/
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=419396&highlight=
'74 Super Baja
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5108216&highlight=#5108216 |
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codysmith123456
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2010
Posts: 169
Location: SD, CA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 3:57 pm Post subject: |
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Today with the help of my friends i was able to lift the shell of the pan so I could get to work cleaning and repainting the frame and pans.. Unfortunately we didnt pick it up high enough to slide out the pan and every thing on it. So until i can get more help removing that ill just start with the floor pans. I removed all 18 drywall screws holding the pan to the frame. It wasnt as easy as it looked because about 9 of the 18 screws heads had been popped off.. So after grinding them down and popping both pans out i was relived. the pans are in very good condition. So good in fact there are still tags on them. There are a few spots with some surface rust and chipped up paint that i want to clean and repaint to prevent any more rust. I still havent decided what i want to paint the frame and pans with. I was thinking either some rust preventing brush on paint or rhino truckbed liner. Tommorow i should have time to lift the shell higher so i can start cleaning the frame.
Here are some pics of what i did today.
_________________
'69 Baja Build http://codysmith123456.blogspot.com/
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=419396&highlight=
'74 Super Baja
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5108216&highlight=#5108216 |
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vindeta
Samba Member
Joined: June 23, 2009
Posts: 224
Location: ohio
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codysmith123456
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2010
Posts: 169
Location: SD, CA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 5:00 pm Post subject: |
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Unfortunately the 3 car garage at my house is completely occupied by my dads cabinet shop. So without a garage i had to come up with something else to use to work on my bug. I started shopping around for a portable garage that wasnt microscopic. i found a great deal at costco. I for a 10x20 portable garage. Its not a ton of room but hey it works. Luckily we have a roughly 30 by 20 foot slab of concrete in my backyard to put it on. So that is what im working out of. the great thing about it is i dont have to share it so i can do what ever i want with it and organize it how i want to.
Here are some pictures of my "shop."
a bit messy in this picture
_________________
'69 Baja Build http://codysmith123456.blogspot.com/
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=419396&highlight=
'74 Super Baja
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5108216&highlight=#5108216 |
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c.davis419
Samba Member
Joined: May 18, 2003
Posts: 506
Location: Vista,CA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 5:00 pm Post subject: |
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Hey Cody,
Glad you made this move to switch parts to the new, rust free car. That $450 was a great investment that will save you way more money and time in the long run! Are the original bolts that go throught the bottom of the heater channels to hold the floor pans in broken or missing? The floor pans should NOT be held in with drywall screws. remember that almost all the aftermarket floor pans require trimming and shaping to fit correctly. Many people (myself included) will bolt the pans to the heater channels, then trim the new pans to fit and then weld them into the pan tunnel, that way all your holes line up the way you want.
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1967 beetle
1974 Thing |
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codysmith123456
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2010
Posts: 169
Location: SD, CA
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codysmith123456
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2010
Posts: 169
Location: SD, CA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 5:07 pm Post subject: |
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| c.davis419 wrote: |
Hey Cody,
Glad you made this move to switch parts to the new, rust free car. That $450 was a great investment that will save you way more money and time in the long run! Are the original bolts that go throught the bottom of the heater channels to hold the floor pans in broken or missing? The floor pans should NOT be held in with drywall screws. remember that almost all the aftermarket floor pans require trimming and shaping to fit correctly. Many people (myself included) will bolt the pans to the heater channels, then trim the new pans to fit and then weld them into the pan tunnel, that way all your holes line up the way you want. |
the PO must not have had the pateints to trim and make the pans fit correctly so he drilled new holes in the bottom of the pans so theyd line up. but he was so lazy he only did that with a few on each side. so yes quite a few are missing but luckeily none of them are broken off inside.
and thanks for the advise about mounting the pans ill deffidently do it that way now!
_________________
'69 Baja Build http://codysmith123456.blogspot.com/
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=419396&highlight=
'74 Super Baja
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5108216&highlight=#5108216 |
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codysmith123456
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2010
Posts: 169
Location: SD, CA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 9:54 pm Post subject: |
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I got some more work done this afternoon. I got the shell lifted alot higher and am now able to wheel the frame in and out with ease. So with the frame out of the garage I went ahead and started grinding away all of the left over paint and glue from the insulation. I got alot of that done but i still have alot to do. In between doing that I also cleaned up some of the smaller things with a sander and went ahead and sprayed them down with some glossy black paint. I repainted the front rims, gas tank, and the exhaust. So overall I had a productive day dedicated to the bug.
Here are some pictures...
The shell up higher now.
Cleaned frame
Rims: before
After
Gas tank: Before
After
Exhaust: Before
After
_________________
'69 Baja Build http://codysmith123456.blogspot.com/
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=419396&highlight=
'74 Super Baja
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5108216&highlight=#5108216 |
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83_WabbitGTI
Samba Member
Joined: December 01, 2006
Posts: 1335
Location: Eagle Point, Oregon
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| Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 12:52 pm Post subject: |
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WOW!! That tank looks almost brand new! Great job so far... Keep it up!
_________________
2013-2014 Vice President of SOVW www.sovw.org
"No matter how a VW breaks down.... You can always make it home on Zipties, Ducktape, and JB Weld...."
-Doug Christen, VW Owner
83 Rabbit GTI - 83 Rabbit LS Custom - 63 Westy - 65 Bug - 64 Baja (Herbie's Studly Cousin) - 91 Audi 90 Quattro 20v - 85 Vw Cabby - 84 VW Scirocco - 69 Beetle (Phantasm Bug) - 78 Cabriolet
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codysmith123456
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2010
Posts: 169
Location: SD, CA
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83_WabbitGTI
Samba Member
Joined: December 01, 2006
Posts: 1335
Location: Eagle Point, Oregon
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| Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 12:20 pm Post subject: |
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Get the Baja done... And BRING it to the beach..LOL
_________________
2013-2014 Vice President of SOVW www.sovw.org
"No matter how a VW breaks down.... You can always make it home on Zipties, Ducktape, and JB Weld...."
-Doug Christen, VW Owner
83 Rabbit GTI - 83 Rabbit LS Custom - 63 Westy - 65 Bug - 64 Baja (Herbie's Studly Cousin) - 91 Audi 90 Quattro 20v - 85 Vw Cabby - 84 VW Scirocco - 69 Beetle (Phantasm Bug) - 78 Cabriolet
Need a VW website built? PM me. |
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codysmith123456
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2010
Posts: 169
Location: SD, CA
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ryedizzle
Samba Member
Joined: July 05, 2010
Posts: 77
Location: los gatos
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| Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:54 pm Post subject: |
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| what are you going to do with the first bug? |
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codysmith123456
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2010
Posts: 169
Location: SD, CA
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carlos_magnum
Samba Member
Joined: April 21, 2009
Posts: 591
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| Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 1:52 am Post subject: |
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Looking great so far. I like what you did to the tank and exhaust.  |
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codysmith123456
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2010
Posts: 169
Location: SD, CA
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| Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 11:47 am Post subject: |
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I got alot of work done on the bug yesterday. First off I towed the frame out of the backyard up to the driveway so i have alot more room to work with. After cleaning up and primering a few spots i missed on the center of the frame i went ahead and sprayed it with gloss paint. I let that Dry and started dismantling the front of the car. After getting the front unattached from the frame I went ahead and started cleaning the front of the frame since it had quite a bit of service rust. A primered and painted that aswell. Then I moved on to the front beam. I sanded all the bumps and rust off of that. and sparyed it with primer and gloss black. Also i finally got around to painting the floor pans. So i did that too. Today i think im going to start cleaning up the back of the frame and paint that and the tranny.
Here are some picture of what i did yesterday..
What im going to work on today.
_________________
'69 Baja Build http://codysmith123456.blogspot.com/
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=419396&highlight=
'74 Super Baja
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5108216&highlight=#5108216 |
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codysmith123456
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2010
Posts: 169
Location: SD, CA
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codysmith123456
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2010
Posts: 169
Location: SD, CA
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| Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 10:57 pm Post subject: |
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A bunch of work got done on the bug today. Me and derek preped the floor pans and frame for the pans to be welded. Then my buddy curtis came over with his welder (Idont have one) and went ahead and welded the pans on for me in exchange for a few gauges and a doughnut. We were about to drop the shell down and hook all that up when we realized the other bug has a twisted front beam. So know i am going to go ahead and do a swap so i have more clearance and a stiffer front end. I am kinda bummed i hadnt looked closer at it earlier. At least i noticed before putting the hole shell on. Also i went ahead and put a layer of black gloss on the very back of the frame and on the tranny. It really cleaned the hole thing up and it will prevent rust.
I had one of my Crf 50cc pit bikes for sale on craigslist and some guy traded me a bunch of his stuff. I bought the bike about a year ago for 100 bucks and fixxed it up with parts i had laying around. I traded some BFGs that are exactly what i need for my baja, an awesome beach cruizer, a iPod mini, an iPod nano and $100. The tires are 30x9.5 which is what ive been looking for. Two have 50% tread and two r bald.
Also the tires came on Tacoma rims. So i am going to use the two good tires for the back of my baja. Then i will sell the rims and bald tires. I am stoked on the trade i made. and it saved me money in the long run.
Another thing i did a few nights ago is went down to curtis's (he has my motor but its all torn apart) and figured out the next step to rebuilding it. I have the new heads and pistons for the 1915. He works for a shop that has hookups with vw paradice. So he is going to see if he can get a deal from their machine shop for the bores and stuff.
I am stoked that the baja is actually getting somewhere.
Im going out of town for two weeks from tues. so it will have to wait till then to get more done. Im going to head over to VW Paradise tomorrow to get some much needed parts.
Here are the pics!
_________________
'69 Baja Build http://codysmith123456.blogspot.com/
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=419396&highlight=
'74 Super Baja
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5108216&highlight=#5108216 |
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codysmith123456
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2010
Posts: 169
Location: SD, CA
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tanner_122
Samba Member
Joined: July 20, 2009
Posts: 1224
Location: Norco CA
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| Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 11:09 pm Post subject: |
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| codysmith123456 wrote: |
Please let me know what you think!
Thanks |
bajas looking good man
now just stop going out of town so u can finish it!!! hahaha
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lol looks awesome!!
