| Author |
Message |
unplannedbbq
Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2012
Posts: 228
Location: NC
|
 Posted: Tue Jun 25, 2013 5:39 am Post subject: nose job |
 |
|
Stopped off @ John's Car Corner in Westminster VT. John & crew were nice and chatty. My wife fell in love with a gold 412 2-door automatic.
We left the 412, picked up an early vanagon grill, lower grill, and yanked two buckets off an '83. I think all involved were happy with the transaction.
Sunny, "dry fitted" with her two new grills:
Square vs. round...
Now more paint & prep.
_________________
'86 x-1wd, now w/ 2wd! Wolfsburg Weekender
"However not an ideal swap unless it was all you had and you needed to escape some distopian 3rd world country." - Mongoswede |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
unplannedbbq
Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2012
Posts: 228
Location: NC
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 1:31 pm Post subject: weekender rear seat |
|
|
Dry-fit 2, rear seat assembled. Needed to finalize where I'll run the wires for the seat heaters.
Any opinions/suggestions on best placement for the three heater switches? I'm thinking below each spot on the plastic faceplate (reach between your legs to turn up the heat.):
OR 2 on one side and one control on the other, switches mounted into the plastic bulkhead:
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Joe
_________________
'86 x-1wd, now w/ 2wd! Wolfsburg Weekender
"However not an ideal swap unless it was all you had and you needed to escape some distopian 3rd world country." - Mongoswede |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
shadetreetim
Samba Member
Joined: January 10, 2011
Posts: 1994
Location: Riverside, California
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 5:42 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Nice work Joe. That is really looking good. I would vote to put the switches on the sides as I find people unknowingly hit anything I've located on the kick panel. Especially kids. Although you do have that indented area with the slope to mount in. Mine just has a flat kick panel.
_________________
Tim Potts
Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!
'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
unplannedbbq
Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2012
Posts: 228
Location: NC
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 7:45 pm Post subject: rear seat minutia |
|
|
| shadetreetim wrote: |
| Nice work Joe. That is really looking good. I would vote to put the switches on the sides as I find people unknowingly hit anything I've located on the kick panel. Especially kids. Although you do have that indented area with the slope to mount in. Mine just has a flat kick panel. |
Thanks, TP. I'm leaning towards the sides for switches.
In my habit of showing way to much detail (and to answer a request from youremyboyblue, I'm including pics w/ dimensions from my weekender bench/bed frame...)
5 ft across the bar:
12 and 3/4 inch from floor pan to top of bar (includes hight of welded brackets on floor):
15" @ widest
~10 and 3/4 across @ base
inside:
and last:
Seat & panels are back out now as she gets ready for more body work and paint prep. I think I have my wiring plan for the bench heaters.
Time to sleep.
Welding repairs on the passenger footwell & arch tomorrow. Wish me luck. The workshop has sprinklers, just in case.
_________________
'86 x-1wd, now w/ 2wd! Wolfsburg Weekender
"However not an ideal swap unless it was all you had and you needed to escape some distopian 3rd world country." - Mongoswede |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
unplannedbbq
Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2012
Posts: 228
Location: NC
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 2:34 pm Post subject: welding |
|
|
Original factory undercoating is surprisingly flammable. Who knew? Probably me w/ a bit of research.
Started the day pulling the cracked windshield w/ help from my welding buddy. I also pulled my "good" rear pass window & found rust starting at the join tracing ~10 inches @ the bottom. Glad I pulled it - the window & seal had looked fine.
So, minor rust on all windows. Elbow grease, no drama.
On to repairing the passenger arch.
Step one, disconnect computer:
Step two, find someone who can weld better than me. I'm in the blue helmet:
Find a nice place to weld:
Pick a target:
Use up some rotozip wheel:
And have at it:
Our only tense moment occurred when the undercoating near the (shielded) fuel expansion tank caught fire & continued to smolder. I patted out the flames with a welding glove while my buddy readied the extinguisher. NB - the main tank was drained earlier in the week, but I still got twitchy.
I'll edit tomorrow with pics post-grind down. We should also have the footwell finished if all goes well.
All in all, a pretty good day.
Addendum:
I'm happy with my repairs to the passenger entry. The arch is uglier than it should be, but I'm pretty sure it is stronger than when it left the factory.
I think the footstep turned out better:
_________________
'86 x-1wd, now w/ 2wd! Wolfsburg Weekender
"However not an ideal swap unless it was all you had and you needed to escape some distopian 3rd world country." - Mongoswede |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
unplannedbbq
Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2012
Posts: 228
Location: NC
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 8:32 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Another piece off this eve during my anti-rust campaign... one more mini-project added to the list. Plan to deploy 3m tape for "silence" after final paint.
and closer in... paint is gone in contact areas & covered with surface rust. Nice & solid, so should be an easy clean up.
Picked up many cans of nice stuff from my local Sherwin Williams auto paint shop yesterday. They were great to work with & gave me what I think was a very good deal. We're going OEM Pastel White L90D from the top crease up, and settled on "Hot Chocolate Metallic," Mini Cooper's A88 for the rest of the body.
There may be a pastel white racing stripe in my future.
Aside from the 2K paints, a gallon of good primer, a gallon of clear & all required additives are in hand. Plus we mixed up some colorant for my u-pol tint-able bed liner kit... I'm going with the "GoWesty" bedliner technique around the bottom of the rig, but I am trying to color match my new brown metallic paint.
Goal is end of July for Sunny to be nice, shiny, white & brown. Hopefully writing it here will help make it happen 
_________________
'86 x-1wd, now w/ 2wd! Wolfsburg Weekender
"However not an ideal swap unless it was all you had and you needed to escape some distopian 3rd world country." - Mongoswede |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
unplannedbbq
Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2012
Posts: 228
Location: NC
|
| Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 6:43 pm Post subject: seams, stuff & minimal rust |
|
|
This is what my driver's rear window looked like last week:
Today:
This was my first test of POR-15 self-etching primer. I'll know how it worked tomorrow.
All interior seams have been addressed to the best of my ability. All exterior seams have been scraped, brushed, blasted, brushed again, and cleaned.
Oh. Top came off today, too.
Sunny's seams mostly look like this now:
I think I was pretty lucky overall - only a couple spots had the beginnings of rust - the same spots I was expecting based on my interior work. 90% of the original sealer was pretty gnarly, though. Cracked/rotted/tainted with oxide from the inside.
My plan for the next few days - the POR routine on all seams & a couple lower spots (front bumper mounts, rear skirt, etc.) - Marine clean, prep/etch, mask & dab POR 15 black deep into every seam while minimizing surface contact. Then prime over that w/ POR's primer, then seam seal, THEN prime the whole damn van with regular primer.
Then two coats of base & two coats of clear.
PS - media blasting with a big 220v compressor is my new favorite thing. Lots more fun than "blast, wait, blast" w/ my old porter cable pancake.
_________________
'86 x-1wd, now w/ 2wd! Wolfsburg Weekender
"However not an ideal swap unless it was all you had and you needed to escape some distopian 3rd world country." - Mongoswede |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
unplannedbbq
Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2012
Posts: 228
Location: NC
|
| Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 1:00 pm Post subject: Post-primer update |
|
|
Some things are never easy. Sunny's "summer" project of patch & paint has stretched out to 14 months - we kept finding more rust and corrosion the deeper we dug.
Here are a couple update pictures, after 4 coats of self-leveling primer.
Before:
After:
Stripped, seams, & patches:
Before last coat of primer:
Sad Hatch:
Ready for topcoat:
D-pillar rot -
From the inside, middle of treatment:
Much happier:
Whenever I've been disheartened at the delays to Sunny, I think back to all the help I've received from theSamba community, take a breath, and know that it will all be worth it. (I would have also been kicking myself 2 years from now if I had done a half-ass job & had bubbles everywhere.)
I am happy in the knowledge that:
1. I've gotten to know this beast very well
2. I can now weld without hurting myself or others
3. I have a good grasp of bodywork, epoxies, glass and paint
4. Sandblasting is deeply satisfying
5. Every seam, nook and cranny are better off than they were before
6. My wife is extra-awesome for suggesting we pull both rear windows "just to make sure"
Thanks to everyone for advice and help along the way. Seam sealer, than keeping my fingers crossed for top coat(s) this weekend, and many layers of clear coat next week if the weather holds.
Best,
Joe
_________________
'86 x-1wd, now w/ 2wd! Wolfsburg Weekender
"However not an ideal swap unless it was all you had and you needed to escape some distopian 3rd world country." - Mongoswede |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32584
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
unplannedbbq
Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2012
Posts: 228
Location: NC
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2013 4:55 pm Post subject: seams |
|
|
And... all seams sealed.
A few more areas of primer to sand find sand, then dusting & tack cloth before paint.
Step by step.
_________________
'86 x-1wd, now w/ 2wd! Wolfsburg Weekender
"However not an ideal swap unless it was all you had and you needed to escape some distopian 3rd world country." - Mongoswede |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32584
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32584
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
T3 Pilot
Samba Member
Joined: January 10, 2011
Posts: 1507
Location: Deep South of the Great White North
|
| Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:30 am Post subject: |
|
|
Great pics, nice to see another van reborn. Hey DJ, next time you are removing emblems, consider using dental floss or thin fishing line. Less risk of damage.
Good Luck
_________________
1988 Vanagon
The most important part in every vehicle is the nut behind the wheel...... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
unplannedbbq
Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2012
Posts: 228
Location: NC
|
| Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2013 10:33 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Syncro Pilot wrote: |
Great pics, nice to see another van reborn. Hey DJ, next time you are removing emblems, consider using dental floss or thin fishing line. Less risk of damage.
Good Luck |
Syncro Pilot -
I will be de-badging w/ industrial dental floss tonight. (And thanks, Dave, as always!)
-Joe
_________________
'86 x-1wd, now w/ 2wd! Wolfsburg Weekender
"However not an ideal swap unless it was all you had and you needed to escape some distopian 3rd world country." - Mongoswede |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
unplannedbbq
Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2012
Posts: 228
Location: NC
|
| Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2013 10:38 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Syncro Pilot wrote: |
Great pics, nice to see another van reborn. Hey DJ, next time you are removing emblems, consider using dental floss or thin fishing line. Less risk of damage.
Good Luck |
Syncro Pilot -
I will be de-badging w/ industrial dental floss tonight. (And thanks, Dave, as always!)
-Joe
_________________
'86 x-1wd, now w/ 2wd! Wolfsburg Weekender
"However not an ideal swap unless it was all you had and you needed to escape some distopian 3rd world country." - Mongoswede |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
unplannedbbq
Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2012
Posts: 228
Location: NC
|
| Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2013 10:42 am Post subject: 1st top coat |
|
|
1st & 2nd (flash) coats of Pastel White L90D for the windows up to the top sprayed last night.
Need to debadge (thanks, Dave) and get cracking' w/ a final coat of white, then chocolate brown for the rest o' the van.
_________________
'86 x-1wd, now w/ 2wd! Wolfsburg Weekender
"However not an ideal swap unless it was all you had and you needed to escape some distopian 3rd world country." - Mongoswede |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32584
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
unplannedbbq
Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2012
Posts: 228
Location: NC
|
| Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 9:51 am Post subject: Wet sanding on a cold day |
|
|
Temps have dropped in CT. Need to rig up a shop heater to finish the paint job, but:
Here's progress - entire exterior of van wet sanded, buffed and de-tacked. Smooth as I can get it w/o driving myself crazy:
Note - I've been wearing latex gloves through the whole process to keep skin oils off the panels. Trying to minimize orange peel in the final coats.
Before and after of hatch (with two coats of OEM white sprayed):
Plus - I used Syncro Pilot's dental floss suggestion to pop the emblems. Marked location with a paper template & took pics. A little wiggling, a little fuzzy tape clean up, and here's the front corner in the midst of wet sanding. (Thanks, Dave, for poking me with a stick on this.)
Before and after:
_________________
'86 x-1wd, now w/ 2wd! Wolfsburg Weekender
"However not an ideal swap unless it was all you had and you needed to escape some distopian 3rd world country." - Mongoswede |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32584
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
unplannedbbq
Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2012
Posts: 228
Location: NC
|
| Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 6:34 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| djkeev wrote: |
It's looking great!
I like progress.......
Sorry you need to heat for that is very difficult to do safely in order to spray paint. No open flames or even hot elements.
You might do best to get 100% ready to paint, watch for that day coming......and one indeed is.....take a personal day off from work and shoot it!
You don't have many more days coming that will allow you to paint so you will need to be ready to seize the few on the horizon.
I know the routine..... Been there.....done that!
Dave |
Dave -
What could possibly go wrong with open flame, VOCs, and fine particulates?
Procedure will be: propane space heater to toast the "paint booth" up to ~90, get the van warm all the way through, prep paint & gun in secondary cool room, shut off heater & place outside of booth, then shoot the van w/ residual heat. Supposed to be in the 50s all week, so that should work for me.
-Joe
_________________
'86 x-1wd, now w/ 2wd! Wolfsburg Weekender
"However not an ideal swap unless it was all you had and you needed to escape some distopian 3rd world country." - Mongoswede |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
