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57/58 Alken Fiberglass Coachbuilt Project
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JeffL
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 5:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Worked more on the wiper, front wiring, and headlights.

I forgot how fast 6V wipers run on 12V. I thought by buying bus wipers would be better because they are longer than Beetle but they hit on the bottom corner during the swipe so I have to cut them or buy shorter ones.

Somehow they attached America Trico wipers in the day. They mounted the splined hub to the Beetle wiper shafts by drilling a hole and pinning it. This got them some nice long wiper arms. I tried a Ghia set that I had and they fit OK. Really need the windshiled in to be sure.

For the turn signals I am going to run some amber bulbs. They are pretty bright so I doubt I will make them parking lights. This is what they did originally. The headlights are just new after market. I'll keep the original 57s and restore them later if I'm not happy with these.
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ernstben
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 5:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

JeffL wrote:

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Now that is a seriously cool looking vehicle!
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JeffL
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 5:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks ernstben for the compliment Very Happy

Today I tried to finish the cable openg of the front hood.

The picture is a little dark, and in a tight space for a photo but in the center is a mounting stud. I mounted the hex shaft to the wiper assembly, drilled a large hole for the outer cable jacket, and then a small hole on the other side for the cable. Seems to work pretty good. As long as the cable does not interfere with anything else it should be fine. I have a VW brass barrel with a screw to act as the locking mechanism on the other side of the lever.

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0nebadbug
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 8:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Your attention to detail on this build has me in awe... Your work is just amazing and with some of your hunt and peck method that you have gone thru on this build? I know that when I get to the all-out on my '57 Ladawri I know I will be using many of your same methods for similar body issues...

I can't wait to see her done and on the road and keep up the awesome work!

Curious... Do you have a loose date you are shooting for to actually have her back on the road for first fire? and/or fully completed?

Gene
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obieoberstar
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 9:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fantastic build this far. It is a well thought-out project. Doing everything right. This is going to be an awesome car!
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gti1977
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 22, 2014 5:16 am    Post subject: Re: Bomber Seat belts for the Alken Reply with quote

JeffL wrote:
I was trying to decide on the type of seat belts. Most racing ones are black and most vintage bomber ones are dirty or corroded.

These were just ordered and we'll see what they look like when they come in . At $230 with shipping they are not cheap but I think they will look great with a brown interior. He is going to make the straps to the length I need so that there is not a lot of extra flapping around.

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Seat belts are looking great and i am sure they will fit very good.
Great job and high attention for details.
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JeffL
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 22, 2014 9:57 am    Post subject: How to spend 4 hours on a 12 volt screw terminal horn. Reply with quote

0nebadbug wrote:
Your attention to detail on this build has me in awe... Your work is just amazing and with some of your hunt and peck method that you have gone thru on this build? I know that when I get to the all-out on my '57 Ladawri I know I will be using many of your same methods for similar body issues...

I can't wait to see her done and on the road and keep up the awesome work!

Curious... Do you have a loose date you are shooting for to actually have her back on the road for first fire? and/or fully completed?

Gene


Thanks again everyone for the nice comments.

Attach a picture of your Ladawri, maybe some following the thread don't know what one looks like. All of the fiberglass people were pretty close and sharing ideas and people during the period.

Timeline....... hopefully paint gets completed this year and interior over the winter. Shooting for 2015 spring but I could go faster.

Hope to have the wiring harness done today. I needed to have a horn and have it mounted before I could finish the harness. I haven't found the right one yet so I made one. I took a new 12 volt horn (likely 20 years old "new" from one of my boxes...) but wanted it to have screw terminals.

I sacrificed two nice screw terminal wiper switches (one for practice and one for real). I broke out the terminals, cut off the post where the contacts are peened on, then drilled and tapped a hole from the bottom. I then drilled a hole in each blade coming off of the horn and mounted the screw terminals to each of these posts. Came out pretty good. This works for now, maybe I will leave it? The 4 hour projects are what keep extending the timeline...........

It is mounted just below the inspection plate for the steering box. The mounting bolt goes through several layers of glass so it should have good support there and help to fight vibrations/cracking.

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JeffL
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 4:41 pm    Post subject: 6V to 12V bulb conversion Reply with quote

Finished the wiring harness today all but the wiper. Everything worked except the flasher Sad Here it works until I plug the bulb/socket in the gauge and then it flashes as soon as I put power on. If I pull the bulb out then it works OK Confused I'll look at it later, it was a lot of work.

The lights dim some when flashing, maybe I need heavier grounds in some case. I do have a small wire powering up the car so some of it could just be the voltage drop there.

I had to make a table up bulbs so I thought I would add it since I am converting from 6 to 12 volt. I wanted to make sure on the dash bulbs and dome light (from a 56 Ghia) that I had the right wattage and would not melt any lenses. I thought there were 1.2 watt 12V bulbs but all the ones I had in my boxes were 2 watt for 12 volts.

I have no idea how I will wire the car once it is assembled. I did most of my work standing up through the gas tank opening. Maybe I will paint the dash and interior, assemble the wiring, and then paint the outside.... lots of time to think this over.

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JeffL
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 6:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Finished the wiring harness and it all checked out!

The flashers is a nice unit rebuilt by Kurt. Fantastic quality.

All guages and sensors checked out. I pulled the gas gauge up with a wire and it works fine. For the pressure gauge I ran an extra wire and have the combination VDO unit with idiot light and pressure signal.

Again, the 356 ignition switch was nice as it provides multiple connection points for power and ignition on wires.

Now I have to tear it all down and move on to another area. Maybe the door hinges.

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VWCOOL
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 8:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

wow what a restoration. Thumbs up!
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JeffL
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 12:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the encouragement!

Ah, Spring. Got a chance to clean up a little to refit the body again. I need to get the steering column in the correct positon to drill the wire for the horn contact brush. The body has not been of the pan for several months as I finished the fiberglass work and prming.

I also need to be sure the wire for the stater, regulator, and sensors are long enough.

There is also the need to fabricate some fiberglass pipes to get heat connected from the heater boxes. While it not really needed I have to put it back correct, especially after making the whole luggage floor above the transaxle.

A few weeks back I set up what I hope is the final ride height.

Tomorrow could be a good day to run down to Summit racing and get some mounting loops for my seat belts.

Now if I can just get someone to come over to help me move the body over.......

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luvtheeluvbug
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 2:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Do you have any plans for sprucing up the engine? When you put the body on, are you going to drive it?
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JeffL
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 5:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

luvtheeluvbug wrote:
Do you have any plans for sprucing up the engine? When you put the body on, are you going to drive it?


Oh yea, that will be one of the last items is to spruce up the engine. My Jedi Master of body work have taught me to bake out the primer. Once the body is filled and blocked (hopefully before 2020) let it sit outside in the sun for a few days. It will help to out gas the primer and let things settle. They are extreme and will not paint the car for a year..... I have not gone this far before.

See my next post for your second question ....
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GLHTurbo
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 5:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

moving right along! Great work as usual, looking forward to see her on the chassis.
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JeffL
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 5:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My brother was nice enough to drive 2 hours to come over and see me to help put the body back on. The ride height came out right this time and with a little more weight is settle just right.

Last night I put fluid in the rebuild front steering box and then the transmission. I also put in the new clutch cable and reinstalled all of the gas pedal and cabel linkage. Then, the engine oil screen was cleaned and filter changed. Think I'll run the engine with some new oil to clean it out some and change it again.

Right after we put the body on today I noticed a nice puddle under the transmisssion Shocked We went lunch and I felt bad the whole time as I had the entire back end suspension set.

After lunch, I wiped down the bottom of the 356 trans. The leak was slow so we talked about just putting a site glass in to monitor the level and just leave it. Later.... i noticed that there was not a bolt in the side of the transmission. I think it was for the gas pedal linkage which is not use now. It also had a machined surface like it would have a gasket. I found a small bolt and a metal gasket and tightened it down. Wow, that solved the issue Very Happy

Later in the day I ended up mounting the voltage regulator on the rear firewall. I was going to mount it on the generator like a VW but decided not too. It actually worked out better.

The fiberglass is pretty tight to the engine in the engine bay and all worked out fine. I had not put the body back on since I finished the fire wall and luggage floor.

For kicks I threw in a battery and the engine cranked great. If I load up the brake system with fluid maybe I will start the engine and take it for a ride!

I need to get some 8mm fuel line and compression fittings. Then, I need a transition to get to the 6mm standard fuel line. Anyone done this before?

I'm a little dissapointed that the clutch pedal sits back further than the brake. It has to do with the extention on the "claw" that holds the cable in the tunnel. They added a second claw/hood to get some leverage but it also prevent the pedal from coming the whole way back.

Has anyone ever redrilled the clutch shaft????? If I did this I could bring it back up but it might weeken the shaft.

Naturally the high beam switch was in the way of the clutch peday so I have to move it. I've filled in so many holes that it does not even matter.....

The one photo is roughing out the rear area behind the seat. I think I am just going to make a shelf, maybe with some padding made out of the front seat fabric.

Oh, one last thing, I did test fit the seat belts. I picked up some "G Force" mounting eyelets to clips on the new seat belts.


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 9:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If that Porche engine sounds like a standard VW engine with VW exhaust on it, the other folks at the stoplight won't know what's comin'!
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 12:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I apologize for getting off topic a bit, but I found in interesting
that in the magazine ad you posted on the first page, that the
hard top option resembles an early Volvo P 1800 is a subtle way.

You have a unique build going on. I wonder if this was your car ?

http://www.forgottenfiberglass.com/fiberglass-car-...this-1958/

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JeffL
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 4:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

bgs wrote:
I apologize for getting off topic a bit, but I found in interesting
that in the magazine ad you posted on the first page, that the
hard top option resembles an early Volvo P 1800 is a subtle way.

You have a unique build going on. I wonder if this was your car ?



My car is actually the one featured in the Road and Track article. Notice that the rear tail lights are different. I also like the P1800 Volvos!
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 6:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not uber exciting but finally getting the engine to run with the body on is a pretty good milestone. To actually use the key to turn the engine on and off fealt rather cool.

Generator did not work but maybe I need to polarize it. I'll try that tomorrow. Since it was up on blocks in the back I ran it through the gears OK. I little "chunky".

Engine sounded good, had some backfires when letting off the throttle so maybe I have some intake leaks? Something new to check out.... The throttle cable was a little tight so that's why the idle was so elevated. Fires right over with the touch of the key.

I may put some insulating pad even it was not period above the muffler to deal with the muffler heat. I woudl be hard to see but I think a prudent thing to do.


Link

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JeffL
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 06, 2014 11:27 am    Post subject: Clutch cable for 356, pressure plate Reply with quote

Working with the 356 forum this week to try and figure out if everything in the clutch system is correct. There were some adjustments made to the pedals and bowden tube. They are helping with ideas and guidance. If you are interested in that link here it is.


http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=589878&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

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