My 1963 restoration build

[jmvw]

Ok, so I should have been posting all along, but my 3 1/2 year father-son (read 95% father - 5% son) project is finally bearing fruit, so I'll dig through and try to post some relevant pictures.

Here is the main image from the ad on thesamba.com.

[jmvw]

It was from Azvdubguy in Vernon, AZ -- which is a good 3 hours from where I live in Gilbert, AZ. I had been looking for a 63 project and as luck would have it, I was planning to take my family on a trip near Vernon a week or two later anyway.

So I asked him for more pictures and he sent me these:

[midman914]

Looks like a cool project you got there. What are your plans for it, stock or custom? Are those other too boys yours as well? If so, you better pick up a couple more. It's only fair.
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[jmvw]

So we checked out the bug, agreed on a fair price, and loaded it on the trailer we had conveniently borrowed from a neighbor. The boys seemed pretty happy about it. We visited the MVD in Show Low for the level 1 inspection and title transfer and we were good to go! Good thing we missed the elk that tried to kill us on the way home on hwy 260.

[jmvw]

The plan was to restore it to mostly stock original condition. I admire the purists who go 100% original stock, but I give myself a little space to do some mild customization. Basically the non-stock things I wanted were 12 volt, 1600DP, lowered but not slammed, and 5 spoke polished wheels.

Here are some pictures of us stripping the outside and inside of the car. I wanted to get rid of all paint, bondo, rust, etc. to know exactly what we were working with. If I had it to do over I would have had it blasted . But hey, the boys got to learn how fun it can be to sand. And sand, and sand...

Whoops, it looks like leaving the bug outside with the windows out and foam-padded interior was not too good on the rear package tray. That's rotted and needs replaced.

[jmvw]

Here's how the inside looked after stripping much of the interior. Good thing the dash is uncut and intact. The car was originally L87 Pearl White, but had been resprayed red and then blue on top of that.

I noticed floor pan was pushed up a little behind the driver's seat, maybe from a poorly placed jack or bottoming out hard on a rock or something. I tried to straighten it out and it ended up splitting right down the middle. Here you can see the hole.

[jmvw]

Here are some shots of the exterior after we got it down to bare metal. There were a couple little spots of bondo, the aprons were a bit rough, and the front had taken a bump at some point, but overall it was pretty straight and rust-free.

[jmvw]

I got a solid package tray from a '63 donor car and got it welded in, along with new rear bumper mounts and a new front apron.

[jmvw]

So here are some chassis pictures after getting my new Wolfsburg West floor pans welded in. Still some clean up to do around the axles. I bought that other pan in the background for the recently rebuilt trans that came on it.

[jmvw]

Here is a shot after installing the rebuilt transaxle. It probably came out of a '67 or '68 because it had the long axles. So of course I did an axle swap, which wasn't my favorite job to do. But there's no way I would run long axles on my '63.

And here's how the new brakes look.

[jmvw]

Here's the chassis after it has all been cleaned up, painted, reassembled with new bearings, seals, brakes, hard and braided soft lines, etc. I used bedliner on the top and bottom of the pan.

[jmvw]

And here you can see the wheels.

[drs1023]

That's gonna' be so-o-o-o-o!!! nice.

[bowtiebug]

looking good , great work
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[hifibuf]

Very nice job so far!

I'm just beginning a resto on my 1964 sunroof sedan. I started by hand sanding the sunroof panel and license plate light cover to bare metal to get a feel for what I was in for. It took forever. I can't even imagine doing the whole car that way.

What did you use to bring yours down to bare metal. I'm assuming you used some power tools? Which one's, and would you buy them again?

Thanks.

Keep the pics coming!

[jmvw]

Yeah, we did hand sand, DA sander, and a 3M abrasive pad on the end of a drill. Toward the end I did the same type of abrasive pad on the end of an angle grinder, which was more powerful than the drill.

Again, though, if I did it again I think I would just have it blasted by a shop. It would cost more but save a whole lot in time and dusty mess in the garage .

[stale air]

Very nice build, I bet your boys are having a great time with it.

One thing I would suggest though..

Quick!!!! Change out those urethane mounts now while the body is still off the pan!

Trust me you will hate them.

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[Hugo Stiglitz]

Looking great! '63's are the best IMO.

[Jon65]

Definitely an awesome looking build.

Great job with it so far. Glad you are taking the time to do a pan off to make sure it is done right. I'm sure you and your boys will have a blast.

[panScrappers66]

Man that's really cool, nice job so far! Keep it up!!reminds me of when I barely started my 60'resto, have you decided on what color your going to paint it yet?!?
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