My 1966 Fastback build up

[bobnorman]

[Clatter]

It's my understanding that POOR 15 doesn't stick to clean metal - it has to be rusted a bit.

To take a freshly-blasted pan, and set it outside for a while, to 'rust up' a bit first, seems a bit counter-intuitive..

Spraying Masterseries from a gun, on a blasted pan is a far different deal than brushing POOR 15 over rusty, holey metal.

Again,
Once you have the thing blasted, you will be able to see where the Swiss-Cheese areas are.

Big, thin, holey areas might change your plan of attack, depending upon how bad they are, and where.

I'm really surprised at how good you pan looks overall!

Look at your rear seat bulkhead - that thing looks mint! (from the pics here at least)
Those things rust along the bottom so much that you just can't get them in good shape anymore anywhere..

Where pans usually all rust, at the low areas, yours looks OK,
And where they more rarely rust, along the pan seal, is where your rust is bad.
That will make it far easier to get patch sections from other pans.

Unless,
It's hiding it's sins from you somehow.


After going through all the gyrations to clean my pan up,
It would have been SO much easier to just take the whole thing in to be blasted, then 'dusted off' with a thin coat of epoxy.
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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[Evilgtiguy]

[supersuk]

I agree with Clatter. I had really bad luck with POR 15 here in Hawaii. We don't have Masterseries available, but I was able to find KBS Rust Seal. I really like that stuff. Works well and sticks like glue. Only problem is that the KBS stuff is UV sensitive. It will break down in a matter of months if constantly exposed to the sun.
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68 Fastback Build: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5396323#5396323

[Evilgtiguy]

Does anyone have any experience with this? http://dominionsureseal.com/index.php/component/dj...and-pints-
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66 sunroof Fastback http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=590530
84 Rabbit GTI (gone and missed)
80 Rabbit (gone and missed)
92 Nissan 240SX turbo

[Evilgtiguy]

So I got a welder. I welded some support bars in so that I can remove my doors and eventually replace the rockers. I have been practising quite a bit but I still have some more work to do but I'm getting there

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66 sunroof Fastback http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=590530
84 Rabbit GTI (gone and missed)
80 Rabbit (gone and missed)
92 Nissan 240SX turbo

[Clatter]

Nice!

Those look _damn_ good for a newbie welder..
You sure you haven't done this before?

Unlike my workspace, you get the luxury of welding indoors!
Live it and love it, Daddy-O!!
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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[MonT3]

Think you got a good handle on it. Only thing I can recommend before starting to cut into the shell is to have a plan and start in one area and work methodically as not to bounce around. Maybe tackle some of the smaller issues to get familiar and comfortable with welding on the actual metal before tackling the more challenging pieces. Just have a plan of attack while you go at it. Look forward to your updates and pics. BTW, Your welding looks good for just recently picking it up the skill. Good job!!
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MonT3
67 Squareback
64 Squareback
63 Squareback
Engine rebuild
Trailer rebuild

[Clatter]

Let me know what your patch-piece parts list looks like.

I got a ton of extra pieces left over from clean cars I cut up..
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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[Clatter]

Something else is, I didn't see any diagonal braces?

After doing my car,
I'll say you can never underestimate how much things will move around..

Seems like you could throw dome diagonals going in different directions inside there pretty easy,
And you wouldn't have to weld to the car's shell any more,
You could just go diagonal from the bars you have, to others.

If that makes any sense...

So stoked to see someone digging in and saving this one.
hat poor car was crying for a hero for years..
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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[Evilgtiguy]

[W1K1]

[eyetzr]

[MonT3]

Here's what I did in there to keep the shell rigid to avert it from buckling or shifting while working on the rockers. Just an example.

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MonT3
67 Squareback
64 Squareback
63 Squareback
Engine rebuild
Trailer rebuild

[Evilgtiguy]

I've been slacked off in regards to working on my car unfortunately but with 2 kids under 6 yrs old I guess that I have a valid excuse or reason. Anyhow I started the process of removing my sunroof to repair the rotted sections on the rear of the roof. I figured that the best plan if attack would be to use a Dremel and cut the welds on the brackets and hopefully the tray would be free.

The plan worked somewhat but I'm struggling to dislodge the sunroof tray or whatever it's called from the roof near the front half of the car. The seam sealer is holding it on there like a mofo! I'm almost inclined to just leave it be and cut the rotted roof sections out and perform the repair with the assembly in place.

Have a look and let me know what you think.

_________________
66 sunroof Fastback http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=590530
84 Rabbit GTI (gone and missed)
80 Rabbit (gone and missed)
92 Nissan 240SX turbo

[Evilgtiguy]

So I started repairing my roof. I figured I had to start somewhere so what the hell right? There is a lot of birdsh!t welds and a decent stitch welds in there some where. I'm having issues blowing through metal at times not sure of it's just the metal being thin or my settings. Anyhow critique away. I'm going to spend the rest of my life grinding these damn welds. I will just have to get better at welding sheet metal so I don't have to grind as much.

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66 sunroof Fastback http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=590530
84 Rabbit GTI (gone and missed)
80 Rabbit (gone and missed)
92 Nissan 240SX turbo

[Bobnotch]

Wow, that looks like the roof of my 65 Notch, back when I got it. It had all sorts of rust around that factory hole.
What you might want to try, is tack welding the patch piece in place, then put another tack weld in between the 2 tacks, then go around and split those and so on. This will help you to control the heat in the metal, and avoid wapage. It'll also join the patch t the parent metal in a while as you keep filling in the areas between the tacks. It seems that your tack welds are nice and clean with good penetration. By doing like I suggested, you control the heat, and you'll end up with LESS grinding to do (your tack welds will be flatter after you get more practice). I hate grinding, so I try to minimize as much of it as I can. Plus doing so will help you with your larger gaps.
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Bob 65 Notch S with Sunroof
71 Notch ...aka Krunchy; build pics here;
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=249390 -been busy working
64 T-34 Ghia...aka Wolfie, under construction... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=412120

[Clatter]

And away you go!!!

My suggestion is to do as much hidden welding now as you can.
Right now, when you are on the steep part of the learning curve,
things will get better with practice.

So,
What I did was 'practice' on the floor pan and inner fenders and things that won't show.

Plus, the pan is thicker metal, and far easier to weld on.

That roof area is going to be front/center when the car is done,
And you are going to want to have your skills as far along as you can when you do it.

That said, controlling heat is -everything-.
Make a single tack, blow it with air and/or quench with a wet rag,
Then make another tack,
Then cool as above,
Then adjust with hammer/dolly,
Repeat.

You simply cannot go too slow on a big flat panel like that.

Hardest move you will have to do on the whole car...

Google 'hammer welding', as that's what they used to call the skill that's called 'welding in patches' today..
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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[Clatter]

Another big part of controlling the heat is during grinding.

If you are getting any purple or tan coloration from your grinding,
Then you are warping the metal.

One thing that worked for me is using one of those thin cut-off wheels on end.
A mistake I made was just using a regular grinding wheel,
And leaning on it like I was working on a bridge or a dock or something...

Also, I ended up grinding metal adjacent to the welds in my effort to get things smooth looking.
Made things so thin, that I had to patch more.
So be sure to -only- grind your welds.

Just like welding, it will be disastrous to be in a hurry...

Another reason new dads don't restore cars!!
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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[Evilgtiguy]

Good advice guys. I figured that I need to step away from the roof anyways. There are some areas that are hidden from view that I can address and repair without trying to make it "art".

I hear you on the new dad thing. I'm too deep in this to give up so I'm going to keep on going. It has to be saved. My friends think I'm nuts and that I should've bought a turn key car with power but when this is done I'll enjoy it more.
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66 sunroof Fastback http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=590530
84 Rabbit GTI (gone and missed)
80 Rabbit (gone and missed)
92 Nissan 240SX turbo