1957 from CO - O'Phelia :D

[Jak3-719]

Does anyone have any experience with these? Im wondering if these will leave a gap in the center? Looked through classifieds here and online a few places, looks like these sections or an entire rear parcel tray are my only options, unless I can find one locally...

http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=111813151C

http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=111813152C

[57BLITZ]

Those will NOT go all the way across.
See how they have three ribs?
Those ribs line up with the ribs on your firewall . . . it has ten ribs!
_________________
Jesucristo es mi Señor y Salvador!

[Jak3-719]

[Jak3-719]

Small update - picked up a new to me frame head from a guy in Denver that had a 59 pan without a title, and he also had the lower firewall I needed as well (from a 71). Those, couples with the famed Finnish Frame head replacement pdf and I should be in business - not without some very careful cuts. Luckily, the guy that I got the Frame Head from cut it off the chassis behind the Napoleons' hat, so I have plenty of room to play with.

Gonna be interesting, to say the least.

[Jak3-719]

So, I was a bit of a dummy....

Measured some more, including the wheel base and figured out the pan isnt bent, it was in fact the spare tire well and body that was tweaked. Couple that with a not flat firewall and it made for some very funky measurements.

Needless to say - crisis avoided, and I can continue to move forward with the build. In fact, I spent yesterday straightening the spare tire well and replacing the panel (pics to follow).

8" wheels should be in soon, so Im likely going to tackle the axle/torsion/spring plate swap soon.

I did notice that the car currently has 2 different drums on the car currently, which is odd. All things I overlooked when I bought it. Now, I just need to figure out what I need to get for drums for the rear - any suggestions? I have both a set of long axles and long tubes, as well as short axles and short tubes. IIRC, you can use the long axles with the short tubes if you run 66 drums? Just an idea...

Anywho, more updates to follow!

[Jak3-719]

It's been a little bit since I've posted an update, but I've been quite busy. Started a new job where I manage an IT client support shop on a local DoD contract, and have been cranking out stuff on this thing on the weekends.

My suspension all came in, 4" narrowed beam from Valley Autowerks with tie rods, spring packs and skidplate, 2" lowered and adjustable drop plates from Limebug across the pond, empi drop spindles and disk brakes, and my 8" rear wheels came in also and have been dropped off at the powdercoaters, along with another 3 smoothies for the fronts and spare. Also go t a killer deal on some 44IDFs

Then, it was time to dig into the front Spare tire well, upper. Then, eventually the lower, and fabbing a filler piece as well.

Before:

During:

And finally - After:

The paint match isnt perfect, but it's close enough. In digging through it all and seeing the TERRIBLE "repair" work that had been done by the PO, I decided I would eventually be replacing the entire front clip - so all of this is only temporary. I just couldnt stand it as bad as it was, and with having to do the whole front clip in the future, and not wanting to blow it all apart for paint at the moment, I decided to push on and do a "for now" fix. It'snot perfect - but good enough for now.

I also was able to score a lower fire wall from a guy up in Aurora CO, who also had a framehead for me. If you read my previous posts, you'll recall I was under the impression that my framehead was tweaked. Well, after measurements upon measurements upon measurements, I figured out it is in fact NOT bent - it was the body/etc around it that was tweaked and made everything look off. Long story short - no need to replace the framehead - thankfully. BUT, I did get the rear lower firewall installed - after drilling 40-some-odd spotwelds.

That about catches the thread up, for now! I need to take my stock spindles into a local shop to get them rebuilt and the drop spindles setup, then get to working on getting the car stopping again - so up next is brakes and suspension.

I have a 67 trans in the car, but recently picked up a set of short axles and tubes, as well as shorter torsions to go with my drop plates. I still need to get some end covers and the bushings for them before I can get those on, but they'll be ordered soon enough.

As always, comment away - let me know what you think!

[Russ]

i always like pictures like these, it says to me a long night and some work accomplished.
i know thats not always the case but i like to think if it's night out you put in some good hours on it
car is looking great

_________________
Cruiser pedals for sale (see my ad's)
55 hardtop finally finished
65 beetle done:)

[57BLITZ]

Nice job on the firewall!
Your engine will be very glad that you got that taken care of!
_________________
Jesucristo es mi Señor y Salvador!

[Rome]

Your trunk and firewall repairs look very good. Will you use the same red paint on the firewall and side panels that you did on the trunk? Now's the time, before you install any of the sound insulation and the rubber engine compartment seals.

[Jak3-719]

Thanks everyone! The dark pic is exactly what it looks like - when I took it we had been jamming on the car all day!

The lower firewall will be undercoated along with the sides and underside of the rear parcel tray. I still have to do the bottoms of the fenders and fender wells as well, and I'm going to coat behind the running boards also - similar to what we did on my buddies 61 rag (if you want to check that out, search "driveway restomod" in the 58-61 forums).

Still got a lot to do, but it's getting there!

[Jak3-719]

Small update with this, as it's been a while. Turns out the bulkhead is tweaked on the pan so I will need to graft on a newer one.

Good news is I've already got a bulkhead that is straight as an arrow, bad news is I don't have a ton of spare time anymore, nor do I have a jig to make the swap painless.

Hoping to make a good push on it in the near future; I've already got the body removed from the pan and in storage, so it's just a matter of tearing the pan down a bit and diving in, really. Unfortunately, I'm also working on getting my buddies' 61 rag back on the road - hoping to have it moving under it's own power again by the end of the summer. Check out https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=650194&highlight= if you're interested in seeing our progress on that.

Haven't thrown in the towel on O'Phelia yet, and have no intentions of doing so!

[Jak3-719]

There is a LOT to update on this thread, but for now - I leave you with this picture.

Short summary of the last couple of years:

- framehead tweaked/bent badly
- body removed
- framehead replaced
- body installed
- wired with Rebel Harness
- engine stolen from wife's bus (love you babe)
- new windshield installed
- driven for the first time in over 30 years!

I will make a point to update the thread with the hundreds of pics I have taken in the last 8mos since the framehead replacement - but for now, here she is!

[Rome]

Looks sharp! Early Type 3 wheels in front?

[Jak3-719]

[Rome]

Aha, now I see it. The valve stem on the front rim against the dark color gave the initial appearance of the upper end of one of the 4 slots like this Type 3's front style. The lack of the Type 1 hubcap clips added to this misconception, since those Type 3 rims don't use clips.