TheSamba.com :: View topic - Body Off

Mon Jan 18, 2010 7:29 pm

Font end with all new components is done, rebuilt pedal cluster is in and the chassis is back on four wheels. What a pain in the ass it was to get the upper torsion arms to seat all the way in. They kept hanging up on the torsion leaf packs. I wound up pulling them out one side and seating one arm then sliding the whole assembly in and working on the other side. The bottoms slid right in.

Here's a tip for anyone installing drop spindles; put the wheel cylinder bolt and the bottom brake shoe retaining pin in their respective holes in the backing plates prior to bolting them to the spindles or you'll have to unbolt the plates (like I did).

I had a few spare minutes tonight and I thought I'd "throw" the sway bar and new bushings in, but it looks like it's gonna be more than a few minute job. I'll work on it tomorrow evening and bolt the motor back in Wednesday or Thursday. Body going back on soon...

Mon Jan 18, 2010 7:53 pm

you do very nice work, sir. The chassis looks beautiful!

Tue Jan 19, 2010 8:03 pm

The front sway bar is on. It wasn't as difficult as I'd expected. I learned a trick or two that might save someone some time when changing sway bar bushings. PM if interested.

Tue Jan 19, 2010 8:26 pm

Looks great! It was a trip down memory lane viewing your photo's of your 68...well, except that mine did have the rust in the usual places! I didn't think I'd ever be done cutting and welding in the new panels! It was worth it though. Verts are a lot of fun.

I saw that you had the bowden cable hooked up to the air cleaner! That's pretty rare. So, the engine had it cooling flaps and linkage too? I looked for months for that cable and sleeve. I finally found one and hooked it all up. It's pretty cool to see the cooling flaps open up as the engine warms up.

What are you doing with the body? It looks like the original paint would buff out nicely.

Wed Jan 20, 2010 7:56 am

wcfvw69 wrote: Looks great! It was a trip down memory lane viewing your photo's of your 68...well, except that mine did have the rust in the usual places! I didn't think I'd ever be done cutting and welding in the new panels! It was worth it though. Verts are a lot of fun.

I saw that you had the bowden cable hooked up to the air cleaner! That's pretty rare. So, the engine had it cooling flaps and linkage too? I looked for months for that cable and sleeve. I finally found one and hooked it all up. It's pretty cool to see the cooling flaps open up as the engine warms up.

What are you doing with the body? It looks like the original paint would buff out nicely.
Thanks for the kind words. My motor had the cooling flaps and linkage but was missing the thermostat and rod as well as the bowden cable. I found a clean thermo and rod no problem but the cable took a while. I had to buy a whole fan shroud to get it. The seller wouldn't pull it off.

Once I bolt the motor back in the chassis, hopefully tonight, I'll move the body into my workspace and assess the condition of the OG paint. I think it will shine up with a little work. The car hasn't been washed since 1988 so I think the dirt is causing the paint to appear flatter that it actually is. Hopefully I'll be happy with it and won't have to do a re-paint.

Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:18 pm

donny1973 wrote: wcfvw69 wrote: Looks great! It was a trip down memory lane viewing your photo's of your 68...well, except that mine did have the rust in the usual places! I didn't think I'd ever be done cutting and welding in the new panels! It was worth it though. Verts are a lot of fun.

I saw that you had the bowden cable hooked up to the air cleaner! That's pretty rare. So, the engine had it cooling flaps and linkage too? I looked for months for that cable and sleeve. I finally found one and hooked it all up. It's pretty cool to see the cooling flaps open up as the engine warms up.

What are you doing with the body? It looks like the original paint would buff out nicely.
Thanks for the kind words. My motor had the cooling flaps and linkage but was missing the thermostat and rod as well as the bowden cable. I found a clean thermo and rod no problem but the cable took a while. I had to buy a whole fan shroud to get it. The seller wouldn't pull it off.

Once I bolt the motor back in the chassis, hopefully tonight, I'll move the body into my workspace and assess the condition of the OG paint. I think it will shine up with a little work. The car hasn't been washed since 1988 so I think the dirt is causing the paint to appear flatter that it actually is. Hopefully I'll be happy with it and won't have to do a re-paint.

I have an original paint (rust free this time) 67 bug too. The paint was dead and heavily oxidized. I color sanded it down with 2000 grit sand paper. I then buffed it with a rubbing compound using a wool cover. I couldn't believe how well the original shine came back! I was shocked to say the least. The bad news is the paint was thin and in some spots the primer broke thru. I don't mind as it was going to have to be repainted anyway to remove some dings and dents. I just wanted to shine it up until I repaint it.

Thu Jan 21, 2010 8:32 am

Bolted the motor back in last night. I'll bleed and adjust the brakes next then move the body in for assessment. If all goes well, it should be bolted back on next week. I've got the new seat upholstry set and I'm waiting for the new top, headliner, door panels and carpet to arrive. I decided to switch from the OG black to white top and interior, Should look good with the Yukon yellow. Hope to have it done and driving in time for WintgerJam.

Fri Jan 22, 2010 7:04 am

millerje78 wrote: you do very nice work, sir. The chassis looks beautiful!
JM,

I took the measurements you requested. The cross piece of the seat track is 27.5" from the front support and 38" from the rear support. Hope this helps.

Donny

Fri Jan 22, 2010 7:17 am

[quote="donny1973"]Welded the left side pan in last night. I had a hard time getting the pan to sit flush with the tunnel lip. There was about a 1/16 to 1/8 gap from right behind the seat track to the rear support. The heavy gauge WW pans were too thick to simply push down to weld. To close up the gap in order to keep from blowing away the pan material while welding, I found the best solution was a few sheet metal screws. When done, I pulled out the screws and welded up the holes. As luck would have it, my argon bottle ran dry with before I got the last few welds done. Nowhere to get gas around here on a Saturday, so I'll finish it up Monday night. Next on the task list is paint and seam sealer.

Just a tip,

Try these next time to hold the sheetmetal flat. We use them for aircraft also, before we shoot Rivets

http://www.eastwood.com/panel-holding-system.html

Just my .02

Fri Jan 22, 2010 7:31 am

donny1973 wrote: millerje78 wrote: you do very nice work, sir. The chassis looks beautiful!
JM,

I took the measurements you requested. The cross piece of the seat track is 27.5" from the front support and 38" from the rear support. Hope this helps.

Donny

Many thanks!! I'm only 1/2" off then. I used your picture as a reference and just welded them in.

Thu Jan 28, 2010 6:10 pm

I started giving the body its first bath in 20 years. So far I've cleaned the wheelwells, pulled the running boards and cleaned the convertible support rails, some of the trunk, etc. Other than some stone chips and a few battle scars, overall it looks pretty good for 42 year old original paint. I pulled the door panels and the insides of the doors look great other than a coat of dirt and dust. I also cleaned and scuffed the package shelf and gave it a coat of paint. The color is a little off, but I'll be picking up some L19K Yukon Yellow Monday and will repaint it the correct shade before installing the sound deadener and carpet. I'm shooting for Sunday to drop the body back on. Once that's done, I'll attack the exterior and see if the original paint can be saved.

Fri Jan 29, 2010 7:30 pm

Had a few spare minutes so I threw the sound deadener in tonight. Thought it would be easier while the body is still off.

Fri Jan 29, 2010 8:04 pm

Looking real nice, great job. Don't have to worm around things to get the sound reducer installed this way. :D
Bob

Fri Jan 29, 2010 8:27 pm

looking great, brother! which sound deadening product did you use?

Sat Jan 30, 2010 4:49 pm

millerje78 wrote: looking great, brother! which sound deadening product did you use?
Rather than spend a fortune on Dynamat, I settled on this stuff. It contains no asphalt like some of the other products that I've seen recommended and the backing is made of closed cell foam so it won't absorb water or moisture. It's inexpensive, easy to work with and has a nice strong adhesive. It holds well but I probably wouldn't use it on verticle surfaces without additional adhesive. One roll will do the floor pans and package shelf. I also ordered the four piece tar board kit for the floors from Wolfsburg West. Probably overkill, but that's seems to have become the theme of this resto.

I've got some Dynamat left over from another project. I'll use that on the package shelf area.

Sat Jan 30, 2010 6:32 pm

donny1973 wrote: millerje78 wrote: looking great, brother! which sound deadening product did you use?
Rather than spend a fortune on Dynamat, I settled on this stuff. It contains no asphalt like some of the other products that I've seen recommended and the backing is made of closed cell foam so it won't absorb water or moisture. It's inexpensive, easy to work with and has a nice strong adhesive. It holds well but I probably wouldn't use it on verticle surfaces without additional adhesive. One roll will do the floor pans and package shelf. I also ordered the four piece tar board kit for the floors from Wolfsburg West. Probably overkill, but that's seems to have become the theme of this resto.

I've got some Dynamat left over from another project. I'll use that on the package shelf area.

I will be doing something similar with the floor on my 73. the double foil backed HVAC wrap really keeps the road heat out in the summer. looking great! sometimes people get fooled by the R value figures on products like that, and forget about how much a reflective surface can keep heat out!

Sun Jan 31, 2010 6:18 pm

Finished the clean up work on the wheelwells, trunk, underside, jambs, insides of the doors and painted interior surfaces. I'm considering glueing the carpet in place before reuniting the body and chassis. It's got to be easier being able to stand in the center of the body while it's on the blocks.

Thu Feb 11, 2010 7:49 pm

Since I'm changing the top and interior from black to white, I decided to respray the the black interior hard parts in L466 silver biege. I knew the metal parts would come out fine, but I was concerned about the steering wheel. After sanding with 260 grit paper and finishing up with a scuff pad, I laid five coats of color and three of clear. It came out great and the clear should help prevent wearing through the paint.

Thu Feb 11, 2010 8:01 pm

steering wheel looks great! I fear that it will suffer crazing though with that much material laid on. Looks awesome though!

Fri Feb 12, 2010 6:10 am

millerje78 wrote: steering wheel looks great! I fear that it will suffer crazing though with that much material laid on. Looks awesome though!
I considered that and layed on light coats. I figured it was worth a shot, this being a perfect 40k mile wheel. If it crazes, I'll just spring for one of the $150 repro wheels.