TheSamba.com :: View topic - Had some time for the '64 T-34 today

Fri Apr 30, 2010 9:02 pm

I had some time to work on the T-34 today, while I was waiting for the clear to dry. Here are some pics (I posted them because otherwise it didn''t happen). These are of the roof. I wanted to find out how hard that was going to be to fix. It wasn't.

This one is of the dent in the right front fender (afterward). I used the turn signal housing to get the fender close, then added the bumper to find out how far off the clip was. It's not too bad, but I think the bumper irons need a little tweeking. the gap across the front looks consistant though.

And of course we needed a group shot, now the Krusty got his rims back.

Hopefully the 1500 club doesn't mind me using Thing tires and wheels on the t-34, but they are german (OE 1973 Continential's), and have tubes, so they hold air. They're great for rolling around the shop, but I wouldn't want to drive on them. :roll: Also, are T-34's supposed to sit so high in front? I keep looking at the April 2010 T-3 calendar, and it seems this one's nose is up in the air. It's probably fine, and I'm just used to lowered cars. :wink: I'm trying to keep this car 1500 club eligible, but it's hard. :wink:
I'm going to use this thread as a build, since I know I'll be asking questions on what interchanges with a t-1 ghia, seals and other hard to find stuff I'll need. So far, most of what happened, happened today out in the shop. It was a nice day though, so I figured I'd find out where I stood on what I had to work with.

Fri Apr 30, 2010 10:01 pm

Very nice Bob :) , where did you pick up the T34 at? Does it drive?

Fri Apr 30, 2010 11:39 pm

Hey Bob, welcome to the Type 34 world. It does look a little high in front, maybe an inch or so. I think the 1500 Club would be OK with a slight adjustment to even out the height. :wink:

You should check in with Lee Hedges and the Type 34 registry if you haven't already. There are lots of dedicated owners ready to help with information and parts sources. I had that blue T34 cloth reproduced last year, so if you decide to go OG with the interior let me know.

Scott

Sat May 01, 2010 5:14 am

19typethree67 wrote: Very nice Bob :) , where did you pick up the T34 at? Does it drive?

I picked it up at RussFest, from Russ while Sue and I were out there. It doesn't run yet, and it needs a ton of work, but hopefully it'll be ready for the 2012 Invasion.:wink: Russ felt I needed a new project, and Sue agreed. 8)

Sat May 01, 2010 5:39 am

Bob, wow! When did you get a T34? I am have to admit, I am a little jealous. What are your plans? Original or custom?

I keep looking, but I don't think there will be very many cheap finds left for me out there......I will just have to keep saving my money.

Cheers and keep up with the eye candy (pictures). I love seeing them.

Sat May 01, 2010 5:48 am

t3kg wrote: Hey Bob, welcome to the Type 34 world. It does look a little high in front, maybe an inch or so. I think the 1500 Club would be OK with a slight adjustment to even out the height. :wink:

You should check in with Lee Hedges and the Type 34 registry if you haven't already. There are lots of dedicated owners ready to help with information and parts sources. I had that blue T34 cloth reproduced last year, so if you decide to go OG with the interior let me know.

Scott

Thanks for the welcome Scott, I've been checking on your build too, and it looks great. As for the front, it might just be the OE shocks that are holding it up. The front end seems a little stiff from sitting the last 6 years at Russ's, and the many years in an Iowa field before Russ got it. At 41,000 miles, I'd expect it all to still be good and tight. The beam has those welded on clips, so adjusting the front end would be tough. It also doesn't have any fuel in it, so that might be another reason it's up in the air.
Yeah, I've already registered over there, but it seems like it's pretty quiet over there with not much happening, at least compared to here on the Samba. I did spend a couple of hours looking thru the site though. As for the inside, I don't know what I'm going to do yet, as it's missing most of it (due to water damage). I mean I've got most of the old panels, but they're pretty trashed from the weather. At least I did get the driver's side window to work, as the mechanism was rusted tight. Russ mentioned that there was a group buy going on for windhields (safety glass), that I'd be interested in for sure, since this one is still the OE tempered one. Who do I contact on that, since I didn't see any mention on that there.

I've still got to strip off a bunch of old Cali bondo out of the front end too. The guy who "fixed it" was a sculpture, in that he really laid the stuff on. He'd make the "bondo meister" (the guy who worked on Krunchy) proud, in that he just stuffed the bondo in rather than fix the dents. I've seen spots in the nose over 1/2 inch thick. :shock: That and more rust removal, hole filling in the rear behind the rear seat. At this point, I'm leaning toward trying to get the big dent(s) out of the right rear quarter, but if I can't, I'll replace it with the section that came with the car. I'd really rather leave what's there, as the bottom is still nice and solid, but we'll see. Thanks for the help, as I'm sure I'll need it, these cars are definitely a little different from a regular t-3. :roll:

Sat May 01, 2010 7:14 am

I would recommend signing up for the T34 registry's email list. You'll get quicker responses to questions there than on the registry site, which is pretty sleepy these days.

After seeing what you were able to do with that rusty notch this Ghia should be a piece of cake. They are very different from their Type 3 siblings, but that's part of the fun, isn't it? :)

Sat May 01, 2010 8:17 am

roverjosh wrote: Bob, wow! When did you get a T34? I am have to admit, I am a little jealous. What are your plans? Original or custom?

I keep looking, but I don't think there will be very many cheap finds left for me out there......I will just have to keep saving my money.

Cheers and keep up with the eye candy (pictures). I love seeing them.

Like I said above, I picked it up at RussFest. Russ and I had discussed this deal back in late November (before Thanksgiving), and I've been pretty quiet on it until I actually took delivery. The current plan for it is stock, as I have the OE rims (along with a couple from a 65 T-3 here as well), and most of the car is original, right down to the numbers matching engine case. Unfortunately the interior has seen better days, but it's still mostly all there. This is the same car I put floors in for Russ back in 2008, along with welding the front clip back on.
I'll keep posting pics as I take them, kind of like my build thread of Krunchy.

Sat May 01, 2010 8:30 am

t3kg wrote: I would recommend signing up for the T34 registry's email list. You'll get quicker responses to questions there than on the registry site, which is pretty sleepy these days.

After seeing what you were able to do with that rusty notch this Ghia should be a piece of cake. They are very different from their Type 3 siblings, but that's part of the fun, isn't it? :)

Ok, I'll do that. I didn't see a link the first time thru, but then I wasn't really looking for one either.
Yeah, this one shouldn't be too bad to do, but finding the "correct" parts might be a challenge. At least most of the rust is already fixed, with just the rear area left to really be attacked. But then with all the Cali bondo in the front clip, there might be more rust hiding there too. :roll: Yes, these definitely are a little different than a "standard" T-3. :wink:

Sat May 01, 2010 8:45 am

Black & White? 2 tone?

:wink:

Sat May 01, 2010 9:16 am

I don't think so Mike. I actually like the Sea blue and white combo. Granted the front clip is currently that color, it'll change soon enough. Also, mine is a 5 lug car. :wink:

Sat May 01, 2010 9:29 am

Nice progress Bob did the roof just pop out? or was their more to it then that (ie. creases and such) looks alot better then it did at RussFest.
Keep up the good work. :)

Sat May 01, 2010 9:39 am

bigvwhead wrote: Nice progress Bob did the roof just pop out? or was their more to it then that (ie. creases and such) looks alot better then it did at RussFest.
Keep up the good work. :)

Yeah, it just popped out with a couple of slaps from my hand. It still has a small dent up front that I'll get later, along with a pinch point at the rear where the tree branch probably made contact 1st. It did come out pretty good though, and does look better than it did. It's kind of like the tire dent on your Square you picked. After Dave removed it, it popped right out. Thanks for the compliments though. :D

Sat May 01, 2010 9:49 am

Being high in the front, could be because the front suspension has been unloaded for the last 6 years.
As I discussed with Bob, many of the small dents are salvage yard damage. That car sat around savage yards, from 1968 when it was wrecked, until I bought it in 2004, as a parts car.
I have a few more parts to send you Bob. We forgot the NOS tail light lenses, and NOS side marker lights. As well as anything else I find. Marilyn still has not found the title, but I can always apply for a duplicate. Someplace around here, I have the owners manual, the warranty book, and the Kraftfahrzeugbrief (MSO for you Detroit types)

Sat May 01, 2010 11:09 am

Russ Wolfe wrote: Being high in the front, could be because the front suspension has been unloaded for the last 6 years.
As I discussed with Bob, many of the small dents are salvage yard damage. That car sat around savage yards, from 1968 when it was wrecked, until I bought it in 2004, as a parts car.
I have a few more parts to send you Bob. We forgot the NOS tail light lenses, and NOS side marker lights. As well as anything else I find. Marilyn still has not found the title, but I can always apply for a duplicate. Someplace around here, I have the owners manual, the warranty book, and the Kraftfahrzeugbrief (MSO for you Detroit types)

Yeah, I kind of figured that might be the cause. I can hear a squeak coming from somewhere under the front when I push down on it. I didn't know if it was from the shocks, or something else, but the front end does seem tight.
Yeah, I thought some of those marks looked like something from a fork lift, or maybe a plow on the right side. Oh well, it's just part of it's aging process right now, and it'll get fixed eventually.
I know, I didn't even get a bill of sale from you either. :shock: It's ok, I've got it in the shop for now, and it rolls pretty easy so it's not a problem (the hand brake works now, since it's back to 5 lug :wink:). In the next few days it'll trade sides with Krunchy, and then the real work can begin. I should have the trans back sometime next week, and then that'll go back in the truck, so I'll need that side of the shop where it's in right now. He hasn't told me how bad I hurt it yet, but I'm sure he will when I pick it up. I just had him go thru it completely, as I use the truck way too much(either by me or my son). You can make up a "care package" of the stuff I forgot to take with me, when you find it all. :D

Sat May 01, 2010 12:19 pm

i remember when i changed out the nose on mine,..the PO pushed most of the dents out, then hit it with a side grinder, laying waste to all the subtle curves and details, burning the edges to razor thin thickness.
it was a disaster.

but now it's all nice and fixed

Sun May 02, 2010 9:08 am

Foxx wrote: i remember when i changed out the nose on mine,..the PO pushed most of the dents out, then hit it with a side grinder, laying waste to all the subtle curves and details, burning the edges to razor thin thickness.
it was a disaster.

This one kind of looks like that too, maybe even the same guy did the work, except I don't think so, since he didn't even bother to knock the dents out. :shock: Sue came out last night, and started "playing" on the t-34. She was just picking at the flaking/cracked bondo on the right side. She didn't stop until it got thin at the edges. In some places it was a 1/4 inch thick. Here's the pics.

While she was doing that, I was beating on thebig dent in the nose. While smaking it, the rest of the "Cali arrowhead" came out. It's the right one in this pic.

Here's a couple of after I beat most of the dent out, along with removing some more bondo in the right side of the nose.

That was it for last night. It also looks like there were 2 different antenna locations in the left front fender that got brazed over. I'll investigate that later.

Sun May 02, 2010 9:33 am

Dang, you took the NOS bias ply tire off?

Sun May 02, 2010 9:38 am

Russ Wolfe wrote: Dang, you took the NOS bias ply tire off?

Yeah, it'll go into the spare tire well when it's done. :D

Sun May 02, 2010 9:48 am

What does your wife think of the new project? I know she has helped you A LOT on your other cars!

My wife is supportive of my habit, but she doesn't participate any. Maybe I can get my daughter interested? She's only 4, so maybe in 10 years or so...