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Thu Jun 03, 2010 1:12 pm

It has been a while since I worked on a buggy. I had the Deserter GT but lost interest since I could not title it here in NC. I would have kept the body but the pan was already cut to the body and since it is a unique size I decided to sell it as a matched project.

I have been looking for an SR for some time and my buddy Bryan (didget69) in Raleigh was selling his at just the right time. So I bought it. It was fairly complete with some fiberglass work needed. (Dash was swiss cheese and the passenger front fender was repaired with a license plate and Bondo) This was the way Bryan got it as well.

I have been working on the dash.

Pretty rough to start with.

I sanded filled and reinforced it.

Primed it and tried to keep the original "vinyl" look. I could only keep the edge joint. (Black in the picture) The texture was lost during the sanding stages.

Here is what it looks like now.

It has gray gelcote on it and I think I will keep the gray and do the whole interior in gray. This will reduce heat build up inside here on the beach.

I have been able to obtain side curtains, hard top, bumperettes, Volvo tail lights and lenses, as well as Ansen type slot rims. This build will not be as fast as my Manx build since I now have a "real job" and do not have the time I had to do the Manx.

Comments are welcome as usual!!

"Action and Drama" MURZI

Thu Jun 03, 2010 1:15 pm

Congrats dude, i'd love to have an SR someday. I look forward to seeing this progress.

Thu Jun 03, 2010 1:44 pm

You said it before I thought it!!! HEHEHE

Hey homey!! I may have to call you about the FG work on my BAJA...I needsssss some tips!!! PM me your number!!

Looking sharp...and I know it will be awesome when done!!! Shoot for the first weekend in October and maybe you can drag it down here to Biloxi MS for Cruisin the Coast!! I am shooting for that date to have my baja done.

Thu Jun 03, 2010 1:58 pm

Looks great. Be careful of the light color on the top of the dash. It will put a glare on the windshield. Just a thought.
Put a piece of paper on your car dash and you will see.
Good luck on your build. Nice job on the dash

Thu Jun 03, 2010 2:24 pm

Quote:
Primed it and tried to keep the original "vinyl" look. I could only keep the edge joint. (Black in the picture) The texture was lost during the sanding stages.

Have you thought about having it covered with "real" vinyl?

Thu Jun 03, 2010 7:00 pm

I am trying SEM texture paint on my Avenger dash and console. Don't know how it looks/works yet though.

Thu Jun 03, 2010 7:02 pm

Put a mat finish on the top of the dash...

Bryan

Thu Jun 03, 2010 10:59 pm

Nice job. Will definitely follow this build thread.

Fri Jun 04, 2010 6:39 am

Hey Vince,

Very cool that you picked up the SR from Bryan. I'm sure Bryan gave you the history that the SR used to be here in Wilmington. Bryan brought the car by one of our club cruise-ins for a look. I can't wait to see what magic you perform on it :-)

You really need to plan a trip down (or us up) once you get it completed.

Keep the pictures coming.

Bud

Fri Jun 04, 2010 7:55 am

Look for my old SR near you, Bud. The woman that bought it is in Wrightsville Beach, I think!

Looking good, Vince! Nice to have seen you at Carlisle this year!

Fri Jun 04, 2010 8:15 am

Letterman7 wrote: Look for my old SR near you, Bud. The woman that bought it is in Wrightsville Beach, I think!

Looking good, Vince! Nice to have seen you at Carlisle this year!

My wife and I cruise WB all the time and haven't seen an SR yet. In fact the only one I've ever seen is the one Bryan sold to Vince. What color is it? I'd love to find them to get them to join our VW club. If you are comfortable sharing the name and address (through PM) I could cruise by.

Small world....

Bud

Fri Jun 04, 2010 9:31 am

It's metalflake orange with the black top. Vince actually has her info as he was helping me help her get it registered there!

Fri Jun 04, 2010 4:04 pm

phillipmurrieta
Thanks I know there there are a few out there. Jim Guthrie has one in CA and there is one on e-bay in KS.

MURZI
You have a PM. I am interested in seeing your Baja, bring it up and I will do the glass work on it.

Hot Air
Thanks for the heads up on the light color. I will check it and see if the angles cause me a problem.

Tom
I had never thought of using real vinyl. Have you tried it before? It seems like it would work great, I just don't know where I would get it sewn before gluing it down.

Jeff
I would be very interested in seeing how well it would hold up. Have you heard from the guy who bought your Manx? I am curious how the texture on that dash is holding up.

Bryan
That is a good idea, I am trying to stay with the gelcote to keep it durable. But I could "scuff" it with some 400-600grit sandpaper and it should give it a nice mat finish.

Bud
I am pretty busy during the season and my days off are Thurs-Fri till the beginning of November. It would be neat if you came up for the Duck 4th parade. It is actually on the 5th to avoid the weekend traffic.
I can PM you the SR owner's info if you like, I still have it.

Rick
Great to see you in Carlisle, that is quite a Beast you have. You can always bring it down for some glass work.

Vince

Sat Jun 05, 2010 5:27 am

Hey Vince - looking good on the SR dash!

If you don't mind my asking - what kinds of issues were you having on registering the Deserter? Something specific to NC?

I ask because NC is one of the prime relocation states under consideration after my wife and I retire. Since I'm into funky cars (kit cars, buggies, who knows what!) it's nice to get a heads up on owning and registering such cars there. Like SC is supposedly hard to get insurance on these vehicles?

There is little doubt I'll be spending a good part of my "leisure" time after retirement working on some kind of car project, so if there is anything I need to make sure of before starting such a project to smooth the registration process, that would be very good information to know!

Cheers,
Jeff

Sat Jun 05, 2010 4:03 pm

Jeff

The problem in NC is that any out of state car that is over 35 years old has to be inspected by a special state inspector. The closest one is in Elizabeth City about 60 miles away. The car has to be in roadworthy condition before he will come out. He will check all numbers, VIN, engine, body etc. If he finds anything odd (like that is not a VW Beetle) he will then consider it a reconstructed car. You will then need to produce all receipts for everything on it to prove ownership. If there is anything amiss he does not have to issue you an NC title.

In my case on the Deserter I had had a bill of sale and an old registration from NH. I did not want to go through all the time and expense to get it roadworthy and have it declined. I definitely did not want to go through proving where I got everything on it since I traded for much of the parts or they came with another project.

Broadway titles and the like are no help either. In your case with a clear MD title you will have to go through the same process. There is talk about changing this but it is only talk as far as I know.

It is the same with any car over 35 years old and even if it goes through it can take months to finally get your NC title. The way around this is to buy a Beetle with an NC title and then use it as your base for your project. If it is over 35years old in never has to be state inspected and no one has to check it. But only a currently NC titled vehicle.

Sun Jun 06, 2010 4:23 am

Yikes! That sounds like a real ordeal to have to go through Vince.

I can just imagine registering my highly modified GS..... Although I DO have a stack of receipts in a file folder about as thick as your forearm! My car is anything but stock - even by Deserter GS standards! I'll definitely have to go through the details of NC registration should we find that retirement "dream" house (which FWIW will be a good 7+ years out).

I can see why you'd want to buy local in the case of your SR. Looking forward to the progress of the build!

Jeff

Sun Jun 06, 2010 11:46 am

Vince just needs to get busy & get the SR done... :lol:

Nice work on the dash -

And skip Broadway on the title for NC... NC DMV doesn't approve of the title service companies & can give you grief over it. Many state DMV/BMV's are cracking down on titles being 'created' through the title service companies, and Broadway won't cover kit-cars anyway.

Bryan

Thu Jun 10, 2010 10:59 am

Vince, Bryan, Bud,

Wanted to comment about so many things on this particular thread, but responding mostly to see if there is any interest in some sort of a Dune Buggy only run type event along the NC/SC Coast? I saw all three of your names in the thread about this and you all seem to be located along the NC Coast. I go to the SEVWA Farmington and Greensboro events all the time and see lots of great dune buggies, Baja's, Sand Rail, and it just seems like with sucha great coastline between us and SC there should be something so cool to paticipate in.

I'll now cough quitely and mention i sold my superbeatle, and live inland....

Andrew

Thu Jun 10, 2010 3:37 pm

Sorry Andrew.... off with your head for selling your VW... :lol:

bnc

Thu Jun 10, 2010 9:30 pm

yeah, it was a culmination of several things, i won't bring the house down, however if i get my life back in order my next adventure/journey will be a dune buggy :)

Andy