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Tue Apr 08, 2014 12:12 pm

Maybe is the day that they painted the car on the factory?

Wed Apr 16, 2014 11:43 am

Shoyrtt wrote:

hey that's a good look :)

Sun Apr 20, 2014 10:38 am

icekoffee wrote:

hey that's a good look :)

Your car and the white Thing that was recently parted out are the two slammed rides I really like. 8)

Fri May 23, 2014 5:30 pm

A look at the paint for the 73:

Sat May 24, 2014 4:41 pm

I had a little time to mount the Method Wheels and Falken Tires up for the 73. 8) The car should be back from the paint shop next week so we can start the final assembly.

Wed May 28, 2014 2:20 pm

I made a visit to Gabriel today of Gabriel's VW Keys & Locks in Rancho Cucamonga. I had pulled the two door locks and deck lid lock but not the ignition when the 73 went to paint. There were no keys with the car when we bought it. Gabriel determined all three were keyed the same and made a key for them. Just a couple of more days until I can check if the new key works in the ignition. :D

Gabriel is here on the Samba: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=7058

Tue Jun 03, 2014 12:30 pm

Took a trip to the Pomona Swap Meet and Car Show http://www.pomonaswapmeet.com/ this past weekend on the hunt for parts for both cars. I found Jerome out there with a lawn chair on the top of his truck with a sign "THING PARTS". He had some nice doors, wheels etc, etc, etc. 8) Two items caught my eye. He had a cherry set of dash pads that look like they never saw the sun. He also had a gas heater that was complete except for the dash switch (it has the pull knob) for $125. I immediately bought the dash pads for the 74 for $80 but didn't have enough cash for the heater. Jerome said, "I'll take $60 for the heater" and I said "Sold!" :D

Thu Jun 26, 2014 1:02 pm

The paint took a little longer than expected. I pick it up from the shop today. :D

Thu Jun 26, 2014 1:21 pm

Whoa!! it's looking quite...... YELLOW!!!
Man, that is Bright!!! 8)

So, Is it done yet? :wink:

Fri Jun 27, 2014 12:31 pm

GI Joe wrote: Whoa!! it's looking quite...... YELLOW!!!
Man, that is Bright!!! 8)

So, Is it done yet? :wink:

It is bright :shock: In fact, I think it might glow in the dark. :wink:

Ordered a set of PRP lowbacks this morning. Cage work starts in a couple of weeks and then a bunch of parts and the cage go in for powdercoating. Trans is ready for pickup. I really need to make a list. :wink: I'm hoping we should have it on the road by the end of July. 8)

Mon Jul 07, 2014 1:33 pm

The yellow Thing is moving along. We had some pretty hot days here over the holiday weekend. :o Got the Wright Gearbox trans and axles in. Broke down the donor 1600 motor and freshened it up with new tin, alternator etc. I had a great time installing the engine seals. Even after cleaning the channels out for the rubber, it was a long process getting it in correct. The wife decided to take a picture of my ugly mug as I toiled away. :lol:

Thu Jul 10, 2014 5:14 pm

Another quick update and a look at the new lights. With the fenders from Brian Coats Fabrication (Saddlesore1 also sells them here on the Samba) I really wanted to retain the look of the stock fender with the stock headlight rings, but at the same time eliminate the fugly turn signals. I found these headlights at Moore VW Parts that a number of the dune buggy guys use to have the headlights and turn signals all in one unit. I think it is a clean look. 8)

Here is the box (sorry its sidways :oops: )

and the progress to date:

Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:33 pm

Great progress!

How effective are the turn signals when the headlights are on? Although I have no plans of that sort with my Thing, it was the type of mod I had conceived years ago when my Super Beetle was becoming a German Looker. That unit is much cleaner than what was offered back then (maybe still available, I don't know). Very cool.

Fri Jul 11, 2014 6:25 am

So, it looks like the tires are 235/75/15s, The Methods are 4"? They look great! It looks like you ended up with no lift, just "lifted" fenders. The clearance looks good in the pics, do you see any possible rubbing issues once it's on the road/trail?

Great job so far!

Fri Jul 11, 2014 11:02 am

oasis wrote:
How effective are the turn signals when the headlights are on?

That is my concern with this set up. I'm not sure yet. I'll try to post some pictures when I get the headlights and signals wired. :wink:

mkparker wrote: So, it looks like the tires are 235/75/15s, The Methods are 4"? They look great! It looks like you ended up with no lift, just "lifted" fenders. The clearance looks good in the pics, do you see any possible rubbing issues once it's on the road/trail?

Yes the tires are 235/75/15 on 15x4 Methods. With the offset and the tire size (I think they are about 29" tall) they fill the fenders well. The goal was no lift and just the lifted fenders to accommodate the wheels and tires. We run Methods on a lot of the race cars in the shop and I thought they would look good on the Thing. I might need to adjust the torsions in the rear a bit once we get the cage, seats, bumper and later the hard top in place. I think the front fenders will be fine. I really was trying to keep the car as low as possible knowing that my 16 year old will be driving it. :P

Sat Jul 12, 2014 6:03 am

Thanks for the reply! That's my thinking as well on the "no lift" plan.
I really like the looks of your setup!!

We run Methods also. (sorry for the indulgent hijack)

Sat Jul 12, 2014 11:31 pm

mkparker wrote:
We run Methods also. (sorry for the indulgent hijack)

Is that a Full Potential or Fusion 10 car? Very nice!

Our two cars don't run CVs :wink:

Sun Jul 13, 2014 5:34 am

Full Potential, yes.

I see live axles!? How do you like that setup and how is it done? I'll have to look you guys up...maybe V2R.

Sun Jul 13, 2014 2:42 pm

mkparker wrote: Full Potential, yes.

I see live axles!? How do you like that setup and how is it done? I'll have to look you guys up...maybe V2R.

Does Danny Webb prep your car? The two pictures above were taken in front of Danny's house in Parker. Our two cars are Truggys built by Dunn Tech. We have done well here in the local races but had bad luck in 2013 racing BITD. I am racing in a 10 car at V2R this year with a friend. That's a fun race! Maybe I'll get to nerf you. :P

I did a little work on the car in the shop. I picked up the seats from PRP and got them mounted. I cut the stock bumpers down slightly to fit the raised fenders. Picked up 60 feet of 1.5 tubing and plates to do the cage. We put the hard top on from the lowered car to take some measurements. The one area we were having trouble with was figuring how to keep the cage tight to the window frame and keep the latch functional. The idea is to maybe relocate the latch inward on both the window frame and the top.

Mon Jul 14, 2014 5:37 am

The cars are mostly prepped by the owner in West Texas. We were having some west coast prep help by the original Full Potential car builder, but that came to a screaming halt recently...

Seats look fantastic! Are you mounting them on stock bases, cage or ?

Can't wait to see your cage come together! :popcorn: