TheSamba.com :: View topic - Messaged the wrong person, acquired a '61 :-D

Mon Jul 07, 2025 7:47 pm

tcoop1100 wrote: Beautiful, Gary. A car to be proud of. You deserve a round of bows.

Thank you my dude - I have to say a big thank you to the wifey, Julia and Lando...here we are at 9pm Sunday, ruffled, hot, feeling the burn, but we piled in Ringo for a happy photo!!

Tue Jul 08, 2025 7:00 am

The Pilch wrote: tcoop1100 wrote: Beautiful, Gary. A car to be proud of. You deserve a round of bows.

Thank you my dude - I have to say a big thank you to the wifey, Julia and Lando...here we are at 9pm Sunday, ruffled, hot, feeling the burn, but we piled in Ringo for a happy photo!!

Perfect day to post a family pic in Ringo considering it's Ringo's birthday! 7/7

Car looks great! Certainly takes a village to make these cars happen.

Tue Jul 08, 2025 8:37 am

Awesome family photo. Ringo looks great!

Tue Jul 08, 2025 8:05 pm

@RobE30 - yes!! It is 7/7 what a coincidence!! Thanks for bringing that to our attention!! And thanks everyone!!

After work today I just wanted to potter around, it's so hot and I'm tired from my ridiculous job, so...

I have these running boards...

...which I don't like how they reflect the ribs in my paint...

Kinda reminds me of some tacky decal that one would have found on a Renault 5 Le Car or something equally as schizer.

So...

I masked it off and sprayed them with truck bed liner...

But I left the leading edge glossy, and I masked off the first rib for effect. I think I like it...

Wed Jul 09, 2025 2:28 am

Yip, that looks much better.

Wed Jul 09, 2025 6:32 am

Oh wow the running boards look great! I've had those same ones on my 73 since the 90s and never totally loved them, I might have to give that a try.

Wed Jul 09, 2025 7:22 pm

vwuberalles wrote: Oh wow the running boards look great! I've had those same ones on my 73 since the 90s and never totally loved them, I might have to give that a try.

Thanks guys!! I just used Rustoleum Truck Bed Liner from a rattle can.

So a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I started putting the glass and door seals and the like, back in.

Me and Clyde were stumped due to excessive tight fit of the side windows, regardless of how much we messed with the wing window post, we deduced that stock side window glass + new seals and felts = "you have to shave 1/4" off the glass, man, it's too tight"....so I did.

Diamond Grind Tool for the Dremel...it was working...

It took a while, but after maybe ten minutes I had about an inch filed off.

I went inside to "point Percy at the Porcelain", came back out, looked at my window from about two feet away, and

BOOOOOMMMMMM

It exploded without me even touching it. Sunsabitch. Well I'd call that a fail.

While messaging my mate Dave for the chance he has a new side window, I put my ill-fitting WW rear license plate illuminator thingy on..

Bummer. Tomorrow is a new day. Clyde will be over Saturday to rock these tight windows back in.

I'm going to do some research on the Samba, but within my own thread can I ask you guys...any of you had new seals/felts etc for your doors, and found the main glass (the up n down window) to be so tight it feels impossible to get in between the new felts? What did you do? Help needed!

Cheers fellas!

Wed Jul 09, 2025 9:40 pm

Awesome work as always, Gary! Hats off to your "crew" for the all-hands-on-deck effort! =D>

As you've noticed, tempered glass doesn't like to be tampered with. I'm surprised you were able to remove as much as you did without it shattering. I don't have a solution for the tight fit, but if you still have the old seals/felts, you could pull the new ones and compare them to the old ones. Modifying the new ones to more closely match the old ones might be needed. Jus' sayin'

Wed Jul 09, 2025 10:03 pm

OldSchoolVW's wrote: Awesome work as always, Gary! Hats off to your "crew" for the all-hands-on-deck effort! =D>

As you've noticed, tempered glass doesn't like to be tampered with. I'm surprised you were able to remove as much as you did without it shattering. I don't have a solution for the tight fit, but if you still have the old seals/felts, you could pull the new ones and compare them to the old ones. Modifying the new ones to more closely match the old ones might be needed. Jus' sayin'

Thanks Tom!! Hope you are doing well. You're right about tempered glass. I read so much about it on the tittynet, that you can do this and that with it...well, turns out if you do this, that happens, so I am now in a frantic search for a replacement. Fingers crossed. We will modify the new felts as you suggest. I have some silicone spray and a Chris Vallone video on hand. Wish me luck!

Wed Jul 09, 2025 10:17 pm

The Pilch wrote: so I am now in a frantic search for a replacement.

Maybe check with these guys up in Ogden ...

https://www.windshieldogden.com/antique-auto-glass-replacement/

Then there's always Avery's in Kelso, WA. Not exactly around the corner, but they do ship everywhere and probably have more than a couple sitting on a rack:

https://averysaircooled.com

Thu Jul 10, 2025 8:44 am

The Pilch wrote:
any of you had new seals/felts etc for your doors, and found the main glass (the up n down window) to be so tight it feels impossible to get in between the new felts? What did you do? Help needed!

Yes sir.
Ol' Herb got all new felts, scrapers, lift channels, tracks, seals, and vent windows. (My build is here https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0 )
Absolute bear to roll the windows up or down and it's so bad it pulls the glass out of the lift channels. I had hoped it would "wear in" and get easier. It has not yet
what I've tried:
I pushed the vent window bar as far forward as it would go. that helped "some" (but makes my vent windows a little harder to close"
I pried the felt open a little with my plastic trim tools and that seemed to help "some"
I tried bar soap, and that seemed to help "some"
I am now adding graphite powder into the channels to help ease the operation, and that helps "some"
Nothing seems to fix it yet, so I push the window down with one hand and crank with the other.

Thu Jul 10, 2025 5:36 pm

slave1pilot wrote: The Pilch wrote:
any of you had new seals/felts etc for your doors, and found the main glass (the up n down window) to be so tight it feels impossible to get in between the new felts? What did you do? Help needed!

Yes sir.
Ol' Herb got all new felts, scrapers, lift channels, tracks, seals, and vent windows. (My build is here https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0 )
Absolute bear to roll the windows up or down and it's so bad it pulls the glass out of the lift channels. I had hoped it would "wear in" and get easier. It has not yet
what I've tried:
I pushed the vent window bar as far forward as it would go. that helped "some" (but makes my vent windows a little harder to close"
I pried the felt open a little with my plastic trim tools and that seemed to help "some"
I tried bar soap, and that seemed to help "some"
I am now adding graphite powder into the channels to help ease the operation, and that helps "some"
Nothing seems to fix it yet, so I push the window down with one hand and crank with the other.

Thank you for your response - I've been frantically researching this PITA subject and I have found three important parts out...

Pt1) This... https://youtu.be/82BL3kGrqbY?si=yq-hPQBiQzozKqqr

Chris seems to be very adamant that all the nuts, bolts and screws should be loose, and tightened once the glass is in.

Pt2) DON'T use silicone spray, as my friend Dave at VGM has seen countless times the silicone eat away at the felt channels, making them separate. I'm not sure if it's just the cheap crap that comes from JBugs, or the top end quality stuff, or all of them, but I have the German quality ones from CIP1 and I am not going to risk it. Baby powder/talc or graphite spray/powder is good though.

Pt3) I'll tell you on Saturday afternoon!

Dave had a side window, for $50...considering I couldn't find ANY around here, I feel very lucky!

I also bought an ignition switch as it's a fairly important part needed to crank Ringo, which is coming soon!

Out to the garage, pottering about like a pottering.....ummm....thing.

Thu Jul 10, 2025 8:41 pm

I installed the ignition switch, so here's a couple of gratuitous dashboard shots now that it kinda resembles a car dash again...

Looking forward to making more progress tomorrow after work when it's happy Friday!!

Fri Jul 11, 2025 8:06 pm

Happy Friday everyone!!

Today, I was glad to get a cheap deal on some body moldings. I am trying to get back onto a budget, and not overspend.

Of course, the kit does NOT come with clips, and I only managed to salvage around 18 clips. And of course, the kit doesn't fit very well, but this car is supposed to be a driver, so I'll just live with it. Medium happy.

Tomorrow - door glass, doors on, windshield in...that's the goal.

Sat Jul 12, 2025 7:36 pm

Not bad old man. I hope you aren't afraid to drive it when you're done :)

Mon Jul 14, 2025 11:47 am

scrivyscriv wrote: Not bad old man. I hope you aren't afraid to drive it when you're done :)

I have to be strong. Drive it. Ding it. Use the car and love the car but take care of it.

Saturday and Sunday was rough but this was achieved….

Tue Jul 15, 2025 7:16 pm

I've been pottering about again. It's nice not to be rushing through brutal installations. So...

I cleaned up the glass, and added as much chrome as I could with the limited amounts of clips I have left...which is two. So I need more.

Then...

I added the door seals. Very rubbery smell, and why are they grey? That's annoying. However, "German" quality was spot on, they fit good, just need to trim one area.

Then I added a couple of hood seals. That was pretty dull..

Then I found some stuff in the glove box with old VW things written on...

...but alas, it's all for a 66, so that was a bummer. No history on this car at all. But it's life starts now!!

I sat and rolled the windows up and down and flexed the vent windows to get those new seals moving and seated.

I must reiterate, JBugs cheap stuff is utter gash. My window cranks are bent. I bent them back. But that's not the point.

Despite being on a budget, as most of us are, it's false economy buying the cheapest stuff, and also ridiculous buying anything from JBugs. In fact, they are so irritating, they don't even deserve to have capitalization when I type JBugs.

jbugs.

There...see, jbugs. Knobbers.

Oh by the way, their customer service level as well as their parts score around a 2 out of ten, which is why I've boycotted them, just fyi.

Tue Jul 15, 2025 7:31 pm

Gary,
The door seals are grey likely, due to the mold release agent on the seals. Over time the grey will deepen closer to black.

Believe it or not, I cannot think of any time I have ordered any parts from j-bugs.
I've read too many complaints on the quality of the parts they peddle to waste time or money with them.

On the bright side of life for you. The car is looking great.

Tue Jul 15, 2025 9:15 pm

67rustavenger wrote: Gary,
The door seals are grey likely, due to the mold release agent on the seals. Over time the grey will deepen closer to black.

Yes, like original / NOS seals - they are also rather grey due to mold release agent / talc

Wed Jul 16, 2025 7:22 am

Well thanks fellas that’s excellent.