TheSamba.com :: View topic - Another Pickle Post

Mon Nov 11, 2024 5:02 pm

More wheel polishing. Ugh.

Mon Nov 11, 2024 5:04 pm

The old tires were cracked and the fronts just stopped holding air. So I bought some new tires to be able to at least roll it around from the garage to the driveway when necessary.

Fri Nov 15, 2024 2:22 pm

Nutty. Just found an older post with a '71 Elm Green Square that sold on my Birthday 2 months ago, in the next city over. Super clean.

https://www.hemmings.com/auction/1971-volkswagen-type-3-la-verne-ca-676410/sold

Sat Nov 16, 2024 11:33 pm

It’s been nearly a year in the making, but I finally took a road trip from LA County CA to Glendale AZ to pick up a rear clip to replace my engine deck area above the engine.

Got up well before the rooster crows, made it through Palm Desert just in time for the sunrise.

This is what I went out for. I’d been meaning to go for months but never could make it happen.

When the seller reached out to say he was moving and had 2 weeks to get rid of it, it lit a fire under my ass to make it happen. I’m so glad I did, because he’s a super cool guy and fellow VW fanatic with an early sunroof Notchback project of his own.
He also hooked me up with way more than just the rear clip. I came home with a pair of front doors, a hood, a rear apron/valance section, part of a front clip with the full dash and under-hood “hump” above the fresh air box ( which is fully rusted out on my car). Plus a spare master cylinder.

Quite the haul.

Sun Nov 17, 2024 7:15 am

Well worth the trip to score a solid engine deck!
They are getting scarce.

Sun Nov 17, 2024 11:42 am

Mike Fisher wrote: Well worth the trip to score a solid engine deck!
They are getting scarce.

Agreed. That's probably the biggest "patch panel" you'll ever install. :wink: Most when installing those, drill out the spot welds to get rid of the underneath supports. Then do the same to the car, so it can be fit right in. I hope this helps.

Sun Nov 17, 2024 4:57 pm

Bobnotch wrote: Mike Fisher wrote: Well worth the trip to score a solid engine deck!
They are getting scarce.

Agreed. That's probably the biggest "patch panel" you'll ever install. :wink: Most when installing those, drill out the spot welds to get rid of the underneath supports. Then do the same to the car, so it can be fit right in. I hope this helps.
That’s what I’ve seen here. And definitely the plan. Starting to research spot weld removal drill bits and such.

Mon Nov 18, 2024 3:46 pm

Scotty D wrote: Bobnotch wrote: Mike Fisher wrote: Well worth the trip to score a solid engine deck!
They are getting scarce.

Agreed. That's probably the biggest "patch panel" you'll ever install. :wink: Most when installing those, drill out the spot welds to get rid of the underneath supports. Then do the same to the car, so it can be fit right in. I hope this helps.
That’s what I’ve seen here. And definitely the plan. Starting to research spot weld removal drill bits and such.

I think Eastwood sells a good one. You want one that you can replace the cutting bit part if possible. Also pick up a bunch of 1/8th inch drill bits to make pilot holes with, as you might end up just drilling 1/4, 5/16ths or 3/8ths holes to separate the layers. BTDT a few times. Most of the spot welds are 6mm though. I hope this helps.

Mon Nov 18, 2024 3:50 pm

Bobnotch wrote: Scotty D wrote: Bobnotch wrote: Mike Fisher wrote: Well worth the trip to score a solid engine deck!
They are getting scarce.

Agreed. That's probably the biggest "patch panel" you'll ever install. :wink: Most when installing those, drill out the spot welds to get rid of the underneath supports. Then do the same to the car, so it can be fit right in. I hope this helps.
That’s what I’ve seen here. And definitely the plan. Starting to research spot weld removal drill bits and such.

I think Eastwood sells a good one. You want one that you can replace the cutting bit part if possible. Also pick up a bunch of 1/8th inch drill bits to make pilot holes with, as you might end up just drilling 1/4, 5/16ths or 3/8ths holes to separate the layers. BTDT a few times. Most of the spot welds are 6mm though. I hope this helps.

That actually helps out a lot, thanks again Bob. I'd been eyeballing the Eastwood site for a minute. I'll see what I can come up with.

Cheers

Sun Dec 15, 2024 8:44 pm

Finally got a minute during this busy holiday season to do a little work on the pickle. I decided to swap the passenger side window out due to the vertical scratch it had from an over-tightened arm rest screw.

I disassembled the spare door I just grabbed out in Arizona and grabbed the glass to make the swap. The clip attached to the regulator arm that slides inside the channel at the bottom of the glass broke in half. I decided to DIY another one using a good original clip as a template just to see if it holds up. I don't think anyone else is making replacements.

Mon Dec 16, 2024 8:55 pm

Threw it all back together with the DIY clip after thoroughly cleaning and lubing the channel under the window of the spare door.
The window rolls up smoothly and there doesn't seem to snag or drag as it were.

Tue Dec 17, 2024 3:29 pm

That's a good looking spare door. Before you put the glass in it though, you should have knocked the bondo out of the trim holes, so you'll be able to reinstall the trim clips and trim.

Tue Dec 17, 2024 7:16 pm

And that’s why you’re the Guru Bob. :wink:

Truth be told I’m not planning on using it, but wanted it in a somewhat decent working condition just in case.

Sun Mar 02, 2025 9:18 pm

Too busy to work on the big things, so a little thing will have to do.

When this car was resprayed way back in ‘99, they didn’t do the best job of masking things off. Overspray everywhere.

One area is the license plate light assembly. The entire chrome bezel and light lenses were sprayed. Finally got around to removing them and then removing the paint. Seems like there must be an easier way to replace the bulbs, but I can’t figure it out if there is.

Paint removed, new bulbs installed. Check one small item off the list.

Sun Mar 02, 2025 9:19 pm

Sun Mar 02, 2025 9:25 pm

Polished up nicely, it’s one of those good from far but far from good situations

Mon Mar 03, 2025 11:10 am

Scotty D wrote: Too busy to work on the big things, so a little thing will have to do.

When this car was resprayed way back in ‘99, they didn’t do the best job of masking things off. Overspray everywhere.

One area is the license plate light assembly. The entire chrome bezel and light lenses were sprayed. Finally got around to removing them and then removing the paint. Seems like there must be an easier way to replace the bulbs, but I can’t figure it out if there is.

Paint removed, new bulbs installed. Check one small item off the list.

The car is really looking good in that shot. Nice work on the plate light, as it almost looks like new. 8)

Sun Mar 30, 2025 8:03 pm

The garage has been so jammed full of overflow items that it's been a nightmare to work on the car. When you have to move 5 giant items just to open the driver's side door, you tend to skip the work.

Finally feeling better after a week-long flu visit, still not close to 100%, but good enough to get up and about. I got into the garage and made some space. Feels good to be back to work on the VW again.

Doing some simple chores while gathering back up my strength. One of them is to create two new moisture barriers using the remnant of the only one that survived .

I might get some kind of butyl rope or a gasket type material to adhere it, like newer cars use. Is there a typical adhesive preferred by the VW community?

Contemplating installing the door panels just to see how they fit and look. It's way too early for it, but I'd love to see it done. I've got the rest of the panels as well, but those can wait.

Last small detail for the day was to pull off the FI cover plate and clean it up a bit. Hit it with the old wire wheel, then cleaned it off and sprayed some rust converter on it. I figure that since I'll eventually be replacing all of the window seals eventually, this will be sufficient to keep the panel in decent shape for a while. I'm guessing the gasket for the access panel is unobtanium, thankfullly mine is only in four pieces.

For the man too cheap to purcahse new screws...

Turned out decent enough.

Sat Apr 12, 2025 8:01 pm

Polished the last wheel. Looks good from far, but far from good.

Started out a bit rough.

Not terrible I guess.

Sun Apr 13, 2025 12:13 pm

Scotty D wrote: Polished the last wheel. Looks good from far, but far from good.

Started out a bit rough.

Not terrible I guess.

Those cleaned up pretty damn good. 8) I'd probably go back over them (by hand with an old cotton T-shirt) with some Mother's mag and aluminum polish. I've used it before on some old aluminum rims, along with some polished 8 spokes before, and it really does a great job of cleaning them up. You might be surprised how it turns out. I use a 3by3 inch square, folded up and put it on the rim directly, and rub it in really good, then using the rest of the shirt wipe it off while polishing it. It really brings them back to life. 8) You can also use that tapered cone to make life easier on you too, then give them a quick wipe off.