Neil's 52 Zwitter

[Zwitterkafer]

Thank-you for those insights. I was hoping that ram or jack work between firewall and back of tool shelf area might be part of the solution. The bottom of my spare tire well was replaced already, unfortunately locking in some distortion from an earlier collision. It probably has to be redone. If it was easy, repair work would not be as satisfying, eh?
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"Criticism comes easier than Craftsmanship"
- Zeuxius, 400 BC

[VW_Jimbo]

Awesome update! Good to see you working the steel again!

Doors are a balancing act to obtain the gaps required. There are so many variables! But let’s set it up.

It is 90 degrees off of the heater channel for the A Pillar. B Pillar is the same 90 degrees, no less, no more. Then the drawing of the door opening has 3 measurements that MUST BE MEET to obtain a decent gap.

Once all 3 measurements are correct, mount the door. Install and torque every bolt for the heater channels, axle beams, and body mount points with the correct insulating rubber pads. All very important.

Now, you can loosen and move the front apron area by prying against the axle beam or by clamping at the same point. This area moves the A pillar around and inversely moves the door, changing the gaps at the top and at the B Pillar.

You can also loosen and move the rear mounts at the shock towers. Be sure to loosen the mounts at the lower luggage shelf as well! Increasing the gap will push the body up, increasing the gap at the top. Compressing the pad area will create a smaller gap at the top. This also changes the gap at the B Pillar inversely to what seems logical.

You have to play with all 4 corners to get it right. No easy way to make it happen Willy Nilly. Just remember to tighten everything up after you “THINK” you got it, but be prepared to redo it, several times! Patience and persistence pays off!
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[nshaddox]

As promised, pic of the setup for stretching out the accident damage up front.

chunk of plywood spread the load.

after pushing bumper mount forward off spare tire backing panel, also pushed backing panel forward from firewall. obviously still some damage here, but no access to swing hammers until the rot is trimmed away in the lower quarters.

While I continue to think about best plan to attack lower door rivets, decided to return to decklid repairs. lower edge was rotten. had mapped out shape on a piece of cardboard but then thought it might be better to check it against the wolf apron instead. also checked overall shape against a torched 66 decklid i have laying around.

after too long staring at it and wondering best path forward, just trimmed and tacked in place. i think its pretty close.

had to do some more house projects but did get a little more time on this yesterday and will continue to pick away at it. 63 donor section had a slightly different shape. right side i am 100% happy with in side profile, but left side needs some more work. guessing there was some asymmetry in the original hood here, might have to do some stretching/shrinking to get things to align better.

In other news, sourced some rear fenders. not perfect but better than the non existant parts I had. They've been migrating across the country from phoenix with a friend. have to figure out a good time to go down to PA and pick them up from him. looks like they've been camouflaging as they make their way from the SW to the NE.

[D-train]

Better get a leash on those fenders, they will go walkabouts! Also get spooked by coyotes easily!!
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shiny paint doesnt make it worth any more

[EverettB]

Waiting to see those fenders pics show up somewhere with someone saying they found them sitting somewhere out in the wild
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[nshaddox]

haha yea I've been enjoying the geocaching updates from my buddy so thought i'd share here too. they camouflage so well its no wonder they are hard to find these days.

They are probably hiding in plain sight in an undesirable part of town outside of Pittsburg as we speak.

[D-train]

Out of curiosity, is it a 54 guard and a 55/6 guard?
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shiny paint doesnt make it worth any more

[nshaddox]

One side looks heart tail lighty to me but could have been doctored. Both are dot dash fenders but I’d say one definitely later and one possibly earlier. Time will tell.

[Zwitterkafer]

Thank-you for taking the time to clarify how the front-end collision damage was pushed out.

Oh, and nice graft onto that W-lid!
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"Criticism comes easier than Craftsmanship"
- Zeuxius, 400 BC

[VW_Jimbo]

It will be good to see all 3 pieces attached to the shell!

Nice job on the lid. Is it the right hand side that is wonky. If so, may be a pie cut?
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[nshaddox]

I think the left side has issues. its kinda hard to get pictures to show whats going on with it, too many curves, crap lighting in my garage, limited daylight hours here in Michigan, and too much junk in the background creating illusions, lol. issue more obvious from the side but i didn't take pictures yet. could be multiple things going on of course.

[Clatter]

What a great thread!

Just got to read the whole thing.

Nice work.

Wish i could do something similar with mine.
Mine has 100s of pounds of bondo under a nice cut/buffed paint job.
The result of getting China fenders, frunk etc. perfectly flat/ round/gapped, etc.
(And a PO )
It looks great,
But needs a bunch of the same work yours got here.

Good metalwork is one of the top performance items.
Weighs so much less without filler!
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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[VW_Jimbo]

Wondering if the house projects are done? You need Bug time too!
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[nshaddox]

Finished house projects and then wife found home listing that we ended up getting somehow. Double the mortgage, but also double the covered parking spaces. Back garage has heat so long term double the time to work too. Short term obviously no time at all between moving house, moving shop, moving cars, moving kids around. Double the kids…had 2nd daughter couple months ago too.

Haven’t quite got the new shop set up to my liking yet but it is getting there.

Sort of started on an engine building project for my 89 crown Vic wagon right before the move. Between that and possibly having to pull the 77 F100 truck motor again, might end up being another summer of fords. Tried swapping a new lifter in the truck because it sounds like I have some tick from #3 exhaust, but new lifter didn’t fix the issue. I’m lucky enough that it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the cam I just put in last summer was going bad. Will see I guess. The move is done so it at least served it’s purpose for the year.

[VW_Jimbo]

Nice update! Glad the family and you are creating happiness, in a home worthy of watching your little humans grow! Best wishes your direction! Don’t let the Bug get in the way of your family life. It took me a few Bugs to figure that one out. You can always return to the hobby. It will still be there. Just do not sell everything off!
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[nshaddox]

Slowly slowly getting more tools and parts brought over to the new place from my personal junkyard of vw stuff over at the rental property. Slow because new shop organization is still a work in progress. I think I have one more load I want to do before digging into truck engine.

Got my parts washer moved over, cleaned out, refilled with solvent so that’s a bit of progress that will hopefully enable the v8 and i6 ford rebuilds to go relatively quickly. That should also free up more shelf space to continue the shop organizing.

Moved donor roof from a 60 the city forced me to cut up a decade or so ago also. Figured it would be easier to store in two pieces so spent last couple days getting it apart.

Flange unfolding tool I made back in college. Very handy.

45min later both sides done.

Lots of spot weld drilling and negotiation later:

Hat:

Yea, I’m aware that front and rear window shapes are different, but my roof rot is in the gutters and I think this clip will save a lot of time for what I need to do.

[TRS63]

I am sure this patch will help you a lot, great to have it!

Antoine
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Antoine
My 62 ragtop daily driver:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=728873
My 914 restoration&lightweight project :
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9698432#9698432
Resurrecting a 60 ghia : https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=713906
My 52 Standard Zwitter :
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10086685#10086685

[Two Glove Boxes]

Nice work keep it up!!
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1951 Split Standard Hoffman Build

1960 Dove Blue Double Cab Patina Build

Two Glove Boxes

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[nshaddox]

Slowly clearing work benches as garage gets more organized.

In more exciting news, my rear fenders finally made it to the workshop. Spent a little time today doing some preliminary panel beating. Overall pretty pleased with the purchase. Definitely lots more work ahead.

Drivers side fender needs forward 6” patched since someone trimmed that in the past. Also needs converted to early style tail light. Passenger side has more dents, tears, holes, and rust but has factory heart tail light mounts so that’ll be incredibly helpful.

[VW_Jimbo]

Cool! Looks like more work.

Nice to see an update.
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!