The Life and Rebuild of Dad’s Iceland Green 1955 Beetle

[sunroof]

I got some pretty serious spot welder envy

All I got is 6 inches

Great tool tho, really lovin' it.

This is what I have been using for stripping paint and rust

I get the disks from Jeff Bezos which kills me to do but price and shipping cannot be beat.

Don
_________________
Better and better mistakes!

[Dan22]

Spot welders are heavy and awkward but yes for sure they get the job done. It would be nice to have an extra set of hands to hold and control the positioning.

Your unit looks a lot like the HF welder I have. (I have a Miller and HF).

Those wheels do work good. I have learned to stay away from sharp edges as they disintegrate fast. The black one on my die grinder is not rated for that RPM but don't tell the shop police about it! I wear protection.
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[Dan22]

My suspicion was right about the new panel being more domed than the previous repop I had installed. About 3-4mm proud. I will rig up something to bring it back.

Pics show the gap from the profile gauge on each side. We will see how it goes.

The reference is just at the bottom of the weather strip valley.

More later of course.
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[Dan22]

Got a chance to work on the hood fit today. I rigged up my frame rack to the dolly, and anchored the car to the dolly so I could push on the front apron. I think it took about 10 iterations with different amounts of pressure and direction.

I can swing my pusher left or right to direct where the pressure center was. It needed slightly more on the driver side as indicated by the previous hood gaps. I think this same task could be done with proper hammer techniques. The board is keyto spread the force out.
I should note that all the plug welds I did at the bottom where the apron attaches to the spare tire well did not work. That dang weld through primer! I used 3/16" holes and I think the real problem is those were to small. I ended up just plugging the holes without connecting the layers! Well, it turns out I need the flex space to push the apron backward. It was actually a blessing in disguise.

I did not measure the amount of movement but the profile gauge shows it much flatter (no pic). The results show good side gaps now, and a slight gap at the very nose of the hood.

The front edge has a gap now and the hood no longer catches on the seal channel.

Next I fixed a bit of rust in the windshield flange area. A quick patch.

Hopefully these tricks I use can help others with hood fit. The widest gap I have is about 6-7mm and that is with the inner lip of the hood touching the seal channel part of the car. I am pleased it went well.
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[Dan22]

It has been a busy summer so far and I have not had a lot of oppurtunity to work on the car. I have been playing round with the thought if finding an originial Empi camber compensator but I figured it would be a long shot to find one for an Oval split case tranny.

I like the design of the CB Performance unit rather than the new style Empi in that it is generally a straight bar (better ground clearance), and has the overhand axle straps like the original Empi for up and down control. The price was reasonable too. I also like that the CB unit does not have a hole in the center for the pivot, but rather a bump-up bend and U-bolt attachment. This will keep it centered, and allow it to teeter as it is supposed to, and is not weakened by the hole.

Of course I need to make a bracket to bolt to my split case tranny. I can buy one from this site but it has the center hole for the pivot bolt. I decided to make my own bracket, or modify the tunnel case bracket. Mounting flanges welded to a narrowed bracket will do the trick.

Here is an example of an original style Empi. It looks like it is designed to teeter on the bracket.

Here is a fit up of the tunnel bracket on a very dirty trans! Easy peasy to cut off the wide flanges and weld on new to remaining plate.

I will show the final product when I get to that point in the fabrication.

AND, I will of course continue adding to this thread as progress is made to the car. I am enjoying the local VW car shows on weekends and getting inspired to make some headway.
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[Dan22]

Some progress on the mount for the camber compensator.

Made the side plates that match the bolt pattern. I found the bolt holes to not be centered under the differential. The offset is about 5mm for one of the bolts. The bent plate was my attempt to make a whole new bracket like the EMPI style. It could be done but I opted for the modification shown below.

Sizing up the cut to the tunnel type mounting plate.

The cuts and the test fit.

I shortened the side plates 5mm to bring the spring closer to the transmission. I did this to help get the ends of the spring closer to the axle. Then i welded it up. Painted and test fitted.

I figure I will need to arch the spring so that it is in contact with the axles when the car is sitting normal. This task will have to wait until the car is basically finished and I install it to see the remaining clearances. I did test how to arch the spring using a hydraulic press.

Here is the assembly test fitted. I know from this that the spring does not have enough arch. It basically barely or not even touches the axle tubes when they are bend down as far as the movement goes. The action must push one up if the other is all the way down.

Summer is taking all my spare time so the body work will have to resume in the fall. Gotta get firewood in for August.
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[Dan22]

Started on the hood repairs. Re-repairing damage from 250,000 miles of bumpy roads and probably an ill-adjusted hood latch. The brazing repairs I made 40 years ago. They looked OK on the outside but I want the inside to look original.

I started by stripping the old paint and body filler from both sides. I had way too much body filler in there. It made the hood heavy feeling.

Preparing the repair piece from an original hood, fitting it over the hole and sizing up where I want to cut. This is just the upper hole. The lower hole with the pressing is next on the list.

Tacking it in with the MIG. I finished it with the TIG. I am not super happy with the look of the bare weld. I probably rushed it, but it is done at least.

After the TIGing.

Not perfect but I think I will test out my lead-free body solder on this patch for the finish.

I was happy to make some bodywork progress this weekend.
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[Dan22]

Been busy with summer and vacations. Got some time finally to make progress on the hood handle metal repair.

Fitting the donor metal and marking the cut lines. I tapered the tops to stay away from the curved recess area.

The old metal.

Making the cuts.

The finished fit. I found the finger sander is really good at sanding the edges to make a precise fit. Ready to weld.

I think I will TIG this patch in. I can avoid grinding so much that the MIG ends up creating. And I have heard the TIG weld is more maleable. I really want to metal finish this area with little to no filler, if I can. It is just a skill I want to be good at. Anyone can slap filler on but the art of shaping the steel appeals to me.
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[VW_Jimbo]

[Dan22]

Thanks Jimbo.

I find metal shaping is very satisfying when it turns out good. I love making dies and shrinking/stretching the spots to generate a finished surface. I spent hours on pieces like engine tins with no regrets. I do not have an elbow problem at the moment so that is not an issue. There are some crafty air hammer planishing tools out there that I would consider like the one made using an air nailer type hammer I recently saw on this site. Has a flat working surface and when backed with a curved dolly seems like a slick way to even curved shapes to perfection.

I am not opposed to body filler and I will have to use it at some point, but I hope for the metal to be close to shape before glazing it with a thin skim coat for the perfection.

In short, it is great therapy to use the tools at hand to fix up (beat away at) these old cars.
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[Dan22]

Today was to weld in the patch. I gook extra time on this one making sure the metal was butted up evenly all the way around. Started with the MIG as it is so quick and easy for this.

No picture of this step, but I ground the welds front and back, and then hammer and dollied the lines to get the best profile before the TIG welding.

I think it turned out OK. Not perfect, but workable. I used a flexible ruler to judge the curve and gaps. I was still able to raise the low spots that happen from weld shrinkage.

Here is where I left it after the day. The back side looks OK too.

Next is the nose of the hood cracked metal replacement. This one may be tricky but we will see. I have a new metal piece from Virtanen.

_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[VW_Jimbo]

Looking really nice! I am anxious to see how the nose comes out!

Good luck!
_________________
Jimbo

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

[Dan22]

I punched out the nose of the hood today. A slow and tedious approach not having done this kind of repair in this area. Here is what has to go.

Checking the fit of the new patch panel, and marking roughly where I will trim it down to begin fitting it.

Checking the curve of old and new. A decent match.

Started by trimming away the flange area to expose the reinforcement strips.

Then to maintain shape, I fabricated a curved strip to connect both sides before cutting out the outer skin. I plan on leaving this in place to prevent future cracking of the tip of the hood.

The cuts and the trash. It was a brazed in doubler that was way too visible for the level of this restoration.

Trimming and fitting.

Checked the fit on the car with the extra strip visible. No interference. I will be figuring out how to drain any potential water that could get trapped here.

The tip profile looks good!

Tacked it in with the mig. I did not focus on the flange at first, but just the curved outer shape. Dang a couple of burnouts from thin original metal!

Looks good on the car with the tacked in piece. No catching on anything and the side profile and gaps are good.

TIG time tomorrow!
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[scarabee]

Are you using a copper/brass backing to mitigate those burn-throughs?

[VW_Jimbo]

[Dan22]

Hi Scarabee.

I will use a copper backer to fill the holes, and maybe to finish weld the remaining.

I figure there are a few pertinent reasons it happened. I was doing these blind, meaning no welding helmet. I would just position the gun, close my eyes or hide the arc, and pull the trigger for less than a second. If my aim was not perfect, the metal did not bridge the gap to absorb heat. Another reason is that original metal was super thin. It just vaporizes before you realize it.

I have also been having trouble with the feed of wire on my welder. It jams right when you start the arc, so those may have been an arc with no metal supply. Something has to melt, so the thin metal wins.

Lastly, there was a slightly bigger gap between the edges. I was so focused on leveling the metal to each other, and ignoring I needed extra care for the gap. My welder was on the lowest setting too.

In short, I will fix it. Unfortunately it may not look the best or be as strong. The good thing is that the new metal is nice and thick and should give good strength to the area.

Thanks for keeping an eye on my progress!
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[Dan22]

Hi Jimbo.

There will be a lot more heat when finish welding this in and I agree I need to cool it between passes.

The tacking process I did was much longer between spots and and heat buildup was not much in play. I think the original metal being super thin was the main reason, and not placing the wire in the right spot, and being blind......

I appreciate the discussion. I think it helps me and others when we share the experiences.
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[VW_Jimbo]

[Pez]

Absolutely incredible work and attention to detail sir, thank you for taking the time to bring us along in your journey!
_________________
Chasing Squirrel's.

1971 Bay Window
1966 Baja

[Dan22]