My 1964 Birch Green Canadian Squareback

[bobnorman]

Quick update. Finished up the rear PS brakes. There was no handbrake parts on this side either, just the cable housing.

Noticed this marking on one of the drums. The car was made in Feb 1964, so I’m guessing this was a date casted in?

So the brake system is pretty much done now with the exception of the new main line. That has to wait until the floor section gets replaced… I guess I’ve put that dirty job off long enough...time to get at it!
_________________
Air does not freeze. Air does not boil.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=289807

[bobnorman]

Been working on fitting the floors. If I had a solid day I know it would be done, but as it is I can only manage an hour or two here and there. While it’s nice that we have these sections, I have to say they still needed a little bit of work.

For one the pan was over an inch too narrow, which meant I had to flatten the side folds and bend them back up further out. This in turn caused a part of the edge to be too short so I had to weld in a little strip along the outside seat rail.

Also, the pan was creased across the 4 raised bits, which was a little too far up, so I flattened that back, cut a notch in the sides, and did a slight bend rather than a sharp crease, slightly further down along the recessed line.

All in all it’s fitting well otherwise, and I hope to soon have the welding finished so I can patch and replace the kick panel. Getting nervous about my July deadline though…

_________________
Air does not freeze. Air does not boil.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=289807

[ataraxia]

Nice work! Wouldn't it be grand if we could get more than an hour or two at a time? Sure makes it harder to get things finished and stay motivated! You're getting there, an hour at a time, and that's still progress.

It's a bummer when you buy parts and then find that you have to do modifications to them but I've found that's 'standard' for almost anything Type 3.

[notchboy]

[MonT3]

You did a really good job fitting that section in. Take your time and you’ll get thru that and be able to move onto something else. I felt I spent a week or more trying to get my pan sections to fit to my satisfaction. Trimming, cutting, folding and ‘motivating’ a corner or edge to fit was part of the process. Keep at it. It’s coming along nicely!
_________________
MonT3
67 Squareback
64 Squareback
63 Squareback
Engine rebuild
Trailer rebuild

[bobnorman]

Thanks guys, one again, I appreciate the encouragement. It is a bit of a pain having to reshape this and messing around to get it to fit, but it’s starting to look good in place. I got at it again last night for a couple of hours. I did have some burn through from trying to weld with gaps that were just too large, so I messed up one side and may have to cut it out and add a strip.
_________________
Air does not freeze. Air does not boil.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=289807

[bobnorman]

Still chugging along on the floor. I still have a little bit more work to do on the rear section. As mentioned, I had some burn through where the gaps were too large.

Should have known better than to try to weld it. I’ve already cut some of it out and welded in a strip, just have to finish it off.

As a change of pace, I decided to try to tackle the worst area of the front. I looked at cutting a section from a beetle pan, but the indented parts are on a slight diagonal from the edge, whereas the indents on the Type three pans are perpendicular. So, I decided to have a go at making my own patch. I had done something similar with my Ghia pans, thought I’d try my luck again. Shaped some suitably sized aluminum flat bar and a piece of 1/8 MDF. Measured the spacing for the indents on some 18 gauge metal and gave it a go a couple sections at a time in the shop press...

Came out alright, not perfect but good enough.

I then bent up the edge using a vise and rough fitted it in, mostly to see how it lines up... I’ll have to do a little more work on it yet, but it’s not a bad fit so far if I do say so myself.

_________________
Air does not freeze. Air does not boil.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=289807

[MonT3]

Great progress on there Bob. Like the fab skills in patching in that pan. Keep at it.
_________________
MonT3
67 Squareback
64 Squareback
63 Squareback
Engine rebuild
Trailer rebuild

[bobnorman]

Thanks Monte... I always appreciate your support.
I trimmed the new section I made and fitted it in place. I then started to make the bit up front where it curves in. It was easier to weld this together outside of the car and fit it in after.

Tacked on the outer edge bit

Made the small missing section

Welded it all together...

Then welded it in place. Welding was ok, a bit of warpage, but at this point I’m not too concerned.

I say get good at welding, or get good at grinding...and unfortunately at this point, I'm getting real good at grinding. All in all it came out pretty good, but I don’t think I’ll be making any of these sections to sell anytime soon, I would have to charge 500 bucks just to cover my time. That said, I do wish there were options for sections like this. I checked out the new pans being made in Thailand, and I may end up replacing the whole section eventually, as there are bits of the pan edge that aren't too tidy due to the pan seal...but this will do for now. Gotta keep reminding myself, I'm working towards a licence plate, not a full on resto at this point.
_________________
Air does not freeze. Air does not boil.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=289807

[ALLWAGONS]

That's pretty good Mr Norman!
_________________
I'd be UNSTOPPABLE if not for Law Enforcement and PHYSICS.

I recycle old cars and parts, other than when I rot, that's as Green as I am going to get.

Thanks to my Tesla driving neighbors, I feel more relaxed driving my SUBURBAN and old VW's.

NON INFLUENCER APPROVED

[MonT3]

Good work there. What you’re doing will get your plates so you can buy some time to get things in order for full replacements so keep at it! I recall seeing some holes in the inner wheel well area so I think you’ll be ok with the areas that might be close to the seal until you get to the entire floor. Good job overall Bob
_________________
MonT3
67 Squareback
64 Squareback
63 Squareback
Engine rebuild
Trailer rebuild

[Bobnotch]

Looks pretty good to me Bob. Way to go at keeping after it too. That'll get you a plate, and a few years until you can replace what you want. If you're worried about water getting in, don't drive in the rain. Your welding skills are impoving, so when you take on the next project you'll be ready for it.
_________________
Bob 65 Notch S with Sunroof
71 Notch ...aka Krunchy; build pics here;
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=249390 -been busy working
64 T-34 Ghia...aka Wolfie, under construction... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=412120

[bobnorman]

Buying time is exactly what I’m doing, but still I wanted to do it right. I could have just lap welded a plate over the hole I suppose, or easier still covered it all in fiberglass and gave it a shot of black Rustoleum. But, I’m really hoping to get a few years out of it, and enjoy it with the family before having to do it again... so I did it as “correctly “ as I could. I welded the area under the seal a from below as best I could, and sort of lifted/protected the seal from above with a strip of stainless. It may have helped a little, but there was still a few times where it smoked and melted. With the body off it would have been a straightforward fix. I’ve got the 4 front pan bolts out, and I think I’ll squeeze in some black RTV, before tightening it back up. Hopefully that will do it.
_________________
Air does not freeze. Air does not boil.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=289807

[Bobnotch]

[bobnorman]

Good advice about the pan seal Bob, I will do that. The bolts seem to come out fairly easy too.

So I finally finished the welding and the grinding on this side. It came out pretty good in the end… I’ve yet to reinstall the kick plate but that needs a little bit of work and I figured I’d get the floor fully finished and coated before I do.

After chasing down all the pin holes I cleaned and then covered with POR metal ready – making sure to keep it wet with the etch for at least 20 minutes.

Left a dull grey zinc phosphate coating that helps stop the rust and gives the POR something to adhere to.

I’ve heard some people’s horror stories about POR and read from others who have reported that years later it looks like the day they put it down. From what I've read I believe that the majority of those that have had problems either didn’t used the whole system, or didn’t use it correctly.

Ready for POR

After coating

Moved on to the main brake line. I decided to do a one piece as per the factory -that was fun.
I cut a long section of line and flared the rear end, then ran the un-flared part out through the front hole by the pedal. I used the old rear section as a template to bend up the new line, before running it out through the rear hole.

If you've done this before you know what a pain in the arse this can be. You don’t have a lot of room to deal with and the bends have to be perfect to line it all up to get into the brass T. I did it, but only after serious damage to my immortal soul.

Meanwhile back in the front, I did a rough bend to get the length and cut off the line.

I then used my handy dandy flaring tool to make my double bubble.

I must say I love this flaring tool, makes a perfect flare every time and is small enough to do so in tight spots.

Hooked the front of the line up to the master cylinder...

...and now I’m ready to install the pedals, fill ‘er up with silicone fluid, and discover all the leaks.
_________________
Air does not freeze. Air does not boil.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=289807

[Evilgtiguy]

The car is looking good! Nice progress there fella!
_________________
66 sunroof Fastback http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=590530
84 Rabbit GTI (gone and missed)
80 Rabbit (gone and missed)
92 Nissan 240SX turbo

[Donnie strickland]

Looking good indeed!
_________________
71 Elm Green FI A/T Squareback

[Bobnotch]

Looking good Bob. Nice work you've done there. It looks like you might be driving it before the end of summer.
_________________
Bob 65 Notch S with Sunroof
71 Notch ...aka Krunchy; build pics here;
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=249390 -been busy working
64 T-34 Ghia...aka Wolfie, under construction... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=412120

[SHawkins87]

What brand/model is the flaring tool you are using?

[bobnorman]