Meet the "Turd" a journey of a west/east coast '56

[fes]

Well Bob,because you're a good friend,and only pester me with annoying 912 and 914 silliness occasionally.. here goes

I sent the chassis off for blasting on a Friday afternoon,and they called me Monday to pick it up..I'm very happy with the job,and the price..

Very little if any repairs to do on this ol turd in this area..All primed up with weld-through primer..looks kind of divine in this pic

I ordered these new fandagandled "Estrigauru" pans..thicker than the orange ones,and seem well built,not much reviews here on the Samba,but I figured i'd give a go..I think at this point they are WW knockoffs,and hail from Kraffen manufacturing in Deutschland..

They came with the rear support members and jack points attached..and very well reinforced..

Here's where I made my first mistake..I elected to cut out the old cross-members..thinking,"Well,I could hack up something brand new for the sake of saving something old,rusty,bent and pitted"

I had a bitch of a time,cutting and shaping these new ones to fit like the old ones did in the original position

Live and learn....
I'm very glad I left the original rails in place,it helped me line up the new pans in relation to the holes, and front and rear cross-members

Pans pre drilled,a few that don't quite hit the lip of the tunnel,but most do

On to the spot welding..I won't use weld through primer again,,the tunnel lip was fine because it was ground down to bare metal after sandblasting to get rid of the burrs and leftover bits of the old pan..where the weld through was left,lots of spatter and popping with the MIG,especially where I tried to replicate continuous welds like the factory around the rear support to tunnel and Napoleon's hat..again, a minor mistake

This nifty setup of holding the pan lip down flat I found here on the Samba..the friction alone is enough to hold it down flat,other spots,I just held the lever under my armpit and tacked

What's a Turd without a little green streak or two huh?
I always promised myself and the car I'd splurge for these beauties..

1: Because I wanted to lessen the chances of shaping,poor mating and crap quality..
2: Because they are "one year only '56 forward vents" of course!

I haven't bolted them down,because my OG pan bolts are nasty,but have clamped them hoping to get a couple of waves out of the outside perimeter of the pans...

Now..here's a question..as far as I can tell,my measurements for the pans are almost exact from the originals..and using the original outside rails were a good reference before I was satisfied with the pan(s) placement and finally cut them off..But here is where the front of the Gersons want to sit in relation to the Napoleon's hat..a little forward, and the rear of the channels sits forward a little as well,this is where the holes are happy together..
I realize this is rough dry fitting right now, and there should be clearance for the firewall up front, as well as the rear so the body fits over,,but I have searched here, and want to know how much is too much?..I have found a photo or two,and it does seem the lip of the channels to stick past the Napoleon's hat cross-members towards the front, but haven't been able to find out how much?

The captive nuts are sliders up front and back..so they are not a real concern...just the ones up the sides are a little iffy if I don't have the channels laid in this position..
All for now..
I'm already getting another box filled for the sandblaster and working on refreshing the split trans..
-Matt
_________________
'68 Campmobile-Pedro
'15 Golf-Stella Blau
'56 Oval-The Turd (for now)

[bobnorman]

Nice.
Great solution for pressing the pans tight in advance of the spot welding. It always amazes me how ingenious old VW owners are with solutions.

As for the 912 914 stuff, just a passing infatuation.
_________________
Air does not freeze. Air does not boil.

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

[fes]

It's been awhile since my last post so I figured I'd bring you up to speed,I'm currently sitting in a hotel room on the west coast of NL trying to get out,but the ferry's not running due to high winds and storm conditions so seems like as good as time as any to catch up...

So,...as you might have guessed, I'm moving west..er, a little..To Prince Edward Island..My wife scored an opportunity that we can't pass up,and being a contractor that's been living lean due to the economy here in Newfoundland,plenty of opportunities for me too..+ I was born there,lived there until the mid '90s..so ya..heading home so to speak..

About the Turd you ask? well,coming with of course..along with everything else..Let's go!

Almost a calendar year since I bought the project..there he goes

The princess was a little more temperamental to convince to come out and get herself on the tilt and roll..but with many blocks and blankies..she reluctantly gave in

This old reliable boy was a little pissed off about being awoken from his frigid hibernation across the street..AND..I had to drive him in minus 21 Celsius up to the depot..after chunking away the built up winter ice,laying a bit of salt down..I wasn't too sure about him making the incline..but in true brilliant VW design with the engine loaded directly over the trans axle..the ol bus plowed right up

I'll post very shortly the work I did manage to get done on the '56 before all this uprooting happened..The great thing is our new spot has an attached garage about the same size as my old one..BUT it also has a 28'x52' barn behind..with a frost wall and solid floors..plenty of space to continue this and other future projects..
Stay tuned!
-Matt
_________________
'68 Campmobile-Pedro
'15 Golf-Stella Blau
'56 Oval-The Turd (for now)

[fes]

These are some of the things I did manage to do before life told us it was time to punch the ticket on Newfoundland after 19 years and some of the best ones in my cozy lab...Chassis has come along..
I found the protective paint on these pans so defensive that even after acetone,it would be a fight to remove..short of grinding completely,or sandblasting again,I figured I'd. scuff them up the best I could and see what happens..I'm guessing not much..

Hit with some seam sealer..cure and ready for paint

A last minute refurb of the brake line brackets here and there

Now..I elected not to POR or as I thought I'd do..Master series..
POR is for raw or slightly rusty surfaces..not primed like mine..I primed right away to keep from flash rusting,as I knew it might be a couple of weeks before I got at it again..It's a heavy equipment enamel,made for industrial gear and in Satin finish..it went on really thick,I used a small roller,combined with brush..with a little thinner,it was good to work with,and decent coverage..High fumes..but cured very well..I put two coats on the bottom,flipped the Turd spine over and did top..I'm pretty happy with it..

More to come...I've been stuck in this hotel since Sunday night..It's been a couple of days..
_________________
'68 Campmobile-Pedro
'15 Golf-Stella Blau
'56 Oval-The Turd (for now)

[Dave]

My new-to-me 57 hardtop, was delivered to St. Johns...wish it could tell me how it managed to get to the redwoods of Northern California...

_________________
2003 Samba Chummie Winner- Best Story

"Those that matter, don't mind,
and those that mind, don't matter"

[Glenn]

[Dave]

I see you're still collecting bicycles

LOL yeah, this was late last year, and while I was extricating the Oval, the guy said "Hey, take these bikes for your giveaway, too" so I did. I am taking next year off though, It became all-consuming, and I have a yellow Oval and some (hopefully) minor health issues to deal with, and those, between the both of them and Life in general, should keep me well-occupied...
_________________
2003 Samba Chummie Winner- Best Story

"Those that matter, don't mind,
and those that mind, don't matter"

[fes]

Some more pics of progress before my exodus from the "Rock"

On to the torsion rods and arms and bushings,as I mentioned before,the rods are in astounding condition despite some of the rust thats eaten at eaten at this car..

The bushing replacements are hit with some baby powder,and are good quality..

The CIP1 replacement covers are surprisingly a perfect match to the original German ones,I hit them with a couple coats of Satin paint..

..
The driver's side went very well,the passenger gave me all kinds of trouble..I ended up having to clamp the arm to the frame to try and compress the bushing for a few days,as we know with Oval's that the covers are different so the trick of tightening with longer bolts in a criss cross pattern wont work..In the end,it worked and the grooves I carved in the arms and chassis for reference are matched and they are sitting where they should be..

Now, for a little change of pace..the key had been broken in the ignition..so that was bothering me..after some weeks of ATF/Acetone mix squirting in the slot..and buying the right tweezer kit...

I scored a few blanks years ago,and found one that seemed right..took it to my local locksmith and in minutes..yay key..

BEST $2.45 I have ever spent!

More to come..
-Matt
_________________
'68 Campmobile-Pedro
'15 Golf-Stella Blau
'56 Oval-The Turd (for now)

[finster]

great work so far, especially 'sweating the small stuff' like that key! keep on like this and you will have to rename the car cos it wont be a turd anymore.
_________________
"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[fes]

[finster]

you can pay her back by cleaning her jewellery in it too
_________________
"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[fes]

[Chickensoup]

i miss this thread

[fes]

[Chickensoup]

lookin goood

[BugsandJeeps]

Come on Matt. Whats the hold up?

[bobnorman]

Yeah Matt. What gives?
_________________
Air does not freeze. Air does not boil.

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

[tisius]

[fes]

[tisius]

Exactly, you couldn't be more right!!
That what I meant when I wrote "take it easy, enjoy the new scenery"
Life is too short to only work on old cars
Let life happen, and work on your VW if and when you find time, bug on
_________________
drive it like you just robbed the bank
you don't have to be crazy to be into VW's, but it sure helps!!
.... if it ain't dutch, it ain't much!