Ben's '56 Ragtop Project

[Keith]

[ernstben]

Thanks for the concern, but I did weld in supports before I touched the old channels:

I haven't had a ton of time to devote to the bug as of late, but I was able to determine that the sag on the driver's side was a result of saggy hinges and the fact that I didn't tighten all the hinge screws when I checked (it was too close to the garage wall to swing the door open at the time). I checked the measurements that other members have provided at 40 1/2 inches on the B post and they were both spot-on.
_________________
Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[ernstben]

Boy, the winter (and baby #2 showing up!) really slows down progress. Not to worry though, we're out of hibernation and back to making progress.

During a lull in the cold weather, I went out into the woods with my trusty sawzall to visit my dad's old bug:

A little zip and I've got a piece to use to repair the rusted out portion of my A pillar:

I also stripped the original 36hp down as far as I could, but I still can't get it to turn over:

I think my plans are going to move on to a different engine. I have a lead on a 1500 that I might snag. I'm thinking about using a 30pict with the manual choke to keep at least that original functionality. I ended up making peace with a lower geared trans and got the required bus nosecone and hockey stick and got it install with new mounts and such:

Then, last week, I got reacquainted with my welder and finished up the back on the passenger side heater channel/fender/crossmember area and then seam-sealed and painted it. I used so many of the absolutely fabulous threads here as inspiration. In comparison, my work is totally amateur, but at least it's strong.

_________________
Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[ernstben]

Made some more progress!

I don't know if I've mentioned this yet, but when I bought the car, it had a pretty serious dent above the windshield (along with a rust spot, hurray!). I can only imagine that this was caused by someone's forehead back in the day:

I pulled it out a bit and did some quick welding to replace the rusted out metal:

I also used the repair section from my dad's '59 to replace the weirdly rusted-out A pillar:

And, finally, finished up the rear rust repair and installed three-point seat belt mounts in the B pillars:

Lastly, I filled the gas tank with water and welded in a flange for a sending unit. I have my eye on a fake Dehne gauge.

_________________
Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[ernstben]

Had a couple hours this weekend to turn this:

Into this:

Now I'm one H apron away from having a solid rearend!

I'm very appreciative for the other posters around these parts who are doing such a diligent job showing their work. It's also super helpful that we seem to be tackling similar issues! Thanks VW_Jimbo, Scotty, Doug, Tom, et al.
_________________
Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[ernstben]

I run out of steam doing welding and have to switch it up every now and then with different projects on the bug. My most recent one is the steering wheel. It wasn't in great shape, but not terrible either:

Quotes from Koch's and others were consistently around $450... so I read a bunch and decided to give it a go myself. After routing out the cracks, filling, sanding, and priming, I put it down on my coffee table and noticed that it is definitely not flat:

I wonder if the same accident that put the forehead-shaped dent in the metal above the windshield resulted in a chest-shaped bend in the steering wheel? I can't imagine another reason why it would be bent this way? If so... ouch! I hope the person was alright!

So... I'm steering wheel-less. Go for a reproduction petri one from Flat-4? Banjo and deal with the flex people complain about?
_________________
Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[Rome]

Since the steering wheel center crossbar/"wing" now has a gentle bend in it so that the hub is tilted, have you considered bending it back straight? Slip the steering wheel fully onto the steering column splines. Apply upper body force against the rim at the joint where the rim meets the center crossbar (leverage). Check alignment. If needed and if possible, turn the steering wheel around backwards and push on that joint. You could measure the distance of the rim to the dashboard at each end of the crossbar so that you can monitor the reduction in the distance difference as you progress... I don't know if the center crossbar and hub section are also metal like the rim core is; I imagine it would be. Too bad you don't have a mangled spare steering wheel that you could buy for cheap just to investigate. Or find a photo of an oval steering wheel that underwent restoration and the person took a shot of the core. Fire damaged wheel on which the outer plastic was burned off?

Do you have a steering wheel club (lock)? I can imagine you could slip that over the rim edge at both ends of the crossbar, and use the exposed bar from the lock shaft to bend the steering wheel back while it's on the column splines. If not enough leverage, slip a pipe (floor jack lever?) over the supposedly hardened lock shaft and apply pressure. Turn steering wheel around backwards to push if needed.

[ernstben]

Changed gears a bit yesterday and worked on brakes:

_________________
Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[Dibaltic]

Nice work it's coming along great!

[ernstben]

More pictures to come, but in the short term here, I finally had to make a paint color decision. The chassis build-up has made it too heavy for the poor little Harbor Freight dolly to handle, so I needed some tires/rims. Not having a full set of rollers, I replaced some hubcap clips, had some sandblasting done, and voila:

_________________
Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[Dibaltic]

Nice color!

[Rome]

Nice work with the 2-tone wheel paint. What technique did you use to mask off the 2 colors? Index cards, masking tape, a tall "shield"; or something else? In the past month I experimented with cards and a shield made out of a few plastic "For Sale" signs to 2-tone some 4-bolt wheels (black centers, ivory outers using spray cans). Each method had some pro's and cons.

[ernstben]

Thanks Rome. They're not perfect, but good enough unless you really get down and look closely.

I used a deck and a half of playing cards, jamming each of them in the gap and then taping them down in a sort of fan pattern. It worked fairly well, but I was forced to go back with a small brush and touch up numerous areas after the fact. What a pain!
_________________
Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[Rome]

I also had to go back to cover up some minor overspray from the 4 x 6" index card method. Placed each card in one direction. Found that using at least 1/2 to 2/3 card overlap helped, and held them down by placing a 12" plastic planter base on top. Held and moved the spray can so that the paint spray would go in the direction of the cards so that the spray mist would not go into the card gaps.

Have you decided on tires- brand and size? Medium width white walls would look great if you use the same wine red from the wheel outer section for the body color.

[ernstben]

[ernstben]

Alrighty: time to get this thread up-to-date!

I'm shooting to get the body back down on the chassis in the next couple months with an eye on getting the whole thing to a bodyshop for paint this fall and winter. To that end, I've been working on welding in new panels.

Front firewall:

Some repairs in the lower front quarter:

I've waited to weld in the rear apron as I was hoping to make it removable, but the more I push and pull on stuff, the more difficult that task seems and the less enthusiastic I am to try it:

I've been slowly working my way forward to this:

I ordered a pair of front panels from Virtanen and after a two month wait for shipping:

I've also been working on the chassis, doing tasks that would be unpleasant with the body back in place. Restored and installed the pedal assembly with clutch cable (still need to paint the roller):

I found a 3'' narrowed beam locally. Drilled some dimples, installed some bushings, and:

Dual circuit master:

Steering box disassembled, cleaned, and filled with corn head grease:

New autostick starter:

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel with welding and I'm excited to get the body back down on the chassis now that it's rollable.
_________________
Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[VW_Jimbo]

Looking really good! It always feels so good to be done with body work!
_________________
Jimbo

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

[ernstben]

A big day today! I had a full 8 hours to concentrate on making some progress on the nose and I'm super excited about what I got accomplished. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting nearer!

I warmed up the ol' angle grinder and went to work:

And then tons of measuring, cutting, and welding later:

The front part of the apron is just sitting there at the moment. I'm going to graft in the 4th "finger" from the existing apron to make it correct for a '56. Woo!
_________________
Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[Stephgm]

Hello,

Great work man!!!

what modification did you make so that the front panels from Virtanen were 100% compatible with your model...I talked to Mika from Virtanen and the panels are up to 51

[ernstben]