1955 Hardtop Resto - Way to much

[lardawge]

Heater channel repair part 2. This will be picture-heavy given the setup in the previous post. I will say that I was pleased to see that there wasn't any extra damage that I had to deal with, and the repair went according to plan.

I found the weld to attach the heater muffler was difficult because I was trying to match the original welds, which are not great. That was probably advantagious given my welding skills at the time were mediocre.

Test fitting the replacement channel. I also covered the inside as best I could with Master Series coating.

Then, welding and grinding to get the channel installed.

Lastly, installing the heater muffler. I had drilled the spotwelds on the back half of the pipe. I also had to repair a tab that had broken off while removing the muffler. When installing, I plug-welded from the inside.

Lastly, before buttoning it up, a full round of Master Series coating to stop it from happening in the future.

Next up, bottom cap, finishing work, and primer.
_________________
11/2/54 L227 Strato Silver Ragtop - Build Thread
1/7/55 L275 Light Beige - Build Thread
9/1/56 (57 model) L331 Horizon Blue - For Sale

[lardawge]

Let's wrap up the heater channel repair. Again, the goal for me was to leave it better than I started and as close to factory as possible. It took longer to do it this way because of how tedious it is to grind metal off versus drilling spot welds. I did not have confidence that I could replicate the spot welds if I drilled them out.

Installing the bottom cap. This piece came from Wolfpart and matched the original quite well.

I am very happy with how it turned out. One thing I didn't cover but did have to do, is install a weldnut for the running board. That was easy enough to do and was supplied by Wolfsburg West.

I am not sure what I will cover next. To give a glimpse, the doors and rear quarters were oilcanned pretty badly. I believe it was from the media blaster that the shop used that had done the initial work, but I can't say for sure because I didn't check and just trusted the shop.

That led to a whole lot of hand ringing and trying to figure out how to tackle it. I will say, I am very happy with how they turned out, but it was many hours of work to get them there. Stay tuned...
_________________
11/2/54 L227 Strato Silver Ragtop - Build Thread
1/7/55 L275 Light Beige - Build Thread
9/1/56 (57 model) L331 Horizon Blue - For Sale

[Dan22]

That does look great!

Will you seam seal the laps in the wheel well to keep the water out of the gaps?
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[VW_Jimbo]

Clean work!
_________________
Jimbo

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

[lardawge]

[lardawge]

Here we go with what turned out to be the most difficult part of the work. It took me a while to even want to attempt this given I had no experience shrinking metal.

I purchased the shrinking disc from Pro Shaper. Out of the two main offerings, this was the least dangerous-looking. I wanted to keep all my fingers at the end of this.

I spent a lot of time watching YouTube videos and got the basics. The main issue I had was that the doors and rear quarter had really bad oil canning. I was also not interested in taking a torch to anything. I had done that in high school with a 66 bug in auto shop that did not turn out very well.

So the goal with these panels was to remove any oilcanning first and foremost with straighening the panel second. As I started working the panel, I quickly realized that the two go hand in hand. That lead me to change my strategy a bit and remove the low spots which eventually, with much patience, got rid of the oil canning.

Here is what I was dealing with.

This entire process took me about 16 total hours. It is a laborious process that requires a lot of patience. Unfortunately, you can't rush it. Just when you think you have the oil canning sorted, it isn't quite there, and you have to continue.

Here is the stripped panel.

I used magic marker to cool the panel as well as show highs and lows. I don't currently use this much when working a panel, but didn't know any better at the time.

Then a coat of primer followed by filler. I then removed a large amount of filler. What was left was about 1/16 or so in areas that needed it. At this point I was working with 80 grit then a guide coat with 120 grit followed by more primer.

I later followed this up with Dolphin Glaze and 2k primer. That sets up nicely for 180 > 200 > 400.

Here is the main tools I use for shrinking.

Next up, the driver's door.
_________________
11/2/54 L227 Strato Silver Ragtop - Build Thread
1/7/55 L275 Light Beige - Build Thread
9/1/56 (57 model) L331 Horizon Blue - For Sale

[lardawge]

On to the next bit of work, sorting out the driver's side door. I have to say that I was pretty excited about doing this, having finished the rear quarter and having some success. Again, the main issue I was trying to solve was the oil canning with straightness coming a close second.

The main worrying factor was trying to match the original curvature and not getting too far off course. These doors are an engineering marvel given that there is no internal bracing and they have enough curvature to stand firm.

Then rough body work to finalize.

As you can see from the starting picture, there was quite a bit of wave to the panel, and it had a large oil can in the area by the lower hinge. As before, I didn't focus specifically on that area but instead figured that if I could shrink the highs and get the lows pushed up, eventually the panel would firm up, which it did.

Although it will be repetitive, I will post the work on the other side next. The passenger side rear quarter was a beast that I thought would break me. The main reason for this is that I am right-handed, and it was very unnatural to have to lean through the window to get to the back side.
_________________
11/2/54 L227 Strato Silver Ragtop - Build Thread
1/7/55 L275 Light Beige - Build Thread
9/1/56 (57 model) L331 Horizon Blue - For Sale

[VW_Jimbo]

[lardawge]

Ok, time to update this thread. On to the right rear quarter panel and door. I am combining them into one post. I missed some pictures of the copious hours of sanding the quarter panel, but the goal is to always get it to a point where there is minimal filler.

Here is what I started with;

As I said in the last post, this was the most difficult panel to work on for me. Some of that was because it was uncomfortable to get at, and the rest was because this one had the worst oil canning. I worked on this for around 25 hours over two weekends.

I followed that up with epoxy primer. I waited a full 24 hours, then filler.

Then onto the right door. This one was in the best shape, which is why I saved it until last.

I do not have a picture of the side with only the second coat of primer. Here is a picture with the coat of medium build 2k on the rear quarter and the cover coat of epoxy on the door.

The next piece of business is the dash, which gets us pretty close to current. I should be getting back to this car shortly. I think I found a painter to take the 54 to paint. If that happens, this will be next.
_________________
11/2/54 L227 Strato Silver Ragtop - Build Thread
1/7/55 L275 Light Beige - Build Thread
9/1/56 (57 model) L331 Horizon Blue - For Sale

[lardawge]

Moving along to get this caught up. My next move was to decide if I wanted to replace the spare tire well. It had been pretty messed up from what looked like being driven over a parking block and then backed up.

Originally, I was going to replace the front apron as well as the spare tire well. After some panel massaging, I was happy with the apron. However, I was not happy with the spare tire well. It was pretty beat up and very hard to work on. So, I ordered a replacement from Wolf and got to work.

Here is where it started;

You can see here that there is still a bunch of dimpling and creases that would be very difficult to get out.

Removal;

Test fit... I was not sure it would fit without removing the apron. Thankfully, I was able to get it installed.

Then it was a fun task of trying to get the spot welder to fit.

A few hours of work later;

At this point, we are done with the major metal work. I am very happy with the fit and finish of the car and panels. I am not aiming for perfect gaps on this car but more of a driver/original quality.

The dash had some work done because the dealer installed a Motometer Guage cluster that I opted to remove for simplicity. That is the last part of the process before I start the bodywork on the roof and bring this thread to real-time.
_________________
11/2/54 L227 Strato Silver Ragtop - Build Thread
1/7/55 L275 Light Beige - Build Thread
9/1/56 (57 model) L331 Horizon Blue - For Sale

[sportin-wood]

[lardawge]

[lardawge]

While I have the minutes available to spare, I am going to get this last update out.

Long and short of it, when I bought the car, the dash had been cut out at the dealer to install a motometer gauge cluster. For a long time I was going to keep it. I went to the only game in town to restore the gauges to working order, which was Hollywood Speedometer, and got the most insane quote I have ever recieved. That was the end of that dream.

With that info in hand, I proceeded to acquire an oval dash from a gentleman in Stockton. It was in excellent shape and took about 3.5 hours to drive to get. At the time, I had no confidence in my ability to replace the missing piece. This was the one part of the car that I was happy with that had been done at the metal shop.

Here is how I purchased the car. You will also notice the radio knob holes were drilled out. That was corrected as well.

Here was what I got back from metal;

I then did some shrinking, hammer, and dolly work;

Some body work;

Lastly, 2k primer;

Pretty happy with it. There are a few small touchup I need to do with the 2k, but it looks like it was never touched. The backside looks good as well and needs very little work.

At this point, I am ready to get back after it. I am sending the 54 off on Saturday. I will then pull this out and start on the roof.

For those of you who are as insanely picky as I am, this car will be officially up for sale for a very reasonable price. The chassis is done, as is the engine. I will sell it with or without the engine. It will likely be listed in September, but anyone following along who is interested, feel free to reach out.
_________________
11/2/54 L227 Strato Silver Ragtop - Build Thread
1/7/55 L275 Light Beige - Build Thread
9/1/56 (57 model) L331 Horizon Blue - For Sale