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"Toasty" Goes Under The Knife.
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Towel Rail
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Joined: April 15, 2005
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Location: SE CR IA US NA PE
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 3:29 am    Post subject: "Toasty" Goes Under The Knife. Reply with quote

I kind of announced this on STF, but now that I just bought a welder, I'm officially digging in!

The car:
1974 VW Thing, which I bought in 2005. This car is a lot of fun, and elicits smiles wherever I go. It came with an aftermarket gas heater installed, so a friend dubbed it "Toasty McThing". Smile

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Bad stuff: This car spent most of its life in the midwest, and it extremely rusty as a result. (That diamond plate isn't for protection, it was an attempt by a PO to cover up rust.) It also has a lot of mechanical issues that need to be addressed, such as the transmission, brakes, and horn.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


The welder. Today I am a real man, lol:

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


My plan for this car is to take it completely apart and do a ground-up restoration. So many mechanical things need fixing that I can't in good conscience keep patching it as I go. The final straw was when I began to see light through the floor.

On the other hand, I do not intend for this to be a perfect show car -- I'm not a perfectionist, and spending $25,000 to bring this car to trailor queen status would be a ludicrous act IMO. It will get modern rustproofing, many coats of paint, an Eberspaecher gas heater, a raised suspension, 7.0x15 tires, and a couple other mods.

Along the way, we'll see a lot of the hack things done to keep the car running. Instead of assigning blame, I'd rather concentrate on how loved this car was, that previous owners wanted to keep it on the road. So no negativity will be tolerated. That goes for you folks, too. Laughing

Well, enough talk for now. I'm going to start dismantling the car, in preparation for taking the body off and working on the pan.

- Scott
_________________
1974 Thing -- under the knife
1967 Beetle -- spring/summer/fall driver
1996 Subaru OBW (EJ22, 5-speed, AWD) -- winter car, 3-seasons "don't feel like biking today" car

049 > 070 > 053 > 009


Last edited by Towel Rail on Sun Sep 23, 2007 10:46 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Towel Rail
Horizontally Opposed


Joined: April 15, 2005
Posts: 4622
Location: SE CR IA US NA PE
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 3:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's what was under one of the diamond plates. Eww...

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_________________
1974 Thing -- under the knife
1967 Beetle -- spring/summer/fall driver
1996 Subaru OBW (EJ22, 5-speed, AWD) -- winter car, 3-seasons "don't feel like biking today" car

049 > 070 > 053 > 009
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rusty57
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 10:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Keep us updated with plenty of pics if you can. We love looking at projects. Nice welder. I wish i had one and a project car as well.
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Pinky
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 10:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good luck Scott!

Can't wait to see it finished!!!
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wcfvw69 Premium Member
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 12:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You might want to get a preventative tetanus shot! Very Happy
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Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
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Towel Rail
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 12:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

wcfvw69 wrote:
You might want to get a preventative tetanus shot! Very Happy


Got my booster in 2005! Cool
_________________
1974 Thing -- under the knife
1967 Beetle -- spring/summer/fall driver
1996 Subaru OBW (EJ22, 5-speed, AWD) -- winter car, 3-seasons "don't feel like biking today" car

049 > 070 > 053 > 009
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Towel Rail
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 12:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So at this point I've got nearly all the diamond-plate off. And for those of you who were wondering why my Thing had 1-rib rocker panels (reminiscent of the prototype 181s), here's why:

At some point, a PO had cut out the rusty lower sections of the rockers and fashioned some rocker panels out of sheet metal. Affixing them, of course, with fiberglass and pop rivets. And supported by our old friend, expanding foam:

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


At this point, I needed a drink.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Here's where I was at by the end. Note the piles of rust. I will basically need to reconstruct the bottom 6" of the body. Time to buy some replacement panels!

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


- Scott
_________________
1974 Thing -- under the knife
1967 Beetle -- spring/summer/fall driver
1996 Subaru OBW (EJ22, 5-speed, AWD) -- winter car, 3-seasons "don't feel like biking today" car

049 > 070 > 053 > 009
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Towel Rail
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 10:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's how she stands currently. I've removed the rollbar, top, and front seats:

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


One hurdle I need to get past -- a PO decided to reinforce the body with a zillion pieces of sheet metal and pop rivets. I will need to drill these suckers out to be able to separate the body and pan.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Horrifying Pic of the Day(tm):

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


- Scott
_________________
1974 Thing -- under the knife
1967 Beetle -- spring/summer/fall driver
1996 Subaru OBW (EJ22, 5-speed, AWD) -- winter car, 3-seasons "don't feel like biking today" car

049 > 070 > 053 > 009
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WD-40
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 10:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Towel Rail wrote:
At some point, a PO had cut out the rusty lower sections of the rockers and fashioned some rocker panels out of sheet metal. Affixing them, of course, with fiberglass and pop rivets. And supported by our old friend, expanding foam:

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.



Damn. Sad Between this and the '73 we're not doing so well, are we?

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Bondo has lost out. Pop-rivets and expanding foam seem to be the patch of choice nowdays. Sad

- David
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Towel Rail
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 11:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, but street signs are still going strong. Don't forget about those! Wink

Actually, the more I learn about how the 181 is put together, the more hopeful I get. By and large, the body panels have flanges that are restance-welded together, like so:

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


These are a piece of cake to separate or redo. Since my rockers are a lost cause anyway, I plan to restore the pan first, then use it as a jig to build up new rockers from replacement panels. Thankfully, the Thing manual gives all the measurements necessary to align everything properly. Even so, I'll tack everything together, and test-fit the doors and stuff before welding it together "for real."

The '73 on the other hand... will "take some doin's." Wink

- Scott
_________________
1974 Thing -- under the knife
1967 Beetle -- spring/summer/fall driver
1996 Subaru OBW (EJ22, 5-speed, AWD) -- winter car, 3-seasons "don't feel like biking today" car

049 > 070 > 053 > 009
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Pinky
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shocked Yikes!

If you're looking to save a little on outer rockers, the width of the ribs in the bed of a Chevy S-10 are dead-on. The space between the ribs is different, but if you don't mind a little work it's a good substitute. Rocker panels are pricey...
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Towel Rail
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 12:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pinky wrote:
Shocked Yikes!

If you're looking to save a little on outer rockers, the width of the ribs in the bed of a Chevy S-10 are dead-on. The space between the ribs is different, but if you don't mind a little work it's a good substitute. Rocker panels are pricey...


Yeah, it's the inner rockers that concern me. Those aren't just pricey, they're hard to come by!
_________________
1974 Thing -- under the knife
1967 Beetle -- spring/summer/fall driver
1996 Subaru OBW (EJ22, 5-speed, AWD) -- winter car, 3-seasons "don't feel like biking today" car

049 > 070 > 053 > 009
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Rusted Rockers
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 12:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

little cancerous but at least its all fixable.....
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David
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 6:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good to see you making progress Smile

Towel Rail wrote:
At this point, I needed a drink.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


- Scott


Nice Choice!

I have to say that Hacker-Pschorr has always been my favorite beer from Munich!
When we were in Germany for Bad Camberg/EBI we found a great little restaurant across from the Hauptbahnhof in Munich:

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Slowlow Premium Member
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 6:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Holy shit that thing HAD to come from Mario's Shocked
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Towel Rail
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 1:59 am    Post subject: More disassembly... Reply with quote

Tonight I just removed some more stuff.

Used the extra-large Phillips screwdriver bit from my Klein impact set for the hood bolts. These also fit the door hinge bolts perfectly. Always nice to have the right tools!
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


From the looks of it, my Thing had the usual problem of the windshield leaning back too far. Given how little metal there is to resist it, it's no surprise:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


In fact, a PO installed another layer of metal on the backside of the windshield to restore the geometry!
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


These fender bolts were a PITA. Both were completely frozen, and threatened to wreck my allen wrench. I ended up sawing one off, and drilling out the other. Despite my purist tendencies, these will be replaced with stainless M8 bolts.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


The car as it sits:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Next step will be to remove the fenders, and undo enough wiring to take off the body. Stay tuned!

- Scott
_________________
1974 Thing -- under the knife
1967 Beetle -- spring/summer/fall driver
1996 Subaru OBW (EJ22, 5-speed, AWD) -- winter car, 3-seasons "don't feel like biking today" car

049 > 070 > 053 > 009
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Towel Rail
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 12:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, got one of the fenders off!

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


It's about time I replaced some of these 33-year-old seals:

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


It pains me to say this, but I don't think I'll be able to save the original beam after all. It'll probably make more sense to buy a new beam and transfer the old leaves and pan-support pieces over to it. That would also make installing the adjusters a little easier.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


- Scott
_________________
1974 Thing -- under the knife
1967 Beetle -- spring/summer/fall driver
1996 Subaru OBW (EJ22, 5-speed, AWD) -- winter car, 3-seasons "don't feel like biking today" car

049 > 070 > 053 > 009
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Z
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 12:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice project...good thread - keep it going!
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Gary
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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How are you planning to repair the rot damage on the bottom of the backbone? If you need donor metal, I can help.
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Towel Rail
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Icy wrote:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


How are you planning to repair the rot damage on the bottom of the backbone? If you need donor metal, I can help.


That's our family's '73 Super Beetle, BTW, not the Thing -- I'm not sure where we're going to start on the Super!

OTOH, if you have any solid Ghia pans, let's talk business. I could use a driver's side front corner and maybe some other scraps. Smile

- Scott
_________________
1974 Thing -- under the knife
1967 Beetle -- spring/summer/fall driver
1996 Subaru OBW (EJ22, 5-speed, AWD) -- winter car, 3-seasons "don't feel like biking today" car

049 > 070 > 053 > 009
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