1973 VW Thing "Face Lift" Many pictures!

[WD-40]

[Michael B]

[Michael B]

These are pictures of how I made the limit strap mount. I started by using a grade eight bolt and cut off the hex head. Locate it on the top of shock tower and cut out the area where it will be welded. Making sure it's straight weld all the way around, I don't think that's going anywhere.

I like using the pre-made CNC cut brackets because they cheep in price, very clean, and save a great deal of time. I had to cut these down a bit to fit the arm correctly.

Here are the pictures:

[Michael B]

These are pictures of the new sandblasting area that I made up yesterday. I thought it might be better to do the blasting in backyard rather then out in the open where I could hurt someone walking by and this one is easier to clean up as well.

After pictures of the sandblasted parts:

[mstatedog]

when i blasted my bumpers i started with the sandblaster set-up you have...it took forever so i switched to a high pressure washer with an attachment for drawing sand...this got rid of the dust and worked a LOT better...after the bumpers dried I swabbed on some kind of Phosphorus coating (don't remember the name)...then just had to ruff them up and epoxy prime...

just thought i would pass this along...

your work looks good!

dog

[Michael B]

I said I might powder coat the rest of the parts of the suspension and thought about it for some time. What I thought was if its power coated then when it gets chipped up from the rocks there’s no way to touch it up like paint. If I paint it, it leaves me a chance to add more parts (welding, repairing) and then I can use the same paint as before to match it up not to mention it will same me some $$. Although its much more work on my part, at least I can say I did it with my own two hands!!



Well today was not a day made for painting, but I did what I now do all the time to my parts before painting. What I found is that even under conditions of cold wet weather (or warm) if you warm up the parts with the same Map gas torch you create better conditions for the paint to stick. As you warm the parts, the moisture that has settled on the metal will evaporate and this will help prepping the metal for better adhesion. I did this on my buggy project and even after heavy off road every thing seems to be in good shape (looks good!). It’s almost like powder coating i.e. bakes the paint on. Sorry that I didn’t take pictures of the process, but I hope you get the idea!

Here’s some pictures of the finished product. Needs some curing time but the parts were dry to handle within minutes.

[Michael B]

Forgot to add these pictures of how I went about adding adjusters on a front end that had been cut and turned already. I will just add the pictures and if anyone has questions then feel free to ask…

[spaeth]

Really nice work! What kind of paint are you using?

Craig

[Michael B]

[Michael B]

While I have it out I added some metal to the clutch pivot for extra strength

As requested. Here's some pictures after welding, grinding and paint. I didn't check to see if the cable hook would fit before painting, but could or can make some adjustments if needed without harming the paint job, although it makes sence to do it before painting

[Patina Turner]

Micheal- your stuff looks great, I'm about to do that myself. One question: when you added the metal to the clutch hook did you check to see if it still fit in the clutch cable? I figured I would ask because you can still grind it before you paint. Just a thought... good luck.

Josh
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73 Thing

[Fun 181]

Ha! "Patina Turner"! Possibly the greatest forum name EVER! I love it!

I'm not hijacking, I swear it!

Mike, great job on the resto. Your step by step pics are awesome. Detailed photos like this are very helpful. Thanks!

[Michael B]

[Patina Turner]

looks like you got it covered mike just hoping I could save you some time if you hadn't caught it. Josh
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73 Thing

[Michael B]

I would like to start off with pictures of the body before sandblasting and then show how it transforms and prepares the paint for new paint. I know if I was making this a show car then I would remove ALL the paint repair the problems and then go through many steps of building up to a great paint job. The only thing is this is not going to be a show car, it’s a driver! I’m just taking the steps that will make it last many years after I’m gone.

These pictures show what most people never see of their Thing; the underside. In one of the pictures you can see one of the major parts of damage that came from a front end hit. It’s missing the mounting bar for the front bumper. I will need to address this because I would like to use this point for mounting a bumper that I make.

After sandblasting I used a die grinder with 36 grit sanding wheel to smooth out the area’s that were chipped. It was nice to know that I could turn this Thing over without bending anything. It’s quite a strong body structure even without the pan attached.

[spam38]

i dont think i would sand blast the body panels my self because the heat generated from friction can warp the body panels and be a pain when it comes to painting and prep work i would use glassbeads or walnut chips

[Michael B]

[Chris181]

Great job Michael !
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Chris.

http://vwandco.wifeo.com/
Thing '73 IRS conversion
Eurovan VR6 LPG

[Michael B]

These pictures show how bad the front bumper mounting brackets were . I thought that just the one side had major damage, but after further investigation the driver side also had issues . These are the steps that I took to repair the areas and now they should be strong enough to support the bumper. It took about 5 hours to remove and repair these brackets, and clean up my work shop.

I used a method of drilling holes and then welding them like a plug. This is kind of like spot welding and close to how they were attached from the factory . One of the reasons for added the topper piece of metal was to give me a more solid platform to weld to. I know that the welding of the sheet metal looks like crap, but its tough welding thin semi rusted metal without burning through. I had to chase a few holes because it was soooo thin .

[Michael B]

Yesterday I installed wheels to move the Thing around in the shop. I used the holes that have nuts in them for mounting the casters. When you’re able to move your pan/body around without help it’s nice. I will do more sandblasting on the underside now that I have better access.

On another note, I have decided to sell the 1835cc engine that was in the Thing and would like to know what price I should sell it for. Anyone have an idea what this turn key engine is worth? I will most likely list it in TheSamba after I get a better idea what the listing price should be or if you’re interested in it please let me know.

Now here’s what I have to deal with as far as RUST, that’s a bad word when it comes to our Things’. All I can say is I’m lucky to have a California Thing because after looking at some of the other Things’ out there mine is by far an easy repair. Keep in mind that I have never had to repair such damage to sheet metal. It’s a shame to have to cut into the body so far to find good metal to weld to, but so be it. You will notice that on the drivers rear corner there’s quite a bit of body filler from one of the minor fender benders. This one and the others are from the pervious owner. I have in mind to keep the body work to a minimum because this is a project that I would like to do with my son (when he gets older) and to preserve some of my dad’s work.

I started by cutting out much to my surprise all the rust in the area’s that showed it. Once I was able to find good metal I cut sheet metal to fit the area and welded it as best I could. This might not be the right/best way to do it, but it will work for the mean time (keeping the rust at bay!). After everything is welded up, it’s time to grind, grind, grind….. then body filler. I will post pictures of my process and keep you posted.