OBX SR Project

[surfnc]

Been doing some work on the SR. It has been brutal hot here, at least for this old guy.

Murzi asked me a question about strengthening a fiberglass fender that cracked due to flexing at the bend. I figured I would go over how I reinforced part of the trunk panel that showed stress cracks in the gelcote.

Unfortunately it is hard to see but the gelcote on the horizontal edge seen in the picture had stress cracks in it. To reinforce this edge I cleaned the bend from the inside using a drill with a wire wheel.

I cleaned off the paint down to the chopped glass.

I brushed some resin onto the trunk with a chip brush to wet it out.

I also had some precut 6oz glass cloth ready to start laminating.

Use the chip brush to push the glass into the resin and into the bend up the lip.

Get as much air out as you can then add more layers of glass.

After 3-4 layers you should have something that looks like this. Also note that the resin in the cup has gone clear/tan from the earlier blue/green. This means that it has kicked or gelled. Don't worry about the ragged edge. You can grind/sand it to the panel edge or you can do this.

You can cut it off clean with a razor. The resin has to be gelled to the point of not pulling but not too much that it will not cut. It takes a few tries to get the timing but once you do you will find that you can save yourself alot of sanding/grinding and make a very clean edge with little time and effort.

"Action and Drama"

Vince

[MURZI]

Thanks Vince!!! Now do the gel coat part. I am dumb and neeeds to get some learning. LOL

and oh yea. My action and drama build is in the offroad forum. I was afraid the forum police would lock me up if I posted it here. Hehehe
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62 vert
2276
Tim’s welded heads
45 Dells
A1 sidewinder
Fk44 cam

[didget69]

Murzi - so you're planning to kill fences in the Offroad forum now?

Vince - nice work!

Bryan
_________________
I never found the need to impress people with any mechanic certifications, trophies or track wins... unless it was for Mom to post on the refrigerator door.

[surfnc]

Been a while, but it has cooled down and I wanted to tackle the fender.

One of the POs (Not Bryan) must have had a fender bender (breaker) and repaired it with 2 license plates and a bunch of bondo.

This is toward the end of the repair but shows one of the plates location.

They also cut out all the broken fibers which made piecing it back together a lot of fun.

First I bolted the fender back on to keep its original shape.

I then glassed the first section closest to the tub. The bungie is there to help align the front section. The wax paper is there to keep the fender from sticking to the tub.

I then took the center broken piece and hot glued some bamboo skewers to it so I could align the fender lines.

I then took a jack, wratchet strap, gorilla tape and a piece of surfboard foam to get the front part of the fender to line up. (Fender changed shape over the years, heat time etc.)

I then glassed the corner/fender edge to keep it from moving since it was cracked all the way to the nose as well as the section closest to the tub. I did this in sections so I could adjust the broken center piece as I glassed.

I then used a piece of surfboard foam to hold the center section up to align with the rear section and glassed another section.

I then used a wratchet strap to align the bottom rear section of the center piece and glassed it and removed the skewers.

I then glassed the front of the center section to the front of the fender. I also ground the bondo out of the fender edge and the nose.

I then glassed the fender edge and the nose.

This all had to be done before I unbolted the fender flipped it over and removed the pop rivets and the plate.

I then roughed up the glass near the breaks and removed all the bondo before glassing.

I thought I took a picture of the glassed bottom but I cannot find it. This is a pic of the fender bolted on and the glass being faired out. The next step is to do the filler. Then sand fill sand fill sand fill etc!!

[didget69]

Vince -

The 'glasswork looks really good - but I am a bit concerned about the use of pine needles & pine cones as filler materials...

I don't recall ever seeing the 2nd license plate in the time that I had the SR -

Keep up the good work, old man. When you get bored, you can take over for me on the Rascal...

bnc
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I never found the need to impress people with any mechanic certifications, trophies or track wins... unless it was for Mom to post on the refrigerator door.

[wythac]

Nice FG work. I would expect nothing less, as I rather unabashedly stole your method for installing a flush mount fuel door in my hood.........

[surfnc]

Bryan
There is nothing better than some natural filler, they sand easily and do not pollute the environment.
The tag was actually right under the center broken section with about 6 pop rivets and bondo about an inch wide by 1/4 in thick. It is no wonder that it cracked.

wythac
Nice looking work!! Looks like a late tank, but I do not recognize the cap setup. Looks very clean, can you turn the cap easily with the fill cover on?

Today I used filler on the fender and faired it out.

It took about 3 coats with sanding between each.

I then painted it with flat black paint to see if the lines looked right. It is very hard (for me anyway) to see the lines properly with all the different colors going on.

They turned out pretty good. I will sand off the black paint before I do the high build primer coats and will be able to true up the lines a little better at that time.

[Thanatos]

Try using crinkle-finish or Hammerite paint with a semigloss clear coat over it on that dash... Manx SRs are one of the more desirable 70s kit cars, and should be kept as original as possible. Since you have all the other era-correct parts, and the grey would create glare problems as said before, that might be a better solution. Also, for a period-correct stereo system if you want one, there are still unopened or working used Kraco, Learjet and Jensen AM/FM/8-track car stereos on eBay, and you can still find 70s-era Kraco speaker covers in junkyards and at swap meets to cover modern speakers with.

Great build, I'll definitely be following it.

[didget69]

Vince does good work & could probably 're-vinyl' texture the dash if he wanted to. SR's aren't the 'goldmine' that everyone thinks they are.

bnc
_________________
I never found the need to impress people with any mechanic certifications, trophies or track wins... unless it was for Mom to post on the refrigerator door.

[wythac]

surfnc, It was a custom fill neck on a late tank. That's an F150 fuel door. Its a rather small cap, so there is (just) enough room to turn it. Seeing your extensive documentation of your fuel door job was a great blueprint.

I saw my first SR2 last summer, a guy here in my area had one at a vw event....pretty unusual car with a cool history, much more of a complete car than our fiberglass tubs, which I am sure presents a few unique challenges to restoration. Good luck on the build, it looks like you are well on your way.

[LouisB]

Nice fiberglass work!

--louis
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Louis Brooks
'67 Manx II

Old people at weddings always poke me and say "Your next." So, I started doing the same to them at funerals.

[66 Shorty]

[surfnc]

66 shorty
Here is the link:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=259228&highlight=fill

[66 Shorty]

Thank you VERY Much!

I did remember seeing it, I just couldn't find it when I searched "gas" & "cap" & all those other words... I guess I couldn't have looked up "fill" or "filler" too...

With this style filler cover, is it really hard to open & close the cap on the tank itself? I mean, getting your hand in there & all... I'm torn between using an integrated cap/filler, or just a cover for the opening, like you did. I see a few advantages with both set-ups. I don't know if I'll have enough room between the hood & gas tank to get my fat arm/hand in there to tighten a hose clamp if I go integrated... & I don't know if I'll be able to get my fat hand in there to remove the gas cap, if I go with a just a cover...

Sorry for the slight "thread-jack"!

Your project is coming out great though!
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~X-Man~

'60's Spatz Buggy body on '74 Chassis (Budget Build)
'69 Bug (Baja-to-be partial daily)
'10 Silverado (My daily)

[BuggyFaron]

[surfnc]

Been doing some work.

Built up the fender roll to take the stress off the fender arch. This was probably caused by tire rub. I used some spare foam covered with wax paper as a backing and built up a few layers of 20oz glass to strengthen the area. I then sanded it to follow the curve.

I then sanded it down for priming. (All black paint removed.)

Then primed with Duratec VE primer.

Then guide coated, sanded, more primer, guide, sand.

Then I sprayed it with red gelcote mixed with Duratec Clear High Gloss Gel Coat additive. (Looks better in person)

This allows you to spray gelcote like paint and allows it to cure without a wax/surfacing agent. This is the first time I have tried it and I am very pleased with the results. I chose this path so that if I had any scratches or dings I could wetsand and buff them out. The Duratec gelcoat additive cost about $90 for a gallon and that is the smallest amount you can get it in but you can add it to any gelcoat color you want. I will use it for the interior. (black or gray still up in the air.)

[LouisB]

Veddy nice! Can I just send the Manx to you for final body work and paint?

--louis
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Louis Brooks
'67 Manx II

Old people at weddings always poke me and say "Your next." So, I started doing the same to them at funerals.

[GS guy]

Looks great Vince! Sure hope you share the assembly steps of your SR as it goes back togther. Every time I see SR bodywork partially disassembled, there seems to be more and more different parts!
Opportunity here to create an assembly guide - with what to watch out for, what mods to consider, etc.

Jeff
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70's vintage Deserter GS buggy - undergoing transformation to Super GS!

[didget69]

Wow - my old car is looking better!

What color did you end up using for the color coats?

bnc
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I never found the need to impress people with any mechanic certifications, trophies or track wins... unless it was for Mom to post on the refrigerator door.

[MURZI]

Vince...That is the best pic we get???? Come on man!!!

LOOKING GOOD!!!! LOOKING GOOD!!!
_________________
62 vert
2276
Tim’s welded heads
45 Dells
A1 sidewinder
Fk44 cam