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Yabbadubbadoo Samba Member
Joined: May 21, 2012 Posts: 914
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Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 12:07 pm Post subject: Bahama blue '66 Fastback build (Aus) |
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I think it's probably time I introduced my car and filled you in on my build plans.
Here's my 1600 TS Aussie built Fastback as I found her a little under a year ago. Living on a concrete slab for a year it had been an 'unstarted' project for a guy who literally bought it off a little old lady who kept it under a car port for 20 years cause it had stopped running. So it was almost a barn find and certainly had the years of dust, perished seals, dents and mouse infested engine bay to prove it. But one thing it had which was intrinsic to the dry central west location of New South Wales where I found her was virtually no serious body rust.
Initially it was gonna be a quick mechanical fix and get her running but that changed significantly when we found the result of the mouse plagues that hit the west a number of times over the years. Their excrement had virtually corroded the motor, exhaust and heater boxes into an old boat anchor.
The body off idea started as I began beating the dents and realized that if I were to touch up the paint in all the repaired areas the blending would merge and I'd have to paint more than 50% of the vehicle. It was a hard decision but I felt somewhat relieved after I had made it.
The tear-down begun. I employed an old panel beater I knew to help me with the more difficult repairs. Learnt a helluva lot in the process because he did the work at my place and I was his helping hand.
A bit crusty and pitted but floor pans were in good shape except for under the battery.
So the work has snowballed into a major project. I'm gonna try and keep the car somewhat original looking but a full body off re-spray in original has been decided. The colour is quite specific to Australian built fastbacks in that year. It is Bahama Blue. Probably more green than blue looking it is one of my favourite VW colours so its definitely staying original colour.
My customizing intentions are certainly not extreme. I'm not going for concourse points or a 100% accurate restoration but certainly it must give you the impression that the car is from the era in which it was built. A person I know called my plans a 'Period custom'.
IRS conversion is on the cards, a twin port warmed up engine, lowered stance, period interior styling but materials may not be 100% model specific. 12volt conversion. I'd say 80/20. 80% restore, 20% custom.
Wasn't lieing about the mice infestation. I found a dead one under the engine tins. (Insert photo here).
So fast forward about 6 months and I've come a long way, IRS conversion welded up, Kafer bars constructed, front end rebuilt, floor pan rust repaired and sand blasted and the first real beatification began with some paint to the freshly painted chassis.
Was gonna go grey on the chassis but have since decided to go satin black wherever its visible so will be top coating the front end before I install it. Internal lower bushes have been replaced and its going to get front disk brakes before I'm done.
So the Sandblasting I did myself. It's an ugly job. I bought a rig off eBay to do this job and a few bags of Aluminium oxide. $400 total but will last me for a long time cause the blast media can be Re-used 8-10 times. Tip. If you're gonna buy a sand blasting gun, get one with a pressurized tank. I tried those cheap guns that suck the sand out of a bucket but they're junk. The one I settled on has a pressurized tank. Works well on 90psi. You need a decent sized compressor or you're wasting your time.
Sand blasting.
Paint with POR15
The underside is still left to paint but I will be top coating the underside with satin finish and I'm just waiting for the paint. I'm gonna try the Aussie made stuff underneath - KBS paint. Similar to POR15. A little less glossy I'm told.
So that's it for now. Pretty massive first post but it has been a pretty massive story till now. I will try to keep you updated in smaller installments from now on.
Cheers,
Paolo
Last edited by Yabbadubbadoo on Sun Jul 28, 2019 2:08 pm; edited 7 times in total |
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squaretobehip Samba Member
Joined: August 23, 2004 Posts: 3695 Location: San Jose, CA
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Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 12:12 pm Post subject: |
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That mummified mouse is pretty sweet. _________________ 1963 Notchback - Ruby Red
1963 Squareback - Pearl White
1965 Squareback - Baltic Blue
Follow ISP West on:
Facebook - www.facebook.com/ispwest
Instagram - @ispwest - www.instagram.com/ispwest |
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ataraxia Samba Member
Joined: March 19, 2010 Posts: 4504 Location: Illinois
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Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 1:18 pm Post subject: |
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69SquareGuy wrote: |
That mummified mouse is pretty sweet. |
That's what I thought too...I'd make a shadowbox and display that thing in my garage. |
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d_ross Samba Member
Joined: July 02, 2010 Posts: 293 Location: Memphis, TN
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Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 2:14 pm Post subject: |
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looks good! I had to look at that mouse a few times to decide what happened to him. _________________ 68' Squareback X2
71' Westy |
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d_ross Samba Member
Joined: July 02, 2010 Posts: 293 Location: Memphis, TN
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Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 2:15 pm Post subject: |
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looks good! I had to look at that mouse a few times to decide what happened to him. _________________ 68' Squareback X2
71' Westy |
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Yabbadubbadoo Samba Member
Joined: May 21, 2012 Posts: 914
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Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 5:39 pm Post subject: |
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By my own observation I beleive he died by misadventure.
Trapped between the cooling tinware and the head.
He was not alone. It was like 'Pet Sematary'down there. |
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Shaven Samba Member
Joined: September 17, 2006 Posts: 879 Location: Australia
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Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 3:18 am Post subject: |
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Paolo... love your work mate... keep it going. _________________ the dc baggin is because its a well known fact that a restored sc will never be worth anywhere near what even a shitbox dc is |
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Yabbadubbadoo Samba Member
Joined: May 21, 2012 Posts: 914
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Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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Finally separated the rear suspension from the car. Was starting to get in the way even though it was handy to just flip the car up on its side but i really want to get the underside painted by the weekend and it had to go. Tonight the front end goes. I've already reco'd another front beam so I should see a bit more progress soon.
Yes I would have liked to paint topside and bottom together but I have to do the work in manageable portions around my day job.
I'm gonna keep the old swing axle rear end and gearbox in storage along with a few other things I'm planning to change like the interior colour.
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dragsters for life Samba Member
Joined: September 10, 2011 Posts: 1155 Location: MELBOURNE, type 3 contingent
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Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 11:03 pm Post subject: |
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nice work mate _________________ new t3c merch coming soon |
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Yabbadubbadoo Samba Member
Joined: May 21, 2012 Posts: 914
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 8:37 am Post subject: |
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dragsters for life wrote: |
nice work mate |
Thanks mate.
Burning the midnight oil again tonight. Packing up after another solid night.
Managed to remove the front end and flip the pan.
Started prepping it so I can paint tomorrow.
Last edited by Yabbadubbadoo on Sun Jul 28, 2019 2:11 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Yabbadubbadoo Samba Member
Joined: May 21, 2012 Posts: 914
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Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 3:37 am Post subject: |
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Last edited by Yabbadubbadoo on Sun Jul 28, 2019 2:12 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Yabbadubbadoo Samba Member
Joined: May 21, 2012 Posts: 914
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Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 7:31 am Post subject: |
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Finished with satin black top coat over rust guard black. Very happy I went for the satin finish.
Last edited by Yabbadubbadoo on Sun Jul 28, 2019 2:13 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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Yabbadubbadoo Samba Member
Joined: May 21, 2012 Posts: 914
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Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 5:48 am Post subject: A side project. Interior. |
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All this grunt work doing chassis gets a little much sometimes so I welcomed the thought of interior planning when a set of decent Porsche seats came up for sale. I'm not a big fan of modern interiors in old cars but I do love the feel of these bucket seats and think it will suit my needs as I plan to drive it a lot and do long trips.
I have a few ideas but the brown vinyl might be dyed black. The centre I'm thinking houndstooth cloth or something a little more subtle like the patterned material of the 'Salt and pepper' type 3 interior'.
I've got original boring brown vinyl interior in storage. It's in very good condition because it has not been sat on in 21 years but I think its age will mean it will not last long if I start using it regularly.
Last edited by Yabbadubbadoo on Sun Jul 28, 2019 2:25 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Yabbadubbadoo Samba Member
Joined: May 21, 2012 Posts: 914
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Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 8:55 am Post subject: |
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Painted the front end today.
There will be lots of bits plus the rear subframe still to paint so will be a bit longer before I get to a rolling chassis. I also want to suss out the oil cooler mount before I paint the rear end. Going to mount it on the top cross bar of the Kafer bar setup.
Need recommendations on a good little oil cooler and thermo fan set up.
Last edited by Yabbadubbadoo on Sun Jul 28, 2019 2:24 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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zimad Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2010 Posts: 94 Location: New Zealand
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vlad01 Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2010 Posts: 3069 Location: Australia
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Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 4:49 am Post subject: |
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did you paint inside the ball joint register and other side of it too?
Better get your thinners and wipe those areas clean of paint
don't want your ball joints coming loose and falling out. |
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Brent Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2010 Posts: 1614 Location: San Tan Valley, AZ
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Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 4:56 am Post subject: |
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You're doing a great job, keep it up! Nice to see another Fasty build. _________________ 69 Fastback Build
Berg5 Build |
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vlad01 Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2010 Posts: 3069 Location: Australia
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Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 4:56 am Post subject: Re: A side project. Interior. |
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Yabbadubbadoo wrote: |
All this grunt work doing chassis gets a little much sometimes so I welcomed the thought of interior planning when a set of decent Porsche seats came up for sale. I'm not a big fan of modern interiors in old cars but I do love the feel of these bucket seats and think it will suit my needs as I plan to drive it a lot and do long trips.
My plan is to give these 80's seats a 60's makeover without breaking the bank.
Here's the seats.
The switch which seems to be against the tunnel on my RHD car. They must have originated in a LHD car. Only the drivers seat has electrics.
I have a few ideas but the brown vinyl might be dyed black. The centre I'm thinking houndstooth cloth or something a little more subtle like the patterned material of the 'Salt and pepper' type 3 interior'.
I've got original boring brown vinyl interior in storage. It's in very good condition because it has not been sat on in 21 years but I think its age will mean it will not last long if I start using it regularly. I'm gonna have a little fun with the interior I think without sacrificing the original seats.
Also gotta hide the 80's plastic and the electric buttons on the drivers seat.
Maybe a retro looking switch.
Here's some inspiration. Let me know if you've seen any similar jobs I might get some ideas where they back-dated the look of some more modern seats.
The other soft-option I have if funds run low is to use the original door cards and rear seat and simply colour the porsche buckets to suit the original brown interior. |
if you strip the skins off the seats and then reinstall them your self when your choice of upholsterer does his thing its works out dirt cheap.
I got a set of seats done with my own sourced NOS fabrics and misc materials for $250 work for the front pair by a local trimmer and the back seats were $100 done by a mate who was an auto upholsterer back when.
Came up ace when I put it all back together. |
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Brent Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2010 Posts: 1614 Location: San Tan Valley, AZ
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Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 4:59 am Post subject: |
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vlad01 wrote: |
did you paint inside the ball joint register and other side of it too?
Better get your thinners and wipe those areas clean of paint
don't want your ball joints coming loose and falling out. |
Did they mask that area from the factory? I don't see how paint there would make a difference; there's a wave washer on top. _________________ 69 Fastback Build
Berg5 Build |
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vlad01 Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2010 Posts: 3069 Location: Australia
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Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 5:49 am Post subject: |
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Brent wrote: |
vlad01 wrote: |
did you paint inside the ball joint register and other side of it too?
Better get your thinners and wipe those areas clean of paint
don't want your ball joints coming loose and falling out. |
Did they mask that area from the factory? I don't see how paint there would make a difference; there's a wave washer on top. |
nope, they aren't painted from factory. wavy washer or not, paints pretty much always causes bolts to come loose especially epoxy type paints which have a rubbery/plasticy nature to them.
I have this happen when i did a major overhauled on one of my cars few years ago. I painted everything to make it nice. did all the bolt up nice and tight with all spring washers and what not. few 100 ks and they all came loose where I painted. Not thick paint either, just few light coat of sprayed on epoxy black.
I had similar issue not long ago when I did a brake caliper and the sliding pins kept on moving all the time stuffing up the free floating in the floating caliper that they were, scrapped off the minimal paint that there was, the pins locked down tight and didn't move any more and were a piece of piss to adjust unlike when there was a little paint under them.
I mask everything now where I can or paint assembled when it allows.
its a safety issue that shouldn't be over looked as stupid as it sounds. |
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