My 1954 build thread "Beatrix"

[René R.]

[TheLadyBug]

[René R.]

[TheLadyBug]

[Karly]

[TheLadyBug]

Got a text from the engine guy today.
Things are coming along "really well", the long block is darn near complete. This gives me hope.

I just returned from the US and got some of my WW order I had sent to my moms. I'd have liked to reassemble my wiper motor and arms today but the little c-clips I got from WW are bare metal and need to be plated first. I'll be patient and do it right The rest is all refinished and ready.

Then, I pestered the body guy and reminded him that my engine is coming in March so I hope to have the body back by then. He's got a lot of work to do yet so I hope he gets on it. He said he also hopes to have it to me at the same time as the engine so...

Up this week I hope to figure out the chroming situation, and get that returned to me. I also plan on revisiting the window etching so I can get the glass in the car as soon as I have the body back. I'm wondering if I should buy the headliner separate and get that in the car before I buy the interior, as the dollar is really not getting any better but I'll need the headliner to put the glass in.
_________________
Charmaine
-------------
1954 Beetle - because I can
2016 Golf highline - hubby’s daily
2016 Golf R - my daily

[belairman]

You are doing an awesome job, continued success on your project.

[sled]

I love your attention to detail and effort in correctness!

but I have to wonder (and this is probably no fault of your own) but why is it so hard to find competent people to work on your car? The engine should have taken no more than a couple weeks at most for a professional engine builder. I recently had my '51 25hp rebuilt in a week. I supplied him with the long block and necessary parts to rebuild it and it was completed. Same goes for paint shops..a show quality paint job takes a few months at most. Some guys say they let the primer gas off for a month or something, but even at this rate...

not ranting AT you, but WITH you. If I was you, I'd be beyond frustrated (which I'm sure you already are)

I hope things continue to progress, nothing like waiting on other people.
_________________
drive your split.

[slalombuggy]

You don't need to plate the c-clips for your wiper shafts, they are spring steel and don't rust. They were also not plated form factory.

Just an FYI from working on a few concours cars for VERY particular clients over the years. Doing things like plating them would be considered "over restoring" a car and actually counts against a car when being judged on correctness. Correct colours, platings and finishes are all as important to a correct restoration as the quality of the work. Having something like a shiny silver ceramic coated exhaust, or gloss black powdercoated front suspension, or even coated c-clips may look nice and be more durable, but if that's not how it came from the factory and it sticks out like a sore thumb to purists. If doing a correct 10 point resto, you have to have the correct part with the correct finish, in the correct colour, exactly like the factory did it. Doing things like replicating factory paint overspray on parts, chalk marks and grease smeers are how cars are restored to factory correctness. I've spent hours replacing a water pump on a (pre-Ford) Lincoln cabriolet, not physical changing it, but trying to match the paint and patina on the paint so that it matched the old one so it looked correct on the "survivor" engine.

And sled, I know the people working on her car, I've know one for 30 years and the other for about 15. They are very competent at what they do. There are many underlying reasons why the work is taking so long.

[TheLadyBug]

[sled]

alright, questioning competency was a bit harsh, but I still do not understand the time frames here.

underlying issues can have a dramatic impact, yes. Was not intending to ruffle any feathers, just echoing some of the frustration.

keep up the good work! do you plan to ever has this car at the great canadian? I'd love to see it some day.
_________________
drive your split.

[TheLadyBug]

[slalombuggy]

I know you are going for a correct restoration. Coating parts that weren't coated to start with is not the proper way to do things. If the fasteners are black oxide coated, re-do it, if they were bare metal, leave them. That is the correct way to do it. What ever you choose for the coating on parts, it should match the colour AND the finish. If it was a semi matte finish it must be semi matte, if it was a flat finish it must be flat. Having the same colour alone is not correct.

Another thing I had to do on an early Chevy I worked on. I had to change most of the front end steering parts. They were ALL OEM parts worth several times what could have been bought as new aftermarket parts. After I had spent hours carefully changing all parts and making sure that it was spotless I had to change the grease in our grease gun because it wasn't the same colour as the factory applied grease and I had to leave a certain amount of grease around the zerk as would have been left by the guy greasing them on the rack on the assembly line as they would not have wiped them clean as I have always done

I know of people losing at concourse shows by one point after 1/4 panel trim pieces were removed and appropriate chalk marks were not present.

Originally the cars were driven daily in all sorts of weather and conditions, yours will be driven on nice summer days on much better roads than there were in 1954 and kept in a nice cozy garage. You don't need to do a bunch of fancy coatings that aren't factory correct in the name of longevity. It's actually counting against you on a 10 point restoration.

Not picking apart your build, just want you to know that there is such a thing as over restoring a car and actually having your work start to be against you

brad

[txoval]

I definitely appreciate the information being shared here about the level of restoration. That kind of stuff would drive me crazy.

I prefer to over build...

[Abscate]

[TheLadyBug]

Got my chrome back yesterday.
It's not as perfect as I'd have liked but if it was a 3 before it's about a 9 now. So I sit down to excitedly put stuff together (dying to get these headlights together) and I realize I have no rivets for the rings. Gah! Always. Something. The chrome shop forgot to send me some.

My engine is coming along according to plan and I couldn't be happier that this is being completed. Travelling with my dad at the end of the month to go pick it up.

And the freshly ceramic coated muffler, and shoes/j-tubes.

So I guess tonight I'll spend some time sanding the parts that were chromed and no longer fit together and maybe assemble the door handles and window latches.
_________________
Charmaine
-------------
1954 Beetle - because I can
2016 Golf highline - hubby’s daily
2016 Golf R - my daily

[René R.]

Well, at least it's some progress...

I hope the pace starts to pick up for you in the spring. I'm dying to see this finished, as I'm sure you are too. In spades.
_________________
Gone but not forgotten: 1950 Hoffman split (restored in 1966) - another 1950 Hoffman split (restored in 1996)

[TheLadyBug]

Yep, some progress is better than none.

So of course I was dying to get some stuff done.
After handling small parts and emery cloth for hours... I no longer have finger prints and my fingers are raw. Not bleeding at least! Too bad my iPhone no longer recognizes my fingerprints.

I learned that not all SG lock cylinders will fit in any door handle... the hard way. The lock cylinder I had that matches the ignition, that I intended to use does not fit in the door handle. Once I got it all together, I realized the cylinder could be pulled out with the key. Damnit! And the cylinder that came with was in awful shape. So, I polished it for 2 hours and managed to get it to a useable condition and reassembled the handle. Damn those springs are not fun to install.

I'm not super happy with that angle on the base of the locking handle, but after looking at a friend's collection of them, his were no better so I'm thinking that's just the way it's gonna be. The passenger handle turned out perfectly.

Then... these f$&@ing latches. There was so much extra metal on these that they did not fit together. So file file file, sand sand sand, fit fit fit, I managed to get one together. Then I manage to get the other to 'fit' together but the damn button won't fit in because the button won't slide into the grooves inside the handle. $&?%!!!! So I gave up for the day, as filing the metal inside that little hole in the handle is going to take forever and I just can't look at it any more.

I'm also realizing, and now dreading testing the screw holes in the door handles are probably mangled and will need to be retapped and likely fitted with a different size screw and there are barely any threads left.

And so the joys of reassembly...
_________________
Charmaine
-------------
1954 Beetle - because I can
2016 Golf highline - hubby’s daily
2016 Golf R - my daily

[mark_85226]

I also had to perform the same filing on my oval door handles when I had them re-chromed. You may want to check how they fit into the door openings if you haven't already done so, I had to do a lot of filing on the outside edges to get them to slide in without scratching the paint. Good luck!!

[Mr. OGPaint]

Got mailed on Monday.
_________________
https://instagram.com/mr.ogpaint
-
Patrick Hall