My 63 body on a 59 pan Herbie project car

[slave1pilot]

I just thought of something...
will the carpet kit still fit If I relocate the seat?
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[HippyTom]

Your floor carpet will not line up with the front of the seat channel, and the part that goes under the seat will be too long.

I don't have floor carpet, just the 2-piece rubber mat on the pans. I cut the extra off the back piece and laid it in front of the channel. You could do the same with carpet. But any floor mats you buy won't go all the way to the seat channel. It doesn't jump out at you since you don't really see it unless you're looking under the front edge of the seat. I made my own DIY floor mats that were longer and fit the space.

[slave1pilot]

I didn't weld them in today because im still thinking about the carpet not fitting right if I relocate the tracks

Also, it was over 80 and sunny so I spent the day pulling off the fenders , doing a little hammer and dolly work, and swapping out the bent lowered beam for a straight stock beam

Turns out that the "stock" beam is actually lower than the lowered beam I already had

Well at least it's not bent like this one

_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[slave1pilot]

I did a bunch of sanding over the long weekend

Hopefully I can get it all primed and one color again
Mrs.slave1pilot said it was "junky"
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[Corney13]

Looking good! Glad you are getting back to it!

[slave1pilot]

Thanks man, mrs.slave1pilot called it "junky" so I had to get on it with a fervor

Tomorrow morning is radio area repair/welding day. Once that's done, I can start priming/painting the interior and making the gauges work.
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[HippyTom]

"Junky" is IN man!!! All the cool kids are doing it.

I see people taking perfectly good cars and making them junky on purpose.

[slave1pilot]

LOL
I know, right?
I posted the sanded pics above on my facebook and claimed I was going for that "sweet patina look"
some people liked it and thought I was serious.
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[Miklo]

I knew you weren't serious.

Cause paint alone makes the entire car "junky"... Never judge a book by it's cover, or a car by it's paint job.

Us patina lovers love cars, as a whole. Others just dwell on hating it and poopoo it every chance they get.

Maybe it makes them feel justified in spending a boat load of cash on body work and a paint job while mine still gets all the attention at the shows.

Be like the boring kids. Give it a nice paint jobby. Be just like everyone else.
_________________
✠Miklo✠
'55 Type1 "Ozma"
'66 Type1 "Charlotte" RIP
Antelope Valley's Mobile Air-Cooled Guru

[slave1pilot]

I know you weren't , but others were.
mrs.slave1pilot is pretty opinionated and I like that. She envisions the car being the same way I do- nice and shiny.
You and I spoke briefly a couple weeks back about our different tastes and I said the patina look and narrowed beams isn't for me, but it fits some cars and some people. Hopefully I didn't offend you or Charlotte.
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[Miklo]

Me, offended? Nahhh...

I respect anyone and their decision on what they do with their ride.

Others don't and jump at the opportunity to talk junk.

The mrs is always right... ahem

I know ol Herb will be killer when he's done.
_________________
✠Miklo✠
'55 Type1 "Ozma"
'66 Type1 "Charlotte" RIP
Antelope Valley's Mobile Air-Cooled Guru

[slave1pilot]

Today I had two projects on the docket:
1. Weld the driver's seat track in place
2. Weld a patch panel from the donor car into Ol' Herb.

I dont know how to weld so I got some help from a local vw club member . He was very patient and very kind to help .

1. The seat rails
Pretty straightforward , except I relocated the track back two inches from the original location (as mentioned previously )
We attached the rails to the seat frame itself and tacked them down. This way we would know for sure that they were parallel and true. I removed the seat back to make it easier to work with .
Worked like a charm

Once tacked down, we pulled the seat back out to finish welding

Welds completed (some of them are even mine)

A quick coat of rattle can 2 in 1 primer and paint and we are in business

It's only two inches, but it's a world of difference

And yes, the concerns about the carpet not fitting were justified , but I think it's worth it for the extra room

_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[slave1pilot]

2. Radio hole patch panel install
This one was much more difficult
Some background :
The radio hole was enlarged at some point and needed fixed to fit a sapphire radio in .
The wiper knob hole had been welded closed by the PO. Attempts to grind it out and drill the hole were unsuccessful . The headlight knob hole was fine in Ol' Herb, but my donor dash had a screwed up headlight knob hole
So, we had to be creative and couldn't do a square patch . We also decided to cut from the fuel gauge hole to the glovebox as opposed to just putting a patch in the middle . This helped us keep it centered
Here is the rough cut line

I cut a section of the donor dash out first and used that as a template before I cut my actual car

Then I cut the donor down to match the rough cut line we wanted, then traced the "new" part onto Ol' Herb

Then I cut inside the lines I drew

We placed the new panel in and trimmed it to fit . I bought these cool butt weld tools from harbor freight and they helped tremendously (and they were super cheap)

Let the tacking begin

Many many tacks later

Since most of the tacks above are mine, there was a great deal of grinding to be done .
I skipped picks if that and jumped right into the rough primer stage

It looks pretty good
Needs some filler and has a few windows where I missed a spot or two
Overall not horrible and something I can live with

Stay tuned
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[Corney13]

Great job on that patch panel!! I would suggest polyester glazing putty for the filler on that, as you need very little. It goes on smoother with less pin holes then standard filler and you can apply with a razor blade if needed. I used Evercoat. It did not come with the hardener, so you would have to buy that separately. (Same hardener as the normal filler)

[slave1pilot]

Thanks man, I've been using evercoat for years in the prop/costuming business.
I have a can on my bench, but I lost the hardener as well LOL
I just picked up a tube this morning at Walmart. It's not the Blue it came with but red by Bondo.
I'm hoping it's compatible.
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[slave1pilot]

I bought some flat white primer on Amazon and rattle canned a few sections while I wait for new evercoat to come in (mine had dried out after years of not using it )
Not bad at all , so I'm gonna order a few more cans

_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[slave1pilot]

I primed the rest of the panels (doing the doors tomorrow )
I also put the fenders back on (with the old beading) so that once I build the engine I can drive this thing around and enjoy it

_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[Rome]

Even with the flat white cheap primer, the car looks way better than the multi-colored and bare metal "junky" look. The light at the end of the bodywork tunnel is getting brighter.

Can it be that your '59 pan has a '67 transaxle? The wheels look to come out to and slightly beyond the fender edge, indicative of the wider rear axles on the '67 compared to '66 and earlier. Were you able to find information on your transmission code from early in the thread? If you do have a '67 tranny, that would be a big bonus as to driveability with its 4.12:1 final drive ratio.

[slave1pilot]

Thanks Rome
the cheap primer is good enough for now.I want to get it up and running so I can enjoy it . then, a real paintjob will come along later.
yes, the Trans is a '67. I started a new thread and got an answer fairly quickly about it

[EA812]