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GI Joe Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2005 Posts: 2012 Location: Athens, TN
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 6:33 pm Post subject: |
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Stage 1.... Plasti dip sprayed, couldn't find Grey locally, so they're all black.
Doing some other work behind the wheels, so can't remount them yet...
KAmes wrote: |
GI Joe wrote: |
I will be plasti dipping my wheels black, and keeping the hub caps chrome...
I may try one side in grey, to see if I like it better.... It's been a few years now, time to shake up the look a bit...
Hope to get it done this weekend, if this Arizona heat wave will move on down the line..... 95* in June is stoopid hot for East TN....
Pics to follow! |
I'm looking forward to seeing how that turns out! I do like the chrome hubcaps, they remind me of the cars that I had early on that had them. Temps have been pretty mild here so far, it's been raining a lot though. |
_________________ '74 Thing, "Our Thing"....
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...p;start=60
'71 Beetle RPU
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8080337#8080337
www.NLEOMF.com
Respect, Honor, Remember |
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KAmes Samba Member
Joined: February 16, 2014 Posts: 876 Location: Illinois
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 8:12 pm Post subject: |
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GI Joe wrote: |
Stage 1.... Plasti dip sprayed, couldn't find Grey locally, so they're all black.
Doing some other work behind the wheels, so can't remount them yet...
KAmes wrote: |
GI Joe wrote: |
I will be plasti dipping my wheels black, and keeping the hub caps chrome...
I may try one side in grey, to see if I like it better.... It's been a few years now, time to shake up the look a bit...
Hope to get it done this weekend, if this Arizona heat wave will move on down the line..... 95* in June is stoopid hot for East TN....
Pics to follow! |
I'm looking forward to seeing how that turns out! I do like the chrome hubcaps, they remind me of the cars that I had early on that had them. Temps have been pretty mild here so far, it's been raining a lot though. |
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Cool! That does look pretty good. What size tires are those? I'm thinking about my tire options too. |
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KAmes Samba Member
Joined: February 16, 2014 Posts: 876 Location: Illinois
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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 9:26 am Post subject: |
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I put on my Thing Shop seat covers, that's a first for me, I found it a bit difficult. My brother used to do this for a living, he gave me some pointers but I really wanted to do it myself. I had to do some welding repair to the backrests on both seats, I'm happy with how it turned out.
I welded this little piece between the top and bottom tubes of the bumper so they would both take the hitch load.
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KAmes Samba Member
Joined: February 16, 2014 Posts: 876 Location: Illinois
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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 9:35 am Post subject: |
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I put this little compressor under the back seat for the air shocks.
Put the control by the battery for simplicity. It seems to work really well.
I went with Firestone Destination AT 205/75/15 on 5.5 beetle rims.
I know the car was made in Mexico but I bought the Wolfsburg hubcaps anyway.
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oasis Samba Member
Joined: December 12, 2002 Posts: 2168
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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 10:22 am Post subject: |
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KAmes wrote: |
I know the car was made in Mexico but I bought the Wolfsburg hubcaps anyway. |
You ruined it!!!
I love when a project is conceptually sound and executed just as well.
_________________ Now: 2003 New Beetle Turbo S / 1990 Single Cab Transporter / 2014 Tiguan R-Line 4motion / 2013 Tiguan S / 2002 Golf GLS TDI
Past: 1974 Thing Acapulco / 2009 Eos Komfort / 1997 Jetta GT / 2002 Cabrio GLX / 2002 Passat GLS / 1971 Super Beetle / 1993 EuroVan MV Westfalia / 1981 Pickup LX / 1985 Vanagon / 1986 Jetta GLI |
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KAmes Samba Member
Joined: February 16, 2014 Posts: 876 Location: Illinois
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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 11:14 am Post subject: |
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oasis wrote: |
I love when a project is conceptually sound and executed just as well. |
That's interesting, because sometimes concept and execution are hard to put together. With me I'm full of ideas, but next is how do I do that? I mean exactly how? I have to keep it within my abilities or I'll make a hash of it (and sometimes do). |
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waxhead Samba Member
Joined: January 19, 2004 Posts: 946 Location: Philly 'burbs
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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 12:06 pm Post subject: |
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Nice job - looks great! _________________ Mike B. |
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GI Joe Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2005 Posts: 2012 Location: Athens, TN
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KAmes Samba Member
Joined: February 16, 2014 Posts: 876 Location: Illinois
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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 2:55 pm Post subject: |
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GI Joe wrote: |
Just noticed this post.... Sorry..
My tires are 205/70-15, on 15x 5.5 aftermarket wheels.
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No worries. I ended up similar size to yours then, slightly different sidewall ratio. I went with the Thing Shop's assertion that 205/75/15 are the largest that fit, and anyway my tire guy couldn't locate anything smaller with aggressive tread that wasn't a dedicated winter tire. Indeed they do fit, they're close everywhere but do not rub anywhere, lock to lock. I was surprised the beetle rims moved them outboard a little, but it turned out good I like it. Turns out I was measuring the backspace wrong. My speedometer is off about 6 mph at 55 now instead of the 3 it was before, but it happens that's the same as my old school bus/RV so I'm used to translating it as I drive. |
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KAmes Samba Member
Joined: February 16, 2014 Posts: 876 Location: Illinois
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 5:51 pm Post subject: |
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Here's my version of mudflap brackets, covered with rubberized undercoating. I'm still deciding if I like how it turned out, I think it's ok.
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GI Joe Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2005 Posts: 2012 Location: Athens, TN
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 6:42 pm Post subject: |
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KAmes wrote: |
Here's my version of mudflap brackets, covered with rubberized undercoating. I'm still deciding if I like how it turned out, I think it's ok.
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Oh man, this is awesome!! I spent a good 45 mins last night holding the brackets that came with my flaps all sorts of ways to see what would work best... Finally decided I'd need to just fab something up. I was going to ask for ideas from those that have the flaps, but this sums it up Real nice. Simple, effective, and solid enough for the flap...
Thank you for sharing! _________________ '74 Thing, "Our Thing"....
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...p;start=60
'71 Beetle RPU
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8080337#8080337
www.NLEOMF.com
Respect, Honor, Remember |
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mondshine Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2006 Posts: 2765 Location: The World's Motor Capital
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 7:08 pm Post subject: |
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Joe-
I have a set of mud flap brackets that I bought at the VW dealer 30 some years ago.
Their attachment is so "Mickey Mouse", it's amazing they have stayed on the car all this time.
Here they are as I take delivery of my wheel balance adapter:
You can see them in Dayton in a couple weeks, Mondshine |
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KAmes Samba Member
Joined: February 16, 2014 Posts: 876 Location: Illinois
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 7:14 pm Post subject: |
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GI Joe wrote: |
Oh man, this is awesome!! I spent a good 45 mins last night holding the brackets that came with my flaps all sorts of ways to see what would work best... Finally decided I'd need to just fab something up. I was going to ask for ideas from those that have the flaps, but this sums it up Real nice. Simple, effective, and solid enough for the flap...
Thank you for sharing! |
Cool, glad to help! It's hard to see in the picture but the horizontal flap bar has a bend forward for 1 1/2 inch or so before it meets the vertical. This causes the diagonal piece to have some forward to rear resistance, helping to prevent twisting. I know what your saying, these things have been laying here all week and I kept picking them up in passing trying to figure out what to do. |
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mondshine Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2006 Posts: 2765 Location: The World's Motor Capital
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 7:29 pm Post subject: |
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You did right by making your own. That's what I did for my '71 Beetle.
I do have a photo of the "factory" brackets on my Thing:
You can (sort of) see the cup shaped washers with opposing teeth that squeeze / grip the fender and body sheet metal with M6 bolts.
The inset sketch shows what's going on.
Like I said before, it's amazing they stayed put for over 30 years.
Mondshine |
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KAmes Samba Member
Joined: February 16, 2014 Posts: 876 Location: Illinois
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 7:41 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="mondshine"]
Here they are as I take delivery of my wheel balance adapter:
/quote]
The image popped into my mind of that thing hitting you in the back of the head just as your about to go out of sight, ouch!
Last edited by KAmes on Sun Jul 12, 2015 8:17 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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GI Joe Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2005 Posts: 2012 Location: Athens, TN
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 7:45 pm Post subject: |
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KAmes wrote: |
Cool, glad to help! It's hard to see in the picture but the horizontal flap bar has a bend forward for 1 1/2 inch or so before it meets the vertical. This causes the diagonal piece to have some forward to rear resistance, helping to prevent twisting. I know what your saying, these things have been laying here all week and I kept picking them up in passing trying to figure out what to do. |
Lol, agreed... Silly Things!!
I can see you bend on the inside end of the horizontal and also on the lower end of your brace piece... Makes sense..
I'll be stopping at Lowes tomorrow for some flat stock. I am amped to get these done!
Gary, those brackets are just crazy! Is the tab welded to the fender? Dealer installed, or just from the Parts counter at the dealer? Very interesting engineering there.. _________________ '74 Thing, "Our Thing"....
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...p;start=60
'71 Beetle RPU
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8080337#8080337
www.NLEOMF.com
Respect, Honor, Remember |
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KAmes Samba Member
Joined: February 16, 2014 Posts: 876 Location: Illinois
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 7:53 pm Post subject: |
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mondshine wrote: |
You did right by making your own. That's what I did for my '71 Beetle.
I do have a photo of the "factory" brackets on my Thing:
You can (sort of) see the cup shaped washers with opposing teeth that squeeze / grip the fender and body sheet metal with M6 bolts.
The inset sketch shows what's going on.
Like I said before, it's amazing they stayed put for over 30 years.
Mondshine |
That's interesting, I suppose it works because it's supported on both ends. A person could probably make those grippy washers with a little thought. I originally thought I would use the fender mounting bolts somehow, but I chickened out for fear of fatiguing on the fiberglass fenders. I kinda wish I'd bought metal ones, but I was feeling poor after buying the front ones. |
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germanbilly Samba Member
Joined: October 18, 2013 Posts: 377 Location: Victorville
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Al Capulco Samba Member
Joined: October 31, 2005 Posts: 532 Location: Northridge, CA.
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 9:20 pm Post subject: |
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The brackets on Gary's Thing are OEM. They are made by Wegu. They made brackets for VW and most European cars from the '50's thru the '80's. They also made the mud flaps. Not going to make Dayton, hope Gary can take some measurements of his mudflap brackets for me. |
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tmitoraj Samba Member
Joined: May 10, 2007 Posts: 177
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Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 5:47 am Post subject: |
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Where do you find those mud flaps for sale? |
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