1969 restoration :)

[VW_Jimbo]

Damn man, you are an inspiration!!! Again, love the work and the SKILLS!!!! WOW!

Great job repairing the misalignment! It is funny how you get so involved with a repair, you forget to take a step back and think before just welding it. I always figure that is were the true professional immerges and takes over! Because a professional can get it done, no matter what! However the professional does not make those mistakes either, so I then have to ki8ck myself in the ass!

Great work and great recovery. Looks flawless. I even blew the pictures up to really get a good look at the repairs - you are amazing!

Keep up the great job!
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[kosti]

Thanks for the kind words, Jimbo. It looks flawless in pics, less so in real life I had two guys from a body shop over last week to assess the effort (and hence also the money) it will take to prep and paint the body. They also said that in comparison to what they normally get to work with, my work is not bad at all.

Today, it was patchwork time, but the result is quite acceptable, despite the bloody black patch panels, which are as usual a pain to work with. I still need to touch up a few spots tomorrow, replace the three fender nuts on this side and move on to the other.

[AlmostHeavenWV_VW]

It's always an inspiring thing for me to see before/after pics of welding jobs.


I have a very basic understanding and ability for welding. I am lucky that none of my projects have needed those skills.

Well done all around!
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1973 Standard Beetle
1600DP AK case
Solex 34PICT3 Carb
Bosch DVDA 205AJ Distributor

[VW_Jimbo]

[kosti]

I think i am done with the welding. In the last days, I may actually have finished the body to the extent that it can be picked up by the guys from the paint shop. The only thing i did not dry fit yet is the new bonnet, which should be here any day. Besides that, everything fits rather well. The right rear fender had to be adjusted as the bumper bracket opening was about 2 cm higher than it should be and of course not all the fender mounting holes did not line up with the body. Anyway, after a hundred smaller tweaks here and there, the body was ready.

the last thing I wanted to do is apply seam sealer to all the internal seams, to make the paint shops life a bit easier but also to be sure that they dont overlook something. What the photos dont show are all the seams below the luggage tray where it meets the rear quarter panel - lots of seems there. Taking into account the fact that i had to tackle things I was not prepared for and have never done before, I am quire happy with the body as it is.

This is the body now, waiting for the pickup...

[DurocShark]

Dang. Looks amazing.
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No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow.

[Buggeee]

[kosti]

The paint shop finally started working on the body, the guys are definitely taking it seriously, asking about every little thing, how I want to have stuff done so so far, I am fine with their attitude and work. As you can see from the pictures, we are just in the stage of putting "bondo" on and taking off as much as possible so it is still somewhat rough, but there seems to be a car somewhere in there...

[FaanP]

Looking good .... job well done thus far.

[Buggeee]

I bet they are taking this seriously! They will be talking about this car for the rest of their careers. "Sure, you've done some work on your car, but let me tell you about this beetle that showed up one day..."
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1966 Sportsmobile Camper https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0
72 Super Duper http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=672387
(adopted out) 61 Turkis Pile https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=728764

[kosti]

Today I walked in on the guys just having finished the coat of filler primer. Now they let it sit for about a week to have everything settle and dry out, before they sand it again and spray on the final primer coat.

Still seems a bit rough here and there, but there certainly is progress. Also, I asked them not to use any heavy filler on certain areas like the wheel wells, as no one will ever be examining those in detail, and rather focus on the bodywork one will actually see.

[VW_Jimbo]

Flawless!!!

Those booth lights reflect nicely!!!

Beautiful job!!!
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[kosti]

Progress in the paint shop is slow but it is picking up speed again. For two weeks, the beetle has been sitting in the corner as the guys had other urgent jobs to take care of and they want to work on the beetle uninterrupted, not having to jump back and forth from car to car, which I appreciate, as it hopefully adds to the final result. On the other hand, it does have an impact on the speed of the project.

Be that as it may, the body should be finished by the end of next week. fingers crossed.

In other news, I managed to make a mistake that cost me a little but I am aware that this one is purely on me.

I have been looking for a long time for a reasonably priced set of pop out windows - either a new aftermarket set or a well-preserved original pair. Original ones, no matter the condition, still seem to be rather expensive so at some point, I was looking mostly at aftermarket ones. One day, I spotted a cheap pair on ebay, up for auction, about 80 EUR discounted. The seller seemed to have been located in Australia, but it was of course a Chinese wholesale. Whatever, i thought, and bought a pair - ended up paying 340 EUR, including shipping and taxes. The shock came when I opened the package and after a closed inspection, I noticed something off - the glass was not seated properly in the frame, the rubber was moving in and out of the frame, which lead me to the conclusion that the glass is cut too small and doesnt press against the frame enough to seat the rubber seal. The worst thing was that on the right window at the bottom, the glass was not cut straight but in a strange wave, causing an actual GAP between the frame and the glass, meaning NO SEAL at all.

I had the option to take the windows apart, take out the glass, risking bending the frames out of shape in the process, and have new glass cut to fit properly. This would have meant additional cost and no guarantee that I will have a pair of working pop outs at the end.

Interestingly, the same evening, I saw an add on ebay for a pair of genuine set, on sale for 270 EUR, shipping from Portugal. In the pics, the only thing that was wrong with them, apart from some minor wear and tear, were the outside seals being cracked and torn.

So in conclusion, I bought this original set, planing to reuse the seals from the Chinese ones, perhaps also the hardware. I paid 610 EUR in total for my cheapness and learnt the same old lesson again - go NOS or go home.

Funny thing is that the Chinese windows seem to have a different shape - the corners are bent at a much sharper angle, compared to the original ones. Would they even have fit the car if I decided to use them?

The one with the seal is the NOS one (at the bottom when put on top of each other), i swapped the seals today and noticed this oddness in the process.

[AlmostHeavenWV_VW]

That bug is looking good!!

[kosti]

Colour at last! It really looks like the body (minus doors, fenders and the small bits and pieces) will be done on Wednesday. Today, the guys painted the interior and the underside to do the really important areas tomorrow and fine-tune the rest on Wednesday.

I was a bit afraid which of the two L360s the paint shop would mix but it indeed seems the be #2, which is exactly what I was going for, albeit not period-correct at all.

Even if it is just the interior, it really makes me feel like I am getting close to the finish line and it actually ends up being a proper car I am also happy to see that most of my crappy welding has vanished from the areas that will be exposed later.

[kosti]

A quick shot of the colour in sunlight (more or less)

[docdanracy]

Very nice...really like the color!
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Doc
1970 Sunroof Bug Yukon Yellow (L19K)
Custom 6.5x15” 914 Sport Wheels wrapped in 185x65x15 Contis
Empi shifter, full compliment of gauges, 1679 with mild cam, stock induction

SOLD: 1974 Marina Blue Standard Beetle undergoing restoration/preservation
1679 with Kadrons and header/QP
914 sport wheels 5.5" ET40 wrapped in 195x65x15 Kumhos

[iadubber]

Love that color!!

[Buggeee]

What a lovely color.

I am getting a feeling of peace seeing this get to color after all the hard, hard, labor. Good work. Very good work.
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1966 Sportsmobile Camper https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0
72 Super Duper http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=672387
(adopted out) 61 Turkis Pile https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=728764

[kosti]

The body is officially painted. I stopped by the paint shop in the morning to get a few things done before the body could be bolted to the chassis for transport. As the engine was already attached, I had to take care of the entire engine bay - wiring, seals and insulation. Another bit that needs to go onto the body before its dropped onto the chassis are the bakelite heater tubes.

Having done those things, we married the body to the chassis at the paint shop, I put in a couple of body bolts and we drove the car back to my parents place.

Here, the assembly continues. I took all the bolts off again to align the engine seals properly and then finally bolted everything down, for the last time.

Yesterday, exactly two hears had passed since I started disassembly so it is only fitting that I would start reassembly essentially two years later to the day.

I will get the wiring sorted first I think, bleed the brakes and get the car drivable to be able to move it around Then, I just wing it and keep adding parts until its done.

More updates to come in the next days.