The 'Ol 55

[JanW]

It is a joy to watch your work and your car come together.

Great job.

[tehillah1]

Thanks for following along, Jan. Some of those Aussie builds are my favorites.

[tehillah1]

So this is pretty much what I have to work with...the existing cluster fudge.
Both corners are pushed. The left lines up ok with the fender but the right corner is pushed about a quarter inch in from the fender line at the bottom. Peashooter cutout patches and bottom roll damage have created some major distortion

And a donor I picked up from Larry and his 54 ragtop project
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=778592&highlight=1954+ragtop
It is in way better shape than mine is, but needs some attention...

I'm gonna bang on what I have to work with...weld up the crack in the donor and see how straight and flat I can get it and keep on banging, bending and persuading on the existing apron, though I don't have much hope I can get it where it is remotely acceptable. If/when I decide to remove the existing apron (emphasis on when...) I think I may just want to get a reproduction H apron and move on. Best quality seems to be from Wolf but needs to ship from Sweden.

These folks, DKB, are offering this in Cali, LA area. It looks pretty solid
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2653320

Does anyone have any experience with this apron from DKB? With these folks in general?

[lardawge]

Wow, I did not expect to see that much damage under the paint on that apron you got from me. It makes sense after finding the same issues under the decklid. At this point, I would bite the bullet and order from Wolf.

I have two of his aprons, one on each car I am restoring, and the fit is as good as the original. They are imperfect and do need some finessing to flatten them out once on the car so the decklid lays flat. However, compared to an autocraft I paid way too much for and is now in the trash, I would say it is worth it.
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11/2/54 L227 Strato Silver Ragtop - Soon to be L41 Black - Build Thread
1/7/55 L275 Light Beige

[tehillah1]

Well now that I've had a chance to look this over I'm pretty pleased with the apron from Larry's 54...no big surprises and nothing that doesn't seem fixable. After cleaning up the bottom, welding up the crack and doing a little hammer and dolly work...

I can see this shaping up to look exactly how you'd expect a 70 year old rear apron to look...experienced.
I'm gonna go ahead and remove my existing apron. Then I'm gonna hang this piece of period art on the tail end and see if everything doesn't just match real nice.

[TomVaughan64]

[tehillah1]

Thanks for the follow up Tom. If I end up going with and aftermarket piece this is probably the direction I will go...

[VW_Jimbo]

That apron looks great! Fully repairable! Send it my way if you don’t want it!

I know you can fix this. The new one will be new, but it will need a lot of the same pounding, shaping and what not, no matter who fabricates it. No one makes them perfect. Plus this one fits the car! Has all of the plug weld hole drilled into it already. It just needs some loving!

You got this! Another opportunity to enhance your skill set!
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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!

[tehillah1]

That went way slicker than I thought it would...I got the old apron out. What a beater. Rust had started between the panels on the sides. This'll give me access to do some better clean up in the whole engine bay.

I got anxious to see the fit of the replacement apron...WOW. it looks like it belongs there. Weld up the 3 bullet holes and I'm way down the road from where I started.

I fit up the engine deck lid...everything lines up like it was made that way...

Finding an OG H apron that straight is a rare thing. Shout out to Larry for making that apron available.
I'll take the apron back out now, do some more tuning up on it and then all the prepping to weld it back in.

[VW_Jimbo]

Looking GREAT! The car is crying tears of joy!
_________________
Jimbo

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

[tehillah1]

Thanks Jimbo...this piece feels like a milestone for me. The last "major" piece of body work. I can see primer in my future! I honestly think this experienced apron is a way better fit than any reproduction piece could ever be. As you well know there's ton's more smaller things that need attention but they all seem more reasonable now that all the major panels are in place and indeed the car hasn't been this straight 40 or 50 years.[/b]

[tehillah1]

I got the rear end pretty much all patched up, cleaned and ready for the apron to go in.

The donor apron needed attention. 3 bullet holes just above the lower six drain holes and one rust hole to fill and patch and various creases and dents. I've been banging on it for awhile now and it's straight as I'm gonna live with...way better than what I had on the car.

I've gone around the corners of the car and patched up various pin holes and spots and there's no end to the various things that need attention before I get into priming, but I think I'll shoot some primer on the back side of the valance before I weld in the apron.
Having the apron out gives great access to the repairs I did awhile back patching the two rear corners and bumper brackets...now I wish I had pulled the old, wrecked apron off back then. It would have made those repair so much simpler...this is how you gain experience eh?

[VW_Jimbo]

[tehillah1]

Thanks for looking in Jimbo...

I took some elbow grease to the engine deck lid and got it down to something driveable...sealable or primable. I kinda like the leftover airbrush drops from the previous paint job.

I'm intrigued with idea of doing a good sealing on the underside of the car and then blocking out the rest (body, fenders, doors and hood) with 80 grit then sealing it up with something like penetrol or owatrol.

I really like the bugs D-Train has put on the road in the waydeep south and Don's Winnipeg 54 sunroof is a beauty. Tom Vaughn's build has some intriguing discussion with djfordmanjack about using Owotrol products to seal things up.

Anyone have experience applying epoxy primers over these types of finishes after they have cured?
I'm working toward driveable. The car is way ahead of where it was last time I took it for a spin so getting down to bolting this body back to the pan seems pretty doable.

[tehillah1]

I dug out the doors, r front fender and hood. I did a clean-up on the door. It's in great shape for almost 70.

Hung the fender, hood and decklid...

The car hasn't been this solid since before I got it in 1978-79...I've got some great stuff to work with.

Stuff I was starting with:

we're moving.

[VW_Jimbo]

[tehillah1]

Me and the bug are moving along...we're getting somewhere...progress...forward motion...

[VW_Jimbo]

[tehillah1]

I'm working on all the pieces that got put on the "I'll get to that later" list...

Got the left side heater baffle bottom welded back in place...it's been sitting on the bench since the left rear quarter repairs.

This vertical seam in the left side of the parcel tray is popped. Probably from some encounter on the one of the rear corners...who knows.

Lizard Skin...there's probably someone out there who can create this effect in way less than 69 years. I like the look of this old fender...definitely servicable

[tehillah1]

Happy Easter Samba community....