Scrivyscriv's 1967 java green sunroof sedan (stock)

[lowN2slo]

Beautiful work, best colour = Java

[scrivyscriv]

I went out to the garage to store the primed parts in their bins and clean up... ended up here

I probably shouldn’t have dug in to it just yet but it has been sitting there on the floor bothering me for a while now. I wish I knew more about transmissions to know how much work it needs! The side plates were both leaking pretty good for years evidently. Lots of road dirt mixed in but there is a coat of black paint under everything so it’s all peeling up pretty well without intense scraping. There are a couple of options to fix the side plate leaks and I’m on the fence... new weddle side plates or just weddle stiffeners???
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Robert in Memphis
Dünkelgrügen 1967 Java Green bug thread
Engine rebuild thread
If you're ever in the Memphis area, you are welcome to stop by for advice and help.

[dodgerodder]

Wow your pan is looking great!!

That is a really satisfying stage of the project.
To see that progress is super motivating

Keep up the great work!!

Dan
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My 66’ build thread:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=699235

[scrivyscriv]

[scrivyscriv]

the pan welding is officially done!

The 3M panel adhesive only came with two tips - one of which I used yesterday - so unless I wanted to reorder a bag of tips and wait, I knew I needed to wrap up all of my welding that would take this adhesive. Today I spent a few more hours in the garage and most of the time it was hammering and checking, hammering and checking. The rear of the pans took the most adjustment to get right! There was a high spot on the crossmember in the middle, and it caused the pan to rock inboard/outboard just a bit, instead of sitting flat. After some trial and error hammering and railroad rail dollying, I finally got everything to settle in.
One coat of panel adhesive on each flange, then a sqeezeout bead, then set the pan down and cleco all around.

You can see in the bottom corner I've got the jack point clamped up with panel adhesive too.. those seams are great rust catchers and I hope this adhesive will help keep water out.

This is the Eastwood mig 135 welder I use.. the horrible freight cart is new and works great in my junky workspace. The helmet is terrible I really need to replace it!

I went around every other hole just like the right side but this time my settings were off a little. I had my wire feed set too high and the voltage a little low so my first set of welds are all too high. They penetrated the base tunnel flange just fine but I prefer a flatter weld so I pulled the wire speed back quite a lot and bumped power almost to max.

Made a second round, then pulled all the clecos out and welded one final pass around.

I know that many of you following along don't really benefit from all these setup photos showing the different stages of welding, but I learned a wealth of information from a few threads here and there when guys took the time to show how the magic happened! So I am trying to give back just a little of what this site has done for me. I am not an experienced welder or car guy, just a normal dude learning as I go.
The left side welds will need to be cleaned up since the brake line runs over them. I think the seam sealer will help but I don't want to count on it.
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Robert in Memphis
Dünkelgrügen 1967 Java Green bug thread
Engine rebuild thread
If you're ever in the Memphis area, you are welcome to stop by for advice and help.

[flyboy161]

On the contrary, the setup photos are perfect. You are making really great progress. I like to see a skilled aircraft sheet metal mechanic (I’m guessing) at work. I know you’ve mentioned it before, Gulfstream, right? Your pan work is phenomenal.
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My father's 1970 Beetle-
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=603879

The 1964...Diamond in the rough
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=612776

My 1958 Morocco Bug-
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=611483

[scrivyscriv]

[scrivyscriv]

I’ve been looking for photos of where the battery hold down bracket is welded to the floor pan, and not finding much! Can anyone post a photo showing where it goes relative to the pan stampings?
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Robert in Memphis
Dünkelgrügen 1967 Java Green bug thread
Engine rebuild thread
If you're ever in the Memphis area, you are welcome to stop by for advice and help.

[viiking]

Here’s my bracket welded to my WW pans. It’s a 68 but I believe they are pretty much the same.

_________________
1968 1500 RHD Lotus White Beetle since birth. In the hospital for major surgery
1966 Lancia Flavia Pininfarina Coupe - in the waiting room
Discharged: 1983 Vanagon, 1974 1800 Microbus,1968 Low Light,1968 Type 3

[viiking]

Here’s my bracket welded to my WW pans. It’s a 68 but I believe they are pretty much the same.

_________________
1968 1500 RHD Lotus White Beetle since birth. In the hospital for major surgery
1966 Lancia Flavia Pininfarina Coupe - in the waiting room
Discharged: 1983 Vanagon, 1974 1800 Microbus,1968 Low Light,1968 Type 3

[bad91teg]

i like the drawings on the pans . lol im guessing that was your helpers ? lol great work and keep up the progress

[calvinater]

X2 ^^^ now you have to clear coat your pans to save those. Oh and no carpet or sound deadener. 😁
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"Albatross"!

[scrivyscriv]

Thanks for the photos viiking, that helps a lot. And yes my helpers have been using all of my different colored sharpies to decorate! They will be sad when it goes to the sandblaster in a couple weeks!
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Robert in Memphis
Dünkelgrügen 1967 Java Green bug thread
Engine rebuild thread
If you're ever in the Memphis area, you are welcome to stop by for advice and help.

[VW_Jimbo]

Hey Robert! Great seeing progress. I have not played around, much, on a 67. However if the battery clamp is in the same position as a 54, you can check out my build thread. Page 32, about 1/2 way down. Everything is measured.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=722610

Good luck and keep on going!
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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!

[scrivyscriv]

[scrivyscriv]

I read a quote that went something like this:
"80% of what you accomplish is done with 20% of your time."
Sounds about right for tonight! The beam is the last big chunk that needs attention. It's broken down to just needing to get the trailing arms and sway bar off. Lots of chunky grease!
I have the balljoints stashed in my roll around parts caddy, so here goes..

I know some guys have a hard time breaking the grub screws loose but my beam was apparently well greased during its life - yet another reason to believe it's been adult-owned and driven the majority of its life! - so I had no issues getting things loose. Allen key screws tend to give me the most headaches on removal so I opted to chuck an 8mm allen bit in my 1/4" impact driver and put some pressure on those grub screws. They all surprisingly came off in about 20 seconds of trigger time.

To the sandblast cabinet! Trailing arms seat against a plain-type bearing on one end, and a needle bearing on the other; the bearing area is very evident on the arms. You don't want to blast that area, since it is machined to fit the bearing, or vice versa. Sandblasting will actually raise the metal surface a very tiny amount, similar to knurling, so stay away from those two shinier areas with the sandblaster.

Ta daaa.. they're out! I have access to a 20 ton H-frame press. It took a bit of setup to figure out how to pop the joints out without breaking anything else. Then after the joints were out, I had to go back to the press for one of the camber adjusters, and ended up grinding a notch in two 1/2" steel plates to seat against the ball joint stud and hold the camber adjuster and press it off the balljoint stud.

Overall a quick job but the right tools made a big difference! A press, parts washer, and sandblast cabinet will really take repairs or upgrades to another level. I still need to do the lower arms, and I'll try to get some photos of my setup when I do them.
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Robert in Memphis
Dünkelgrügen 1967 Java Green bug thread
Engine rebuild thread
If you're ever in the Memphis area, you are welcome to stop by for advice and help.

[Mr.Duncan]

Fantastic work on those pans.

By chance do you have the size of the wooden body dolly you made? I need to get the same thing going for my 66'
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(Owner) www.vintagecarleds.com

Red 1971 Squareback Thread
Red 1966 Beetle Thread
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1971 Green Super Beetle (sold)
1966 Ghia (sold)
1971 Blue Super Beetle (sold)
1966 Java Green Std Beetle (sold)
1971 Red Squareback (sold)
1966 Red Beetle

[scrivyscriv]

[scrivyscriv]

New donor engine!
One of my favorite parts of VW’ing is meeting people who have common interests. It’s a plus if they are local! I posted on the Midsouth VW’s club page asking about an engine and one of the responses came from a guy in the area with a crusty and almost complete 1600.

This is an AH case, with EGR and a federal emissions sticker for ‘74. The condition is unknown but end play feels tight and the engine spins over with a wrench. Lots of water damage but also lots of carbon and oil, so I rolled the dice that the oil prevented a majority of corrosion.

If it cleans up and checks out, I’ll swap parts over and get it ready for an interim propulsion solution.
_________________
Robert in Memphis
Dünkelgrügen 1967 Java Green bug thread
Engine rebuild thread
If you're ever in the Memphis area, you are welcome to stop by for advice and help.

[Busstom]

As previous comments said, I also dig the play-by-play process photos of your pan replacement, it's very helpful for others who come along looking to learn.