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TDCTDI Samba Advocatus Diaboli
Joined: August 31, 2013 Posts: 12848 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2021 8:39 pm Post subject: The Warthog |
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While on the hunt for a replacement for the Ghiapet, I tripped across an ok-ish deal on a Thing.
I bought this from the widow of the previous owner (whose father sold it to him.) & since I couldn’t immediately come up with a unique “Thing” inspired name, I found out that her late husband was Lieutenant Colonel Church, so I asked her permission to (hopefully) honor him by naming this this beast in his memory.
Using just part of that title, here’s Colonel Church.
EDIT
As I dig deeper, I have decided to rename this project The Warthog, ugly as hell but brutally robust as I transform it into a beast that will be exploring both urban & rural settings, it seems so much more fitting. _________________ Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.
GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!
An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.
Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.
Last edited by TDCTDI on Fri Mar 05, 2021 7:26 am; edited 3 times in total |
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Buggeee Samba Member
Joined: December 22, 2016 Posts: 4407 Location: Stuck in Ohio
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didget69 Samba Member
Joined: July 22, 2004 Posts: 4927 Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
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Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2021 5:54 am Post subject: Re: Colonel Church |
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Looks like it's time for a Thing - nice pick!
Bryan _________________ I never found the need to impress people with any mechanic certifications, trophies or track wins... unless it was for Mom to post on the refrigerator door. |
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77kafer Samba Member
Joined: April 08, 2008 Posts: 823 Location: New Windsor, NY
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Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2021 8:02 am Post subject: Re: Colonel Church |
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Good luck with LTC Church, does it still have the heater? How many miles on it? _________________ Supposed to be 77käfer, but there are no umlauts on an american keyboard
Overheard on 27 June 07, one lady to another when they saw my Harli in a parking lot at West Point, "maybe he found it on the clearance aisle at the Volkswagen dealer" |
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TDCTDI Samba Advocatus Diaboli
Joined: August 31, 2013 Posts: 12848 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2021 12:59 pm Post subject: Re: Colonel Church |
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didget69 wrote: |
Looks like it's time for a Thing - nice pick!
Bryan |
Thanks Bryan.
77kafer wrote: |
Good luck with LTC Church, does it still have the heater? How many miles on it? |
Unfortunately the heater is gone & I have no idea about how many miles are on it.
Here it is as I drug it back.
_________________ Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.
GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!
An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.
Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it. |
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77kafer Samba Member
Joined: April 08, 2008 Posts: 823 Location: New Windsor, NY
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Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2021 1:11 pm Post subject: Re: Colonel Church |
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That looks mighty clean. Was the p/u the tow vehicle?
Back in 1980, I towed my 73 from Ft Riley KS to NY and shipped it over to Germany. Then towed it from Bremerhaven to Mannheim with a U-haul tow bar. _________________ Supposed to be 77käfer, but there are no umlauts on an american keyboard
Overheard on 27 June 07, one lady to another when they saw my Harli in a parking lot at West Point, "maybe he found it on the clearance aisle at the Volkswagen dealer" |
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TDCTDI Samba Advocatus Diaboli
Joined: August 31, 2013 Posts: 12848 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2021 2:06 pm Post subject: Re: Colonel Church |
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77kafer wrote: |
That looks mighty clean. Was the p/u the tow vehicle?
Back in 1980, I towed my 73 from Ft Riley KS to NY and shipped it over to Germany. Then towed it from Bremerhaven to Mannheim with a U-haul tow bar. |
Looks great from a distance, it was definitely a case where aesthetics were the focal point. New pans will be the first plan of attack. Then brakes, suspension mods, and so on...
Yup, just shy of 150 miles with a rabbit truck. _________________ Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.
GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!
An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.
Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it. |
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77kafer Samba Member
Joined: April 08, 2008 Posts: 823 Location: New Windsor, NY
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Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2021 7:36 pm Post subject: Re: Colonel Church |
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And a tow bar to the beam? Or one like I had that compresses on the bumper?
I didn't need pans, but I did do a full resto when I had mine over in Germany. _________________ Supposed to be 77käfer, but there are no umlauts on an american keyboard
Overheard on 27 June 07, one lady to another when they saw my Harli in a parking lot at West Point, "maybe he found it on the clearance aisle at the Volkswagen dealer" |
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TDCTDI Samba Advocatus Diaboli
Joined: August 31, 2013 Posts: 12848 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2021 9:18 pm Post subject: Re: Colonel Church |
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Yup, just a beetle tow bar. _________________ Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.
GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!
An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.
Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it. |
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TDCTDI Samba Advocatus Diaboli
Joined: August 31, 2013 Posts: 12848 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2021 12:24 pm Post subject: Re: Colonel Church |
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Just like any new VW project, you get to assess what sort of funkiness was done by previous owners.
None of the original tin exists...
And I’m guessing that the roll bar ain’t original...
And then there’s the 2x4 seat brackets.
_________________ Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.
GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!
An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.
Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it. |
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volksaddict Samba Member
Joined: August 19, 2003 Posts: 1724
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 7:46 am Post subject: Re: Colonel Church |
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Sorry about the 'pet, that sucks!
As a ghia and thing owner I believe you will find the thing to be much more suited to your type of use. |
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TDCTDI Samba Advocatus Diaboli
Joined: August 31, 2013 Posts: 12848 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 10:56 am Post subject: Re: Colonel Church |
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volksaddict wrote: |
Sorry about the 'pet, that sucks!
As a ghia and thing owner I believe you will find the thing to be much more suited to your type of use. |
Eh, I don’t know. The Ghiapet effectively was a lifted Thing underneath with a reaallly low roofline that allowed me to dive through low lying brush & limbs that would probably shred a soft top in short order & the Thing will have a bit higher COG so tossing it around will be a bit more risky. However, the Thing engine bay looks like it will easily contain a TDI. _________________ Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.
GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!
An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.
Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it. |
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TDCTDI Samba Advocatus Diaboli
Joined: August 31, 2013 Posts: 12848 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 2:47 pm Post subject: Re: Colonel Church |
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Soooo.... the first thing was to assess what it would take to get this beast going again. Ummm... yeah... well... everything.
Brakes, balljoints, tierod ends. Well, if you have ever tripped across any of my other threads/builds, you know that I don’t lean towards stock & that I try to do it as cheaply as possible.
So, since I gutted the Ghiapet & have all this modified, beefed up shit laying around, it’s now getting stuffed into Colonel Church.
So in about three hours, I replaced the balljoints, tierods, front disc brake conversion, hook & rod limiters, Bilsteins, raised the front, & gusseted the spindles.
_________________ Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.
GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!
An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.
Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it. |
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Buggeee Samba Member
Joined: December 22, 2016 Posts: 4407 Location: Stuck in Ohio
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 3:50 pm Post subject: Re: Colonel Church |
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TDCTDI wrote: |
So, since I gutted the Ghiapet & have all this modified, beefed up shit laying around, it’s now getting stuffed into Colonel Church.
So in about three hours, I replaced the balljoints, tierods, front disc brake conversion, hook & rod limiters, Bilsteins, raised the front, & gusseted the spindles.
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This approach is awesome. The heart of the beast will live on! _________________ 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
SnowDaySyncro wrote: |
Every setback is an opportunity to learn stuff and to buy new tools. |
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TDCTDI Samba Advocatus Diaboli
Joined: August 31, 2013 Posts: 12848 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 6:44 pm Post subject: Re: Colonel Church |
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Buggeee wrote: |
This approach is awesome. The heart of the beast will live on! |
Thank you sir! In addition to the Ghiapet living on, I now have more Thing bits to build “Black Betty” with. Those Thing wheels are gonna look awesome wrapped in offroad meats on an Oval. _________________ Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.
GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!
An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.
Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it. |
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metz Samba Member
Joined: March 31, 2005 Posts: 279 Location: Norway
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Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 1:26 am Post subject: Re: Colonel Church |
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Glad to see you found a replacement. Will follow with great interest as usual _________________ 68 panel
64 ghia coupe |
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TDCTDI Samba Advocatus Diaboli
Joined: August 31, 2013 Posts: 12848 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 1:29 pm Post subject: Re: Colonel Church |
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metz wrote: |
Glad to see you found a replacement. Will follow with great interest as usual |
Thank you sir!
Today I decided to tackle the rear passenger side to raise the rear up to match the front.
As per usual, nothing goes right when you tear into a new project, after fighting to get the spring plate for 45 minutes to give up the torsion bar, I discovered lots of nastiness in the torsion housing...
After scraping the inside of the torsion housing with a pry bar to knock off the scaly rust, I slid a piece of PVC pipe into the housing & then attached the shop vac to the other end to clean all of the crap out.
I then zip tied a shop rag to the PVC pipe to effectively make a great big Q-tip & then poured some Ospho into the other end of the pipe to flood the housing & saturate the shop rag to treat the entire inner diameter of the housing.
I then lowered the jack to tilt the vehicle & let the excess run out.
After letting it dry for a while, I began to install the torsion bars, this is where I discovered that the differences in the Thing components was going to make this endeavor a bit more of an effort. To begin with, the Thing torsion bars were shorter than the 29mm Sway-A-Way bars that were in the Ghiapet.
No problem, I wanted to install double plates on this beast anyway. Unfortunately, the modified spring plates that were on the Ghiapet were notched far too aggressively for the Thing.
So I then needed to liberate a set of spring plates from a parts car. After that, I found that the third bolt location on the Thing was in a different location from the Beetles & Ghias. So I had to use the spring plate from the opposite side of the parts car (Read, go back & remove the other side too.), and map out & drill the appropriate, slotted hole.
Once slotted, I slid the spring plate in place, & after finding where the CVs started to bind, I scribed a line on the back of the spring plate where the suspension stop would limit the travel & carefully clearanced the spring plate.
This is where the aggravation continued, while I was JUST able to remove the old torsion bar...
The new, thicker, longer torsion bar required that I unbolt the leading edge of the fender to get it & the spring plate in.
This is where I found that the captive nut on the lowermost fender bolt was spinning freely & had to cut the head off the bolt. Oh well, more rust repair is in my future.
I finally managed to get it all back together (that side anyway).
That concludes today’s self imposed masochism. _________________ Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.
GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!
An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.
Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it. |
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Buggeee Samba Member
Joined: December 22, 2016 Posts: 4407 Location: Stuck in Ohio
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TDCTDI Samba Advocatus Diaboli
Joined: August 31, 2013 Posts: 12848 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2021 4:07 pm Post subject: Re: Colonel Church |
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Buggeee wrote: |
Warp speed and taking no prisoners.
Business as usual over there!
I'm going to take this motivation and go do something to my project, and I'm not going to take any shitake from it either. |
THAT’S the attitude! Do something, ANYTHING, to your project every day & it will get completed.
With that in mind, after yesterday’s clusterf*^%, I needed a quick kill. I opted to replace the right rear brake assembly with the TypeIII brakes scavenged from the Ghiapet. This too took longer than it should have & it sure as hell wasn’t painless.
I started by removing the cotter pin, the castle nut & then the drum.
I then removed the bolts securing the bearing retainer & then the backing plate.
And no, I didn’t remove that return spring.
Here’s what the Thing rear brakes look like compared to the TypeIII brakes.
Here’s where the difficulty began, the parking brake cable was not releasing the way that it should. One of my dirty tricks is to use a pair of dykes (side cutters for you PC types ) to pull the spring back & then apply just enough pressure to clamp the cable so you can remove the bowden tube clamp.
The reason the cable wouldn’t release became pretty obvious when I went inside the vehicle to loosen the adjustment nuts...
And then the discomfort began, I completely forgot about microscopic shards produced by my endeavors with the spring plates yesterday.
Yup, I put my hands down in it, rolled around in it, & the f#%*ng tools even picked it up & embedded it into my paws, I’ll be digging that shit out for days.
Oh well, enough bitching. I brushed off what I could & installed the drum.
And here’s the final outcome.
_________________ Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.
GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!
An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.
Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it. |
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mondshine Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2006 Posts: 2769 Location: The World's Motor Capital
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Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2021 7:11 pm Post subject: Re: Colonel Church |
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Have you driven the car since you installed the Type 3 rear brakes?
I am curious because I did that installation a couple of months ago, but won't be driving my car for quite a while yet, and I see that you are from the south where it might be warm enough to drive a Thing.
What are you using for front brakes? |
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