1972 Squareback from Russia

[RUNKLE]

[splodge]

[splodge]

A new part of bodywork on the rear.
Russian horror story

A few more pics to explain why we needed parts from California:

bodywork engineer video:

Link


Cutting everything on the left side:

and the right side:

turned the body over for easy work

I don't know what to call this part in English, in Russian we call it "skirt".
The skirt is at the same time rusty, wrinkled, improperly restored and of the wrong shape.

[andybla]

very nice!!!

[RUNKLE]

WOW!!! You have some mad metal skills there my friend. That valance looks really good.
_________________
Type 1
1950 Standard - 1959 Ragtop - 1961 Ragtop two fold - 1964 Sunroof

Type 3
1968 Squareback

[Bobnotch]

Here in the states, we call that piece the rear apron. Most of them get damaged, and poorly repaired. I repaired one, and installed it on my 71 Notch. It had been crash damaged, and filled full of bondo. I knew it when I was doing the car, and ended up getting a piece from Russ while he was still alive. That one had been damaged as well, but had never been fixed before, so I just reversed the damage and went from there. Some times it's easier that way.

Andy, you need to link your rear repair photos to him, as you went thru all of what he's doing on your 66 Square. It might give him some ideas on fixing his car.
Just so you know, the load floor rust is very common on the later cars, mainly due to the ECU hatch panel (left side)not getting installed correctly, causing water to sit on the floor. Also the rear hatch seal can be a source of water entry to the load floor. I've seen both personally, and the damage they do.
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Bob 65 Notch S with Sunroof
71 Notch ...aka Krunchy; build pics here;
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=249390 -been busy working
64 T-34 Ghia...aka Wolfie, under construction... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=412120

[Rome]

It is a pleasure to view how masterfully you are cutting out the rust, making accurate patch panels from basic sheet metal using paper or cardboard as the shape templates, and installing them! Like here-

Your Squareback was built in late 1972, which makes it a 1973 model year. You can see this by the 3rd digit of your chassis number which is "3". Model years seem to be more important in the US market than in Western Europe, where the age of the car is often referred to as its "first registration" date.

Careful with that early style steering wheel... The 1973 VWs had the new style turn signal/wiper stalk steering column in which the stalks came rearward more than on the cars built thru the 1971 model year that had the early style steering wheel. On those early cars, the wiper switch was still on the dashboard. You'll probably find that the wiper stalk comes very close to the steering wheel rim, enough that it either touches it, or that theres not enough room to clear your fingers as they grip the rim.

The 165/65 tires you bought for your 5.5 inch wheels will cause a significant speedometer error. The smaller overall diameter will make the speedometer show that the car is going faster than in reality, possibly something like showing 100 km/h when the car is really only going 85. I recently bought some 185/70 tires for my '77 Beetle which also has 5.5 inch wheels in the back. The overall diameter is the same as the original 165/80 tires in front so that my speedometer is reasonably accurate. There seem to be only a few brands in that size; mine are Vredestein.

[splodge]

Bobnotch, Thanks for the advice!

Rome, Yes, we knew that will have problems with early steering wheel, thanks for telling us which ones! This will make it easier to prepare and try to solve them.

The problem with the speedometer and wheels is also on my Golf mk1, but this is not so important to me.
It is possible that later I will change the tires to the more classic 165/80.

[andybla]

[RUNKLE]

[Clatter]

[splodge]

[andybla]

[splodge]

andybla, Thanks! I think it would help too!

New series of horror photos:

It is especially difficult to restore such delicate details

Hard level Lego

[splodge]

A few words about chemicals we use:

1. After the body part is cleaned of all layers of mastic, sealants, paint, primer and the surface is cleaned of visible corrosion, we are coating the metal with Permatex rust remover (on the photo it looks like yellow-white stains).
This is done in order to treat possible corrosion residues that may remain in the surface structure of the material.
After drying, we remove Permatex mechanically so that it does not create an extra layer.

2. If the metal is clean, it is covered with either an acidic primer (gives a green-yellow translucent coating) or a Permatex rust converter (remover and a converter are different materials).
If surface corrosion was big and the surface of the metal is porous (small without breaking the strength, because if the metal is very badly damaged, such area must be replaced). This coating looks purple immediately after covering, then turns black.
If left unpainted for a long time, it becomes covered with a brown surface film that needs to be cleaned with Scotch Brite (soft abrasive sponge).
In addition, it greatly interferes with welding, so only those places where it is really needed are covered with it.

3. When welding parts, the places that are welded overlap are covered with U-POL weld # 2 weldable priming, it is either silver or copper in color, depending on the filler in the soil - zinc or copper.
Copper-filled primer should seem to be less susceptible to fading during welding, although We did not notice a significant difference.

4. If the area is covered with acid primer, then it is covered with a two-component acrylic primer to isolate the acid primer. According to experience, in the case of complex and long work with the body, it is not possible to paint everything immediately with epoxy primer, so the metal surface may become covered with a surface coating of rust, which means it will have to be cleaned again (not as difficult as initially, but still takes a lot of time).
+ one more extremely important thing - the acidic primer is liquid and flows well into the gaps and joints, therefore, in places where the welding soil has burnt out after welding, it is possible to provide a coating that resists corrosion well (it is always around the welding point).
No epoxy will flow into the gap, and only what remains of the welding soil will be there.

5. After the acid primer is coated with acrylic, epoxy primer (gray) is applied.
We use DuPont P7 primer.

6. Epoxy primer is coated with two-component acrylic paint (We use inexpensive Russian paint in hidden cavities), or it is already painted with a topcoat in the selected body color.

An acidic primer is used with either EN 4800 Wash Primer or Body 960.

[Bobnotch]

This thing is going to be like new when you're done. Very nice craftsmanship. That whole rear area looks fantastic, very nice. Most Squareback owners will never see all of that on their own cars. Keep up the great work, you're gaining on it and getting closer to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on the metal work.
_________________
Bob 65 Notch S with Sunroof
71 Notch ...aka Krunchy; build pics here;
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=249390 -been busy working
64 T-34 Ghia...aka Wolfie, under construction... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=412120

[260KMN]

Agree with other posters, there is some seriously good fab work going on here. Amazing skills and dedication on this car.

[gt1953]

Enjoying thw write ups along with the supporting photos. Your explanations are enlighting to me a non metal person.
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

[splodge]

Thanks for the kind words!
Dan and I are very pleased to read them

Maybe someone know if there is a guide how to set early steering wheel to later model?

I also wanted to do a test painting to see the color.
Does anyone know the recipe for Avocado Green (Dulux: 13176)?
I contacted 2 colorists in Russia, but they could not find recipe in catalogue

[Typ3nut]

Nice Work !!
Avocado Green 13176 is not a USA factory issue color, but was used in Australia for 1972.
Here in the States for 1972-'73 was Sumatra Green L61B
Information from this Australian website: look in VW REFERENCE under Paint Colours
https://www.clubvw.org.au/