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banana split Samba Member

Joined: January 22, 2002 Posts: 1111 Location: Beautiful British Columbia Canada
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2025 10:36 am Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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Just received my speedometer back from Thorsten at krautclassicparts. Looks like a piece of jewelry! This is his "show car" restoration which included a new needle, new chrome bezel, replating of the housing and repainting of the tripometer digits. I supplied the NOS chrome trip reset knob.
_________________ My Beetles :
1951 Crotch Cooler 11G Split Ragtop
1953 Zwitter
1964 Chop Top |
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Stephan Schmidt Samba Member
Joined: March 26, 2002 Posts: 215 Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2024 10:01 am Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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Nice work Jason! |
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banana split Samba Member

Joined: January 22, 2002 Posts: 1111 Location: Beautiful British Columbia Canada
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Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2024 3:14 pm Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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And some parts acquisitions :
NOS German 1958-1964 SWF wiper shafts from my collection all cleaned up and ready to go :
NOS German 1956-1959 door handles with NOS seals :
NOS 12V Hella horn, 12V conversion armature and a NOS screw terminal wiper motor :
This is an NOS 4 terminal headlight switch that I had installed in my 1953 Zwitter years ago. Decided I needed this for the chop top since I'm installing a 1954 wiring harness and this is the correct switch for '54. I also acquired a correct "Zwitter only" switch so it was time to do the swap. The Zwitt now has the correct switch and the chop top will have this one. Took some time to clean and polish it up :
_________________ My Beetles :
1951 Crotch Cooler 11G Split Ragtop
1953 Zwitter
1964 Chop Top |
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banana split Samba Member

Joined: January 22, 2002 Posts: 1111 Location: Beautiful British Columbia Canada
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Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2024 3:02 pm Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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The original door contact switches for the interior light were looking pretty ugly. I decided to buy some brand new repro's but I don't like the quality. I dug through my parts collection and came up with another pair of German switches that came from a '67 I parted out years ago.
Probably spent a good hour+ detailing these - soap & hot water, toothbrush and steel wool, acid to clean the copper and followed up with some metal polish. Add some new seals and they look great
_________________ My Beetles :
1951 Crotch Cooler 11G Split Ragtop
1953 Zwitter
1964 Chop Top |
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banana split Samba Member

Joined: January 22, 2002 Posts: 1111 Location: Beautiful British Columbia Canada
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Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2024 2:54 pm Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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The splines on the driver's side door release pivot are mangled. That will be replaced with a new one. I also repainted the release rods gloss black.
Passenger side door will receive an NOS German door lock from my stash :
Pulled the original driver's side lock and cleaned, degreased and hit with paint stripper to remove old yellow over spray :
Turned out pretty nice. _________________ My Beetles :
1951 Crotch Cooler 11G Split Ragtop
1953 Zwitter
1964 Chop Top |
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banana split Samba Member

Joined: January 22, 2002 Posts: 1111 Location: Beautiful British Columbia Canada
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Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2024 2:41 pm Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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Small steps forward... I had asked the body shop to make sure the door handle holes were clean and free of any bondo blobs. Guess they forgot
Had to take a sharp razor blade and file to remove it all... very carefully!
And both sides finished along with paint touch-ups around the edges :
_________________ My Beetles :
1951 Crotch Cooler 11G Split Ragtop
1953 Zwitter
1964 Chop Top |
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banana split Samba Member

Joined: January 22, 2002 Posts: 1111 Location: Beautiful British Columbia Canada
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Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2024 10:12 am Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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Boxing up my speedo this week to send to Thorsten at krautclassicparts. He'll work his magic on it and make it like new again.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=970209
I'll post up photos of the "after" when it's all done. _________________ My Beetles :
1951 Crotch Cooler 11G Split Ragtop
1953 Zwitter
1964 Chop Top |
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WrennMetallWerks Samba Member
Joined: December 06, 2007 Posts: 3238 Location: Rescue ca
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banana split Samba Member

Joined: January 22, 2002 Posts: 1111 Location: Beautiful British Columbia Canada
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Posted: Fri Nov 29, 2024 10:16 am Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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Well after sitting in hibernation for the last 2 years I'm back on it. Rolled it out of the garage a few months ago and have been chipping away :
- front & rear hood seals installed
- fender beading installed
- engine compartment seals installed
Old man winter is starting to roll in so I'll see what I can get done before things start to freeze.
_________________ My Beetles :
1951 Crotch Cooler 11G Split Ragtop
1953 Zwitter
1964 Chop Top |
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markendee Samba Member

Joined: April 30, 2009 Posts: 292 Location: Kyabram, Australia
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Posted: Wed May 22, 2024 8:04 pm Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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Hi, just read your whole thread - OMG.
I think most of us have a bad panel beater story but yours takes the kuchen.
Car looking great in your last post, any updates?
Regards,
Mark. _________________ Member # 145244 |
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Dusty1 Samba Member
Joined: April 16, 2004 Posts: 1800
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Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2023 6:30 am Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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banana split wrote: |
You'd never know this started life as a '64. Now it looks like an oval window from every angle  |
You sure you don't want to have a split section spliced in?!
Super nice car! Seems the way to achieve perfection is to do it over a few times.
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Dusty1 Samba Member
Joined: April 16, 2004 Posts: 1800
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Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2023 6:22 am Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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banana split wrote: |
Decision made - the following weekend I head back to the shop with a friend and an enclosed cargo trailer in tow... I'm pulling the car.
A $4000 deposit and a year passes with nothing done is unacceptable.
So... I never got any of my money back , I spent 2 days with the bug up on jack stands trying to clean my suspension and the whole body inside and out. What a nightmare. The sooner I can forget about this and put it past me the better off I'll be.
Now I have to find another shop... ugh!  |
Sorry for reminding you.
I could see the slide down the slippery slope comin' when your guys started double- handling stuff.
First body shop sorts out some old work on the roof, fills it, primes it so the roof is ready for paint. Done!
Blasters take out all the fill everywhere including the roof. Roof was done before they un- did it.
Next shop sees some relatively rough work exposed by the blaster. Hey! It's a '64 chop top not a '53 Zwitter. If you want no bondo in a chop top there's a shop in Austin that can do it. But... when you've paid three times over to get it done already I can't see payin' another three times what it's worth to get it "right".
That's you in your yellow bikini in your avatar, right? Lotta "automotive professionals" aren't gettin' it at home so they screw every woman who walks through their door.
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Busstom wrote: |
That stings, for sure (or stung...are we caught up yet?)
My sting is a 1,000 times worse, I'd take your mess in a New York minute over my mess. My concrete contractor just burned me, bad, real bad...
Anyway, yeah, I feel the sting. $4k and no work done on your project? I'd have one less "friend" at that point. Sorry to hear about that one. |
Wait! Wait! I know this one.
My old man is a construction management consultant, retired. He's a dick but he had to be. He got paid to babysit guys who would just as soon take every shortcut. If you're payin' big bucks for a contractor to do something take the day off and supervise. A day's lost wages is chump change compared to what it takes to jackhammer out botched concrete and do it over. That's if it doesn't get hung up in court for the rest of your life.
Same applies to bodywork. It costs a lot more to have a professional to re- do amateur work than it costs to have it done right to begin with.
A retired NYC detective / 911 First Responder told me this:
"If you see bad things that means bad things are happening.
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banana split Samba Member

Joined: January 22, 2002 Posts: 1111 Location: Beautiful British Columbia Canada
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Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2023 4:28 pm Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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Hi Stephan, the beat down 1963 hood came from you! The red hood came from a guy named Brian who lives rather close to you. Don't recall his last name (and it's not Cook).
The chop top is still sitting in my garage with a car cover untouched. Still waiting for the body shop to finish up up the replacement hood. I know it has been a very long time but I told them no rush, the car is just sitting waiting for Spring time and warmer weather. I'll be reaching out to them soon. The chop top will still sit because getting my '53 Zwitter back on the road is priority for me. _________________ My Beetles :
1951 Crotch Cooler 11G Split Ragtop
1953 Zwitter
1964 Chop Top |
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Stephan Schmidt Samba Member
Joined: March 26, 2002 Posts: 215 Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2023 1:41 pm Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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banana split wrote: |
A couple weeks go by and someone responds to my Craigslist wanted ad. A guy 40 min from where I live is offering up a clean hood that came off a 1965 Bug. I get his address, stop at the bank for some cash and head out to see if I can make a deal.
After a bit of back and forth negotiating, I become the new owner of the hood. $400 bucks + I give him a beat down hood that I have in my collection from a 1963 that I'll never use. He didn't really want to part with his hood. He knows a nice one is hard to find. He wanted something in return so at least he still had one in his collection. A rough one was better than nothing. I'm gratefully he was willing to help me out.
Nice and straight. No major dents, no rust and no cracks in the metal.
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Who did you get it from? |
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toxicavenger70 Samba Member

Joined: July 28, 2019 Posts: 882 Location: CO
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 12:02 pm Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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Stunning work! |
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slayer61 Samba Member

Joined: June 01, 2021 Posts: 1131 Location: CA
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 12:07 pm Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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Very cool.
Details, details, details. _________________
Cusser wrote: |
... Most folks are idiots when it deals with electrical !!! |
67rustavenger wrote: |
3/4 race cam? What's missing, one of the lobes?  |
Paul
'68 Manx clone... Sears??
2276 built on AS21 case
W-125 w/ GB 1.25:1 rockers
Mahle forged pistons
CB 4340 crank
CB H beam rods
deep sump
44 HPMX
EMPI GTV 2 STG II wedge ports
CB Magna spark
1 5/8 merged collector w/ hater stinger |
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banana split Samba Member

Joined: January 22, 2002 Posts: 1111 Location: Beautiful British Columbia Canada
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 10:35 am Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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Nothing much happening with the Bug for the last few months. I switched gears and have been working on my '53 Zwitter instead. That car has been sitting off the road for over 12 years and I decided I better get it back together so I can drive it again before I focus back on the chop top.
Finally got the green light from the body shop to bring my red 1965 front hood in for body and paint. They sent me a text on Monday and they are completing some of the modifications I asked for.
They welded up the 3 holes for the VW emblem and have re-drilled the pattern for a 1960-1963 style emblem. They also welded up a molding hole, drilled a new one and added slots for a Wolfsburg crest.
_________________ My Beetles :
1951 Crotch Cooler 11G Split Ragtop
1953 Zwitter
1964 Chop Top |
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banana split Samba Member

Joined: January 22, 2002 Posts: 1111 Location: Beautiful British Columbia Canada
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Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2022 1:48 pm Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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Sent off an NOS oval ignition switch, NOS outside door handle and a mint used t-handle - all to be re-keyed so that they operate off the same key. All SG key codes.
_________________ My Beetles :
1951 Crotch Cooler 11G Split Ragtop
1953 Zwitter
1964 Chop Top |
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banana split Samba Member

Joined: January 22, 2002 Posts: 1111 Location: Beautiful British Columbia Canada
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2022 2:53 pm Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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A couple weeks go by and someone responds to my Craigslist wanted ad. A guy 40 min from where I live is offering up a clean hood that came off a 1965 Bug. I get his address, stop at the bank for some cash and head out to see if I can make a deal.
After a bit of back and forth negotiating, I become the new owner of the hood. $400 bucks + I give him a beat down hood that I have in my collection from a 1963 that I'll never use. He didn't really want to part with his hood. He knows a nice one is hard to find. He wanted something in return so at least he still had one in his collection. A rough one was better than nothing. I'm gratefully he was willing to help me out.
Nice and straight. No major dents, no rust and no cracks in the metal.
And it fits!
The body shop has agreed to body and paint this one for me. They said they should be able to book me in for August.
So... this is where I'm at with the Bug. From here on, it will be about slowly piecing it back together and rounding up parts etc.
I also have a Zwitter that I've owned for over 25 years that has been sitting for probably a decade. I've rolled it out of the garage and I'm currently working on it to make it a turn key driver again. I can't have 2 projects sitting around in pieces. The Zwitter must be put back together by the end of this summer. Then I can consider it done and move forward with the chop top. _________________ My Beetles :
1951 Crotch Cooler 11G Split Ragtop
1953 Zwitter
1964 Chop Top |
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banana split Samba Member

Joined: January 22, 2002 Posts: 1111 Location: Beautiful British Columbia Canada
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2022 3:55 pm Post subject: Re: 1964 Chop Top Build |
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I just can't live with the black hood! It's driving me nuts. No amount of adjustment will help.
My buddy comes over and we try fitting the hood that originally came with the car when I bought it. It's pretty rough but it fits way better! Flat and level with the cowl, proper clearance at the apron and even gaps on the quarter panels.
I get back to the body shop about this and the owner feels terrible for me. He's a stand up guy and wants me happy. He said he's willing to body work and paint my yellow hood all at no charge. The yellow hood isn't a 4 tab but at this point I don't really care. I want to run a Wolfsburg crest so I'll just have the holes drilled.
After thinking about things for a while, the idea of using my yellow hood is bothering me. The car is so nice that using a beat hood that will definitely have filler etc just doesn't seem right. The car deserves a nice hood. Finding air cooled parts where I live is tough. The supply chain dried up years ago and finding another mint hood will be next to impossible. Where to start? How about posting up a "wanted" ad on Craigslist and see what happens... _________________ My Beetles :
1951 Crotch Cooler 11G Split Ragtop
1953 Zwitter
1964 Chop Top |
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