A Schwimmwagen named "ilsa"

[54bugn]

Hello all, sorry for taking so long for an update but work gets in the way.

So as per last time, getting the front end all attached to the body, I was able to finalize the attachment and sealing of the back end of the body to the pan.

Next up I built and installed two support/ strengthening tubes between the upper front axle body attach bolts and the front hook. It gives some strength to both the hook and a bit of a bumper.

Next up cleaned up installed and aligned the steering box and the cleaned up steering tubes and new damper.

To ensure the correct alignment of the steering box in all directions I had to figure out where the dash panels and steering shaft would mount. After many measurements and alignment checks they are temporarily mounted.

The lower end of the tube on a bug would pass through the fed firewall, seeing how I don’t have one I had to make a strong attachment point which I did.

Next up the actual steering shaft I have is out of an early 50’s bug so is 6 1/2” too long for the Schwimm. After many measurements and a little research I have cut the shaft and when home next will grind my relief and bolt cut to reinstall the lower adapter. For now the shaft and steering wheel are temporarily installed.

Next up because the upper shock mounts had to be cut off, I purchased buggy mounts which I had to oversize the holes and bend to fit on the front beam. Welded the one side on and ready to weld the second side on when I get home.

Last update for this time, I have purchased a windshield from the Czech Republic that is supposed to have the multi position gear on each side. They are missing so decided to make my own. I will weld them to the windshield in the future.

Where I am for now. More updates in the future.

Cheers,
Mike
_________________
"Schwing wrote:
You either have to be too cheap to hire a pro or determined to do it yourself, but it helps to be both!"

54 European Sedan deluxe
Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=414940

[finster]

coming along really nicely
_________________
"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[cyberdyne systems 101]

Nice progress. How does the body seal in water...?
_________________
When I think of something to say - I'll be the first to know

56' Oval
71' Westy

[54bugn]

Thanks for the comments finster and cyberdyne systems 101.

I am sealing one hole at a time to make it waterproof. The front beam not only is mounted on both sides but sealed as well. In the next couple of future instalments you will see how I handle the steering rods and the brake hoses. I have been planning for some time now.

Cheers,
Mike
_________________
"Schwing wrote:
You either have to be too cheap to hire a pro or determined to do it yourself, but it helps to be both!"

54 European Sedan deluxe
Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=414940

[finster]

are you planning on fitting more body mounts at the back? perhaps to the original beetle points on the shock towers?
_________________
"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[54bugn]

Hello Finster, the heavy portion weight of the car (engine, tranny, pan, passengers, etc) is all directly on the wheels, the only weight on these fiberglass mounts is the weight of the body and accessories. However I am planning on making a metal cage inside the rear body similar to a dune buggy rear cage that will attach to the shock mounts and the rear transmission mount bolts. I will bond it to the fiberglass body inside as well for strength. I also need this cage for the spring load for the propeller. I will be building more steel cage in the front as well which will also be bonded to the body. But I get way ahead of myself.

Cheers,
Mike
_________________
"Schwing wrote:
You either have to be too cheap to hire a pro or determined to do it yourself, but it helps to be both!"

54 European Sedan deluxe
Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=414940

[54bugn]

Hello all, sorry for the delay posting. I made more progress while at home again. First off I got the opposite side upper shock mount welded on, new seals installed and greased up.

Second job on my list was to weld a couple of bolts to my steel framework as grounds for the front lights etc. Here are a couple of shots of that work plus attached the grounds and sorted the wiring a bit.

If you notice in the photos I also got the steering shaft all reconnected, and ground strap installed, the horn button wire connected under the horn, and the wire connector on the side of the steering shaft installed and all tested. The horn will work.

Next up I got the upper and lower torsion arms installed and the backing plates on, set up the brakes and installed and sealed the rubber brake hoses through the hull. Also got the forward internal steel brake lines installed to the master cylinder.

Next I got the front drum bearings cleaned and regreased, and the drums installed. I am using 4 to 5 bolt wheel adapters on the front for three reasons. One I am using a ball joint beam, second I need the front wheels spaced out a bit for the big tires, and three it looks similar to the 4 wheel drive system on the originals. Se here goes drums and wheels installed on the front.

So it’s on two wheels now. Still sitting a little high but more weight to add for sure. Next up shock absorbers, sealing the speedometer cable pass through the hull, and installing rubber steering flex boots on the steering tie rods both sides to make it waterproof. That will be next time home.

Stay tuned cheers,
Mike
_________________
"Schwing wrote:
You either have to be too cheap to hire a pro or determined to do it yourself, but it helps to be both!"

54 European Sedan deluxe
Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=414940

[cyberdyne systems 101]

Looks great sitting on the two wheels.
_________________
When I think of something to say - I'll be the first to know

56' Oval
71' Westy

[54bugn]

Hello all, another installment as to where I was able to progress to this last time home.

First up was to make 3” extenders for my shock absorbers so the ones I wanted to use would fit with the higher new shock towers. This is what I made:

Second and third I guess was to finish the speedometer Cable install with an added grease nipple for waterproofing, as well installing a brake reservoir behind the spare tire under the upper deck and hooking it up. Looking for a more realistic look cap for the outside but for now an interior pic.

Next up attempting to finally seal the last items through the hull on the forward end which is the tie rods for steering. I bought some larger boots from a boating supply store that had enough linear movement as well as vertical clearance for the travel of the wheels at full down and up. I made two of these fittings as shown in the picture to mount the boots to the tie rods sealing them to the rod and attaching the boots.

This is an inside pic of what I made. They are made out of satellite TV adjustable arms and two washers one welded to the attachement for the inside, and the second one outside. I drilled and tapped the interior holes and slight oversized the outer for 4 screws to tighten the rubber boot and squeeze it around the tie rods. I replaced the original tightening method in the pic with two hose clamps per side smaller and tightened it up on the rods nicely.

Next up found the sweet spot on right and left sides for the boots to reside and bolted and sealed them on. Ran the steering through full right and left and seems to work well. Prior to install I also replaced all the tie rod ends with new. The install looks like this now.

Got it all buttoned up sitting on both front shocks and the wheels back on sitting on the front ones again. The front in in theory is all sealed now.

When I get home I have purchased steel square tubing to weld to and strengthen the front end, hold the dash boards and attach the windshield to. Once that is all installed then the fuel tank fitting is up.

Hope you enjoy the build.

Cheers,
Mike
_________________
"Schwing wrote:
You either have to be too cheap to hire a pro or determined to do it yourself, but it helps to be both!"

54 European Sedan deluxe
Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=414940

[maplesyrup]

_________________
Bugger

[finster]

nice work, but I'm a bit worried those hose clamps are going to snag the rubber...
_________________
"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[54bugn]

Hello finster, I played around for while with the placement of the hose clamps to a spot where the rubber doesn’t make contact and also cut off all excess protruding metal etc. I don’t think it will rub but will keep my eyes on it. If anyone has any better ideas for clamping it I’m open to suggestions.

Thanks,
Mike
_________________
"Schwing wrote:
You either have to be too cheap to hire a pro or determined to do it yourself, but it helps to be both!"

54 European Sedan deluxe
Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=414940

[54bugn]

Hello finster, I also may wrap the two clamps each side with a rubber layer to prevent chafing or snagging, that might work.

Cheers,
Mike
_________________
"Schwing wrote:
You either have to be too cheap to hire a pro or determined to do it yourself, but it helps to be both!"

54 European Sedan deluxe
Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=414940

[cyberdyne systems 101]

Looking good, was the original Schwimmer sealed in a similar fashion do you know?
_________________
When I think of something to say - I'll be the first to know

56' Oval
71' Westy

[54bugn]

Hello cyberdyne systems 101. No it wasn’t, the entire steering and front wheel drive unit was in the water. A wall was built where the drive unit attached to the pan. This fiberglass body was built differently. Making it work.


Mike
_________________
"Schwing wrote:
You either have to be too cheap to hire a pro or determined to do it yourself, but it helps to be both!"

54 European Sedan deluxe
Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=414940

[52 split]

Hello Mike what about using this style. https://belmetric.com/clamps/oetiker-168-low-stepless/ i dont like using those worm clamps.

[54bugn]

Hello 52 split. Those are pretty cool, I would have to figure out the final diameter maybe the 163 or 167 versions that have some adjustments. Will check it out.

Thanks,,
Mike
_________________
"Schwing wrote:
You either have to be too cheap to hire a pro or determined to do it yourself, but it helps to be both!"

54 European Sedan deluxe
Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=414940

[54bugn]

Hello all, another update from the past couple of weeks work. First thing I did when I got back to work on the car, was to wrap the two hose clamps on each side with a good thickness of electrical tape. Makes for a more rubbery round bump instead of the metal clamps, will try this as it doesn’t touch the edge of the boots anyway.

Second up was to add a much larger cap to my brake fluid reservoir to more closely match the original cap that was in this location. (I think original was for a front suspension lubrication tank)

Next up was to replace the 4 rubber boots on my toe rod ends as they cracked when I was installing the suspension. Almost removed my second finger in the process but onward we go.

With the car back on it’s front wheels next up was to carry on with building the steel framework coming from the pan up around the dashboard and back down to the pan. It is welded to the steel tubes coming from the nose as well, starting a cage inside the body.2 1/2” square tubing used to attach behind the dashboard for strength for the dashboards as well for the windshield attach points. I am installing and welding it in pieces to fit it in. First pic shows the first piece in behind the dash and bent down to the wheel wheel on the drivers side. You will notice the drivers side windshield support now in place.

Then to add more steel to attach it to the pan. Still have a bit of welding on the left side when I get back home and then onto the right side.

Be a couple of weeks till after Christmas for more updates. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Cheers,
Mike
_________________
"Schwing wrote:
You either have to be too cheap to hire a pro or determined to do it yourself, but it helps to be both!"

54 European Sedan deluxe
Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=414940

[54bugn]

Hey folks and to all a happy new year.

Just a quick update, I managed to finish the welding on the left side front steel structure. Cleaned it up and painted it. I also installed and fitted a 303 shell casing for my turn signal switch. Thank you Boris for the switch. On to the right side front structure next.

Cheers,
Mike
_________________
"Schwing wrote:
You either have to be too cheap to hire a pro or determined to do it yourself, but it helps to be both!"

54 European Sedan deluxe
Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=414940

[52 split]

welcome on the switch, 303, better than a red tip.