Hey gang thought I would give an update on the progress of the 65 Steel Sun roof beetle project.
Well after much chasing around for a suitable set of replacement panels to repair the frontal accedent damage. I have given up on repairing this shell.
I will be cutting the roof panel of this car and getting if fitted to a nice 64 hard top I bought from bendigo.
Here are some pics of the innards of a genuine VW Golde steel sun roof under the headlining. Just in case you wondered!!
I will post some more pics when the roof panel has been removed and the as it gets welded into the 64 beetle.
supports that will need the spots drilled out and carefully bent out of the way to remove the entire roof panel.
Very cool
65 Meyers Manx
68 Country Buggy (KO 367)
68 Country Buggy (KO 669)
68 Country Buggy (KO 789)
68 Country Buggy (KO 815)
68 Baja Bug
76 Baja Kombi Twincab
The recipent 64 Beetle. Nice and straight and rust free.
If anyone needs more pics of the innards of one of these roofs let me know. I have photographed everything to ensure it goes back in OK.
Dean the 64 is so nice.....Did you just find it recently?
Its the one that Rhett was selling in Bendigo. Gonna pic it up this Saturday. Then the fun will start. Sun Roof in , fit all the accessories and bits that are hiding in cupbords around here.
And best of all fit the 1776 motor complete with scat bits and webers I have had built to make it go insanley fast. woo hoo cant wait
So ready for the DOVW Dean? 😉 :thumb
Yeah cant see why not Jen. Wont be finished, but it will be registered and running. And probably towing a trailer full of swap meet goodies.
Wow Dean........bummer you couldn't find the front you were after but the 64 looks great.Bet you can't wait to have a beetle of your own on the road again. :thumb
hay dean that bug looks good hope 2 catch up with u? hope 2 be over 4 the chaple st cruise u be ther ?????🙂
so where does the drain pipe go to, from the back of the sun roof?
Cool Dean!!
The outside looks good...Inside OK?...From what I can see i the pic it looks pretty well cared for.....
Who's doing the fitting of the rag top for you?
Good luck with this.I am doing the same but mines going into an Oval(finally got someone interested and its booked in for 27th September to begin) If yours is the same as mine,those brackets that connect to the side looked like they were spot welded but in fact were just braze welded.Just poke a large screwdriver up into those openings and apply gentle pressure while you heat it with the Oxy and they came away real easy.May be calling on you soon because I only took a few pics and my memory is failing fast,so you may be able to help during assembly.I found a place in USA that has some hardware and seals but may need to fab some myself.
Just had another read of your post.If the car the sunroof is in has only front damage wouldn't it be easier to cut and shut another complete front to yours? The sunroof change out won't be easy or cheap.I can't get a firm quote because of the nature of the job.It will be charged at hours on the job.Got a firm quote on the paint job though.If you cut the front off near the front of the fuel tank opening it should be a simple repair??????? My sunroof came from a 66 which would have been one of the worst cars for rust right around the bottom I have ever seen.
It'll be wicked to see it at DOTVW this year Dean!
...and Robert's ya father's brother...
The drains go from both rear corners down thru the rear quarter panels and exit under the running boards. There are drains at the front too that go down the winscreen pillars and exit out the front wheel wells.
Jen the roof is a Golde steel slider and will be fitted differently to the rag top. I will be unrolling the roof gutters, drilling out the spots around the front and rear screens and unstiching the welds below the rear vents to remove the roof. This will happen on both cars. Then refit the sunroof , roof section to the 64 shell. Just like they did in the factory using the factory mounting points. Sounds easy huh. NOT.
Nbturbo, I was going to repair the front with a full cut and shut from the windscreen forward. But cant find a decent car to donate the panels. And the shell on this one and the frame head are quiet badly twisted. So bad that the dash is buckled too. Major whack.
I will post a bunch of pics after I give the 65 a scalping and as the roof gets attached to the 64. Gonna be fun.
Looks like a good plan so far.. Who's building the motor Dean? Not quite the same as a Grey 57.. Does this mean there is a name change coming up too? 🙂
THE LOWEST WITH THE MOSTEST BLING BLING WINS!!
Ah yes I understand your approach to this now-still a lot of work but probably less chance for it to all go wrong.I have to actually separate the sunroof and reweld it to my Oval. Will have to modify that front bracket that holds the winder because of the smaller front screen.I will run the rear drains into the engine bay area and drain like the originals from the air vent under the back window.Will worry about the fronts when its finished.The car I cut the roof from looked like the front drains went into the heater channel area,but everything was too rusted to tell. Will have a look at a good one someday to check it out.
Motor is all built Jim. Done by a good german mechanic we know. Sitting in the shed waiting for all the goodies to be bolted on. Oh and for me to make up a 36hp dog house fan shroud to keep it all kewl.
Will make do with the 1500 powerhouse the 64 is coming with for now. 😀
Thanks for the info on the seals NB. Will check it out. If you need any pics of the sun roof assembly just let me know OK.
Should be able to fax you a copy of the exploded diagram for the factory sun roof too if you need it.
[Edited on 27-8-2004 by Grey 57]
Great work Dean, sounds like the best way to go.
looks like we'll both be doing some surgery this weekend.
:beer
Spyder-WISD 07-09-05 11.6s @ 125 MPH
Speedster-WISD Nats 05 14.4s @ 89 MPH
Jet cruiser-Coogee 22-09-05 900 deg C @ 110,000 rpm
Weaseling out of things is what separates us from the animals....................Except the Weasel.
I would be very grateful for that.I got one on the Net from a parts supplier in USA but it was one they had created-not real good.I will turn the fax on tomorrow after 10am when I get to work-08.86450909.Thanks for that.I stripped mine out completely and washed everything and greased up the cables and refitted it all to see if worked ok.Worked perfectly until it got to last bit of closing when it tilts the back up to seal it it all up.The drive gear slipped on the cables and it wouldn't pull shut completely.I had it in and out a dozen times and couldn't find anything wrong(incidently this is what was wrong with it when I got it,not closed properly and a full tube of silicone to seal it up) All the plastic guides were in good order and the drive pinion looked good.I made up a small U shaped metal tang to hold the cables tight against the pinion and it works perfectly.There is even a small recess in the plastic guide to fit my little mod.The pic I got from USA doesn't show any thing here.Many years ago(1973 ) when I was an apprentice Mechanic at a Ford dealer,we sold a new XY GT with a sunroof and one of the cables broke and nobody would touch it so guess who drew the short straw.From what I remember everything was identical to my VW one-even the mechanism for tilting the back up. I knew that one day fixing up that Ford would benefit me.
NB , they are supposed to have a U shaped spring steel piece that presses down on the cables. Mine does. I think with out this bit it will slip. The cables can wear too.
Will fax the pic on Monday when I get into the office OK.
Good tip about the Falcon Sunroofs too. Guess who the sunroof supplier was for XR to XY Falcons?? Golde. Handy to know.
[Edited on 27-8-2004 by Grey 57]
Well there you go.I bet I wont be able to buy it new.Jerk who owned the car when it packed up must have left it out.Wish I had checked the glovebox-only joking-no one could be that lucky.Monday is good for me.Thanks.
NB you have u2u
