Welding is finally done on the rear window section:
After grinding the welds back it was almost as good as new:
Pretty smooth:
Plug welds also smoothed out on rear window flange:
Much better than the old crusty section:
Quick coat of primer to stop surface rust:
After a skim coat of filler, it should be good as gold
Inside of decklid primed:
Inner guards:
Tank also primed:
Another beautiful queensland day - ben hard at work again helping to prep the panels for paint now the rust repair is finally done!
:thumb............nice work.
Finally some more paint went down today - tank was primed yesterday then shot with straight black base and then clear. Not too bad. Body panels will come up better.
I seem to keep finding more and more rust in the old girl! Another bit of cancer in one of the doors which was cut out...
....and duly patched with fresh steel (butt welded of course)
Was hoping to have inner guards etc in primer today but found some more rust that was bodged up in lower corner of windscreen/a pillar....and another bit in drivers side rear quarter guard mounting surface....etc.
Ah well, I can see why some body shops (not comparing myself to a pro of course) just charge by the hour for all these hidden problems. Ben helped out most of yesterday and today again which is always appreciated - it helps to offset some of the additional hours spent on the unexpected problems. Cheers Ben.
PS Looks like a colour has been chosen (pending any last minute changes) - should come up a treat!
looking good Alan, cant wait to see it finished
1968 pearl white beetle:kiss
1600 engine😉
soon to be supercharged 🤘🤘
1970 and 72 Squarebacks 70 soon to be rotor powered
I can appreciate the amount of time you've spent on this - and I haven't even done any body work on my oval!. What are the plans for wheels and susepnsion (or did I miss this in the thread?)?
Thanks guys.
Not sure on wheels yet - rear susp will probably stay at this height (alredy pretty low) and Ben would like to go down a little further up front.
I think it will come down to budget at this stage as the interior will be redone after all the new seals etc come in from the US....it all adds up pretty quick!
I bet Ben is so happy with the great work you are doping. Don't sell yourself short Alan, lots of 'pros' out there that dont give the affection that was paid for.🙄
Good on you! Loving the photo diary, dont skimp on them for fear of boring ppl, your last thread (green one) still holds most views. Rare to see it shown this thorough. I would take this over the Oportos kombi job any day.
This disclaimer does not reflect the thoughts or opinions of either myself, my company, my friends, or my dog: don't quote me on that; don't quote me on anything; this disclaimer is subject to change without notice; text is slightly enlarged to show detail; resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is unintentional and coincidental; dry clean only; do not bend, fold, or mutilate; anchovies or jalapenos added to this disclaimer upon request; your mileage may vary; no substitutions are allowed; for a limited time only while supplies last; offer void where prohibited; this disclaimer is provided "as is" without any warranties expressed or implied
love your work
down sharon.
Today was pretty productive (had the day off from my brissy work due to ekka public holiday)....the pans are pretty solid overall, just some pitting and surface rust mainly in rear sections:
Hit them with the wirebrush wheel on the angle grinder then treated with rust converter (after this pic was taken):
Passenger side had only two holes which had eaten through (this was the larger of the two):
Welded up and ground smooth:
Rear deck area is smoothed up nicely (are in front of hatch will be carpeted hence why it hasn't been prepped properly for paint):
Rear inner guard:
Inside of doors were shot with the high build primer as well:
Dash also primed as well (finally the green is disappearing - I am getting sick of looking at that colour!)
Lookin good:
I could spend another 5 hours plus on each inner guard to get them perfect, however they are all looking pretty good for what will be a driver (not purely a show car):
Miscellaneous bits:
For a bit you'll never see, this turned out pretty nicely.
Remember this:
Rebuilt from flat steel with minimal filler (the little imperfections are seam sealer beads under the primer just so you know):
And this...
Again a bit of seam sealer responsible for the imperfections:
Not too bad in this area, but holes kept opening up the more paint I took off (like a lot of areas):
Now all fixed:
Ben, I'm happy to totally smooth the inner guards (eg factory spot welds etc) to get them to a show finish....but would need to add some hours/$ onto the bill. I figured you'd be happy to have them as is (let me know if not!).
Now to get cracking on the outisde of this beast! Need to get it done soon so I can have some time to get my oval ready for warwick!
Ahh the hide and seek game of restoration!!!!
Good work Al.
How intimate we seem to get when doing this type of body work.
Looks like quite clean notch to have started with.
Cheers for now
Matt
ps sent u2u
Matt Berry Motorsports...air cooled advice, repairs and mods Ph 0408 704 662
OFF-ROAD,CIRCUIT,DRAG,STREET,ENDURANCE
Love ya work. Move down to Vic, and we'll become REAL good friends! Uhh... nah not like that either.. :P
THE LOWEST WITH THE MOSTEST BLING BLING WINS!!
Fantastic work. Just one question, did you remove the brake fluid reservoir and paint behind it? The only reason I ask is becasue I recently pulled mine out and found the area between it and the firewall quite rusty.
Ain't nothin' like the wind in your hair.
matberry wrote:ps sent u2u
Hey Matthew, no u2u received? Not sure whether it got lost along the way?
Cheers
Alan
More progress today (and yesterday) - most of body is in primer now:
Passenger door is not too bad but drivers door needs some major panel beating to get it in shape:
Almost the end of the green!
Computer is dying (battery plug in laptop has failed)...more pics tomorrow hopefully.
no more green . . yewwwww
More pics:
Spent a fair bit of time cleaning up bits and pieces that will go back on after paint - eg. the air box seals under the dash (before):
...and after:
Door hinge screws:
Underside of tank etc received some satin black killrust:
(camera flash gives a funny reflection - it has come up nicely though with a consitent finish (used small disposable foam roller to avoid brush strokes)
Thats it for now.
PurpleT3 wrote:Fantastic work. Just one question, did you remove the brake fluid reservoir and paint behind it? The only reason I ask is becasue I recently pulled mine out and found the area between it and the firewall quite rusty.
Yep - reservoir has been removed and you are right about the rust - this notch had quite a bit under it as well (see previous page for pics).
Looking good!!:thumb
tssnq.com.au
Only just found this thread....knew you had to be busy somewhere else on the forum (and in the garage)... I see you're making it hard for everyone else again....
... I am always impressed by your attention to detail and slow, steady and methodical progress.... keep up the awesome work.
Thanks Alan - you must have figured out there was some reason (apart from lack of funds) why I wasn't updating my own resto thread/s!! Although I have some other resto's lined up after the notch, hopefully I'll find some time to squeeze in my oval (at least the mechanical side of things).
Your new heads, new rods, new carbs and increased compression all sound good 😉 :bounce
Although not a lot of updates lately, there has certainly been a lot of work happenning.....lot of priming, guide coating, sanding (to find imperfections and low spots), dolly work, filling, sanding, guide coating, sanding, priming guide coating, sanding....you get the drift. Anyone can learn how to shoot a spray gun and lay on paint, but the top coat is only as good as what is underneath.
If you want your resto done well, it takes time (and $)...at the end of the day you get what you pay for!
I'm stoked (as is Ben) with how the notch is progressing - the next few days should yield some good advances and may even see some colour go on if all goes to plan.
Example of guide coat on rear guard:
Bonnet took quite a while to get right due to a couple of nasty dents - this was after wet sanding which is another quick way of using reflections to determine if any other wobbles are hiding in the panels. Primer went on after it was blown dry with compressed air and sun baked for a few hours.
This is how the clear should turn out (obviously with some consitent colour under it).
My wife took a sneaky snap whilst laying down on the job - regardless of areas where people normally don't see....I am not satisfied until everything is spot on.
Picture is not too clear, but the dark spot on the front corner of the roof quickly displays a low spot - if not fixed it would stand out like dogs balls after paint is done.
Stay tuned for more updates.
Alan
Gee I bet your arms are sore mate! great effort.
This disclaimer does not reflect the thoughts or opinions of either myself, my company, my friends, or my dog: don't quote me on that; don't quote me on anything; this disclaimer is subject to change without notice; text is slightly enlarged to show detail; resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is unintentional and coincidental; dry clean only; do not bend, fold, or mutilate; anchovies or jalapenos added to this disclaimer upon request; your mileage may vary; no substitutions are allowed; for a limited time only while supplies last; offer void where prohibited; this disclaimer is provided "as is" without any warranties expressed or implied
Das,
Please excuse my ignorance but can you explain a guide coat for me?
What do you use for it and what does it do/ tell you?
Thanks
Matt
Lovin' the Dubs
Front guards in primer now - few blemishes still to fix as displayed by guide coat. Lower front quarter of left guard had been hit before and average previous repair required removal of all old filler before panel beating and new filler to smooth it out.
Rear decklid had a previous repair as well (previously panel beaten and filled), but filler cracked through to paint so it all had to be stripped and started again (=approx 10hrs).
Rear apron also required fair amount of tickling to get right esp around licence plate mounting area
Light reflection of lower edge of licence plate mount makes it looks like it is not straight....but trust me, it is. 😉
Public holiday here on the goldy tomorrow so hopefully will come close to finishing all primer prep which will be nice (you are right koolkarmakombi - right arm is pretty damn sore right now)
Alan
PS no, right arm is not sore from 'that' - I can only sand with my right arm, but can do 'that' with both :P
Matt, guide coat refers to either a mist coat of contrasting colour (eg. black), or in my case, a powder based product applied wtih foam applicator. Once applied to the primer, you use a large hard sanding block (or suitable alternative) and sand the high build primer back which will show any low spots (ie. dents will remain 'black', or in my case the black powder will remain)...you then know you have to beat it to shape, and skim fill where necessary. Hope that explains it?
Dasdubber wrote:Hope that explains it?
Yep it surely does. I am in awe of the amount of work this takes.
I have heard people, and yourself, say the quality of the top coat al depends on the prep
That proves to be true looking at these posts.
Matt
Lovin' the Dubs
