Skip to content
Aussieveedubbers

My '59 Bug Xmas pressie!!!

0 likes
Share Share on Facebook Share on X Share on Reddit
Log in to reply

OzSpeedway Casual Dubber

25 posts ยท joined Mar 2009 ยท

#703128
Thanks matey

Currently I am car-less, just waiting for the right one to appear. Bummer about the job, things like that really throw a spanner in the works when you are trying to work on cars. Good luck finding another one!

Will watch your thread with interest and follow along with your progress.

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts ยท joined Jan 2009 ยท

#703268
Mick058 wrote:Job loss> that blows! ๐Ÿ˜ฌ

due to the current economic climate?
sure does blow and the excuse was the economic climate but as the arseholes just taken on 2 new engineers then it's cos he's a gutless wanker. Pardon my french if you please.
OzSpeedway wrote:Thanks matey

Currently I am car-less, just waiting for the right one to appear. Bummer about the job, things like that really throw a spanner in the works when you are trying to work on cars. Good luck finding another one!

Will watch your thread with interest and follow along with your progress.
Thanks dude. yea does throw a spanner in the works but am able to carry on doin a few things. Unfortunately, once I have trimmed the plates to fit then thats where I grind to a halt unless someone can lend me a welder. I was looking to buy one but no chance now ๐Ÿ™ admittedly, beyond the floorpan patches and the IRS brackets theres not much else to weld at present but hey ho I'll find a way ๐Ÿ™‚
madness is in the eye of the beholder ๐Ÿ‘

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts ยท joined Jan 2009 ยท

#708906
Decided to make a new wiring loom for her as the old wire is 50 years old. Whilst I'm at it I shall modernise things with a better fuse box and relays to take the strain off the switches

front-rear loom ready to go



and the front wiring loom


Then placed them in the Bug

and back


Was an absolute bitch the pull the rear loom thro the roof. got stuck on the first go ๐Ÿ˜  and was a cow to pull back. So they are roughly in place for now and I just need the new fusebox to wire up. Quite pleased with it so far tho ๐Ÿ™‚
madness is in the eye of the beholder ๐Ÿ‘

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts ยท joined Jan 2009 ยท

#710663
With funds low but boredom looming I thought I'd start taking the rear suspension apart in preparation for the IRS conversion.
I liked how the bug had been stripped of anything partially valuable like lights but also how they ripped the gearbox out. They oxy/cetaleaned thro the spring plates instead of removing them properly. Will take a piccie of that when camera is charged.

Otherwise thought I would share with you the amount of spot welds they had used on the rear valance including a seam weld.

overkill me thinks ๐Ÿคช

and also a pic of how solid the wing mounting flange is. Well maybe to rub it in a little too ๐Ÿ˜


otherwise I so need to job so I can rent the Corgon gas. me plates are all trimmed to size and I've bare metalled some of the edges but otherwise I've been researching for that vented disc conversion for the link pin front. trying to keep meself amused ๐Ÿ™‚
madness is in the eye of the beholder ๐Ÿ‘

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts ยท joined Jan 2009 ยท

#715455
Well I got my spot weld drills from the UK this morning so I have been removing the rear valance today and also on a plus note, Evie, my wife, let me buy a new gas regulator so I can do some welding next week when it turns up.
Anyhow, onto the rear valance.


How many spot welds did they use in the 50's????



I'm still amazed how solid this bug is!!




And also been starting to figure out the disc brake conversion. Found some 279mm vented rotors from Professional Motorsport Parts in the UK. With the disc sitting a good distance from the link pins I can now design the caliper bracket. Probably gonna use Holden HSV rear calipers as the 90's HSV had 280x20mm vented rears ๐Ÿ™‚
madness is in the eye of the beholder ๐Ÿ‘

trickysimon 100km/h is only 9 seconds away

1,473 posts ยท joined Dec 2007 ยท

#715458
Did you hear about the guy with wooden brakes?
.......
They wooden work ๐Ÿ˜‚

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts ยท joined Feb 2006 ยท

#715460
psimitar wrote:How many spot welds did they use in the 50's????
alot more than they used in the mid 70s ๐Ÿ˜‰

1 attachment ยท Log in to view

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts ยท joined Jan 2009 ยท

#715620
trickysimon wrote:Did you hear about the guy with wooden brakes?
.......
They wooden work ๐Ÿ˜‚
๐Ÿ˜‚ like it but do you really think they wood be a fire hazard???? ๐Ÿ˜‚
Joel wrote:alot more than they used in the mid 70s
Jeez, think I've almost twice as many than your 70's bug. maybe another reason why the older bugs fair so well??
madness is in the eye of the beholder ๐Ÿ‘

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts ยท joined Jan 2009 ยท

#716439
I got some welding done last nite and tonite, tho think my mask is having issues with battery life. Quite funny really that I want to give it a good charge but it's been pissing it down for the last month or so. Ironic or what ๐Ÿ˜‚

Anyhow, got the little patch near the battery tray done and the drivers footwell before the battery died ๐Ÿฅฒ well it did take a while for the arc eye to fade ๐Ÿคช





Hopefully will get some sunshine tomoro to charge the helmet up, then dunno when I shall have a chance due to wifes friend leaving soon and also one of her mates 21st so there goes the weekend ๐Ÿฅฒ
May as well get pissed to make up for things instead ๐Ÿ˜ตโ€๐Ÿ’ซ
madness is in the eye of the beholder ๐Ÿ‘

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts ยท joined Jan 2009 ยท

#718409
YAY!!! I have just finished welding in my floorpan patches. Pretty chuffed with it. Welds may look a bit patchy but penetration is good and was difficult welding the 2 different thickness metals together without blowing thro the original pan metal. I got better as I went along ๐Ÿ™‚

So battery tray


and passenger pan


Now comes the grinding and will probably need to fix a few pin holes were I'd missed but want to split the pan so I have better access. Just need some wood for tresles now. Hmm, Bunnings me thinks ๐Ÿ˜‰
madness is in the eye of the beholder ๐Ÿ‘

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts ยท joined Jan 2009 ยท

#728783
So managed to have a play this morning and have got the first IRS bracket fettled and fitted but not tacked in yet. will do that once other side is done.
So for those who are wondering how it's done a few pictures to help explain.


This is getting the bracket to fit the torsion tube properly and by spacing it out from the framehorn means you can make a more accurate cut in the framehorn. Fettling the bracket is a case of measuring the distances from the jig to the torsion tube and making cardboard templates of the bracket and then slowly trimming the bracket down until it fits like above.



Then you can transfer the shape of the bracket to the framehorn using a straight edge from the bracket fitted up in the first photo.




Then you trim the framehorn until the bracket slips in nicely on it's jig and hey presto one side done and yes my pan is upside down at present but enough room, just in my ickle garage ๐Ÿ™‚

Now that one side is done I can make templates to transpose onto the other side and will mean less trial fitting. Once both are done the pan is going into the garden so I can flip it and make up some plates to cover the hole in the framehorn on the underside of the bracket. Then tack em in and get the welder man round with his higher powered welder. Once the welding is done then it's time to strip the pan back to bare metal and rust proof paint it ๐Ÿ˜€
madness is in the eye of the beholder ๐Ÿ‘

chunks54 Slammed & Awesome Dubber

84 posts ยท joined Aug 2009 ยท

#728892
Looks an awesome project!
Happiness is a Hot VW.

1954 Bug, 2276/Turbo

Turbo lag - that split second when the other guy thinks he has a chance

1916baja Custom Title Time!

1,990 posts ยท joined Sep 2007 ยท

#729949
right..... not what i pictured them to be but they actually make more sense than what i had in mind. Groovy...๐Ÿ˜Ž

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts ยท joined Jan 2009 ยท

#736525
Floorpan piccies finally ๐Ÿ™‚




and of how the bare metaling is going



Even with the radial knot brush this paint is truely like shit to a blanket so I'm gonna see if my paint stripper can shift the majority before cleaning up with the brush. Wish I could afford blasting ๐Ÿ˜ข

I will not be put off but must admit it's frakking annoying ๐Ÿ˜‰

Well I was cheeky/lucky last weekend and found the scrapped skin of a washmachine ๐Ÿ™‚ so I now have metal for the body repairs



So decided to fix the rusty corner of the rear valance



I have to be real careful with my welder cos even using 0.6 wire and the lowest setting/speed it can still blow thro in places but I cam getting good at filling holes ๐Ÿ˜€
Evening noise cutoff occurred so I couldn't finish fettling it but looking good ๐Ÿ™‚

Moler: Thanks for the link. They're in Western Oz so postage was high. Guy was nice enough to put me onto someone in QLD so got zinc weld thro yesterday.

Just need wire brush the panels of rust and finish fettling the repair then put back together ๐Ÿ™‚

Will take some pics of the floorpan tomoro as have to go round the in-laws for the wifes birthday dinner ๐Ÿ˜ตโ€๐Ÿ’ซ kidding ๐Ÿ˜‚
madness is in the eye of the beholder ๐Ÿ‘

cam070 Custom Title Time!

1,332 posts ยท joined Jul 2009 ยท

#736642
that's a serious project you have there, but looks like you are well up to the task. Keep it going!

Also, gotta love wives that buy you cars. Mine recently did the same.

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts ยท joined Jan 2009 ยท

#736665
Cheers guys, glad you're enjoying the build. stay with me whilst I dawdle along ๐Ÿ™‚

Cam: wives buy us cars is cool. Shows that they get you ๐Ÿ˜€
madness is in the eye of the beholder ๐Ÿ‘

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts ยท joined Jan 2009 ยท

#736922
Well I got hold of a popes nose for a good price off ebay last week for $50.
I know the decklid isn't a 59 but at least it looks the part with the nose ๐Ÿ™‚
Bit off centre I think but can sort that. The valance is going to be interesting to put back together ๐Ÿ˜‰ but cleaned the majority of it tonite. Was gonna spray it but thought best kill the rust first instead of letting the paint do that. No piccies of the valance. Do that once they all clean and cured but shot of the nose.



Stayed tuned ๐Ÿ˜‰
madness is in the eye of the beholder ๐Ÿ‘

vwsteve karmann crazy

2,087 posts ยท joined Jul 2006 ยท

#736976
gees mate you must get a little claustrophobic in that garage, you should have asked me for a popes nose, i had a couple still๐Ÿ™‚
1 1963 356b porsche coupe
2 1960 karmann ghia cab
1 1965 karmann ghia cab
1 1966 karmann cab
1 1961 split ute
1 1967 split p/van
1 1952 standard bug
1 1963 ragtop
1 1960 ragtop
2 1954 ovals
1 1956 oval baja project
1 1957 oval flying flea

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts ยท joined Jan 2009 ยท

#737056
rexy wrote:gees mate you must get a little claustrophobic in that garage, you should have asked me for a popes nose, i had a couple still๐Ÿ™‚
Yea the pans gonna have to be re-built at the in-laws then transported here. I have to have the garage door shut when grinding so gets real dusty in there.

Did think to ask on here for the nose. Saw it on fleabay and thought $50 was OK. Bet you're gonna tell me I coulda had one for $30 ๐Ÿ˜‰ oh well done now. I'll remember to ask for other bits as I start the re-build and come across parts needed ๐Ÿ™‚
madness is in the eye of the beholder ๐Ÿ‘

colonel mustard Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,829 posts ยท joined Feb 2009 ยท

#737062
If you need parts bring money to the swap meet @ warwick ๐Ÿ™‚ your sure to find something you want!

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts ยท joined Jan 2009 ยท

#737131
Cool. Swap meet is on both days yea? oh and where is the show thingy in town on the sat morning? heard was Leslie park but can't find it on the map ๐Ÿคช
madness is in the eye of the beholder ๐Ÿ‘

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts ยท joined Jan 2009 ยท

#740825
Hello all,
Well after a lovely week off down in Melbourne I have finished off the removable rear valance.
So here is the valance on


And here is how it bolts to the body


Here are the little ears I've welded on for the wing mounting bolts to clamp things up


and here is it removed


just need to finish running the welds on the ears and grind things down but otherwise done, the grinders round the in-laws with the pan ๐Ÿ™„

Got me rustproofing paint the other week so now I have to find the time to trundle over to the in-laws to clean that darned pan. Wish my garage was bigger cos then could do an hour here and there instead of using up one of my weekend days. Ah well ๐Ÿคช
madness is in the eye of the beholder ๐Ÿ‘

Dirtbag What the hell does standard mean?

407 posts ยท joined Aug 2009 ยท

#740933
Come on now Mick, there's no need to filthy up this forum by using words like "rotary". Yuck, I need to have a shower just thinking about it. : )
The bug's looking good man!

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts ยท joined Jan 2009 ยท

#740977
I'm sorry to say Tim but Mick is right. A wankel will be residing in the rear within the next few years. And is it me or does that sound a little rude?? Hmm exchange wankel for rotary me thinks ๐Ÿ™‚

I'm gonna have a laff with the 1200 first tho. If I could get hold of some cheap 1300tp heads then I could make a 1200 out strip a 1600tp on the flat ๐Ÿ˜‰
madness is in the eye of the beholder ๐Ÿ‘

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts ยท joined Jan 2009 ยท

#742420
hiya,
Only a small update as getting home late which cuts into my 'allowed to be noisy' time.
Anyhow, thought I'd plug the holes someone left in the dash.
Holes ๐Ÿ™„


No holes ๐Ÿ™‚


skim of filler and all good. May fill with a bit more weld. We shall see.
Also managed to get the fan of the generator and am using the sandblaster at work to clean up the IRS arms. Does a wickedly good job. Wish I could rent one to do the shell ๐Ÿ˜€
oh and I've got one half of the underneath of the pan baremetalled so getting there ๐Ÿ™‚
madness is in the eye of the beholder ๐Ÿ‘

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts ยท joined Jan 2009 ยท

#745106
After playing with the sand blaster at work I painted up the IRS arms on Saturday. Very nice and shiney now.

Before


after


something went right this weekend so that's cool ๐Ÿ˜‰ cos I've given up with the pan and am taking it for sand blasting ๐Ÿ˜ฌ
madness is in the eye of the beholder ๐Ÿ‘