So i purchased a 1972 type 3 Squareback off a backpacker who drove it down from sydney to melbourne mid this year.
the car was awful rusty and every bit of mechanical needed an overhaul.
the plan is to turn it into an honest daily driver and hone some skills im going to use to resore my 66 and 54 bugs i swapped my 72 low light kombi for after i rolled it 馃槧 that was my first car and my first ever resto.
Bizarre 路
Cool - this should be fun watching your adventures 馃憤
meisterberginteriors 路
so here it is.. well the side of it anyway 馃槉
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not sure why each image comes up twice!
anyway so far i have actually done quite a bit:
engine came out for rear main seal, new flywheel and clutch, new throw out bearing, rebuilt twin carbs, heads off for clean and inspection, full degrease, new pushrod tubes, straightend out all the old tins and cleaned them up, bascially just a major service to an old engine. not shiny and new just cleaned it up and made sure it will hold for another 50000km
swapped out the front suspension for a less worn unit, new tie rod ends, repaired some minor rust on the mouunting brackets, new calipers, disks, lines and bearings.
new brakes on the rear with new drums, cylinders, beaings and regreased and replaced a couple of cv's
now i still have to replace a broken torsion bar and a gearbox mount both of these jobs i hate so ive started on the body work.. just today so i have plenty of pics 馃榿
meisterberginteriors 路
so here are all of the pics i took of the car before i started
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so this is where ive started my body work because it looked the worst someone had welded a peice of stainless in to cover the rust
meisterberginteriors 路
so now that you kinda have an idea of how rough it is ill show you what ive been up too today
first i needed to cut out all the old rust i could get too, its so tempting to go overboard i just want a daily runner afterall.
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then i had to make a new inner skin
a quick fold and then lots of shrinking to make the right curve
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then weld it in place and trim it to size
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now i need to make the outer skin that will become the new wheel arch and firewall.
this is just after ive had it on the roller and im checking the shape
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now that im happy with the general shape, the piece needs to be folded twice to make the original style contour where the fender bolts up.
i used a sheet metal folder to get the general shape then some quick dolly work to make the tapered edge just like the factory panel. well my best effort anyway.
meisterberginteriors 路
now i need to fill the hole at the end of the heater channel, i just cut up a small section of steel and folded it.
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so what ive done here is trace the contour of the heater channel onto the metal while holding it in place.
what your looking at is me comparing the shape ive traced to the hole im trying to fill. its a mirror image
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im nearly happy here. i was just using tin snips to cut it down to size
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lots of tac welds and its in
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just a quick check before i cut my outer skin. the small cylinders are very strong magnets.
meisterberginteriors 路
so a great tip i have learned is to put the panel your going to use in place with a magnet or tac it whatever. then mark out the lines your going to use to cut the panel make sure its bigger that the hole in the original body you have already made. when you make the cut the result is two panels that match up correctly with a perfect gap just the thickness of a blade between them. the gap you leave allows the weld to get the best possible penetration and your life a whole lot easier.
meisterberginteriors 路
and that was all i had time for today tomorrow ill be doing another couple of hours of work on the bonnet area its like swiss cheese all around the fuel line and the drainage points. im not sure ill be as productive as today but who knows.
Oh i wont be finishing off the welding on the patches just yet i want to do all my fabrication as quickly as possible i going for a christmas deadline 馃槈 welding isnt that time consuming
dragsters for life 路
well done mate looking good, i wouldnt say thats a super rusty fatty, id say its rust in the normal spots
Beastieboy 路
Great work! I've had mine for a year and haven't done nearly half as much work as you've done in a few days! However it looks like you know what you're doing.... Especially with the metal work side of things!
Your rust is in all the same spots as mine. Including the bumper brackets and water drains under the bonnet.
Will be keeping a close eye on this thread and learning a lot.
Good luck!!
meisterberginteriors 路
Cheers Guys! i only got to work on the car for 2 hours today and im off for the weekend for a mates engagement so i have to wait until monday to get my hands dirty again.
anyway excuses aside today i started on the rust i have around the bonnet seal and near the petrol filler. this area had been poorly fixed in the past and someone had riveted bit of an old fridge to cover it up.
in this first picture you can see the seal lip that i have cut out to replace. the seal had been removed and dirt and leaves had been sitting wet for long enough to turn it to powder.
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the small section i have taken is now trimmed to size.. oops too small!
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ive tacked it in place but i need to fill the gap ive made by cutting it too short. to fill it ive just taken another smaller section from the same piece.
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and here is the small section welded in
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just before i left today i started on the area around the fuel filler here it is before ive cut the bulk out.
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sorry that wasnt very clear here is another one. your looking at the inside of the bonnet on the RHS of the car. the bonnet sealing lip has already been cut out it was even cheesier than whats left.
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there is a bracket here to hold the fuel filler line in place its relatively solid so I'm going to use it as a surface to work to.
the old metal is cut away and you can now see the back of the bracket it needs cleaning up a bit.. but its solid. anyway thats all i had time for unfortunately now i have to wait it out till monday.
Beastieboy 路
Geez. You really are smashing it!
I really need to get to work. You've out me to shame!
meisterberginteriors 路
where are you based? I just checked out your other post id happily cut up the other side of the square if you still need some sections and the mounts?
Beastieboy 路
Oh thanks, that's very generous of you! Do you have a donor square as well?
I'm in melb.
telf 路
Just wondering what year the 1 you have to chop up is? Cheers Telf
meisterberginteriors 路
Yeah i have a doner square its a 74 in red. cool im in melbourne the square is in sunshine. throw me a PM and we can exhange details im more than happy to help you get going.
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ok so i got a bit done today focused on the fuel filler area. this is what i started with
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a dodgy repair in the past had removed part of an outer skin :/ anyway here is the section ive taken to use im going to take bits out of.
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you can see here that the hole for the fuel filler is slightly smaller on the 72 compared to the 74 so i neeed to section it and use just the bottom third where the rust is worst. Also the flanged edge is larger on the 74 so ill have to grind it into shape later. here it is after ive welded it into place. you can see here the holes i need to fill.
meisterberginteriors 路
can someone tell me how to upload images without the doubles appearing?
meisterberginteriors 路
anyway this is the easiest way to fill a hole..
get a nice thick bit of copper.. copper called a non ferrious metal and steel is a ferrious metal. now what that actually means is they dont party together so you can use the coper as a backing for a weld and it wont get stuck to your steel. also it cools the weld down heaps quicker and your much less likely to blow holes in your work.
so here are a few pics of how its done, or rather, how i do it.
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because i have used a flat peice of copper against the other side the weld is flat on that side this means you dont have to grind it to shape as much.
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now i need to trim the section im going to use to reinstate the fuel breather line.
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now some more trimming and then weld it in. because the car has had a few really dodgy repairs it no longer has the factory shape in this section and the donor section isn't quite the right shape. ive tacked it in and im going to make the two skins meet somewhere between the butchered shape and the factory lines.
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and now for the welding
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more of the same and a view from the inside of bonnet
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and the last of my welds before i gave in for the day, i spent 3-4 hours today working on the car i already had the section to use already cut off the donor. ill be back at it on thursday i might sneak back and fabricate something tomorrow but we will see. i definitely wont be welding tomorrow.
L469 路
nice job lots of rust to play with! just one thing i think that car is a 1970 model . flat firewall and no vents in the rear pillar
. i have the same model in a fastback. keep up the good work . good to see another one saved !
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yeah thats what i thought but the rego sticker and vic roads say differently. ill get a photo of the vin and some other info see if we can figure out whats going on. it would be nice to know a bit more about the cars history
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I have finally been back at it! i spent 5 hours on the square today. I started on the top section where the bonnet seals against the fender on the RHS.
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and here is the donor section im going to cut up ive already started removing the outer fuel line skin.
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once removed i have placed the Donor fuel skin up again the car... you can see just how much this section of the car has been butchered in the past.
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here im just lining it all up before welding it into place. next i strip all the rust from the inside of the two panels and paint them before welding it into place.
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now its all welded in. i just need to fabricate a small section where the donor skin was rusted out and fill a few small holes i couldn't avoid. ill use a combination of the coper rod to weld against and sections of steel ill shape for the patches.
meisterberginteriors 路
here is a shot of the lines after the panel is welded in... not to bad i did put the quarter panel up to it and all the bold holes lined up and there was no gaps so im happy.
dragsters for life 路
as said above your car is a 70 and your parts car cant be a 74 as production stopped in 73
meisterberginteriors 路
cool thanks mate! im just going by rego stickers maybe they were sold later on?
dragsters for life 路
cars will have build numbers
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ok here is the numbers for the 72. apparently it was made in April 72!
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ok so im waiting on gas at the moment but ive still been busy making sections to weld in.
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here is the finished section i will use for the internal skin of the bonnet on the drivers side.
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now im making up the replacement section for the bumper mount
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more of the bumper bracket
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so mow ive made the section up and everything is ready for welding 馃檪
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the rust you can see still around the section will be cleaned up later it's an easy fix a bit of grinding then just fill the rest with weld and grind flat.
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so today my Porsche rim adapters came...
soon ill be rolling on these! Mmmm cookies
Beastieboy 路
So how did you get on with this project mate?
I remember you were aiming to have it back together by xmas time?
vw54 路
Well I will be buggared
THATS my old Type 3 1981 to 2004 or there about's
it started life as an Auto when I bought it, it was way gone so I got another body with less rust and fitted that also converted to Manual at same time
And the TMI trim still looks good
must have been neglected
vw54 路
I have some other pics some where
Here is the 2 wagons I built up for my sons 1st cars
meisterberginteriors 路
So I'm back working on the square. Ive nearly finished patching the rust and next week im making a mezzanine/spray booth, rebuilding a compressor and hopefully ill be shooting it white really soon!
Beastieboy 路
Nice to hear that your'e back into it mate... was wondering how it was all going!
scot70wagon 路
Are you still doing interiors?
meisterberginteriors 路
hey scot im not doing interiors anymore. I am trying to get a job in civil engineering now that i have finished my degree.
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i have put all the photos from the build up on photobucket including all the more recent welding I've had to do.
so to update everyone... i have welded up all the holes in the roof, repaired the rust that had infested under the roof racks, replaced the blanked out air vents to return it to stock and removed the rest of the interior. patched up the rust around the side windows and repaired the holes in the fenders. Plus built a mezzanine and a compressor.
so I'm nearly up to paint but first i need to build my paint booth..
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im having trouble getting pictures up.
today i started to strip the old paint off
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the vents i welded in yesterday
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some more shiny steel... finally! 馃檪
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there was a hell of a lot of bog on this car i think maybe the last owner wanted to smooth out some of the stock lines?
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i found the original paint!
greeeeeen mmmmmm
ive decided to respray it in its original color and give it a white roof as a homage to its last resto
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there was a big dent hiding under all that bog. lucky i have a spare clip just in case i cant pull it!
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i went and purchased some paint stripper and rust converter to finish the prep before paint.
so i did a test patch on one corner to see how its going to come up.
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just a touch of acid
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metal prepped and some por15
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i love this stuff its the second time ive used it and honestly i cannot fault it.
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last one for the night
Docker 路
Man you've done a LOT of work - looking really good!
vlad01 路
I was pretty disappointed the other week with POR15 馃檨
went to the extreme for the prep, bare metal, prepped exactly to instructions using their system.
Parts has not been outside since painting so no exposure to any weather or such, 1 year later I get worm tracks under the POR15 and falling off some places and rust lol. I have rust that I did not have before using POR15.
I honestly could not do a more OCD style prep. have no idea why its gone to shit. I'll post a pic when I get a chance.
It was really tough and good until these worm tracks appeared.
I hope you don't get the same problem.
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yeah definitely keep me posted on that. I also followed the instructions to a letter.. here's hoping you just had a bad batch! Por 15 is not known to be a product that gives a bad result.
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At some point structural members that impart impact loads to the A pillars from frontal impacts were cut. Probably due to rust. Anyway I HAD to fix it, there is no way i could sell a car in that condition.
I seam welded the whole structural member to the body originally it was tacked with three 4cm welds along the base on each member.
then i sprayed a mix of lanolin, fish oil and tar into the cavity and i will be sealing it up to avoid any nasty rust.
meisterberginteriors 路
lots more paint stripping. everything is going back to bare metal!
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starting on the front.
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Now Ive already built a stock 1600 for the square.. but i now have a turbo kit for a type 3 and some 36 dells so im kinda leaning towards a mild performance 1916...
thoughts??
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when i was stripping the paint off the nose i discovered lots of bog.. i discovered the front must have been hit with a tow bar because there was a patch that had been welded up and the metal had shrunk with the heat. putting a big well under the license plate. after lots of hammering and swearing i came to the conclusion i would need to make a relief cut.
as soon as i made the cut the metal popped out.
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after a few hours and a bit of welding this is what i came up with.
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just spent an hour today fixing up the small tears in the rear valance ang beating it back into the right shape.
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it so close now.. im running out of things to weld 馃榾
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I finished stripping the paint out of the boot today. unfortunately its hard to take photos in such a small space. ive done my best.
then i painted it in por15
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its pretty hard to see black in low light taking photos with a phone. ill get some more when i roll it outside again.
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here it is in the daylight. its only the first coat still needs to be rubbed back and painted twice more.
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I think I'm getting close with the area under the rear seat. Just need to clean up a bit around the edges. It takes so much time!
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So another full day of scrubbing..
This is pretty much as good as I got it before paint.
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and first coat of POR15
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finished stripping the sides and the roof yesterday.
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prepped and por15 down by 7pm.
vlad01 路
meisterberginteriors wrote:yeah definitely keep me posted on that. I also followed the instructions to a letter.. here's hoping you just had a bad batch! Por 15 is not known to be a product that gives a bad result.
yeah here is the pics. starting rusting a year later even though its indoor and 2 coats, 3 where the grommet is.
meisterberginteriors 路
Yep that looks like rust. I am using POR15 under the primer so i think i shouldn't have the same problem. Either way i will know eventually and if rust does rear its ugly head ill post about it. Thanks for putting those photos up.
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here is the first coat in the daylight. I was quite hungover today so i just orgainsed the workshop and located all the parts for my turbo 1914 type 3 engine.
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I have been building a couple of engines but yesterday I finally had some time to paint the front end of the car. so all that's left are the rear intakes, front half of the cabin and inside the bonnet area.
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here is the bonnet area i have nearly finished cleaning up. i think another day woking on the wheel well and then it will be ready for POR15.
vlad01 路
meisterberginteriors wrote:Yep that looks like rust. I am using POR15 under the primer so i think i shouldn't have the same problem. Either way i will know eventually and if rust does rear its ugly head ill post about it. Thanks for putting those photos up.
mine was completely ground and sandblasted to bare metal, prep as instructions to every detail. I used the POR15 rust preventative paint here.
sat inside the shed never to see the weather.
been using wattyl epoxy etch for years without any rusting or adhesion problem. I haven't found anything better adhesion wise.
meisterberginteriors 路
vlad01 wrote:
meisterberginteriors wrote:Yep that looks like rust. I am using POR15 under the primer so i think i shouldn't have the same problem. Either way i will know eventually and if rust does rear its ugly head ill post about it. Thanks for putting those photos up.
mine was completely ground and sandblasted to bare metal, prep as instructions to every detail. I used the POR15 rust preventative paint here.
sat inside the shed never to see the weather.
been using wattyl epoxy etch for years without any rusting or adhesion problem. I haven't found anything better adhesion wise.
Honestly I do trust you and I will take your advice on the next car and try out Wattyl's epoxy etch but on this car since i had already painted so much of it i wont be stripping it again. I will just have to cross my fingers and hope you got a bad batch.
If rust does show up ill start a thread just on por15..
vlad01 路
yeah I m not saying to strip it or anything. Its too late now anyway. Hopefully it wont happen to yours. I'm glad I didn't use it on any projects that mattered.
The wattle primer is a recommendation if you only using single pak, lots of car restro shops use it. otherwise a 2 pak epoxy is even better but much more toxic to use.
Mr Bubble Head 路
Wow lots of work done Justin and still plenty to go funny it's Dave's old car
meisterberginteriors 路
i have a feeling it was resprayed and molested after he owned it.. im pretty sure he wouldnt use the side of a fridge to hide rust! seriously that was the worst surprise i found.
vlad01 路
haha wow! bits from a fridge lol
meisterberginteriors 路
yeah it was a brilliantly pulled off. i had no idea until i pulled the front right fender and about 40-50cm of cut up white goods was left wedged inside the bonnet disguising a very large hole..
meisterberginteriors 路
Por15 in the bonnet area. Ive run out of POR15 now so for anyone thats curious to how much you need to do a shell 1L will almost do one coat of paint on a square.
meisterberginteriors 路
so ive deviated from a turbo 1914 because i picked up these carbs. the guy that sold them to me in the states sent me his plates off his karmann and a tee from his local VW club. Awesome bloke we will be keeping in touch!
meisterberginteriors 路
so ive decided to sell this as a project for someone else to finish. i have a splitty and oval i need to put some time and money into. im after offers around 4k. it will be advertised on gumtree.
tidlibitz 路
shame to hear your selling, i saw your splitty thread the other day. i guess the square dosent have much on that or the oval.. good luck with the sale and with the other cars. i suppose you didint end up ordering those parts from isp i guess?
meisterberginteriors 路
I will keep working on the square until it sells.. so i might get to the point of buying the parts from ISP only the cost will increase accordingly. if i finish the car before it sells ill be chasing around 8K
meisterberginteriors 路
if anyone wants a square in a particular color.. feel free to talk to me about it i have no problems delivering your project fresh out of the spray booth for you to put back together...
meisterberginteriors 路
So work hasn't stopped on the type 3. I have started skim filling the car to prep for paint, the dash is repaired and Ill be booking time in a booth in the coming weeks. ill post photos tonight.
meisterberginteriors 路
so here is the dash repair. I cut out the section that had been used to blank the dash profile out, then I managed to pull off the plug welds with a pair of pliers. The welds were brittle and luckily I had lots of the original hold profile left over.
meisterberginteriors 路
Replacing one of the hinges for the rear hatch took a day.. a whole day! its an extremely fiddly job and the pins that hold it into place have brass bushings in them so you cant rush or force them out. well not unless you want to do it all again soon!
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then later in the week my ABS plastic dash arrived
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its just sitting on top fro photo sake. pretty good product not 100% the same look as an original but it wont crack anytime soon!
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then i hung all the panels and started on the filler.
the filler is spread pretty much all over the car and sanded back when high spots show up they are addressed with a hammer and dolly to reduce the amount of filler that stays on the car. the roof was the most distorted because of the roofrack. I will upload more photos when i get a chance the roof look much better than this now!
tidlibitz 路
looking good, glad to see your still working on it. hone those skills for the splitty :P
meisterberginteriors 路
haha thats right! plus if it cant sell it still need the space to work on something else!
hpnotch 路
Massive amount of work you're doing there - looking really good. Can I ask where you got the dash and how much?
meisterberginteriors 路
Sure can its from a bloke in south africa i paid US$226 shipped from memory. his name is Herman Elzerman and his email address is pi-dss@mweb.co.za
he makes 2 different types i think maybe even 3 types.
CannonFodder 路
meisterberginteriors wrote:haha thats right! plus if it cant sell it still need the space to work on something else!
Hey mate, nice job!
Can i ask how much it would take to get that on "hplates"?
I might be interested pending that
meisterberginteriors 路
CannonFodder wrote:
meisterberginteriors wrote:haha thats right! plus if it cant sell it still need the space to work on something else!
Hey mate, nice job!
Can i ask how much it would take to get that on "hplates"?
I might be interested pending that
Ill see what I can find out for you, just to clarify is h plates historic rego? if so i think that is done through VW club registration. Either way i will try and find out.
vlad01 路
rego is about 70 buks a year, no RWC required and just club vehicle inspector from your club needs to insect it and sign it off at being plate worthy.
but from September it will be changed so that you require full RWC and engineering report for any mods.