My '59 Bug Xmas pressie!!!

Hello all,

I'm new to the Aussie VeeDub scene but now have a bug that my wife bought me for xmas. It's a 59 and pretty solid body wise so hopefully just the mechanicals to get her rolling again. Here's some piccies of saturday when she arrived.


Coming down.......


Her new home and my lovely wife!!!


and the rear end....


and one proud owner

i think the look on your face says it all. looks like a pretty good score 😎
what are the floorpans like?

is this the one near albury ,you were trying to get home?? if it is ,it looks a good score👍

Dilbert wrote:i think the look on your face says it all. looks like a pretty good score 😎
what are the floorpans like?

yup, well happy with her. The pans are totally solid from first inspection as is pretty much the whole shell plus it's got a new front beam on her. Either that or the paint has lasted very well for a 50 year old beam.

pod wrote:is this the one near albury ,you were trying to get home?? if it is ,it looks a good score

yes mate, the one from Albury. Cost a grand to get her here but looks like she is well worth it though the size of the redback i found on one of the engine was huge. mortein works well I found. think i shall be careful as i strip her down❗

sweet man, looks awesome!! some ankor wax on that body would look the goods i reckon and slammed of course 😎

looks like a good score, watch out for the timber chocks though, looks a bit iffy

izac wrote:sweet man, looks awesome!! some ankor wax on that body would look the goods i reckon and slammed of course 😎

Cheers dude. Paint will come eventually I'm afraid. but the Rat looks funky for now 😎

rexy wrote:looks like a good score, watch out for the timber chocks though, looks a bit iffy

tis alrite. sitting on bessa blocks at the back now and axle stands at the front. Pretty solid👍

what a great wife... she's a keeper....

I'm sure you already know it but you have a very cool wife to buy you a car!


Much better than socks and hankies.

Thanks guys!! Yup, she is a great wife and likes the Beetles too 😎

she asked the other day if she is allowed to drive her when she's on the road. Cute, huh? course she can!!!

So I decided to strip the interior and clean the boot out last nite whilst the wife was at work. I forgot to take pictures of the before but lets just say that there was a couple of vacuum bags full of dried mouse poo in there.
So the under bonnet



only a little rust arounf the tank edge and surface rust in the wheel well. Sweet.

The interior



This was gross to begine with. Redback egg sacks everywhere plus mouse poo but now just needs a wire wheeling back to metal and some rustkill paint on top.
I am amazed at how solid this 50 year old bug is. Bloody marvellous 😀

amazing the floorpan can still look that good, and other people see it rusted right through. nice job keep it up :P

that looks like a great start, i'd be happy with it. your wife is definately a keeper if she buys you cars. that pic is priceless, she looks as though she has realized just what she has done.

if you don't mind me asking, does the chassis number date it to after august 59? just asking as it looks like a '60 model to me.

eraser wrote:amazing the floorpan can still look that good, and other people see it rusted right through. nice job keep it up :P

yep really pleased that its as solid as the previous owner said it was. time for the grinder with wire wheel 🙂

whatnow wrote:that looks like a great start, i'd be happy with it. your wife is definately a keeper if she buys you cars. that pic is priceless, she looks as though she has realized just what she has done.rnrnif you don't mind me asking, does the chassis number date it to after august 59? just asking as it looks like a '60 model to me.

yea she's great. love her to bits. as for the look it's kinda typical of women as us guys look at something thats shabby and can see how to make it better. we start making lists in our heads etc.

as for the chassis number....um where abouts is it located? been ages since i owned one and the Gregorys manual is pretty crap at detail.

under the rear seat area, just before the gear coupling access hole, looks like a 60 to me as well, bumper overriders , steering column, raised bonnet badge area, looks like 68 on pedals put in as well,etc

rexy wrote:under the rear seat area, just before the gear coupling access hole, looks like a 60 to me as well, bumper overriders , steering column, raised bonnet badge area, looks like 68 on pedals put in as well,etc

Did 60's have semaphores? The only bug I'd owned previous to this was a 73 1303 so I'm learning at present 🙂

Looks to have a few 60's parts on it, but i can see it still has the semaphores, so i'd say 59 body with a possible pan swap at some point?

it looks like there is og blue trying to shake off that ugly top coat. (maybe 1 yr only strato blue 🙂 )

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=76072&start=0

1960 was the last year for glass tail lights and semaphores in australia.

well the chassis number is 197645071. Thats whats stamped by the gearchange tunnel linkage access hole.

I think the poor thing has had later parts fitted to her in the 50 years since rolling out of wolfsburg

i recently picked up a bug i thought was a 59 but its a 60, it has semaphores in it still.

well did a bit of looking around and seems as tho the chassis was built in May 59 from the 197 start of the chassis number.

So it is a 59 but with later additions. I'm not looking for original persay so a few different bits here and there is fine with me so long as i like the overall look 🙂

i'm not sure if it is a 59 pan. it has a 9 digit no instead of a 7 digit no. i would have put it as a 67 pan. i have the remains of a 67? out the back with a 197 *** *** pan no. i have seen those pedals in a 67 i had previously plus your pan has the cut outs in the sound proof tunnel mat for seat belt mount holes.

the body is certainly early and the pan looks in good nick so have fun.

well so long as the body is mainly '59 then thats fine with me. The pan is getting IRS'd so even if it was a '59 pan it wouldn't be original for long 🙂

Got a gearbox this weekend and some spring plates so just the 'A' arms, driveshafts and then the conversion brackets and thats done. Just need some wide 5 drums with spacers and the rear is ready.

Had a go at stripping the drivers side floor pan at the weekend and went well but did find a few holes 🙄 To be expected I s'pose but they not too bad. fab a few plates and pop em in.
some mild swiss cheese

Dead Battery tray

a reasonably clean pan


so a few plates and then a good sanding and it's ready for POR15.

Also took my good engines tinware off to find another Redback. Poor thing didn't like the bug spray 😂

Have also sourced all I need to IRS the pan so just need to find the money to pay for it now.

looks good man, Penetrol works great on crusty rusty floor pans!

izac wrote:looks good man, Penetrol works great on crusty rusty floor pans!

Whats Penetrol? moving along nicely 🙂

Hiya,
Just wanted to let everyone watching know that progress will be very slow for the time being until i find a new job cos my boss is an arsehole!!!!

If anyone knows of work for a Control Systems engineer that would be greatly appreciated. I programme PLC's and SCADA. Very snooze worthy 🙂

Hiya all,

So whilst looking for work whilst still having to go to work?!?!?! go figure 🙄 I have been making some plates for the floor pan rot and starting to tear out the wiring loom. so pics of the holes and patches i made.

Drivers foot hole


Battery tray hole


Passenger 'where your bum should be' hole


and my nice plates i made with the help of works bending press 😀




trimming to size at present and then need to find/borrow/pilfer a welder or maybe just loads of arldite 🤪

Not much to show wiring loom wise but pulling the old/new one thro the roof should prove interesting......

Excellent start, pretty much the sort of starting point I want to get to (or is that from? 🙂 )

Oh, and by "Have also sourced all I need to IRS the pan so just need to find the money to pay for it now. ", can you explain what it was you sourced and from where? I'll probably be needing the same thing once I get going.....

Cheers

OzSpeedway wrote:Excellent start, pretty much the sort of starting point I want to get to (or is that from? 🙂 )

Oh, and by "Have also sourced all I need to IRS the pan so just need to find the money to pay for it now. ", can you explain what it was you sourced and from where? I'll probably be needing the same thing once I get going.....

Cheers

Thanks dude 🙂

As for the IRS parts. I'd managed to find people that have the parts I required but now can't afford them due to job loss. If you are going to IRS your swing pan then you will need: an IRS gearbox, drive shafts with CV's, IRS torsion bars and spring plates (or modify the swing spring plates), IRS 'A'/pivot arms and last but not least the IRS brackets that are welded to the torsion tube. Good luck with it 🙂

Job loss> that blows! 😬

due to the current economic climate?

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.

Mick058 wrote:Job loss> that blows! 😬

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 🙁 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 🙂

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 😠 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 🙂

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 🤪

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


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 🙂

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 🙂

Did you hear about the guy with wooden brakes?
.......
They wooden work 😂

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

alot more than they used in the mid 70s 😉

trickysimon wrote:Did you hear about the guy with wooden brakes?
.......
They wooden work 😂

😂 like it but do you really think they wood be a fire hazard???? 😂

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??

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 😂

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





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 🥲
May as well get pissed to make up for things instead 😵‍💫

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 🙂

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 😉

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 🙂

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 😀

Looks an awesome project!

right..... not what i pictured them to be but they actually make more sense than what i had in mind. Groovy...😎

Floorpan piccies finally 🙂




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 😢

I will not be put off but must admit it's frakking annoying 😉

Well I was cheeky/lucky last weekend and found the scrapped skin of a washmachine 🙂 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 😀
Evening noise cutoff occurred so I couldn't finish fettling it but looking good 🙂

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 🙂

Will take some pics of the floorpan tomoro as have to go round the in-laws for the wifes birthday dinner 😵‍💫 kidding 😂

looking good, enjoying the progress.

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.

Cheers guys, glad you're enjoying the build. stay with me whilst I dawdle along 🙂

Cam: wives buy us cars is cool. Shows that they get you 😀

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 🙂
Bit off centre I think but can sort that. The valance is going to be interesting to put back together 😉 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 😉

gees mate you must get a little claustrophobic in that garage, you should have asked me for a popes nose, i had a couple still🙂

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 still🙂

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 😉 oh well done now. I'll remember to ask for other bits as I start the re-build and come across parts needed 🙂

If you need parts bring money to the swap meet @ warwick 🙂 your sure to find something you want!

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 🤪

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 🙄

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 🤪

looking good. They'll make it easier to pull the rotary in and out

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!

😂😂 it didnt come from my filthy mind...did it now psimitar!

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 🙂

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 😉

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 🙄


No holes 🙂


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 😀
oh and I've got one half of the underneath of the pan baremetalled so getting there 🙂

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 😉 cos I've given up with the pan and am taking it for sand blasting 😬

Very nice 👍

Mick058 wrote:Very nice 👍

Cheers dude 🙂 The pan should look as shiney when done. I've thought up a plan of attack to get it to the blasters. As Jason will know it's hard doing a resto on a budget but I'm really looking forward to getting the pan blasted and start painting it 😀

So, I found these Skyline R33 seats on fleabay and offered $170. Bargain 😀



Gonna have to make up some frames from thick wall square tube. Gonna try and have it so that the frame slides on like the original seat runners and then bolts at the front and back of the floorpan with strengthening plate welded under the pan.

Hmm, Does this mean I need to get that pesky floorpan sorted. Me thinks so 😉 Just trying to find an evening when the works truck is free.

R33 seats are comfy as!

colonel mustard wrote:R33 seats are comfy as!

Indeed they are 🙂 Reckon I could sit in them for a few thousand k's 😀

I also got the pan back to mine tonite so bit of welding and make some plates to stop the sand getting everywhere and we're away 🙂

So after a hectic week of getting the floorpan to the blasters during work hours 😀 I got stuck into painting it this weekend.

Here we go. Before




After




Top of the pan managed to get lots of little air bubbles caught in a fair few places so not entirely pleased with that. What comes of painting in the dark and slapping to much paint on. May sand those areas back, not sure yet.
underside came out much better 🙂
Summers here and it's getting stinking hot working outside and in the garage but better than the cold 🙂

So now I have to finish drilling the holes in my modded SA spring plates and buy some bearings and bushes so I can get the rear rolling again. With the rear rolling I'll strap a skateboard to the framehead so's can move it out the garage easier 😉

🤪 That black paint is more reflective than a mirror!! Excuse my stupidity if I'm wrong, but would a light sand of the entire painted area, then one final coat ensure that, that pan will last another 50 years? Again excuse me if I'm wrong😁 Very nice work, will be sure to watch this thread

Ryan

ryana89 wrote:🤪 That black paint is more reflective than a mirror!! Excuse my stupidity if I'm wrong, but would a light sand of the entire painted area, then one final coat ensure that, that pan will last another 50 years? Again excuse me if I'm wrong😁 Very nice work, will be sure to watch this thread

Ryan

Thanks dude. It is very shiney isn't it 🙂

If I had left it too long between coats then it would require a light sand before another coat went on but if you put another coat on within the curing time then it can bond to the first coat. Clever stuff huh?

I may have to sand those darned bubbled area downs a bit and repaint. It was possibly a bit to warm and humid. Shall see what KBS tech have to say 🙂

Mike

Nice work Mike...its really moving along nicely!!

All the best,

Scarab (aka: Paul)

I got those bubbles on smaller items I painted with KBS. Very frustrating, as it went on smooth and looked sweet. I checked later and a heap of bubbles sprouted on the gear stick and collar. The pan looks awesome! I didn't pull mine out, (Just wire brushed it back to metal) but after looking at yours I wish I had.

Did you find that after washing off the rust blaster, no matter how much you dried it, it still formed a light surface rust? Mine did, in the remnants of the rinse water on top of the new zinc prime.

Cheers guys 🙂

YEa, I shoulda painted it back in July when it was cooler. Above 28 degrees the surface goes off too quick and captures the solvent as it flashes off but due to the top surface starting to go off it gets trapped as bubbles. I also put too thick a coat on the top side. No matter as I have 2L left so just a bit of a sand to get it smooth and then paint over that.
Least I'll know next time to be more careful.

Hopefully Mick will give me a price on the rear torsion bushes so's I can get the rear rolling 🙂

t_tuffnut wrote:I got those bubbles on smaller items I painted with KBS. Very frustrating, as it went on smooth and looked sweet. I checked later and a heap of bubbles sprouted on the gear stick and collar. The pan looks awesome! I didn't pull mine out, (Just wire brushed it back to metal) but after looking at yours I wish I had.

Did you find that after washing off the rust blaster, no matter how much you dried it, it still formed a light surface rust? Mine did, in the remnants of the rinse water on top of the new zinc prime.

Yea on mine it dried brownie-orange but only in places and not always where the water settled. There definately wasn't rust under the zinc coating but still a bit off putting.

When painting this stuff it needs to be in the low to mid 20's with less than 50% humidity and you have to make sure you put thin coats on but still thick enough for it to self level. Once you have the knack it goes on pretty easy and gives a very good finish but this heat and humidity we are getting at present is the worst condition to use it in hence my 6am start to do the re-coat 😂

looks heaps better now and properly protected 🙂

Well, I pushed it a bit and got things painted before the weekend 🙂





No chance of getting the IRS arms assembled this weekend tho. Family stuff to do.

oh, can you guess my floorpan colour scheme? 🙂

YAY!!!! I got the rear end back together and rolling even with a few setbacks.

I had to use our nice camera to take piccies so took them at points when my hands weren't so mucky.

Here we have the IRS arms assembled and everything ready to go.


Then we have the pan out of my miniscule yard and with the rear suspension all together.





And here we have the temporary wheels on plus Mr Skateboard for easy transport.

The lady in the hardware shop gave me 1.25 instead of 1.5 pitch thread for the springplate/IRS bolts 🙄 Fortunately I could still use these for the thru bolts. Spring plates aren't loaded yet as didn't have a chain to be able to compress the buggers. No biggy tho 😉
Oh and I need to makea higher tresle as the pan just fits under and in the garage now with no skateboard on the front.





And our Christmas tree that we decorated this morning 😀

Hey Dirtbag, I may be in need of the front beam fairly soon 🙂 but probably not before xmas 😉

I just read this through and you've been doing an absolutely excellent job so far Mike.
Keep up the fantastic work, and more updates!!

I hope those drums do the trick for you.

Smiley

Hiya all,

Well with wifey working NYE, NYD and all that weekend I was bored shite-less so decided to strip me steering knuckles down and clean up a few parts for painting. Cleaned the steering column and indicator switch but the main thing I have played with is the colour scheme for the steels, and later to be used on the body.

So lets see what people think of the colours 😉



The colours are from a range of enamel paints. the Blue is Royal Blue and the ivory/cream colour is called lace. Anyone know of a VW/Porsche colour that would be very close to the Blue? I like a nice deep, dark blue 😀
I think looks pretty good and had a quick play with the glovebox lid. Not dry yet 🙄 think it will look great with the chrome trim 🙂

The hydraulic press at work made the LP bushes well easy to remove. Am now wondering where to get the KP thrust washer as I have 0.3mm of play at present 🙄

Laters,
Mike

smileyman3000 wrote:I just read this through and you've been doing an absolutely excellent job so far Mike.
Keep up the fantastic work, and more updates!!

I hope those drums do the trick for you.

Smiley

Cheers dude. Just need the engineer to call me back so I can get me seat frames made.

Oh and must give Mick motors a ring as not got my replacement buhses yet ❗

Cheers,
Mike

This is a great project,i am yet to go to this extent with a ground up restore but no doubt will in the future.Once i learn how to weld lol.
As far as i know mick's motors is not open yet.good luck.🙂

yeah just checked mate ,they reopen January 18.

jjwebb123 wrote:This is a great project,i am yet to go to this extent with a ground up restore but no doubt will in the future.Once i learn how to weld lol.
As far as i know mick's motors is not open yet.good luck.🙂

Cheers dude 🙂

The body isn't getting painted for a good few years and the interior will need a re-trim but otherwise she'll be in tip top condition 😀

and thanks for the heads up with Mick Motors. I was wondering but have no access to car/forums websites at work. Bloody poxy server 😬

Yeah I too like this project. Nice work!

great blue, looks like the plastic chair was influencing your choice 😁

hellbugged wrote:Yeah I too like this project. Nice work!

great blue, looks like the plastic chair was influencing your choice 😁

Thanks dude. I've felt like lately that no ones been following the progress so nice to know that people are.

Those patio furniture chairs were the winning argument in colour choice 😀 two are getting bolted into the front instead of the R33 Skyline seats 😉

Thanks dude. I've felt like lately that no ones been following the progress so nice to know that people are.

[/quote]

I subscribed to the thread so atleast I've been in on the action👍

ryana89 wrote:I subscribed to the thread so atleast I've been in on the action👍

How do you subscribe to threads?

Sorry for the hijack Mike.

Smiley

How do you subscribe to threads?

Sorry for the hijack Mike.

Smiley [/quote]

PM'd

Hey Mike. I've PMed you. Your beam and steering arms are good to go. Sorry it took so long. I am very lazy : )

psimitar wrote:Thanks dude. I've felt like lately that no ones been following the progress so nice to know that people are.

Those patio furniture chairs were the winning argument in colour choice 😀 two are getting bolted into the front instead of the R33 Skyline seats 😉

I am!

I don't think it is a good idea to bolt the plastic chairs in instead of car seats - if they are bolted in, you can't stack them any more. lol

beetleboyjeff wrote:I don't think it is a good idea to bolt the plastic chairs in instead of car seats - if they are bolted in, you can't stack them any more. lol

You could bolt two in and then stack two more on top each side. That way you always have extra seating if you go anywhere.😂

Smiley

Ah, thanks everyone. I feel much loved now 🙂

I think the chair stacking idea is a winner. No more folding chairs taking up valuable boot space 😂

I'm waiting for the vehicle engineer to get back to me as without his OK on my plans I can't continue with getting the seats sorted.

Tim has got my beam ready, thanks Tim will PM later, so once thats back I can rebuild the front end. Then it's just a case of money to get new parts and strip the engine but that won't take long to put back together.

Oh yea, anyone know where I can get some thrust washers made? bout 0.3-0.4mm play in the KP and you can't buy these anymore.

Any machine shop should be able to make them up for you.

If you have any troubles let me know.
If you give me the exact dimensions I can have them made for you in the machine shop at work.

I'm sure it'll probably be easier to get onto a local machine/engineering place.

Are they mild steel? Or some sort of brass/other alloy?

Smiley

They are steel but being as they have the weight of the front spindle pushing up against it they are more than likely some tougher and probably toughened form of steel.

Not sure if phorous bronze could be used as a substitute? I'm just wondering exactly what they are made of so that new ones can be made and not have something that wears the link pin yoke at a greater rate 🤓

can a machine shop do a hardness test or nitride/toughen the new ones they make?

psimitar wrote:can a machine shop do a hardness test or nitride/toughen the new ones they make?

Sorry mate. That info excess my knowledge.

Maybe put something in tech talk asking what is the best material to have the new ones made of.

Smiley

smileyman3000 wrote:

psimitar wrote:can a machine shop do a hardness test or nitride/toughen the new ones they make?

Sorry mate. That info excess my knowledge.

Maybe put something in tech talk asking what is the best material to have the new ones made of.

Smiley

Yea, it's exceeded mine too.

Think I best do a tech talk like you say 🙂

Cheers tho,
Mike

So Tim sent me some pictures of the beam being narrowed and lowered and here they are.






As you can see the meat was taken from the middle of the beam and also the inner of the shock towers shaved, strengthened and angled slightly for greater clearance.
Once the QLD weather is more stable I'll finish re-painting it, promise 😉

Looking sweet mate! Can't wait to do this mod to my '68. Low and slow! Smiley

Yea looking forward to getting that front end a bit lower 🙂

Oh yea pics of the seat height being setup




Was easier with just the seat base but I can now measure things up to get the frames done. Not sure if I should get 2.5 or 3mm thick square tubing to make the frames from.
It does look hiegh but then the seat bottom is much thinner than the old VW one. Still I may have to make a vinyl skirt to hide the frame. we shall see 😉

psimitar wrote: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 😉 cos I've given up with the pan and am taking it for sand blasting 😬

Mmmmm shiny! What paint did you use on these?

Aussie wrote:Mmmmm shiny! What paint did you use on these?

KBS Rustseal. It's the Aussie version of POR15. It goes on very smoothly but for a good finish you have to make sure it's not too hot, above 28C, and do nice thin coats or it'll get microbubbles in the finish and ruin it.

Like I say it's good stuff but time consuming to prep and paint correctly to get a good finish. Wish this bloody heat would be done with so I can finish a few bits off 🙂

So a few more piccies to keep the thread looking colourful. Here's the seat with it's runner back on and the height rechecked and the seat base positioned properly ready for measuring for the frames.




Frames will have some interesting angles to get the seat sitting properly but then that's half the fun 😀

Just sit them on the floor and sit on a phone book or something... Booster seat...

colonel mustard wrote:Just sit them on the floor and sit on a phone book or something... Booster seat...

mate if it would get me a pink sheet I would 😂

So I got one side of the seat frame done tonite before noise restrictions. Unfortunately wifey was tired so sleeping during the noise hours so I couldn't get the other sides angle pieces cut.

Oh well, here's what we have so far




These are angled front to back and top to bottom to get them to fit nicely just incase you wondered why look on the piss 🙂

So I have been working on the seat frames and am done apart from some additional bracing and the seat runner modified to fit properly 🙂





Just some inserts to machine up to stop the box crushing when bolted up and she's a goodun 🙂

So after much fun playing with compound angles :moon: I have finished the mounting frame



Now I don't know about you guys but I don't think I made it strong enough 😂 do you think it'll pass the engineers test?

4m of 2.5mm thick 40mm steel box section weighing in at about 10-12kg. I just need to clean the surface rust off and paint it black and then weld the seat runners on 🙂 oh and bugger it, I still need to fab those inserts for the mounting bolt holes.

Ah it's a good job I have no friends otherwise this woulda taken me forever 😉

A few more diagonals to make sure it doesn't rack could be nice.....😂.....looks like your not worried about weight 🙂

Hell's teeth! You're definitely not mucking around with those seat frames. A world away from the flimsy original effort. I almost get the idea from the original seat frames that they might have been intended to deform as a safety mechanism, but modern thinking on safety involves keeping the seat and occupant firmly in place, so I think stronger frames are better. I was shocked at the amount my Beetle seat frame deformed under me when I crashed my bug, will be making up something like yours although probably a bit lighter.

Yea, I probably coulda used 30mm box but didn't want the hassles of making one and then the engineer not being happy with it. This way there's no way it can't pass.

As for the weight, well I only weigh 65kg so the extra 20k won't make the 1200 that much slower and eventually there'll be a NA liberty motor in the back so all good me thinks 🙂

So I have got the first seat frame all done and think it looks pretty good. Weighs a tonne tho 🤪 Still very sturdy 😉



I so need a cash injection for all the parts. Just the brakes are $400 and thats without the MC. Think I'm gonna have to look for a second job 😂

So been busy last weekend finishing off the clearancing for the IRS g/box CV's but all done and painted now 🙂






I coulda installed the g/box too but I was dumb and didn't order the selector to pan seal when I ordered the box mounts 🙅 what a spaz. Oh well 🙂

Also finished cleaning the CV joints so don't have to buy new ones now and put the leaves in the front beam to mark up for cutting down but need the seals to see exactly where to cut and drill 😉

Nice work mate! Good to see you are making some progress. Smiley 😎

Havnt seen this project in a while and it is looking good.Good to see.
Good Luck.

Cheers guys.

I'm working on a metal MC reservoir to go with my new dual circuit MC but have it being fed from the original single circuit reservoir 🙂

Piccies to follow once I've got a bit further

YAY!!! More progress 🙂 Well been cleaning brake back plates and painting but kinda boring to post until it's all on the car.

What is interesting tho is that I got some welding done on the Drivers channel front. Got too late for me to grind the welds to put the top plates on but





Blew thro in a few places but quite happy with my upside down welding 🙂

I also received my Golf VR6 front calipers so will picturefy them another time as if it start with the brake conversion I'll never get her on all fours by the end of winter, your summer 😉 but still happy that I got em. Only needed em for one measurement and the narrowing of the beam is nicely adequate for the track increase 😀

Well started to clean up the underside of the heater channels ready for painting and getting the pan re-attached but I came across this on the drivers side









So, think I'll have to have a word with mr Hookeys 🙂

I doubt the repro panels over here are any better then in the UK.

Fortunately the passenger side only had one or 2 small holes so that'll be OK plus when I hoovered them out the drivers had loadsa rust and shite in it compared to the passengers.

Right washing up and then back to the garage. Ah, such an exciting Saturday nite 🙄

So been hacking away at things to be done but only these few pics worthy of posting as the rest is sanding,cleaning, painting and drilling spotwelds. Anyhow,









Both channels have there framehead caged mounting plates back in, just the closing plate repairs to make when get some more argon.
Otherwise, we have the solid brake lines run in lovely Kunifer, not available in QLD yet complies with the regs :confused:. Even with pipe benders it's tricky getting things right to line up but pretty happy with it 😀

Almost got the driver channel closing plate off but f**k me there are a lot of spotwelds :eek: Kills the arms but only a foot to go now.

Parents are over from mid week so probably no forward motion till after then 🙂

Do be do, more stuff done 🙂

Channel lip repairs seam welded





and dressed




tricky to get at properly but happy with that. Under the heater tube ain't dressed cos its a bugger to get at.

Gearbox in with free earth cable



I got me Hookeys closing panel for the channel but having to get compensation from FedEx cos they broke the wooden shipping plank and bent the panel. Nice 🙄🙄🙄

getting there mate.

Mick058 wrote:getting there mate.

Cheers dude 🙂 should have the body back on within a few weeks too🙂

YAY MORE PROGRESS.
love this thread.

is that mig running on gas?

jjwebb123 wrote:is that mig running on gas?

Glad you love my thread. Closing plate hopefully goes on by the weekend 🙂

The MIG is gassed. You can see the pipe coming out the back and the cylinder is hiding in the background. 😉

oh ok yeh thought that might have been it.
just thought you might have been using gasless wire thats all.
look forward to more posts.👍

if you are doing something serious engine wise, heck even if you are not, a kafer bar kit would help that rear chassis a lot, especially after you notched the horns for the cvs.

btw, keep up the good work. 👍 ... and get some gas for that mig... the difference is stunning.

pete wood wrote:if you are doing something serious engine wise, heck even if you are not, a kafer bar kit would help that rear chassis a lot, especially after you notched the horns for the cvs.

btw, keep up the good work. 👍 ... and get some gas for that mig... the difference is stunning.

Yea will maybe make a kafer cos sure don't have the readies for buying one. Even if I just link the horns to the shox towers that'll help with the engine weight.

As for the gas, it's in the background hiding but I'd never use gasless as anything from nasty to tricky to use 😉

So been busy fitting the Hookeys Closing panel up and fits a treat. Few piccies of rust painting etc








The plug welds are solid but messy cos I really don't know how people say welding upside down is the same as from the top or side cos gravity makes the molten metal drip down :confused:

Anyhow, slice the tops of em during the week and then grind the rest flush 🙂

Once tied up I'll clean all the gasket area for painting and we are ready for sticking the pan back under the shell 😀

So today I ha mostly been preppin and paintin the the seal area of the shell. Waiting for things to dry in this cold weather ain't been fun but hey I got there 🙂





Just gotta glue the notches I made in the seal to make it fit better and then the pan is going under this week 😀 😀 😀

I thought I'd taken a piccie of the beam on the pan but hadn't so thought do that tonite before the sun goes down at 5.30pm 🙁






Also bought some 12mm thick rubber strip for making the body mount vibration pads. $20 for the rubber or $40+ for buying the proper pads 😉

Also having to clean up the Corollas water pump, all faces machined flat again, the starter needs new brushes and I need a new rear tyre. Think I'll be whoring myself this weekend again 🙂

Can someone please tell me whats wrong with these photos?







Only kidding 🙂 The pan is now re-attached to the shell. Only took me 4.5hrs all by myself to line things up and what not 🙂

However I do have to unbolt the rear and sides to lift the shell a bit cos I didn't managed to align the holes in the rear x-member rubbers. Oh and making your own mounting rubbers was piss easy and a darned sight cheaper. I have so much rubber left I could make around 40 more

A landmark day and much forwardness can be had now 😀

Bit of picture worthiness progress. Have got the seat plates machined and already for spot welding in after check that they fitted properly.





And seat checked for fitment



Me beam bearing won't be here till early next week so just trying to keep things moving 🙂

Nice work!!!

Great to see things moving along.

Have you sat in it holding a steering wheel and gone, "Brmmm brmmmmmm!" yet? 😂😂😂😂
I know I would have.



Smiley 😎

Smiley wrote:Nice work!!!

Great to see things moving along.

Have you sat in it holding a steering wheel and gone, "Brmmm brmmmmmm!" yet? 😂😂😂😂
I know I would have.



Smiley 😎

Oh indeed I have 😀 I've got those seats at just the right height too. Well comfy to sit in 🙂

Figuring out the seat belt mounts now for reel 3 point type belts. Upper B post needs a small slot cut from the outside to slide the reinforcing plate down into the post. This way the inner metal isn't cut so original strength is still there. Sorted 😀

So got the drums back on the front



And then the weirdest things happened........... The wheels fell back onto the drums




Best pictures I could take without rolling her into the rain plus my back is recovering from a epidural injection. Anyhow, this is with the adjusters wound right the way down and that's pretty low aye?

This must be the first time in 10 odd yrs that she has been on all 4 wheels 😀 😀

Once I've got back from the UK with brake shoes and other goodies I'll prob get some new bearings and get the brakes bled and done properly plus I'll have the tie rod ends then too.

So this coming week I shall hopefully get the seat strengthening plates welded in.

Gotta call the engineer too as not sure the upper B pillar spreader is possible to comply with ADR rules and may have to settle for lap belts instead of 3 point inertia 😉

psimitar wrote:I thought I'd taken a piccie of the beam on the pan but hadn't so thought do that tonite before the sun goes down at 5.30pm 🙁






Also bought some 12mm thick rubber strip for making the body mount vibration pads. $20 for the rubber or $40+ for buying the proper pads 😉

Also having to clean up the Corollas water pump, all faces machined flat again, the starter needs new brushes and I need a new rear tyre. Think I'll be whoring myself this weekend again 🙂

Those bump rubbre mounts may get in the way,
when you lower it.

lookin kickass

Cheers guys 🙂

I'll see how close the bump stop mount is whilst she's at her lowest. If close then shall see about some rubber pipe instead cos the bump stop is there for a reason 🙂

They are there to stop your bug looking cool.
Cut them off!

We'll see mate, we'll see 🙂

So house sitting for the in-laws means finding jobs to do away from the beetle.

Headlight repairs. I forgot to take a photo of the ali baking foil I've glued into the bowl as the mirror finish was pretty gone.

Spot the before and after photo



and have fitted wedge type sidelights to save issues with the std sidelight bulb/wiring.


Cheap fix but with P45t Halogen bulbs you'd never really notice 🙂

Wanted to put the headlights together but local supplier is waiting for the spring clips to come in 🙄

Ah well, little bro over for a few days so progress really has been slow plus the vehicle engineer won't return my calls so I can't sort whether I can use inertia belts or lap belts :moon: to you mr engineer

gees mate, i bet you got sick of grinding down all those welds under the heater chanel😂
i hate grinding!

vwsteve wrote:gees mate, i bet you got sick of grinding down all those welds under the heater chanel😂
i hate grinding!

Yea, grinding sucks esp from underneath as makes the arm ache from pushing upwards for so long and so hard.

Not much grinding left I hope 😀

So the 3 weeks house sitting for the in-laws wasted valuable resto time but back into with a vengance this week.



Bit's painted whilst at in-laws. Spot the custom fluid reservoir so the old 50's single res now feeds the dual MC.





Using some plate to flatten the area where the upper seatbelt mount goes for the front seats. Can't go up top due to the semaphores.




8mm thick spreader plate plug welded in place and tidied up.





Pasenger channel repaired, painted and inner panel repair started

More below 🙂

Tie rods and fluid res installed. Shiney 🙂



And a Stainless washer jet fetted to pass the Rego rules here. Custom fluid res to follow.

Also, now 90% done with re-wiring her and getting started on the drivers seat frame. Xmas all back together is do able tho maybe without the engine but really getting there now 😀

Awesome coming along nicely

So been toiling away most the week and weekend to keep things moving. Picked crank and headlight parts up on friday so we have



also got a new gearlink coupling and basically these 'genuine Vw' new ones are a bit crap so outta $20 of coupling I've used just the rubber bushes. Also, you'll see in the pic that I have cut and welded the old unit to make the bush fit very snuggly so no slop in it now



Then got one side of the drivers seat frame started and have both the lower B post repair panels done with seatbelt plates in em



And the drivers side hole



Just trying to cure the rust on that inner panel before welding them in and then that'll be the seatbelt points good to go.

Drivers seatframe is last big bodywork item I think and then apart from the engine rebuild its a case of putting bits back together 😀

So last few nites I have fitted one of the rear brake shoes up



Still gotta fit the handbrake level and other side but almost ready for fluid.

Then I have the seatbelt points all done now




And drivers B pillar repair




Also, I finished the headlight wiring and think I'm ready for buying a battery to test everything. Well few grommets required to finish that too.

So, onto the drivers seat frame tomoro 🙂

So I have hammered it the last few weeks and have tarted up the seat belt mods plus fitted the new inertia's and then got the cross bracing done on the seat frame and the floorpan plates welded and painted.

Enjoy the pics 😀

Plus spacers made for running wide 5 rear drums on IRS shafts




No frame pics as bit of grinding and end plates to weld before welding the seat to it and then a picture in the car 😀

So fitted the rear wings


Passenger side will need it's spring plate resetting by an inch. DOH!!

And headlights fitted


Managed to blow passenger high beam so will look into that and figured out that I'd wired the relay coils the wrong way round and hence the diode was basically acting as a short and fried the coil.

Will just have to swap the fusebox terminals around and that'll fix that.

Doing lots of little jobs like painting the handbrake lever and filling my remote reservoir, which works and don't leak 🙂 then battery clamp and rear seat rail and.........

Ah well, getting there.

Merry Christmas everyone 😀

Best xmas present EVER!!!!! I hope one day if I get married my husband will buy me a Bug to do up!!!!

Good job with the resto too!!!!!!!!!!

Iris-the-lovebug wrote:Best xmas present EVER!!!!! I hope one day if I get married my husband will buy me a Bug to do up!!!!

Good job with the resto too!!!!!!!!!!

Yea, not a bad present aye 🙂

been sandblasting the tinware today at work 😀

So doing lots of little jobs all week and nothing really noticeable but finally got the washer bottle frame made and welded in





Just need the pipe to the washer jet and done, as parts place were out of it.

Brakes have gone thro half litre pumped out and not up the top yet but some resistance at the bottom so hopefully getting there.

Door aperture will be jacked wider at the top this week and engine bearings are on there way 🙂

Um, what else. Oh yea the driver window was very hard to wind up so took apart and the slide and window holder are rusty as all hell so fitted a little roller bearing roller and will make up a new window holder and slide as the roller is 5mm bigger.

Also, shall make new steel part of the orig door switches and what else, oh sterring column fitted up and ind switch done just steer wheel to rub down epoxy putty and spray. Book engineer this week and maybe sandblast the front wheels 😀

6 weeks to get it Safety cert. Oh yes I'm not joking so I'll be fecking knackered by then. Plus I've found a cheap EJ22 engine I'll buy before we head to europe in march 🙂

hey man, you just bought a suby from perth hey? is it going in this?

DieSchnelleKafer wrote:hey man, you just bought a suby from perth hey? is it going in this?

Indeed it will. Well not straight away but at $200 it can sit in the garage for a while aye 🙂

So apologies for lack of updates. I've been flat out with work, the Beetle and marital issues.

Anyhow, here's some pics to show what I've been up to.

Engine going together


Nice reconned heads with new guides and valves




Seats are now bolted in


Rear seat rail supports to pass ADR regs


Volvo 240 res on new MC that finally bled


Hookeys door repair panel and hole in door post



and an cheap EJ22 to throw in the back when I return from my travels


So I should have the door post welded in my end of week along with the engine ready to install and hopefully start 😀

So here is the rebuilt engine ready to go back in.



Couldn't get her started but put her in for rego and see if the garage could start her.

So just over a day before heading for the big year long holiday and I still have to see if the garage manage to get her started today or tomoro morning. Either way she failed her safety cert on a bunch of things but not fussed as will fix it all when back here.

I will have a quick illegal drive if she starts but at some industrial estate 🙂

Right piccies.






the pic of the inch thick ali spacer I made for the carb is on the big camera so try to post it when I get a chance whilst travelling in USA 😀 Maybe after getting lashed in Vegas 🙂

I'll be looking at VZI during me travels but alas I should probably start a new thread on the Bug when I return.

OK, so these are the very last pictures I have of me finally sitting in my Bug, alas, on the back of a trailer but hey I got to drive her down a steep driveway for storage, and with the ripped to shreds steering rubber disc coupling and front brakes that seriously needed re-adjusting, I almost went thro the garden fence at the bottom. Thanks to the properly adjusted handbrake for saving my skin 🙂





So, I'm in a small town just outside of NYC at present and have a year of planning the front brake custom disc setup and the EJ22 engine and TY75 gearbox transplant. I can get a g/box shipped and bought in the UK for under $500 🙂

Only just read this build thread. Awesome work and look forward to updates when you return home.
Hope marital issues get sorted. Enjoy your travels!👍

baghall wrote:Only just read this build thread. Awesome work and look forward to updates when you return home.
Hope marital issues get sorted. Enjoy your travels!👍

Cheers dude 🙂

Look forward to finishing the first stage and then starting phase 2 🙂

Hello anyone still watching my thread 😀

So after a year away travelling the world I'm back in convict land and have started to tinker on the Beetle again to get her road worthied.

One thing I've been playing with is rewinding the semaphores to 12V.

Here's a picture of what makes a semaphore


So the bundle of wire came off the solenoids winding former. That was 14metres of wire :eek:

So I've now rewound the semaphore with 12v wire and once I figure out photobucket video uploads you can see the rewound item working.

Getting the return spring to have enough return oomph was a git but seems ok now.

The engine is coming out soon so I can double check my endfloat setting as think I left it at less than 0.07mm 🙄

Hope the german flywheel seal doesn't get damaged on the way out.

So during the evenings with not much to do I have played with MS paint and figured this out for interior colour scheme. Who thinks it works and looks good and who thinks the seats needs recovering in a similar textured material but grey colouring.

should stick with low backs they look cool

These Skyline R32 seats are really comfy and as the previous owner didn't tell me they'd used a 63 pan to mount the 59 shell on I see no reason to keep things original if she isn't a matching lady 😉

Great build, have just read the thread start to finish. You've had your break now get moving so we can watch the progress!!!

So I got the engine out to double check the endfloat, as was rushed when putting together. Anyway, as per my tech post I found I was given the wrong endfloat shims and this is also what made the engine very tight to turn. So in the process of making a dial gauge stand and getting the endfloat measured for the correct shims to go in 🙂

Made up some devices to help get the tracking more straight ahead than it is at present and then should just need a new coupling to have the steering up and running again.

I reckon I may be able to start the old girl in just over a weeks time 🙂

So I almost got the crank endfloat finished and flywheel back on today. Almost!!!!

As my genuine brand new VW flywheel seal had a few abrasion marks on it I had decided to buy a new seal. The local VW supplier said they don't do German seals but the ones they have are from VW Brasil. OK I thought. So went to fit it and it was so tight it gouged the shit out of 90 degrees of the side and I was gonna live with it for now until i noticed the sealing lips spring had come lose and there was no way it would go back under the lip. So I removed the seal and this is whats left of that side.



Also, even after careful measuring the new shims were too much and so the old ones went back in and 0.1mm clearance on me dial gauge. Glad but $40 I didn't need to spend. Me thinks they took a little off the flywheel seating surface when they machined a O ring groove in it for me 🙄

So back in with the genuine seal tomoro and fingers crossed it all works well. 🙂

So I had the missus give me a hand getting the engine back in the Beelte over the weekend and apart from being a git to get the gearbox shaft to mesh and a slight fuel flow issue, this is what we ended up with

Beetle engine running

Just gotta see if the engineers has machined those rear hub spacers and refit the tierods n I'm good for a test drive 😀

what an awesome xmas present

how much does ur mate charge to narrow and make beam adjustable

Yea, not a bad pressie 🙂

For my front beam I brough him a couple of front beams from a scrappie in exchange for the work on mine. Beams cost me $250.

If Dirtbag on here still checks the forum then send him a PM 😉

Nice one.

Gud work mate lookz cool c ya on saturday for some of ur handy work mate.

So a few pics to show my old girl finally outdoors and about to be driven round the block.





So apart from a slight odd sound when turning right she drove pretty well and so I have obtained an unregistered vehicle permit so I can drive her back from storage to my place.

Once parked in the driveway I'll be continuing work on the interior and EJ22 tinkering as I make her a more pleasant environment on the inside. Outside is gonna stay Rat until I've managed to piss the V8 UTE boys off at the traffic lights with the EJ22 😀

So, yesterday I managed to drive the old girl from storage under the grandfolks house to my current place. Had the unregistered permit all sorted and even tho the weather decided to be totally shite off I went 🙂

Had a small incident where the passenger rear wheel made a break for freedom at low speeds because numpty here tightened all suspension bolts bar the frickin wheel nuts 🙄

Anyhow, after then waiting until the now rush hour traffic died down we now have this view in the driveway



So now I shall start on the interior and other bits and bobs to have the road worthy certificate test done on her. Few things came up during the drive so need to address them but all in all quite happy that she made it here under her own steam 😀

nice project! looks good, where was that lower pillar repair panel from? how well did it fit? lol
and whats the deal with the unregistered permit, how does that work? do they check the car or just give you a bit of paper

are you just going clear over the paint work and put a nice set of mags on it? , or going away from the rat look?
( thoes door 1/4 are a good thing, but dont really fit with out a little bend here and cut there, hope your one fitted better than mine) love the project keep us all posted

Cheers guys 🙂

pillar repair was from Steve Hookey in the UK. He only makes a few panels but they are excellent quality and brilliant fit. All I had to do was bend the inner upper area to meet with the old panel. Everything around the channel and up the door post fitted spot on. They are made from 1.2mm or 2mm thick steel so very sturdy 🙂

I'll be laquering the rusty spots to keep the rain off and concentrating on the interior for now. Paint will come eventually but I want to have fun with the V8 UTE boys for a while once the EJ22 is under the decklid 😀

And here's what you have to do to get non 1200 exhausts and rear tinware to fit properly.





Hopefully you can see in the exhaust pictures the welds I made to shorten the muffler and align the peashooters. Wasn't happy as the guy who sold it said it was for a 1200 and so I paid 1200 money for a 1300/1600 exhaust. Bastard!!!!

The tinware was a ballache but easier than trying to source a correct 1200 item.

Also, not happy with the brand new TRW steering box as even after adjusting there is play and yet it's now a bit notchy around the centre point. And that was $300 of box 😠

Ah well, trying to find sound deadener for the floor at present whilst also correcting the door gaps. Passenger needs the hinges drilling off and new ones putting on if I can't straighten them, tho they grind a fair bit from being bent so may just get new ones 😉

Hey, Look what turned up today



Yup, 3.46sq metres of RAAMmat sound deadener. So over the next few days I shall bore everyone with yet another floorpan being cleaned and covered in sound deadener.

Nah, go on. You know you all love some floorpan porn 🙂

Managed to get a bit closer to re-painting the floorpan ready for the sound deadener.

Here we are sanded ready for the first coat.



And been figuring out the passenger door hinges. Had bent the door skin nicely, pushed the upper inner strengthener backwards and fully buggered the hinges. Oh and started to rip 3 of the upper rivets thru the door skin.





Drivers door needs OS hinge pins as got an 8mm drop from the 0.5mm pin wear.

Glad to be getting something done tho as no job and low cash flow makes it hard going.

Floorpan sound deadening is finally in 😀



floorpan repainted. Not totally happy as did have some micro bubble issues so not a totally smooth paint job 🙁 But the deadener will cover it now as can't be arsed to do it again.



RAAMmat installed.

So get the doors fixed up with new hinges and then find some form of epoxy mastic to paint the rest of the interior in so I don't have anymore micro bubble issues.

So last of my free funds have gone on new door hinges and pins for the old girl but having to fix the mess the PO did to the door hinges and pillar. No pillar shots yet but here's the state of the door hinge areas







You can see in the removed metal that the hinge retaining rivets have halfway pulled thru the outer door skin. Might extend the repair panel depending on peoples thoughts on strength of the current repair section.

Hopefully I have enough gas left, don't really need a whole new bottle 🙄

So as I've been having a such a ballache sourcing hinges, pins and tooling in Australia to get my doors back on the Bug I decided to clean up the rear seat frame and give it a lick of rust proof paint.

Before


After


As for the doors I need funds for welding gas as the rivet holes need a bit of welding and machining to make them round again otherwise the door will probably sag and move around quite quickly once back on the car.

Really quite peeved as if in the UK I would have had the parts and tools within a week but over here it's taken almost 6 weeks and I now have to find a 60 degree 12mm centre drill so the new lower hinge can accept an early domed pin as nowhere seems to have a 60 degree countersink 🙄

So made a bit of progress with the doors n hinges as got bored of not doing anything due to a bum elbow 🙄

Whilst trying to sort out the mess the PO had made of the hinges I've ended up having to remove the upper strengthening plate from both doors. This shows the number of spot welds I had to drill out


This shows how the strengthening plate had been bent around and the river holes pulled into peaks instead of being flat.


This is a little holder for a piece of 5mm rubber to hold the old skool check strap in place. New rubber needed as old stuff is 50yrs old and buggered.



And dunno if you can make how that the rivet holes are a bit ovalled and enlarged to need welding and filing round again.


Also got me 60 degree countersink so I could get the new lower hinge to accept an early pin. Can now go and get a garage to press the pins fully in 😀 Yay me!!!!!

So last few days after finishing the wifes easel I have been prepping all the bits to get the doors back on the Beetle with new hinges/pins. Get ready.......

Original re-pinned hinges welded up to remove wear in mounting holes.


Cleaned up and re-drilled



Inner door strengthener splits n ovalled hinge holes



Both strengtheners welded up and fettled back to round holes

And continuing......

Splits and panel beaten hinge area on passenger door



welded up and bit of filler weld in trough in panel



Drivers door lower hinge torn outer skin and crappy door mirror holes



Welded up and fettled into shape




More tomoro

i havent gone thru your entire thread yet but just from the 1st few pics of what this beetle looks like id have to say its one of the coolest cars ive seen. merry xmas indeed to you 🙂 cant wait to read thru it all.

hyjinx wrote:i havent gone thru your entire thread yet but just from the 1st few pics of what this beetle looks like id have to say its one of the coolest cars ive seen. merry xmas indeed to you 🙂 cant wait to read thru it all.

cheers dude 🙂 Ya know, one of the downsides to any welding done on the outer body somewhat ruins the weathered patina look when you pop some new paint on. ah well 🙂

So a bit longer than the next day like I said but waiting for knifing putty and paint to dry chews the days up especially when you have to wait until nitetime to apply the paint due to it being above 30 here.

Anyway,

Quick bolt welded to battery clamp to hold the plastic cover on


Stainless window channel repaired


Door hinge area's smoothed a little n painted



Door seal channels and bottom area de-rusted and painted


And the hinges and door inner upper support plates painted ready for welding back in



Also, getting the drivers wing bolts lubed up ready for removal so I can make a wee repair to the inner wings drain hole area and also the split to the passengers lower hinge area.

Doors so close to going back on after 3 months or more from when I removed them to 'fix the hinges quick' 🙄

Whilst I've been waiting for the rust cure paint to harden properly in the doors so they don't react to the zinc welding spray I've been tackling what I thought was a quick little patch at the bottom of the driver A pillar. Turned out to be rather holey after wire brushing



Then spent a good few hours making a multi-angle plate to replicate the original panel



Tomoro I should hopefully get the door inner upper support plates welded back in. probably take the rear wings off to sort a few tears in the lower return lips and then I can move me welding gear up to the Beetle for a few jobs on the body itself 🙂

So close to doors going back on 😀

good idea to leave a hole in bottom of that repair to let any water etc out, to stop it from rusting agian. in the future. just put a hole just about where the rusty hole was. 😊

ian.mezz wrote:good idea to leave a hole in bottom of that repair to let any water etc out, to stop it from rusting agian. in the future. just put a hole just about where the rusty hole was. 😊

Cheers dude.

Hole weren't drilled yet as did that after i'd welded the joins together. Went for 3 holes in strategic places to allow the water out 🙂

So been at it all week getting the doors finished and sorting the rear wings out. Doors still new another coat on the outside but still too fecking hot 🙄

Anyway, Door upper strengtheners back in


And door edges back in shape


Lower rear wing edges crusty and mangled



And then welded new piece in and welded any tears up and whacked em back into shape (forgot the pic of the drivers back into shape better)


And found large areas of bog in the passenger wing. Roughly hammered back into shape but will give it some more later 🙂

And finally a few tears in the bonnet front lip welded up to stop the bonnet sagging to one side when open, the passenger door lower hinge area tears welded up and the repair panel for the drivers A piller welded in




SO so close to doors back on 🙂

So, made up some little brackets to weld into the footwells for the speaker pods I'll make down the line sometime but whilst I have the gas I'm getting any welding job I can think of done 🙂

Brackets


Welded into footwell


And the unfortunate bit of rust I found when cleaning round a bolt hole for a good welding ground 🙁


So, another wee repair panel to fab before continuing with the list of jobs for the doors to go on. Will it ever end :confused:

Got the repair panel for the passenger front wing welded in today finally after titting about with a small plate on the heater channel to keep the channel water tight. So the welder didn't like the unclean underside of the metal and took much fettling with the dremel to grind the welds down so the outer repair could go on.



and then decided to bite the bullet and see how bad the lower passenger rear panel was with the awesomely brutal twisted wire cup brush on the grinder.



As you can see that cup brush sure shows up any dodgy areas.

Shame as the bottom folded edge is hole free but now means the panel I make has to somehow replicate the drain hole channels that early Beetles came with. Still, apart from having to wait between stitch welds to stop panel warpage it means this should be pretty quick as a nice large panel to pop in 🙂

So as some tropical cyclone thingy makes it very wet outside so that not even the rust converter has dried after a whole day then I have been fashioning an accurate replica of the lower rear arch panel.

Here is the efforts of my labour


No idea when I can get it on the car as the weather is fully shite for at least the next few days 🙁

Yay!!!!! Last bit of welding on the main body today. Well I can't think of anything else that needs welding 🙂

Anyhow, here's the before and after of the passenger lower rear wing/arch area.




Just a few fixes on the drivers door and hopefully by the end of the weekend the doors will be back on 😀

But as I was tidying up the welds on the lower rear quarter and when I came to wire brush the pin hole repairs on the inner wing panel I came across this and so thought best lop it out




Weld ain't totally flat but it's tricky to get too and it ain't gonna be seen under the seat anyhow :P



Also vacuumed and washed the floor down so it's all nice and clean for the interior to go in.

Of course as my brain is always on the go and can go from subject to subject so quick I forget what I was originally thinking of. Well basically I remembered a bit of welding on the drivers footwell that needs grinding. Arg!!! And I just washed and vacuumed the bloody floor 🙄 DOH!!!!!!

So last weekend I took the engine out so I could put the new engine bay seals in. When I took the engine out I noticed the tinware wasn't looking too good as it's got a bit wet in all the rain lately and seems the paint weren't very water resistant and looked like this



But like this on the dry side


So decided after all the effort to make the engine look nice before I may as well make it look nice again and so out with the wet n dry plus gave me a chance to fit a mist baffle to the inside of the gen stand and weld up the lower tinware mounting holes


Then taken most the week to prime and paint the tinware and only just about to do last coat on last piece, so had a look at the semi-W decklid I bought ages ago and found myself glad I only paid $100 for it and a popes nose cos it's 'so called' good condition was rather less than good.







As you can see the hinge areas are pretty bad and the hinges had been brazed in place cos the spotwelded area was so rusty and weak. Then where some logo had been drilled thru near one hinge area had badly split and torn the support area under the hinge and dented the outer panel inwards. As for the size of holes drilled for the licence plate were 10mm and also had dented the outer panel. Oh, and the paint used is cracking off in large chunks so dunno what type of paint it was re-sparyed in during the past 🙄

Next is engine back in so can move her back to resting place whilst 2 wheels are removed so the valve stem holes can be welded smaller for modern valves. 🙂

Been a slow week of fixing the Beetle but have managed to weld up the oversized valve holes in the wide 5 steels and re-drilled ready for modern size valves. No pics of that as forgot and not all that amazing.

However I have finished repairing the semi-W decklid 🙂







Nice solid metal again plus by using my blowtorch method to pre-heat the metal I got good plug weld penetration using 6mm holes in the hinges. 🙂

Gotta make up some steering stops due to tyre rub at full lock, and that's a no no. So one welded to the framehead and the other to the beam upright by the steer box.

Just trying to get some steel organised for the shortened subaru sump and reckon I may make me own running boards as I can't be arsed phoning around the Oz VW shops to see if they sell quality ones and not cheap mexican ones. Then the welding gas can be returned 🙂

For your steering stops, if your still running K/L with stock stubs, fit longer bolts into the fwd backing plate mounting hole and adjust it;s length accordingly.

matberry wrote:For your steering stops, if your still running K/L with stock stubs, fit longer bolts into the fwd backing plate mounting hole and adjust it;s length accordingly.

Matt, you're awesome 🙂 Thanks for pointing that out. Saved me a fair bit of work there 😀

So one of last big jobs b4 the gas bottle is returned is shortening the sump on the EJ22 motor.

Here's the first stage of welding tube over the bolt holes. Bit of a different approach as pushing the outer skin to the edge of the sump gives 1/2litre of volume so the wings don't have to be so big and the sump can be shallower.





And a new meaning to the term 'tinworm' 😀


Thanks to Matt Berry I don't need to make steering stops now as longer bolts in the front backplate hole will act as a stop on the LP steering knuckles 😀

The EJ22 sump is nearly done



Baffle plate and bottom plate to go 🙂

So a few updates of the shortened sump.

Sizing up the pick up pipe for shortening



Baffle plate welded in



And the pick up pipe and support bracket shortened and welded up

Got the sump finished for the EJ22. Do wish I had a TIG welder tho as the MIG has a habit of leaving a few pinhead holes here and there even tho the welds look complete. So bit tricky plugging them up. Seems to be watertight now tho 🙂



Next is to make up some running boards.

So after the dosy gardener threw a few things out whilst I was overseas I'm now making new sunvisors in the fashion they were originally made back in the early 60's.

So make up some cardboard templates of how I want them to look. Closely fitted to the rear view mirror to minimise sun creeping past


Then make up a hardwood former of the main curve of the visors.


Then bend some 6mm steel rod around the former plus some varying diameter bars for the tighter curves and hey presto


Gonna weld a plate into the passenger side so I can stick a mirror in there. Modern touches to an old car 🙂

Also started on the DIY running boards and bending the outside edge 180degrees back on itself worked out quite well 🙂

Me Birthday tomoro and then away for rest of week so more next week 😉

Getting there mate, hope your sump is also oil tight, those MIG welds can be sneaky 😂 😉

matberry wrote:Getting there mate, hope your sump is also oil tight, those MIG welds can be sneaky 😂 😉

I know. Darn Mig Welds 🙁 I was gonna paint the entire thing in KBS as it is hardy and oil resistant. If I had the spare cash I'd powder coat it but for all those welds I only had 5 little points that leaked so pretty good really 🙂

So after the stupid gardener threw my orig Running Boards out as trash, he's fired now 🙂, and the fact that repro ones are either shite quality and expensive or bloody expensive I decided to have a bash at making them myself.

So far I have got as far as folding the outer edge back on itself ready for the outer curve to be bent into it.

Bending a 10mm lip over to 90 degrees


Flattening it back on itself


Just need to glue and screw the clamping wood strip to the hardwood curved strip ready for some radius bending 😀


Radius bent into the steel



This is the hardwood former I used and glued n screwed it to an additional piece of wood for a flat area to clamp too.



And this is how it looks after laying all the measurements on it



Oh, and here is my Birthday present



It's a Devilbiss Professional HVLP spray gun kit. Even with postage from USA it was a half the price of what I could buy it here 😀
Now I just need to source a liquidation industrial compressor for the 13CFM required cos DIY compressors are very low in FAD CFM and being reasonably priced 🙁

So found the time to bend the mounting flange over Easter inbetween having to wire the in-laws new display cabinets 🙁

Trial fitted to me Bug


Front fit


Rear fit


Overall shape of it



Few welds here and there but very pleased with this 😀

Today I got the passengers running board finished off 😀

So made up some C channel strengtheners for the board


And how they look plug welded in


Closer view of the strengtheners


didn't get a photo of the holes for clamping the former all welded up and ground back.

Best get on with the drivers one then 🙂

So got the drivers running board finished yesterday. Both fit well and here's a pic of them all done




And just to think that these only cost me $17 in metal, few bucks in welding wire n gas and 12 hrs of my time including making formers and templates. Made from 0.9mm hot rolled galv bond so should last a fair while after some KBS paint too.

Just need some rubber mats from Wolfburg now to finsh em off and the postage will be more than the fricking mats :eek:🙄

So completely didn't manage to get the painting etc done for wings etc on last weekend but I am not far away.

Unfortunately, rain with an outdoors vehicle does not mix well for painting and rust prep 🙄

Anyway, got the passenger rear panel all painted up today so the wings can go on now.



and as you can see from the pic the drums are painted and so are the board mounting panels


Boards themselves are painted so defo this weekend the wings, wheels n boards will all be on 😀

So after giving the battery a good charging I got her started and turned her round. Whilst up on the drive I took these









Running board needs marking up for the wing bolt holes and some M14 bolts to go in them plus some penny washers for the M6 bolts

Also got some T2 Bay scrapper rubbers last week. Useful if your scrapper trims are in good nick or orig Ali ones like mine.

Just cut em down and re-rivet to the scrapper trims. This I will do once I've cleaned up the orig trims and hammered a few dents from them 😉

Great read and build, nice work cheers TC👍

much obliged sir 🙂

As me Dad always says, 'Do it once and do it right'. Hallowed words of wisdom 🙂

Love the DIY running boards. Top job!

psimitar wrote:much obliged sir 🙂

As me Dad always says, 'Do it once and do it right'. Hallowed words of wisdom 🙂

My old man told me " to whip it in , whip it out and wipe it off" but I'm not sure that helps here.....
unless it's the dipstick ...😂

cam070 wrote:Love the DIY running boards. Top job!

Cheers dude. Pretty easy to do tho does require a welder for the clamp holes n welding the corners together otherwise rest is everyday tools n a few bucks on wood formers 🙂

TOPCAT69 wrote:My old man told me " to whip it in , whip it out and wipe it off" but I'm not sure that helps here.....
unless it's the dipstick ...

Yea, I like to do that with the wife when I'm allowed 😂

So I haven't been lazy people. Just it's all little things that take a while, like new hubcap clips need spraying as do the mount points on the wheels, making spacers for the upper front shox mount, scrapper inner rivet clamping strip de-rusted n painted etc.

However, here is a picture of the passenger scrapper trim all polished up. Took a bloody long time sanding scratch marks out n then buffing it back to a shine.



Take a look at the pic further up this page n see the difference in shine 🙂

Also had a bit of a play with a sample piece of faux suede I came across in a textiles store. Cut it to fit down the B pillar.

What do people think? Kinda works for headliner material me thinks





Still not sure if grey would be better just below the window and on the B pillar

Thoughts anyone?

And then here's what's left on my list for getting it roadworthied:

Rear View Mirror Glass
Steering Wheel cracks - already filled just needs sanding and painting
Door window rubber - got most but Wolfsburg were outta the upright felt so getting from C&C now
Door Check strap Cotter pins
Spare Wheel - de-rust, paint and get tyre fitted
Semaphores - one to rewind for 12V and then make the circuit to make it stay up off the indicator flasher.

Getting closer 😀

Well as I've been struggling for time, money and enthusiasm lately I decided to clean up the Golf VR6 calipers I'm hoping to use on my front disc conversion. The new seals are sitting in a box in the UK but I got all the labour intensive stuff done ready for the seals.



Also got me door stay rods stainless cotter pins. $16 inc postage for 2 little pins is rather excessive but that's the way they roll here 🙁

Just tarting the stay rods up and then cut new rubber door sections that the rods slide thru and I'll be one job less towards the roadworthy 😀

I have been working on the old girl, promise.

I finished the steering wheel but dopey here thought he'd taken a pic when he hasn't, so shall get that done tomoro.

In the meantime, I bought a sandblasting gun and cleaned up the spare wheel.

Before


Makeshift blasting booth


Stripped


Apart from the amount of times the little gun hopper needs refilling it worked pretty well. Bit of surface rust here and there as did it over a few days. No worries as shall whack some curing agent on there. Then paint and get a tyre on it 🙂

Started to put the passenger door back together but alas the qtr upright strangely didn't have enough adjustment in it so had to file the upper mounting slots bigger and then having to wait for paint to cure. Quick half hr job stretches into a few days. I mean these kinda things never happen when working on old vehicles 🤪

I used the same gun on my wheels. It did a fairly decent job and I was stoked when I found the date stamp on the back of the rim. Mine were from the same year of manufacture as my car - so they could be the orignials. It's amazing what you can uncover with a sand blaster!

I think yours came out better than mine. I just used building sand - could have been the issue.

t_tuffnut wrote:I used the same gun on my wheels. It did a fairly decent job and I was stoked when I found the date stamp on the back of the rim. Mine were from the same year of manufacture as my car - so they could be the orignials. It's amazing what you can uncover with a sand blaster!

I think yours came out better than mine. I just used building sand - could have been the issue.

oh, never use sand dude. The dust produced can cause silicosis of the lungs. Even with proper breathing gear it's not recommended.

But you're right. The grit works better than sand as is much sharper than the sand particles. 🙂 I used medium but probably coulda used coarse for a quicker job.

So I have been doing things on the Bug. And so here we have the steering wheel and spare wheel all painted up.



Spare just needs a week or so for the paint to harden properly before popping a tyre on it and the little red bits you may notice on the boss of the steer wheel are fibre washers to space the brass contact ring of the horn ring closer to the brass ring in the wheels boss. Had to make a bigger wiring contact tab but I now get continuity so horn should work 🙂

Also got an annoying dent outta the gearstick gaitor using material memory resetting technique i.e. make a former to make rubber desired shape and then place in boiling hot water until water is cold. Remove former and hey presto the rubbers memory has been reset and no more dent visible 🙂



Then as was a bit bored of circuit designing I decided to take the heads off the EJ22 to make sure it's worth using.



As you can see there is no corrosion in the water jacket and bores are in good nick. Heads just need a clean b4 I make a DIY flowbench to play with them a bit 😀

However, from when I shortened the sump the engine wouldn't turn 360degrees so eventually took the oil pump off and found a little blob of weld stuck between 2 teeth (down near bottom of gears)


With that removed it's happy days. Apart from a new water pump, as old one sounds rough when spun, but that's no biggie.

She is now water tight. Fitted the drivers window and seals after finishing the scrapper polishing.




So this means this is all that's left:

Rear View Mirror Glass Tho I've sent the stem for re-chroming
Spare Wheel - de-rust, paint and get tyre fitted
Semaphores - one to rewind for 12V and then make the circuit to make it stay up off the indicator flasher.

Semaphore circuit all designed, just a few bias resistor values to calculate and turn the PCB into a vector file for manufacture.

Downside is money is tight as still looking for permenant work and the revenue collecting gestapo gave me a $330 fine the other month. Wankers!!!!!

Still almost there 🙂

Decided to make a bracket for the reverse light I bought a few years back whilst gather money for PCB parts. Minor bitch but the wife costs a frickin arm and a leg lately esp when we have no money. Bitch over 🙂

Anyway, Bracket


On the Bug


And as I got my spare spindles b4 xmas I've been able to finish the R&D of the front brake conversion




Semaphore circuit now up and running with final check connected to flasher relay to be done. If the wifes expenses allow I may actually get the Bug RWC'd by the end of the month 😀

So after much fannying around I rigged up my semaphore circuit to one side of the bugs electrics (can't do both as require more supplies that I can't afford at present)

Anyhow, here's a vid of it working. Pardon my non-professional video skills and narration 🙂
Semaphore video

loooks great, love the flashing Semaphore.

Did you get them rebuilt? Ive got a few sets with my '59, 2 were already lazy and the other pair I ran 12 volt for a while (also lazy 6v, but ran nicely on 12v for a while....assumingly because they were already knackered)

Boozo wrote:loooks great, love the flashing Semaphore.

Did you get them rebuilt? Ive got a few sets with my '59, 2 were already lazy and the other pair I ran 12 volt for a while (also lazy 6v, but ran nicely on 12v for a while....assumingly because they were already knackered)

Re-built them meself 🙂 they're very simple and trickiest part is finding eyelets deep enough to hold everything together.

Lazy is probably the joints need a clean and lube but old wiring can cause issues too.

So after nearly 3 years I'm back onto the 59 and getting it ready for being registered.

The Oval took way longer to complete than I'd hoped but now that it's sold I just have to scrounge the funds to finish what's needed on the 59 to make it pass a roadworthy test.

It already drive n what not but needs door cards and other bits to make in 'safe' for Oz roadworthiness.

However, the 59 did give up a few vital parts to the 56 as emergency items that suddenly failed on the Oval. Starter motor has now been rebuilt so should be OK. Fuel reserve tap to be replaced with just a 6mm union and wiper arms need replacing.

Also, as part of trying to fault find the Ovals stalling issue I tried to fit the 59's 40hp inlet manifold. Twas too wide but whilst off I've cut the pre-heat pipe so better gain access for cleaning the blockage out. It was only the entire length of the centre section that was blocked. Anyhow, all cleaned out and now welding back together.



bead rolled a curve into the repair section to keep a close fit to the inlet tract.



Welded and dressed


And then a pie cut to allow the top section of the tube to be exhaust gas tight.



Just gotta pop the pie cut back on and dress it up. then onto the fuel tank and a T2 style tube sender so I can fit a fuel gauge.