The Cal-look Lounge

(http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=3804.0;attach=12328;image)
It all started when I was fourteen in 1989, I got hold of that book by Colin Burnham!
Outside sat my newly bought 74 1303S and begged for a touch of Cal-look...  I learn how to weld on that car by plugging the trim holes and shaving the engine lid, there was no rust to weld on it as it came from the cold Norwegian inland region... where it get so cold that salt doesn't work on the ice and snow. I spent silly amounts on cal look rubbers, tinted windows and one-piece conversion, new running boards four new fenders of 1302 spec to get the more pleasing rubber grommets, and of course I exchanged the rear fenders and lights for the earlier style... all with John Dean's car in mind. I made the rear apron detachable ad gave the engine a header and a double hideaway (rusted out in one year)). But most importantly I bought adjustable front strut and lowered the car to a serious rake  ;)  In 94, after two three years of driving I got my bus and started to work on that, so I sold the bug for 12000,- Norwegian... pretty close to the worst deal ever.
As it would happen the guy that bought it newer got the driving license so he sold it to a collector who just had it sitting in a garage until somtime in 2002, when he sold it to the current owner. The current owner started to drive it this summer after some brake work.

Last week I got a SMS form a longtime VW friend who recognized the car from a online car listing site:
(http://cache.finn.no/mmo/5/196/343/55_1551162051.jpg)
This is how it looks now, the paint isn't any good, but all the parts are there and the adjustable front struts to.
(http://cache.finn.no/mmo/5/196/343/55_714070028.jpg)
Boy I hate that license plate, and my US lenses are gone to...

I knew that the car used to be VERY solid, so I passed on the tips to a few people but no one stepped up...
So this morning I went out there (still in my home town) and looked it over, looks descent, and there are only minor rust issues... easily the best 03 I have seen...

So I bought it... :-X ;D
I got some fuchs in storage with brakes... they will find their way on I think.... and some other fixes...
Rolling restoration and a fun runaround town car, at least that's what Im thinking now 

 

Cool story... hard to turn your back on an old friend. 8)

thats a cool story!

 a dude i vaguely know now owns my old 66 beetle that i got in 1987 as my first car and then kept for about 10 years....he's promised me first refusal if he decides to sell.

i haven't driven a VW since selling that one.......but always had one or two in the garage ::)

must be a nice feeling to get it back.

cool stories and buy jon

here's for you more info if you want to made a copy of DUMPER
 ;)

fabs

For what it is, I'm probably TO happy  ;D

You are right Sarge, it's the only aircooled project that I ever sold (guess that's why the barn is filling up  :-\).
I never did miss it much, but it's something completely different when you are face to face with it.
And it's a great base for a late looker... wee!  :)

Thank you Fabian! I guess I will have to pull out my polisher and do some fuchs polishing soon.
Not to mention the car... the color has faded quite a lot, its painted in the stock color SenegalRot. Nice when new but now sort of boring pink.

When do you start on your old "67" Fabs?  :)

good question jon  ::) ::).... no idea for the moment

wasn't it a 74->66?

Cool story Jon, happy for you!  :)

Thanks Johnny!
Tonight was all about getting the car home, but the stars didn't quite line up fot that to happen. My Transporter was with my friend for a tech inspection 20 minutes north of my workplace, and I live 45 minutes south of work... no problem there, but wile I was there a good friend of mine called to inform me that he had wrecked his car in Drammen, a further 20 minutes north of where I was. He asked if I could come up there with my trailer and get him... "sure". Also he told me that it was snowing where he was, so I went 1 hour back home, fitted snow tires to the Transporter and hitched on the trailer, and went up to Drammen to pick him up. Oh, there was another problem, my friend don't know his way around Drammen so the information he gave me didn't add up, this meant I spent 40 minutes looking for him in all the wrong places, with the help of fellow Screwdriver "Rocket" and the Yellow pages online I found my friend... 10 km from where he thought he was... on the other side of the river... don't ask ::) Once loaded it was now snowing heavily and I dropped him of at his home 1,5 hours later and drive 1 hour back home to get the bug. It was still there even though someone had outbid me since we made the deal this morning, but he was a man of his word and gave it to me for the agreed price. In addition the seller gave me a couple of golf/bug seats and a black backseat he had in storage, what a nice guy! After a long night it's now sitting outside in the yard, I  have had good time to think today and I have figured out that its twenty years since I first bought it this year.. and 15 years since i sold it...  what goes around comes around I guess  :)

Cool thing Jon,
I assume your original intentions will now be completed with this car?

very cool! i like dumper a lot as well. best 1303 ever.






and with all the snow and spare time you get with that...

 is it done yet?  :P

I sold my first bug to my brother back in the late 90's, and last year I bought it back. He knew I'd kill him if he sold it to anyone else! :D

Cool story, looking forward to seeing it on some Fuchs.  8)

That's awesome !

I finally got the time to touch the car a few days ago... it fired right up, and I drove it in to the barn. And I also found the reason for the awful performance, the throttle only moved 1/4 way before hitting the generator, once fixed it sounded a lot better. I will look around the barn for a set of studded snow tires to take it for a spin... we got 50 cm's /19" of the nasty stuff >:(

slip and slide before it gets repainted.  ;)

i am curious to see how this car evolves. not the least by the high standard that you set yourself by taking dumper as an inspiration.  :o ;D

If I get the car looking remotely like the dumper I will be happy, the quality will never be the same I'm afraid. Remember, I'm going to use this car for a daily driver for the summer months and it is by far the most important project I have... ::)

Decided to move this thread over to the project section. I have be using some late nights on the car and now the little rust in the rear of the heater channels is fixed, to access it I removed the torsion springs. On mounting them I twisted 8 splines up on the inner splines and eight down on the outer resulting in 44 mm lowering, not quite as much as the Dumper because that car looks a little to low in some photo's.
I also changed to Porsche drilled drums at the rear and fitted some Fuchs with Dot slicks (great snow tires).
[attachment=1]
Tonight I have been bead blasting and sanding/polishing some deep sixes I'm going to use in the rear, for the front it's getting "flat" dish 6"... all fully polished.
As soon as I get some rubber on the front wheels the front will come down about 10 cm, I just cant take how it looks now.
I will take delivery of some nice new running boards on Saturday and that will make a big difference in its real life appearance.

I'm doing some changes with the headlights too, I have kind of decided to get US sealed beams with painted rings, but they are hard to find over here. Does anyone have a set I could buy?

cool car man
keep on posting I'm reading

I got some Golf ones for my old Beetle - flat lenses with single screw adjusters. I think they're basically Mk1 Golf bits. The rims were cheapy plastic ones, which are easy enough to sand the chrome off.

Thanks Fredy66!

Neil, that's exactly what I got on it now, Golf inserts and plastic rims, I have already bead blasted of the chrome of one of them, but the other had much much tougher chrome. But I found another in the barn some days ago so I will try that next.

The thing is the flat lense, it looks totally the opposite of the US version since the US ones are very curved... I'd like to have the choice between them and see what I prefer.

I didn't know that! I thought all sealed beams were the same! You learn something every day! :D

There's probably a forum for that look too, don't knock it.  :D

True Neil, I just noticed the headlights on the super dumper on the last pic of Speedwell in this thread... that's how long I have known ;)

You are probably right Mat, when playing with a super on the lounge, one should probably watch ones steps.. :-X

Keep the pictures flowing please.  8)

I just love these stories about finding your old love back.  Almost like the Doug Mische's ghia...

Dem

How about Lounge T-shirt; "Friends don't let friends buy Supers"  ;D

It'll be interesting to see how it looks in the end, wheels and few details (like bumper mounted indicators or painted head light rims etc) make a huge difference.

How about Lounge T-shirt; "Friends don't let friends buy Supers"  ;D

thats funny  ;D

Awesome story!

Never sell you're first car, you're allways feel bad after some time!!  :P (I still have mine  :Dj)

Good luck with the (re)bild!

gr
Wout

Jon

There are several sets kicking around that came of US spec cars when I changed them to RHD lights,I will see what I have got for you next week when I get a chance

cheers richie,uk

Thanks guys...   :)

Tero, the 75 model bumper is ready... I just have to consider if I'm putting more vork into these Veng fenders, or if I should fix up and paint the stock fender (yes I still have them somewhere :P)

Great Richie, let me know what you find!

I have been searching high and low to find the right tools to polish the fuchses I had in storage. They were cheap and there was a reason for this, someone had started to do them with way to corse sanding paper.
As a start I used the bead blaster to strip the rest of the anodising and paint, then I used 320 grit paper on a foam pad on my polishing machine (looks like a angle grinder). After that I used 500 grit and a light sweep whit 800 grit. In the end I used Mothers alu polish on a brilliant polishing ball also from Mothers. What I need now is finer grit sandpaper wheels for the drill to do the tighter corners.

So far so good:
[attachment=1]
[attachment=2]
[attachment=3]
[attachment=4]

It feels a little sketchy to enter the barn with the whether we have had lately... the ice/snow is now sticking out about 1 meter... that's going to hurt...
[attachment=1]

What does the polishing ball look like?

I've used stuff from here in polishing mine: http://www.a-palojoki.fi/tuotteet/hioma--ja-kiillotustarvikkeet/kiillotustarvikkeet (http://www.a-palojoki.fi/tuotteet/hioma--ja-kiillotustarvikkeet/kiillotustarvikkeet) (in Finnish but you'll see the products)

I have an arsenal of the products you been using, but I haven't quite found the right usage for it yet.
This is the ball I used:
(http://www.mothers.com/02_products/product/images/05141.jpg)
Bought it at Summit in Reno... :)

Cool story Jon! I actually had almost one just like that recently (saw my old bug for sale), but did not have the room for it.. :'(
My copy of 'that book' is about over some 20 years old now as well and was in awe with that pic (and many others) as well  ;)

That Colin has a lot to answer for Airspeed!  ;) ;D

My club the Screwdrivers had our annual WinterAntiFreezeNationals this weekend up in Trondheim, while I was there we picked up a set of the late style fuchs (6x15") for the O'three.
A big bonus is that they came fully polished and of course they wear 911 part numbers. With these puppies up front and early sixes at the back it gets the right look in my book.... so now it's time to do the front... and the all important stance...
[attachment=1]

Looking Good 8)

Thanks Fritte!

BLING!

Thanks Kalle!

Those are DDG (drop dead gorgeous) and resembles John Deans rims regarding the shine perfectly  ;D
I actually like the late 6" Fuchs better as they are suitable for a tubeless tire.  Running inner tubes can be problamatic I found as inner tubes for these are difficult to come by (stance of the air nipple is odd on a Fuch) and running without one is annoying as well.

Great !  8)

Do you have some pictures of the finished car??

damn that sand looks white!

Salt flats.

The car is far from finished but the back half is done. I have welded the rear of the heater channels and repaired one of the bumper brackets, and re-welded the exhaust to get it to clear the bodywork. Then I pulled the oily engine and replaced a worn out flywheel seal, and fixed a broken stud on the exhaust. While I was in there, I replaced the return spring on the clutch as the old one had broken and cleaned out the threads on the clutch wire and wing nut. Then I installed a full set of new stock transmission mounts and welded up some unnecessary holes I had made many years ago. Then I hooked on some new running boards, as the old ones were disintegrating. The front and the rear was obviously lowered before, I lowered the rear 3/4 of a notch (less than the Super Dumper), the front was adjusted down as much as the struts let me, but I think I will have to lower it some more with stiffer and lower springs. On the way home from work on Friday I noticed that the bus stop signs was popping up thru the snow! Knowing that this is the first sign of spring I decided to take a test drive on Saturday.
[attachment=1]

I live on a hill, and I don't have any snow tires, so I had to test my M&H dot's for traction. to do this I took it for a spinn further up the hill, to say that they have great traction would be to lie, but with some determination and speed I made it up just fine.

[attachment=2]
[attachment=3]
The first sign of spring!
[attachment=4]

Nice!

I have two tires waiting for you if you`re still interested.

Best rgs
BB

That would be great Kalle! The car needs more bling in the wheel department! ;)

[attachment=1]
Next on the program is to paint the headlight bezels ;)

the glass are tinted ???

Nice!!

Really nice!

but the turn indicators really should reside into a late model front bumper (just like Dean's car actually ;) )

Yes, all the windows are tinted.

Thanks Lowfastbus!

I got a bumper in storage Airspeed, but I would have to weld up the fenders and I'm not ready to experiment with matching the paint just yet.

Very cool car JHU! When the engine was out...you were not tempted to throw in the big engine ???

Nice ride dude.  ;)

Thanks vwcab!

Berger, yes and no... but a set of IDA's might find there way on there...

Sweet Jon, it's getting there...

Looking good.

Thanks guys! :)

Nice to see it back on the road.

I had some nice trips in it lately, took some pics of it just after hosing it down a couple of weeks ago.
[attachment=1][attachment=2][attachment=3]

Sweet 8) 1302 rear lights suit it perfectly.

Good job Jon.

Thanks guys, got some nice changes comming too!

Moveing along quite nice ! How is the ride in a lowered super beetle ? I have never riden in one, But I would think with a strut front end it would ride good.

The ride is magical... my town is riddled with speed bumps supposed to make you go no faster than 19 mph (30km/h) but this car sucks them up like nothing in 31 mph (50 km/h)!  Very happy with that, but not so happy with the passenger front wheel, as its rubbing on the fender in left turns. Might be a something wonky in the suspension, or the lousy danish repro fenders at the front... I never managed to fix it the first time I owned it (not that I tried very hard), it was in fact part of the reason why I sold it....

Is there a steering bump stop like a ball joint front end ?

Well I don't know, but probably... I will look at the front suspension and find out where the problem lies, before I limit the turning radius.

Looking good!  Seems like a fun car to roll around in.

I have been doing some work on it lately, figured out why the passenger front wheel was rubbing the fender, the adjustment of the camber was at way's end, but still 2° degrees positive caster. Topline had drilled the holes in the wrong location... easy fix with a file. This rubbing was one of the big reasons for selling this car way back then...  15 min fix!  :-[

Next on the list was some work to the interior, but no pictures of this just yet.

But this Sunday I got started on rubbing and buffing the car, the finish was very dull after all these years with bad storage.
[attachment=1]
This picture was taken after buffing the roof to show the dull fender.
[attachment=2]
Pretty dull?
[attachment=3]
The PO had done some "lovely" bodywork and ended up with a bad color match on the hood and above each door, you can still see his rattle-can work in this picture.
Later I washed his paint of and applied some 2 pack color. I will need to come back and do some actual bodywork here.
[attachment=4]
Just had to cruise the town that evening...  :)

cool shot in the underground parking!!
you're making good progress too. will you also shave the indicators and match paint the headlights in the near future?

I have already painted one headlight ring, but the color came out to light because of white primer. But I will give it one more try.
The first to go is the hood handle I think... but eventually it will lose the indicators.
Ordered a set of new license plates today that might change it a little too... at least it will look better for us Norwegians  :)

Looking good. Why is it that some guys get all the work done ???

It's so fun to go out and drive with the car, so I keep doing small upgrades to it and keeping it rolling...easier to get stuff that way, atleast for me... :)

The sister in Tønsberg! Soon to be de-chromed!

Looking good Jon!

I have done a few upgrades to the car over the past months, mostly in the looks department. One of the rear fenders had a large area of surface rust that looked way worse than the rest of the car. After being super inspired by Danny Gabbards thread and his color sanding pics I decided to have a go on it. I sandblasted the lower 35 centimeters of the fender and primered before I applied a skim of filler. After a few rounds of sanding with guide coats i gave it three layers of two pack red and color sanded it.
I was amazed by the results, easily the best paint job I have ever done.
I have also given the nose of the car a "Sarge job"  ;D  I have had a terrible time matching the color to the front fenders, as it turns out they are in a slightly darker color. They will hopefully be swapped out with some nicer ones this summer so the color match will have to do for now.


Getting rid of the chrome... piece by piece
[attachment=1]

The chrome on the rear lights are going too... and some US look lenses... for now
[attachment=2]

The stock seats and door cards are gone...  and in their place... more nostalgia  ;D And a old GTI steering wheel.
[attachment=3]

Looking so cool Jon!
I found it`s twin brother behind Jussi`s garage in the Finish woods  :o

That's a 1302  :-X

Your bug looks great now ! I like the GTI steering wheel. ;)

Looking very nice Jonny!

It's the older brother :-)

Thanks guys!
I found out a interesting thing about my front fenders last night, one has a much deeper wheel arc and I thought it was a bad replica. But I made a template and compared against my convertible, and it turns out that the deep version is the closest to stock.
This suits me very well as its the other one that's rusty, so now I need to track down a fender and paint it up to the best of my abilities.

One other thing I have been thinking about lately, what's the name of the super dumpers door mirrors?
(http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=10714.0;attach=35872;image)

either vitaloni:
(http://www.paruzzi.com/images/466.jpg)

or baby turbo:
(http://www.paruzzi.com/images/467.jpg)

Thanks Diederick but it doesn't look to be right to me.
Looks like this car has the same mirrors, but what are they?
(http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=97.0;attach=706;image)

Vitaloni Baby Tornado

i think you're right!

(http://www.talbotco.com/vitaloni_pics/baby_tornado_2.jpg)

http://www.talbotco.com/vitaloni_mirros.html (http://www.talbotco.com/vitaloni_mirros.html)

but if you look closely the one i posted is also called baby tornado  ???
actually mine was a baby turbo

Ahh Thanks guys, that's the one!!

now go a bid ;) ;D

You know that this car's owner is on The Lounge  ;)

I'm pretty sure that both are using the Vittaloni Baby Turbos as others have stated.

They look nice maching the body color.

I like them with the backend colorcoded like on the white car. But I'm considdering a custom mounting of them... I have seen a few sloppy mirrors in my time... would like to avoid this, but still have the same "look". ::)

I know Rick, but I can't remember who it is :-[

Dan Mazur... DKK Larry's Pizza

Any news about this one?  :)

Yeah... what Nico said!  ;)

Couple of shots from SSC 2010:

(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_j5YMO-ms6rk/THJI0VKQDMI/AAAAAAAAHSI/QOvr87SmdIU/s800/IMG_6839b.jpg)

(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_j5YMO-ms6rk/THJI0axg8FI/AAAAAAAAHSE/4wFrzrHKc3g/s800/IMG_6840b.jpg)

(http://www.funnyforumpics.com/forums/i-see-what-you-did-there/1/i_see_what_you_did_there.jpg)


...to the rear lights!

Hey guys, thanks for asking... it's sitting in my carport looking on me every time I get home from work.
Before the snow leaves I have to replace the oil cooler or the gaskets beneath it and have a look inside one of the rear drums, something is going on in there.

On the slightly more interesting side I'm planning a back to the early nineties stereo, I got three Celestion AD 12 subwoofers (only one is going in tho the car though) and a Phoenix Gold M100 lined up. It will be all hidden from the outside of course, but it feels like the car lacks something like it is now. Would love to get some old Boston speakers also.

On the outside there is still a dire need for some paint... which I will tackle in my garage time permitting. The driver side front fender was welded straightened and painted by myself and it came out ok.

Still debating what is the easiest way to get a pair of Vitaloni Baby Tornado on it... 
   

Sounds good. What's the engine you got inside?

It's a stock 1600cc for the time being with a cheap header on it. It might get some webers and a more motivating cam.

Horsepower > Audio power ;)

I couldn't agree more, and that is why my cars the last ten years have consisted of only horsepower audio...  With no filters and a chromed funnel out back there have never been a need for stereo.
But when I drive this one I start thinking "you know, in here I could actually hear something"...

I'm trying to walk a narrow path here, trying to both keep my license and keep my hearing ability...   ain't cal-lookers fun?

The snow is now gone and the oil leaks have been fixed. Turned out that the sticking brakes was fixed with just a lubrication of the pedal assembly  ::)
I have been driving it quite allot lately, and the lack of music is bugging me. So this weekend has been sent making a tailor made sub enclosure that will hold the amps and two 6x9" speakers... all hidden of course.

How is the car, if I may ask? I liked the topic (and the car).

Thanks for asking, I had to stop driving the car in September last fall. Suddenly a small but nasty crack developed in the frame head above the swaybar mount. This was partly due to the excessive lowering with a stock swaybar, and partly due to hidden rust inside the framehead. I don't like to do half ass fixes, so the body had to come of to fix the rust. I ended up removing the bottom part of the framehead and repairing most all lower edges of the top half. Before painting it inside with Por15 and welding a highly tweaked pattern part to the underside. And while I was in there I welded in a section on top of the frame tunnel from a 75 super. This was done to get clearance to a 75 rack 'n pinion on my car since it's a 74. The 74 has he more modern "negative king pin offset" suspension, but retains the old steering box. In 75 the frame head gets a deeper recess and a rack 'n pinion is introduced. After this welding was done I welded what little rust there was on the pan and straitened out some dents before painting it in Por15 top and bottom. Between everything else in my life it has taken me all winter to get this done.

Cool :) Let us know how the rack and pinion works out for you.

Thanks Zach, I will!
I have taken pictures every step of the way of this conversion to share online, as it's quite a process if you want all the strenght VW put in to the 75 design.
Currently i have the body hovering in the air to do the mod on that to. Basically you have to remove a "framerail conector" since it takes up the space needed for the rack and pinion, and weld in a four captive nuts inside the frame rails.
But when you have the body of it's also wise to address the rust you may or may not find. I knew of four areas with issues, so it's going to take me about a couple of weeks of effective work to take care of it all, shortcuts is a nono so I'm doing it to a level I can live with.

Haha, I wrote that in April... And NOW I'm done ;D

Took some sweet time but i'm happy with the result.
I discovered some serious rust in the frame head, so I knew the body had to come of the pan. Just welding rust is boring stuff, so I figured I would convert it to rack and pinion at the same time. Since the car is severely lowered it was suffering from the occasional jamming of the pitman arm in the trailing arm, not a good feeling, but a rack and pinion will cure this.
I did as much research as I could but I could not find a step by step description so I figured I could document how I did it.

I did a lot of rust welding in addition to the conversion but I will spare you those pictures.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP01.jpg)
Here is the frame head, at this point I had removed the bottom and repaired the vertical sides of the top half. I did not want to remove the locating tabs for the the trailing arms, so I cut them at an angel to gain access.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP01_5.jpg)
I got the frame head of a 75 from a local dealer, but when I saw it I knew I could only use pieces of it.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP02.jpg)
I cut a cardboard template of the notch in the 74 frame head to figure out how big the difference was.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP03.jpg)
Here you see the template on top of the 75 frame head... quite a big difference.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP04.jpg)
Cleaning up the 75 head for surgery. :D

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP05.jpg)
Here is a picture of the reinforcement vw have placed inside the frame head.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP06.jpg)
Here is a measurement to make sure the body would fit back on after the conversion.  :?

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP07.jpg)
Same measurement on the 75 frame head

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP08.jpg)
Cleaning up the 74 head, and grinding away the fat bead of weld above the mounting point.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP09.jpg)
Laying down the cut lines at the edge of where the shapes match, also taking into consideration where Iwould have access to weld from the back side.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP10.jpg)
The first cuts made, one issue, the reinforcement don't follow the outer shape to good where I choose to cut it on the 74. (75 was much tighter at this spot) I fixed this later with a couple of notches and some panel beating on the edge.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP11.jpg)
Here is the 75 piece in its new location, fits quite nicely.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP12.jpg)
To be able to fully weld the inner reinforcement I cut back the outer edges five millimeters.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP13.jpg)
Another view of the cuts and the welds needed, here it becomes apparent why the bead above the brackets had to go.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP14.jpg)
The first welds done, one have to take into consideration the shrinkage the welds introduce and try to "balance" where to weld to avoid warping the frame head.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP15.jpg)
The front part is only single skin.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP16.jpg)
(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP17.jpg)
First round completed.


(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP18.jpg)
(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP19.jpg)
Second round completed.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP20.jpg)
Welds ground down and new fat beads laid above brackets. If I didn't have access to the backside I would not have ground down the welds. Strength is a good thing. :)

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP21.jpg)
Inside before welding, quite good penetration of the welds, IMHO.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP22.jpg)
The shape of the reinforcement behind the brackets also differ.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP23.jpg)
Nothing a little weld can't fix.  :D

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP24.jpg)
Part way thru welding the inside.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP25.jpg)
Floor pan converted, and bottom half welded back on, used a pattern part from Denmark, "had to" slice it in 6 pieces to get it to look like the original part.  :roll:  The pan then had a few hidden rust traps exposed and repaired before being painted in Por15.

On to the body.  I started on the driver side by fixing rust in the front divider wall... where a normal bug has five sheet metal pieces meeting in one point, I found that the super has nine! pieces. Rust fest...  It all looked ok from the outside but when you get crunching sounds when you undo the two big bolts underneath you know you have some digging to do! Getting the repairs to look as close to stock as possible is a personal goal for me... no matter how hidden they are.  :?

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP27.jpg)
Here I have cut away some of the heater channel and rebuilt the inner parts of the divider wall. Like making a new "cage" for the loose nut in there.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP28.jpg)
Opening up more to place the weld in nuts

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP29.jpg)
Another angle of the reinforcement for the steering box. Notice the plastic bung closing of a hole, I first thought that it might be the right place for the weld in nut, but no such luck.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP30.jpg)
Luckily I had a NOS frame rail and quarter panel for a super for another project. And that turned out to be a universal piece, with provisions for bot steering box and rack n' pinion 8) So there is three versions, first the 73-74 (on the right side) then the 75 with only weld in nuts, and the universal (on the left side)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/176687953/SuperDumper/RnP32.jpg)

Cleaning out the reinforcements to get access to both the rust trapped between the frame rail and the outer reinforcement, and to weld in the nuts.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP33.jpg)
This is the end of the spare tire reinforcement, the 75 doesn't have this and at least the ends needs to be removed to fit the rack and pinion.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP34.jpg)
Rust repaired and the frame rail extended all the way to the heater channel. I also welded up the holes left by the steering gear, to avoid getting water in there. I also discovered rust behind the legs of the shock tower, so it was cut away and a piece fabricated.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP35.jpg)
Here is a small piece from a cut up 75...  all rusted out.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP36.jpg)
This is how the 74 frame rail looks after you have removed the spare wheel well reinforcement, the holes have to go before drilling up the needed new ones.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP37.jpg)
A tricky measurement on the NOS part... measure twice :)

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP38.jpg)
Drilling out the spot welds under the spare wheel well.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP39.jpg)
A couple of spot welds have to be drilled from the opposite side.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP40.jpg)
A pair of sandblasted 75 weld nuts welded in on the 74...

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP41.jpg)
From the underside.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP42.jpg)
All closed up... with a new "leg" in place for the strut tower. At this point I had fixed the heater channel and welded in a new hookies heater channel bottom.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP43.jpg)
(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP44.jpg)
Here is the other side after rust removing and converting, just the closing panel left.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP45.jpg)
Closed up painted and rack and pinion mounted.  8)

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP46.jpg)
Pretty tight in there...  cant quite understand how you could get it in there without notching the frame head. Maybe you save some space by removing the rubber booth, but how wise is that?

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP47.jpg)
A better picture of the clearances.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP48.jpg)
Without the rack.

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP50.jpg)
Driver side all done :)

(http://vwnorge.no/Smal/RnP51.jpg)
The other parts you need of a 75...  the longest of both types are the 75 version. (the others are 74)

Now you know what I have been up to

to me that doesn't even looks like bug parts....  ::)


 ;D

one a more serious note are the baby tornado's fitted?  ;)

Very nice work as always JHU! Now get that car on the road and go cruising in the summer rain..  ;)

Thanks guys, I got a lot to do on the house during the snow free months, so progress is quite slow. Got the engine in two days ago and the tank in yesterday, so today it might actually move under it's own power again.

The baby's is not on there yet...  But Im still looking forward to it, but during test fitting of them they seem to drop a little....  Not a good look, but how do I fix that, moving them up to the curved part of the door, or machine the base slightly?

Nice work!

WOW! That is nice work . . . a lot of it!
Working on Dumper was nothing like that, of course it was still almost a new car way back then.
I can ask my brother if he remembers anything about the mirror mounting, but that was a loooooong time ago.
All the best on your project . . . it’s lookin’ good!

Thanks guys, I have just been out there swapping tie rods and bleeding the brakes. And all the fuel lines it all adds up.
I must say this internet thing is amazing, I never dreamed I would actually be talking to someone who helped build the dumper!! :o
Mind blowing...

 BTW happy birthday America

Nice work 8)

So another year has passed, but the 1303 is still here. I have used it very little the last year, but I changed the front tires last week... popped on some new Michelin 135s I bought at Volksworld show two years ago. 135's on a 6" rim... now that's a combo with some shape to it.
My buddy performed a meticulous alignment job on it and the steering is now amazing... that Rack and pinion steering installed was worth all the work after all.
I was so inspired by driving it again that I put on a rear sway bar, I suspect it's a Bugpack or something... I can't say I really notice a distinct difference when driving it. So I pooped on a beefier 7/8 Bugpack front sway bar as well, and it now there is a lot less roll, but the car is still WAY to soft. It keeps grinding those wheels on the fenders. Now it's time to upgrade dampers and springs.
Does anyone know what to get? I want to possibly go track racing with this thing... so no swishy washy...  ;D

Thanks to Jo and Richie the Dump is now sitting on fully adjustable AVO coilovers. Avo don't list the 1303 in their lists, but I took a chance and ordered Golf mk1 struts. And they fit perfectly the only thing that needs attention is how the brake line attach to the leg.
The struts are adjustable for the weakest AVO can produce to something that would be considered race hard for a Golf. Since there is no front engine in my car they are plenty hard enough as it is. The Golf uses 250lbs springs, and that is way to hard for a 03, after som research 130  LBS is mor corect for road use on the bug. 170 lbs is considered "casual race" on the bug, so I got 180 lbs, and I couldn't be more happy with it. At the back I have re-valved AVO 222 shocks (starts at click 10).
The fender rubbing has stopped, and the lack of roll in the bug has showed me that I need better seats. In short it handles surprisingly good. I have it at 6 rounds from the softest setting up front and at 6 clicks at the back. It still sucks up the bumps like new shocks do.

Due to limited clearance up front I'm running 6" original fuchs with 135 Michelin, and some old Michelin 195/65 at the back. It now does 0.85 g on the skidpad test, not to shabby with bicycle wheels up front.  :)

When's the last time you posted up some pics???

June 12. last year :)  Looking at the most resent pictures I can see that I have made some visual changes. Maybe I can post a couple of pics before the snow comes in.  :)

As usual; Pictures or it didn`t happen  :D

Bloody skeptics... why can't you just believe  ;D ;D

So you finally got them fitted, I cant believe it took that long :o :D  Excellent that they worked out right for you :) but I think you are nearly into being on the wrong forum :P :P :-* ;D

cheers Richie

Warning: this topic has not been posted in for at least 120 days.

The thread may have remained unchanged, but I have had a lot of fun with the car. I Participated in circuit racing with it in May and also did a auto slalom at SCC. I was starting to feel that the 135 tires was holding me back, so I looked through my wheel room and found a set of 7 & 8s. And they sort of fitted... on they went with 165/50-15 up front an 195/60-15 at the back. Then I drove 370 kilometers up into the mountains and participated in the annual Bergrennen race, and with facts in hand I now have more grip than engine power.
Time to stuff something nicer into the back of this thing. My average speed was 101 km/h up this 8 & 12° grade hill... never lifted through the serpentines.

(https://www.dropbox.com/s/7s458nl2bztcyqh/Seven-N-eights.jpg?raw=1)

Love the stance Jon!

Killer look! Keep up the good work Jon!!  ;D

Thanks guys!

how are those wheels covered or coated? I realy like the colour.... I got some 4 lug fuchs myself.

Going for that poked and stretched look, Jon? ;)

I do love the finish on them though. Looks right on that car.

The wheels are bead blasted and painted with a rattle can "gold wheel" paint. The bead blasted surface gives it a semigloss look, and thats why you so easily see the shape of the wheel. I would prefer a two pack paint, but I agree with you, the color is perfect... just the dirty gold color I was looking for.

The other shoes has 135 on a 6" wheel, also out of necessity... it grinds with anything wider.  That beeing said, I do prefer wheels with some shape to them.

Looks good Jon. The Gold wheels really bring it out

Thanks buddy!

Can you tell me more about your research? I did not manage to find any sources other then internet forums where people (in most cases) claim that stock 1303 spring was 80 lbs/inch. As for what is a recommended settings, there is of course no consensus, as most people claim that what they have is best without even asking how a given car is meant to be used.

I'm asking because I have topline struts which have totally useless springs that are so soft that they collapse under the car's weight alone, statically. I need to buy something stiffer, but I'm afraid to choose something to stiff.

My research was limited, I got information directly from AVO on what the Golf struts had as supplied. After that I called LA performance in the UK, and they were most helpful and gave me the information about the normal setup (kercher) and what they used for street (130) and track vehicles (170). I figured that my car was heavier than the track cars, and that I wanted to ride lower so I opted for 180lbs. I don't regret anything and the ride is quite nice when I run the shocks loose. I even enjoy the ride with the shock on a much stiffer setting.
Hope this helps, and btw the springs are quite cheap.

Jon

Yes yes, but it is still cheaper to ask then to buy twice ;)
Thanks, that was helpful. One more thing - is 130 a spring rating from Kercher kits or LA performance recommendation for street?
Oh, and what is the make of the sway bar you use?

BTW if this is the car that was on scc this year - it's killer!

130 LBS is what LA performance told me that Kercher's (and the others) used, I dont know if this is correct, I have no way of telling.
I guess the check is quite simple, how much stiffer does the spring get when compressed 25,4 mm?

The sway bar is a 7/8 Bugpack up front, and the rear was bought used so I don't know.   

You must have been looking on another car  ;) (but it was there)

Snooping around
(http://www.raceinfo.no/temp/DumperBumper.jpg)

Just installed my new tweaked Fuchs with Toyo R888 tires. No narrow beam here, the aim is to take corners at speed...
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/eag2ren9gtiggvu/Wide.jpg?raw=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/hz3sp6cwlcyy1ag/Wide2.jpg?raw=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/5dp1zz3gy5m8enj/just.jpg?raw=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/ar3au0a1onhtgd9/Purpose.jpg?raw=1)

 

To me at least, this car just screams '80s street racer Jon !
I love it!

Do you know how do the Toyo's compare to Advans?

What size tires did you go with?

After reading a few reviews the AVONs seem to have better dry weather grip, but they are significantly more money. The TOYOs offer good grip and decent rain performance (for an R tire) at a good price point.

The tires are 195/50-15" and 225/50-15" in the rear.

The more I look the last picture, the more I like it...  8)

BTW, the front rims are 8" and the rear are 9"   

Really? They look like 7's and 8's to me?

Good eye, well, they used to be 7&8. Now the 7 is a 8 and the 8 is a 9.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/176687953/SuperDumper/InDaMail.jpg)

Ahh! Nice work!

The wheels are now on the car, along with a 1915, and a close ratio rack and pinion.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/z9vdyj21ps4a1bo/Roger1.jpg?raw=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/g27hdia2pb9qdgi/Roger2.jpg?raw=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/mm0n71b0fsap3s8/Roger3.jpg?raw=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/06xokfoutemwlmb/Zita5.jpg?raw=1)

The handling is improved. ;)

your car looks great!

Thanks Peter!

Killer look !  8)

I love it, the wheels/tires combo is perfect for the car  ;)

Thanks Flow!

Looks absolutely fantastic!

Thank you Vokskris!

your car looks abolutely stunning. Must be great fun to ride on nice country roads ;D

I love what you did to your car  8) must be a fun thing to drive!

I agree. That car looks awesome Jon!

Hey! I missed seeing you around here! :)

Thanks Zach! I read something about the scene dying, so I checked in to have a look ;)

Upgraded to sealed beams a few days ago, nice and curved compared to the Golf units it had earlier.

Great pictures of a bad ass car.  8)

Thanks Jim, nice to hear!

I have constantly been working on getting this car in better shape ever since I got it back. The paint started deteriorating quite rapidly after it was painted back in the early nineties, the materials wasn't up to the use I put it to.
But the years of bad storage since I sold it has left the car with blisters in the paint and generally tatty finish. I have been trying to fix the worst areas and it has looked decent from a distance the last couple of years. But when you come up on it it's horrible. So it's time to rub it all down to bare metal and repaint it.

I started with the front of the car since it had some rust in the bumper mounts and a bad front panel.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/jt6txpuybd50a05/2016-10-10%2023.14.46.jpg?raw=1)

Gone.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/z5fqwqc0nbfo9h7/2016-10-11%2022.52.57.jpg?raw=1)    

I removed the front screen and found... nothing to my surprise!
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/y1gpf4fhr8tyobl/2016-10-13%2000.17.09.jpg?raw=1)

When I found rust in the strut tower in addition to the rust in the bumper area, as well as collision damages both before and aft the tower, I decided to get rid of it all.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/xe1l2592qm8twb6/2016-10-15%2000.47.59.jpg?raw=1)
Scary looking hole for sure.  :-X

But I had a couple of NOS panels in store, one 1302 and one 1303 part.
Unfortunately there was some surface rust on the 03 part, so I had to sandblast it first.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/c8axqjtkhk67u1l/2016-10-16%2001.36.38.jpg?raw=1)

  

Someone had cut away the lower corner of it, so I had to recreate it.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/exl3j7ol21kyy5f/2016-10-17%2001.01.29.jpg?raw=1)
The two parts:
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/v5hu8x3rme2q8uy/2016-10-17%2001.20.21.jpg?raw=1)
Next action point was to replace original rusty doors, I have been collecting doors for this car for the longest time, but when I looked more closely on the doors, non was good enough.
I decided to locate some NOS doors to get around the problem, I first found a set set of standard doors, but they were the wrong year it turned out. So I keept looking and two days later Mags sendt me a link to two NOS Mexican doors that turned out to be more or less identical to the original doors on the car.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/rk3xoit7r6b7yrs/2016-10-22%2020.10.00.jpg?raw=1)    

To get the doors to fit right I had to tweak the front most body mount, and recreate this "nut case".
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/upuhsdbv7v6w5or/2016-10-23%2000.45.49.jpg?raw=1)
Result, better than ever before fit, and nice and parallel gaps.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/0z4xp9uuk0rehts/2016-10-23%2002.10.45.jpg?raw=1)

Then I started closing up some excess holes in the new panel, these panels are genuine Volkswagen parts, but they are sort of universal when it comes to holes.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/cq1qdgewnjj3bgb/2016-10-24%2023.34.19.jpg?raw=1)
It fits the car quite nicely and only needed minor adjustments due to shelf life.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/kgbp3gmuv9eitm7/2016-10-24%2023.57.41.jpg?raw=1)
Nice even gaps.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/ypz14tg7h3c8llm/2016-10-24%2023.57.30.jpg?raw=1)
And in the foot well.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/9zj1t5o91wadudh/2016-10-24%2023.58.22.jpg?raw=1)

A little test of the front panel.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/p0n0vcewpgkwljw/2016-10-25%2000.11.20.jpg?raw=1)
On to a little customizing.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/e6fuoqny7mvyp4j/2016-11-09%2022.36.47.jpg?raw=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/4uix8z90mpjmexj/2016-11-09%2023.36.31.jpg?raw=1)
External tank filler hole gone.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/aa8t5yt775thhmw/2016-11-10%2022.07.01.jpg?raw=1)
Then I removed the channels for the hood sealer.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/4570tdcgbb9oipy/2016-11-13%2000.33.45.jpg?raw=1)
This brings us up to today. One of the last things I did was to remove the hole for the wing mirrors and those pesky trim holes.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/2sp79kho47qt15v/2016-11-15%2022.52.09.jpg?raw=1)

Nice work  :) I'll be doing the same filler cap mod to on mine  ;)

Thanks Gwar72  :)

Moving right along on the car, to get the best result I brought the car over to the local body shop and we used their state of the art spotwelder
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/mlio8uk7ju1pdsz/2016-11-18%2021.01.57.jpg?raw=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/rbt89q9nle2xxm1/2016-11-18%2021.52.54.jpg?raw=1)
Then it was time to wrap it up again and bring it back to our shop to do the remaining welding.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/kg01cpknjx9pqgx/2016-11-18%2023.55.34.jpg?raw=1)

very nice work! impressive bodywork. also very nice shop, maybe larger then Belgium  ;D  ::)

Looking good Jon!

Thanks Nicolas and Rick! The shop is 700 square meters of joy Nicolas, but still smaller than Belgium I would say :D
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/fl0l7wd2us75r4e/2016-11-22%2000.10.06.jpg?raw=1)
The red dust is flying...
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/bav3opg4sc1m8gw/2016-11-24%2000.00.45.jpg?raw=1)
Fiddling with the front to get everything to line up.

I managed to get the new front panel welded back on yesterday.
First I applied some of Volvos excellent weld primer.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/0987kbeql0txgvi/2016-11-24%2023.35.08.jpg?raw=1)
And to the panel itself.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/wwprxdwpthkwuc7/2016-11-24%2023.35.28.jpg?raw=1)
And on with the spot welder.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/eurj6ttlsx476e2/2016-11-25%2000.20.42.jpg?raw=1)
A quick test with the new left fender
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/f6dpfx8rwn594ar/2016-11-25%2000.35.50.jpg?raw=1)

Some really nice work there Jon 8)

cheers Richie

Thanks Richie!

First I fiddled around with the new fender, and got it to fit the car much better.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/xbyaig6wkwktk70/2016-11-27%2022.49.33.jpg?raw=1)
Then it was time to get those nice weather sealing strips on the front again. An amazing amount on rust behind them, but now they are covered with more of that Volvo weld primer.
Let's hope they hold up another 40 years. First a nice coating of weld primer
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/lu3wjt4lnqujtxd/2016-11-27%2023.01.33.jpg?raw=1)
In the end it came out ok
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/odfz3uulng82kdi/2016-11-27%2023.40.09.jpg?raw=1)

Nice work Jon and it is indeed good to see that light blue color being used  :)

-BB-

Great work Jon , the effort you put in to preserve the -03  :)

Rgs

Thanks BB and Sonic!
Again a quick spread of Volvo weld primer:
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/2bg5r13ide2e4uo/2016-11-28%2022.43.02.jpg?raw=1)
A little gentle shaping of the piece and it was time to break out the spot welder.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/3fgrlqyvewrru5q/2016-11-28%2023.15.42.jpg?raw=1)
Quite stock looking
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/c1pi21ukq078q0d/2016-11-28%2023.23.33.jpg?raw=1)
With a quick primer it looks stock, but without the rust...
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/ibb911zopdv1v1i/2016-11-28%2023.28.48.jpg?raw=1)

Hi Jon,

Have you any pictures on how you peeled back the outer seam when you put in the new front quarter in?? I think I'm going to have to replace both of mine and thought that if I cut 1cm vertically forward in front along seam I wouldn't have to mess with peeling it back and reforming? (I hope that makes sense?) One panel had been used (spot welded on the lip, so don't want to use that bit) Cheers  :)

(http://i1053.photobucket.com/albums/s462/Pip72/WP_20161215_15_03_16_Pro_zpsa7fn5h4m.jpg) (http://s1053.photobucket.com/user/Pip72/media/WP_20161215_15_03_16_Pro_zpsa7fn5h4m.jpg.html)

  

Hi Gwar72,
I started out cutting the rail just above the panel, so I didn't need to open all of it. First i pried it open with a sharp screwdriver in the bottom, and then I used a home made tool to bring the lip up to 90° from where it started. The tool is the end of a driveshaft with a grove in it that goes from a point in a smooth curve up to a flat shape.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/bn19t781r5zwjdb/2016-07-12%2023.35.27.jpg?raw=1)
And after the job is done I just tapped it back down again with light taps.   :)
    

Here are some pics from the process on the other side, first opening:
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/bhr30amuqejz48f/2016-11-29%2021.28.31.jpg?raw=1)
Cleaning
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/vr4p1dlvwklhz9o/2016-11-29%2021.28.41.jpg?raw=1)
After sandblasting primering the lip was closed again
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/r1vrxisp0o2dbst/2016-11-29%2023.05.43.jpg?raw=1)
Done
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/qacnn6bv6ohlffs/2016-11-29%2023.05.58.jpg?raw=1)

Brill, Cheers  :)

Is the wing spot welded to lip as well or just pinned behind fold?

Cheers
Tim

Next I moved on to the "new" driver side fender. It had been treated to a sickening thick layer of spray filler. And under it all... rust!
Had a hard time removing it around the bucket, so I decided to pop it out.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/117le4lhmlp5t9v/2016-12-10%2000.16.34.jpg?raw=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/v8gdn7wo4f85ory/2016-12-10%2000.16.49.jpg?raw=1)
Didn't regret that
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/2g74g7gi55ltf37/2016-12-10%2000.18.17.jpg?raw=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/10qk8fo77i3ck52/2016-12-10%2000.18.31.jpg?raw=1)
Cleaning up
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/hixgnrnc15uop23/2016-12-10%2002.36.13.jpg?raw=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/gl3052kvfoimmvu/2016-12-10%2002.36.28.jpg?raw=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/kra0mdjhg2vd98z/2016-12-10%2002.36.54.jpg?raw=1)
And I primered everything and welded it back in again
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/qf4jwhq8p5f0lra/2016-12-18%2001.08.22.jpg?raw=1)

It's spot welded every 40 mill or so, you can see the stock welds in the second photo.
 :)
 

Then it was back on the doors, in 75 VW changed out the mounting system for the window lifts. I'm still going with one-piece windows so I need to be able to use the older mounting to be able to fit the double supported type from 68(?)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/mbdpwxe0f2z9bjk/2016-12-17%2022.30.10.jpg?raw=1)
First I welded in a piece from a older door
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/5yhadqvz8gh3cf4/2016-12-17%2000.05.56.jpg?raw=1)
Then I cleaned up a older bracket
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/s2iu1hidg93ehmk/2016-12-17%2000.06.12.jpg?raw=1)
And spot welded it in.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/t9ehwaamusrca2h/2016-12-17%2023.50.35.jpg?raw=1)
And then the doors were done.

I started restoring another hood for the car. Had to fix the front part of the hood, and exercise my TIG welding skills... or lack there of.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/egk31x7vtims8u8/2016-12-22%2023.59.05.jpg?raw=1)
And after welding
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/b33mpv4hg3ejbcu/2016-12-26%2022.56.38.jpg?raw=1)
I had to remove the hood handle to, and while I generally liked my old solution I decided to reinforce the hood on the inside.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/xfhigmf2wh743qs/2017-01-12%2001.01.21.jpg?raw=1)
And then weld that to the hood
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/jcb4p2pxoi1557o/2017-01-12%2001.54.44.jpg?raw=1)

The final little part of changing the front quarter panel was to braze up the gap between the the new panel and the cowl like original.
I got my friend Atle to do the job as he is a highly skilled TIG welder.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/z9yu8ghb2vcteaj/2017-01-03%2018.16.39%20%281%29.jpg?raw=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/lcpf964o25derds/2017-01-03%2018.16.45.jpg?raw=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/k87vcdaxmpqec5d/2017-01-05%2021.29.07.jpg?raw=1)
Came out great in the end.

Had to repair the bumper mount, I had a professional fix it back when I was sixteen (didn't have the guts to do it myself)
He made a mess of it in my eyes.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/u4uneqe6pt4ywif/2017-01-01%2021.16.40.jpg?raw=1)
There was nothing really wrong with the part, so I cut it of cleaned it up and welded back in the right way and in the right place.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/7v66uq1qfofh5lo/2017-01-07%2000.37.25.jpg?raw=1)
In the end it came out ok and I got to try the new removable back apron.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/rzlgel1clzo1iwa/2017-01-07%2001.24.32.jpg?raw=1)
  

One of the things I have been worrying about on this project is the roof gutter rust. I know it comes form the inside of the gutter but I have feared to go inside in the past.
But there needs to be a first time for everything.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/hkt984hlohm4rdf/2017-01-13%2023.31.55.jpg?raw=1)
Here we go
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/6mwxa6a2971ntuu/2017-01-13%2023.39.47.jpg?raw=1)
Under way, rust starts falling out from the gutter as it's opened
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/y9f2l486xn8iznl/2017-01-13%2023.40.18.jpg?raw=1)
It's nasty in there!
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/igl1z0q5ggjio5l/2017-01-13%2023.40.30.jpg?raw=1)
Rust from start to end, ready to pop out when the paint is on  >:(
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/wkc0enz13bt9qb0/2017-01-13%2023.40.53.jpg?raw=1)
Open, now it's time to clean
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/6xx9ukf879uuxrs/2017-01-14%2000.41.35.jpg?raw=1)
Half way thru sand blasting the snot out of it...
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/gacbavl6wvj9eak/2017-01-14%2000.42.18.jpg?raw=1)
Then the light coat of primer it never received at the factory
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/1d9d6dzv15995r8/2017-01-14%2001.53.13.jpg?raw=1)
Then a little inotech sealer to fill any potential gap once closed.
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/hmr5twj3b2ie5lh/2017-01-14%2002.01.42.jpg?raw=1)
Then it was time to tap it right back
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/lcgpke8c0d2klqp/2017-01-14%2002.21.46.jpg?raw=1)
Time to clean up the inotech excess
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/lovrwor8nn3uoq9/2017-01-14%2003.15.51.jpg?raw=1)
After cleaning up
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/0pm6d18rqarp2z0/2017-01-14%2003.15.42.jpg?raw=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/5sos3beli3fo4be/2017-01-14%2003.15.56.jpg?raw=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/g180y02eq9jh5dp/2017-01-14%2003.16.08.jpg?raw=1)
Came out very nice in the end, won't spend another minute thinking about this problem... except the time it's going to take med to do the other side. ;-)
 


 

great work!
what tools did you use for opening and closing it, the result looks awesome

Thanks Steven! You see the tool I used to open with in post #186. I used a pen hammer and dolly to close it up.

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 ::)
Nah I think I stick with this one. It seems most of the pictures are gone too... great!
Well, the car is painted and it came out ok, considering I did the bodywork and prep myself.
I have been driving a little with the MOT 1600 cc engine, and that will hopefully change right after SCC.

Here are a few pictures with the "track shoes". [attachment=1]
[attachment=2]
[attachment=3]

one word: YES!

 ;)

Awesome car!!

Sooo... I have fixed all the broken links so the pictures are back for the time being. And due to a small engine fire I’m back in the paint booth. This gave me the opportunity to clean up and paint the engine bay. 

a beautiful car, what size wheels and tyres are you running?

Thanks! The wheels are 8” in the front and 9” in the rear. Tires are 195/50-15" and 225/50-15" in the rear. Stock fenders.

Wow Jon came out of hibernation :o :D ;D 

I feel you pain on the engine fire, hope it wasn't to bad ???   


cheers Richie