The Cal-look Lounge

I though I could show you what I spend my VW play time on. Its a 1964 1200 sold new in Tønsberg, Norway. I bought the car back in 2001 to have something to play with while I was redoing my split bus. When I stumbled over an old ad on a derelict Porsche website the ball started rolling, the ad was for four Mahle gasburners. At the time I had a crush on them after seeing them on Gilberts Frid at Volksworld Show 2000. The wheels were paid and shipped to Norway. I designed some adapters to fit them (CNC machined steel) and got them on the bug, but only after fitting a lowered beam to it. Alu T bars were made up by a friend of mine. I did some quick welding on it to get it thru the tech inspection and was give the licence plates. I used it about 3 months before the 1200 gave up, in went a 1600 and the car felt much faster. The year after it received a well used 1915 and some 40 webers, BIG improvement! I took it to the races and got as far as the semi-finals before the stock box gave up on me. It did a 9.6 on street tyres on regular asphalt.
I put a 1300S (OG swing axle 3.88) in it and kept on until that box died to... In with another and that one lived on right into the winter. Over the winter I bought a 2176 IDA engine from Sweden. It was built in 86 and contained all the usual suspects Superflow, FK89, JE pistons, Pauter crank, magneto and 13.9 CR!
I learned a lot that winter since it was my first engine build. The CR was taken down to a embarrassing 10.5 which resulted in 4mm + squish!! I was thrilled when it still managed to give 183,5 on the dyno @ 6000. But somehow now matter how we tried we could not get it to run over 6000. Still don’t know what caused it bad combination of parts I guess. I took the car to SPA in 2002 and raced all weekend... It ran so good down there, I didn't loose a single race. Great fun!!
(http://blogsimages.skynet.be/images/000/679/763_cb2c1ef8796d4be31aa478337c9fe260.jpg)
My gearbox didn't live long with this engine in the car so a new box was commissioned from Ricky Graffeo Texas. The ratios are as follows; 3.88 R/P 4.11, 2.46, 1.65, 1.26 and a ZF LSD. The axels are Sway away items. I bought some M&H slicks for it to, but it was to much for the flywheel/crank connection, so a new crank with wedge mating was ordered from Demello. When I got that into the car the engine case gave up. And so did I.

I then decided it needed a complete going over, both the car and the engine.
This is how it looked in the fall of 2004 before I took it apart. Its on JAP wheels and burners in this picture.
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-1827-P1010007.jpg)

The main reason for fixing up the car was that I could not stand having the side trim any more. I felt like a hypocrite driving it. The reason for me calling the thread Timebandit Is partly because it steals time, and because I’m going for a look that many feel is out dated, late seventies/ early eighties. This car will reflect what I would have done to it if I was old enough back then.   

Striping the car in the barn:
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-1828-P1080010.jpg)

During this I took great care of putting all the nuts and bolts into ziplock bags and labeling them... yes I'm crazy  ::)

After striping it to a bare shell I built a rotisserie to get access to all the nooks and crannies. Then I borrowed a sandblasting facilities and blasted it myself, making sure I got it all. The car was almost as good as I had hoped. However one of the heather channels showed small holes along the bottom. I welded up a hole in the rear of that channel when I got it so it was not a big surprise. After 40 years on salty Norwegian roads this is not bad at all.

(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-1829-P2200032.jpg)

Both the rear inner wings had some serious rust in them, as most bugs in Norway, with that construction its waithing to happen.
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-1830-P2200037.jpg)

And then it was covered up in some Glasurit epoxy primer.
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-1831-P2200042.jpg)

Nuts and bolts may break my bones?? Well allmost, I got all of them mediablasted and back in their ziplocked bags...
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-1833-IMG_2287.jpg)

There had been no wrenching on this car at all before i took it a part, thats the only reason for me doing it this way. All of it will be treated like it was from Wolfsburg.
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-1836-IMG_2300.jpg)

This is a picture of the inner "wall" of the rear wheelhouse. I took great care to make it like the original. The "lip" of the rear luggage compartment was repaired before this was welded on.  Everything is welded without overlapping. Going for stock appearance.
(http://blogsimages.skynet.be/images/000/879/129_ad06b68a6ebd5b175bff7117ca444b94.jpg)

This is from the other side. I made the reinforcement from scratch and welded in the curved stuff from the old one.
(http://blogsimages.skynet.be/images/002/642/988_7119178808b4f548a8b9b4c104c8f6d2.jpg)

Very nice work!

I loved seeing your car at Spa a few years back, it rocked!

Thanks!!  ;D That weekend was great... driving along down to Spa city and the sound of the IDAs between the buildings... One of my fondest memories with this car. It will happen again!  :)

Hi JHU

keep op the cool work

hope to race you one day in the nasty gray

hey john -- bring it over to the euro bug in !

Thanks guys, I´m trying Turtle, I´m trying.... ::)

When I lifted the body of  the front bolts screwed up, it tore apart the little incasing the captive nut sits in. Not an easy fix... had to dig deep to get in there. I drilled out the spot-welds an got it out in the open. Most of this piece I had to recreate after what remained.

(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-1889-IMG_2385.jpg)

Back where it came from. I had to repair some of the inner "walls" in the heater channel before it could go in again.  :-X
Also shown are the new side to the heater channel I have made. I made the decision to remove the whole length and make a new as per the original. With all the little factory "dings"  ::)


(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-1890-IMG_2388.jpg)

A overview of the battle field...
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-1891-IMG_2389.jpg)

This is a pic of the repairs to the inner wall of the heather channel. All this was sandblasted and primered before I closed it up.
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-1844-IMG_2325.jpg)

A pic of the heather channel and the angle iron I welded it to avoid anything getting out of shape.
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-1846-IMG_2323.jpg)

Looking down a intake port, with some mild porting by me.
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-1873-Alibaba.jpg)

Welding the channel, nice and easy.  Made sure the welds penetrated first.
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-1918-IMG_2395.jpg)

Below is my little test. The picture on the right is the back side.

Fully welded.
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-2063-Hjulbue.jpg)
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-2065-sikte.jpg)

Next problem was the closing of the "firewall", thereby loosing the dimple.
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-2815-P2200033_copy.jpg)
I really wanted to recreate it so I made a little tool.
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-2816-IMG_2572.jpg)
The hardest part was the shaping of the "male", to get the same dimensions as VW's
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-2817-IMG_2574.jpg)
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-2818-IMG_2577.jpg)
It came out okay
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-2819-IMG_2567.jpg)

Welded in and grinded:
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-2826-IMG_2583.jpg)
Heater channel grinded:
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-2827-IMG_2586.jpg)
Detail shot of the "welded" area and the small strange dimples:
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-2828-IMG_2587.jpg)
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-2829-IMG_2592.jpg)
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-2830-IMG_2588.jpg)
I had a hell of a time recreating the edge of the quarter pannel:
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-2831-IMG_2589.jpg)

Done! Spot welded like the original:
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-4217-H_rnan_Agda.jpg)

Here the wheelhouse wall is extended down to the heater channel, and the side of the channel is spot welded in vw's spots to the bottom  ::)
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-4218-BortreSving.jpg)

Door opening done:
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-4219-Dike.jpg)

And now some CAL-LOOKING!!
Trim holes GONE:

(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-4344-HollyMolly.jpg)

You can also see my NOS drivers door, picked it up for $35  :)

Repairing the bumper mounts. Cut out the old piece and did some minor fixing on the new pannels, to get them just right.
BTW Hookies pannels ROCKS!
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-4346-Cutaway.jpg)
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-4347-Hookie.jpg)
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-4348-Hookiepoint.jpg)

Trial fitted:
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-4349-Hookientery.jpg)

Allmost back to spec:
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-5617-Hookie.jpg)

And this is the other side fixed:
(http://vw2you.com/Public/Uploads/Post-24-6367-Fanger.jpg)

Which takes us up to this day, the body is now finished, and is about to go out to lead work. I located a skilled painter last night, who wanted to take time to paint my car black. Once done it will be colour sanded and buffed.

Wow JHU, that's some crazy stuff your doing!

When I repair something I like it to look stock too, but this is OTT!
Good luck on the rest of the resto, allthough I guess luck has nothing to do with it.

Nice Work JHU you must love your car to do that kind of work it great to have pictures as you go that way people that see the finished car wont believe the work that was done since you cant tell Great Work..

This is not just good work and love for a car... This is ART

dude....thats amazing work... :o

very very nice...

Nice work JHU... very meticulously done

Hi Jon,
when you wrote me about the plans with your car i didn´t think you would go that crazy with it! It´s really amazing! :P
I´m really looking forward to seeing it "live"!
It´s always cool to see cars like yours which have looked very good before and then are torn apart anyway to make it look even better or - in your case - simply cleaner! ;D
Please keep on the great work and make sure to share the pics with us!
BTW: topics like this are the reason I love this place - all those guys here are at least as "stupid" as I am! ;D
Bye,
Tobi

Jon,that really is impressive,you must have alot of patience,well done so far,cheers richie,uk

Thanks guys, this is really overwhelming!  ::)
Shubee  you are so right when you say you need pictures of these work-hours. They are already forgotten at this stage, all I have now is a rust free car like you guys. Something I probably could have bought in the first place.
But  since I never "give up" on a car or sell them, I can justify the hours to myself.

 I hope I can follow thru to the end an get a cal-looker worth its salt, but I fear it will NOT even come close to the detailing on your car Tobi. :-\

Awsome work Jon there's already some pretty cool detailing  ;) I can't wait to see some more pic's or even beter in the flesh - gonna be ready for EBI  ??? :)

I hope so Lee!

I had some free time late last night so I welded up the passenger door.
Before:

During:

Welded:

Grinded:

Door done:

Hello Jon!
What a nice job your are doing on your car!
Hope to see it on wheels soon.

   
good work, respect  :o

Compliments!!!! Very nice work ;)



See you
Mauro

Thanks guys!  :)
BTW nice to see you on here Christophe!

go go go jon -- you'r doing an amazing job!

any new pix jon?

Thanks Turtle, yes I have a couple of new pics, had an hour in the barn last night... my NOS left door prior to welding:

 

An small hour later, destroyed for ever!  ::) Another NOS piece hits the dust for the LOOK!
This concludes my trim removing. Next on the to do list is the wings, repair and shaving.

Looking great!!! Are you going for 1 pc windows too??

Thanks Zach! No, the ventilation windows are staying, but whether they will retain the chrome finish is uncertain ???

We have a saying in the hot rod forums "Anyone can restore a car... but it takes a real man to cut one up!"  :D

Respect Jon
see you at Euro Bug-In

Gunter.

hi jon,
we love the guy who weld the trim hole ;D ;D ;D
very good job!!
hope to see you at the bug in!!
cheers
                   JR

Thanks guys!! I hope to see you all at Bug In this summer, hopefully in this car..  :-X

Got to work on what i thought was the worst fender tonight, but I guess it was better than I thought. Just one dent in the all important fender edge, near the rear apron. There was also a little crack that faced my welder. And on the other end someone had used a angle grinder to cut the bolt /fender of a car. After letting in a piece its ready for the sand/media blasting. Took me ages to find this right rear fender, but now its sorted!

The rear corner after weld... the "real" body man will make it good I hope

The angle grinder mishap corrected:

Ready for blasting:

Got an hour or two in last night to. The fender I thought was the good one took more time to fix than the bad, oh well  :-[ Hope they get thru the mock up stage ok. I would hate to start looking for more of them.

The runningboard hole was mangled by rust, so I had to let in a fresh piece.

(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Fender1.jpg)

(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Fender2.jpg)

(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Fender3.jpg)

The edge was good except for a crack in the rear. After paint removing it shoved evidence of a crudely fixed dent, and some weld.

(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Fender4.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Fender5.jpg)

I descided to cut out the worst area, taking care to make round corners to avoid new cracks emerging after paint.

(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Fender6.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Fender7.jpg)

After grinding down the welds it looked like this, have to put som more time into straightening out this fender than I had hoped.  :-\

(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Fender8.jpg)

A little primer to check out the "lines".  Front fenders tonight?

(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Fender9.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Fender10.jpg)

you're on great welder jon!

respeck and keep it real ;D

great job jon  :o

(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Snowy.jpg)

Last night I got my body up on the trailer, its going to paint prep now...  not the best weather!?!

Good job, when is it due back?

Restorations in Norway this time of the year is always fun:

NO Rick It Goes Like This "Anyone can Resto A VW It Takes A Man To Do A Real OLD School Cal Look"  Ace Those Big Bumpers,Chrome Trim and those Ugly Turn Signails, Pull Out That 1641 with Kadrons and Put A Monster 2300 with IDA's  I Thought this Was the Cal Look Lounge?  Lets Roll Back Time and See Some Real Old School Street Driven Cal Looks to many Trailer Queens Being Built these Days..........

Ya know Shubee, I think the pendulum is swinging back to more drivers.

It´s due back in two weeks time, and then it will sitt for a a few weeks before the final sanding and the black paint will go on it. Fingers crossed.

Shubee, you tell ´em!!  ;)

A black 70's style cal-looker on real burners and with a hot engine... interesting 8)

Thanks Pekka, the burners will only be used for racing... otherwise they are retired.  8)

When I got to the body shop today, my body looked like this:
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/body1.jpg)

Looks like someone is working on my car, other than me... a very odd but good feeling  8)

When I left the dust was dangling in the air, and the roof was in its "birthday suit"
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/body2.jpg)

(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/body4.jpg)
A few pics from the progress. Glue gone!

(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/body3.jpg)
Last weeks big project was to get the main body part blasted, I did it myself using a friends industrial size equipment. If you take it easy you don't warp anything..

(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/body8.jpg)
I did the inside of all the fenders and the bottom inside of the doors, and also the area around vent window. Even though the doors are NOS they have a tiny amount of surface rust from storage. I did the inside edge of the hood as well. Before blasting the original front fenders I drilled the spot welds and took out the headlight buckets.   

(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/body6.jpg)
I gave the buckets and the fender a good coat of welding primer and installed the buckets again... one less thing to worry about.
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/body7.jpg)

The car as it looks right now, some more stripping left for me.

(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/body9.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/body10.jpg)

This fender was discarded in favour of a "pattern part" by a fellow Norwegian enthusiast, it was way better than anything I had so I gave it a new life.
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/body5.jpg)
To spot a repro is quite simple actually, for instance, check the nice S curve from headlight bucket to fender edge.

This is a VW original:
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/orginal.jpg)
And this one is Danish repro part: 
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/repro.jpg)

Impressive work there, JonH...

go go go john -- EBI is getting closer

Are you not going to fill the exhaust cut outs Johnny?

Thanks guys, I´m working hard these days, and, I´m not filling in the cutouts.  8)

Looking superb dude - so you up for racing me at EBI  ??? :)

If it's ready, I will race you monki-B! Lee-eliminator... thats me...  ;)

Been burning the candle in both ends this week, and I'm making progress on both my Bathroom, and more importanly, the CAR!

I pass this bodyshop on my way home from work, so I try to squeses in an hour on my way back. On monday I got the last paint of the fenders.
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/body11.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/body12.jpg)

Then I sanded my bathroom ceiling, before going out in the barn and taking care of the only(?) rust in the floorpan.
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/body13.jpg)

On Tuesday I took care of some smal details that needed welding. Then I painted the ceiling and welded together the engine lid after sandlasting the edges.
Last night I spent the night there and got the horngrilles welded shut. Then I punched new holes with a 36mm hole  holepunch.
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Lucas.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/LucasII.jpg)

I've got the SAME picture of my car at the body shop with the Lucas ;D ;D ;D ;D

I guess we need inpiration... thats why we take these photos... and nothing gets me going like a pair of Lucas...

When I went over to work at the car this weekend, the body man had mocked up his wheels to my car...  even if these wheels are to bling-bling for me... it looks kind of cool. I had almost forgot that this was a car by this time.
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Rader1.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/rader2.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/rader3.jpg)

The rims are looking good but I think lately they're too trendy...

With the lucas & the stance the car is looking quite acceptable though... ;)

Looking good!

Thanks!!

Now its covered up in some nice EPOXY.
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/primer1.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/primer2.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/primer3.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/primer4.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/primer5.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/primer6.jpg)

 8)

I really am dead curious about the end result
see you at VoWo show Jon

Gunter

Nice work,keep going on. ;)

Hanging in there!!

Last night I did some pluming, there will be no shortage of gas for the engine.
No pictures yet.   :P

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

It's fillertime!!
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Sparkel1.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Sparkel2.jpg)

And last night I gave in to my obsessive side and cut up my newly primered fender.
The right fender is a original factory installed fender, but it wasn't perfectly identical to the original fender for this car.
Unfortunately the original fender was to far gone due to a serious dent, otherwise I would have used it.

The first discrepancy I corrected was the headlight bucket, with had slightly longer beads in the bottom on my original. So I swapped this over earlier. Then it got primered.

But the transition to the runningbords wasn't right I felt... it was"there" but didn't feel "crisp" enough. So I welded in the bottom from my original fender. After a sandblasting this evening I hope my body man can forgive me.

(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Skjermfix1.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Skjermfix2.jpg)

This is what it looks like now... feels smooth to my untrained hands...

(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Sparkel3.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Sparkel4.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Sparkel5.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Sparkel6.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Sparkel7.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Sparkel8.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Sparkel9.jpg)
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Sparkel10.jpg)

Are you going to Fill in the Cut outs in the rear Apron ??

Hi Jon, great work!
One little question, aren't you using the rear body to chassis mounts?

I know I am going to love this car when its done!!  It's going to be one slick looking ehm.. trailerqueen.. :-*

Keep up the good work. Cant wait to see it in paimt :-)

No, I dont think so. Why, should I?  :)

I hope you will like it Rune, but I doubt it... hehehe
I won't comment on the trailer remark...

 ;D

Why Would You Leave Them If you are Dechroming the Car If you are not Using a Stock Pee Shooter Exhaust Get Rid Of The Cut Outs  That was Part Of The Original Cal Look it looks way Cleaner from the rear of the car when there filled in..

In all fairness Shubee, those splits didnt come with outlets ;) But I agree, they do look better filled.

The thing is that I dont thing it will make a huge difference on this car, as its going to be black.
But you are absolutely right, its one of the things I think about the most.

 Believe it or not.. I somehow missed this thread completely...
 I see it for the first now and I must say, JHU you are really diligent!!!
 I love your attention for detail... 8)

 Can't wait to see it running!!!  8)

 

Me too!  I just saw it now.  VERY NICE WORK!  I too, am an amatuer autobody man.  I am a school teacher by day and I work on VW's in my free time.  I love watching a car come together.  I know now why you say you are soooo busy!  It does take a lot of work!  I am lucky though.  In the desert southwest part of the USA rust is not a concern.

Maybe I could add to your current work load and offer you a feature gallery at my site once you are done.  ;D

As for the statements about, "Anyone can restore a car... It takes a real man to cut one up!"  I disagree.  I think the saying should read, "Anyone can pay someone else to build their car...  It takes a real man to buid it themself!"  ;D

Keep up the great work!

Scott Faivre

Fill the cut-outs. That's an order!  ;D

Thanks for the nice comments, and the orders ;-)
These days Im knee deep in tiling... but on Sunday I will have some progress to show

Uhh ohh! Cant argue with that!!

mmmh, i might just do that as well.

i kind of dig the looks of it:
(http://www.frenchysrides.com/images/scan00912.jpg)

should i?  ::) ;D

Go For It!!!!  To Me I think its Part Of the Cal Look Style. Cars that have the Cut outs with T bars look Funny if all the Chrome and Bumpers are left on the car Leave the Cut outs, If it's Dechromed with T Bars, Buggy Bumpers,or No Bumpers Fill The Cut Outs that was always the way It Was Done In the 70's   OLD SCHOOL CAL LOOK ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!!    Even With Bumpers it Cleans up the back end of the car and The Cut outs are not Used for Anything unless you Running one of those Cool (NOT) AFTERMARKET EMPI  Exhaust Systems almost evey car is Running A performance Exhaust of some kind which No longer needs the Cutouts anyway!!

The cut out's needs to stay! Look at the Black bitch, perfekt Old school Cal look bug! ;)

Well, i won't dechrome the body and i am currently running t-bars.

But without hijacking Jon's thread, i'm not too sure yet. Personally, i think it would look very clean. But then my brother told me not to today... Is it a lot of work for a body specialist?

Not Hard To Fill in Just need to make a Template of the Hole cut it to fit Weld it in  a little Filler and your Done   Why Would You Want To Leave  The Cut Outs ??? they serve no Purpose at all On a Cal Look.  But Then Today Most of the Cal Looks Are Resto Cal Looks Anyway  So Its Really OLD SCHOOL verses Resto Cal it your Choice  Mine would Be Fill Them along with Everything Else OLD SCHOOL  that how it was and should be....

well, i won't dechrome it. but filling the cut outs might be nice...
i'm still not too sure though  ::)

So how's the bathroom coming, but more importantly, where are the updates on the car  ???

The bathroom... I have been tiling for 5 days straight! But I managed to squeeze in a few hours of welding on the floor pan, such things as all the small holes left by the nails and such. This was Sunday 01:00! After some hours of sleep I got the floor pan sandblasted, and I also primered it with some nice epoxy. Today more tiling!

About the cut-outs, I'm more and more sure about of keeping them. I had never thought about getting rid of them until someone asked. I welded them up on my first looker, and it came out nice, but I feel its a custom trick. And nothing more. It doesn't add anything other than steel and a "look"... there by it crashes with my ground cal-look idea... Form & Function....
AND I have a couple of ideas for them.   

 

the thing I like about leaving the cut-out in place is, that they give a small hint, that the volkswagen in front of you at the traffic lights may be a little bit different. :-)

Nice one Andi  ;D

Here are some pictures of when I got the body home....  we have actually had ONE day of Snow since then...
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Home.jpg)

Here is the floor pan blasted and primered
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Floor.jpg)

And a pair of sandblasted and powder coated spring plates, and between them you can see the only rust on the entire pan... I´m happy to say the least!
(http://www.vwnorge.no/JHU/project/Pulver.jpg)

Are you sure that the powder coat will stay on the spring plates when they twist? Won't that make the coating crack up?

This powder stays put on sway bars so I am cossing my fingers... with 28mm torsionbars I dont imagine they will flex quite as much as they would on a stock bug.  Otherwise its a quick fix.

Looks great, JonH

Roy

looking good dude  :)

Hi Jhu I have a Question What did you use here in the center of the molding holes?? when you DeChromed the Car Let Me Know The holes are a little big to weld up with just rod and it gets the metal to hot  I will be pulling the Body off the 58 Ragtop this week to do the pan and the underside of the body ;D ;D ;D  Let me know what you used and if its a small plug I can buy to weld in  thanks Shubee

Hi Shubee,

These small pieces are the clippings produced by a hole puncher. A friend of mine works with this machine so he gave me a bag full!
Send me a PM with your address and I will send you a bag of them!

 

PM Sent!! Thanks Shubee

PM Sent too, thanks in advance

Oldschool

Wow, I have some progress to report on the Timebandit....  ;)

The body is still in primer and is waiting for the pre paint mock up... by the look of things it can take some time. But on the other hand I have made some good progress on the engine for the car. The CE heads have had a running with the mill and is now down to 47 cc in the combustion chambers. The chambers themselves have been reworked by me and is strangely uniform in shape and volume. The valve pockets in my pistons adds another 5 cc to the equation, with 1 mm of deck-height, that leaves me with a low 10.2 CR. With my FK89 Im looking for something around 11.3.  So my heads will need another go in the mill before Im happy with them.

I have had about two weeks of vacation now and I have really enjoys the late hours I have spent working on the engine. Opening up new parts and finding them to be within specs brings a smile to my face. However I admit getting a "tad" frustrated with my new CB straight cut kit... I had five full blown attempts to mount it on the crank without getting it on....  THEN i measured the slot for the woodruff key....  0.5 mm to narrow! Out came the file... and the KEY went under surgery since the gear was way to hard to modify. I have also had some great fun dialing in the new FK89... was happy to find that cam card and reality match.

Oh and I took a hack saw to a pair of intakes... loving the results!!! 

I hope to have the engine up and running in time to SCC this fall....  Maybe I get to try it on the strip to... if the makeshift "race-car" gets thru the scrutinizing of the tech guys....

There has been a Bad Batch Of CB Straight cut Gears they are very Thight and I have Seen Three Different sets with the small gear cracking two cracked after the motor were run and had to be torn Down..

Okay, thanks... I didn´t know..... I dont expect mine to crack as it was close to the VW size in the hole (it was a little tighter) but the grove was WAY off!
Fingers crossed! :-)

Well, CB won over me again it seems... the crank lifts the cam up... :(  back to square one... out with the new and in with the old!

LOL  just put a set of Magnum gears in it  you will be glad you did sell the CB ones on Samba

Glad to hear it's coming along! :)

Scott Faivre

 :)

I spent ALL day yesterday with some friends getting my make shift racer up and running (with a 1600).  And today
I got the electrics to work and did a bit of break adjusting... and as by magic got the car thru MOT!!
It still need a of of work, but the basics are there... except the shifting... quite frankly it SUCKS even tho it has the daddy of all shifters... the BERG.

O happy days.. I got a bug to cruise in!!   

The shifter problems were dealt with tonight... out came the angle grinder, the worn out bushing holder was repaired and the whole lot went in again.... but 100mm further back... ups!!  :P

pics?

You will see it live today Grelland!
The heads went under the knife again last night... it bounced up from 11.1 to 11.6...  Will it still run on Shell V-Max...? I don't know!?

I did the same thing last night even though I kept everything where it`s supposed to be  ;) SCC..... I`m one small step closer!

Keep on with the good work JHU!

If every other method fails we can then distinguish our cars by the placing of the shifter.... mine is a 65 too you know?  ::)

Can't wait :-) The sun is shining, see you later

Well the engine is alive now....!! Took me some sweet time!! And the sound of it isn't what I expected. I have never heard any of my engines without the fatty stinger... but this one breathes thru a 2,5" Apple racing muffler... so the sound is all civilized... And It will stay that way for a couple of days more, as I welded in the bung for the LM1 Broadband lambda in the muffler side of the collector. As soon as I get home from work, I'm going to run sync the carbs and let it run for 5 minutes, then I’m dropping the oil, fit my temp sensor in the universal case block of. Fill up on cheap oil and find a good hill to get the rings to set. After that the synthetic SAE 40 will go back in. This is going to be a good night.

coming over to Bitburg jon?

No not this year...  :-[

Jon, i'm thinking about an Apple muffler too. Quiet? ,Restrictive ?

I have a short video clip of a friends car running an apple muffler, but I don't know how to put it out here. Very special sound, sharp and crisp. But at the same time nice and quiet on low revs. I think it is very free flowing as well.. 

Thanks Rune, i need something for the center of town (cops) Then WOT ;D

I wouldn't say its quiet, but its muffeled. Just a deep dark rumble, it has a more muffeled sound than your average "fatboy". Probably due to the size of the thing.
But you hear it when you step on it....  ;D

Well, I drove my engine for the first time last night. And I have to say it was interesting    8)
The task at hand was to get the rings set and to do a bit of jetting. I used my LM wideband and was happy to see it being on the rich side.
Started out with 60 idle jets and 180 Main with 200 air. In F2 emulsion tubes. The ignition was set to 32°.
I had a serious stumble between idle and main and I also experienced some pinging in around the same RPM 3000 ish. I stopped and backed of the ignition 5 ° but still there was pinging in this transition.
And suddenly the oil temp was out of control, and I stopped to cool it of. I Suspected had misunderstood the Lambda readings and put in 70 idle jets and 195 mains.
Then I realized the oil temp gauge had made contact with ground, so I got that fixed and the temp fell down to 50°C puh.
But more interestingly the car was running EVEN richer (no big surprise) but the stumble had diminished severely and the pinging was also gone.

After a few pulls up a steep hill I decided to go home and think about my next action. I found out that my float levels still was to high and the fuel was dripping down into 3 and 1.
So I pulled the carbs and the intakes to mount a set of borrowed 51,5's to it. Might as well tune it in with those carbs, since my 48’s are a bit on the small side for this setup.

But my question is could my F2 emulsion tubes be the reason behind the stumble? I have a set of F9 and a set of F7's to, will test the F9s today to see how it acts.
Any ideas?

i know very little about IDAS but they always seem to end up with F7s,just my experience,cheers richie,uk

Jon, did you drop the Synthetic in right after the break-in ???

I used cheap mineral from a chain that re-brands everything they sell, so I thought it was shit, but later I found out its Statoil 10-40 and was gutted. >:(
After I was sure the rings had set I poured in Valvoline synthetic. I also had a chance to look at my lifters (stock VW's) and they seem fine, even though the K800s are sitting with 200psi in the seats. So I'm sticking to my "lifter-jumping-on-cam-kills-the-fun" belief... for now ;)

That's still a quick move from mineral to synth...

do you need to have a breakin time on mineral before switching to synthetic? i want to use synth oil in the future, but i may need some help regarding the subject... sorry to jump on your post.

Synthetic oil has superior lubricating capabilities and will not let your piston rings wear in (fit to the sylinder) as fast as dino oil.
I used Synthetic oil during the breaking in of the cam, since that is a case of work harding the cam and not a "wear in" issue.

Then I used mineral to set the rings, and back to synthetic before the dino stuff got the engine all dirty inside.
I set the rings by this method: http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm (http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm) But I don't recommend it to others. People can chose for themselves.   

Harry, what do you mean with "quick change"?

What do you mean? Is there any other ways to break in a the rings  ???       ;D  Breaking in the rings is the fun part               

Very interesting view of breaking an engine in under full throttle, but in a way it makes sense that the pressure forces the rings to lay on the cylinder.But what is with total seals ?
It`s funny cause I came across this theme of the pressure forcing the rings to the cylinder with a friend as we talked over the need of total seals.
But we didn`t think about the break in...

By the way, very nice progress and the vids of your hill racer were so GO(O)D ! Go on and on...

Pedal to the metal,
Felix

"quick change" I don't know if its a race or street engine. What i've learned is that you break in the engine on mineral for a couple of 100, maybe 1000 km's, and then change to fully Synth. But again that's what i learned about the mineral versus synthetic issue. 

I break the cam in on mineral oil and then after  15/20 miles of load to bed the rings in, swap out to Semi or full synth depending on the engine.
cheers richie,uk

Thanks Richie, my feeling told me that one probably "contaminate" the cylinder walls with synthetic, so the wearing in process takes a lot longer if at all. Correct me if i'm wrong.

You are correct,synthetic is too slippery and will stop your rings bedding in properly

cheers richie,uk

Okay boys, can I save the cylinders if I hone them?

That one's for Richie.

I dont see why that would be needed,how many miles do you have on it? might be worth doing a leakdown test on it to see where its at but when you run it on mineral oil, the synth would disapear from the cylinder walls allowing the rings to bed in.

Fingers crossed :)

cheers richie,uk

It was just a joke, I'm really not worried at all, having 2% synthetic oil in 4-5 liters of mineral does not make it synthetic (if it does, its a good business idea). :)
And I had no problem seating the rings, the fact that they are 1 mm 1.2 and 2,8 oil might have something to do with it, but I doubt it.   

The first version of the engine is now done, Its sitting in "Jordebilen" for testing purposes and I have now ironed out many of the smal isues that my engines have...
I have used Engine analyzer extensively to maximize the racing potential of this little 2176... I "knew" it needed big carbs so I borrowed a set of 51,5 IDAs for the dyno session, but due to a couple of screw ups we installed the 48's out of frustration, it later turned out that my fuel regulator was waaaay of. With that fixed it was on to the ignition, turned out that instead of getting the 009 curve I asked for Don Zig had given me a static set up... fine by me, but not what I asked for. Anyway at 20° advance it had 171 hp, and it gained 30 hp by giving it 10° more... when it was all said and done I landed at 207,5 hp at 7670 rpm... I'm soo happy! but the best part is that the curves cam out just as I wanted them to....  I just cant help thinking we should have tested it with the 51,5s too... o' well there is always next year...

Is this engine heading for Gardermoen at the weekend?

 :D

Nice Jon, congratulations!

Yeah, I can not see any reason why it should not come to Gardermoen.....now it's time to see if the driver is up to it...we know the engine will performe......

Just TRY stopping me!!  ;)

There will be alot of showdowns at SCC...I am looking for the one between JEE and JHU....battle of the rats (and I do not mean the drivers)

 ;D

Interesting, one "all round" car against a race car with a huge engine.... ;D

Woow 207.5 :D ;D :D Any pics of the engine John ?

That's the talk of gay afraid of loosing.

I'll leave me slicks at home. My car will never be a racecar... no matter what..  ::)
And the only huge thing in that car is, and will be, my belly.

Are you saying that you have mounted cooling on your engine this year? This is one race I can`t wait to watch... together with the rest  :)

Hey Harry, I haven't gotten around to taking any pictures yet... but perhaps I can take some at SCC

Bring your slicks dude, you gonna need all the help you can get!  ;D  Street tire huh.. or dot slicks? No matter I got both...
Actually its quite foolish to believe I will have the time to run my car, and make the final tweaks to my state of the art machine...
So it will be gung-ho style as usual!

The "happy go lucky" style

Well after the first pass I was rewarded with a 12.318 @ 172.24 Km/t. Nice to be back at the rubber after four years without any track time.... the engine has improved 1.2 sec since then... :)

GOOD NEWS!! I have grown wiser!

And fixed all the broken liks...

Some years ago 6(?) I found some strange Recaros in Sweden, the seller wanted to keep the Recaro badges, but I got them for a good price. My friend BuggyJanne picked them up and brought them to Norway. I did some investigations but no one had ever seen them before. They have a exoskeleton construction with a lot of exposed sheet metal on the back. One of the seats had ok trim but was severely beat up skeleton, and the other had close to perfect sheet metal and no trim left. So that they need re-trimming was obvious, since they are going in to the time bandit sometime down the road they need to look good. After some years found out that they are called Recaro Rally 2 and that they are from the early seventies, perfect for the theme of my car. Good old Mags told me could bring them over Bernard Newbury for me but there was just a three day notice, one of the days being New years eve. i spent two hole days and a night on rebuilding the base on of the  seats, there was just too much to straighten so I made dies and pressed new panels for it. I made the deadline with hours to spare and the seats went abroad with Mags... A month later they showed up at Bernies and should be undergoing work this spring. So its decision time regarding fabrics and finish.

 ;)

Lets see the seats then.....

I love my Rallye 2´s  ;)
(http://abload.de/img/dsc05761smallqra8o.jpg) (http://abload.de/image.php?img=dsc05761smallqra8o.jpg)
(http://abload.de/img/dsc05760smallguyvd.jpg) (http://abload.de/image.php?img=dsc05760smallguyvd.jpg)
(http://abload.de/img/p290712_16.54_01small4wb07.jpg) (http://abload.de/image.php?img=p290712_16.54_01small4wb07.jpg)

COOL  ;D

jon what happening to the car any photo of the car finished?

Hi Fabs, no it's unfortunately not finished. It's still waiting for paint, but I'll have to paint it myself because of lacking funds. That's why I did my own bodywork on my 03 to practice.
I think I can pull of a decent job now.