The Cal-look Lounge

Well guys its been 2 days since the almighty Stutt bee landed in Aberdeen and already the VWGG team is in action, we have decided to get it up and running for EBI3 - No small task i can asure you but we are going to try.

Now before we get into any rants, this project will be handled in two stages, stage 1 running safely for EBI, and stage 2 will be to get the car sorted correctly at a latter stage, I am not intending repairing  any of the cars battle scars nor do i plan to repaint the whole car (only the roof).

I only hope that people will appreacite the car for what it is and respect its heritage.

Note: Its not nearly as bad as it appeared in the pictures !!!  ;D

So tomorrow i will post some pictures..........

.......................So-Aberdean  ;)

Cool cant wait to see the pics, good to hear its not going for a full strip down ;D

well done russel for saving another piece of So-cal History :)

So Russell,when is the So-Cal History museum in Aberdeen opening the doors?   ;D  ;D
Anyway,I think most of us, loungers ,are happy that someone is paying attention and bringing these cars back to life.
I would say,VWGG go for it.  ;)
and see you @ EBI

COOOOOOOOOOOOOL! Can't wait to see the pic's dude  ;D

COOOOOOOOOOOOL! Can't wait to break the gearbox! ;D

good choice ;) :)



i think you must have some snow in you eyes or something!!! 

 Its S##te  :D


cheers richie

:D I hope you don't end up eating those words...

Did I miss a thread or something? When did the Stutt Bee resurface? Looking forward to pictures.

I think that's a really cool way to do it and I look forward to seeing it in its 'refreshed' state. I spent hours with Der Express and a couple of your others and it's the scars that make the good ones great.  8)

Keith, who said you were getting a go ????  ;)

Anywany the Gearbox was removed this morning, its away to Pete at Cogbox on Monday for a full checkover, this will ensure KS, doesnt break it on its 2nd pass..... but if picks reverse again who knows ???  ;D

front hubs are something else.....

Oh and the Deano front end.... SCARY

A picture of me loving life and doing what i do best, taking things apart !!!  ;D

I've seen them drilled but never quite like that!  :o


Yeah, I'm OK at that bit too...  :D

A couple more shots of it...

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/SanchoPancho/General/StuttBee01.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/SanchoPancho/General/StuttBee02.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/SanchoPancho/General/StuttBee03.jpg)

Russell,
Did the hood and decklid arrive on the same boat or are they coming on a later shipment ?
 ???

awesome pictures russell thx for sharing with us
that's a great car

@ lawrence check : http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,5285.0.html (http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,5285.0.html)  ;)

fabs

Richard

As ive said before I never got them with the car  :-[ I did hear that Chris had a bonnet in his garage but he never told me about this and Im not sure if it was from this car, Ill give him a call this week and find out.

Do you know where they are ?

Lounge,
A Cry for Help !!! I will if anyone has an original Empi Bonnet and Decklid for sale for this car I would love to hear from them, I dont even mind if they one to be the owners but allow me to borrow them and paint them black, they would receive full credit for this....

Currently working on some replicas but this is only until the originals can be found..... or located.

Anyway dont be scared to post pics of it in its day,really lovin this car, its ace

ok  ;)

 ;)

 ;)

 ;) i've more russell but I haven't scanned them yet

fabs

Nice pics fabs ;D 8)

Yes the putting it back together is the bit you find hard to do. :D ;D

I know you going to come back with something like try looking in the mirror. ;D

WOW, it is so cool to know that these cars are still around. VW drag history for sure!! A lot of hardcore lightening and american drag build up techniques went into that car. Straight axle, etc. That tiny rear window is crazy too. Russell did you receive the aluminum wheels and the front knockoffs with the car?

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

even with the weathered paint on it! it's such a timewarp!!!

Russell i can't wait to be in Aberdeen to see it in reality!!!

Hah!  Shouldn't it have been "Equipped with Monroe performance steering dampners pressed into service as lightweight scary-ass shock absorbers"  TM

On second thought, that's going to be an awefully large sticker....

Great looking find Russell, I hope I get to see it in its "refreshed" state.

After seeing that front suspension, breaking a gear box should be the last of your worries.  :o

--louis

That Front Suspension was Common on VW Race Cars Back in the Day it Lets the Front Wheels swing Back Slighty when the Weight Transfer of the Car is Lunched off the Line so You Could Leave a little early without Red Lighting

A Pallet of parts went out for you on friday Russell ;D

wow, awesome! well done Russell! I am not sure which wheel combo you are going for, but I think I know someone who has some bolt on wide 5 spinners for the front?

cheers, Si.

I think i have a new favourite Gasser  ;) :)

one of my favorite cars and the main inspiration for both my street car from a few years ago and then my choptop now. it would be cool to have a race against it. it looks cool as. cheers dean

go go gooooooooooooooooooooo EBI3 :o

hey Russell, parts shipped, at least you will have some braking power on the strip
have fun building this awesome survivor
and a race against Deano at EBI3 sounds cool

Gunter

Oh my god, next min your going to tell us that the Inch Pincher too is in a container ,complete and on its way to Scotland aswell  ;). Well done Mr Ritchie, good work on this purchase.

(http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=8085.0;attach=26102;image)

The Tranny is Very Sweet !!!  :o I love the heavy duty brackets(not sure what their for?) , custom clutch arm and cool breather.
Hope you keep the vintage stuff on the new tranny.
Russell I believe someone on here that shares the same initials as you, might have a nice Empi Hood.  ::)

Sometime back i looked at some vw's for sale, i believe one of them had that frontend on it..

That's an awesome project ! I can't wait to see it finished.

Wow ! Nice old one ! It's realy time to build the Gasser VW Museum from Aberdeen !
Cant wait to see Stutt Bee, Tare Babe and UD2 at Chimay this summer !
Congrats !

sorry no tar babe this year it will be EBI4

looking at some old mags(Volkswagen book #2) I notice that Stuttbee used to run without a roofchop.  When did they carry this out, or is it a different car?

Those front hubs are just crazy, I love it  8) Did it run on 13" DDS wheels with spinner centercaps?

Awesome cars Russell! Can't wait to detail it!

Guys, keep posted for a special Stutt bee update on the cal-look.com nostalgia corner soon!

Lids

When it run with out the roof chop it was all gold then when they chopped the car around 70/71 i think it was painted black, quick and easy. And yes all the same car just progress and following the trends, roofchop, DDS front end, 356 box, shit brakes and a hell of alot of fun.......

El Dub

Cant wait.......

another pictures at bugin 10

Congrat's on your latest find, Russell!  A couple of pics from the family album.... ;)

bug in 12

The article is dated 1971, it had the Deano front end, 356 box etc, but not the chop.

Russell Ive still got that lid in the garage , it was not good enough to mould from as it did not fit well shut , but would be fine to run it popped .
I'll stick it in the post if you need it , that would sort the back end out  8)

Glenn, perfect thank you very much. will PM you

russell are you still looking for those spinner plates that you put between the hubcaps and the drum???

I am  ;) :)

Hey can someone on here that knows this Stut Bee really well tell me what size tires they ran on the 13" DDS wheels.Reason IM asking is I love the stance and ummm well I have 13" rims that will be going on the front of my bug.But I have 14's in the rear.Did the guys back in the day lower the frontend at all?

Cool thanks, do you guys know if the front of stut bee was lowered at all?Looks like it isnt because of the wheel gap.Only looks like maybe they lowered the rear down enough to level the height that the 13's dropped the frontend to.Did they do this, and does this actually work?

I think I have the rear decklid to that car. It's currently painted flat black. It's original period though.

What is the news ???  ;)

well after a hard afternoon and late night and finally after 30 years it came apart  ;D

up, up and away........

Just when we thought it could get any better if got worse, after playing with VW's for almost 25 years Ive just found out that an Oval body doesnt fit on a new Mexican pan, Shit now my plans have taken a bit of a side route..... does any one have a perfect 53-57 LHD oval pan/chassis ???

My plan was to mount the stutt bee shell on the new pan for this year while i restored the  original pan, brakes and ensure it is safe for EBI, them after EBI reunite with original pan at year end.... this is stage 1 i mentioned eariler...

Enjoy the Pics.

Didn't know it wouldn't fit... is it just the rear body mount or are there other issues?? Looking good :)

yes just the rear body mount issue, which i dont want to change/cut from the body as i will go back on the original pan latter.

Any pan up to 1967 will fit if it's just the body mounts, although obviously K&L is up to '65 only. I've got an early '60s pan (twist knob for heater control) you can borrow if you want? I won't be using it for a couple of years! Ex-Belgian dealer training pan, only ever been on the road under a slammed Kubelwagen in the early 2000's. It is completely bare though.

Just a thought though - how about using the pan from under the Tar Babe donor car? That'll be complete with everything you need - handbrake, pedal assembly, brake lines, cables etc.

The tar babe pain is in San Fran !!!!! or i would. Are you saying that all pans up to 67 are the same at the rear end nfor mounting the body ?

Hi Russel,

tried to mail you, mail bounced!( gassergarage mail bounced )

Have you got an alernative mail adrtess for me?

Cheers Stephan

Yes - 99.99% sure. Certainly all linkpin pans are the same in that area, and I'm almost positive that the '66 and '67 are the same too. I'm thinking back to when I replaced a bodymount on Headstraight - that was a '66 and used an early-style repair panel. I'm sure someone else can chip in too, just to confirm.

Thought number two - the pan that came under Tar Babe. Is that in a useable condition for Stutt Bee? Being a '61ish pan it will bolt right up.

Hi Neil,

I`m thinking that the change came when the early straight shock mount was changed, the body mount bracket sits flush with the edge of the inner wing and its stepped up slightly on later cars.
When did vw go to the later style shock casting, @63?

The `pan that tar babe arrived with was a `65 with the later style, its also the pan under my oval...

Cheers,
Kev

Hi Guys 67 and older will bolt right up the only difference is  ball joint front end on 66 and 67.  68 to 79 have a higher rear shock tower mount with was changed in 68  so any  pan 67 and older will fit

http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=111809085CC   67 and earlier

http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=111809085CE   68 and newer

Just a thought, is the hammer you're using big enough?   :D

Why not just cut the rear body mounts off the chassis? They aren't really needed for a car like this.

Now your thinking my way dude ;D

well body now bolted to pan, steering almost sorted, engine in, just some seats and odds and sods to do now.......cant wait to see it run.

Pictures next week.

It lives again :D



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEfgW_yEfJc

You bad man  :o :o :o 8)

cool.....it's running   :o

 :o :o :o :o that's mad  ;D ;D

 :D

i like the way you have also built a fully lit and marked out 1/4 mile track right next to your workshop :)

Some might say its better than the track at EBI :o :D

Off to buy ketchup?

Wow cool ! ;D

why are OFF away to buy ketchup ???  ;D

Stutt Bee is alive !
But where is the police ?
 ;D ;D ;D
Good job, scottish guys !

There was an englishman involved too.. ;)

watch out it'll have a hairdryer on it before you know it  ;) :)

yum yum!

Nah,I only get to mess up one at a time,and its not this one yet ;) :o :D


cheers richie

Yeah yeah  ;) Na my hat off to you "Dude" it gonna be COOOOOOOOL to see it running in this condition  ;)

I know they are probably not in the same class etc BUT I would Love to see it run against Lil Snort ;D

Kool & the gang!

Ok so now it runs, some lacquer to keep the old paint and graphics in place....

Now to look at the roof............ OH DEAR, dont you like the way it was done back in the day, quality NOT.  ;D

 :o :o

Crikey.... nowt like a spot of brazing. Good job thing never unded up on its roof!

Did the job! For a minute there Looking at the first photo I thought they had misinterpreted which bit to leave as was.  :D

Humm tricky that , how far do you go to do it right ? then again where do you stop and say " thats how it was done  "
Preservation or conservation  ::) either way Im sure it will look the tit's  8) 8)
I personally think you do a bang up job of conserving all your toys Russell  :)

Oh my god!!!
I wish you good courage for the restoration of the roof.

WOW, that looks horrible.  Oh well, in my opinion its still well worth it. ;D

Bet Neil can`t wait to get stuck into that... ;)

Kev, No he cant (hes been on the phone twice already, i think he wanted to do a full resto on the roof  ???, but Ive given him some offshore get the job done advice and we are on track, being worked on tonight, maybe painted tomorrow. 2 coats of Laqer was all in needed.

No Matt, they were protecting the rest of the car from the laqure as youve now sussed out.

All, the roof will be made safe thats all, now full repair only some crack repair and filler, as said before its not a resto just a racer........

Now that this is almost done, what next errrrrrrrrrrrr........  ;) wait and see.

 ;)

That nice shiny gloss black laquer?  :P :D

Looking forward to seeing the car preserved but tidier.  8)

I love those old chop tops. ;D

Form follows function, right guys?? :D

I imagine that when they build race cars back in the days, they shoud said: "that's only a race car that could be crash in the next run. So don't worry about that..."

You can Always make a Convertible out of it ;D ;D and Give Ritchie a Run for the Money

Roof will be left as is.... refilled and painted and sign written.

I dont know anyone who could recreate this roof job so will leave as is.  ;)

Just want top preserve and tidy up. Oh and RACE.

i could recreate that roof, easy don't measure, cut with a hack saw and use chewing gum to stick it back together  :P

 :D :D :D

Make sure you use a well worn blade!

Ok so thats the roof prepared and ready for paint, looks great now....

And now BLACK.  ;D

Looks sweet.  8)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/SanchoPancho/General/StuttBee04.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/SanchoPancho/General/StuttBee05.jpg)

nice work  hope to see this one this summer

rgd
fabs

it will be at EBI3

Another fine job. Caongrats ;D

back home

That cant be that same old shi**er that sat outside for 15years surely :o   

Looks an amazing transformation :)


cheers richie

You gotta love the chopped Oval window  :D :)

superb work

It's OK...






 ;D ;D ;D ;D 8) 8) 8) 8)

Oh my god very very nice !!!

Yeah too nice for the bottom half!! :D ;)

Look's great Russell , nice and shiny 8) , are you gonna try and age it a bit to go with the bottom half ? 

It's hard to imagine that the car as it was is now looks like that.  8)

Or just keep it in vasoline, a lot of old rod rods are preserved like that. IMHP

Car turned out awesome.

Always loved this car, great work russel! Hope to see it at EBI this year!

Oh no, don't tell me YOU'RE going! :o Oh boy, this isn't going to end good... ;D

You got that right!!! It's not going to end well for you ;D  Just wait for the Classic......I think Gary will be walking again by then.. It's been a long slow recovery since you crushed his leg with your PT cruiser lol

Now, if he'd just let me lock him in the john like a good little boy, he'd have been fine... :D

What is the latest with the STUTT BEE?  We saw it after the top was painted. What's next?  I observed it in it's original state in the early 70's.  Sure great to see it being refurbished. This is a shot a personally took at an early bug in, which is a shot you rarely see from the back. I also have some other great shots of the car.

Rick M

share with us rick  ;)

looking good, cheers dean

cheers Rick

almost ready just the sign writing and the engine to reinstall and shes ready to rock, any more pictures of rear end would be very helpful, cheers

And Back in 1980 I looked at the car quite often when it was still at "Suttgart" business had been sold and new owner had no idea weather to sell or what to do with the car. Glad it survived.
Andy Spilkoman

This is a kick ass thread I am basing my car on this bug . Pip Pip

Got any newer pics?  :)

Read the feature we did on the car in Ultra VW! :)

Cool, will do.  :)

the engine that was bouncing around WA, did it turn out to be a correct engine for this car?

that gold yellow color was the original one from when stutt bee was built ???
what a difference from how it looks now
(http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=8085.0;attach=29901;image)

I would say it's the original gold flake on the lower half of the car....,it's just mostly super faded, In a few patches/areas it's much more 'gold' like the old pre roofchop photos...

looks more gold brown