Fubar 64

[karl h]

top profile of the panel is different?

[vwhelmot]

  Correct  

[vwhelmot]

I would sort that problem later but for now I had some other stuff to do.







The speedo cable clip was wrong for my car so I modified it to the correct sixties spec



I did think about cutting it out and welding this genuine section in but I came up with another idea



I lined up the old section and sprayed some primer through it to get an outline





Cut two slots



I then made a form to replicate the bridge



Tacked the former onto the quarter

[vwhelmot]

Next I had to do something about the crappy factory pressing







Matched to the other side



Tacked on



Wing on to check



Seems to fit ok

[vwhelmot]

Problem I would have to sort later





























Nearly done



The black line is where I made a cut



You can see the problem here







Sorted

[vwhelmot]

Tank support welded back on





Factory spot welds still there







Time to do something about the crappy factory bumper mounts

















Next problem 

[vwhelmot]

Looking at this there seems to be a common issue, I could have easily welded it all together and hammered it into place but it would have looked crap so I spent a lot of time making it good

The only way was to make a pie cut and add a section in



I was so careful to get this right, the bonnet and wings were constantly on and off

















Autocraft front valence fits nice







Obviously had to do the same on the other side











Other bumper mount

[vwhelmot]

Well folks, this is it for now. Like I said I just wanted to show the amount of work that's gone into my bug so far. I`ve been doing many many more hours work on all the other details which I will keep to myself for now. I`ve done more bodywork and there is still lots to do but you get the picture?!  Its got to be ready for paint by spring next year and then its off for its new coat of sea blue by someone who knows what it takes to paint a show winner.     Cheers for the compliments

Parting shot. Bye for now...

[leec]

Well done. Amazing work. I loved it the first time round so can not imagine how good it will be this time.
Lee

[Gaz1]

Stunning work mate , it's coming along nicely   

[danny gabbard]

Dam nice work ! Great detail !!

[Erlend / bug66]

I need to get my fix.. 


What's up? Any update?

[vwhelmot]

 
I`ve been doing lots to it, the body is back on the pan for mock up,  fitted the spare wheel tray and fitted the gearbox and motor. There has been a tonne of work with the engine mock up side of things, I`ve had to fab up a new traction bar as the old one didn't fit because of the exhaust, cut and remount the whole trapeze bar, build a stainless 304 muffler , create a three piece removable rear valence and then I had an issue with the deck lid gaps which I am now nearly finished in fixing that.  I`ve been doing lots of custom bits like steering column mods, mag switch location etc.    Final bodywork will start prob around November which will give me plenty of time to get it ready for paint next spring.



I modified the lip on the nos spare wheel tray so it flowed nicely, no gaps.



Also doing lots of detail bits like this, so many small areas that need attention, its unreal





Defrost delete, ugly dash part beautified  





 Thank you so much for the kind comments, its appreciated. Cheers

[BeetleBug]

Any more updates? I`m eager to see and to learn more from your fantastic work.

-BB-

[vwhelmot]

Thanks
 For the past two or three months its been all about the engine mock up. I must have installed and removed the block about twenty bloody times. You know how it goes, to fit this, the carb has to be mounted, to clear that ,the fan housing has to be mounted ........
 
I`ve realised that I`ve wasted a lot of time polishing lots of parts that were previously fitted only to realise that I will not use them again. The tall manifolds have gone, I must have spent three days smoothing and polishing those only to find that that age old problem of the stack to foul the lid.  Also I`ve been having a few issues with the deck lid fit. The car was involved in a minor accident way before I bought it the first time in the nineties, the previous owner had reversed into a waterboard truck and pushed the offside corner of the deck lid inwards hitting the dynamo in the process. the damage caused was cosmetic but I had not reckoned with the fact that the offside engine bay side was pushed downwards in the event.   The gap between the lid and body on the nearside was perfect but the offside there was much larger.

Perfect



Really bad



Now , I tried to fix this by panel beating the body upwards which worked to a degree but I wasn't happy with the fact that some filler would have had to have been used so I cut it out and replaced the corner with a new section from a later donor car.

Gap at the top was great



I tried using my dent puller



No luck so I cut it out





It would have took a lot of filler to fix this 



Donor section from a late bug



Quickly fitted, one hell of a difference





Surprise surprise the wing captive nut was wrong so out came the trusty super press tool



Genuine nut





See the difference in the shape



Part way in



Mucho bettterrer







No filler

[vwhelmot]

Other little but important jobs like this too. Trying to find the sealing clamping strip on the rear valence proved to be a challenge until Autocraft engineering sorted me out with a new strip. It was sort of bent to a shape but took a bit of careful massaging to fit. The old one was never going to look right.









Also been working on a cabrio deck lid which I will get ready for paint so I`ve got the choice of two lids. Exhaust is now finished, the oiling system is finished with a new cooler etc, all the fuel lines are done, the motor is stripped and ready to be taken for a full rebuild and a capacity hike and cam change , many parts are ready for the chrome.....
 
I`m finishing all the tiny jobs that need doing before I start to prime and body prep and panel fit. There are a few decisions about some other stuff to be made and I`m having trouble making my mind up what to do. These changes radically change the look of the car....

[MickO]

Very inspiring work!

Stupid question from a beginner: What type is the yellow primer that you use after blasting?

[Lids]

Very inspiring work!

Stupid question from a beginner: What type is the yellow primer that you use after blasting?

He answered that earlier in the thread

[vwhelmot]

The yellow is an ordinary etch primer, 1:1 mixed with activator

Cheers.

[Clatter]

Upol weld 2

I linish the weld with a 1" belt sander and then use a random orb sander.  All of my tools are Makita.  I know them inside and out.

Oh, my, this is lovely to behold... I'm floored.
So much detail!

Care to share a bit more of your methods?

Am i to believe that you do all of your rough dressing of welds with the little electric Makita belt fella in the pic here?


No stone grinding wheels at all
I am baffled how you dress welds down inside right angles and tight crevices and such..!

Do you have a picture of your DA sander?
It's also electric?

What grits do you prefer for these?

-Also-
You are spot-blasting up high there, or forking the thing down every time?
I could see blasting up there making the mother of all messes..


Learning SO much here.. Pretty much spent most of today studying this.
Thanks for taking the time to document so thouroughly.

[vwhelmot]

Upol weld 2

I linish the weld with a 1" belt sander and then use a random orb sander.  All of my tools are Makita.  I know them inside and out.

Oh, my, this is lovely to behold... I'm floored.
So much detail!

Care to share a bit more of your methods?

Am i to believe that you do all of your rough dressing of welds with the little electric Makita belt fella in the pic here?      .................    Yes I do 99% of the rough dressing with the belt sander 40g then 60g belts


No stone grinding wheels at all
I am baffled how you dress welds down inside right angles and tight crevices and such..!

.................The only time I will use a grinder is when I need to make a cut or some serious rough dressing. You can easily slip and do some damage with a grinding cutting wheel, yes I said cutting wheel too. I never use a thick grinding wheel as the is very little control with those, a thinner cutting wheel used on its edge is better but don't grind on its underside as cutting wheels used for grinding can explode, the strength is at the tip. Tight corners etc are accessed using a die grinder with a burr first.

Do you have a picture of your DA sander?
It's also electric?

............Its just a 5" Makita elec da sander, I use 60g or 80g

What grits do you prefer for these?

-Also-
You are spot-blasting up high there, or forking the thing down every time?
I could see blasting up there making the mother of all messes..

...........Yes I spot blast and have to clean up after, its easier than lifting the shell up and down on the mez floor!

Learning SO much here.. Pretty much spent most of today studying this.
...........Thanks for taking the time to document so thouroughly.
 
Thanks and no worries, just make sure you enjoy what you do!

[vwhelmot]

Built the frame at the end of last week. A year and a bit too late me thinks 

[vwhelmot]

Redoing work I did a year ago    It really bugged me that this pressing I made was not the right shape so I repaired the rusty cut one from the states.

[vwhelmot]

... and made my own weber windows

[vwhelmot]

A few pics of the re repair of the boot floor edge. Not an easy place to get too to finish it properly.



I had to weld on a new seam as it was missing completely





Part way through





Job made easier





Next problem was that the seam didn't flow right. Had to do something about it



Added a fill in piece



finished

[vwhelmot]

Modded the hinge mount. Ugly as standard.

[broen messiaen]

very impressive!

could you show how you did the mounting of the rear apron? i see some kind of fastener system to mount it.

thanks

[karl h]

as always - watching in awe! i have no fucking idea of how you get it that clean, i tried but i never even come close to your work....

[vwhelmot]

Thanks, just takes time and lots of it.  As for the rear valence, I will show how I`ve done it a bit later. Took a bit of head scratching to get it right. 

[Deanodynosaurs]

F*ckin Hell!! Your attention to detail is awesome, and you metal working skills are amazing!! Proper respect to you.

Dude