The Ragtop Express

[tpb_karl]

Sp,me great progress there  

nice progress, I think the fitment on the rear fenders and running board is fine

Thanks guys!
I'll have to look around at some shows next year, on what the "norm" of fender-to-running board fitment is like I haven't owned a bug for seven years. Back then i was very new to aircooled VWs. Which is why i'm not 100% sure on some details.

A couple of short visits to the garage this weekend. Had a big convex area by the horn grill on the driver's side front fender that I couldn't get rid of. Luckily I had backup fender and i don't understand why I didn't take this one from the start... This one fit perfectly and i just had to move the turn signal hole.







Then I started on the rear fenders. On the left, the gravel guard was still there, so after removing it, the to-do list grew once again..






I considered cutting out the whole piece that was rusty and making another attempt on the English wheel. But as I've said before, these are only supposed to get the car passed an inspection, so I've started patching up instead..







The fender is not finished. Work continues next weekend.
Ciao!

[MrIcka]

Nice work, man

[tpb_karl]

Nice work, man

Thanks!  


Back on it!
The white rear fender had a fairly long dent that got straightened out. I also welded and drilled new holes for my taillights.









Then it was time for the last fender. It was bent and had split apart at the hole for the bumper mount. But otherwise quite solid!







It found its way home eventually.







With the fenders ready, it's time to adress the rust on the body.







Horn mount and not a hole in sight (Or so I thought)





Tax receipt and first owner's name and residence. Gunvor in Lidköping





The spare wheel well is pretty rotted out and the same can be said about the little aluminium badge..
I tried blasting it off but it was a little far to gone. Are these available as newly manufactured?







On closer inspection at the horn, I discovered that the side was very thin... So i had to make a small repair.











The problem I had with the replacement panel from IGP was the hole where you take out the shift rod. On the original, the edges were folded in and on this one there was just a hole cut out. After some measuring, CADing and 3D printing, I had a giant dimple die. The 3D print did not survive.. But I got to the hole looking decent!







After some sanding and welding primer, the front was ready to receive the new wheel well. Grinding and paint..... Tt looks quite decent though. It's not 100% finished as i'm out of sanding belts and Roloc discs for my air tools..








And as a nice addition to the shelf, The same local club member that gave me the green fender has made a another donation. This time chrome T-bars. They should add at least a couple of hp.

[richie]

Some real nice work going on here

cheers Richie

[BossHogg76]

The other half of the sunday update crew 

Lovely work Karl.

[tpb_karl]

Some real nice work going on here

cheers Richie

Thank you! 

The other half of the sunday update crew 

Lovely work Karl.

Its a great way to reflect on the weekends accomplishments! Im glad im not the only one updating

[tpb_karl]

Sunday again, time for an update!

I’ve cleaned up the welds and thrown some primer in the spare wheel well.


Friday, I went to the garage and sorted the hole in the floor behind the drivers seat.



This repair was done "quick and dirty". I know this is not the right way to do it.. The idea is for it to pass the MOT. Later, when the car is fully disassembled and under rebuild, the body will be lifted from the pan, and both floor halves will be replaced with new ones.








Then it was time to tackle the inner wheel arches. The right side was first, and I decided to try making the sheet metal myself instead of buying an aftermarket panel.
Of course, you start with CAD (Cardboard Aided Design).


After some bead rolling, flanging, and bending over my knee, it started taking shape.


The heater channel also needed repair (of course).






The gap at the bottom of the A-pillar was welded shut, and I made my own press tool to shape the area around the nut for the fender mount. Strangely, I didn’t take any pictures of this, but I’ve filmed the whole process.



Using some 6mm metal from the scrap bin, I made a nut that resembles the original ones, which, as I understand it, were pressed into the fender edge. This one ewas welded on the back side.



Then it got welded onto the car. The fit wasn’t 100%, but I think I can adjust it later.




Next time, it’ll be the left side.
Take care!

[leec]

Very nice repair to the front inner wing - might have to copy that on one of my cars

[BossHogg76]

Great progress, love the weekly updates

[Steve67]

great job on the body repairs.
I would consider drilling a drainage hole on the bottom of the A pillar.
I think blocked drainage in this area is the cause for most rust issues there

[tpb_karl]

Thanks for the positive feedback! Thats a great tip Steve! I'll have to look into that!

[tpb_karl]

Here we go again!
I did some 3D scanning and CAD work for a friend and got paid in oil filters and Argon mix. Thanks for that!


Then I repaired the inner fender on the driver's side. The procedure is the same as on the passenger side, so here’s a bunch of pictures for you.











Thanks Steve for the tip to make drainage holes at the bottom of the A-pillar to prevent this part of the car from rusting again. After doing some research, it turns out that cars from ’61 already have a drainage hole that channels water out over the siderunners. The opening is right at the seam where the A-pillar’s panels overlap.


I had an idea to make a new hole at the front since I plan to give the car a bit of a nose down attitude. But that hole would end up inside the front fender, which would probably let more water in than out… So I’ll stick with the original drainage.

Here’s a little overview since about half of the rust repair work is done.


Probably won’t get more done before Christmas, so until next time, I would like to wish you all, a Merry Christmas! 

[BossHogg76]

Another great update, Merry Christmas Karl have a good one

[Steve67]

Great craftmanship. Retaining the original drainage hole ist the nicest option :-)

[tpb_karl]

After exams, reports, and assignments at the university, I finally got a few days in the garage—four, to be exact!

It's time to tackle the tedious work on the rear ends of the rocker panels.

First up, some more parts for the build!
Metal behind the doors and the outer section of the rear inner fender.
2-inch shortened tie rods, shock absorbers, and new rear lower quarter panels with bumper brackets.






Here's the first side to address.







After cleaning up a bit, it’s easier to see where the problems lie.







Looks like some repairs will also be needed under the heater channel before inspection.
I’ve temporarily removed the jack mount, and the car will likely remain without it.





I started with the easier task: the lower rear quarter panels. It’s only held in place with welding clamps for now.







Carefully removing rusty parts from the front inner fender corner.






The heater channel is, as usual, in bad shape, so I made a small repair.
Eventually, I plan to lift the body from the chassis and replace the entire heat channel.











Further research showed double layers of metal at the end of the heater channel toward the rear wheel well.
Ideally, I’d lift the body to fix the entire cross member, but for now, I’m patching it as best I can.

First, the inner layer.







With that in place, I could fit the outer piece—and while at it, i gotta test a T-bar!







When everything looked good, I welded it in place.






Next up: the metal behind the passenger door.
This part will need lots of love before it’s ready to weld.





I started by cutting off the bottom section and replicating the original panel, including the drain hole.








All welded nuts were removed.
The lower part now uses a stud, and the upper part will follow the same approach as the front fender repairs.
It took some persuasion to match the radii reasonably with the original.







Unfortunately, I didn’t get further this weekend, as I spent some time on the reinforcement plate for the inner fender.




I experimented with heating and hammering a bowl into a piece of metal, smoothing it with an English wheel.





I tried 3D printing a press mold with alignment pins in aluminum but failed.









I then traced the bracket onto the plate and made one from 2mm steel.






All this was testing for the final parts.
I’ll likely skip the "bowl" and go over the bumper bracket to allow for torque bars in the future without excess metal in the way.


That’s the current situation! Work continues next week.

[Steve67]

I really like your metal work, good progress again

[tpb_karl]

Thanks Steve!
This weekend I have been in the garage almost all weekend. However, not much progress on the car, as I was distracted by this:






AC/DC TIG weld with plasma cutter. I've never TIG welded before other than trying to add a couple of tacks a few years ago. However, I have done some gas welding, so I have an idea of what the puddle should look like.
Then another package showed up in the garage! A first iteration of a licence plate holder. I have 3D printed brackets to put under the spare tire tray with m5 lock nuts.











Looks like I might be on to something. What I'm waiting for is the front quick release as it's only with cable ties at the front for now.







The idea is to make a licence plate holder which can quickly and without tools be removed the at carshows or VW-meets. And you should be able to put it back without it ending up crooked and preferably not be able to come off while driving.
It is of course intended for us who will drive without bumpers or with T-bars or Nerfbars.







I have some changes to make for the next version. But it feels good so far.
I have also done a little bodywork. I finally gained courage to cut and fit the sheet metal behind the passenger door.









I have also fitted the rear replacement panels and corrected the fold in the bottom of the piece as this is only folded over once.







Since the bumper mount is shaped like a cone with a closed bottom, I drilled a drain hole in the front. Because I will lower the front, but not the rear.






I previously made a piece that I finally took courage and welded on. With the TIG! I dipped the tungsten probably 12 times and blew 3 holes that I had to fill... Things you learn from, and next time it will hopefully go better!











The next piece to fit in will be the lower part of the inner fender. This needs a lot of modification... But we will do that next weekend!

[BossHogg76]

Great progress Karl, love the number plate bracket. I have something on the similar on the 67, was looking to do something similar on the ragtop. Did you use someone like send-cut-send to have it made up?

[tpb_karl]

I did! They did both the cutting and bending. The bends were within 1° tolerance. So I'm very satisfied, and will definitely send more stuff to be cut.

[nicolas]

I can't help but to be amazed.  I really like the level off your work. I don't even know how to start and you show pictures and details.

[tpb_karl]

I can't help but to be amazed.  I really like the level off your work. I don't even know how to start and you show pictures and details.

Thank you! I start by looking at the replacement panel, and figure out where I want to make the transition between old and new metal on the car. Usually a balance of how difficult it is to do and quality of the end result.

Otherwise you can just throw the angle grinder at the car and figure it out from the empty space it gives you 

[tpb_karl]

This weekend, I made the final modifications to the panel that will sit behind the passenger door and tacked the outer skin together.
But first, I cut out and repaired the floor lip behind/under the back seat and welded the bottom of the lower corner so I wouldn't fill the heater channel with water.






I removed most of the paint from the outer skin, applied primer on the inside, and carefully started welding it in place with the TIG.






So far, it looks good. It doesn't seem to have warped. Now it's time to continue with the inner fender before fully welding the outer skin.
The inner fender, however, requires quite a bit of work... First up was this weird little pressing.




Since the panel is designed for newer cars with a Z-bar, I have to close up the opening to make it more like the original. This was patched up, and the panel was trimmed to fit the existing inner fender.








However, I wasn't happy with the sharp rear corner of the opening at the shock mount, so I rounded it off a bit.



Then I realized that the bottom line of the bottom of the body didn't line up at all, so I redid the entire rear half and also part of the opening near the shock mount.



Now it's welded and ground down. This piece took way too long!




The next step will be the reinforcement piece that goes on top of the inner fender. and the mount for to the shock tower.

[Steve67]

the license plate bracket looks very nice, are you planning to sell these in the final version?

[tpb_karl]

the license plate bracket looks very nice, are you planning to sell these in the final version?

I might! If i am 100% satisfied with the design..

[BossHogg76]

Quality updates as always Karl, very envious of your fabrication skills.