Popular Post 63Ragtop Posted June 26, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 26, 2016 right turns out these spot welders are a quite a nack to learn.had plenty of practice this week!photodump, but I'm kinda stoked the shell is done. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63Ragtop Posted August 1, 2016 Author Share Posted August 1, 2016 Now returning you to your reqularly scheduled programming.Gathered up my balls and cut two big holes in my decklid.like this.insert here.and weld that sucker up!cut and repeat.didn't take alot of pics, took me just over a week to complete, once I had committed to the placement.super happy with it, a little more hammer work and some bog and it should look sweet! Like this rather famous fucker! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63Ragtop Posted September 14, 2016 Author Share Posted September 14, 2016 So must be time for a update, feels like I've been doing more planning than working, which is important I guess.The drivers side front fender needed a bit of finishing off, there were a bunch of pinholes from rust that must have happened decades ago.so I set about welding them up, this can be a frustrating job as what looks like a tiny hole is actually the lowest point in a rust pit, which blows out as soon as any heat gets near it.but by keeping the wire longer than normal at the tip of the welder, it makes a little less heat or current and you can just about poo up anything!there was also a few holes in the rear of the fender where I had spliced in the other fender.and I managed to remove the headlight bucket as I had noticed a lot of pinholes that had rotted though the fender under where the rubber headlight seal sits against fender. I was going to try welding these up with the bucket in place but I could also see rust swelling in the lap between bucket and the fender.lots-a-surface-rusty! and the bucket it's self needed a couple repairs.more pinholes  and someone butchered the wire tubes which I don't need anyway.and the fender lip pinholes.and I had a play with some spray guns.I also spend a Friday afternoon pushing this dirty thing out onto the grass, sprayed 1.5 cans of repco's finest (cheapest) degreaser about and then got the bloody thing wet for the first time in seven years!and removed this retarded as fuck brake line, and the other not retarded ones as all my brake fluid became invisible years back.also removed the shady fuel line, that front clamp is the only thing that held it to the car, except for the hoses at each end I guess. Look how wobbly the bloody thing is!a rather cathartic afternoon.and then I pushed it back in the shed, at which point a mate wondered over with a beer and it was tools down. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63Ragtop Posted October 3, 2016 Author Share Posted October 3, 2016 spent the last wee while sorting out the rear fenders, they all seem to crack at the bottom.Still running the 60's lights of now, the blue fender is a nice og panel to replace the shitty brazilian one I had.the other one may be a 50's fender as it has all those pressing in the bolt flange between the holes.In any case neither tail lights where even or flat, so after I finished fixing up the cracks yesterday.using the blue one as a template, I has some homebrew dutch courage and drilled some new holes for the right hand light.it doesn't look much, but it was sitting 25mm higher as well as being on the piss. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63Ragtop Posted October 27, 2016 Author Share Posted October 27, 2016 been a bit lazy with the photos lately, but look at all dem holes.found a few other pits and holes, tears and cracks, all fenders seem to have a hard life on a old bug.sorry for the shitty cell phone pics.patching them up.better.one more mock up of the tail lights.carried on with the running boards, wanted to make sure the hole in the front fenders were where they should be.and the doors could open.decided to test out the bonnet trim, handle, VW badge, which look sweet, headlights and horngrills for the full effect.and bought me some paint!! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63Ragtop Posted November 6, 2016 Author Share Posted November 6, 2016 Yes Sir I'm loving that fake vert decklid!as the lid was one of the few panels I had fully stripped and paint with PA10, I thought it a good experiment with the new paints I've bought.stripped out the PA10 where the bog was to go, sanded the rest down with 80 sandpaper as i had brushed the PA on and it looked like it!and after much sanding and sweating about how to use a paint gun, ta daa!I even filled the join in the inner panel pretty good.not finished yet I just wanted to get some primer down, needs more filler in a few places.Also had a play in the sandpit.stripped the outside and sanded it down to 99% bare, the inside and under the taillight on this one was so pitted, blasting was the only thing to do. still need to blast the other one.can still see the makes from 40 years of stone chips.actually blew a hole in the the fender with sandblaster some of the pits were that thin, hopefully get it filled and primed this weekend. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63Ragtop Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 managed to blast the inside of the second fender, what a mission, glad it's done but fucckkkin hell I an't doing that again!close up of pitted tail light area.just about lost my shit blasting this thing, Lee your compressor is huge, but still not fast enough for sandblasting large things.after the blaster got blocked for the 12th time I called it done.But it wasn't really done, there were still lots of black spots, deep pits. So I thought I'd do an experiment with this POR metalready stuff I got for the chassis.Sprayed it on, waited, washed it off with the hose, dried it(with the mrs hairdryer) and the next day it looked a bit like this, camera makes it look ruster than real life.First thought was, Oh shit thats alot of surface rust! but after closer inspection it was a chalky yellow coating the metalready had left behind. I think POR goes over the top of this, but as I wasn't planing on that I gave it a good wire brushing/sand.50 years of wear.and now my pits are super clear!smashed some bog on.screwed up the mix, it was still soft two days later! re-smashed the bog, getting the hang of it now.sprayed some etch primer on, did the inside first, trying to not get it on the bog, forgot about it at first, didn't seem to make much difference? i find out when it all falls off!and primer filler.these photos make me happy in my pants.The fenders still need work but I think my mud slinging has improved even since I did the engine lid, as you can see in this pic.the number plate light area needs smoothing out.Spent about three hours on Saturday, stripping this sucker down.sexy!clear coat??nah, just more metalready.primed the inside sunday night, looks good here, but painting cold metal at 9.30 at night in about 15 degrees is not advisable! shit came out like crazy string. Will be starting the bogwork tonight, I'm trying to get at least a panel done per week.I picked this up the other day at the dump shop for three bucks, I've always thought these cases look cool. Might use it as a tool box once the bug is finished, but in the meantime, it keeps my spray gun clean and bog dust free as they were just lying around before.geek alert! Â 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63Ragtop Posted November 21, 2016 Author Share Posted November 21, 2016 Bog, lots and lots of bog.most of which ended up here.and thenI hung the bonnet up so I could paint both sides at once, great plan! made painting the nose of the hood interesting wit it only inches off the ground. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63Ragtop Posted November 29, 2016 Author Share Posted November 29, 2016 Packed the shell to one side and hung the fenders back on the wall for now.Can't believe I'm so close to painting the thing!But first!Stripped the pedals, cables, steering box and tie rods.forgot how much of a bitch this Rhino mount was to remove, does the job though.finally got the gearbag out, after I removed the drums and took the handbrake cables out.Thanks to Sluggy for the Torque Master tool, I was able to get the castle nuts loose, but holy hell the passenger side was still hard to remove, must have had about 400 metric tonnes on it!managed to fit the phone in the gearbox hole, tunnel is not to bad.I did have a small fuck up, when I removed the handbrake leaver I didn't realize the clicker plate thing inside that locks the brake was separate and as I lifted the leaver the plate went, plop down inside the tunnel  Lucky I have one of those magnetic pole things for just such a occasion, So I did have a great laugh when I first got the gearbox out and looking inside to find another handbrake plate rusting away down the back of the tunnel.haha.Also found a spare MC bolt spacer inside the frame up front. cleaning these up was satisfying.cleaned my hands as well!Ideally I'd like to cad plate all these, but time is money, whats the best to paint these with?Flat black everything is my idea. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63Ragtop Posted November 29, 2016 Author Share Posted November 29, 2016 disgust me here-Â //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/33947-63ragtops-63ragtop/page-4?hl=ragtop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63Ragtop Posted November 29, 2016 Author Share Posted November 29, 2016 Another shitty little update, but progress is progress.got the beam off last night, with the help of Darrell the Holden driving westie, Cheers Big D!lifted the almost bare pan onto the wooden dolly/stand, so it's can move.and had a look inside  so much lose rust!think of it as a light weight race spec pan. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63Ragtop Posted December 14, 2016 Author Share Posted December 14, 2016 Seasons greetings handbags and faghags!I've been doing stuff.sandingpaintingpolishing.spent all Saturday afternoon on the end of the wire wheeled grinder of death, killed the back stooping over this thing!found a wee bit of rot, so out came the cut off wheel.cleaned it out as best as I could, will fill up with anti-rust stuff.weldingother side was just starting to swell up, so I did this.fin.smooth.you'd never know.this was always the lowest point of the pan.every bit helps!trimmed it down, welded it up and smoothed it out. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63Ragtop Posted December 14, 2016 Author Share Posted December 14, 2016 I've been trying to get this pan sorted ASAP so I can carry on with the bodywork/paint, so i was trying to not get carried away with getting it perfect, an't no one going to see it really, I thought about opening the tunnel, sandblasting, replacing the bung fuel line etc, but fuck it, lets go!!time for a bath or shower, in acid.and here it is drying off.I duct taped all the holes it stop the metal ready getting inside where I didn't want it.here you can see the rust turning funky and the clean metal getting etched.but, it seams there is a leak somewhere in the weld between the frame head and the floorpan??Darrel gave me some rustroy that will hopefully sort this shit out.Once it was all dry, after blasting any water out of the seams with compressed air and drying the inside of the tunnel with the wife's hair dyer, I hung it up to paint.I think is might be the source leak, right in the corner were the bottom of the tunnel meets the corner of the pan. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post 63Ragtop Posted December 14, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 14, 2016 right, paint.POR15 Top Coat Gloss Black.tried not to lay it on to thick as I read it can just peel off. Gloss Black showing up all the pitts and dents, never gunna be a show car, brushed on by hand paint job. 1st coat took about 3 hours, slow and careful.and got busy with the seam sealer, jesus that was hard work, had to squeeze the crap out of the caulking gun to get it to work, killed my hands! not sure if I'm doing that right?stuck heaps in here where the leak is. The technique I used was to do a section, then, wearing gloves, dip a finger in thinners and press it into the seam as you smooth the seam sealer out, took a bit of practice but got it looking tidyish.and painted over the seam sealer.particularly happy with the top of the old frame head, this had so much surface rust and pitting from the old master cylinder line would leak brake fluid all over the place.was a bit disappointed with all the brush marks in the POR, everything I read said how good it was at self leveling, but I found as it is quite thick and with the pan was hanging sideways if I layed it on thicker it would start to run and drip.So...ah better.sexy. 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63Ragtop Posted December 23, 2016 Author Share Posted December 23, 2016 well that's nearly the end of another year in the projects life,  opened up the steering box last night, errrr?whats this shit?I think it's actually been rusting/corroding in there. are rebuild kits even available for these things?Might just pack it with grease and be done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post 63Ragtop Posted January 16, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 16, 2017 Spent most of the last week of holidays in the shed, cleaning and painting the beam, brakes and gearbox, so i could get it back on its wheels and get back to the shell.Everything was covered in grease,rust,dirt and paint, so the process was dowse in turps, scrape and wipe as much grease and muck off, wire wheel, degrease, brake cleaner, sand, acid etch and or paint. Filthy work.I ended up getting two cans of POR15 in rattlecans, which saved a bit of time painting.trying to keep track of all the partswhen I first got the car the front was sitting pretty high, and the front bump stops were under the rear seat with the battery, when I installed them I found out why. One side went on fine, the other fowled the shock.Whoever build this beam, had cut and turned the bump stop horns and had welded on crooked, so all I had to do was cut and reweld, matching it to the good side, easy! except when I removed the rubber off the good one, the horn came off in my hand, that's some good welding!you can see the gap were the weld missed.also found this tiny blob of weld on the edge of the beam bearing, has not made friends with the trailing arm over the years, I'm sure someone will be posting up all my mistakes on this car one day.like the shitty huge welds that now hold the horns on.  acid is a hell of a drug!but it sure does make POR stick well.cleaned up my oddball drums.smashed on some matt blackFirst part installed on the pan.Filled the tunnel up with Rustroy, that shit stinks!Darrell helped me bolt up the gearbag and beam.matty b on the box.Now I bought these grease seals for the beam about 15 years ago and never got around to installing them.until now.gearbox is matt black, axle tubes are Gloss Black POR, backing plates are grey.I've started cleaning up the brake parts, shoes etc, just need new cylinders (wheel and master) reinstall cables and paint pedals and steering stuff, feels like a major milestone! 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post 63Ragtop Posted February 1, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 1, 2017 So christmas came a little late this year.who am I kidding, this was better!Mark at the Metric Nut sent me up pretty much everything I'd need to get this thing on the road.I wasn't going to bother with the shift rod seal but after cleaning up the gearbox, I'd found one small tear in one of the axle boots, so while it's apart we might as well stick one in, never had one before, fancy!got the front brakes back together.had to get the rear oil seals pressed in by the local shop (cheers frank and co) I tried doing my self but just mangled it. nearly didn't do that either as I read the seals don't work without the drums torqued up, again, glad I did as this was inside the leaking one.took the pedals apart, cleaned, painted, greased and reassembled.pretty much every part of the throttle linkage was all bent to hell.new bumpstopstwin circuit master with fluid res on top, started running new stainless brake lines that I brought ages ago.pedals installed.ran clutch and throttle cables, forgot how much of a ass hooking up the clutch cable was  who designed that fucking thing!got the rear brakes back in along with the bearing seals, handbrake cables run and hooked up.cleaned up the tie rods and installed new inner ends, the outer one have been replaced in the last decade or so.I was going to polish up those stainless brake lines but I had run out of autosol and wanted to get it done, I've also realized how little things like a tube of this, a can of that, soon adds up, I needed rubber grommets for the brake line, some else this car has never had, and bugger me if stupercheap wanted over eight bucks for two.this shit adds up man!ah, forgot the lube!never forget the lube.then I came up with this genius way of getting it inside the steering box.and paint bla bla.front drums on, with new locking tabs for the bearings.rears all jammed on.and holy shit balls! it's on it's wheels! 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post 63Ragtop Posted February 1, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 1, 2017 Yep, pretty frigging happy with it, paint could be nicer, more stainless/polish/chrome etc would be cool, but at the end of it, no one is really going to see it are they!?Bonus shots.bolted in the shocks, painted the white front ones matt black like the rears.thought I may have a problem here.  actually about 1cm away from the shock, should be okay? would be much eaier to change it now than when it's full of fluid.other random pics.this thing was super handy for bending up the brake lines. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post 63Ragtop Posted March 7, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 7, 2017 So Summer has officially ended and still no red paint on this thing!  But never fear, I'm on it!! I've been spending what feels like every waking moment and many when I should be sleeping working on this thing, I'm beginning to understand why car paint jobs are so flippin expensive!Time, lots and lots of time.So after giving the shed a mighty clean up and tidy, thinning out the heard of pushbikes down to a manageable number and shoving anything unneeded under the house, I began with dressing down the old welds on the sunroof graft.and then the bog.So much sanding.then decided to bare metal the dash and tidy up the rest of the inside.check out the factory spot welds.the reason for this was to remove all the shitty old glue that I had spread about holding the carpets in place, as I wanted to get a nice coat of paint every where.looking much better after some etch.I even managed to get a couple days off work as I was on a roll!moved onto the underside, which apart from the bottom corners on the front firewall, needed no bog at least!also heaps and heaps of tiny small things like bogging up the spot welds under the engine air vents, smoothing out the welds where I grafted said vent panel into the roof and the front scuttle graft aswell, the A pillars, the front wheel wells......   At this point my fingers are numb and my skin feels like 180T sandpaper, are we having fun yet?!But seeing it all coming together in one colour.that is pretty cool.fantastic motivation.You gotta keep on pushin, you gotta keep on pushin!time to crank up the beast!this side was tricky, the hood release tube is right smack in the way.got it stick in place evenchually.and then the one on the scuttle.spot welder was making a bit of a mess out of this one(it may have been the operator) so I had to MIG up a few wee holes here and there.and bog and sand and etch.....another chunk done.need to start seam sealing but it would appear that the tube I used on the chassis has seam sealed its self inside the tube,  fuck it, I'd only used a quarter of the fucking thing!I cut the tube open and did the under side bits here.not very pretty, but it will keep out the weather.seams about right, I went to paint the gray primer on the inside of the trunk, got half way and ran out of air, went to finish it tonight and I'd run out of thinners, and now the seam sealer.  Ah well, I've been meaning to update you guys so there you are. 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post 63Ragtop Posted March 19, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 19, 2017 Got some more thinners and got the front under bonnet/boot painted next.tried to get a good coverage on everything.over the years many stone chips had done a number on the paint under the arches.one more wire wheel dead.had a crack at heat shrinking some of the mess I'd made of the front quarter, worked a wee bit, stopped it popping in and out so easy.bog time!I spent Monday, Tuesday and Wendnesday night last week from about 9pm once the kids were sorted and the next day organized, sanding, sanding and sanding till about 1 or 2 am.And finally on Thursday night.a bit of etch.followed by...just the engine bay and the front valance to prime.but that will have to wait till it's off the spit as I still need to spot weld the bonnet seal strip on both valances as the frame it's bolted to is in the way.still needs heaps of work, found a few dips and bumps after the paint went on, needs lots of sandpaper marks filled in/sanded out, but I should be able to do the seam sealing and smash some red on the bum soon! 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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