Märchen von der Fledermaus

[j.reyven]

Got all my parts last week, and on Sat. got to work.



Yes, this is my garage, it's called "street parking" :)
- luckily they are doing construction on my street and it's "closed to thru traffic" this month.

Next, degreased and wire-brushed everything,



- after some sanding, priming, and careful taping of all my parts,
- a fresh coat of chassis black ( I got the high-temp stuff) , put it all back together, and ....



instant new front end  !!

Not too bad a weekend, I was able to take my time and making everything nice.

This front-end package included (both sides) ....
 - new calipers, pads included (vargas)
 - one new rotor
 - other rotor turned
 - new bearings in and out
 - new hoses
 - and also (finally) got the short shocks...  ( and WOW , sooo much better ride now, no more bottoming shocks out.)

[j.reyven]

Here's what's been taking my time the last couple weeks..... the rear .


The axle seals were bad, and leaking gear oil into the brakes, and this pic is AFTER the first de-greasing!



Before: Degreased and wirebrushed only .... that rear end was a mess.



After: sanding, painting, and re-assembly....



It took 2 weekends plus and couple evenings, but it's all shiny and new.

New Parts:

• Axle boots.
• Outer Axle/Bearing Seal Kit.
• Rear wheel cylinders.
• Brake Pads / Hardware.
• Rear Brake Hoses.

Problems Found:

• Boots Bad, Leaking.
• Bearing Seals Leaking.
• Brake Spring Broken.
• Overflow Oil Drains (at bearing) plugged.
• Crankcase Bolts loose.
• Tin bolts missing.
• and best of all ... the drivers side axle hub was stripped!
  - the only thing making the car go was that the axle nut was so absurdly tight the hub didn't have a chance to spin. :)

And now, ... the new underside view.... :)



Still have a final bleed and brake adjust, ... oh, and get those axle nut back up to 250 lbs.

[j.reyven]

I've now removed the driver's side fender that got wrecked...

- you can kind of see (at 2 o'clock of the tire) the inner panel was damaged also.



So I have to still bang out and align the inner panel to the new fender,
I do have a porta-power, but it's hard to get in the space under/behind the tire.

[coolblue57bug]

I kinda like the look of the car without the fender...

[RyanB]

Good clean work and nice attention to detail. Most people wouldnt have put that much time into cleaning it all up. very nice!

[j.reyven]

Thanks Ryan.

Although I think I spent more $$ on cleaners,degreaser and spray paint than I did on VW parts! :)

I found this great chassis black paint at O'Reilly (Schucks)..
it's called "Roll-Bar/Chassis Paint"...  it's higher temp, (250 deg.) , no primer needed, and is the perfect pseudo-gloss color for chassis parts.
- Roll-Bar/Chassis Paint Link

The shocks and brake parts are Graphite Wheel Paint - Link >

- I figured I was under there fixing things anyway, ( I cheated on the transaxle though, it's "cast aluminum" engine paint. )

note: an old restorers trick to cleaning,.. Oven Cleaner ... but be careful with it, it also strips paint and can mess-up rubber parts...
but boy does it clean 40 year old gunk off.
 

[TotallyVW]

note: an old restorers trick to cleaning,.. Oven Cleaner ... but be careful with it, it also strips paint and can mess-up rubber parts...
but boy does it clean 40 year old gunk off.

Wish I knew about that before I started cleaning my cylinder tin.  It was pretty rough.  But beggars can't be choosers.

[j.reyven]

I kinda like the look of the car without the fender...

Oh yeah coolblue... Type 3's look reeeeally cool Volksrodded and fenderless 

[j.reyven]

After 3 weeks, I finally got her back on the ground.



- Finished up the rear this weekend, (final tightening for bolts, trans oil in, and bleed the brakes).
- Using my nifty porta-power, I got the inner panel banged and hammered back into shape,
still have to weld up a couple joints on the inner panel that got knocked loose while pounding, but it's almost good to go.
- Primered and bolted the new fender on.. ( more of a test fit right now )

Took her for spin around the block, ... man, with that new hub on, it feels "jumpy" now. :) 
I was temped to do a couple donuts in the big empty parking lot, ( it felt like it could do it now ) but was afraid I'd break all my hard work I've done... ... maybe next time 

[j.reyven]

Since the weather is not cooperating ... this update is more a "what did I virtually do to my VW today.

I've been planning on putting type-1 headlights on, and getting rid of the turn signals ( turns will be in headlight, modified running lights)
So I used Photoshop to mock-up the new lights.



- I like it, I've always thought Fasty's look like mini DB5's anyway :)

I also played with a version removing the bumper over-riders..



It looks clean, and almost Porsche like, but the over-riders lend ... "character"... so I'm still torn on removing them

[coolblue57bug]

I say lose them. If by character you mean it clutters the front end then yes they add "character".

[j.reyven]

yes, true, they do put a lot of clutter on the front end :)

Have you see these guys work? Kustom Coach Werks Website Gallery

their stuff is super clean... and they post TONS of pictures,
... from day 1 to day whatever.. some cars have 150 pages of pics.

What's great is they kinda' show you how to do it simply by posting so many pictures...  I've been getting ideas from their Notches.
I know you can love or hate Type 34 Ghia's, but theirs is pretty sick.

[j.reyven]

Went down to DIP today...

I had a 20% off card I got from one of the guys at the Bug Run.. so I thought I use it wisely.

REALLY just needed the new accel cable,
but got my upper and lower ball joints today too, plus a couple other little fix-it goodies.

And thanks Kev about the Heavy Duty Bolt-On Cable tip... I got that one...

- Had to do a little mod at the pedal to get it to fit, but I got it all lined up (better than stock was)  from the pedal to the body tube ...
- at the back, I used a straight -thru cable clamp, so this time I have a little extra cable...
- adjusted it all, and bam! better than new ... :)

If any one has to replace they accel cable, GET THE H.D. kind!  ... waaaay better ...

lol, except now ! ...my gas pedal is as light as a feather and I even have 2 springs on the linkage!

tomorrow I'm going to get to those ball joints,
the type3 ones look pretty easy to replace ( they don't have to be pressed out).

then Monday .. blow stuff up!