New '66 Project

[BuginU2]

I guess the news on my '66 project fell victim to the upgrade (which looks great!)...

I snagged a great '66 off Craigslist last week.  We picked it up Friday morning and now it is in the garage.

So far... very little rust.  The pan is really solid with just a bit around the battery.  There are a couple dings on the fenders.  No front or rear apron damage.

The only bad part is the dash.  The original dash has been cut and a padded dash has been bolted on.  I will be removing this dash and building a new one.







Neat ventilation system....

[CatBox]

i have a huge pile of metal for your new dash if you want to come and peruse my wares.  just let me know.

[BuginU2]

Thank you for the offer, Peter.  I will get in touch with you once I've pulled the old dash.  I'll probably end up using it as a template... going to eliminate most of the meters and stuff.  I'll probably end up with a speedometer, tach and fuel level in the dash... a couple switches and a modern size stereo opening.

[BuginU2]

Here is the update....

The dash, most of the wiring, interior and headliner have been removed.  I am still trying to decide what to do about the fixing the dash.  I'm leaning toward welding some metal over the holes and smoothing it out.

The pan has ended up being very solid, with a little rust under the back seats.  It looks like a previous owner might have replaced the pan halves at some point in the past.  Since there is a some rust in places, I will be treating them.... actually I plan on treating the entire interior metal and the complete underside of the pan with "RustBullet".  I saw this stuff used on a TypeIII on the DDB's site and it looked really good afterwards.  The company's website www.rustbullet.com has some impressive before/after shots of cars treated with this stuff.  The technical details of the stuff is a good read as well.  I bought a gallon this week and it arrived yesterday.  I can't wait to try it out on some rust!

I found an old dash badge from Bug In 20 (10 year anniversary in 1978) on the driver door.  This used to be a California car several years ago so it isn't too far fetched that it could have been in the show.  Intereseting bit of VW history.  I think I'll mask it off and leave it there.

Looking ahead, I have some dings to knock out of the doors, fenders and front hood.  I'll going to try to do it myself.  I had considered throwing some money at this project to get the body and paint done quicker, but then realized that I don't have enough money to throw at it to make the project interesting (or profitable) to a shop.

[CatBox]

I found an old dash badge from Bug In 20

is that the green tag on the door?

[Nacho]

When I treated the pan of my bug, I used this stuff called "pur-15". It seals itself to the rust, and it makes the floorboard a shiny black. If you use pur-15 make sure you read the instructions if you get it on your skin, it's there for awhile.

[BuginU2]

It's been awhile since I've updated the progress on my latest '66.  I'm just about done with the tear down that I'm going to do.  The interior has been removed so I can paint the pan and package tray area.  The trunk has been removed of most wiring for the same treatment.

I was able to cut the speedo section of the dash out of my old '66 and put it on the new one.  I've decided against filling in the rest of the dash with metal and ordered a fiberglass dash that will utilize my existing speedo hole.

The 5 vs 4 lug debate is over.... I've placed an order for wide-5 disc brakes for all four corners.  DIP should have them in about a week or so from now.

Here are some pics:









Once I finish cleaning up the interior, I'll spray the paint inside.  The rest of the body is looking fairly good.  Some minor dings to address....

[BusDriver]

When I treated the pan of my bug, I used this stuff called "pur-15". It seals itself to the rust, and it makes the floorboard a shiny black. If you use pur-15 make sure you read the instructions if you get it on your skin, it's there for awhile.

Ummm....That would be POR 15 rather than pur but he is right all the same it is the best stuff there is, look at my bunny sometime :-)

[Smug]

My pan and wheel wells are coated with POR-15, seems to do the trick.

[BuginU2]

Well, I'm just about finished cleanup of the interior as well as the trunk area.  

I've removed the tie rods, master cylinder, and hard brake lines under the tank.  I will be swapping my front beam over to an adjustable one along with installing the disc brakes in front.  My rear disc brake kit is on its way.  Hopefully by the time the fronts are on, the rears will be ready to install.  When I do the rears, I'm going to drop the back a couple notches.

The way I see it....

Finish pulling the old front beam
Paint under the tank
Install new beam with disc brakes
Drop rear a couple notches
Install rear disc brakes
Paint interior
Install wiring harness
Paint exterior
Install interior
Install windows
Install engine
Drive car

[CatBox]

well arent you just a busy little bee?

keep on going i'm sure its gonna look good when you are done.

[BuginU2]

Yep... pretty busy these days.  It seems like I'm putting this car back together in 1 hour increments.  Today I managed to get a little over two hours done.  Productive time!

I dragged the new (used) adjustable beam out the the driveway, cleaned it up a little and then sprayed it down with some paint.  While the paint was drying (taking forever in this cold) I removed the old beam and salvaged the parts I would need on the new one.  Once the old beam was out I cleaned up the area under the tank and sprayed some paint down there too.

Here is a pic of the new beam:



Once it's dried, I'll start mounting the disc brake stuff on it and put the beam back it.  

Some of you have been to my house and seen my garage.  The car is currently "nose in", which makes working on the front really difficult.  I had to leave the front passenger tire under the fender as I didn't have enough room (with the beam and drums) to pull the tire out.  I'm pretty sure I'll have to leave it there until the front is back together.

[BuginU2]

EMPI.... ugh!  Must control fist of death!

I bolted up the brackets for the calipers late last night (big mistake).  This afternoon I had the pleasure of lifting the beam back into place with a couple two-by-fours, a tie down strap, and a floor jack.  Fun time.

The real fun came once the beam was bolted up and torqued, the new wheel bearing packed with grease and installed on the new rotors and I was about to install them on the spindle.  That is when I realized I had installed the brackets on the wrong side (and hence backwards).  No big deal, I pulled the brackets off and swapped them over, but discovered that the bolts supplied with the kit (that hold the brakets on) will grind against the rotor when installed.  That won't work at all!  Samba Article on EMPI brakes

I've taken a break now... hopefully before the night is over the front brakes will be installed.

[TotallyVW]

May the Force be with you.  :cussing:

[BuginU2]

Gah!  These brakes will be the end of me....

I swapped the caliper bracket over to the correct sides (or perhaps they were just on backwards and upside down)....

Packed the driver's side bearings, put the seal on, and installed the new rotor on the spindle.... tightened everything up (not too tight.. not too loose) and found that when I spun the rotor it sounded like either something was still grinding or my kid has stuffed some marbles in with the grease.  

Decided to leave the driver's side alone for now and took care of the passenger side.  Since I had already screwed up the installation in a dozen different ways on the driver's side, the passenger side went much easier.  All together now and when I spin the rotor I hear the wonderful sound of silence as it turns.

I cursed the driver's side and left it for the night.  I may try swapping out the bearings to see if it helps.  Otherwise I get to figure out what is grinding.

I guess the next adventure will be putting the calipers on....although I may wait until I put the rears on. :protest: