Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

TheAstronaut, Nice project. Nice work as well. Pretty well rusted out, whew. You will have a nice VW when you are done.

I've wanted to do a Meyer's Manx dune buggy since 1966. Had two VW's in the meantime, a 1969 Karman Ghia and a 74 VW Thing. Both fun to mess with.

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

Awesome! Definitely following along. I remember you from TheSamba years back when I frequented the site. Anthracite is also my favorite color ever, and with a red interior you're lights out. Can't wait to see your progress!

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

Got a little bit done this week. I welded on the gas pedal mount, and battery hold down pieces, and welded the beam back together. Also drilled out and re-tapped one of the beam mounting bolt holes. It's all ready for powdercoat now. I'll drop it off Monday since I'll already have the trailer hooked up... suppose to be bringing home another project if everything works out... ;)

I blasted/painted the old spindle carriers and painted the new spindles and calipers last night so they'd be dry for today. I worked on assembling the spindles today but didn't get as far as I wanted... The new drop spindles are machined a little shorter so they needed a thicker thrust washer, which I didn't have. I called the local VW parts hoarder to see if he had any, he said: "yeah I have a box of them, come on over". So I go check his washers and none of them are thick enough. I ended up downsizing the OD of some old link pin shims I had to come up with the correct clearance.


The thrust washer.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_0984.jpg


One spindle/brake assembly finished (minus the spindle nut, the new ones were made wrong). I'll try to get the other side put together tomorrow evening.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_0988.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_0990.jpg


Sneak peak.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_0973.jpg

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

The C10 deal fell through, the seller backed out when I called to see when I could pick it up. We had agreed on a price and verbally bought it last week but it was too muddy to get the truck and trailer in his yard to load it. I guess a handshake doesn't mean much anymore...

The guy I bought the blue parts car from is really interested in buying the 'vert when I'm finished with it, but he would rather have it with the current paint, so I decided to leave it "as-is" and just color match the one fender and fix/blend a few areas that need repairing. I started scuffing the paint today to prep it for clear, which I'll flatten 10-15%.


It'll look like this now.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s.../IMG_0994.jpeg


I first wetsanded and buffed a spot to be scanned for a color match.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1029.jpg


After washing all the dust off you can see how oxidized the paint was.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1036.jpg


Used a red scuff pad and dish detergent to clean off the dead paint and get to a good base to clear over.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1036.jpg


Quarter, fender, and hood scuffed.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1049.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1043.jpg


I also delivered the frame and suspension parts to the powdercoater yesterday. I probably should buy another truck... :lol: I also ordered a ton of parts and almost all of the interior yesterday.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1019.jpg

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

Just happened on to this build and signed up for the tag along. Great find. Had a '68 red convertible and, for whatever reason, it keeps me coming back to these simple vehicles. Regrettably, about 5 years ago, I passed on a restored mid 60's red convertible that had been flooded in Hurricane Katrina. Just needed a little disassembly, rinse and reassembly. I'll get the next one. Keep the photos coming. dug

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

Started fixing the driver side front fender. It had a badly repaired area that had cracked filler and the overall shape was way off.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1061.jpgu

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1063.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1064.jpgu


After stripping it, it was pretty crunched.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1071.jpg


Ran it through the planishing hammer, cut out a bad spot on the inner flange and made a new piece, did some hammer/dolly work, then skim coated it.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1082.jpg


Pulled just about everything from the trunk so I could clean it up. The old wiring was hacked up so I'll get a new harness.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1080.jpg


Picked up a decent pair of original German bumpers for $200 bucks.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1084.jpg

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

I have been hitting craigslist daily looking at Festys since the picnic last month. You may have started something. ����

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

Did you see the one with a full length sliding ragtop sunroof in Asheville? It's gone now but I was really tempted to go get it.

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

I scrubbed out the trunk, it cleaned up better than expected. I was planning on scuffing and clearing it to bring out the color but I don't think I'll need to now.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1106.jpg


Shot a couple coats of primer on the fender. I blocked it out tonight and will shoot it and the other fender again tomorrow.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1127.jpg


The interior and a ton of other parts arrived today. Went with grey and ivory since I'm not crazy about red/tan cars. Plus I was able to get matching grey floor mats instead of plain black so that should brighten up the interior a little. I cheaped out and bought the less expensive synthetic carpet... I didn't think the original style wool carpet was a good idea in a convertible with no top...

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1120.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1124.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1122.jpg

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

I did but was concerned the rag top would be a problem.

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

New parts! Nice!

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

I've seen one in person and it looked to be a well done conversion with no leaks. I texted him about it last week, he was on the fence about maybe keeping it so maybe that's why the ad is gone.


I'm not looking forward to this month's credit card statement... I'm used to using a customer's card instead of my own! :lol:

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

The front fenders are 64-66 style with the turn signals mounted farther back. I made a template from a spare earlier fender so I could move the signals to the correct location.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1138.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1133.jpg


The passenger side of the front apron had some old repairs that had failed so I stripped it, cut out the section between the bumper slots, welded in a new piece, then straightened it, skimmed it, and shot a couple coats of primer.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1134.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1135.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1140.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1153.jpg


The passenger fender needed some reworking to look more like the original German driver side fender. First thing was to reshape the too-round inside lip of the fender into a more square shape to look more like the original fender. On both fenders I folded the inside edge a little tighter than stock to give the tire a little more clearance and a smooth edge to rub up against, both fenders were done this way. I'm planning on running 195/50-15's up front which are much wider than the typical 135 or 145 tires that most guys run. Even with the narrowed beam I'll need all the room I can get.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1141.jpg


Another area I reworked was the shape on the outside of the headlight bucket. It wasn't stamped as deeply as an original fender so I used a hollow dolly and a convex-faced hammer to stretch the area deeper.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1143.jpg


I also brought the engine to the shop so I could start the teardown.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1157.jpg

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

Really enjoying your attention to detail.

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

nice progress and update(s) ....

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

I tore down the short block a couple nights ago. Looks to have been rebuilt at one point, the crank bore had been cut .020" oversize. Everything else was still standard size and even though it had a ton of sludge in the block nothing looks to needs machine work. It was going to be a quick and easy rebuild, until... I dug around in my parts stash this morning and found all the major parts needed to turn the 1200cc 40 horse engine into a 1500cc stroker. I ordered most everything else needed this afternoon. Still need to find an appropriate dual carb setup, and I'll modify the stock muffler into an Abarth 4-tip copy.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1176.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1165.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1163.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1194.jpg


I shot the inside of the passenger fender with some rattle can red and brown primer to sorta match the other fenderwells.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1197.jpg


And fixed a few spots on the decklid.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1199.jpg

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

When I read these posts and see the pictures it makes me want to find a J.C. Whitney catalog and browse though the VW section, LOL. I spent a lot of time and money there back in the seventies.

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

I stopped at a local VW shop and bought the last of the parts needed for the engine. They had a fairly rare Thing-only fan shroud with no heater ducts so that will work great to convert to the later style offset oil cooler. They had the rest of the parts I needed for the engine (bearings, flyhweel, clutch/PP). I dropped off the rotating assembly at a machine shop to have it all balanced and to have the rods narrowed .040" to fit on the later style crank.


This is the forged/counterweighted crank that's been sitting on my shelf for 8-9 years because it had a stripped oil galley plug. Back then I tried removing the plug by drilling the plug and using an Easy-out, which broke off in the plug. A couple of machine shops didn't want to fix it so it sat... until this week. I used a 1/8" carbide burr with a pointed tip to grind away at the Easy-out and was able to get it loosened up. Once the Easy-out was removed I ground the plug's ID so that a Torx bit could be driven in, which worked to back out the plug.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1214.jpg


I ordered more parts in anticipation of picking up the frame next week...

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1278.jpg


Which included a set of Porsche Fuchs wheels.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1253.jpg


I masked them to add the correct black background.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1265.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1269.jpg


And the body is ready for a couple coats of flattened clear. Hopefully I'll get a chance to shoot it tomorrow. Can't wait for reassembly!

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1283.jpg

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

Picked up a pair of vintage M/T Rader wheels this morning at a swap meet... I may ditch the Fuchs for these if I can find a pair of 15x6's or 15x7's for the rear. The Porsche wheels are cool but these would be a lot more original and interesting.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1309.jpg

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

Wow, lots has been done since I last checked in. Looks great. Going to be nice.

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

Thanks!


Shot a couple coats of lightly flattened SPI clear this afternoon. Can't wait to start throwing parts at it tomorrow!

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1365.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1373.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1362.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1367.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1371.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1375.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1369.jpg

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

Couldn't wait, started sticking some parts on it tonight once the paint was semi-fingerprint resistant.

First thing installed was the side trim. I bought all new stainless trim from Wolfsburg West. The original trim was anodized aluminum so this is much nicer.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1378.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1380.jpg


You can see the paint dulling out in this pic.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1381.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1384.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1385.jpg

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

Looking good .

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

Bolted the fenders on for good today, along with the color matched fender beading. Also installed the hood.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1407.jpg


I stripped and painted the running boards, then installed new mats and stainless trim.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1415.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1417.jpg


One of the driving light housings came in the mail today so I assembled it with a NOS Zelmot lamp I had already. The Zelmot is actually a 5.75" high beam lamp so I'll wire it in with a relay to kick on with the high beams for more distance visibility. There's minimal fluting molded into the lens so they'll have a narrower beam pattern than a typical high beam bulb for better long distance visibility.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1420.jpg


And tonight I started polishing the interior paint, got about halfway finished.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1419.jpg

Re: 1963 VW Convertible Build
 

Finished pulling out the old wiring harness and got the new one pulled through the heater channel. Not the easiest thing to do...

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1424.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1434.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1438.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1440.jpg


Installed a few more trim pieces.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1441.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1444.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1446.jpg


Cleaned up the speedometer and gas gauge.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1429.jpg


Pretty excited about the way the clear turned out. It has that buffed original paint look without all the work of constantly buffing original paint!


http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1448.jpg


Started on the interior.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/IMG_1425.jpg