'73 Single Cab - Sorting out the Mess

[73type2]

When I bought my late bay single cab
a couple of years ago, it was in a poor state, with sections of the wiring missing, among other things. The wiring has been mostly repaired, but I've been procrastinating on sorting out the ignition barrel removal, as the ignition key is missing. So, today was the day. As this is my first bus project, I did some reading and viewing some YouTube videos. After two hours of frustrated fiddling, the barrel managed to come out. I'll go to a locksmith tomorrow to have a new key cut.

A previous owner probably drilled a hole in the housing to facilitate removal of the barrel, but it wasn't useful to me. At first I tried a brazing rod to push into the hole on the side of the barrel housing, but it was too weak. I ended up making a hook out of a stiff chrome spring, which did the trick.

[retrovan]

well done, those barrels can be tricky some times,

Keep the photos coming and the project going

Herman

[73type2]

I went to Precision Locksmiths in Bellville, Cape Town this morning at opening time to get keys cut. I used the opportunity to sort out keys for my Beetle as well. I was hoping that the very experienced guy was still there, but learnt that he retired about four years ago. I asked the new guy if he could cut keys based on the code on the lock, and he seemed unsure and went to check the computer. The old guy would've known immediately, but I guess change is inevitable. After fifteen minutes he came back with the first key successfully cut based on the lock code. He then did the Beetle lock and I left with sets of keys for my single cab and Beetle.

1969 Beetle 1500 ignition barrel and door lock:


1973 Bay Single Cab ignition barrel and door lock:


All locks with matching keys:

[73type2]

While I had the steering wheel off I decided to repair the cracks. I'm sure there are better ones out there, but I thought I would learn something new in the process.

Before:







Opening the cracks and applying epoxy putty:




Sanded down:



Painted:



The final product is not perfect, but it is acceptable to me.

[AlanH]

Cool, I did similar, but used body putty. Still busy though. I'm a bit of a stickler, it has to be perfect.

[73type2]

Yeah, for my single cab I'm trying to get it in a good running condition, maintaining the patina'd look while sorting out rust. I'll post more pictures once I've cleared the load bin, which is currently a storage bin for all the junk in my workshop.

[retrovan]

Well done, also feel that you should not take out all the history and aging of a rebuild, there should always be a bit to bring back memory's and story's when asked about these imperfections.

There are more then needed examples of rebuild VW's in museums, but very few with history and memory's.

Can you imagine the joy someone will have one day at a show, when he recognizes the car as from his family history and that scratch/ tear/bump/ mark that he made is still there.......Whoooow !!! You can not buy that, not even with a Visa Card.....

Herman

[sean]

Well done, also feel that you should not take out all the history and aging of a rebuild, there should always be a bit to bring back memory's and story's when asked about these imperfections.

There are more then needed examples of rebuild VW's in museums, but very few with history and memory's.

Can you imagine the joy someone will have one day at a show, when he recognizes the car as from his family history and that scratch/ tear/bump/ mark that he made is still there.......Whoooow !!! You can not buy that, not even with a Visa Card.....

Herman

I don’t believe if someone spent many years treasuring and lovingly looking after a vehicle to find it years down the line with another owner who has dented it, scratched it and torn the seats will get any joy out of seeing. Sounds depressing to me.

Abuse and neglect of any item is nothing to be proud of.

The above mentioned steering wheel is thrashed due to neglect, standing in the sun and probably damaged by trying to remove it with a hammer. This is not pride.

[73type2]

In the spirit of trying to fix as much as possible of the original parts, I had a look at the damaged horn button parts. Everything seemed to be there, except that part of the white insulating ring was missing:



With some heatshrink tubing, small fibre washers and super glue, the bolt is insulated:


Horn button installed and working: