Aircooled VW South Africa

Hey guys, thanks for all the positive comments... heres todays work..

Update...

so I went back to my inspection plate but was unhappy with the mounting bolt. It was a bit filmsy on the single skin panel so I removed the nut and created a new support brace with the mounting nut welded to it. I then welded the brace to the back of the panel keeping the nut where it was. It feels much better, lot more solid. I also noticed the inspection plate on the other side had diagonal cut edges so I made mine match..





Next I decided to fix the tombstone light housing as one had rotted near the bottom mounting screw (one on the right)..





with a new bit of metal and some fiddly welding front and back it's now secure again... waste not..want not as they say..



I then redox'd the rears for protection...



One cool thing I noticed whilst setting the lights up is that the rear lenses have this written on them...



I also started prepping the rear valance area...





Also I decided to fix the worst of the 3 original wings. The drivers rear had a few rotten or broken bits..

front bottom edge..



running board bolt hole had become massive..



and some broken mounting holes..





these were promptly cut out and replaced with new steel..



there was also a lot of surface rust so this was treated to a rub down and some rust converter, followed by a coat of red ox. You can just about make out the new steel sections which need new holes drilling. I'll get some better pics tomorrow of the repairs...





I also gave the topside a rub down so I can see where I need to repair...



Thats all for now folks!

This is one cool thread, well done so far, one day the project will be the talk of "the wirral"

You are doing an amazing job on the bug. Congratulations on having a SA bug and very glad to see how keen you are to save! You work very fast....like warp time....done all that work in 2 days!!!! Well done

I'm amazed how good your metal work is and the attention to detail! hats off to you

Love how the story line is going, please keep it up! And Welcome!!!!

Thanks guys, I will update agin tomorrow, spent all day today sorting out my garage

Progress report time agian..

I'll start with close up's of the new metal I welded into the rear wing. Obviously I need to drill new mounting holes here but you get the idea..







started off with a good tidy of the garage on thursday so I could locate as many parts for the bug as possible.. it wont look much different other than I cleaned out the rear corner so I can get the motor on to my engine stand soon...



then today I did a few jobs, started off fixing the drivers front wing. Nothing really wrong with it other than it had been drilled by the running board mounting hole. I checked the other side and the running board and only one hole is needed so I welded it shut...





I then cleaned off the old waxoyl and coated it underside with old faithful..



Next I started prepping the pass side a post. Some filler...



some paint...



Whilst waiting for some filler to go off I stripped my running boards. I noticed a nasty dent in one of the trims so I've started working it back to shape. It still needs work..





next I pulled back the rubber mats to find this..



so I buffed them back and treated them to rust converter and a coat of red ox..







finally I started prepping the pass door ready to be re-fitted on the car. Hopefully get it on tomorrow and check the other door mounting plate.

Some people...most people woukd have just bought new parts.But not you!!

Keep it up,please!!

I can't get over how much work you get done in a day! Love the updates!

Chris, I was just thinking the very same thing.
Those running boards looked like throw away to me. Well done!
If you ever get bored, let me know, have some more work for you (to do in double quick time no doubt)

Thanks guys, yup most would chuck them in the bin but aside from being on a very tight budget of exactly 0 pounds... I just want as many og parts on the car as possible. She's not going to be restored to show condition, just simply repaired so hopefully she looks like she was never off the road!

Indeed, it's very refreshing to see a UK car being built on a shoestring, normally all those guys have massive budgets and everything is new. Kudos to you

This is definitely a very cool thread. I will be watching out for updates and reading with interest. How refreshing. Great stuff.

That's a lot of work. Looking good there

Hi guys just to say work on the bug has stopped for a few weeks whilst I concentrate on my day job. I've run out of money so as soon as I get paid off my next contract, work will continue hopefully in around 2-3wks time... cant wait, nothing sucks more than having lots of enthusiasm and no cash!