Aircooled VW South Africa

Sounds like that son of yours needs an increase in pocket money.

I'm getting Goggo ready for the Beetle Party at the Mint on the 20th... slow progress as the work that needs to be done all has to be farmed out (upholstery, wiring, etc.)!

Today's action was to change the lock barrel on the drivers' side door! Took 10 minutes at a locksmith and left me R180 out of pocket... At least I can lock him up again!

My spedometer died on me, so at the moment I'm driving on Revs (feeling like a rally driver!). That will also have to be attended to in the next week. And no, I did NOT budget for THAT expense...! Sies, Goggo!

bugandy wrote:Great advice Coop re cutting steel!! Depends on the make/quality of Cut Off saw you bought but these are generally not precision machines as they are "jobbing/site machines and can be a bit out which is "worsened" the bigger the cut. The type of wheel used is also important as there are different composites etc. The blades also tend to flex when pressure is exerted on the handle and should too much pressure be exerted then naturally the blade will flex more and tend to cut to the right.
For more perfect cuts then I would suggest using what we call a "cold cut" machine which has a TCT tipped blade ie a steel blade with tungsten carbide tips that will give much more accurate and cleaner cut and cuts much quicker!
Hope this helps

Does the TCT blade fit normal cut off machines? I have a Ryobi which should be adequate.

Fitted new tyres on my new Empi5........

today i fixed the bonnet catch,its closed one and never opened again.The bonnet was stuck and pulling the lever did nudda.I called a friend and asked advice from volksieworld,but in the end i had to bend the bonnet lip to unstuck the pin.what a sad day for me but lucky enough another friend(ex panel beater sorted me out)It took great effort to unhook the catch.

All working now.Now for the body to be prepared for matte(flat) silver black.

Fixed the hooter and fitted the third speedo cable
tomorrow patches gets her regular weekly oil, battery and general check and then wash and vac.
Then she is ready for next weeks daily abuse

Fitted the cheesegrater on the 58.
Also cleaned the battery terminal cables, and fit a new battery terminal, car still won't start, checked the battery voltage, a whopping 4V! Thats low even for a 6V battery . Back to the charger, will try starting her again tomorrow....

Drove to work and back with all lights working and a new indicator stalk, after using a 3 way switch for the last year.

Once again.
Thanks Soutie

cleaned the cables and got rotary knob (on dash -- mind out the gutter boys) fresh air system working. But was still "leaking" cold air.Then removed and semi stripped that black plastic ventilation box under the bonnet that controls the fresh air direction. Discoverd why .. no foam remaining on the control flaps. SO removed control flaps, desrusted, primed and sprayed them .. will fit new foam once paint has cured. While on a roll removed footwell vents and removed those flaps. Ditto cleaning and painting. Will get some 2mm foam on monday to reline those and re-install. SO even though i cant get parts here to heat the bug, at least i can stop the cold air getting in, so making some progress.

then when closing bonnet .. VW badge flew off ... sigh ... two steps forward.. half one backward .. discovered no retaining clips at all .. so must have just hung in there with dirt, old polish, and gravity ..

Did a bit of bending on the roofrack and fitted it to Bobbie....

The cleaning fairy visited me and blessed me with knowledge.
Translation: (I did some searches on the net because I was fed up with cleaning.)

She explained a few things and gave me advice.
Translation: (I found a few sites and tried a few things.)

She instructed me in the ways of soda blasting.
Translation: (I spent 2k on a compressor and accessories and discovered the wonders of soda and sand blasting.)

She left me happy and smiling.
Translation: (Why the F@#C% doesn't anyone tell us about this until we've cleaned every !@#$!%^! peace of tin by hand.)

One peace of tin... budget 1 hour to clean, big peace, closer to 3 hours.

Cleaned both heater boxes in about 4 hours. That's easily the equivalent of three big peaces of tin!
Double the work in half the time!

~@#$!#%^!@##$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



I COULD HAVE HAD THIS DONE A WEEK AGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Dirk,

What does one need to do soda and or sand blasting - I have the compressor.

Hi Dirk

Where did you buy the soda blasting equipment?

Regards
Dave

Still filling and sanding, filling and sanding...
I borrowed a panel-beater's hydraulic ram/jack/press thingy to push the dents out of the front of the bus. Had some success but the air ventilation setup under the dashboard is really getting in the way. It appears to be spot-welded in place so I am at a loss at the moment. Any tips on how to reach behind this or remove it?

hitlers revenge wrote:

hitlers revenge wrote:@ #$%^&^&^%$%#&^%^$#$%

Sorted the Ghia's wiring, well so I thought. I moved the car to its own garage after cleaning up, only to find I have no lights.

All I did was remove all the loose wires.

@#$%%^^^^$$##@

Not only is my son a self taught motor overhauler, he's now an auto lecky. I got home tonight and all my Ghia wiring is sorted. According to my son it all was a complete mess. Now things are all working and all working on independant circuits. And not lights, wipers and indicators off one circuit.

Thanks SOETIE.(even though I told you not to touch it)

next time u hav a problem, tell ur son not to touch it