Post by owdlvr on Oct 23, 2018 22:48:02 GMT -8
I'm still not 100% I want a build thread for this car before it's "finished", but I gotta figure the traffic here isn't so high that it will be an issue. I'm going to jump into the build thread partway, it's hosted on another small forum of VW buddies who are all into the German Look scene. The first few posts are all cut-and-paste from posts I've made elsewhere. The German Look project was always planned for right after I finished the Rally Bug, as the "next" project...but I bought the '58 on a whim, figuring I wouldn't be able to afford an early Beetle if I waited too much longer. The beginning of my build thread on the other forum has lots of discussion about engine choices, and some of the parts I bought before finding the car to build, but I think we can probably just jump ahead to where I actually bought the car to build off of.
Basically you just need to know that I was only looking for a 1973 Beetle, rust-free and non-sunroof, as the potential start for my project. Honestly, that's like trying to find a rust free split window project. They are RARE.
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Since buying the house two years ago, the German Look project honestly hasn’t been high on my list of things to accomplish. I do look at every 1973 Beetle that comes up for sale in B.C. though, and that’s been pretty easy to keep me from buying anything with which to start the project. Everything is rusty.
Now, to be fair, I’ve reached the point where I think that if you’re going to buy a 1973 Super Beetle to cut up for a German Look project, it’s going to be rusty. The question is how much? Ultimately, I could go out and buy a $12-15k “restored” car, and cut that up, but I think you’re still going to find surprises…especially when you split the body from the pan. I want a car with minimal welding. I don’t want to be doing heater channels. I know I’m going to have to do the C-Pillars in anything I buy, but I really want a car that (like the rally bug) I can look the other way and pretend it’s going to be “okay” because the C-Pillars are so solid.
Four or five weeks ago, a stalled “German Look Project” came up online for $8k, and I spoke to the owner a few times over the phone and via email. The car was presented as “rust free”, but I could see some areas of concern in the photos. There also wasn’t a whole lot of car to consider. The bulk of what you’d be buying is the Porsche brakes and top-line suspension, much of which I am not going to use. The car was also out in the middle of nowhere, six hours plus from my house. I decided to pass.
But it did get me thinking…
What am I willing to spend on a car that is almost rust free, or at least one I can see everything? I emailed Chris a few months later, and we started talking about the car again. I stopped in on a road trip home from Colorado, and had a good look at what he’s got. The shell is excellent in some areas…For instance, every bolt came out of the heater channels and fenders without problems, and there is zero rust visible around 95% of the welded in nuts. Every piece of sheet metal is factory, with the exception of the driver’s side floor pan. Shockingly, the car still has the factory passenger floor panel.
On the bad side, it’s had an engine fire…so the vent area is a problem. It’s had three patches hacked into the car. and I mean HACKED. There are some areas of rust to contend with, none bigger than a square-inch, maybe two. (or, Toonie-sized if you’re Canadian). Chris lifted the body off the pan while I looked under the heater channels and such.
Dealing with Chris was quite refreshing. He mentioned he had googled me before I arrived, and “realized you’re a perfectionist.” I was very careful to make sure he wouldn’t feel insulted when I pointed out the flaws in the body for my purposes, but he listened to each of them and took it very well. We knew, standing there, that we both valued the car at very different points on the economic scale. Over the next few days we emailed back and forth. He was willing to come down on his valuation on the car, and I was willing to come up. He sent me an Excel sheet which was the inventory of every part he has for the car, including what rubbermaid bin I would find it in.
I’ve emailed him this morning to say I would agree to his last price offer…and I’m going to go and pick this thing up before the end of the month.
- It has Topline Maxx struts, but not the extreme struts that I would have selected.
- It has Porsche big brakes and alloy callipers on all four corners, not sure if its 911 or 944 bits…but if I’m 100% honest I’ll probably put the porsche stuff aside for a future project.
- It has 944 rear arms on it, but the steel units not alloy.
- Porsche Twists…though they have some curb rash.
Other than that, it’s a bare shell with some issues…sitting on a restored pan…with boxes and boxes of parts.
I am tapped out on the dollar spend though. This will not be a fast project to finish, limited strictly by the free dollars I have to spend on it. Whereas the Rally Bug was built in 8 months, I suspect this build will probably be closer to 3 years before it’s finished. So, hopefully by posting this I haven't jinxed it, and I'll be towing it home before the end of the month.
-Dave
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Patience pays off... (Early June 2018)
-Dave
---------
So I pulled the car out onto the driveway to blast and grind any areas where I suspect there would be rust I need to deal with. At this stage I’ve only done the outside bits, and at times I’m quite excited about not finding a horror story, and other times I’m like “ugh, not as good as I hoped”. Don’t get me wrong, this is much better than the other cars I’ve looked at, but not as good as I initially thought. On the plus side, the C-Pillars are no surprise. I bought the car knowing that they were going to be a problem.
Easy fix, no welding required…
Couldn’t blast in here with my quick setup, but I also have a whole second replacement section so the rust isn’t a problem.
This area was a bit of a surprise. It looked very minor with the black paint over it, but once I started blasting the glass went right through it.
I knew about the bits above the trim line…but the rot continues down below.
I see major surgery in my future
In general, I haven’t seen late model cars rot so close to the rain gutter, without showing rot higher up. I’m not sure how deep into this C pillar I need, or want, to cut into …but I think after fixing the passenger side I’ll have a good handle on how much to open it up.
This will be an easy fix.
I think this heater channel will end up being a patch job, not a full channel.
Doesn’t look like I took photos of the rear apron, but it’s a 50/50 mix of cheer and disappointment. The apron is straight and sold, but the area covered by the deck lid has some very rough surface rust pitting. I will see what can be done to fix it, but I might be looking for a new apron to graft in. Haven’t touched any of the interior rust, which is mostly in the C-Pillar or luggage tray. Will fix the outside first, and then worry about the inside of the car. Also haven’t looked too hard at the usual rust in front of the dash, as I’m not sure how much of the factory dash I’m keeping.
-Dave
Basically you just need to know that I was only looking for a 1973 Beetle, rust-free and non-sunroof, as the potential start for my project. Honestly, that's like trying to find a rust free split window project. They are RARE.
-----
Since buying the house two years ago, the German Look project honestly hasn’t been high on my list of things to accomplish. I do look at every 1973 Beetle that comes up for sale in B.C. though, and that’s been pretty easy to keep me from buying anything with which to start the project. Everything is rusty.
Now, to be fair, I’ve reached the point where I think that if you’re going to buy a 1973 Super Beetle to cut up for a German Look project, it’s going to be rusty. The question is how much? Ultimately, I could go out and buy a $12-15k “restored” car, and cut that up, but I think you’re still going to find surprises…especially when you split the body from the pan. I want a car with minimal welding. I don’t want to be doing heater channels. I know I’m going to have to do the C-Pillars in anything I buy, but I really want a car that (like the rally bug) I can look the other way and pretend it’s going to be “okay” because the C-Pillars are so solid.
Four or five weeks ago, a stalled “German Look Project” came up online for $8k, and I spoke to the owner a few times over the phone and via email. The car was presented as “rust free”, but I could see some areas of concern in the photos. There also wasn’t a whole lot of car to consider. The bulk of what you’d be buying is the Porsche brakes and top-line suspension, much of which I am not going to use. The car was also out in the middle of nowhere, six hours plus from my house. I decided to pass.
But it did get me thinking…
What am I willing to spend on a car that is almost rust free, or at least one I can see everything? I emailed Chris a few months later, and we started talking about the car again. I stopped in on a road trip home from Colorado, and had a good look at what he’s got. The shell is excellent in some areas…For instance, every bolt came out of the heater channels and fenders without problems, and there is zero rust visible around 95% of the welded in nuts. Every piece of sheet metal is factory, with the exception of the driver’s side floor pan. Shockingly, the car still has the factory passenger floor panel.
On the bad side, it’s had an engine fire…so the vent area is a problem. It’s had three patches hacked into the car. and I mean HACKED. There are some areas of rust to contend with, none bigger than a square-inch, maybe two. (or, Toonie-sized if you’re Canadian). Chris lifted the body off the pan while I looked under the heater channels and such.
Dealing with Chris was quite refreshing. He mentioned he had googled me before I arrived, and “realized you’re a perfectionist.” I was very careful to make sure he wouldn’t feel insulted when I pointed out the flaws in the body for my purposes, but he listened to each of them and took it very well. We knew, standing there, that we both valued the car at very different points on the economic scale. Over the next few days we emailed back and forth. He was willing to come down on his valuation on the car, and I was willing to come up. He sent me an Excel sheet which was the inventory of every part he has for the car, including what rubbermaid bin I would find it in.
I’ve emailed him this morning to say I would agree to his last price offer…and I’m going to go and pick this thing up before the end of the month.
- It has Topline Maxx struts, but not the extreme struts that I would have selected.
- It has Porsche big brakes and alloy callipers on all four corners, not sure if its 911 or 944 bits…but if I’m 100% honest I’ll probably put the porsche stuff aside for a future project.
- It has 944 rear arms on it, but the steel units not alloy.
- Porsche Twists…though they have some curb rash.
Other than that, it’s a bare shell with some issues…sitting on a restored pan…with boxes and boxes of parts.
I am tapped out on the dollar spend though. This will not be a fast project to finish, limited strictly by the free dollars I have to spend on it. Whereas the Rally Bug was built in 8 months, I suspect this build will probably be closer to 3 years before it’s finished. So, hopefully by posting this I haven't jinxed it, and I'll be towing it home before the end of the month.
-Dave
--------
Patience pays off... (Early June 2018)
-Dave
---------
So I pulled the car out onto the driveway to blast and grind any areas where I suspect there would be rust I need to deal with. At this stage I’ve only done the outside bits, and at times I’m quite excited about not finding a horror story, and other times I’m like “ugh, not as good as I hoped”. Don’t get me wrong, this is much better than the other cars I’ve looked at, but not as good as I initially thought. On the plus side, the C-Pillars are no surprise. I bought the car knowing that they were going to be a problem.
Easy fix, no welding required…
Couldn’t blast in here with my quick setup, but I also have a whole second replacement section so the rust isn’t a problem.
This area was a bit of a surprise. It looked very minor with the black paint over it, but once I started blasting the glass went right through it.
I knew about the bits above the trim line…but the rot continues down below.
I see major surgery in my future
In general, I haven’t seen late model cars rot so close to the rain gutter, without showing rot higher up. I’m not sure how deep into this C pillar I need, or want, to cut into …but I think after fixing the passenger side I’ll have a good handle on how much to open it up.
This will be an easy fix.
I think this heater channel will end up being a patch job, not a full channel.
Doesn’t look like I took photos of the rear apron, but it’s a 50/50 mix of cheer and disappointment. The apron is straight and sold, but the area covered by the deck lid has some very rough surface rust pitting. I will see what can be done to fix it, but I might be looking for a new apron to graft in. Haven’t touched any of the interior rust, which is mostly in the C-Pillar or luggage tray. Will fix the outside first, and then worry about the inside of the car. Also haven’t looked too hard at the usual rust in front of the dash, as I’m not sure how much of the factory dash I’m keeping.
-Dave
...I love the rally Beetle, was that the one at Volksfest in Victoria?