65' Velvet Green Walk Through Build

[brettsvw]

Nice save, keep it up.
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My 59 kombi build.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=635003&highlight=

My buggy build.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=558601&highlight=

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=289807

[65Bugsmasher]

Decided to keep on keepin' on. Started getting the front taken care of by cutting out the inner and outer lower valence. In the pics you'll notice I have some space on each side as I am still thinking about what I want to do with the lower A-Pillars. I didn't cut fully across yet, but will when ready to replace with new metal.

I first had to measure 3 inches up from the line on the valence. Once measured, I put tape down to ensure I was cutting straight across

After the cut straight across, I took the putty knife along the seem to separate the spot welds on the valence.

I was then able to cut straight down exposing the inner valence. Pretty crusty looking eh?

Lastly, the hardest part was to remove the original welds from the frame that the inner connected to. All went well until I got to the passenger side and discovered frame rust at the bottom, and a frame bend. Looks like I will have to tackle those before putting the new metal on.

Driver Side

Passenger Side

Frame Rust

To be continued....

[brettsvw]

[65Bugsmasher]

Had some free time today, so I got right to it. Due to the rust and frame tweak, I decided to fix that first before anything else. I cut the bent part out and straightened it out and then banged it straight, and welded it back up. I used 16 gauge steel to fix the bottom frame rust as shown in pics.

After blasting the headlight bucket support, I found it was too far gone, and will be replaced with some new Funky Green once it arrives. I did not let this slow me down, and decided to replace the inner rocker on the passenger side as well as a new outrigger, and sectioned off the top hat. I still need to grind down the welds, as I ran out of time..

[65Bugsmasher]

Been a while since I updated. I lose motivation, then gain it back here and there. I keep telling myself each piece welded is a step closer to driving I decided to tackle the driver side inner rocker. While cutting it out, some of the newspaper/ bondo decided to catch fire and make a heck of a smell

Then moved to replacing the wall support braces. These were a pain to weld and were super thin. I ended up using a copper piece behind to help absorb the heat.

I also focused on sectioning in and fixing the rear top hat and outrigger. All turned out well.

I think I will focus on replacing the front top hat section. Any tips on how to do this as I will need to cut into the top hat to get over the shift rod tube and e-brake tubes?

[65Bugsmasher]

Keep on getting stuff done with metal replacement. Got a ton done within the past couple of weeks. Also have a few questions in regards to doors at the bottom.

Inner lower valance

Headlight Support Piece

Front Top Hat

Front Crossmember Piece

side note: this piece was difficult to fit in do to the quality. It needed to have the area cut for the ebrake tube, and needed modifying for the other cables to go through.

One of my favorite pictures- the cargo floor structure area is all complete and solid again minus jackpoints for the first time since 1985!

I was able to acquire pretty mint doors from a guy recently that had them sitting in storage. The just need some hammer and dolly work and will be straight in no time. Only problem I am running into is fitment and gapping. As shown in the pictures, The lines don't line up between the forward and rear cargo doors. Also, the other problem is the gap for the forward cargo door. When lined up with the body lines, the gap looks tight and has the door being recessed and not flush with the body. Does anyone have any ideas?

The forward cargo door gap looks tight and appears to be recessed and in as seen in the pics.

The rear cargo door gap looks pretty good with the exception of it being a little lower than the body line.

[65Bugsmasher]

It's been a while since I posted any progress. Between work and life, I have not had a chance to post updates, but I am long overdue as I got a ton of stuff welded in and done. Sorry for all the pictures, but the progress is worth it.

I got a chance to repair the areas above the rear heat tubes which proved to be a huge pain, but turned out well for a spot no one will see

I also put the b pillar in as well as the driver side rocker. The long rocker was nice because the wall braces cover up the inner welds!

Got a chance to put the rear cargo rocker in, cargo rocker, and passenger side inner and outer b pillar. Pretty happy with how well the fitment is.

Lastly, I put the rear passenger wheel well closeout in, and finished up the front closeout sections.

Next step is the cargo floor! It is really starting to look like a bus again.

[65Bugsmasher]

It has been a long time since updates. I apologize for all the pics, but maybe some will help others through the process. A bunch has happened from the last post.

First, I got the cargo floor fit and all welded in. As most are aware, this was a process drilling and plug welding holes, as well as grinding down. Pretty happy with the end result though!

Decided to tackle the rust at the driver side seat stand. It may be hard to see, but there were holes and a lot of pitting where water sat at some point.
Before:

After:

The next major metal repair was the right rear corner. When I bought the bus, I knew it was hit in the rear and had major rust issues as seen in the first pic

After cutting it off where the new metal was to go, I found a nice surprise! It is supposed to be that bent right?

The lower wheel well piece and outer needed repaired as well so I went and fixed those before even thinking about the inner pillar piece.

[Spike0180]

Looking good. Keep it up.
_________________
Brutis Patches Izabich: 1970 VW Transporter - 1776cc DP
Current State: Projects never truly end...
Location: Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Other cars: 2003 F150, 2003 Jetta GLI vr6-6sp

Sambastic: adj; the quality of being nit picky, elitist, expecting everyone to do things the way they believe is best with no regard to situation, "sambastic"

[65Bugsmasher]

Decided to focus on fixing the pillar piece which needs done before I can even think of putting the corner on. This was a time consuming process trying to juggle work, school, and life.

Here is the original pillar piece seen in the previous picture. You can see where the buckle was as well where it was it.

Got a donor piece from another bus. After blasting, this is what I was left with. Looks like I need to make pretty much the whole piece.

All fixed and made. Ready to go in!

The end result of the new pillar piece fixed. The corner can finally go on now!

I plan to continue to document and update this thread more. Hopefully this helps others who have encountered the same problems.

[clubshack]

how did you build the car flipper? i know the name but have forgot it. do you or anyone else know where to get the plans, or know how to build it.

thank you

[65Bugsmasher]

[65Bugsmasher]

UPDATE:

It has been a long long time since I have posted any updates on the bus. Significant progress has been made on the bus including the right rear corner complete, front nose replaced, rear hinge carrier complete, etc. I apologize for the numerous pictures since it has been a while.

To pic up where I left off. I replaced half the hinge carrier as the right side was the wrecked side from the wreck, and finished up putting in the battery tray and remaining corner. The rear of the bus came together nicely.

After the rear was complete, I moved my focus to the front, completing the left and rear closeout pieces.

I then fixed the remaining rust on the pass. side seat stand. Water sat in this section and severely pitted the metal and left nice holes in it.

After everything minor was fixed in the front, I moved onto the A-Pillars. First I fit the doors on each side to ensure the mount holes would line up. After this was complete, I sectioned them and welded them in.

After the A-Pillars I removed the front nose as mine needed to be replaced eventually so I figured why not.

Before the nose I fit and installed the dog legs. This part was crucial to make sure door gaps were perfect. I had to cut the dog leg a little on the inner to assisting in fitting it. I am happy with how they turned out.

Once the dog legs were complete, it was on to the floor. The floor fit perfectly without any issues. I found it much easier to weld the floor to the headlight support bucket piece with the nose off. So I recommend this if anyone needs to do both!

Next, I prepped the inner valence and pillars for the outer valance and nose installation. The outer valence needed to be tweaked a bit. I had to cut both ends as it kept pushing out and didn't want to line up. After the cuts, it fits nicely. The nose went on without any issues and I couldn't be happier. It was much easier to do than I had anticipated.

Finally, I was able to weld the new window frame for the front in. Yes, I had to completely remove the previous once, but when I realized I needed a new nose, I wanted to do it correctly without any hacks.

After the front, rear, and sides were complete it was on to the biggest job so far...replacing the roof. I am going to make a whole separate post on my thread about this one as there were tons of steps. Thanks for following along, and and criticism/ feedback is appreciated!

[Skim]

Glad you didn't give up this is a damn good topic. Good to see you back on it.
_________________
GFK
Samba since before the towers collapsed. Still here.
1953 Kabriolet
1954 Sunroof
1959 Lowlight Ghia vert
1960 Lt Grey Double Cab SMZ LEGIT
1963 Deluxe Turkis Walk Thru 15 Window OG Paint

[65Bugsmasher]

[65Bugsmasher]

Roof Replacement:

Before I replaced my roof, I was almost out of hopes as it had not been posted or referenced often since it is not a common thing to do. Reasons to replace my roof- severe pitting, rust holes along the front, back, and passenger side, and completely gone drip rail along the passenger side. The whole process was super time consuming, but I am happy with the end product.

*Disclaimer- There are many ways to skin a cat so to speak, this was just the easier/ cleaner way I chose to take to reach the end product. The steps are listed below in the order which I decided to take.

1) Assess the roof- I know they make replacement pieces for the lower 3 inches almost all the way around, but as you can see in pictures, mine was super pitted everywhere and rusted. I didn't really take many pics of the rust before.

(Top of roof was non-existent with paint as well.

(Some of the Pass. side drip rail mess)

2) Brace the inside with tubing regardless of whatever method you decide to use. The last thing you want is the bus to flex on you. I welded braces across the sides (3x) to ensure it would not flex. You can see in pictures for step 3 where the braces are.

3) Remove the roof.

I decided the easiest way to remove my roof was to cut it out in sections since I was not going to use any of it. I also determined I would be using all the roof braces and original air box. To keep these intact, I carefully cut along each of the spot welds to remove, yet still keep intact. To remove the roof from the drip rail, and inner drip rail support, I had to use the same method of carefully cutting along the drip rail and the inner drip rail support to remove the roof from both. Once the roof was removed, you can now assess the inner drip rail support, drip rail, and other areas for rust, etc.

Cutting it off into sections

All Sections Cut off. Note the braces across as well as the remaining lower roof that needed to be carefully cut along the outer drip rail and inner drip rail support.

4) Replace drip rail and inner drip rail support.

As you can see in the pictures, mine was completely trashed on the passenger side. To ensure the problem is fixed correctly, I removed the inner drip rail support by drilling out the spot welds to properly replace the outer drip rail. Again, they make these pieces, but I decided to make my own. I had to replace almost the whole passenger side outer drip rail due to it being not intact or even there. Also, I used the other buses roof support/ inner drip rail support to replace mine. The driver side section needed only a small section replaced.

Before Replacement:

Replacement:

5) Replace front air box section.

Again, another area of rust found was the front of the air box portion, also known as the fresh air vents into the air box. Because this piece was not available at the time of the roof replacement and I did not feel like waiting, it was made as well. I sectioned this in, replaced with new air screens, added por 15, seam sealer and paint to the areas that need it or are likely to see moisture to hopefully prevent rust again.

After Blasting there were a ton of pin holes as well as having the fresh are opening lip gone at sections prompting the new piece.

New Piece fitting and In

Mesh Screens, Por15, Seam Sealer, and Paint

I also went ahead and painted the fresh air box area as well. I just can't find a picture of it.

6) Replace the roof.

The final step in this process. I decided to replace the roof the same way they were put on from factory, using just the skin. I got the roof frame a mangled 13 window, only having the roof as a usable piece of metal on it. When I removed the roof from the replacement bus, I cut it off right below the drip rail. I then carefully flipped the replacement roof on its side and removed the inner and outer drip rail support the same way I removed the bad roof from my bus.

When the roof was completely free of all drip rail, I replaced any section that had more than surface rust before putting it on my bus. The final pictures show the new roof on my bus. I welded the roof skin to the drip rail portions just as they did from the factory for a cleaner finish. Also, I welded the roof along the cross braces and fresh air boxes. When doing this, make sure the heat isn't to hot or you will warp the metal.

The roof with all the drip rail removed.

On the bus!

I know I am missing a ton of pictures, but I hope this helps anyone who decides to take the same venture as I did and by a completely roached out bus with not much left! If you have any questions or any tips, please ask and let me know.

[Skim]

Major league 👏🏽
_________________
GFK
Samba since before the towers collapsed. Still here.
1953 Kabriolet
1954 Sunroof
1959 Lowlight Ghia vert
1960 Lt Grey Double Cab SMZ LEGIT
1963 Deluxe Turkis Walk Thru 15 Window OG Paint

[ryans65]

I thought that roof looked familiar!

Boy was that 13W gooooone.

[wcfvw69]

Wow.. I'm exhausted looking at all the work you're doing to save this bus! Kudos to you for keeping at it.
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[65Bugsmasher]