Author |
Message |
Dubmatix Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2010 Posts: 12 Location: Nottingham, UK
|
Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 3:24 pm Post subject: |
|
|
PS, this was my second car, my first being a marathon which i had to scrap. I did keep the wheels so the Marathon spirit will live in in my 75 as she will wear those wheels when she's done.
It's nice to see another 1303 on marathons too! _________________ The Emergency VW Group Forum
1303 RestoBlog
1303/Latebug parts for sale and '03 shell soon to be available for cuts
Wanted: 1302/3 Front Valence (VW panel new or used in good order) and 3 point seat side plastics
1x NOS Decklid Thermostat and Vent Flaps left FOR SALE |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Dodgy Samba Member
Joined: January 30, 2006 Posts: 513 Location: Leicester, UK
|
Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2015 5:27 am Post subject: |
|
|
Dubmatix wrote: |
..the Marathon spirit will live in in my 75 as she will wear those wheels when she's done.
It's nice to see another 1303 on marathons too! |
Thanks. I ran the Marathons for a few years, still prefer them over GT wheels etc (although don't think you can get 5.5in versions) But now have a full Porsche 944 suspension setup sitting in the garage to be fitted as part of this rebuild. Marathons won't fit then! Ultimately the car is going German look - as far as my skills and budget allow, anyway
Dubmatix wrote: |
Wanted: 1302/3 Front Valence (VW panel new or used in good order) and 3 point seat side plastics ) |
I *may* have some seat side panels in my parts stash, will check.
The pattern valence I fitted wasn't a bad fit overall, but thinner gauge steel and the bootlid secondary latch was pretty flimsy. Genuine part would be better of course, but you could make the pattern part fit OK as I did, transferring secondary latch and adding a reinforcement bracket at the centre. _________________ '75 1303 (current project) owned since 1989!
'72 Squareback - full resto completed 2008 - now sold
356 Speedster kit, completed 2005 - now sold |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Dubmatix Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2010 Posts: 12 Location: Nottingham, UK
|
Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2015 2:31 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Dodgy wrote: |
Dubmatix wrote: |
..the Marathon spirit will live in in my 75 as she will wear those wheels when she's done.
It's nice to see another 1303 on marathons too! |
Thanks. I ran the Marathons for a few years, still prefer them over GT wheels etc (although don't think you can get 5.5in versions) But now have a full Porsche 944 suspension setup sitting in the garage to be fitted as part of this rebuild. Marathons won't fit then! Ultimately the car is going German look - as far as my skills and budget allow, anyway
Dubmatix wrote: |
Wanted: 1302/3 Front Valence (VW panel new or used in good order) and 3 point seat side plastics ) |
I *may* have some seat side panels in my parts stash, will check.
The pattern valence I fitted wasn't a bad fit overall, but thinner gauge steel and the bootlid secondary latch was pretty flimsy. Genuine part would be better of course, but you could make the pattern part fit OK as I did, transferring secondary latch and adding a reinforcement bracket at the centre. |
No i don't think they did 5.5 Marathons more's the pity though there have been a few banded in the past. I seem to remember some huge ones on a buggy in one of the nagazines.
Ooh Seat plastics? Do let me know if you do please, mine are all broken.
I wasn't entirely sure what you reused on your front valence, did you chop off the the top bit from your original and then weld that in place of the same bit on the pattern one and then also add a bracket?
The one i have is an old unused pattern one from the 90s i picked up at an autojumble and i think is better quality (despite the surface rust) than the Klokk ones available these days. I am holding out for a NOS one though, just in case!
John _________________ The Emergency VW Group Forum
1303 RestoBlog
1303/Latebug parts for sale and '03 shell soon to be available for cuts
Wanted: 1302/3 Front Valence (VW panel new or used in good order) and 3 point seat side plastics
1x NOS Decklid Thermostat and Vent Flaps left FOR SALE |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Dodgy Samba Member
Joined: January 30, 2006 Posts: 513 Location: Leicester, UK
|
Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2015 1:26 am Post subject: |
|
|
Dubmatix wrote: |
I wasn't entirely sure what you reused on your front valence, did you chop off the the top bit from your original and then weld that in place of the same bit on the pattern one and then also add a bracket?
The one i have is an old unused pattern one from the 90s i picked up at an autojumble and i think is better quality (despite the surface rust) than the Klokk ones available these days. I am holding out for a NOS one though, just in case!
John |
These photos might help:
I used the full pattern valance but swapped over the centre 'hook' plate for the secondary latch - grey primer area in this photo. This was much heavier steel than the pattern part (which was also poorly cut and not welded square, if I remember correctly)
Because the pattern valance was thinner material, it flexed a lot at the centre where the bootlid catch is. Not ideal! Easiest option was to add a small reinforcement bracket to the boot floor.
Will PM you if I find some seat panels _________________ '75 1303 (current project) owned since 1989!
'72 Squareback - full resto completed 2008 - now sold
356 Speedster kit, completed 2005 - now sold |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Dubmatix Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2010 Posts: 12 Location: Nottingham, UK
|
Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2015 11:08 am Post subject: |
|
|
Gotcha! Yes i see what you mean, i was focussing on the primary lock, forgtting about the little latch on the front! I have a spare (original thicker gauge) one if those bits if anyone needs one to do this mod (free to a good home).
I am toying with the idea of combining my original and pattern panels still. I think i need to see how much thinner my pattern one is.
Looking forward to watching your progress.
Now i must get out to the garage!
<Edit> I did and now the messing with those front reinforcement plates begins as does making the shell match the 75 pan and converting to steering rack. _________________ The Emergency VW Group Forum
1303 RestoBlog
1303/Latebug parts for sale and '03 shell soon to be available for cuts
Wanted: 1302/3 Front Valence (VW panel new or used in good order) and 3 point seat side plastics
1x NOS Decklid Thermostat and Vent Flaps left FOR SALE |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Dodgy Samba Member
Joined: January 30, 2006 Posts: 513 Location: Leicester, UK
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
scourtaud Samba Member
Joined: October 15, 2009 Posts: 46 Location: Geneve, Switzerland
|
Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 3:36 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Incredible work you're doing and thanks for the detailed pictures, they help a lot for a newbie in welding tackling his own superbeetle (convertible 73).
Good luck for whatever your next job will be. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Dodgy Samba Member
Joined: January 30, 2006 Posts: 513 Location: Leicester, UK
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Dubmatix Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2010 Posts: 12 Location: Nottingham, UK
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Dodgy Samba Member
Joined: January 30, 2006 Posts: 513 Location: Leicester, UK
|
Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 8:43 am Post subject: |
|
|
So it's been a while since the last update. The last few months have been pretty busy and I've had very little free time to progress the build. Plus budget has been squeezed, so I've been waiting to purchase new panels to keep plugging those big rusty holes...
However, I've done a few small jobs:
First - refitted the LH door to check that everything stayed square during the heater channel replacement (guess I should have done this earlier...). Pretty happy with how it turned out! The photos don't show it very well, but the door is perfectly level with the rear quarter, and there's only a millimetre or so difference in the door gap top to bottom.
Fixed a small rust hole under RH rear window. Tried to do a 'filler-free' repair, didn't quite make it but pretty close. Will just need the thinnest smear to level out.
Same for the radio aerial hole, nice to get rid of another potential source of leaks / rust!
_________________ '75 1303 (current project) owned since 1989!
'72 Squareback - full resto completed 2008 - now sold
356 Speedster kit, completed 2005 - now sold |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Dodgy Samba Member
Joined: January 30, 2006 Posts: 513 Location: Leicester, UK
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Metamatic Samba Member
Joined: June 19, 2014 Posts: 54 Location: Limhamn, Sweden
|
Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 10:29 am Post subject: |
|
|
Metamatic wrote: |
Impressive work. Keep up the good working.
I am working on a 1303 convertible which was in utterly bad condition after sandblasting. I had to get a donator beetle and move over all vert specific parts to the donator making it a convertible. |
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Dubmatix Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2010 Posts: 12 Location: Nottingham, UK
|
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 2:05 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Whilst you are working on the rear body mount area, it has made question the correct combo of metal and rubber washers on the rear body mount. In my bag of removed items i only seem to have one rubber washer but i am thinking it should have two, one between body and chassis mount and the other above the body mount.
The fiche drawing for the 1303 seems to have 3 combination options, one of which i presume is cabrio, (there's also that additional body mount used on the cabrios lower down) i have also seen a photo of the parts removed from another mount which tallies with mine.
Just out of interest, what was the combo on yours?
Cheers
John _________________ The Emergency VW Group Forum
1303 RestoBlog
1303/Latebug parts for sale and '03 shell soon to be available for cuts
Wanted: 1302/3 Front Valence (VW panel new or used in good order) and 3 point seat side plastics
1x NOS Decklid Thermostat and Vent Flaps left FOR SALE |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Dodgy Samba Member
Joined: January 30, 2006 Posts: 513 Location: Leicester, UK
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Dubmatix Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2010 Posts: 12 Location: Nottingham, UK
|
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 2:36 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Brilliant thanks, i'll have a look at Deimos. The ones i had on mine were circular except for two flats. I have seen that type somewhere. I happened to find the bag with the o/s mounts in and there were two that side so the n/s must have been messed with before! _________________ The Emergency VW Group Forum
1303 RestoBlog
1303/Latebug parts for sale and '03 shell soon to be available for cuts
Wanted: 1302/3 Front Valence (VW panel new or used in good order) and 3 point seat side plastics
1x NOS Decklid Thermostat and Vent Flaps left FOR SALE |
|
Back to top |
|
|
whobba Samba Member
Joined: March 19, 2002 Posts: 871
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Dodgy Samba Member
Joined: January 30, 2006 Posts: 513 Location: Leicester, UK
|
Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 10:51 am Post subject: |
|
|
Well, things have to look [a lot] worse, before they start to look better, right?
Eeek!
Managed to carefully pick out the remains of the old crossmember end, so I can insert the new one and preserve the panel overlaps and position references. It's a longer, more fiddly job but worth it for a better, straighter, stronger end result. This side of the rear is a lot more rusty than the LH side, don't know why.
Well, here we go again with Klokkercrap rubbish...
What's this I can see between the two parts of my BRAND NEW rear crossmember panel, freshly collected from reputable VW parts supplier?
To pick up old quote again
Dodgy wrote: |
Knowing Klokkercrap, the gap between these panels is already rusty from new
|
Split the two parts, once again no coating between the panels, and already starting to rust.
Maybe Klokkercrap do this because they think then we will have to re-rebuild these cars again in the near future, and buy more panels from them?
Ho hum, the panels need to come apart anyway, so I can re-make the outer panel something closer to the original factory part - see the terrible shape / position of the outer hole for heater channel access plug, and the upper cutout is wrongly positioned by 90 degrees.
OK, I'm being OCD about this, but I have the time to fix it, and don't want to see these areas being wrong on the finished car.
Nice to be making progress again though! _________________ '75 1303 (current project) owned since 1989!
'72 Squareback - full resto completed 2008 - now sold
356 Speedster kit, completed 2005 - now sold |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Chochobeef Samba Member
Joined: May 01, 2013 Posts: 811 Location: Ft. Worth, Texas
|
Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 11:20 am Post subject: |
|
|
I'd be complaining to your reputable supplier that the panels you are getting are rusted and not formed correctly. Then I would return them and find another source and not buy from that other said reputable company. Also, what company? We may not want to support them even if they do have some good stuff. If enough people complain or don't buy from them, then perhaps we can get quality replacement parts.
Now that aside, holy crap you are doing amazing work to fix this rusted out bug. Is the time and money worth it? I wish you the best in finishing your project. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Dodgy Samba Member
Joined: January 30, 2006 Posts: 513 Location: Leicester, UK
|
Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 12:06 am Post subject: |
|
|
Well, it's not the fault of the parts supplier.
While we all celebrate newer companies who have spotted a gap in the market, selling higher quality panels than Klokkercrap and similar have been producing for years, they only manufacture a very limited range of panels. And they seem to focus (understandably, I guess) on early models, rather than unfashionable Supers.
And while there's no other choice, we have to keep buying this crap, and somehow making it fit. (Depending on the time, skill and determination available, this can be either bodge-to-fit or re-engineer-to fit)
Apart from the problems shown in the photos above, the form on this part is mostly OK, although the quality of the pressing is poor, with loads of ripples. The hole for the heater pipe is wrong and will need reprofiling, it's missing the captive nuts to hold the heater tube in place and it's also missing the holes to bolt through to the floorpan perimeter.
I think I'll be trying to keep as much original metal as possible, and use as little replacement panel as possible, just like elsewhere on this project.
Since I started this project, and just after I finished rebuilding the front bulkhead including the internal reinforcement boxes, someone came on the market making (seemingly) good quality replacement bulkhead boxes for Supers.
Does that mean just after I finish wrestling this rear crossmember into place, someone will come up with a good quality panel here too?! _________________ '75 1303 (current project) owned since 1989!
'72 Squareback - full resto completed 2008 - now sold
356 Speedster kit, completed 2005 - now sold |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Jeff_Birt Samba Member
Joined: June 06, 2012 Posts: 315 Location: Rolla MO, United States
|
Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 4:36 am Post subject: |
|
|
I think it is highly unrealistic to expect any replacement sheet metal parts to slot in without requiring fitment. At the factory, when being built new, they have big fixtures to hold everything in alignment whist being welded. Even then there are tolerances to be considered because things are never perfect.
Now add in 40-50 years of a car driving around, rusting, twisting itself all about and eve if you had a 'perfect' factory part it will no longer just slot in. Consider also that slight differences that happen in production over a course of a vehicles lifetime. A part might have stayed 90% the same but may have had the design been slightly tweaked every few years. The folks making replacement parts have to do their best to make parts that fit the greatest number of years.
Even when everything is new at a factory things don't always align perfectly. I remember several years ago when I was still doing automated welding systems my boss and I stopped in to see a new system that a local boat manufacturer put in (we did not get the bid on that job). The welding cell was designed well and the fixturing was OK too. They had the aluminum panels cut and bent at another factory and shipped several hundred miles to this factory for welding. Of course these pre-formed panels were shipped in big stacks on a trailer and by the time they received them they were not the exact same shape they left in. I am certain the replacement panels we get for VWs have also left the factory in slightly different shape than what we get them in. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
|