More Body Work

A few weeks ago, a good friend showed me how to do some body repair on a used door that I bought from a VW junk yard.  He repaired one dent, and made me do all the rest - a good teaching method!  Now that I got the hang of it, I have more confidence about doing the whole car. While it may not be perfect, it should look fine for a teenager's first car.

I've started stripping the body parts off the car, and had the two rear fenders sandblasted.  They need some major body work and starting with bear metal seems like a good idea.  My next post will show some actual dent removals, using a stud welder and body filler.

Later.  ;)

Body Work

After weeks of working on the brake system, we decided to move on to something a bit more productive - body work.  Well, not so much real body work, just a little rust removal and priming.  I've tried body work years ago, but I wasn't that good at it.  Sooooo - I was thinking I'd just pay someone to do all the minor repairs, replace the really bad parts, and then have it professionally painted.  However, several friends have suggested that I should try the body work again, before paying.  What the heck!  I have a second door off a wrecked car, so I may try my hand at bondo.  If I can't master the simple stuff, I'll just have it done.  No big loss.  ;)

After working on the new door, I'll probably go back to the brakes one more time.  I now have all the new brake hoses, which should fix the bakes for good.  Time will tell.  Stay tuned.

Brake Bleeding Nightmare

Well, the brake issue continues!  Now that we've replaced all the brake components, it's time to bleed the brake.  Simple job right?  Wrong!  The trail of problems seems to follow me in every area of this car.  A simple bleeding of drum brakes should take about 30 minutes.  Well, I've spent over a week trying to figure out why I keep getting air in the brake lines, in particular the right rear break.

After much research, and conferring with VW experts, I believe I've narrowed it down to the new wheel cylinder I just installed.  It has a very small leak that was hard to detect, but it's enough to let air into the line.  This weekend, I'll swap that out and see if things work!

Pray for us!  This is very frustrating.  I'll keep ya posted.  ;)

Brake Job!

Now that the engine is running, it's time to tackle the brakes . . . well at least the front breaks for now.  The goal is to get the car moving.  When we bought the car the front brakes were completely rusted solid.  The tow truck's wench had to drag the car on to the flatbed.

I've replaced front drum bakes before, so I thought this would be easy.  Well I'm learning that nothing about this car is easy.  Just trying to get the rusted drums off was a major chore, but it sure was gratifying when they finally came off.

I'll keep you posted when I get the brake done.  I'm old and slow, but steady.  I'll get her done!

It's Alive!!!!

Finally, after a week of troubleshooting, I found the problem that prevented the engine from running.  It turned out to be a bad ground wire off the ignition switch.  I replace the ignition switch, the key tumbler, the battery, and removed the starter for testing. 

Praise the Lord for helping me to locate the problem.  I was getting very frustrated buying parts that were not fixing the problem.  Out of sheer frustration, I removed the wiring harness from the ignition switch to try the old switch as a test.  Once the harness was out in the open, I could see a slightly burned ground wire and a loose connection.  When I fixed that the engine kicked over like new.  Well, like an old engine, but it started anyway.  Even aftetr7 1/2 years of sitting.

Here is a short video clip of the 1st run.  The volume may be a bit loud.  In time, I should learn how to better edit my clips.  Enjoy!

Getting Started

After two weeks and spending several hundred dollars on tools and parts, I'm beginning to question my sanity in starting this project.  The initial excitement is wearing off a bit as I continue to bump into major obstacles.  My first priority was to get the engine started.  This has proven to be quite the problem.  First I had to buy a new battery.  That was the easy part.  Then I had to troubleshoot the real problem.  The owner thought the problem was the ignition switch that he provided.  Long story short, that wasn't the problem.  With a new battery, new ignition switch, and still not starting, I now suspect the starter. 

Here's where the fun comes in, trying to remove the starter.  First I have to learn how to work on this car.  Since I'm unfamiliar with VW's, every task is a new adventure, so I spend a lot of time on U-Tube.  There's no end to the video clips about any topic, including VW repairs. 

Every task is hampered by rusty nuts and bolts.  "Break Free" spray is my new best friend!  Too bad it isn't helping with the bolts holding the starter on.   LOL.  It will eventually break free and I'll test the starter outside the car.  Hopefully that will correct the problem.

I'm finding that I should redirect my energy to other tasks when I get stuck.  Rather than getting frustrated, I simply need to move to another task that will yield results.  Like this problem, if the engine starter is bogging me down, I should take a break and move on to something else, like replacing the sun visors with the new pair I just bought.  Once I see results, I feel better.  ;)

I'm also learning other lessons too.  Like, 1)  I'm too old to be under a car,  2)  I need new glasses for working on objects 3 feet away,  3) My new glasses need to cling to my face - duh!  Normal frames keep falling off my face! And, 4) I really need a work table.  Sitting on the floor to repair parts at 56 is just stupid. 

Oh well, this is probably more info than you ever wanted to know, so I'll draw this to a close for now.  If you have any questions or comments, feel free to add them to this post.  I'll respond as son as I see them.

Blessings!  Doug <><

Welcome to Doug & Daniel's (D&D) VW Project

Daniel's first car - 3/18/11.

Hello everyone,  I'm creating this blog to share my joy with family and friends.  Daniel and I have started a new and exciting project that will take the next four years.  We will be restoring a 1973 Supper Beetle, as Daniel's first car.  It should be finished about the time he can drive.

For the longest time, I have been looking for a hobby to keep me occupied over the weekends.  I've tried a myriad of activities, but none of them were very satisfying.  A few months ago a dear friend of mind, named Steve, shared with me about his efforts in restoring an old truck that was left to him. As he was speaking, I was thinking how much fun a restoration might be for me and Daniel.  I knew I would enjoy it, if I paced myself, but I wasn't sure if Daniel (now 11) would warm up to this type of effort.

It's amazing how God works in the midst of our lives, even when we don't know it!  It appears that the Lord was preparing me for this task.  Let me explain . . . Over the last two years, I had seen a nice 1973 Super Beetle sitting in the driveway of a home on the way to Daniel's School.  It was in pretty good condition for a car that had not run in so many years.  I asked Daniel if he would like a small bug for his first car.  He seemed to like the idea, but I never though much of it since it would be many years before he could get his license. 

A few weeks ago, I got up the nerve to stop by and ask if the owner would be interested in selling his car.  After a week or so, we struck a deal for the sale and on March 18th, Daniel took possession of his first car!  Since the car was not in running condition, we called a tow company, and had the car delivered to our house.  For the next few days, I could hardly get Daniel out of the car to help me work on it.  Just look at the joy and his face in the picture!

Since we bought the car, we have been in a buying frenzy.  We've bought tons of parts and tools that we will need to get the project off the ground.   There are a couple of priorities to get the car in working order.  First on the list is a new ignition switch to let us start the engine, and then we need new front brakes, since the front wheels are frozen due to rust.  This car has been sitting for about seven years, so we have a challenge getting things to work.  Oh well, that's why "Break Free" spray was created.

Oh well, I won't bore you with all the details now.  I hope to make at least a monthly update with pictures to show our progress.  Feel free to leave comments.  I'll try to check the comments weekly, so I can reply.

Sorry for the lengthy post this time - just giving an intro.  Future posts will be more concise.

Blessing to all in the name of Jesus!

Doug & Daniel