Final Push

 Flexing the bodywork muscles

I tried to recall the last time I had a bondo squeegie in my hand, and it might just have been 1998 when I worked on my first mk1 Jetta.  Not much to it, its like riding a bike, but there are a few rust blisters that I elected not to cut out and fix properly, but rather I picked up a can of rust sealer from Facca in town, and it looks like a type of urethane overcoat to (hopefully) seal all the rust in for good.  

There is a common problem in 1971 and newer cars with the air scoop behind the side quarter windows.  Those vents are there to help displace the interior air when you close the door, prior to that, the cars were so air tight that it would be hard to close the doors without slamming.  Anyway, there is a plastic tube in the bottom to drain water that gets in the vents, and the tube is encased in spray foam sandwiched between the outer and inner skin.  The tube cracks and leaks water into the sandwich, and the cars rust from the inside out.  These rust blisters started on the pass side and I used the sealer and a thin skim of mud.  Fingers x'ed

Let's be honest, unless I free up alot of room in my wallet for more cash, I can't see a full repaint in the Bug's future.  

Umm, yeah..."lightweight filler" does not mean a half full can!!!  Shrinkflation???

The balance of the bodywork will remain as is.  I do want to replace the pokey rear apron with a calif cutoff, and maybe the front pass fender.  Maybe in the future I'll send these parts out for sandblasting and epoxy primer (with the hood) and repaint those pieces off the car, time will tell.

Thank you Canadian Tire for the colour match rattle cans!  As close as you can get to this faded colour for sure!  I should have all the fenders on by next week, then go thru the lighting snags.  An order from CIP is coming with the new carb, and that should button up everything needed for the Safety!!!

Then I promise to jump back on the Jetta, focusing on getting her running....

Welding on the "Project" "Hobby" Bug is DONE!

 In a recent podcast I listened to, with Lawrence Krauss and Jordan Peterson, they are talking about their usual Psychological and Astronomical topics, but on this particular episode, they talk about Uncertainty, and while I'm drawing a line from those guys to this blog with a thick Sharpie, they use an example where you think of the function of your car as a mode of transportation, and by general definition that's most people's definition of a 'car'.  But once the car starts to buck and stall, then our mind deviates immediately to other dilemmas/outcomes; "What is this going to cost me?" "How am I going to get to work?" "Do I need to find another car?" etc.  Its stops being a car, and becomes something else.

So, why am I calling the Bug and GLI cars?  Because at the point they are at, they are very much not....from a philosophical perspective.

I guess I can go straight to labelling them 'hobbies' and there's some logic in that, I do enjoy going out to the garage when the temperature and humidity are near perfect, and rarely force myself to do any work when the conditions are not perfect.  Maybe from now on I'll just refer to them as 'Projects'  cuz by definition, they are not (back to) the status of 'Cars' yet.

So, for an update, all the sheet metal welding on the Bug is DONE!!!!  Having finished the inner fenders on Mother's day, draws yet another chapter to a close, on the march to reaffirming the Bug as a car.  When I bought these sheet metal pieces, the passenger side was bought used and thicker material than the drivers side piece which was standard Klokkerholm bought from CIP.  The 18ga sheet turned out to fit poorly, and amazingly the Klokkerholm piece fit like a glove, although it is probably only 22ga thick.

 

(That little blue triangle piece welded in is a piece of Rabby's roof!  Nothing gets wasted!)

Next phase is to mix up some bondo and blend in all the exterior sheet metal pieces.  I will be blowing in the areas, not repainting major areas.

The carb is pretty worn out.  Of the five 34-PICT-4 carbs I have, I've only been able to cobble up one 'functional' carb, and while it works perfectly on the choke circuit, it won't stay running due to some slop in the butterfly shaft.  So, I have to bite the bullet and buy a Chinese carb from CIP.  I'll probably go for the more expensive EMPI one that they claim is bench tested ready to go.

Brakes are done, fuel system done, engine runs beauty, clutch adjusted up, welding done....major work DONE! 

On the short list to certification; minor body & paint, finish seam sealer, fix wiring, fresh air piping, & carb setup.

After safety; Krown, sound deadening and carpet, interior & stereo....

So its moving up and down the driveway under power now, and I'm going thru the snag list diligently.  The front harness is really chopped up (I was a f^cking hack back in the day!) but I'll do it right with soldering and heat shrink.

The project budget is teetering on the $8000 mark, and I have not paid full price for ANYTHING!  This is the reality folks, with what I consider a modicum of work on these classics, expect to hit the 5 figure mark!