Pan and Chassis

So the pan or to be more exact, the frame was sand blasted along with the new "oh so light Brazilian" pan halves before welding it all together. Decided to make a full continuous weld instead of tack welds. I've heard that there are 2 schools of thought in this issue and agues now I've taken my side. 100 point restorers look away, I'd call this a 100 pint restoration, or even 200 ;) well see... Left the whole piece unpainted for now, I'm sure there are loads of alterations ahead as soon as I start fitting in the driveline. What comes to mind are new transmission mounts and maybe oil cooler supports etc. Some folks also seem to attach that safety cage straight onto frame horns... Not a bad idea considering the function?

So had some help from a buddy to lift the chassis on to the pan. Looks to be quite all right. Some of the old mount points on old channels do not meet the holes on new repro pans but when I checked the new channels, they seem to fix this problem all together. Then again I'm sure they will bring some more issues up as I get along.

Started on the chassis by replacing the rotten luggage pan. Had a donor piece of a 60's bug and it was pretty close to the original split design. Slight curve difference at the front edges but that was a minor problem considering the alternative of fabricating a completely new piece or searching a period correct sheet. Again, purists, look away. In a way, starting from these "out of the open" pieces certainly gave me more confidence with the mig. Still not my favorite tool but with a bit of patience it could lead to some acceptable results...

Managed to fabricate some welding aids aka "inter clips" marketed by Eastwood I think. They seem to work as advertised on flat pieces. For more difficult areas I'm thinking of getting some magnets or such to ease applying donor pieces. All in all, I'm quite happy about the way this project is going, although it's bloody slow...

Sideline showcase 2

Some more pics of the event.

Sideline showcase

Spent last winter at the Misty Islands (UK) and hobbywise that was some sort of a eye opener - seems that there are vast number of VW enthusiasts outside our little microclimate... Even the smallest show in UK suburb seems to attract bigger crouds than most northern events ever. Hmm, I guess that's got more to do with population or even the fact that the finest VW's are being shipped to UK and elsewhere from our still quite affordable markets. That goes with All northern countries I think, starting from Sweden.






Anyway, this little show near Stansted airport was called something like VW's at MHS. Large number from Cambridgeshire attended this show despite the coldish weather on that weekend. Wet, cold and damp - really makes the day doesn't it. Well, it really did rain most of the spring of 2006 so that day was no exception. A few clubs had attended with a nice display of lookers and historics. And that OG barndoor in grey was my fav, just humbly lying at the side of the field. Barely caught anyone's eye but there it was! These English sure have some of the nicest busses around these days...






Trade stands were not that grand but I'm sure when the show gets more reputation it will attract more traders as well. Good luck for the organizers in 2007!