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!

Bottoms Up!

So where to start, where to start…? In a project like this there is so much to do that you’d almost need a guide to take you through it all. But as the saying goes “you start from the bottom up” works fine in this case also. Since there was no floor pans and most of the bottom section of the shell is totally out of shape it makes sense to tackle with the main frame and then adjust the shell to it. Sounds like a piece of cake doesn’t it? I’m sure this’ll take a few mäyräköiras to go with but one has to bite the bullet. Since my welding skills were non existing anyhow this would also be a great way to learn some new things…
And when it comes to mäyräkoira, for those of you not familiar with the current Finnish beer scene, the included image should explain a few things about it and I’m sure you’ll get it eventually after having a few on your own. ;)

Pussihousutus

I did already some explaining on the issue of "baggypants" people. I do have to admit that I have some such symptoms every now and then. After the decision to dig into the split welding for a while there was a void of cruising transportation and the old disease hit me again. I went out looking for a 911 again. Did that a few years ago and it ended in disasted after a sure deal went bad, I mean really bad. Still gets me pissed of so I'm not going into that this time. Just remember what Leo Gets says in the "Leathal Weapon X" - "They fuck you in the drive through!" That surely goes with lots of things these days...

So went out shopping and found a pristine condition 69 911T, and really just fell for it instantly. Used to belong to a TV production head man sometime in early 70's and has been treated nicely over time. OG color was Green but in this case I'm not complaining of this altered color choise even though metallics are not my fav. The car had all the S extras installed when it left the factory and the RS front spoiler. Runs smoothly but burns lots of gas at this moment. Needs a complete tune up, after that I'm pretty sure it feels miles better... I assume it will give me the patience to complete the split as planned. One nice thing about this 911 is that I can hardly do anything to it since it's a historic plates car and should remain original all the way.

What's behind?

Since I have done my share of VW's before getting involved with the split project, I thought to share a few things on the issue. I used to think that it all started with my 1968 standard in 1995 but how wrong was I? 2 years ago I got a surprice present from my parents - it was a framed drawing by myself done in '92 while studying in Phoenix, AZ. Well that was a trip! I had drawn a california style 1967 beetle with 5 spoke EMPIs and once piece windows... How about that! I wonder what else is coming back once I start digging? ;)

Well the first beetle I owned was a half done 68. Kind of ruined for good, but still unaware and clueless of the rest of the world I went ahead and finished it. Soon realized that this is not me and ended up selling it in 2002. Bought a ragtop oval window. Went ahead with a traditional cal look scheme, 356 wheels and OG interior etc. Really a nice ride that I drove for 2 years all together. Actually went all the way to UK with the car. It performed flawlessly all the way. Really miss that car. Sad stuff to see men weep isn´t it?? A few images on the side of the oval. It was a Nile Beige original. 34horse engine with a magneto and merged. That combo delivered some awesome mileage and reliability...

But, in every enthusiasts life, there comes a day when you have to do something extreme and I quess this split racing thing is just that for me! Everything else becomes just boring and pointless. Faster pussycat, Faster!!!

Scheme

It's been a real delight to see some ancient iron racing equipment on the track. Seems that even though prices of 50's VW's have exploded people still have the courage to do the "nasty" every now and then... I do have a heart for an unspoiled historic piece of automobile history but since my project was a heap and collection of "non-matching" parts I did not hesitate on this. I'm sure there are a few purists out there who could have tried to save this piece of junk... ;) We call these guys "baggy trousers" referring to traditional mens trousers in the early 1900. You wont find that in directory, trust me on that one.

Anyway, there have been a few cars which I've really liked on these last years. One of them, the all so famous "Last Project" from France. Maybe a bit too high in finish quality for my taste but still pure and simple, raw and powerful piece of machinery. A shame that we did not see it go fast, really fast. Check out the drama if you have not seen it yet! http://s.hutchings.free.fr/l76/l76.mov

Of course I've been moved by the Rat movement and hoodrides alike. On my previous projects ('68 and '56 T1) I've tried to get that paint and chrome finish pretty "bling" but on a car which is driven daily or just plain fast it seems pointless - after a few days I usually end up scratching the fenders with tools or such. All that frustration just leads to excessive beer drinking! And who could cope with that?!! So to sum this all up. And you already quessed it, a non noncense full on race car with a hint of nostalgia with all the tried and true combos attached. No hipo cpu junk should ever touch this car. Maybe a good kick on the side every now and then if it does not perform as agreed!! Little sketch attached to bring some ideas to light. PastelGreen with tear and wear visible, chrome either removed or really beat up. Sure this one keeps changing but I'll keep it posted :)