(this was originally posted on VolksRods.com while I built the car)
Well, I got the car 9 days ago, and began working on it 7 days ago.
I know everyone loves pics, so here ya go….
The roadster:
Body Off!
Painted a white stripe to see the marks to cut at…quick nod to the drinking pardnahs……Cut!
The past few days, I’ve been working on the pan… I have a bit of battery acid rot, so I decided to do the battery tray… and it turned into stripping and restoring the entire pan. I should have it painted by the weekend, tho.
I still need to get my roof section, but in the mean time I’ll keep myself busy with the pan until it’s done. I’m going to be building the car ‘onto’ it so I might as well make it a roller now.
(this was originally posted on VolksRods.com while I built the car)
Got the car a few mins ago and drove it to my friends house where the work will be going on.
It’s quite the conversation piece. I had some VonDutch-t-shirt-wearin-Scenesters pull up to me at a stop light and ask me why the shift knob was taller than the windshield. I just shrugged and made the ‘I don’t know’ face.
BTW: I highly recommend driving a POS roadster on a warm Phoenix evening. It was fun.
Immediate issues:
– headlights are low-beam only. That’s fine but the dimmer switch is so close to the clutch pedal that it kept turning the lights on/ off while I drove
– Wiring problems. Looks like 63 had the wiring go thru the roof? On quick first inspection, there are wires crudely pushed thru a rough hole under the dash to the back. Gotta fix that. Various lights inop, starter gets cranky/ hard to start.
– leaky brake reservoir.
– gotta remove the T4 motor and get it back to the owner. I’ve got another T4 to go in there for now, but it’s a temp until my 1915 gets the lifter bores fixed
– crazy-ass shift lever may be too tall for car once there’s a roof. We’ll see.
I’ll take pics tomorrow, I’m going to start the tear-down of it ASAP.
(this was originally posted on VolksRods.com while I built the car)
New Project Time!
It’s a 63 that has had it’s lid cut off when the PO before last got into a fender bender. The PO picked it up on trade and just put various large motors in it to scare himself.
I’m picking it up so I can get rid of the Jetta Diesel I’m currently driving. If I’m going to drive a car w/o AC, it might as well have some style!
Every successful project needs a… Game Plan:
-Get it home, seperate body and pan.
-Go over pan (mechanically)
-I have about 10′ of 2″ tubing and I’ll be fabing up an extended beam with inboard shocks. Might work, might not! we’ll see
-I’ll be choping a top onto the car– so it’s going to be cut into quarters and narrowed, a la ‘Leatherman Chop’.
-throw my other 1915cc 44mmWeber motor in it.
-drive it .
I’ve never chopped a car before, and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Rather than dream about it, I’m doing it– now!
Goal:
To put less than $1500 in the whole car and daily drive it.
-I think I can do the chassis/ body for $900 (new brakes, 2 roofs, door tops)
-I own the motor, it needs some machining, cam, exhaust and assembly– I think that can be kept below $600.
I should be picking the car up today or tomorrow, so I’ll keep ya posted.
1963 bug that someone sawed the roof off of and yanked the fenders
