New Girl on the Block!

[bug8abe]

Hi, just thought I'd introduce myself!

I've been wanting to do a car restoration for a while, and when I found my ideal starter project, I did a basic welding 1 day taster course, and the day after, travelled over 4 hours on the train to then drive back in Norm (the car, not the guy!)

He looks really nice, but he failed the MOT on several points (2 pages worth, to be precise!) which included several areas in need of welding. I knew this would be so, and I'd already bought a Clarke 135TE, which yesterday and today, I've been playing with on what used to be a Mini wing. My welding has improved greatly over the two days, mainly using tips from you wonderful people on this website. Thanks for all the posts, the tutorials, and the links, the one to the Miller website was especially helpful, I printed off the troubleshooter pages of the booklet from there and took it with me into the garage!

I found this site through the VZi forum (for aircooled VW fanatics), loads of friendly people and helpful advice there too!

Here's me at a halloween party last year. I'm in the middle, I forgot it was fancy dress and went in my usual gear!!!

 

[eggster71]

'Ello and happy new year.
Eggster71@vzi

 

[malcolm]

Happy new year from me too. (Would have posted earlier but I seem to have a headache today for some reason.)

The Beetle looks fab but if it's anything like my old Beetle I can imagine it needing work underneath. Hopefully it's nothing too serious. Do post if you get stuck with the welding.

 

[Silas (son of Silas)]

I have a 1972 1302s 1600cc Bug sitting in my sisters garage awaiting my attention.

I've been a bug nut for years. When my MG is feeling better I intend to turn my attentions to getting it back on the road. It has no rust anywhere (honest, no rust). It underwent extensive restoration at the hand of my father a while back, but it's return to the road was thwarted by the then impossible to replace steering box being shot. I believe that there is now someone selling reconditioned 1302s boxes, so one day soon it could be on the road again.

 

[satelliteone]

ello there!.. i see said the blind man..a bug, ahhem wonder if your getting norm ready for bugJam 2007?
Wonder how many peeps from this forum is bug mad too?. Sorry to say ive not got a bug YET! but i do have a Mk1 golf cabrio as a resto. Its almost ready for MOT again and getting 100% finished.

Here is arrow last year sitting on Bodmin moor. Arrow is off the road for winter, minor welding, new roof just waiting for spring.

Iam going to pass this car off to my other half maybe!!!..lol , this year and buy a Bug. After a cal 72 . Got to have empi 8 spokes. any how i know what i would like, lets see how 2007 pings out.

Keep us updated bug3be, love to see the progress for us all, just for me too, when i get down and dirty on a bug.

 

[ex-2cv-er]

Hi Bugbabe

Another Bugbabe here I guess.

Meet my project Tipsy:

Here is the worst of her problems, the old familiar floorpans...hence I've enrolled on an 8-week welding course.

What year is Norm. He looks very tidy! What welding does he need?

 

[malcolm]

Hi ex-2cv-er. Your Beetle looks sweet. I've been meaning to respond to your introduction thread, but I'm still working up to it. It'll be big when it happens!

Poor old Tipsy with the broken eyes and the big holes in the floor. I have a Renault that looks exactly the same with the falling out headlamps and no floors left. Repairing the chassis for that at the moment but if I could buy a new one I would - it would save so much work. Can't you buy a new chassis for the Beetles? Or are they silly expensive?

 

[ex-2cv-er]

Hi ex-2cv-er. Your Beetle looks sweet. I've been meaning to respond to your introduction thread, but I'm still working up to it. It'll be big when it happens!

I look forward to it!

Poor old Tipsy with the broken eyes and the big holes in the floor. I have a Renault that looks exactly the same with the falling out headlamps and no floors left. Repairing the chassis for that at the moment but if I could buy a new one I would - it would save so much work. Can't you buy a new chassis for the Beetles? Or are they silly expensive?

I believe you can, but in the main I hope I can get away with just replacing the floorpans and heater channels.
You can take the body off completely, so you can get at all the underneath bits much better. So as soon as I have more welding skills, and some better weather, then Tipsy's body will be coming off...and I can have a better look at what else needs attention down there.

Tipsy is my personal challenge, and I can't wait to get at it. She cost me barely anything...not enough for her previous owner to get tipsy on anyway. In fact the half-day trailer hire to collect her cost more

I have all the bits that aren't on her...they are safely stored on her parcel shelf for now. Some nice chromey bits that her previous owner saved and/or collected for her when he originally planned to restore her. One headlight fell off (but didn't break) as we put her on the trailer...so we took the other one out just in case.

I'll be blogging as I go...would post the link, but there's not much happening right now, just posting occasionally to keep it active

 

[malcolm]

You can always blog about the welding course before you start the car. I think a lot of people here would be interested in what goes on in a course. Person to person instruction is definately useful.

I'm not sure what rusts on a Beetle. On my Renault everything rusts which is why I'd like a new chassis. I did have a Beetle once but was too scared to look underneath a second time. I bought it unseen and the floor was a patchwork quilt. I sold it on again (after I'd replaced the engine - pesky con rods!).

Sounds like a proper job if the body is coming off. Look forward to progress, and of course if you do get stuck do shout.

 

[Bigjoe]

Welcome bug8abe!
You have entered the forbidden land of madmen that have the constant red eyed stare of a serial welder!

Feel free to ask anything although you might not get a sensible answer!

always remember not to weld anything and then pick it up! coz it hurts!

Joe

p.s. make sure the welding course concentrates on sheet steel and light weight stuff not 10mm plate,or ask the tutor nicely

 

[MrFluffy]

framehead

Good luck, I patched the floorpans on my then bug based kitcar years ago, then doing a mates bug found it was easier to just take the body off and cut off and weld on new floorpan halves which are cheap and cheerfull from the usual suspects. Probally cheaper than all that wire and gas and aggro too. Watch out for rot near where the framehead attaches to the front axle beam (and in the beam itself too). Watch out for chassis flex when you take off the shell, they arent fully self supporting especially when they get a bit o rot in them, and without the shell to make it more rigid they can sag, and when you weld in the new panels its in the sagged position...
We got a bay window here waiting for whatever miniscule slice of my time I can give it, its at the end of a long journey involving new driver and passenger floor, new wheel arches all round, new sills, new inner wings, a half panel on the slider and to go is the rear slam panel (I want to convert it to the earlier bolt in style instead of the late bay fixed type to make getting the lump out easier) and a drivers side doorskin to be welded on. Ive promised mrs f we'll go camping this year in it, which may or may not have been a very rash promise depending on how tempermental my rangey and bikes are in spring. And oh look a weber 40idf has just turned up, it'd be rude not to make a manifold and fit it while Im at it woudln't it, if the motor doesnt run right with that in place of the pict Ive always got a spare rv8 in the shed

 

[bug8abe]

Hi Bugbabe

Another Bugbabe here I guess.

Meet my project Tipsy:

Here is the worst of her problems, the old familiar floorpans...hence I've enrolled on an 8-week welding course.

What year is Norm. He looks very tidy! What welding does he need?

Hi!

Norm was born in 1970, the same year as me

He needs relatively little really. I've been patching up small holes, but he needs a new front clip section, rear valance, rear bumper/inner wing sections, door posts, bits like that. I'm lucky that he doesn't need the heater channels or anything really drastic like that.

I really like Tipsy. Do you have a timescale of when you hope to be finished and driving around? My original plan was just to get Norm through the MOT, but that was December, and as I took it apart to get to the small bits that failed the MOT, bigger bits crumbled away! I'm glad I found them really, I'd rather take a few months longer and have a safer car. Imaging having an accident with a crumbly car! Not reccommended!

 

[danmayberry]

hi there,i used to have a 1300 beetle,my first car £35 ,had a long list of cars,but now into series landys which take up a lot of my spare time and not to mention small gas bottles,cheers-dan

 

[bug8abe]

hi there,i used to have a 1300 beetle,my first car £35 ,had a long list of cars,but now into series landys which take up a lot of my spare time and not to mention small gas bottles,cheers-dan

£35 and here was I thinking I'd got me a bargain

 

[split64]

bug8abe hello

I'm a dub nut, worked on quite a few dubs over the last 5 years or so! got loads of parts about the place, especially origional tinwear so if you need anything pm me I may have some useful things. Just posted pics in the brew room of my current project its going to be 2 years before its finito

Ask any questions I'm sure you will get usefull info on here.