Day 196-200

Very long time since an update.  Quite a bit has been happening, so here's the latest.

I was able to find a reproduction emergency brake boot that is a much better match.  I also found an NOS shifter boot.  They came from Germany and England, respectively.  Happy to have found them and at least I learned all about how to paint rubber  :)

I purchased a period correct Blaupunkt radio.  I sent it off to a repair guy that comes highly recommend, located in St. Augustine, Florida.  It is a US spec radio so it has radio stations all the way up to 108 mHz on FM which was very rare for radios of this time.  It's also date stamped so it was manufactured the same year as my car.  Very cool.

I sent the bumpers out to get chromed.  This is a large expense but will be well worth it because they are stamped VW!

I stripped the paint booth of all the plastic and have given the garage a thorough blow out.  I am going to do a nice scrub right before final paint.

I also wiped down the entire body today with wax and grease remover.  Most of the block sanding was done but there were a few minor areas where you could still see sanding scratches after I removed the dust.  I took care of them and got it ready for a wipe down and paint!

Today I also worked on my door panels.  Previously, I had bought a staple gun and got the correct length staples so they wouldn't puncture the material.

I have an entire replacement vinyl for this rip.

The other side is in ok shape.

My panels were in okay shape.  The color has faded which I will dye but the mounting boards are pretty much toast.  So I removed the vinyl and cleaned them today.  They cleaned up pretty good.  I used Simple Green and a heavy duty degreaser.

Top, original.  Bottom, cleaned.

I found the original style mounting board and had it delivered.  My goal today was to get my panels flat.  They are curved from many years in the humidity of Florida and probably getting wet a couple times.

I used the hose to get them wet again and then compressed them under a heavy jack.  I've done it on the back ones so far and they seem to be laying flat again.  The front ones are the real killers, I'll try those tomorrow.

I've also been trying to source the right vinyl.  I've found two suppliers that have the exact texture but the color is still alluding me.  The greens and greys aren't right.  I think I'm going to have to just settle on something that is close.

Option A is the right texture and close.

The samples are B, C, and the green Naugahyde brand (wrong texture)

So, still some decisions to be made on the interior.  I have the headliner all picked out, waiting on the rest to order.

Large expenditures coming up.

Chrome $1500
Interior seats $1500
Headliner $400
Paint $2500?

I am pretty much ready to paint.  I'm waiting for a good weather window and a break in the schedule.  I'm hoping within the next month.  We'll see...

Day 195

Today I finished most all of the large surface block sanding.  DONE!  No more!

I still have plenty of smaller areas to touch up and need to wipe down the car to remove the dust but the laborious work of block sanding is done.

I did get to visit a few upholstery shops and I found one I was happy with.  I just need to find the original vinyl to make the seat covers with.

The next few days we have friends in town and it is Caroline's birthday so progress will be slow.  Looking to get the painting done while the weather is good!

Day 193 - 194

Sanding!

And more sanding!

Yesterday I finished the rest of the car in 400 grit and then moved on to 600 grit.  It is a painstaking process but hopefully the results will be well worth it.  I finished the interior with 600 and called it a night.

I got the entire car done today minus the roof and rear air louvers.  I plan on going over the hard to reach areas ONE more time with a maroon scotch brite just to make sure there is plenty of tooth for the paint.  The roof is waiting for a longer soft sander seen below to make sure the roof is perfect!

After that, final paint!

Sort of.

I need to clean the body with wax and grease remover, configure my body dolly to allow painting underneath the car, clean and re-plastic the paint booth, tape and mask the car, buy the paint, etc etc.

The weather is going to be wonderful the next few weeks so if I can do it that would be great.

I have also been working on the interior items as well.  I've gone through many, many samples and have more coming still.

Trying to match the grey and green in the middle of this picture.

Found a place that sells the original texture vinyl.

Samples so far.

I'm looking to match the left column, 3rd and 4th samples.  And the right column 2nd sample down.

The hard part with all of this is I don't have anything but pictures and others experiences with selecting the proper colors.  My seat covers were aftermarket and the headliner was replaced.  Both have been thrown out as they were useless.

I have a source for quality seat covers but he is in Santa Rosa, CA and that is a heck of a drive.  The guy does great work though.

Tomorrow I'm going to look at local upholstery shops and see what they have to offer.  Hopefully someone will be able to get the things I need and do it well!

Day 189-192

Again slow progress on the car.  Between the weather, some personal travel, and an ill-timed cold my progress has been at a snail's pace.

I have been noodling a lot on paint technique and planning.  Probably more than necessary.

I got a small project done painting my emergency brake boot and shifter boot with a special vinyl flexible coating to match the grey floor mats.  This is how they would have come from the factory.

Parts to be painted after some initial cleaning.

 Several steps ahead (not listed, not too important, blah blah blah) and they are done!

Hopefully some more sanding soon!

Day 188

It has been very slow progress over the last few months.  I did have my break for my new job and then the weather has been fairly chilly which, honestly, does not make it fun to go out to the garage.

BUT, it has warmed up a bit and after I got my automotive juices flowing again by rebuilding 3 fuel pumps and getting the pan tuned up, I had the urge to do some work!  The pan needed some work because it had been sitting so long and the gas started to turn, which makes it run poorly.  Some timing adjustments, setting the dwell, and disassembly, cleaning, and re-installing the carb did the trick!

Today I resumed block sanding on the body.  This is the last part of the car that needs to be sanded before final paint.  There were four areas that I had re-primed that needed to be blocked with 220 so I did that and then moved onto my intermediate grit, 400, on the rest of the car.  I was able to get the roof, driver's side, and interior trunk done.  Hopefully tomorrow I can knock out the rest of the car in 400, get the bottom prepped with maroon scotch brite pads and then I'll just have the final sand of 600 grit left.

It feels good to be getting to this point but also strange, because until the weather warms up I can't do a whole lot!  I have some small projects here and there I can work on, look forward to those!

Parts order!

All the parts and pieces are sanded ready for final paint. All that remains is the body.

I was also able to place a large parts order for some of the interior items. I still need the seat covers and headliner but should have most of the rest!

Hope to have the body sanded within the next few weeks.

Carpet and floor mats
Seat padding
Random odds and ends

Day 187

Well that was quite the break, now wasn't it!

I was away for training for a new job, so that ate up about two months.  And with that two months the nice weather went with it.  Final paint will have to wait until spring, which gives me time to get the body and the two front fenders final sanded.

I did just that today, getting the driver's side fender completely prepped and the passenger side half way done.  Daylight and patience were quickly fading.

I moved the final sanded pieces back into the parts room and unfortunately dinged the front fender I just finished!  A small scratch about a 1/16" deep.  A little spot putty and some sanding took care of it.  Still ticked off at myself for doing it.

Next step will be to finish the passenger side front fender and onto the body for final sanding.

Once all of that is complete a thorough cleaning of the garage re-do the paint booth for final paint.

I'm also thinking I am going to start working on getting some of the interior items.  They don't expire and it would be nice to see some progress on the car in the form of a stocked room with parts ready to put on a car!  Motivation...