VINTAGE BARN by KNECHTEN

Dusting off the BD project

2011-10-07T03:53:00.000-07:00

With the Zwitter gone to a new home overseas, it's time to prepare the winter and probably dust off the BD panel project standing in the barn.... always funny to fiddle around with wheel set-ups :)

Springtime

2011-03-28T05:21:00.000-07:00

Snow is melting away and we hope for an early summer this year. The zwitter fired right up, and I took it for a spin yesterday. Life is good :)

Swedish Barndoor back on the road

2010-09-13T00:49:00.000-07:00

Mathias from sweden has restored this Swedish BD and put it back on the road this summer. One of the coolest BD's I have seen in a long time. Just check that patinated roof!! This BD is a very good contribution to the rather small BD community in Scandinavia. Hope to see it in the flesh sometime soon =)

Vintage Barn of the week #16

2010-09-10T04:02:00.000-07:00

Well for the observant; it's the same as #14. But this Japanese BD is so clean and so cool, I had to throw in a picture from behind as well. I have no idea if it is the real thing, or a late BD made to look early. But knowing a little about what these Japanese guys are up to, I would not be surprised if it is real. It doesen't get much better than this =)

Tireporn

2010-09-10T03:22:00.000-07:00

It's friday, and we can all do with a little tireporn =) These are some NOS Bridgestone bias ply I picked up a while ago. They should be from 1965(ish) and are still in the original wrapping. The rubber is quite soft, given the age. They had me drooling instantly =)

Barnfind

2010-09-06T04:25:00.000-07:00

What do you do when the perfect barnfind never comes your way? Well, you create one =) The barndoor I collected earlier this year has spent some 50 years in the forest. Now it's resting inside a dry barn and almost looks like the perfect barnfind. I have spent some time stripping it down and getting to know it better. Falling more and more in love with this van, the more time we spend together. The picture speaks for it self =)

Vintage Barn of the week #15

2010-08-30T05:16:00.000-07:00

Trying to get this "weekly" session back on track... A cool primered BD this time, cool stance, looks mean =)

Vintage Barn of the week #14

2010-08-27T00:09:00.000-07:00

Time to see some cool BD's again. This time a Japaneese BD in primer finish. It has a cool stance, and it's no drawback that it has pianohinged vent windows either. Cool ride for sure...

Workshop in the making

2010-08-24T09:15:00.000-07:00

Not so much going on with my VW projects lately, but there is a reason for everything. Just enjoyed my zwitter this summer with no modifications at all. No wrenching, just driving. As you can see in the bacground there is something going on that will please me and my VW's in a while. Hope to be settled in my self built workshop later this autumn. Looking foreward to that to say the least....

This is how far I got with the construction work before SCC....

Wheel porn?

2010-06-25T04:58:00.000-07:00

Kinda cool? I like theese, massive rims...

Vintage Barn of the week #13

2010-06-24T04:37:00.000-07:00

At last we have a candidate for posting on the blog. Nice OG color-combo and cool choice to use the sidetrim. To many BD's are restored to plain factory specs, as we know many of them were "jazzed" up before they hit the road.

Timetravel

2010-06-23T04:23:00.000-07:00

Found these cool gas station photos on the net. Somewhere around Gothenburg Sweden. A lot of things were better in the past =)

And for the BD in the picture; It has to be a primer bus, looking at the color of the engine lid?

BD DD RH - Viking style

2010-06-17T03:46:00.000-07:00

Whats all the cryptic letters? Barndoor Double Door Rear Hatch... A VERY rare car in the world of barndoors. This example surfaced in Norway a while ago, found as a shed in the forest. A young enthusiast has become the owner of this project, and has already started planning further progress. The fact that he is so young he even don't have a licence yet, make this quite remarkable. "No guts - No story"? Well he certainly have some guts this kid =) I wish the best of luck, as there is quite a few milestones to cross on this Barndoor. Welcome to the world of Barndoors Christer =)

Time for yet a resurrection - Australia

2010-06-15T01:48:00.000-07:00

I just love these hopeless reconstructions =) This time, one of the worse ever.... Does there exist a limit for what's savable? We have a young guy here in Norway getting a lot of feedback on purchasing a rather rusted out, but oh-so-rare double door rear hatch panel BD. Some say it will never roll again. I bet this guy down in Australia have heard the same quite a few times. It really just comes down to having the guts.... I'm looking foreward to follow this project further. Greenstuff magic!! Here's some useful links:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/limeybish/
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=410901&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Mantorp swap

2010-06-15T00:27:00.000-07:00

As no trip was planned to Germany this summer, the possibility to score some BD parts seemed quite limited. But Bug Run in Sweden has always had a good swap meet for VW parts, so a visit there were planned. With no big expectations, there were actually some BD parts lying around suitable for my project. Some "leftovers" of tail lights, nobs and bits were some of the things I brought home. This will be enough to recreate some nice PATINATED taillights, perfect for a patinated car. I also scored a set of NOS roof supports for split bus, helpful to get the roof back to shape. You can have different oppinions on how the watercooled cars have taken over Bug Run, but the swap market is still aircooled territory, and the most attractive of it's kind in Scandinavia. My zwitter was filled with parts, and headed back after a great weekend on Mantorp raceway. Met a lot of the Barndoor guys from sweden, and it was cool to hear about their projects. Many of their projects has already been covered on my blog =)

Double Dee

2010-05-03T01:25:00.000-07:00

Dragging home a (size) 54 DD on a early sunday morning, isn't something you would normally be very proud of. For most people it would be more than a "handful". But this sunday I had no shame what so ever, driving home with a nearly sixty year old in the back. Of course we are talking Barndoor, and Double Dee is the term for the double door model, with loading access on both sides. It has lived a rugged life as a lumberjacks shed in the forest, and some chainsaw parts and tools could be found in the van when cleaning it out. And I must admit the exitement of examining a new "object", is some of the funniest thing I do as a VW nut. What's there, and what's missing? Is this uasable, or is it lost to mother nature. I have not had the oportunity of going through the whole car yet, so I have an unopened gift waiting for me. The BD is a december 54 double door panel van (21E), with "accessory" rear corner windows, supposedly a norwegian car, used by a local butcher in the countryside. It's put to rest on the shelf for now =)

"Rollin" BD shell

2010-04-28T05:12:00.000-07:00

A winters work on my BD has now ended. The van is almost completely disassembled, and the shell is rollin on some new axles. The summer has set in and it's zwitter time. The schedule for this summer is tight, so the BD will have a rest until the snow is falling again. At lest the shell, there are plenty of pieces to cuddle in the summer nights. Hopefully next winter the project will hit a whole different paste =)

Swedish barndoor magic

2010-04-26T01:48:00.000-07:00

Found this cool thread on a swedish forum. How often have you not heard the complaining over the rusted out Barndoors, often missing the entire chassie. Here is a classic example, missing everything between the axles. Making a new chassie up front, and weld it in with both axles remaining in the car. And wholla, you have a solid roller. Maybe not THAT simple, but sure a clever way of solving the problem. One stop to wonder if this would be the easiest on my project as well. Just have to decide it first... Follow the project here: http://www.meanbugs.com/punbb/upload/viewtopic.php?id=14211

Barndoor - Tearing it down

2010-03-30T03:29:00.000-07:00

I have continued some on tearing the BD down. It's a painstaking process, as everything is rusted beyond salvage. And removing the front beam proved to be no exception. Everything looked quite solid on the outside, but the inside was even worse than rusted. The metal has almost turned to coal. Not everything could be saved, but serious surgery is needed for the frame anyway. This car is by far the worse I have ever laid hands on. But we like a little challenge =)

German resurrection

2010-03-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

In Barndoor terms there is nothing like a missing rear window. If you look at this 51 you understand why. I have followed this project on thesamba through the winter, and rumors has it that it will appear on the 2010 Volksworld show at the end of march. This BD has also had some serious work done to save it from the grave. A true living dead!! Updated picture..... WOW, this is mean lookin' =)

Project thread - 51 kombi

Swedish resurrection - Dahlströms Grävmaskiner 54 BD

2010-03-11T23:59:00.000-08:00

I have followed this thread for a while, and I'm stunned by the progression on this Barndoor. When I first saw this BD I thought it would have some decent parts to give up for some other project. But it didn't take long for the swedish owner to tear it down and start "restoring" it. Rebuilding is closer to the truth I thnik. Take a look at this thread on thesamba forum: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=383778. Just starting to fiddle with my own BD project, I know a little about the hours and effort put into this project. Can't wait to see this one in the flesh... Wish the owner the best of luck on the progression =)

Vintage Barn of the week #12

2010-02-03T23:27:00.000-08:00

You don't get them much lower than this? This one was saved from mother nature by one of norways best rescuers. Morten "Crazy" saw the potential and did something about it... Respect!

VW racing mid 60ies

2010-02-02T11:17:00.000-08:00

The first shot showing two beetles battling at Marlboro Speedway in the 1965 12 hour race. The colored pictures show the same race in 1966. I (of course) fell in love with the split window in the b/w photo. In my head it also have wider rims in the rear than at the front. Both cars have wider than stock rims it seems? As cool as it gets... (pictures from http://www.thevintageracer.com/)

Waiting for some summer luvin'

2010-01-31T22:36:00.000-08:00

This morning the thermometer was almost down to - 20 deg Celsius again. I'm so glad my dear VW's are inside and tucked away until the summer return. I received these cool photos in my mailbox when I got to work today, and they made me dream of summer straight away. My friend Morten Lund shot these from his car driving along the autobahn in Germany this summer. They capture very well the feeling of driving an old VW on one of europes busiest highways, crowded... With only a 36 Hp engine and stock transmission we cruised along at a plesant 90 km/h, with wind in our hair and no worries =)

From green to grey

2010-01-28T06:29:00.000-08:00

I read somewhere that the "green stuff" on the Klassicfab pieces where no good. But I tried both mechanical removing and to remove it with thinner. I think the quality of the green primer seems more than good enough. I cleaned off everything and gave it a second coating of grey 2k primer. It's easier now, rather than paint it after it's welded in place.

Vintage Barn of the week #11

2010-01-26T02:01:00.000-08:00

The older the better right? Well i found this picture on the net, but has a feeling it went through some digital customworks. Would be cool to have a 49 (not sure about "slammed on earlies").

Musclebus delivery

2010-01-26T01:55:00.000-08:00

I got huge package the other day containing some green stuff from South-America. I made a deal with Chris at Musclebus a while ago, and got great service from him. Now I can start to fabricate more of my own pieces, using some of the new metal as mallets. The BD is parked in a cold storage for the time beeing, so working indoors with preparations is prefered =) There is still a long way to go...

Bad ass split

2010-01-18T23:07:00.000-08:00

This must be some of the coolest to come out in a long time. I simply love the look and stance of this split window bug, especially the small details that make it "pop". Please take me to Bonneville =) The picture is borrowed from the march 2010 edition of Volksworld magazine

Vintage Barn of the week #10

2010-01-12T22:29:00.000-08:00

Time for a cool bus again. This time a Japaneese barndoor with lovely patina. The stance is radical, perhaps not suited for norwegian winter roads =)

Vau-Max Vintage Speed

2010-01-07T22:16:00.000-08:00

During the Sechs Volt trip to Germany this summer, I was lucky to be picked for a photoshoot with a professional. The result can now be seen on the German web site www.vau-max.de/. A website dedicated to VW and Audi realtives of any age, and they also have a classic corner. Igor Vucinic has taken some really cool pictures and he also made a good article with a lot of correct details. I know he was a serious man when he jumped at the Shell Service sticker in the door opening. That is the attention to detail that warms a Sechs Volt pacemaker =)

For me it's hard to understand that the car can turn out this good in pictures. I have followed this car from a forestwreck, and know all the battlescars and flaws. The owner though, looks like a sunburned norwegian on holiday, not far from the truth =)

Full article

English translation

Vintage Barn of the week #9

2010-01-04T23:02:00.000-08:00

First BD out in 2010 is a Finnish cool panel. I have seen this a couple of times at Mantorp and in Germany. I love the raw unrestored look and it even has a cool stance. Not sure if the base color is the same as mine, or if it's originally a primer van. I like it =)

Merry Christmas - God Jul!

2009-12-21T05:15:00.000-08:00

Another year has passed, and this year as well have brought several good VW moments.My year started with sorting out the Abarth carburator kit, and after a lot of troubleshooting making it run properly.

http://52zwitter.blogspot.com/2009/06/hessisch-around-corner.html

The highlight of the year was definitely the trip to Hessisch oldendorf in Germany for the historic VW gathering there. A trip planned several years ahead, and the feeling of driving a self built car on the Autobahn is just something else. And the atmosphere in Germany was outstanding!

http://52zwitter.blogspot.com/2009/09/oslo-hessisch-roundtrip.html

Next thing out was the trip to Telemark in Norway to lift Mortens samba bus out of the water. A really nice trip, and a moment to remember for sure.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=372048&highlight=samba+norway

After waiting a long time, I finally could roll a 1953 Barndoor into the workshop this autumn. Although I don't have the time to jump right into the project, I got a little done this year after all.

http://52zwitter.blogspot.com/2009/11/pre-restoration.html

Our engagement in the SCC vintage village paid off this year as well, as we gathered a lot of quality cars, and set a new Norwegian record with 4 schwimmwagens on the water at one time.

http://outlavws.blogspot.com/2009/08/der-propellenfuhrer.html

Thank you all visitors,new and old friends for a very good year, and I wish you all a good aircooled 2010!

Vintage Barn of the week #8

2009-12-21T05:04:00.001-08:00

The mother of all Barndoor projects, the "Kempes" van. Going into the christmas holidays you should have plenty of time to read the incredible Kempes story on the Split Screen Camper Van forum: http://www.ssvc.org.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=35155

This is so inspiring reading... Enjoy!

Old Norwegian BD photo

2009-12-15T01:18:00.000-08:00

Found this one on the web. Described to be a bakery van from the vestern part of Norway. Really cool I must say, with two tone paint and signwriting =)

Vintage Barn of the week #7

2009-12-14T00:40:00.000-08:00

This BD I know nothing about. Not sure if it's restored and drivable, or just a mock up on wheels.Looks a little windy to drive =) I like the look of the mag wheels. Classic and simple...

Vintage Barn of the week #6

2009-12-09T13:01:00.000-08:00

This week I have found some pictures of a swedish barndoor. It's so cool with it's unrestored looks. But technically it has to be sound, because this van is driven everywhere across Europe. These pictures were taken in Hessisch Oldendorf this summer, a long waqy from it's origin in Sweden.

Reinforcements

2009-12-07T00:36:00.000-08:00

A little inspired from the lessions at Norwegian Hammerworks, I had to find out what we could do with the tool in our garage. Bending metal shouldn't be that hard, so I tried some easy profiles for a start. Because everything is gone in the frame of the BD I measured as good as possible and made the two crossmembers. The one in front is already on it's way from south america, but I used it as a trial piece and I'll have it as a spare. The rear one worked out OK. I made them in two pieces, and will weld them toghether when mounted. I think I will have to do the same to the top hats, as my plan is to keep the cargofloor in the van. The 1,5 mm steel was about the limit of our tool for bending metal.

As for other progress, the gearbox and rear suspension is fully removed from the car. It's a painstaking job to take a rusted out wreck apart. Evertything is stuck beyond imagination...

Things brake and fall apart, but I try to keep up with fixing it instantly, as I did to the lever shock and door hinge.

Hinge repair

2009-12-01T23:29:00.000-08:00

When I removed the passenger door from the BD the upper ear on the upper hinge broke off. I posted earlier that I was not sure what to do; replace or repair. Given the result from the lever shock welding, I figured I would give repairing a shot. I grinded all the edges to get a deep weld penetration, as the surface of welding was very limited here. I heated the pieces and welded with the door bolt as a guide. This also turned out well, and no visible cracks to be seen. I will settle with this repair, and now proceed with the rest of the repair on this door, and keep the original hinge.The weld seen across the hinge is some old repair with oxy-acetylen solder. Will take care of that later.

Lever shocks #2

2009-12-01T23:16:00.001-08:00

The lever shock that I welded was operating OK, and the arm could be moved up and down. The other one is siezed, and I opened it up after cleaning it. Acording to the workshop manual, the shock should be filled with hydraulic oil, but the shock was completely dried out inside. I filled it with oil now and will let it soak for a while. If that doesn't do it, I will soak the entire shock in diesel oil. The cool thing about this shock, is that some of the original paint is hidden under the rust. It will be enough to get the correct color to paint them again.

The welded shock will also be opened and oil-treated.

Lever shocks #1

2009-12-01T23:03:00.001-08:00

As I have started to take the BD apart, there is a lot of parts that need attention. Among these are the two lever shocks, ancient rear shock absorbers. One of them was damaged and fell apart when I loosened the bolts. They are made of cast iron, and I was not sure if it could be fixed. But I followed the procedures for welding cast iron, found on the internet =). The trick, as I read, is to warm the two pices before welding, keeping it warm during welding, and cooling it slowly. I think the result look Ok, and hopefully it will be strong enough. I guess we have to find out the hard way... Covered it with some primer for storage for now.

A pinch of salt?

2009-12-01T05:35:00.000-08:00

It's not a Barndoor I know, but still a really cool setting. I really like the vintage racing bike and the service van together. Perfect couple =)

Vintage Barn of the week #5

2009-11-29T23:32:00.000-08:00

This is infact one of the first barndoors that really made an impression on me. It has changed a little bit in style over the years, but always had a cool stance. First time I saw it rollin, it had a set of Porsche pattern torque trust wheels, maybe the coolest ones in my eyes. A true scandinavian classic!

Swedish - UK restored BD

2009-11-26T23:10:00.000-08:00

It's amazing to see how many abondoned BD wrecks being brought back to life these days. Another perfect example here, now ready for 50+ more years on the road. Very cool patina as well =)

1950 Barndoor

2009-11-25T04:53:00.000-08:00

Here is some pictures of one of the best 1950 BD's on the planet. I saw this in Hessisch this summer, and the finish is mindblowing. I'm going nowhere near this with my project, but find the restoration photos very interresting and helpful. Have a look here in Axels own photo album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/axelstruwe/BarndoorBus1950#

Vintage Barn of the week #5

2009-11-22T12:36:00.001-08:00

Cool patina-ed BD... Like the black roof rack =)

Norwegian survivors

2009-11-20T01:42:00.000-08:00

This autumn two barndoors have surfaced almost out of nowhere here in Norway. Both being double door panelvans making them rather special. And to top it all, one of them has a rear hatch option as well. Hopefylly these BD's will fall into the right hands and become excellent projects. We need more BD's on the road in Norway!!

Vintage Barn of the week #4

2009-11-18T23:28:00.001-08:00

Maybe one of my favorite BD's ever. So many cool details on this norwegian built panel van. Mr. Rui sure knows his stuff =)

Attention to detail #2

2009-11-18T23:03:00.001-08:00

Having a rental contract with Oval 57 on my work shop space, means that I have to suck up to him from time to time. Bringing him coffe and always agree on how important it is to put all your love into the project is some of the trouble I have to go through. As you probably know from reading his restoration blog on the 52 "capitan" split, the other members of Sechs Volt have claimed he has been sleeping with his Kamax bolts, rubber moldings and seat covers on several occations, unfornately without having any evidence for the claim.

So to keep Oval 57 happy (and the rental contract fresh), I have decided to give the original seat covers a try. They have been resting in the forest for decades, so the softnes in the fabric is somewhat gone. But last night I carefully disassembeled the covers on the backrest, and took it inside and gave a good cleaning. And here I found another facinating detail for all the geeks out there... The little red tab shown in the picture, made from the same material as the seat cover but in red color. Sawn in at middle bottom of the backrest. A very important detail to adress if you have to make repro covers =) Here you also see a "before" picture of the seat. The main problem reusing this is a little shrinking of the material, and all the seams have rotted away. The frame is good and solid.We will have to wait for the outcome of this...

Attention to detail #1

2009-11-18T22:49:00.000-08:00

I have read a lot of topics on Barndoor details at thesamba.com and other places. Last night I did some work on the passenger door, and found some funny details again. I knew the window frame on the door had a number punched in on top, and that this number somehow relates to the body number of the van. This means the doors were "one-of" from the factory. But what I found last night is that the hinges have the same number punched into them.This number is usually covered with metal, so you would have to remove the hinge to see it. My hinge is broken, so I had to get it out, and some old damage repair has to be redone (it has been welded at some point). The question is; repair the original stamped one, or replace it with another?

If all this numbering of doorparts should make any sense, the door it self should have the same number somewhere? Someone knows?

Vintage Barn of the week #3

2009-11-09T03:34:00.000-08:00

This week we have a very cool BD singlecab used as they were intended. A cool parts hauler for sure =)

Someone like magic tricks

2009-11-06T04:01:00.000-08:00

Just another unbelievable Barndoor project is started in the UK. As the rest of the RHD Samba Barndoors out there, this also come from the IKEA land of Sweden. Can't help the fact that seeing these pictures, give me motivation for my own project =) Great respect to the people digging into cars like this... Read more at the Split Screen Van Club forum:

http://www.ssvc.org.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=46441

Pre restoration

2009-11-04T01:30:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pre restoration pictures. It shows a relatively straight body, exept the roof wich is really damaged. The cargo area and cabin is in fair shape, but needs new panels in every corner. Unfornately the spare roof was needed by the previos owner, but I don't worry about the roof at the moment. That will be fixable, one way or another. But they sure look rough these forest wrecks as you pull them into the garage =)

The Oslo Lysverker Van - a real workhorse?

2009-11-02T23:36:00.000-08:00

Oslo Lysverker had a lot to do with developing the infrastructure in Oslo. Part of the development was putting new power cables in the ground. These cables were heavy and the work of putting them in the ground was not a easy task. They could be up to over 500 meters long, and the trick seemed to be not to stop when you got the cable sliding. A known method from ancient times of making people work in the same paste, is song and rythm. At Oslo Lysverker they had their own singer, whos only job was to keep the cable sliding. His singing was supposed to keep the men pull at the rythm of his song. The movie clip is from a norwegian TV program in the seventhies. I wonder if my BD panel van was the vehicle the singer used to carry himself and his speaker kit around? The cargo area of my van is surprisingly straight for being a work horse for over 10 years. As you can hear from the clip, I recon this man in the turtle neck was not the most popular man among the dirty workers in the ditch. Singing his awful song day out and day in with his hands in his pockets. The "Oppsanger" as he was titled, got replaced by a machine who pulled the cables shortly after this interview took place. Wonder why?

If I got the "Oppsanger" van, it must have been the most hated vehicle in Oslo for many years... Now I just have to mount a speaker on the roof and fill the streets with song once again =)

Vintage Barn of the week #2

2009-11-02T23:20:00.000-08:00

New week, new barndoor =) Love the patina and lettering on this one...

The BDs History - part 4 continues...

2009-10-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

Here is additional pictures of the related "Oslo Sporveier" van...

The BDs History - part 4

2009-10-30T06:13:00.000-07:00

I try to get closer to the layout of the OG lettering on the BD. It seems the government companies in Norway had some sort of standard for layout and color coding. Still looking for a picture of a "Oslo Lysverker" van, but so far the picture above is the closest I have come. The van in the picture was owned by "Oslo Sporveier" the company in charge of the subway, buses and trolleys in Oslo. As you can se from the picture, the two-tone painting is similar as on my van, but different color. This one seem to have white base with silver metallic sideline and front.Notice the black painted rims.

It also has a roof mounted spot light, and my van has a hole for one in almost the same spot. I also like the special logo in the nose very much. Cool details... and I feel these are small steps towards finding the documentation for the "Oslo Lysverker" layout.

Condition of the frame

2009-10-27T06:01:00.000-07:00

The frame of the BD is not in a good shape. The van is holding together in the sheet metal, because the main frame is broken on both sides behind the front wheels. If the body had been more rusted, the whole car would brake in half. So to reach the first goal of a rolling object, some serious welding is needed. First thing will be making the jig ready, and flip the car over on the side. Then strengthen everything, and start to cut out some rotten metal. I've already taken out a whole bucket of rust with my bare hands =) Some pictures to show what it's like under there...The usual cross members, outriggers, jacking points etc are by-gonz.

Vintage Barn of the week #1

2009-10-27T05:16:00.000-07:00

As this blog has turned Barndoor friendly lately, a "Barndoor of the week" thread would be appropriate. This will be my pick of cool pictures in true barndoor spirit...

This weeks feature is a well known US bardoor from the samba dot com.

The BDs History - part 3

2009-10-27T05:02:00.000-07:00

The van was purchased by Oslo Lysverker in September 2009 and served as a utility vehicle until 1962 in the same company. Then the van had 3 or more owners until it was parked in 1965. I can tell it had some surgery at some point, and my guess is that it was already very rusty in 1962 when it was sourced out of Oslo Lysverker. The frame has been welded, and some of it even repaired with body filler, yes(!) the frame. The engine support has also been changed at some point. But the body is remarkable straight, given that the car has spent almost 10 years in the city of Oslo as a everyday work horse. The picture shows the headquarter of Oslo Lysverker, with a yellow barndoor and some beetles parked out side. Seems to be be mid sixties?

The BDs history - part 2

2009-10-20T05:59:00.000-07:00

Already revealed the factory paint and found a bright blue stripe along the side of the van, I had to check this against how Oslo Lysverker logoed their buses. And by a strike of luck, I showed the details to Splitman here in Norway. He could tell that he had previously owned a grey BD van with a blue stripe, and that the new owner had said something about "Oslo Lysverker" logo revealed on the van after he started working on it. This van is now being restored i England, but I have not tracked the owner down. Looking at the pictures above, there is a fair chance these two vans had the same paint and logo. The pictures was taken before the van went to England.

I have also picked up some rumors about a Norwegian VW enthusiast confirming to have owned a post BD with the same colors, also a former Oslo Lysverker van. He could be sitting on some pictures of the van that he owned many many years ago. I hope for the best..

The BDs history - part 1

2009-10-20T05:46:00.000-07:00

I always think a cars history is an important part of it's current identity. And having followed the Kempes van on the internet, it's so cool to see how the roots of the cars life can be tracked down. I've barely started to dig into this vans history, but I got some allready.

When it left the Norwegian dealer Møller in september 1953 it was put in duty at Oslo Lysverker. This was the public supplier for electricity in the city of Oslo. The picture above shows the maintainance central for Oslo Lysverker in the period this van was in duty. You can easily spot at least two grey VW vans in the photo, one panel and one with windows. It could very well be in the picture...

Leaving Wolfsburg

2009-10-20T04:18:00.000-07:00

This is what the panel van most likely looked like when it left the factory in May 1953. In september 1953 it left the dealer in Norway and got the first set of number plates. The color was L21 Pearl grey. The pictures are borrowed from www.Barndoor.dk.

Factory paint

2009-10-19T00:42:00.000-07:00

After getting the panel van indoors, I have spent some hours to get to know the object better. The over all feeling is that the condition is what I expected. The frame is gone under the cabin, and som heavy surgery is needed to make it drivable. But to get the van redy for welding, there is a time consuming process to take everything apart. I started on the interior, taking out panels and stuff. The good thing about this kind of work, is that it gives some positive surprises. I have a feeling the OG paint on the whole cabin, and all the panels can be brought back to life.

As you can see in one of the pictures, the van was originally painted in grey, with a blue stripe along the side. The inside of the doors and cabin area also reveal the factory paint. The fuse box on each side still contains the paper inserts =)

Still a lot of things to take apart, and some of it are fragile stuff. More pictures to come as the work continues.

Through the BARNDOOOR

2009-10-06T00:18:00.000-07:00

This weekend I could roll the absolute dream car off the trailer and into the Sech Volt mansion. A May 1953 "Barndoor" Panel van, delivered to Norway in September 1953. It has been off the road since 1965. It had some first aid repairs at some point, that may have saved the car when it was put into storage. It has been stored in mother nature’s back yard most of the time, but luckily Morten "Crazy" gave it a good shelter some years ago. After saving the life of my beloved Zwitter, a barndoor or early type 2 was my next dream object. Almost still unbelievable that it's now sitting in the garage waiting for a real spa treatment. As usual there is not much left underneath, but the BD sure has a LOT of potential and qualities. The main goal will be to make it road legal and safe to drive, and still keep as much history and atmosphere as possible. This will not be a two-weekend project, and the amount of welding needed is massive compared to my former project. As an amateur I go to this task with great respect, and there will be a lot of learning along the way. Hopefully we will see the growth of a small Barndoor community in Norway over the next years, as there are some other projects going on as well. Would be fun to attend the first meeting in Norway with a 5 barndoor line-up, wouldn't it?

There will be more posting here to show more details of the car and some more of its history, as well as pictures of the restoration as it proceeds.

Thanks again to Morten for making this happened, a true believer in old VW's!

Preparing for the new pet

2009-09-28T02:59:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had a little spare time to clean and prepare the premises for the arrival of the new project. The plans for next weekend is to bring home the restoration project I always dreamed about. I have waited over a year for this now, and the restoration prosess has been circulating in my head over and over again. Knowing little or nothing about T2's, I had a year to prepare my self and read a lot of good litterature on the subject. Just barely seeing the car with a torchlight, I know there will be some surprises when this baby is brought out into daylight. I have a little gut-feeling of what to expect, but can't help beeing very exited indeed. I started to work on the jig/trolley/rottisserie for the car, as it needs some heavy surgery and rustrepairs. In a week or so I will be back with some more information and pictures...

Collecting new pieces

2009-09-23T03:09:00.000-07:00

As the winter is closing in on us, I'm preparing to take on a new project in the Sechs Volt garage. This is in true Sechs Volt style a typical forest-wreck-object that needs to be put back to life. I have already done two Type 1 rescues, and therefore know a little about buying projects in cardboard boxes. There are always a lot of bits missing, so you need to have spare parts at hand. Of course this time the bar is raised further more, as the bits and pieces for this car is hard to get. This weekend was a swap market in Oslo, and by a strike of luck I found a matching pair of headlamps for the new project. They were maybe a year to new, estimated to be 1954 lamps.

They may give you a clue of what's about to roll into Knechtens Vintage Barn in the near future...

And the search for further parts continue =)

Average norwegian forest beetle

2009-09-14T04:55:00.000-07:00

Just as every other weekend in Norway, this weekend was no exeption, and another interesting object was pulled out of "storage". In this case a 1950 standard beetle with mecanichal brakes. If this beetle turnes out to be a real norwegian car, it's quite rare. Norway did unfornately not receive a lot of beetles in 1950. As you see from the pictures the wreck had some visitors over the years, but a lot of cool stuff still intact. How about the patina star-coil? There is more out there, so keep looking =) The Sechs Volt have a sweet spot for cars like these... We wish the owner good luck, and hope to see it on the road some day. You will find more on the VW Norge forum (in norwegian).

Oslo - Hessisch roundtrip

2009-09-13T22:02:00.000-07:00

I had heard about this meeting in a long time. Beeing to Bad Camberg once, I had an idea of what it could be like. But everyone claimed that these two meetings could not be compared. There were something special about Hessisch, and it just had to be experienced to understand. And for me it was essential to drive an aircooled car all the way down. Oval 57 and Splitboy had been here in the 56 porsche engined car 4 years earlier, so I knew it could be done. I tried to pick out some pictures to explain the trip here. This was a milstone in the VW hobby for me, and things will never be the same. One thing is the beautiful cars, but it is really all about the people...

We had a little Sechs volt meeting prior to the trip to plan some details. For me this was the first time driving a old VW outside scandinavia, and I must admit that I was a little nervous at times. The Abarth carburators had not played very well the last week before take off, and some small things showed up at the 12 th hour. But setting the goal for Hessisch Oldendorf 3 years ago, I was determined that it was the only way to go. And it would be a huge set back not running the Abarths down. As always, it all fell into place the night before. We had enough spareparts among us to build a new car if something broke, and even Oval 57 brought more than the OG tool kit this time.

Then the day was finally there, and everyone showed up at the ferry terminal in Oslo. Øystein of the screwdrivers had just got the coachbuild together, and the crowd was hard to keep away. We were 10 cars leaving for Germany, a very decent group of old VW's. Oval 57 was in charge of booking, and as always everything was according to plan.

We loaded the cars on the ferry and set for Copenhagen. It was without doubt worth the money for the ferry ticket. It was nice to kick back with a few beers and share some old Vw stories. Life can be forgiving sometimes =)

As we passed Hamburg on the way south, we stopped by the Prototyp Museum. And was it all worth it? We were drooling around for an hour and a half, until the museum locked up and kicked us out. It was also good with a little stretch of the legs here. We had a crazy rainweather from Puttgarden, and the Zwitter had about 5 cm of water on the floor as we reached Hamburg. Someone had forgotten to block of the heater inlets under the rear seat.... At this point it was good to have a "race" car without carpets.

Fianlly ready for registration at the HO headquarter. It felt good to be here, and the car parked in the streets of the famous Hessisch Oldendorf.

After lunch friday we had a oportunity to visist the Grundmann collection, a massive VW collection owned by the organizers of HO treffen. Hard to describe in words, as every car in there could easily have a full "feature". Hope to be back here some day... amazing!

Obviosly the town had been hit by vikings at some time in history, and they had put out a warning sign in the shop windows. I'm not sure what they did, but they sure had a decent ride.

Friday evening we took a walk around the camping ground, in a park area just some minutes from the main street. Here we found a lot of friends and cool cars. Among these, Peter Nielsen of the VW Bluehats.

There were lots of cars to see, and some interestng swaps to be found as well. Also had the oportunity to see the kempes barndoor for the first time, the star of the show. The coolest car in a long time...

Saturday was showday no 1, and the streets were filled with cars. Not any kind, pre 57 cars ONLY. I was parked in the split-street, a whole street trough most of the town centre with splits only. Then there were a street or a square for every kind from KDF's to Type 34 Ghias.

I rounded of the saturdays show with a photoshoot together with Igor of vau-max.de. This was a new experience for me, and quite cool to learn some new techniques. He was impressed by the comfort level of the car travelling over 1000 km... NOT =)

Finally we had the oportunity to see the car that everyone have heard about for some time. Paul Rui was on a trip in Germany, and took the effort of stopping by HO with his mindblowing 1950 Porsche. It really give you gossebumps, as it's to good to be true...

The swap market is toghether with Bad Camberg probably the best VW market in the world(?), and maybe also the priciest. But as always there are bargains to be found. The other good thing is that if you really WANT something, you will find it here, even things you didn't know existed.

This is how it looked from above, before the crowd set in. I'm not quite familiar with the numbers, but numbers of 10 thousands were mentioned. Beuatiful surroundings everywhere.

Almost a week after we left the motherland, we had to pack up and head north again. We were so impressed with the meeting and atmosphere in HO, that it was a hard time saying goobye. Poor Fürsten had to take a nap in the Zwitter recliners... Outlavw style =)

After a trouble free trip from Grömitz, were we took a sleepover, we finally reached the ferry in Copenhagen and it was time to lower the shoulders and kick back in the bar. From the ferry and back to my garage it's only a 30 min drive. Somehow it was good to be back with everything intact =)

Busy summertimes

2009-08-05T23:43:00.000-07:00

Well, ain't much happening to the blog these days. Of course it does not in any way reflect what's going on with my VW hobby. The summer has been absolutely fantastic this year, with a very sucessful trip to Germany and Hessisch Oldendorf. The car went almost trouble free the 1100 km, exept a broken accleratorcable just entering the ferry between Denmark and Germany. A little stressful minutes with some pliers and a helpful co-driver we made it into the ferry.

The meeting in Germany was very godd with some outstanding cars, EVERYWHERE!! We also met som familiar faces from the internet, very nice indeed.

The Abarth kit got a lot of interest, and as a very unexpected bonus I got a photosoot of the car by a German journalist. I will come back with more if the pictures will be published. A sneak peek of the shoot shown in the picture above.

These days the preparations for Norways largest VW event SCC at Gardermoen Raceway takes up a lot of my VW time. The autumn will bring some exiting stuff for me and the sechs volt, as a new project is rolling into the workshop. For me this will be a few steps up in restoration challenge... It's bigger and a lot rustier than anything I have dealt with before. Stay tuned for more blogging when the object is being collected.

PS! This weekend Splitboy and Knechten are going fishing and dancing samba in the Norwegian mountains... Stay tuned.

Hessisch around the corner

2009-06-04T00:13:00.000-07:00

After a lot of troubleshooting on the ancient abarth carburator kit, I finally got it running perfectly last night. The carburators on this kit was not so straight foreward as expected. They seem to be a Solex 32 PBIC type, made in CSR. They are very fragile, and I had to repair some cracks in the housing, and litterally glue some of the parts together with heavy-duty loctite. After I got hold of the correct rebuild kit from Stoddard, the carbs acted like they should. Last night I put the finishing touches on the timing, and the engine now runs well.

The engine feels a little more rapid in acceleration compared to the stock set up, and it pulls really well uphills. The sound of the dual carburators do also add to the vintage racing feel =)

The front end has got some adjustment, and been lifted to more 50-ish height. It helped a lot on the riding comfort =)

We cross our fingers that the zwitter will be ready for HO take off in a couple of weeks.

Double trouble?

2009-04-02T00:22:00.000-07:00

After a quite busy winter filled with carpenter activity, it's about time to prep the zwitter for some summer fun =) Hessich Oldendorf is the main target this season, a long drive from Norway to Germany. The car was "broken in" last summer, but quite a few minor adjustmenst is neccesary for this season. I started by pulling out the 1750 ccm engine and replaced it with a stock 36 Hp industrial engine. During the winter I've collected som parts to develop the vintage racing project. Thanks to a very helpful sketch received from Denmark, I was able to mock up some very cool stuff last night. Then I dismanteled everything for some good cleaning and final check. I have a gut feeling that I'm going twin carburated to HO this summer... Follow the next steps here =)

A visit to the wizard

2008-11-28T05:31:00.000-08:00

Getting the oportunity to visit the garage now restoring Fürstens 51 convertible, everything else had to pass this wednesday night. The man in charge, Thomas, was some years back the man behind some of Norway and Europes finest and most radical VW's. I have never seen these cars alive, but they are displayed in all my old magazines at home. The last years he has been building custom cars and bikes for a living in California. I was not sure what to expect, as he is about to unpack his tools and just moved back. As a "warm up" project he has taken on a rusted 51 vert, and the details and skills are truly amazing. Quite fun to see that skilled work like this can be performed in Norway as well as "over there", displayed on Discoverychannel. The vert pictures are showed in our other blog, but he had me drooling over his own projects, and an amazing garage atmosphere. Thank you for a great eveneing Thomas!

Back in the workshop

2008-10-17T00:22:00.000-07:00

The car is now back were it belongs, ready for some minor adjustments and modifications during the winter. A new industrial engine is going in during the winter. For me this winter will be filled with other things than VW for a change. Therefore the updates on the blog have to wait for early 2009. But the updates will be worth waiting for =)

SCC 08 - What a blast

2008-08-20T02:58:00.000-07:00

Barely recovered from the best VW weekend I've ever attended. As a SCC and NKVW (vintage lounge) organizer almost a week of work went in to this meeting. But I had a blast meeting all these nice people of the whole european VW community. Unfonately I did not get the chance to be everywhere and see all the cars. BUT I got to see most of it, and also had a dream come true. I got to ride and swim a type 166, and riding along in the sunshine in a 42 kübelwagen.

My own zwitter was not driven for the whole weekend, but Olaf of the german DFL club got a few nice shots of it. Enjoy his amazing album!

www.olafalbers.de/gallery

A break from beach life

2008-07-21T04:26:00.000-07:00

Every day cannot be spent at the beach with the family, most due to Norwegian weather. Then it's good to have some alternative activities for bad weather days. Last weekend I got a tip about a "mid fifties" single cab. So when the rain hit, I had to check it out. It all looked like a mess when I came there, but it turned out to be able to help me with some donor bits. No, not for my zwitter, a new project is on the steps, before the zwitter is even done. But the new project will make the zwitter welding look like kindergarden work. So for now I'm just collecting pieces parallell to finnish off my zwitter, not starting with anything new for a good while. The forest-wreck turned out to be a sealing-wax-red 59. It supplied me with a complete front beam, complete trans and axles, and some small useful pieces. It takes an enthusiast to see the gold...

Some more pictures

2008-07-03T05:11:00.000-07:00

Took a couple of shots of the car last night. This time also from the interior. Function before comfort?

Correct wheels Part. 2

2008-07-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

How correct are the wheels and stance of the zwitter, claiming to be a mid 50 ies race car? Well, the trendsetting for cars over the years have more or less been influenced by the factory premium racecars. So why do the zwitter has cal-look stance? And where did the cal-look stance come from in the 60 ies? Here are a couple of photos showing Formula 1 and Indy 500 cars in the year of 1952. That's tireporn right there, and they sure have a nice stance too... Me like a lot =) (that BRM burnout is something else or what?) I'm not saying the zwitter is authentic and that there ever was built such a car this early, but then again, why not?

Different pictures

2008-06-30T07:21:00.001-07:00

After the maiden voyage to Bug Run 25, I've attended a few get-togethers with the zwitter in the nearby area. One of the few benefits of living close to Oslo is the distance to the VW happeinings during the summer. Here are som pictures from the Oslo VW club forum:

Cruising in Drammen, june 08:

http://www.oslovwclub.no/prat/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=9&TopicID=2092&PagePosition=1

Hot Shop barbeque, june 08:

http://www.oslovwclub.no/prat/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=9&TopicID=2095&PagePosition=1

In the picture our good friends from "Screwdrivers".

The driver - getting wet

2008-06-23T06:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a shot of the driver... Enjoying himself quite a lot these days as the zwitter is turning relatively reliable. As you can see it's a sunshine car, because the wipers ain't worth shit, not flying the freeway anyway. And the car has the OG rubber and moldings since new, so what else to expect than a little leakage. Both front lower corners of the windscreen is dripping when driving in rainy weather. It's all part of the atmosphere, huh? Thank you Oval 57 for the picture =)

2000 Hits

2008-06-22T23:58:00.000-07:00

Thank you for visiting this blog. To celebrate I give you porn to watch, hope you can take it =) Some interesting things are still happening in our garage, so stay tuned for more sechs volt fun and "old speed".

Chasing a split

2008-06-18T23:37:00.000-07:00

This is a little clip from my phone... But the quality was better than expected so I have to try this more =) Not difficult catching up with Fürsten, having three times the power at hand. We were headed for a gathering at Hot Shop in Norway (se more on the Sechs volt site)

Cruising a "self built" car

2008-06-11T02:05:00.000-07:00

Well, as somone said before; there is not much that can reach up to cruising along in your self restored car. It's been two hard years from the day I sold my 66 cal-looker and bought this piece of rusted junk. To finally have it on the road, after two years of not having a drivable vw, sure add something to the satisfaction. Looking foreward to a summer of cruising and troubleshooting, before the car goes in for the winter... Here are a couple of excellent drive by photos by Fürsten.

The wheels

2008-06-11T01:36:00.001-07:00

I've had some questions about the wheels. Nothing complicated there, just plain 5 stud OG rims. Drilled for ventilation like they did in the old days. The rears have got new outer rims in 5,5" size at Sunnaas in Oslo, and the fronts are stock. The choice of tires are Firestone bias ply 5.60-15 and 6.40-15 (correct for T2). The whole thing set up with Porsche A-Brake dummies from CB Performance until the real thing some day will be mounted. The bias ply sure gives a different driving experience, but not as bad as expected =) The main goal was to get the "Old speed" look, what do you think?

Racing the zwitter

2008-06-10T03:52:00.000-07:00

Found these old racing photos of the zwitter from back in the early seventies... Photos shot by opponents co-driver. Overtaking a straight out of the dealer 1303 in a steep hill, no better feeling for a 52 race car =)

Ready to rumble?

2008-06-05T03:10:00.000-07:00

No, the first trip out is going to be quiet... For the car that is. There are new things that need attention every kilometer I drive. And the big test is starting tomorrow morning as we head for Sweden. Last night we had a last meeting at the garage, and a nice cruise home into the night... Sechs volt rides again =)

Final testing

2008-06-04T01:51:00.000-07:00

The last week I have managed some small testruns on the open road. With the usual set backs of course. But day by day I'm narrowing down the list of errors, and it has become close to drivable now. Everything regarding safety is top notch, and with some adjustment to transmission and engine, I really hope for a nice trip to Sweden in two days. Driving 1100 km with a car this "fresh", sure put some exitement to the trip... The car's now waiting for the final touches =)

Test pilot 1

2008-05-22T01:29:00.000-07:00

Here is a little clip of one of the first test runs out of the garage. The engine only running on three cylinders, is quite obvious when you hear the sound recorded. The problem is now solved, and the engine should run OK after some final adjustment of the timing. Oval 57 looks a little stressed out behind the wheel, could be the clutch barely releasing??

One more back on the road

2008-05-19T03:34:00.000-07:00

Another norwegian zwitter is now officially saved from the happy hunting grounds. Being one step away from ending as a demolition derby participant (bilcross) in the early eighties, and then saved by the bell and tucked away in an old barn, the car is now finally road legal again. On the 16th of may the car was tested on the open road with the new plates freshly mounted. I still have trouble getting rid of the grin on my face, several days after the incident... All nightmares about welding and old rust are long gone. Still lots of adjustment needed, but driving down to the gas station and filling the car up for the first time, sure qualifies for a VISA commercial... "For everything else you have VISA" Sorry about the pictures, but only BW until the car is ready at the end of the month. The trained eye will spot some details falling into place.

PS! The neon sign in the background show the current gas price in Norway, all time high... I couldn't care less at the moment =)

Testing and tuning

2008-05-13T03:14:00.000-07:00

Out of the garage it was time for some tuning. Everything seemed to work quite well after we got the new fuel tap working. All body panels are only trial fitted, so the test run was only limited this time. But a short ride, sure gives the spirit to finish this car. A 50 ies racer is coming alive. The bare metal shell, sure gives the driver a racy feeling =)Mission completed!(almost)

Before the engine had made it's first turn, the 6v crew had already placed a startnumber on the car. A full picture documetation will come when the car is race-ready... stay tuned =)

Crank it baby

2008-05-13T02:59:00.001-07:00

The driver looks a little confused and angry here... Not getting ANY reaction turning the key. Well, only owning a 66, will set you back in the world of splitwindow beetles. After finding the starterbutton, the smile was back on his face =) Cranking up the 1750 engine, and make some nice skidmarks on the driveway, sure makes all the garage hours worth it at the end...

... and it all started in the office as always =)

2008-05-13T02:45:00.000-07:00

What else can you do in the dark winther nights when office hours seemes like days? Dream about summer action?

Recreating an atmosphere

2008-05-13T02:26:00.000-07:00

The first idea of "theme" for this car, was to keep the fifthies atmosphere. As the car had some changes made early on, and still many of the correct pieces intact, it was no option to make it over restored =) The patinated paint applied in the 60 ies is preserved as good as possible, with the obvious color mismatches were new paint is added. The car probably had a few touch ups along the way as well, so getting it correct all around was out of the question. Having lived a tough lifte on the road, the car is full of batlle scars and small dents. Well what do you do with a car full of scars, and wanting a fifthies atmosphere? You could follow the common road and slam it, put on some chromed replicas and get your self a nice looking rat. But they didn't have slammed rats in the fifthies, did they? Well, as the picture of the half finished interior will tell, the "theme" headed another direction =) Less is more?

Spring is here

2008-05-13T01:53:00.000-07:00

Well, as always, a little too early =) The time preassure has been quite huge the last weeks, as I am in the middle of building a new house, and that consume ALL of my sparetime. Luckily I have some easier days ahead now, and the zwitter definitely needs some attention again. When I broke off some weeks ago, the car was rollin', but brakes, wiring and some vital chassie parts were missing. Of course many body details still have to be taken care of. But after a long dark winter, the bright warm summernights ahead will suit me perfect. Still some rivers to cross, bringing a car back to life after 25 years.

Rollin' rollin' rollin'

2008-04-15T23:59:00.000-07:00

Well, I lie if I said it was no fun... to roll the car around the garage with no engine. With almost the correct wheel mounted, and suspension and steering all working. Like a child with his pedal-car =) The rear torsion springs has not been loaded for over 20 years, so it sits relatively high in the rear yet. But with an engine mounted and some kilometers down the road it should sit quite nice. The car was put on stands again after the garage boys were finnished playing with it, and fenders stripped off gain. Now it's time for painting the last details and clean everything up nicely. Another step in the ladder cleared =)

Brake power

2008-04-15T23:45:00.000-07:00

Of course it's tempting to think in the direction of disc brakes to get the car closer to modern technology. But that would probably spoil the total image of the car right now. So to keep drum brakes, I went for 65 T1 front brakes, the widest type for linkpin set up. In the rear I have used T3 5 stud brakes. Every piece except the drums and shields have been replaced with new parts.

The drums was machined to new finnish, and to fit the T1 axle. The latest brakeparts arrived from CIP1 yesterday, and was fitted last night. Still a little curious to how the handbrake will work on the T3 set up.

Rollin'

2008-04-09T23:26:00.000-07:00

There has not been to much update on this blog lately. I've mostly been working on details for the car, that will be revealed when the car is driving. Building up for a surprise moment? In a way it's fun to show up in the spring with a car no one has seen before. My biggest consern these days is the time aviable to finish the car. I'm about to reach a critical stage in building my family a new house, and that sucks up a lot of time. But the main goal, given the limited time for VW these days, the car will be rooling at the end of april. The chassie is almost complete, and fitting brake parts and bleeding brakes should make it ready. The bodywork is mainly done, and a finishing coat of color is left to do. The engine will be fitted in early may, and hopefully with some "tuning" of the whole car, it will roll it's maiden voyage to Sweden in early june. I promise to release some more footage as we reach may, and the car is really coming together... The photo show what's going on these days =)

Making it go

2008-03-24T01:56:00.000-07:00

It's finally time for bolting things together for real, after several nights in the garage with bondo and sandpaper. I managed to use an evening in the garage again, and some pieces are coming together. I bolted the pan and bodyshell with all bolts, and it was a tricky task to make it all line up again. A pain in the ass to be modest. Then I installed the pedalcluster and mounted new wires and greased them up good. The shifter was mounted and adjusted, and felt right at home in the "climber". The next on the list was the main seal of the gearbox, and a new Sachs release bearing found it's way in. Removing the old stone hard seal was not as easy as expected. But it came loose without damage to the box =) Most of these functional parts are sourced through Wolfsburg West, and I must say they seem to be VERY good. Everything is "Made in Germany" and the quality feel is a lot different than Mexico and Brazil parts. Rounded off the night with installing new axelboots, also german with superb quality. Next things to do is bolt up rest of the chassie and get the last brakeparts to blasting and machining. The summer is coming way to fast....

Rear apron

2008-02-15T01:16:00.000-08:00

The apron is now welded up and the details for making it removable are done. I also managed to restore the rear body mountingbrackets and weld them into place yesterday night. Finnished off with grinding and etc primering the last surfaces on the car. I also started sorting out some wiring under the hood, as the car was transformed to turnsignals at some point. More pictures to follow... Just had to try out the correct taillight to see how it will turn out =)

Turning water into wine?

2008-01-26T08:13:00.000-08:00

Well, to be honest, the heart shaped lights have seen better days. But they seem to be the correct ones for the car, without holes in the bottom. That had to be when they were new, because mother nature has supplied some natural holes over the years. The ready painted light was in far worse condition than the untouched one on the left. I put it in citrus acid, and the solid material left was not much. I built the bottom part from epoxy-metal, and it looks to be solid and usable for the purpose. Then a little filler and primer, and that was it. Not nearly NOS, but they will serve their duty on the car for some more years.

The choice of tail lights

2008-01-23T23:41:00.000-08:00

Given the fact that my heart shaped lights were in bad condition, I settled with using 60 ies lights, because the car had them when I picked it up. They are parts of the cars history... Or... What a lot of bullshit =) Of course the car is going to have the OG lights. I just had to mount some straight fenders to fit the H-apron. The car has taken so much beating in the ass, that the fitting was a nightmare. The H-apron came fom a fairly straight 58, and should fit OK. But a lot of hammering, cutting and bending was the only way. I'm not sure if only the Wolfpart bumpebrakts will do. I think some large donor pieces from another car is needed for a 100% result. But for now, the "racer" will have a removable H-apron that fits "OK"(hopefully).