The Ragtop Express

[TPB_Karl]

My first thread on this forum!
Be gentle (Or don't. Whatever floats your goat)

For this project I will conduct a small experiment by sharing my experience in a new format for me, which is video. I'll film while I work on the project and compile as a film series consisting of episodes. In the meantime, I will post what is happening in "real time" here on the forum and on Instagram. The idea is to be able to exchange information and dialogue with you during the course of the project. Then present each "phase" of the build via a longer Youtube video. I will link to all videos in this post and continuously in the thread.

(Episode 1)

[TPB_Karl]

The Ragtop Express, is my 30th birthday present to myself. A -63 ragtop in L87 Pearl White.
The plan for this is two phases. Since the car has been sitting in a barn since the late 70s, the first stage is to get it drivable and inspected so i can get out and drive it. After riding hunched over in a tubbed splitbus, I'm looking forward to driving in a "regular" car as well.

The name "Express" comes from the wasp stickers on the car. It is the logo of a swedish newspaper called Expressen.

Stage two will consist of the car being torn apart into molecules and will be revived as something Cal-look inspired. Big engine, fitting wheels, raked stance and shiny paint.

The first step during delivery in March was to wash off all the mud from the transport.






And this is what the bug looks like! The ammount of rust isnt awful Apart from the wings/fenders..







The interior is definitely salvageable. I look forward to cleaning it!

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Your "Wasp/Bug" stickers look like fun and a start in the right direction. I have seen worse end up being "top of the line" but that does mean a lot of work ahead.

"Ready, set... go!

Lee

[TPB_Karl]

I've collected a few parts for the build, I think I'll share on a regular basis, when stuff comes in.
Floor pan repair section, for the driver's side floor as there are a couple of decent rust holes there. (This will be a quick fix as the entire pan halves will most likely be replaced later for some high quality ones..




Pre-62 tail lights. The first bastardization.. I'd like some T-bars and I think the smaller taillights fits better than the bigger ones which would be correct for my model year.
And im sure i'll manage to piss someone off by it.





Gotta keep a cam on the shelf! I think the FK-8 will suit my purpose.





And ONE Weber IDF 44. Made in Bologna of course. Currently on a mission of finding another one. well. At least within a few years..





A couple of expensive bits from the US, A CNC-milled POM shifter bushing and an aluminium shift coupler. Some really nice looking pieces!

[Ol'fogasaurus]

There are at least 2 sources for the floors of a Beetle, one is stronger (thicker) than the other. I have used both and the difference is between a floor and A FLOOR.

For a quick temporary fix with a body still in use the thinner one should do the job OK (not sure about the "Rag Top" setup to be honest as the soft top does not spread loads like a metal top would/should). If the rest of the floor is OK then the temp fix should be OK (I still think in "rougher use" terms).

Lee

[TPB_Karl]

There are at least 2 sources for the floors of a Beetle, one is stronger (thicker) than the other. I have used both and the difference is between a floor and A FLOOR.

For a quick temporary fix with a body still in use the thinner one should do the job OK (not sure about the "Rag Top" setup to be honest as the soft top does not spread loads like a metal top would/should). If the rest of the floor is OK then the temp fix should be OK (I still think in "rougher use" terms).

Lee

Yes, I'll go with the Wolfsburg West 1,25 mm floorpans later on.
Some more parts have arrived! While ordering parts for the bus, i included some parts for the express.

Sheet metal for the spare wheel well, as mine has disintegrated:





Renovation kit for the carburettor and gasket kit for the engine.





A few little things like rubber bumper bracket seals and red tail light lenses (The cheap ones).

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Since you are using the "millimeter" dimensioning, I am assuming you are on a different continent than I am. I am just North of Seattle in the state of Washington.

Good parts are getting harder and harder to find and good new replacement parts are also getting hard to find here.

DSC00646.JPG

This is how far down the line I had to go with both of my buggies. I made the rotisserie out of two engine stands. There is a bunch of pots of this that you can search for.

Copy of DSC02268.jpg

This is what I do with my blue buggy. The black on is still being built.

Stick with it as the end results are worth it.

Lee

[TPB_Karl]

That's right, im in sweden. There's still alot of VW-parts laying around here. However buying parts from the US is very expensive because of shipping, import fees and taxes.. Which will make engine and transmission the most expensive pieces of the build.

As of now im waiting for a few pictures of a complete set of used OG fenders supposedly in decent condition.

I'll definetly do the engine stand rotisserie!

Buggy looks good! Thank you for reading and commenting

[Ol'fogasaurus]

On the picture of the rotisserie, we live on a fairly steep hill, and it rains here a lot. On big rain days water can come over the cement entrance to the garage so there is a drain area that the pan was sitting on plus... the front of the pan, where the front beam mount has a bult-in 12-degree angle.

In the rear trans mount, there is a 12-degree angle there too. With the engine and trans mounted the deflection to the mount brings things down to parallel (or is supposed to). Something I learned after modifying the 2 engine rotisseries to make the pan rotisserie. This is why you see the one wheel up in the air. It could be fixed but I think it would be a lot of work unless you are going very slow on the rebuild.

You can deal with it after doing the mods (cut a wedge to straighten the post up), but during the rotation you might have to lift things up a bit as you get into the 90-degree part of the rotation.

passenger side 006 (2).jpg

I didn't find it being that much extra work but the ability to tip the pan while sitting vs. standing for long periods of time made it worth it. I did some other things to the pan floors on the underside of them which the ability to 90-degree rotation was a lot of help. Also (a seemingly silly thing) in a tight spot, the wheels allowed me to move the pan outdoors, rotate it the 90-degrees then back in to continue working. Sometimes it takes a while to figure obvious things out . The first time I did it, I did it without thinking about it then when done... what a surprise .

There are some other things I did to handle the pan after the axles (and wheels) were added again allowing me to rotate the pan around in the garage.

Lee

[TPB_Karl]

Another boring post with parts for the future. At least this time they're some decent pieces!

I scored some Gene Berg straight cut cam gears for a great price. The kit was missing the bolts, but that's easily sorted.




I WON a Shockwave distributor from David Ruiz (Volkstroke) in a giveaway. Looks very similar to CB's Magnaspark 2 distributor. Perhaps not completely unexpected..
The distributor is most welcome in the pile of parts for the ragtop. I had plans to use a 123-distributor since looks more like a 009 or 010 from a distance and is bluetooth programmable.
However with the shockwave i might lock out the advance use an MSD-box to control the ignition (rev limiter and such). Will have to do some more research on that until it's time for the engine build.



I have more parts coming in soon and winter is not far away. (sort of)
Until next time!

[AdminSteve]

Nice post, keep them coming and good luck on your build.

Will be watching,
AdminSteve

[TPB_Karl]

Nice post, keep them coming and good luck on your build.

Will be watching,
AdminSteve

Thank you!


More purchases! This time it's both necessary and a some fun stuff!

Split boots for the axle tubes as the existing ones are quite crusty. These will be more or less temporary until the car gets a proper gearbox built. Then i'll use the non-split ones.





E-brake boot as the original is dry and has cracked open.





Oteva 75SC Dual valve springs (Made in Sweden), bought these from Lundgren at SCC. Suitable for the future engine build.





Empi Eliminator shifter and a VDM steering wheel ;D





The boot has come apart right at the lever but I will try to glue it together with something suitable.




Next time I'll have to buy some necessary stuff like brake parts instead of shiny stuff.. Ciao!

[Piledriver]

Nice score!

[V8Nate]

Nice post, keep them coming and good luck on your build.

Will be watching,
AdminSteve

Thank you!


More purchases! This time it's both necessary and a some fun stuff!

Split boots for the axle tubes as the existing ones are quite crusty. These will be more or less temporary until the car gets a proper gearbox built. Then i'll use the non-split ones.





E-brake boot as the original is dry and has cracked open.





Oteva 75SC Dual valve springs (Made in Sweden), bought these from Lundgren at SCC. Suitable for the future engine build.





Empi Eliminator shifter and a VDM steering wheel ;D





The boot has come apart right at the lever but I will try to glue it together with something suitable.




Next time I'll have to buy some necessary stuff like brake parts instead of shiny stuff.. Ciao!

I love both of my eliminator shifters they work great!

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

[TPB_Karl]

Some pictures from the finding of this car. (In lack of purchases..) I did not find this bug but i've been givet some pictures of the rescue.

It has been "indoors" since the late '70s but there was no floor. Just dirt, which i assume is why the spare wheel well is rotted aswell as parts of the pan.