tunnel to pan connection

johnboy wrote:
> "Remco" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>
> > Connecticut -- Fairfield county, near the LI sound: Terrible area when
> > it comes to snow, sleet, ice, rain and salt being used here and there.
>
> I've lived there many years ago. It was pretty then.


It still is pretty, perhaps a little busier (NYC immigrants) since you
left, if that was over a decade ago. Many people commuting to NYC made
i95/Merrit parkway a daily nightmare.
I work close and often telecommute so like it here -- it is just not a
great climate for cars.


>
> > Sjeesh, if we just give up because something is hard, we would have
> > never put anyone on the moon nor communicate by means of PCs as we now
> > take for granted, for that matter
>
> Heh. Resurrecting a Bug from a pile of iron oxide ain't exactly pioneering
> work.
>
> Think of how much you are willing to spend, and then see how much of that
> might be obviated by getting a better start.

No, I wouldn't exactly consider this pioneering work either. So we
agree it isn't particularly difficult, but just hard work?

It isn't exactly a "pile" of iron oxide either (but maybe our
definitions are different).
It has some pockets of rust, as far as I can see and that's exactly
what I was trying to establish:

The pans are definitely bad - some holes under the pedal cluster and
under the battery. I guess one could just replace two quarter pans, but
I might as well replace both sides while I am here. Unless I find that
the other side of the pans are magically in good shape, that's what
will be done.
Somehow the lip of the tunnel has some separated welds on the driver's
side near the pedal cluster - most the material seems to still be
intact, after some more probing around. Damage is superficial. Maybe it
was a manufacturing defect of sorts. It looks like it can just be
rewelded without too much trouble.
Both heater channels need to be replaced, definitely.
The driver side seems to be the worst off as just under the bottom door
hinge part of the weld is gone as well -- it looks like about 1.5"
needs to be cut out. I'll need to make or buy something that works
there.
One rusted through spot (about 2"x2") just above the driver's side rear
fender that will need to be cut out and replaced - below all fenders
everything looks fine, strangely enough.
Some small superficial surface rust spots near the passenger headlight
and a small spot on the roof.
I have not taken the engine out to see what's going on in the engine
compartment. Will do that soon and then also remove the body.

Unless you are willing to sell me a much better start for a good price,
this seems to be a good way to go for me.

"John Willis" > wrote in message


> As most who read here know, building a car isn't like assembling a
> model. Once again, John Henry (http://www.thebugshop.org/) tells the
> story well. Even he, after finishing the '57, said he wouldn't do it
> again, and although he's bought other VWs, he's stayed true to his
> word. It is a big undertaking for a novice. I'm not exactly a novice
> and I don't want to do a body off restoration, especially when the '59
> we have could be had, just a couple of hundred miles away, needing
> very little additional work, for well under what anyone will spend to
> build up a rotted out Beetle.
>

not the best example, John.... John H had very little "cash" in that car,
compared to what it would take to buy it....and it seems some of the folks
out there/here enjoy the "journey" as much as the destination....my time is
valuable to me, but it is a small price to pay to complete a project and
*know* what has *really* been done(as you don't always know when buying) and
that it has been done *right*....and as you state, this is just another
opinion...

"Tim Rogers" > wrote in message newsYiqe.5537

I
> just happened to be browsing RAMVA at the very moment that Earle posted
> that
> he wanted to sell his bug. My email went back to him in less than a minute
> and he kept his word to me about letting me have it even though it took at
> least a few months for me to get my act together and fly out to Colorado.
> Olde Hippie or not, Earle Horton is a great guy who stands by his word.
> There were at least a few others here who wished that they had been online
> at the right moment that day when he posted that he was getting out of the
> hobby.
>
>


i too was online when he posted his "rant" about getting out of all things
vw and that the first person to pony up the bucks(little bucks at that)
could come get the bug.....but, despite its condition, when compared
"pricewise" it would have been way more "expensive" for me to do as you did,
than it would be for me to even repair a bug that needed the entire
bottom..this thread started over a car that needs pans and chanels, and some
of the doorpost...these are relatively simple repairs, and the parts are
cheap and readily available...don't know why everyone is making such an
issue of it....

"Remco" > wrote in message
oups.com...

{... about fairfield...}

If you know any Jalberts, they are probably my family.

> The pans are definitely bad - some holes under the pedal cluster and
> under the battery. I guess one could just replace two quarter pans, but
> I might as well replace both sides while I am here. Unless I find that
> the other side of the pans are magically in good shape, that's what
> will be done.

Honest, I am not trying to be the doom and gloom guy, but I'd not be
surprised if you needed more parts. Check the framehead, for example.

> Somehow the lip of the tunnel has some separated welds on the driver's
> side near the pedal cluster - most the material seems to still be
> intact, after some more probing around. Damage is superficial. Maybe it
> was a manufacturing defect of sorts.

It's a damp trap. Also, if the drain tube from the fresh air vent in front
of the windshield is missing or broken, rainwater leaks in and drains into
the foot area.

> Unless you are willing to sell me a much better start for a good price,
> this seems to be a good way to go for me.

I'd like to be able to afford to sell you my clean '72. I'm sure you would
appreciate it. Motivation on my part is piqued - just got a partial medical
bill for a bit over $19,000. Lets see how it goes.

On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 16:39:52 -0400, "Joey Tribiani" >
scribbled this interesting note:

>
>"John Willis" > wrote in message
>
>
>> As most who read here know, building a car isn't like assembling a
>> model. Once again, John Henry (http://www.thebugshop.org/) tells the
>> story well. Even he, after finishing the '57, said he wouldn't do it
>> again, and although he's bought other VWs, he's stayed true to his
>> word. It is a big undertaking for a novice. I'm not exactly a novice
>> and I don't want to do a body off restoration, especially when the '59
>> we have could be had, just a couple of hundred miles away, needing
>> very little additional work, for well under what anyone will spend to
>> build up a rotted out Beetle.
>>
>
>not the best example, John.... John H had very little "cash" in that car,
>compared to what it would take to buy it....and it seems some of the folks
>out there/here enjoy the "journey" as much as the destination....my time is
>valuable to me, but it is a small price to pay to complete a project and
>*know* what has *really* been done(as you don't always know when buying) and
>that it has been done *right*....and as you state, this is just another
>opinion...
>

Yet you make the point perfectly since for you it is worthwhile. You
ain't no novice, if I may say so. And even if you enjoy the activity
of building a car, then you must admit that the finished product will
be better if you start with a better car as opposed to a rusted out
shell.


--
John Willis
(Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

On 10 Jun 2005 13:16:48 -0700, "Remco" > scribbled
this interesting note:

>Unless you are willing to sell me a much better start for a good price,
>this seems to be a good way to go for me.

How far are you willing to travel and can you transport it back home
once you get here...I mean there?


--
John Willis
(Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

"John Willis" > wrote in message

.. And even if you enjoy the activity
> of building a car, then you must admit that the finished product will
> be better if you start with a better car as opposed to a rusted out
> shell.
>

well that depends on the definition of "better" and "rusted out"...they do
vary widely...of course i'm the one that stated "fixing" a car that has been
baja'd is no biggie....i was severely beated here for that...but i still
believe it...LOL.... in the terms of "better" i feel it is "better" when i
do it myself, and *know* all is well....whether it be an engine or heater
chanels....can't exactly see *inside* either to know all is well, and they
can seem perfect from the outside....at this point all of the vw type 1's
imported(legally) into the US are old....and most suffer from rust....fixing
these cars, enthusiasts seem to go the extra mile to see to it that they
last longer the second time than they did the first time....things like
por15 and undercoating are standard operating procedure for most cars that
have undergone reconstructive rust repair....so, really, NO i don't
personally feel (necessarily) that a "project" will be "better" if you start
with a 'better" car that is really of unknown condition in places you can't
see....

"Joey Tribiani" > wrote in message news:YXmqe.80771$sy6.39269@lakeread04...
>
> .........snip...............but, despite its condition, when compared
> "pricewise" it would have been way more "expensive" for me to do as you did,
> than it would be for me to even repair a bug that needed the entire
> bottom.
>
>

.............That bug was offered at $2200 with a low mileage Gene Berg 1679 that was by itself worth double the price. It was professionally painted a few years earlier and was/is a solid rust free bug. With the extra $500 for flying out there and then driving it 2000 mi. back to NY, I came out way ahead of where I would have been by doing all of that work myself.

BTW.........it still doesn't drip or burn any oil.

"Tim Rogers" > wrote in message ...

............That bug was offered at $2200 with a low mileage Gene Berg 1679 that was by itself worth double the price. It was professionally painted a few years earlier and was/is a solid rust free bug. With the extra $500 for flying out there and then driving it 2000 mi. back to NY, I came out way ahead of where I would have been by doing all of that work myself.

BTW.........it still doesn't drip or burn any oil.


Add in another 1500 bucks on top of that for missed work...i am self employed...no vacation pay, no sickleave, no nothing....plus a "spur of the moment" trip like that would have been basically impossible for *me*....and i'd *much* rather do it myself...but that is just me, i feel everyone should do what they want or what is best for them...ya know?

Yes,part(most?) of the fun should be in the resurrecting.The less rust is
best but it is only metal that can be replaced if one is up to it.
"Michael Cecil" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 12:36:00 GMT, "Tim Rogers" > wrote:
>
>>"John Willis" > wrote in message
. ..
>>>
>>> I concur.
>>>
>>.................I don't know where Remco lives but there is a real
>>scarcity
>>of solid, rot-free bugs in the NE and upper midwest regions of the US.
>>What
>>few are out there are too expensive unless you want to take out a bank
>>loan.
>>I'm not saying that it's a good idea to spend a tremendous amount of time
>>and money on a seventies era bug but if he's made the decision to go ahead
>>with this project, why should any of us be concerned? I had to spend four
>>days and about $500 in traveling expenses to bring my '77 back to NY from
>>Colorado and if I didn't know and trust the seller, I don't think that I
>>would have done it. Without traveling across the country inorder to get a
>>solid bug, I would be faced with this same dilemma of whether to try to
>>resurrect a rotted-out bug myself.
>
> Anyhow, isn't part of the fun doing the resurrecting?
>
> --
> Michael Cecil
> http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/
> http://home.comcast.net/~safehex/