Author Topic: the '55 Ragtop.....are we done yet?  (Read 101057 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline josh

  • *
  • Posts: 2248
  • Karma: -17
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #60 on: April 25, 2008, 10:26:36 AM »
thanks man havin' fun.

got a shat load of stuff bead blasted yesterday, new rear quarter sections, all the interior bits like steering columb, glovie/ash tray doors, hinges, tail light housings on and on. will be epoxy priming them tonight.

bought a pair of pre 55 front seats on thesamba and they should be here today..........things are happening ;D 
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Russ

Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #61 on: April 25, 2008, 10:48:07 AM »
bought a pair of pre 55 front seats on thesamba and they should be here today..........things are happening ;D 
ouch thats gotta hurt

Offline josh

  • *
  • Posts: 2248
  • Karma: -17
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #62 on: April 25, 2008, 01:43:48 PM »
actually not that bad....... $350 shipped from illinois i think

shitty part is I had just picked up a set of 56's from Gary at the swap ::)........anyone need a set of mint frames and new wolfsburg horsehair pads??
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline Geoff

  • *
  • Posts: 8394
  • Karma: 441
    • http://airspeedparts.com
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #63 on: April 30, 2008, 08:11:35 AM »
Come on, It's been like 4 day's since an update ;D

Offline Trevor P

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 942
  • Karma: 3
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #64 on: April 30, 2008, 11:20:59 AM »
Love the roller pedal. 8)
Is that machined out of a chunk of AL or is it a roller from something else?
'53 Barndoor single cab
'57 Cal-look oval 2332cc / Berg 5
'70 911T

Offline josh

  • *
  • Posts: 2248
  • Karma: -17
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #65 on: April 30, 2008, 08:50:11 PM »
Come on, It's been like 4 day's since an update ;D

OKOK ;D

I got the pair of pre 55 front seats and ripped the old OE covers off them and to my dissapointment the square thin frame around the springs are paper thin from years and years of getting wet and the pads holding moisture in there, couple are broke in half >:(
By the time I got them to my door I paid a little over $400 for the set but the guy I bought them off of is a super stand up dude.....he has offered to refund me the entire $366 I paid him :o :o :o :o(that includes the $66 out of his pocket for UPS shipping to Clipper Cargo!!!!) Talk about character!! I couldn't be happier ;D

I think I may be able to salvage them with a lot of work but hey i'll have the right early seats NOT HONDA SEATS  ::)
(I know you're lurking Steve-O ;))
found a set of pan seat tracks to weld into the 57's pan....they are different. should see them soon.

Oh and yes Trevor that roller started as a big hunk of alum round stock, turned down and machined on my lathe ;D

Other than that I started working on the doors and trimmed the rear quarters a bit and clamped them over the existing ones to have a look see. hope to take a week off work soon and dive in and start cuttin :-X

STAY TUNED KIDS
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline steveo_32

  • Gonna'own em all one day!
  • *
  • Posts: 2049
  • Karma: 3
  • Waz up
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #66 on: May 02, 2008, 10:27:26 PM »
Dude, It would sooooooo work.

Got your arms for ya, I'll send via Lordco.

1958 Samba 23 Window
1963 Ghia
1965 type 3 wago
1971 KG14 convert
Looking for a barn find oval!! something un-screwed with(or split)

Offline josh

  • *
  • Posts: 2248
  • Karma: -17
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #67 on: May 05, 2008, 09:41:26 AM »
Dude, It would sooooooo work.

Got your arms for ya, I'll send via Lordco.



right on mang, throw my cell# on them.......588-7025

thanks
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline josh

  • *
  • Posts: 2248
  • Karma: -17
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #68 on: May 16, 2008, 01:39:25 PM »
little update....... finnished the crusty seat frames/springs and re-assembled them today ;D really happy with how they turned out after all the welding and making 3 rows of new springs (should have taken pics of that part, had to make a jig and hand bend spring wire to replace the rusted through ones that had no more sproing) one of the back rest frames was so bad I had to take a spare 56up frame and narrow/shorten it to get the right shape/contour to match. everything was bead blasted and powdercoated.......springs matte black and frames a cream colour that is very close to the factory light beige.

what I started with.........






















and now....




the top and bottom rows of spring are the ones I made......can't tell ;D











not bad for free seats ;D ;D ;D

back seat came with the car and was painted and re-uphostered but it was all gloss black and the bottom was already scratched up so did it at the same time.





they made the trip down to the storage room to patiently wait for me to finnish the rest of the car. I'm thinking have covers and panels sewn up in a pinstriped tan/brown cloth similar to Darrens 55.
« Last Edit: March 13, 2009, 08:24:47 AM by josh »
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Russ

Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #69 on: May 16, 2008, 02:03:08 PM »
wow...nice work Josh

Offline josh

  • *
  • Posts: 2248
  • Karma: -17
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #70 on: May 17, 2008, 05:28:05 PM »
thanks dood


finally finnished the black IDA's ;D









55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Russ

Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #71 on: May 17, 2008, 05:32:04 PM »
wow looks super good.
heard music through our radio for the first time today:)
it was awsome...you coming to the classic this year?ever?
the seats look good glad you were able to salvage them

Offline josh

  • *
  • Posts: 2248
  • Karma: -17
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #72 on: May 17, 2008, 09:57:45 PM »
wow looks super good.
heard music through our radio for the first time today:)
it was awsome...you coming to the classic this year?ever?
the seats look good glad you were able to salvage them


right on man how was the sound over the 2L??

I wish :'(no classic for me this year...gotta goal to work on next year and have the car ready. lots a work ahead we'll see.


55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline josh

  • *
  • Posts: 2248
  • Karma: -17
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #73 on: May 19, 2008, 09:02:23 PM »
NO TURNING BACK NOW!!!!!!





Lots of careful measuring, scribing and inching up on the lines got the gaps nice and tight










Got a little more fine tuning to do and will start tacking it in then off to the next side........progress ;D
« Last Edit: May 19, 2008, 09:11:22 PM by josh »
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline vanBoven

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 175
  • Karma: 0
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #74 on: May 19, 2008, 11:25:12 PM »
nice work, lovin the engine too.
btw if you need that engine ummmm just tested you know make sure everything is good before it goes in the 54 i don't mind mmhmm testing it for you :D and i won't charge you 8) haha jk i have barley drivin the 2017 from your 63. all i know is when i put the pedal down in 3rd the car started goin all over the place, need to do some work to the front end ;) but it was great, felt like sooo much power, can't wait to wind er out.  keep it up man.

o and when the car is on the road i will stop by and let you drive it.

Offline josh

  • *
  • Posts: 2248
  • Karma: -17
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #75 on: May 20, 2008, 09:28:47 AM »
nice work, lovin the engine too.
btw if you need that engine ummmm just tested you know make sure everything is good before it goes in the 54 i don't mind mmhmm testing it for you :D and i won't charge you 8) haha jk i have barley drivin the 2017 from your 63. all i know is when i put the pedal down in 3rd the car started goin all over the place, need to do some work to the front end ;) but it was great, felt like sooo much power, can't wait to wind er out.  keep it up man.

o and when the car is on the road i will stop by and let you drive it.


thanks for the testing offer but she's already broken in and ready to go ;) only thing I changed was the shroud from the scat to the DTM.

go easy on your new car and get use to the power SLOWLY trust me ::)

for sure bring it by when you get it on the road, i'd love to see it.

55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline vanBoven

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 175
  • Karma: 0
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #76 on: May 20, 2008, 07:03:34 PM »
motor already been through a crash test :o   jk i will but it will be so temting too just floor it ;D

Offline josh

  • *
  • Posts: 2248
  • Karma: -17
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #77 on: May 20, 2008, 07:53:40 PM »
motor already been through a crash test :o   jk i will but it will be so temting too just floor it ;D

you bet ;D
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline josh

  • *
  • Posts: 2248
  • Karma: -17
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #78 on: May 21, 2008, 07:44:55 PM »
got the pass side rear quarter mostly welded in, really pleased with the way it turned out. will barely need any filler on the seams......a far cry from what I started with ::)

will upload some pics tomorrow
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline josh

  • *
  • Posts: 2248
  • Karma: -17
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #79 on: May 26, 2008, 03:12:07 PM »
progress.......

connect the dots






finnished welding up the pass side rear quarter and started dressing the seams....









re worked the flange for the removeable rear apron



final fitting to check for gaps..... fit NICE ;D



Now its onto the drivers side which should go a bit quicker now that my confidence is up....it was a little scary making that first cut :-[

Looks like I will be putting new heater channels in too cause low and behold these ones were done half ass....welded in too high and then when they went to put the doors on, they hit the channels and more cutting smashing and welding followed by a healthy dose of mud ::)

gonna try and get my hands on some good donor channels and modify them to be like real 55's. not only for the proper fit but so I can say the car is 100% german (not original to this car 8)) steel.
« Last Edit: May 26, 2008, 03:20:59 PM by josh »
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline vanBoven

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 175
  • Karma: 0
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #80 on: May 26, 2008, 09:37:03 PM »
nice work man, i see something in your garage i want i will be in there in 45 mins ;D  jk i hope i am done buying parts off you and ww and shit cause i am getting broke :D

Offline josh

  • *
  • Posts: 2248
  • Karma: -17
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #81 on: July 27, 2008, 03:38:43 PM »
Soo been a while. Project time lacking the last couple months. I switched back to dayshift at work and now I don't get my 2-3 hrs every day of garage time while the little one is napping :'(

Got my LED tail lights almost done, really hard to get a pic of them lit up but here's a taste.



have to upload the others soon.

The last couple days i've been stripping parts of a front clip I bought from Mowser, got the pass side quarter all drilled out and starting to do a couple mods to it so it looks right on the oval (was from a 60 I think)

The speed i'm going the car might be ready for GCVWS................................................................2012 ::)
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline Herrlowlight

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 524
  • Karma: 0
  • OldBusBoy
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #82 on: July 28, 2008, 11:03:28 AM »
I'll put my hand up for a set of those LED taillight set-ups. Are you going to make anymore?
1968 912
1958 Kombi

Offline josh

  • *
  • Posts: 2248
  • Karma: -17
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #83 on: July 28, 2008, 12:13:07 PM »
not too likely, they were very very labour intensive!!

i'd be happy to share some how to tho 8)
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline josh

  • *
  • Posts: 2248
  • Karma: -17
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #84 on: July 28, 2008, 12:55:55 PM »
couple more shots of the hearts ;D









« Last Edit: July 28, 2008, 01:08:21 PM by josh »
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline josh

  • *
  • Posts: 2248
  • Karma: -17
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #85 on: August 07, 2008, 09:06:48 PM »
Took this week off to build a shed and clean the garage ::) should be a little easier to work now ;D






here's the pass side quarter from todd, all ready to go. still might graft in the wheel arch from mine to make it right.






new shiny bitz.........Jamar 4 pot rear disks (thanks wayne ;)) should slow it down better than the old drums. just gotta figure out something for an e-brake.



picked up an old pan the other day to use as the base for a stand/welding jig/rotisery instead of saw horses. just need to fab up some brackets and I can weld that together.
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline vanBoven

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 175
  • Karma: 0
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #86 on: August 08, 2008, 08:30:45 PM »
am i just dreaming or is the shop that clean ;D

Offline Mike Scott

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 727
  • Karma: 0
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #87 on: September 15, 2008, 11:09:36 AM »
Josh,

Thought be interested, stealth motor on the frid for sale on the samba...... dont care much for the car but the motor looks pretty good


Offline josh

  • *
  • Posts: 2248
  • Karma: -17
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #88 on: September 16, 2008, 12:40:00 PM »
hey mike, can't see the pic, just a little box with a red X, might be my work firewall
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline silas

  • *
  • Posts: 6822
  • Karma: 20
    • Some cool videos...Check them out!!
Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #89 on: September 16, 2008, 08:33:07 PM »
hey mike, can't see the pic, just a little box with a red X, might be my work firewall

ditto...all i see is the box with the red x.

but if you right click that box, click properties, highlight the adress that shows up in the pop up and right click it, copy it, hit ok and paste it in your search engine you come up with this... ;D

http://bouncebus.smugmug.com/gallery/5944774_NcAG7#370445652_Hs8Jj

sweet lookin motor with some badass black idas!