Gave the anti roll bar and rear gearbox mount a coat of paint. God that ARB is a tiddly thing. Might have to go for an uprated bar.
Time for another pointless piccy? Think i'll etch prime it and paint it silver. Not sure if i should open it up and see what the inside is like and if theres any oil or grease left in there. It turns OK and doesn't make any grating noises so something is lubricating it.
Gave the front 1/4 repair another skim of filler. Couple of wee spots needing welding at the bottom of the rear 1/4 panels where the engine lid seals down onto. Bumper mounts are both fine, with just a little surface rust. Makes a change finding something thats still solid. Axle tubes need wire brushing and painting still.
Flying? I'm slower than a tortoise running through molasses wearing peanut butter shoes. My shell needs a few more little holes welding up in the boot floor (which were caused by water leaking though the window seal and soaking the carpet underlay), a couple of holes in the end of the engine bay side panels and the Hookys engine bay corners welding in and it'll be ready for paint i think. Can't afford the paint though (or the equipment to spray it with) but ho hum. Chassis still needs naps hat replaced, a new framehead bottom plate and some repairs where the beam mounts to, plus a couple of bits of floor but its getting there. I though the engine had masses of endfloat but then i found a stack of shims on the bench so i'm praying i just left them out when i refitted the flywheel.
Gave the gearbox a couple of coats of etch primer. Had a bit of a tidyup again but the car still looks like a tip.
Gave the gearbox a coat of metallic silver enamel. Just need some black for the axle tubes and spring plates now.
I'll give it a going over with the finger grinder to get back to bare metal, though the starters studs and mounting bolts should create a good enough connection. Spent a good 1/2 hour this afternoon annoying the neighbours cleaning the crud off the front beam to make it ready for some rust cure and a coat of bonda primer and black gloss enamel. Really happy with how solid it still is for something i bought nearly 20 years ago. Still needs the steering stops and steering dampner mount welding on when i can figure out which carrier bag (or decomposed pile of shredded plastic) they are in in the shed.
Its getting there anyway. Always a nice feeling finding something thats not rusted. Still not found the steering stops or damper mount. God knows what happened to them. I just know that if i build them myself they'll turn up minutes after i finish. Spent the day shredding hedge trimmings so now having a pint or two of homebrew. Damn that stuffs strong.
Its been a day of discoveries today. I finally found the steering stops i was after. Unfortunately its rusty and missing the captive nut on one hole. Looks like i'll have to make something instead. I found a bag of 6 beetle door handles, two different types, though the ones that were actually off my beetle have the worst chrome of the lot. I also found a steering box with very little wear and no corrosion on the casing. Absolutely no idea where it came from but it'll get a coat of back enamel to give it some shine anyway. Wish i'd found it before i painted the other more worn one.
