Another Aussie backyard shed...

[kai1980]

Work were struggling to find a job for me today so I took the opportunity of another day off!
I was supposed to be finishing off my fabrication table but I got side tracked by my overwhelming desire to build a hotrod!

So, I welded in a couple of braces to hold everything in place when I chop the roof etc.


I then set up a straight edge which runs parallel with the top of the windscreen, this will pretty much be my datum from here on in.



Next I got a bit excited and lopped the B pillars off...


Then, for no apparent reason, I started removing the lip that the old rear window seals sat on, welded up what was left and then ground it all back for a pretty reasonable finish.
This car will have no side windows whatsoever when I'm done... Just in case anyone was wondering.

 

[kai1980]

Got back in the shed after dinner, a rare occurrence for me...
Working on patching where the B pillar used to be.
I'm not a sheet metal worker, just making it up as I go based on what I've seen others do over the years.
This is my first curved piece and I'm very happy with how it's turning out!


Was going very well right up till I ran out of gas...haha.

 

[hewey]

Nice start. Like your idea about using a stock pan for rego too.

Might be worth adding some diagonal bracing before you chop the roof, will help keep things true when you do it

 

[kai1980]

i may still add more bracing. actually been scouring the net for pics to see what other people did...
i didn't have the guts to cut the A pillar yet anyway...haha... gotta work up to that!

 

[FYDStar]

Great stuff mate!! Real skills! A long way ( in all ways!) from scrabbling about outside under your first combi in Chester! Major shed envy especially as I don’t even have a drive! I am though getting a shed soon for my recording studio though it will be tiny 10ftx8ft which is still bigger than my back room I currently use!

 

[kai1980]

i have so few photos from back then...
here's a rare one of the bus on the road!


and here's a reminder of what we we're contending with!
that bus was absolutely rotten!

 

[kai1980]

Today I got brave and started really cutting!
First I made some brackets and welded the car to the table.
I cut 100mm from the A pillars, then started removing material from the C pillar to allow the roof to sag at the front.
Once it had sagged to approximately the right level I had to decide how much I want to shorten the rear quarter panel by...
I then marked out both rear quarters and cut them with a combination of angle grinder and reciprocating saw.
Now that I pushed it all back together and clamped it in place the new roof line is taking shape... I'm going to alter the angle of the windscreen, making it more vertical, which will bring the A pillars back into line.

 

[kai1980]

I had one too many pictures...
This shows how I have to angle the A pillars to line them up again...

 

[1/2 Cup]

kai1980 that is getting really brave, you have done well so far..

 

[kai1980]

thanks mate.
i'm pleased with how it's going so far... working off a set of non-existent plans in my mind...haha

 

[1/2 Cup]

thanks mate.
i'm pleased with how it's going so far... working off a set of non-existent plans in my mind...haha

Way to go..

 

[kai1980]

Had a productive Saturday night in the shed!
Carrying on progress on the volksrod.
I braced the roof, and cleaned up where I'd cut the rear quarter panels.

Then after a lot of measuring I started to tack the quarters back together. It took a bit of massaging in places, they're such a curved car nothing wanted to line up but I've got it pretty good.

Next I did more measuring on the windscreen, once I was happy I welded in a couple of braces there too.

And last I made up a template of the window shape, just another way to check things are equal both sides. At this stage it's very close, within a few mm...

Decided to stop at that point, the next step is to cut the A pillars and line them back up, I want some thinking time before I tackle that!! Haha

 

[1/2 Cup]

kai1980 doing well.

Your A pillars are going to be a challenge for sure

Regards

 

[Terrick down Under]

I can so elate to the amount of measuring and checking before you cut. Even to which side of the line....although the new cutting disks are super thin and minimal distortion. Keep going, I am interested to see how you tackle the vertical reconnection of the A pillar.

 

[kai1980]

I am interested to see how you tackle the vertical reconnection of the A pillar.

you and me both! haha
i stopped at that point because i knew i needed time to think/plan...
now, a few days later, i'm still no closer to knowing exactly how i'm gong to do it!
maybe by the weekend i'll have an idea so i can get on with it!

 

[Terrick down Under]

Have you got access to another set of A pillars, to practice on?

 

[kai1980]

not at the moment, a mate offered me some random bits and pieces, not sure what he has exactly, but i'll look into it i reckon...

 

[1/2 Cup]

not at the moment, a mate offered me some random bits and pieces, not sure what he has exactly, but i'll look into it i reckon...

kai1980 wise move..

 

[kai1980]

I spent a bit of time in the shed last night staring at it...
This is what I'm faced with:

I also did a lot of googling to see what other people have done. This photo seems to show exactly what I need to do!
I'll cut through everything but the rain gutter on the side of the pillar then clamp the gutter where it needs to be and fill whatever gaps I've left...

I will be adding plenty of extra material to the A pillar later on which will reinforce it and strengthen things up a lot...
Certainly sounds like some kind of plan to me! Not sure how much time I'll have this weekend though...

 

[scarab]

Hey Kai, I haven't been on here in ages and can't believe the progress you made on the shed but more importantly, loving your work on the volksrod.....keep it up mate!!

Paul

 

[kai1980]

thanks Paul!

 

[Grumblebum]

Cool, chopping up the bug. Is the body pretty solid ?

I've got to start stripping down my old 1970 fastback and see how far gone she is. If only I'd covered it when I stopped driving it 20 odd years ago

Sounds like Hare and Forbes might take a few more of your dollars yet

Cheers GB.

 

[kai1980]

the shell was very solid, it's had driver side heater channel replaced previously, and a couple of small repairs around that area which i'll tidy up in time, but the rest seem fairly original... apart from various coats of paint.
main thing is the bottoms of the pillars are solid which is one of the worst spots on earlier bugs!

and yes, hare and forbes will be taking money form me pretty regularly for years to come! hahaha

 

[kai1980]

I've had fun this weekend!
The plan was to sort out the A pillars... But... I decided to do my custom smooth dash instead...haha

To start with I cut out the majority of the dash panel.
Then made a CAD template (Cardboard Aided Design) and cut the new panel out of a sheet...


I had to extend the dash in the middle to accommodate the huge gauge I'm fitting.
I cut some bits off a spare dash I have to creat the shape, basically extending the area where the ash tray was forward.


Then after a bit of patchwork quilt welding I marked out the hole for the gauge and got cutting!


It still needs a little work here and there but I'm absolutely stoked with the way it's turned out so far!


Added a pic of the gauge for those who may have missed it earlier in the thread... I'll be putting the internals of a speedo inside it...

 

[1/2 Cup]

kai1980 done well this week end.

How are you going to tackle the pillars?

 

[kai1980]

still not 100% sure on the A pillars... i'll have to just shut my eyes and start cutting one day! haha

 

[kai1980]

After a couple of weeks with no time to even get into the shed today was the day I finally started fixing the A pillars on the bug.
As expected, this proved to be a much more complex problem than I had hoped.
After about six hours I have one pillar mostly back together, it ended up consisting of around five separate prices to get everything lined up, and I still need to add at least a couple more bits to the inside before it's done!
The overall result is looking like what I had in mind though, I wanted my windscreen to be near vertical, one of the things that makes traditional hotrods look so good, 32 ford's etc...
The pic gives a bit of a comparison, the bug before I started messing with the roof and how it sits now...

Next will be to do the same to the other A pillar, and make sure everything has worked out equal!

 

[Terrick down Under]

Great, now you have a template for the other side. The window channels in the door frames are fun...…..

 

[1/2 Cup]

kai1980 done well.

How are you going to go with a new windscreen??

 

[kai1980]

this car has been an inspiration for me since i first saw it:


i'll be using the top, window frame, area of the doors to brace the roof and A pillars, and smoothing the tops of the doors.
i don't intend to have any side glass at all.

the windscreen ought to be relatively easy. it's flat. so i'll make a template and have somebody cut it out for me.
i do intend for the windscreen to open like the safari windows on an old splitscreen kombi. i'll hopefully be able to make my own frame for that...

 

[1/2 Cup]

this car has been an inspiration for me since i first saw it:


i'll be using the top, window frame, area of the doors to brace the roof and A pillars, and smoothing the tops of the doors.
i don't intend to have any side glass at all.

the windscreen ought to be relatively easy. it's flat. so i'll make a template and have somebody cut it out for me.
i do intend for the windscreen to open like the safari windows on an old splitscreen kombi. i'll hopefully be able to make my own frame for that...

kai1980 sweet..

 

[hewey]

Blue bug has some nice features

 

[kai1980]

the blue bug is called 'billabug'
it was built around 25-30 years ago in the UK, and restored maybe 10-15 years ago i think?
it's crazy, one of those standout cars of a generation!

 

[kai1980]

Great, now you have a template for the other side. The window channels in the door frames are fun...…..

Not wrong about the template...

I decided to cast a spell, wave a magic wand, and see if the pillars would sort themselves out...

After that failure I decided to just do it myself.
This time I took a few progress shots...

And here's the (almost) finished windscreen aperture, not a crazy chop but certainly noticeable!

Still plenty to do, the second pillar is close but not exactly where I want it yet, and both pillars need a lot of finishing off...

 

[1/2 Cup]

kai1980 progressing well.

 

[kai1980]

It's been a while between updates...
Not because nothing has been happening, more because I've been making an incredible mess so nothing looks very photogenic...
I have also been working on some brace bars for my friend's veedub type 3 notchback.
He sourced the materials and hardware, we researched similar kits online and made our own version of it. Completely bolt in, nothing gets welded directly to the car!
Here's a few pics, including the mock-up, it's all painted ready to go back in now.


Today I bit the bullet and decided to have a big clean up in the shed!
Some before/during/after:


Once I had tidied up it was time to start making new mess! Figured I'd start by trying to finish the metal fabrication table I started building rather a long time ago!
Not much left to do on it after today... I'll actually be able to tick something off the list soon!!!

 

[1/2 Cup]

kai1980, thanks for the update.

Great work on the braces.

A clean up is always welcome.

 

[kai1980]

Got the top on my metal fabrication table finally.
I had to shim up the three slats to get them as flat as possible, once that was done I welded them on.
It's not perfect but it's going to be pretty sturdy and with the 50mm gap between slats should be very easy to clamp just about anything down.
I have considered drilling holes like those fixture point tables, but I'll see how this goes for now, can always modify it later.

Anyway, the last thing I wanted to do was give the top a nice sand down, I spent 45 Min. Searching for my box of assorted sand paper and then gave up! Hahaha

 

[1/2 Cup]

kai1980 your table really looks the goods, once you have finished sanding it give the top the occasional wipe over with Kero..

 

[kai1980]

will kero keep the surface rust at bay? i was thinking it'll need something!