Rear Brakes

Next up was to fabricate a bracket that can be used to hold the rear brake lines in place. Remember, the CB Performance rear disc brakes came with hard lines all the way to the caliper. I used a hard line to the top of the trailing arm then a soft line the rest of the way so I can do a brake job and not have to disconnect the caliper. After 6 or 7 revs of the stamp made out of cardboard, here is the real thing.

It has now been welded to the top of the trailing arm where the rubber stop attaches. It turned out quite well. The bracket is very solid and should not have any problem holding the brake line in place. The brake lines have now been bled and the brake system is complete.

Rust Repair

There is not very much rust on this car at all, but when I rolled it up on its side, you can see there is a hole in the bottom of the driver side heater channel. The soft metal is almost truly contained in the bottom plate only, but there are some small pin holes in the side panel and the part under the back seat where the body attaches to the pan. None of it should be hard to fix.

I started by cutting the soft metal from the bottom and the side panels and cleaning the back side of the top panel. Once that was done, I sprayed the inside of the heater channel with a weld through primer to protect it all so I don't have this problem again in the future. Not that this car will ever be driven in the rain.

Finally, I cut a new side panel and a new bottom pane and welded them in place. To attach the bottom panel, I drilled a series of small holes along each of the 2 long edges and spot welded the panel in place. I then butt welded the 2 short edges to the existing metal on the car. I did not bother to put the ridges in the bottom panel since this is not a show car.

Rear Apron

I was finally able to get back to work on the bug this weekend. I started by rolling the body up on its side and finishing the rear apron. I filled in the exhaust cutouts on the heat shield and cleaned all the rust off the back side of the apron. I then sprayed everything with weld through primer and attached the shield to the back side of the apron.

Decklid

After taking a few weeks off, I was able to get back to working on the bug today. I decided to do some work on the body just for a change of pace. As I noted in an earlier post, the KSR lid I bought did not have the correct curve so I fixed that today. With the hinge strip removed the lid has very little rigidity so I started by welding it to the car to ensure it had the right shape. I then welded some 3/4" square tubing in the shape of an A to the skin of the lid. This held it in the correct shape after cutting it free from the car. I was then able to set the lid on the work bench and weld the hinge strip back in place. Once it was complete I cut the A frame from the skin and set it back in place. It turned out quite well. It's probably 95% correct and I should be able to just "convince" it the rest of the way.

Front Suspension

My goal for this weekend was to get the front end totally reassembled. I got the beam painted yesterday and most of the assembly was done today. The only thing left now is to get the rotors turned so I can mount them and the calipers. I've done the alignment as close as I can get it and the height is adjusted as well.

Front Suspension

Between last weekend and this, I was able to get all the front-end parts cleaned, stripped and painted. The calipers have new pads, the steering box has fresh grease and a new top gasket. All the bolts have been cleaned and painted or clear coated and everything is ready to be installed. All that is left is to pick up the beam and trailing arms from Hooks and I hope to do that this week.

Front Suspension

I didn't have much time in the shop today, but I was able to finish the notches in the shock towers. I wound up cutting the passenger side loose and redoing it. It turned out I cut too much out of the rear side of the tower. I wanted to make sure to leave as much material as possible so the tower could take the abuse the shock will give it. I set the body on the pan and it does clear, but not by much, so I will be trimming a little off the wheel wells below the gas tank tommow.

Front Suspension

Today I was able to get the body set back on the pan so I could mark and notch the shock towers. The passenger side is almost finished, all that is left is a little grinding. The driver side has been cut, but I still have to cut the patch to weld in. Once that is finished, I can disassemble and paint everything.

You may also notice the new wheels. It turned out with the dropped spindles, the ball joints did not clear the inside of the 15 inch rims. Thank goodness Discount Tire was willing to take them back. But of course the 16s cost over $200 more. They are better tires though, so I guess I can't complain too much.

Front Suspension

This weekend I was able to get the torsion leaves and the tie-rods cut to length. The picture to the left is the short tie-rod with a threaded rod welded into one half. This will add strength to the tie-rod as well as make welding it back together easier. The clamps have also been removed for cleaning and paint.

Here is the short tie-rod welded back together with the cleaned ends in place. The long tie-rod has been cut, cleaned and welded back together as well but the ends still need cleaned up. The last thing that needs to be done before I can paint everything is to notch the shock towers so the front clip will clear when the body goes back on.

Front Suspension

This morning I was able to get the inner batch of wide torsion leaves cut and get the front end loosely assembled. I still have to cut the thinner torsion leaves, notch the shock towers, shorten the tie rods, cut the wheel studs to length and paint everything. But at least I can see the car on the ground again. I have a ways to go, but I have to say I'm happy with the progress so far.