Hello everyone. New project. Got my wife an 85 cabby for Xmas.

[Spokane Pepe]

Man this makes me want to rush out and continue sanding my cabby. Looks freaking nice man. I bet the woman is excited has she seen any of this yet?

[RVAE34]

I am waiting for her to get home from work. I can't wait to see the look on her face. I sent her a picture message and she replied "holy moly" The photos don't do the car justice.

[tinker6468]

Awesome - Love it! I can't wait to get home tonight and get mine in shape for paint.

[gtidaddy]

wow you are cooking on this project.looking better by the days.following this closely.

[2dwnu4]

looking good !!! cant wait to see it all together ..

[Spokane Pepe]

Questions:

What type of primer did you use and how much did you need?

How much base coat did it take? A guy told me I need a gallon of base and clear - I think that is way too much paint.

[tinker6468]

I am doing an almost identical project, expect mine is a 1990 model so I have the clipper kit to deal with (more prep time and more materials).

I purchased a gallon of Evercoat primer, about $65 for the gallon. I used a quart on spraying the driver side fender, door, jam, rear quarter panel, and rear hatch area (not the rear hatch). I anticipate using another quart for the rear hatch, passenger side rear quarter panel, door and fender.

Then another quart for the hood, wind shield area, rain tray and front support, along with the last quart for the clipper kit (front bumper, rear bumper, fender flares, and side flares).

I plan to block sand a lot to get them all smooth, so I shoot them a little heavy to sand down. If I was better at body work, I would probably use less.

[dublenz]

You have accomplished so much in so little time. Great work!

It took us over 7 months to do body work and paint the car. That's with 2 people and strictly using weeks. Still have the bumpers, sideskirts and flairs to body work and paint.


Awesome subtle and classy color.

[RVAE34]

Thanks everyone!! I spent a lot of time on it. Although I will have to say I noticed a few small areas I missed but that's mainly b/c I am doing it myself. I would say the body is 95%. It's going to be amazing when I wetsand and buff it though.

[dublenz]

Did you already get your materials for the wetsand, buff, polish, etc.? We spent around 300 for these items. This took us about 2 weeks for the entire car. It's like glass, the reflection is insane.
Now you can see finger prints! We also did the windows too, polished the watermarks out. But all windows were removed - I think you have yours out too minus the windshield. Highly recommend this.

It's amazing how much dirt a car can hold over 20 years...

[RVAE34]

Oh yes. I know the key to a great paint job is wetsand and buff. I have a high speed buffer with the wool and 2 foam pads. I use 3M scratch remover, swirl mark remover and final glaze. Then hand wax.

The windshield had a crack in it so that will be replaced with a new one. And the other glass came out really nice when I cleaned it.

[RVAE34]

Unmasked it and brought it outside. Also corrected my WB on the camera. Just painted and cleared the top of the hood and doors as well. Will do the trunk lid and radiator support this weekend then the re-assembly shall begin.

[tinker6468]

how did you save or where did you get the door jam sticker? I destroyed mine trying to get it off in one piece, so I just tossed it

[RVAE34]

I masked it off and then used a razor to cut the edges. Did the same thing under the hood.

[RVAE34]

Hood and doors all done.

[tinker6468]

THAT'S IT!!!!!!!!!!! I'm heading to my garage right now to get to work!

[Hufeisen]

I know my posts sound repetitive, but it looks good! You are making great progress

[DEGS]

Nice choice going with a pastel yellow, whatever wheels you go with are going to POP like no other. I have confidence with your careful selection that this will be epic.

[RVAE34]

Body and fenders are wetsanded and buffed. New trim is also installed.

[RVAE34]

[tinker6468]

That deep shine is just AWESOME! I know I will be at that point soon. I think you mentioned wool pad and buffer, was the buffer a dual action or circular high speed type?

I have a Porter Cable dual action I use on our cars for spring clean, polishing and waxing, but with the dual action I don't think I could get that deep shine on new paint. Do you think a dual action with wool and other foam pads would get the job done?

If not I may have to invest in a high speed polisher like this one:
Harbor Freight Polisher

[RVAE34]

You will need a high speed buffer. I bought a Porter Cable for around $150. It's a tool I use so often that I did not want to go the cheaper route. Not saying the Porter Cable is high dollar, but those super cheap harbor freight ones etc, don't generally last too long. I have been using mine for 5 years now.

[RVAE34]

Does anyone know where I can find the door handle gaskets/seals? MK1autohaus won't have them for a few weeks and I will want to finish assembling the car before then. I searched but didn't come up with anything.

[tinker6468]

not sure if they are in stock, doesn't say, but this is from GAP

http://www.germanautoparts.com/Volks...olet/Body/76/1

And another from ESC

http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-...ior/Body/Door/

[DEGS]

not sure if they are in stock, doesn't say, but this is from GAP

http://www.germanautoparts.com/Volks...olet/Body/76/1

And another from ESC

http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-...ior/Body/Door/

I don't mean to be a billboard or anything, but GAP has by far been the best online retailer I've ever dealt with for anything. I ordered parts, then realized I needed additional parts for my project a couple days later. All the parts arrived the same day. Magic.

[RVAE34]

Thanks!! Just ordered a set.

Got the doors on last night. Still haven't mounted the fenders yet as today I am going to paint the radiator support and the deck lid. Then everything is painted and ready to go back together. Ordering a set of the Vogtland coilovers today as well. Hope they are pretty good

[RVAE34]

Woohoo!!! Just finished painting and clearing the radiator support and deck lid. And a new windshield is installed. Took 3 of us an hour to get it in. They had to go get a different windshield as the first one wouldn't fit. Pics soon.

[RVAE34]

Still haven't bolted the fenders back on.

[RVAE34]

Installed the front Vogtland coilovers this eve. This is only 3/4's of the way down.

Also cleaned up and painted the emblems. Cut the "fuel injection" part off below the Rabbit emblem too.

[briano1234]

Looking Marvelous. When swapping out the handles, take the rear pawls off your set and use them along with the key cylinders off your originals too. I have had some replacement handles over the years that the action pawl the little V fingers for the lock that were a tad shy of striking the lock mechanism on the door.

[RVAE34]

Thanks for the heads up! I will probably clean up, paint and re-use the old ones. The new ones I get even though sold as original Hella's, certainly are not. And the chrome strip doesn't even stay in them..

Also looking for a few parts...

I need the threaded rod that comes out of the lock mechanism in the driver door. The actual part that the lock knob screws onto and comes out of the top of the door. Also looking for a driver side fender antenna. All the ones online look like they are angled. Did the antenna comes straight up or angled back towards the windshield frame b/c? I would like to get a shorty black rubber one if possible.

[tinker6468]

I don't know if my antenna was a stock piece or not, but mine went straight up, well at least until it got a little bent. Planning to replace mine as well, just haven't found a good solution yet.

[gtidaddy]

sent you a pm

[briano1234]

I need the threaded rod that comes out of the lock mechanism in the driver door. The actual part that the lock knob screws onto and comes out of the top of the door. Also looking for a driver side fender antenna. All the ones online look like they are angled. Did the antenna comes straight up or angled back towards the windshield frame b/c? I would like to get a shorty black rubber one if possible.

The fender antennas were dependent on the dealer at the time of the install. On my original 81 diesel it had a flat base and a straight antenna no segments. On my cabbies it is a round base that you can pivot or stand straight.

The short antennas aren't that nifty, they don't pick up fer spit. I had one installed on my green cabby and changed it out for a a straight one with no telescoping segments. The shorties also usually come with a amplifier that you have to wire to a switched source. When re-installing and running the cable, make sure that you install a drip loop. That is that the lead off the antenna drops down lower that the feed-through grommet then back up to the grommet, after you get the antenna lead positioned the seal the feed through grommet with RTV to prevent water migration

For the lock, you need to specify the driver or passenger side, as your best bet would be the local wrecking yards.

[kamzcab86]

Coming along nicely!

Also looking for a driver side fender antenna. All the ones online look like they are angled. Did the antenna comes straight up or angled back towards the windshield frame b/c? I would like to get a shorty black rubber one if possible.

All Cabriolet factory-installed antennas were manual, sectional/telescoping and pulled straight up. Factory-equivalent antennas: http://www.germanautoparts.com/Volks...iolet/Body/7/1 .

FYI: If your build sheet in the trunk has an R-- code on it, the original antenna came factory-installed.