April Fool? More like Fox Wagon Fool...

[KRAMMIT]

My Buddy Mark happened by an auto wrecker and saw this car and immediately thought of me...pulled a U-turn and went inside and bought the car for me, then gave me a call....

I went by the next day, and this is what I found...

...at a glance, a lot less VISIBLE rust than my current ride...

...(just playin about with the editing toys)...

This is a common corrosion spot....

....of all Foxes than I have seen!

This looks clean...

Everything seems to be in place...

WOW! Look at the condition of that rain shield!

Hmmm...not the original motor, the alternator is new-ish...

The radiator surround is intact....NICE!

Looks like a shallow sump...

...wonder if it rolls...

...THAT'll need replacing...

...this coupling seems to be holding....for now...

...no drips are GOOD drips...

...could be worse, just needs some LOVE...!

New brake line not so long ago...

Fuel pump looks sorta new...brake lines okay...

No perforations in the fuel tank, that's VERY GOOD!

It has been sprayed; SOMEbody LOVED this car at one time...

This will require some SPECIAL care...

....as will this be in need of some CREATIVE welding!

Underside looks decent...seams could use some TLC!

And the fuel filter appears to be recent...not bad for a "sight unseen" purchase!

As this Fox has become a project purchase, there will be much more to follow...
Stay tuned for the trip to Wahid's Windshield Emporium,
The results from the Welding Shop,
and FibreFest 2011...my introduction to fibreglass hole
patching, and rust-arresting and encapsulation...!

My THANKS to myboxyfox for sharing his posting expertise...THANKS JOHN!

[redone17]

So great to see some pics of your car! Thoroughly documented too.

I look forward to your progress. Seems we are tackling a bit of the same issues. My only real problem area is under the windshield. Gonna have to get that rebuilt.

Don't wait too long to show us the self taught body work skills! I need some inspiration. I'll be teaching myself a lot in this department during the years to come.


Chris

[myboxyfox]

YYeeeah, good pics man! I heard this car run, motor sounds great! Look forward to seeing it on the road.
Oh and by the way, my Fox had the same rust around the windshield wiper mounts, and windshield. We took everything apart, took the windshield out, cut all the rust away, and my buddy solder repaired the whole thing.
Looks great now, took about 20 hrs of work but glad we did it another Fox saved!

[KRAMMIT]

I have a reasonably good approach to fixing that perforated base of the windshield. Through trial and error, I came up with this approach...

After removing any 'dead skin' and flaky metal (be careful not to get too zealous in the removal of material in this area...you need SOMETHING left to work with and to bond to!) but provided it isn't too bad, this method works pretty well.

Using some Bondo-Glas, the green goop with the red hardening creme, mix up a 3" diameter blob about 1/2" thick with a 3" strip from the creme hardener tube; I know this is what they suggest, but it takes a few mixing procedures to get the knack for how much of the two to make the optimal blend...too much hardener, the mixture is kind of reddish-brown; not enough red creme, the mixture is more green than brown; an olive drab>khaki brown is best....you'll be able to see evidence of different mixing ratios in the pics to follow...

It is BEST of course, to decide what you want to fix/patch first, choose a small, inconspicuous area of the car for your first attempt. I HIGHLY recommend using a RESPIRATOR or some sort of NIOSH approved breathing device....those drywall dustmasks are NOT going to help with the fumes which WILL give you a tremendous headache later on that night....nothing but time makes it go away!
Dual Particulate filter respirator is a good thing to have when working with the putty; it is an ABSOLUTE MUST when working with the more volatile, fibreglass resin....fumes from THAT stuff will send you into the next postal zone within the minute! Protect yourself even further by wearing two pair of rubber gloves, the expenditure is worth the clean-up hassle.
THAT'S SCARY!


Also make yourself a surface upon which to mix the putty; this stuff sticks to everything and anything....except FOIL...! Find a small piece of wood (1' x 1' x 1/8 or 1/4" would do), cover it and secure the wrapped backside edge with masking tape (it will move around A LOT when you are mixing the putty!)

After you have your mixture, you MUST work quickly because this putty will start to set in about 5-6 minutes, depending upon the ratio of the mixture, and also the outside temperature...cool outer temps will retard setting, but it will harden eventually because of the chemicals...when its hot out, the stuff sets so fast you might be tempted to try using a smaller mixture, but DON"T...the ratios are difficult enough to achieve with the suggested amount....varying from that just wastes material, and makes a mess....trust me...!

So, working quickly, filling in the areas largest to small, use the squeege or spreader to apply in small amounts to the edges, eventually filling in the affected area...KEEP IN MIND...this stuff dries to a rock hard solid finish, to make less work for yourself later while sanding, try for the smoothest possible finish on your last pass with the spreader...a word of caution also: overworking the putty will make it harder to lay flat....once you do a few applications with it you'll know what I mean.

You may not get it to be the way you want in one approach. Allowing it to set (workable in 45 minutes) may be necessary to see where you'd like to put a second application to make it look the way you would like. Once you are happy with the way it looks, after sanding it down to desired finish (start with 80 grade sandpaper to remove the lumpy stuff, then 140 grit, 220, 400, 800, 1000, etc), then, if you have some resin handy, mix up 2 ounces of fibreglass resin, and just paint it on over top over your sanded putty work, tape off any areas that you do not want to get resin on, remove the masking tape while the resin is still wet. Otherwise it will be IN THERE! Let me see if I can find a PIC of an example...

This post is going to be out of chronological sequence with respect to how it happened to the car, but what the heck, if you need to know, you need to know! n I would only be too Happy if this helps anyone in anyway...
Grind/Sand away any "loose skin", but be careful....

...Not to take...

...TOO MUCH!!

A view of the hole from below...I have a camera about the size of a deck of cards...
So IT can go places that I can't actually see with my eyes...!

You can see where the leak just rusted away from the hole...

Too much. too much...I took too much (Fear & Loathing ref.), but, if you have everything
apart, and you're already dirty, yer here now, might as well git 'er DONE..!

This what is looks like with the resin on after the putty has set...

...Not gonna leak here anymore...this was all done after the windshield had been replaced...another segment to come...

I hope this helps Chris, oh yeah, almost forgot, if you can find a bottle of rust remover/reformer, very helpful in arresting the corrosion...!

The 8oz bottle circled in yellow, has phosphoric acid in it, accelerates the rust process, burns it off, seal it and say goodbye to rust...for awhile anyway...but if its encapsulated in putty and resin, no water will ever touch it, so I can't see how it will rust any further.....

Looks like this when you put it on...they suggested a Q-tip, I ended up using a small paint brush.

I think that's all for now, will try to get back to the chronological order of this restoration thread next post....unless another request surfaces!

[alaincopter]

Great sequence of pics!! Nice looking wagon, too! Can't wait to see that in person soon, seems like you're taking care of it well. Always good to take care of rust as soon as you can, and as well as you can. Treat your wagon right and it will serve another 20-something years for sure! It's GREAT to see a Wagon saved from rust!

All the rust I have removed on my Fox so far has been in areas that are not that apparent (engine bay, underside, inner fender areas, etc, so no need for it to be looking perfectly straight, but your pics will help for when I tackle the outside body. I also have a respirator kind of like yours (but the one from 3M that you can buy the refill packs) and the thing does wonders!! It's good even for paintwork, inside a small garage I couldn't smell any fumes!

Here's my procedure for non-apparent areas:

- Go at it with a grinder and wire-wheel and remove as much rust as that will do
- Spray compressed air to get rid of dust
- Clean it with a rag and wax/grease remover (like mineral spirits/paint thinner and the like)
- Generously spray RUST CONVERTER on it (kind of the same you showed above, KRAMMIT, but in a spray can - so good! I have also tried that bottle you showed and it works well too)
- After drying, I go very lightly at it with the grinder/wire wheel again, or use sandpaper, to get the top parts of it back to metal so the fiberglass resin will stick to it well (in other words, the rust converter will remain in the low, "pit" areas)
- Put on fiberglass cloth after dipping it in activated resin, sometimes two layers, then covering it with more resin using a small paintbrush. Fiberglass resin is better than rb-bondo in those cases because it's harder and moisture can't get through it.
- After drying, lightly sand it, clean it, prime it
- After drying, spray rubberized rocker guard on it
- After drying, spray glossy black paint over the rocker guard
- After drying, spray FLUID FILM on top

Of course when I did this I went ahead and did each step over a number of places at once before moving to the next step, which helps a lot time wise. And whatever rust you don't get to for the time being, make sure to spray with FLUID FILM and it will stop until you have the time to get to it! Just make sure that you remove all the fluid film with wax/grease remover at that time

[Banned wagon]

oh yes, all too familiar with this rust around the windscreen

[redone17]

two HUGE

this is going to be a productive summer...glad it already looks like spring is around the corner here in NY!

cp

[mike in SC]

My wagon had the same rust holes, and still does. I pop-riveted some sheet metal and used JB weld to fill the hole. All of this was done with the windshield and dash out of the car.

Good save with the wagon! My wagon WAS the same color, but was cheaply painted with black enamel.

[ChevyAndVW]

very nice. invest in por-15 its a great thing! i used it on everything

[KRAMMIT]

I have so many pics from everything that happened last summer, its tough to put it all in a cohesive presentation without back tracking too often to include important details....but here goes....

Found THIS steering wheel....and cluster...

...from THIS! Damn! I had an '82 up until '98!

I plan to put them HERE!


But FIRST, the results from the welding shop...I'll see if I can match up the before and after shots, might make it easier to see the transformation...
The front LEFT before pic...

...and NOW it looks like this!

Here's a better angle...

A look at the RIGHT front before pic...

....And NOW the right side looks like this!


A shot of my two working rides...

A RARE SIGHT! TWO FOXES MATING!

...My Buddy Mark hiding behind the patient.


The there was a visit to ZORO's (Muffler Shop)...where I took the pics of the welding job...


...some custom bending...




Next stop....Wahid's Windshield Emporium...!

[KRAMMIT]

Here are a few pics from before I did any work around the windshield, it looks as though the P/O tried to address the leak, without replacing the front glass...

Well, in for a penny, in for a pound! If I'm going to do this right, that windscreen needs replacing!

You can see where it was cracked, right over the V.I.N., when the seal came off from around the edge....what a mess...!



At this point, he told me if he has to do ANY grinding, it will cost extra...

YUP! IT COST EXTRA...!

So with most of the area de-grunged...

Wahid began to mask the area to be worked on...

There were so many HOLES from rust, that he had to build a channel for the adhesive to sit in...
this was created from Duct Tape, then primed with a urethane primer, to give the adhesive
something to stick to...

...as you can see, most of the bottom is DUCT TAPE....!

...Drivers' side corner, ready for adhesive...

...applying the Urethane Adhesive...

...then it has to be spread out to create more surface area for the adhesive to tack...







...he was working so fast, his hands were a BLUR...



...the rusty-ass p.o's. old one...



...some more along the top...

....a little more spreading....after it is spread out, the adhesive has to sit for 45 minutes to tack up before the new windshield can be installed...

...and there it is...!

....I think he was signing his work...!

Alright now....hopefully no more leaks! There was a ridiculous amount of water that was coming into the drivers' compartment and pooling on the floor....the carpets were SOAKED and the underpads were just a NASTY, SMELLY, STINKING MESS!! The inside of the car smelled like a WET DOG! Which is okay, if you like that sort of thing, I do NOT!
So....next stop, Home Depot for some carpet underpadding...!

[KRAMMIT]

Went to Home Depot and bought some regular home carpet underpadding to replace the smelly mess that was under the carpet.

I laid the section out on the driveway, placed the old shapes over top...

...took a marker and traced the shapes...

...then cut them out with some decent scissors...

Repeat procedure until all pieces are cut...

....also NOT A BAD IDEA to LABEL the pieces as you cut them...

...and there you have it! Perfect fit not paramount since it will be covered with carpet...

...and of course, don't forget to dispose of the STANK!

Next up; the steering wheel and cluster from that Red Scirocco will be installed...stay tuned!

[KRAMMIT]

The speedometer cable in my white '87 Wagon had been broken for the last FOUR years; the cluster in my silver '88 Wagon, I realised was WAY OUTTA WHACK when I was on the highway....my speedo was reading 160km/h and other cars were pulling away from me! I think I was really only doing about 120km/h...which led me to thinking that the cluster was out of calibration; therefore, a portion of the 351,00 k's on the clock may not be accurate....time to swap it all out...!

My white Wagon needed a new cable, couldn't find a NEW one anywhere, opted for one that I pulled from another wagon at a wrecker, put the old cable from the silver Wagon into the white, and the cable from the wrecker into the silver car...
...this is what was left of the cable in the white car...

Replacing the cable is a bit of a nuisance, especially if you don't like confined working areas...
Just follow the cable back to the transmission, feel the plastic collar at the end of the cable, unscrew the cable from the transmission, be careful not to damage the square drive at the end of the cable (that is what broke on mine in the first place...), now there should be adequate slack on the cable to not challenge you at the cluster end, while fiddling about behind the dash.

...feed the cluster clip end of the cable through the sill wall, pulling the grommets out makes this easier...

...then feed it through the firewall into the passenger compartment...

....then it should stick out here ready for the cluster...

This photo presentation is kind of straddling two vehicles which are having a similar operation performed on both cars...
This is the silver Wagon, going to get rid of that damn clock...gonna put the cluster from the abandoned Scirocco in its place...

What I found out though, was that the Scirocco cluster has a single mounting bracket in the centre of the top; the Fox cluster however, has two side brackets on either side of the cluster to hold it in place within the dash...(look at the top edge of the photo, you can just make out the bracket)
...'Rocco on the left, Fox on the right...

...how to get the brackets on the new cluster...hmmmm...
I opted for the Dremel tool to remove a couple of brackets from a donor cluster...

...then chose 5-minute epoxy to fasten the brackets to the new cluster...

...wasn't quite sure how much to take, so, I decided to take the whole bracket to ensure the cluster would be displayed at the correct HEIGHT and ANGLE, also wanted to make sure it was going to be SOLID and not jiggle around with any road vibration...







...a spray bottle of rubbin hooch keeps dust away...



...the epoxy made a nice solid bond...SWEET!

...THAT'S better than Krazy glue would have done...!



...had to widen the hole a bit with the Dremel...

...much better, that should fit nicely...

...and the Scirocco steering wheel...the centre piece was missing...

...so I cut one out of rubber to fit...not too shabby...!


My netbook is running low on power, need to finish this post quickly...still have a few pics of an exploded cluster to post; I reset the odometer to something suitable, then put it back in the car.

[KRAMMIT]

Hey there fellow Foxers...! My apologies for having disappeared for a spell (almost TWO months...!) into the Punch Clock at work...need to finance Two Projects now...but, managed to get an internet hook up in the garage...so this should enable me to be on-line more often...!

During my time away, I managed to see John (myboxyfox) and meet Alain (alaincopter) at the beginning of April: fun times! ...but I'll post my pics in the appropriate thread....

I think I was replacing a speedometer cable on the white wagon (or was about to) when my story got interrupted by spring fever in the auto industry....the cable broke (or I cut it after the fact) and I drove without indication of speed for about four years; the tach still worked (when it wasn't TOO hot behind the dash) so I could get a close approximation by engine speed and gear choice [only got one speeding ticket for 15 km/h over in a 50 km/h zone @ 5am...!! the cop just wanted to see if it was insured I think!] which was okay for me at the time...(NOT the TICKET!! I was okay with no speedo!)...anyway...

Standard Cluster procedure removal: pry out the switches at the corners; remove the steering wheel (my wheel has been off so many times it is already notched N,S,E,W with the wheels pointed straight), remove the screws holding the cowling in place, slide the wiring and switches thru their holes, disconnect the speedo cable (mine was all ready!), then remove the two screws holding the cluster in place, and fenegle it away from the dash...

I like to keep the screws that come out in the same positions, so that they go back into the same holes, sounds silly I know, but 25 year old cars get particular about where you put their parts back...keep things as they were...


Next; carefully...AND I DO MEAN CAREFULLY...remove the circuit film/paper...gentle and even prying on both sides of the peg, keep pinched thumb and forefinger over the end of the pin so you can feel any possible tearing about to begin...


I've found a bodyworking tool to be handy for that application...


Also BE EXTRA careful around the bulb receptacle outlets IF you enjoy LIGHTS on your dash while you drive at night....!

With a little patience, you will separate the casing from the instruments...my particular reason for doing this is to replace some of the k's that DIDN'T get accumulated over four years...(most people would mess with an odo to set it back! I just want it to be closer to what it should be!)


...seems harmless enough...


...but the BEAST is in the BACK...


...after prying off the caps to a few more pops...(around 3am!)...I found the serenity and steadiness of hand to mess around with the gears on the back..


...by sliding the number wheels individually out of the way of the gears, I could rotate them to a desired position,,,this became progressively MORE difficult moving towards the 'ones' wheel....I only managed to be brave enough to move to first two wheels moving from the left...


...all ready to put back in the dash...


...just have to hook up the new cable...okay, NEWish cable....NEW to the CAR cable...


...and get ready to start accumulating KMs again...!


ABRACADABRA....!! I mean...installation is reversal of removal....(I HATE when they say that! Do you know what I WENT THROUGH TO GET THAT OUT?!?).... maybe Ali-KAZAM! ...or just....VOILA...!


The procedure is a success and the odometer now reads 388,219 and COUNTING!!
Next up will be my inaugural encounter with the messy, sticky, toxic, loveable, paper-maché-like-stuff-that-turns-rock-hard-bullet-proof-in-90-miniutes.....known as....FIBREGLASS...!!

.....STAY TUNED...!! I KNOW I DO...!!

[doppelfaust]

This is a great thread to follow and I love your commentary. Keep up the good work and I look forward to following your thread. How does the Scirocco cluster swap seem to be working? What symptoms in the Fox cluster were you alleviating?

Cheers!

[lilgreydentwagen]

I miss my mk1 'rocco wheel. nice writeups. I've fixed a bit of rust on my wagon, the windshield surround will be next, as soon as i can afford a new windshield, but i'll probably be using steel or lead for that.

[KRAMMIT]

So, to get to this point, (I thank you for reading and following along this far!), you have to be CURIOUS as to what is going to happen next...considering this took place LAST summer, and I'm JUST getting around to posting now, there are over 500 pics to sort through and coalesce into a cohesive storyboard, AND I may have TENSE issues (past, future, present), so, thank you in advance for your patience.... disclaimer aside, on with the show....

To be totally honest, I had no idea what WAS going to happen next. When I bought this car last year, I thought, OK, COOL! I'll fix it up a little....kinda like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree...(see: childhood memory) a little TLC, and it will be good! Sure! I have driven a Fox Wagon since 1998...am I familiar with a few of the characteristic problems that befell these adorably unique road warriors...? ...ABSOLUTELY! The list is open ended and ever growing (Thanks to YOU guys!) ....have I created a few NON-characteristic problems through neglect, ignorance, and stupidity? OF COURSE! Though they are not actually mistakes....they ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN...!! (...how to fix what I perhaps shouldn't have been messing with...!) At any rate, I can change brakes, replace a fuel tank, do shocks....what I know about doing BODYWORK and refinishing, patching holes....you could write on the BACK OF A POSTAGE STAMP WITH A SHARPIE! Let's just say...I don't even KNOW enough to KNOW that I don't KNOW a THING about body repair!

I had to slice the carpet up near the pedal mounts over to the passenger side just below the glovebox to free it up enough to roll back (with the seats removed) into the rear passenger footwells (still fastened to the metal beneath the rear seat) to get it out of the way enough to work...

This is what I found...


This is the area of the floor near your left foot when not operating the clutch...


I thought, okay, LETS GRIND! EAYRRRRNNNT! Wrong answer Bob!


There was NO way was gonna get a grinder into this area with any precise level of success....
(Reminds me of an 80 year old hardwood floor I refinished in one of my Dads' houses...used a 5" palm sander, did each individual strip of wood...took me THREE MONTHS! But LOOKED like you could SKATE on it after 4 coats of urethane! [...hadn't done THAT before either...]) ...I digress...

DREMEL TOOL TO THE RESCUE...!!! ...patience NOT included....


When very patiently grinding away the rusted areas with a stone bit in the Dremel (never done it, but would imagine it to be a lot like scrubbing the grout for an enormous 1" mosaic tile floor with a toothbrush!), I was wondering how far to go when exposing the metal....I stopped near the rubber sound insulating material (turns out the fibreglass LOVES to stick to that stuff!) so as to not create more work for myself...

I had enough already cut out FOR me....(just made a you tube acct so you can see this!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbywl5JIwKs
...after the laughter subsided....I realized I had a LOT of work to do...
...got a little MORE meticulous with the Dremel....just short of removing more than what needs to be removed......again.....PATIENCE SOLD SEPARATELY....!

Time to get the gooey goodies out...

THERE IT IS....and it really ISN'T going anywhere, part of my approach involved considering that metal will eventually rust again, this is plastic--can't rust!

....I know it looks like somebody SPOOGED on the floor of my car...but apparently they make boat hulls out of THAT SPOOGE...so if it will keep a boat afloat, it should be good to keep water from getting into the Fox!

I suppose I should fill in the blank between the two pics....kind of a big jump between gooey stuff and spooge on the floor....reason being, the spooge is STICKY....(didn't want to get any on my camera!) and wearing TWO layers of glove (one WILL rip) can't take pics...so; BEFORE you get into the process, make sure that you cut enough pieces of mat to complete the desired area, in the shapes that you require; another tip that I wish someone had let me in on....only mix TWO OUNCES of resin at a time...pick a small area and DO IT one small step at a time...trying to mix and apply resin to large areas will be frustrating; unless you are using an industrial mixture especially formulated to large applications (such as custom stereo pods), what I used was picked up at crappy tire, but still got the job done! A little too well...it HOLDS water....[but MORE about that later]...

The dollar store is great for disposable materials like brushes, tinfoil mixing vessels, and measuring cups, etc.....put the gloves on, mix the resin and the hardener in the appropriate ratios, dab it on the area with the brush, (make the receiving area STICKY), then take your material be it mat or cloth, soaked in resin mixture, and apply it to the area you want to seal.....keep in mind that gravity has NO off switch and this $hit is HEAVY!...if you have to patch some thing large AND vertical....better to build your project in several small increments....once this stuff sets.......unreal.......I didn't like one piece I set, it had hardened,

[KRAMMIT]

...once it had set, and I realized I wasn't happy with it...I wailed on it with a 5 pound ball-peen hammer for 70+ hits....each one progressively more emphatic than the previous....after threatening to shake the vehicle off of its axle stands, I stopped, only to realize that I did nothing to change the position of the piece I didn't want.....I ended up covering it over...

In answer to doppelfausts question about the scirocco cluster; it works very well, except that I compromised the speedometer light on "ABRACADABRA"; and am EXTREMELY GRATEFUL for j-boogie253s' FANTASTIC Frankencluster post! For I will have to remove mine again and connect a couple circuits with the rear defogger 'paint': GENIUS!! Thank YOU sir! While it is out, the parking brake light indicator is out, will have to look at that...I have a similar issue with the white wagon, but more often than not, it is the SWITCH BUTTON in the floor beneath the handbrake lever that doesn't quite depress all the way to make the light on the dashboard go out....and also I think MARS has to be in alignment with at least 7 of the 150 orbiting satelites, providing it is tuesday.....wait whut?

And also regarding lilgreydentwagens' need for METAL by the windshield...ask myboxyfox (John) for some pics of his ride...an absolutely astounding job by his friend Rob! Truly IMPRESSIVE...I'll see if I can post my pics that I took at the meet...there might be a couple there that would showcase the workmanship! And I love my MkI steering wheel! I have had this wheel from My very first VW: an '81 scirocco; that I painted RED; after I TOOK OUT A HYDRANT with it; to remind me NOT to hit any more hydrants...it worked...haven't hit one since! The centre horn button has long since ceased to work, hence the addition of the 3 o'clock button plus wires...

...nice....I see that the people at the imgur site have seen fit to delete some pics...squeezin me fer ca$h...ah well.... the price of communication...kinda leaves gaps in the story....

The saga will continue....need some zzzzzzs first.....

Brought to you by .....LOTSA

[KRAMMIT]

When I got the car back from the welding shop, there was this piece of white tin covering the join of the floor to the door sill...

I guess it wasn't pretty beneath the patch, not being curious enough to pull it up to find out, the plan was to seal the floor...

Don the safety goggles and get the Dremel up to speed again for some tedious preparation work...when considering cutting a corner or two...that voice inside my head keeps saying....

...the best preparation will provide the best result....

....so...I KEEP ON GRINDING...!! Bear in mind, at the time of the photos, still hadn't a clue about automotive patching/bodywork....just kinda seeing what happens next...

...just exposed the metal NEXT to the rubber sound insulating material (the mixture sticks very well to this!) and a couple inches past any breach in the hull...

With the area looking pretty AND ugly simultaneously....it was time to get gooey again...!

There are no pics of the actual fibreglassing procedure due to lack of interest in sniffing toxic fumes with any of my friends...(I'll see if I can recruit a 'shooter' this summer to help with pics during messy procedures) While covering the tin with mat and resin, I discovered a preference for spreading the mixture through the mat/cloth while it was resting on a flat, smooth surface....this way you can get just enough mixture to be on the material for suitable application to the affected areas......too much resin, the pieces won't lie flat, not enough resin, it doesn't stay where you put it and would rather stick to your brush or hands....it tales a couple tries with it to develop a preference for working....due to the QUICK SETTING nature of this stuff, I like to cut ALL OF MY PIECES TO SIZE first, then know EXACTLY WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO PLACE THEM ahead of time, because once that hardener hits the resin...ITS ON! There is a bout a 10 minute window before the stuff sets, temps and conditions permitting...so you really do need to work quickly....

...ABRACA-POCUS....!

...If you zoom in on the pic, you can see the random pattern of the fibres in the mat...the mat makes a STRONGER PATCH but will also be more BULKY and require more sanding.....the CLOTH (to be seen later on) makes a more finished presentation when dry, the cloth will stretch and curve to almost ANY surface contour....

Since these areas will be beneath the carpet, I thought to myself what BETTER PLACE to do some LEARNING...? Not gonna see it...! Don't have to SAND it...! A good place to start...from the inside out...!

...shouldn't be anymore water getting in here...!


Next up: drivers' side door sill...

[KRAMMIT]

Upon opening the drivers' door, this is what would greet you...

...doesn't look so bad...if you don't look too closely....but, I DID...!

...Maybe a little TOO close...!

...NICE...!

...ah well...to be expected of a 24 year old Canadian car...
...Looks as though the Prev.Owner had it oil-sprayed...
...THAT probably helped it get THIS FAR...!

...the above close up is of the breach to the right...

...To all of you SHOWCAR fanatics who are wondering how this isn't so bad...

....THIS IS what I get to see whenever I open the door of my White wagon...

....Yeah, I know....how has MTO NOT yanked the plates on this as yet....but, MORE about this later TOO!

Alright, enough of the BEFORE pics....on to the finishing fotos...!
Again...my apologies for there NOT being any "during the procedure" pics...the resin sets too quickly to stop n take shots...I'll see what I can do about recruiting an interested party to photo-document a FUTURE fibreglass resin application procedure as this summer WILL provide numerous opportunities....
.....First, got the goggles on and took the Dremel tool to the rust, when I had enough rusty dust on my tastebuds...I put the ACID test into effect...(that bottle of RUST REMOVER circled in YELLOW in pic above)....

...this prepped the area for application of the resin mixture...
...after washing the acid off with water...(let the acid sit for 10 minutes!)

...put paper down if you don't want a teal tinge to your driveway...!

...NOTE the STYLISH colour coded (color coded for My American friends) seat covers, which also, in a pinch, double as recycling bags...

...the powder from the sanding of the fibreglass ALSO doubles as ITCHING POWDER which can be QUITE IRRITATING to the operator of a motor vehicle....(especially in bumper-to-bumper traffic with an itchy left leg!)....however; applied to ingeniously thought of surfaces...(underwear, socks, toilets seats to name a few!) ...to annoy those who deserve an anonymous slap in the face; can be a GREAT source of amusement also....OR you can just sweep it up and discard it...(what a shame! Joke shops charge good money for that stuff!)....anyway...

....if you find that there is a gap which might be TOO big to support a piece of resin-soaked fibreglass mat before it sets (it could all ooze through the hole and create a stalactite of resin within the hull, and leave a depression at the site the hole), I found that fibreglass mesh DRYWALL TAPE is a great help in forming missing areas that need support, where BEFORE there was none...NOTE: THE RESIN IS HEAVIER, THAN THE ADHESIVE TACK OF THE DRYWALL TAPE BY ITSELF; SO, I recommend applying the tape where you want it to be, then, mix up a batch of resin/hardener and PAINT it over the areas of the tape that you want to STAY PUT...and let it harden, now you will have a mesh that the resin mixture WON'T PULL AWAY from your work (and make you utter words that you thought you had forgotten coinciding with your first taste of Dial, Lava, Irish Spring, Dove, Zest, etc.!)

This area is reasonably LEVEL, so I didn't use any tape here...but, in the wheel arches....you will see that there is tape used extensively to anchor the resin mixture and used also to reconstruct missing areas of, well, whatever was missing!
IF YOU MAGNIFY the area on the sill where the door closes, you can see the weave of the CLOTH that conforms nicely to all contours when wet with resin mixture...I ended up putting about three layers on this area, then whenever I had some excess resin left from another spot on the car, rather than waste it, I painted it on the sill and let it harden into a nice, smooth finish....

...Ya gotta admit....it looks WAY better than the perforated images above....! More layers of resin have been painted on this area since the pic was taken...while working in this area, I noticed some EXTENSIVE ROT beneath the door extending to the rear left wheel arch, however, that will have to wait until my NEXT post...I've almost maxxed out my FREE allotment of pics for one site...gotta find another...THANKS ADAM (VW FOX)
....HERE is a worms' eye view of the operation....

....Next up: WHEEL ARCHES and affected areas....CANADIAN DRIVERS: you will WANT to see THIS...!

[lilgreydentwagen]

Krammit, i noticed a few posts above, a tin pan. Assuming you are using it to mix your resin, you should try plastic. Metals have seriously adverse effects on that particular mixture of chemicals. I've seen catalyst catch fire in a pie plate. Anyways, It may slow your cure time a bit. Also try using less catalyst. I used to work with fiberglass for a living and have a little experience. Also, any glass work you can do out of the sun will give you a little extra work time. It's very u.v sensetive.

[KRAMMIT]

Here are some BEFORE images of what I bought "sight unseen" last April...:
This is the FRONT portion of the rear LEFT wheel well...


This is the REAR section of the rear LEFT wheel well...


This would be the leading part of the REAR RIGHT wheel well...


And this is the REAR RIGHT REAR wheel well area....


KEEP IN MIND--THESE ARE PRE-GRINDING PICS...!!
I think, instead of the goggles, this time, I opted for the FULL FACE SHIELD to protect from flying debris; of which, there was a GREAT DEAL..!! The Dremel Tool, still the weapon of choice at this point, again, because I would rather not disturb a large area all at once, this allowed me to choose HOW MUCH to take away without having to say....WHOOPS...too many times that were coupled with severe regret!
This is the rear section of the left well AFTER a little TICKLE with 15,000 rpm...


Here is the REAR RIGHT REAR section...again, after a VERY SLIGHT GRAZING at 15,000 rpm...I WANT there to be something LEFT to work with...!


THIS is what can happen...even though you are trying to BE careful....!

(EVEN OUT OF FOCUS [in the distance, beyond the sidewalk] you can SEE the RUST on the white wagon ARCHES...! THAT IS EXTENSIVE...!)

....NOT EXACTLY SURE what this ORANGE GOOP is that you see here...this is the underside of the leading right rear wheel arch....seems another previous attempt at restoration is evident....nice try....


To be honest with you...I can't tell what this pic is of, other than it's an impressive SHOTo'ROT...! I think it was on the right side of the car, beneath, just in front of the right rear wheel....


Some Progressive ROT Pics...




I read about you guys and your rolled fenders....
Well, these are OLD fenders...! I mean REALLY OLD...!




Put a BAT to THAT....and THAT will be THAT....!!

The Fuel Filler Door is INTACT....so I have THAT goin for me....which is NICE...! (caddyshack ref. Thank YOU Bill Murray!)

I think this is the bottom of the left side inner fender wall....I see a muffler hanger in the BG...


...and this would be a FRACTION of the rusty debris that fell out from under the car while I was serenading the neighbourhood with high pitched sounds of mock dentistry....


....However, while grinding away at the rear right wheel well, stepped it up to 30,000 rpm to get some results...then it ALL GROUND TO A HALT...!! Courtesy of a DISH RAG that had been LOVINGLY PRESERVED in the rear right fender of the wagon, carefully releasing moisture into the hull of my ride to be...!! HOW ON EARTH, DOES ONE LOSE A DISH RAG TO THE INSIDE OF ONES' CAR...??? (AND FORGET ABOUT IT ?!?)

I claim that it is a dish rag because my first job was as a DISHWASHER at a HoJos that helped me pay for my first Scirocco....these details stick in my mind...not easily forgettable...if ever..!

So, after overcoming my bewildered amusement, I decided that the REAR BUMPER COVER had to come off, and, seeing as I had never actually DONE that, (removed the cover intentionally), I felt a challenge coming on....but more about that in the NEXT post...!

[alaincopter]

Kevin I greatly enjoy reading your thread, keep it coming! What a heap of trouble we're into trying to save these Foxes.

[KRAMMIT]

Starting at the rear left wheel arch, again, because I really had NO IDEA what I was doing, I began applying drywall tape the the arch, in an effort to give the resin something to stick to....I had roughly sanded away all loose debris from the inside of the arch, using an 80 grit sanding sponge, a quick spray and wipe with rubbing alcohol to take away any finite dust particles (you never get ALL of it, but, satisfy yourself!), and began applying tape to try to reconstruct the missing lip if the wheel arch...


(WOW! nice big pic! Using a different image host now, so bear with me 'til I get the hang of it!) I must say, from a n00b standpoint, imgur is EASY to use, but they limit yopu to 225 FREE pics (then they want $$$); gonna try photobucket now, (which lets you upload video as well!), we'll see how many FREE pics they allow...! [I have only had a computer for the LAST 18 months!, before that.....??? Kinda like a microwave, you wonder HOW you got along before WITHOUT one...!!]

You'll note the frequent use of FLASH LIGHTS in my photos...a few excuses....(AHEM! er, explanations...!) ...a) I'm LAZY and it takes me 'til sundown to get my fecal matter collected enough to get going; ...b) I was born @ 5:30 in the morning, and find myself being VERY NOCTURNAL if I had the choice; the REST of the world is leaving me ALONE long enough so that I can get stuff done; ....c) My estimation of allotted time to complete the task is SEVERELY FLAWED, or seems so, due to unforseen COMPLICATIONS that inevitably run into EXTRA INNINGS with respect to working on a 25 year old RELIC...! ...d) My penchant for enjoying my time away from THE GRIND, and TINKERING....how to you place a time limit on THAT...?


By the way, IF you are considering buying one of THESE Stanley work lights....DON'T...!! The cheap-ass, INEFFECTUAL MAGNET cannot even support the weight of the light; and, as a result, falls into your work; lets go of its mount and FLASHES YOU so you are BLIND for about ten seconds....really.....NICE JOB STANLEY....! not worth the effort!


....MORE drywall tape to seal up the GAPING HOLES that are there...this is the REAR of the LEFT wheel arch...


...this is the FRONT of the rear left wheel arch....kind of like applying a bandage...PRETTY MUCH...!


...I figured OVERLAPPING strips couldn't be BAD...


...This is with the RESIN MIXTURE applied over the tape...I just kept brushing it on until it was saturated and began dripping off...it looks as though I used SEVERAL SMALL strips of fibreglass cloth in this area too...! My MAIN OBJECTIVE was to put enough RESIN on the TAPE to ANCHOR it to the car; as I have written before, the adhesive tack of the drywall tape, is NOT SUFFICIENT ENOUGH TO SUPPORT THE WEIGHT OF THE RESIN MIXTURE...Please DON'T waste your time finding this out the HARD way, as I HAVE...!! I must say though, the tape is GREAT for reconstructing areas that have deteriorated to the point of non-existence...!


...a closer view of the rear of the arch...

While tending to this area, I was getting FRUSTRATED at NOT being able to get behind the Rear Bumper Cover....there IS something DARK and OMINOUS HIDING beneath the cover....so I decided that the cover HAD to come off...!!

Taking this cover off, was no easy feat...there are 8, 10mm bolts that hold it on...depending on how RUSTIC the vehicle, extraction of these bolts can be TEDIOUS at BEST...!! I managed to SUCCESSFULLY STRIP THREE of the bolts on the bottom of the cover, (the EASY to GET TO ones...!) and actually broke TWO of them off in the bumper....WELL DONE...! One thing at a time, the mission here, is to get the cover OFF; worry about putting it back on...LATER...!

I had a couple buddies over with me the day I was intent on removing this cover; ONE friend was anxious to help, the other, NOT so much......the helpful friend, was holding pieces of trim away so that I could gain access; the NON helpful friend kept muttering, "...VISE-GRIPS...!", out loud while pacing back and forth, up and down the driveway....anyway, after about 45 SERIOUS MINUTES of intense GRUNTING and SWEARING...I managed to get the bolts out of the inner most part of the cover, WITHOUT BREAKING THEM OFF IN THE BUMPER, which was GREAT, considering the level of success I had in this department with the bolts that were EASY to get to....I was trying to be EXTRA CAREFUL NOT to snap these bolts, because drilling and tapping NEW threads in this location would BE IMPOSSIBLE without removing the bumper entirely...wasn't down with that...

When I FINALLY got the bolts out to get the cover off, THE (...by this time...!) OBNOXIOUS friend asked, "So, what did you end up using to get the bolts out...?!?" (with a RIDICULOUSLY SMUG GRIN HIS FACE...!). I replied; while examining the tool for the manufacturer, "MASTERCRAFT LOCKING PLIERS"!, with an EQUALLY sarcastic tone in my voice! Just so as NOT to give him the satisfaction of having possibly been correct about the weapon of choice for this particular operation....(I'm laughing about the incident as I write this!)


The Cover HAD to come off...so that I could get to THIS...!!! Almost fills one with the urge to shout, "HEL-LO...!" into the opening to see if there is an ECHO..!!


...as easily seen...there are MANY RUSTY REASONS to have removed the bumper cover...!


...rear left area below hatch...hate those "speednuts" that are supposed to go on these studs...can't GET to them to put them on...! Looks like THESE particular examples are all but GONE...!


...looks like A LOT of RUN OFF has passed over THIS AREA over time...


...looks like those STUDS are the epicentre of the rusting scene...!


...more of the rear hatch lip...


...right rear tail light area...minus the bumper cover...


....a close up of THE GAPING WOUND...!


....LOOK, A NEW BREAKFAST CEREAL: RUST FLAKES...!!! JUST ADD MILK...!! EEEEIIIIWWWW....!!! (didn`t try it here, WOULDN`T recommend it at home...!)


Must take a break here...I see that the SUN is out...filling ME with the URGE to go and SUN MYSELF LIKE A SNAKE ON A ROCK...(don`t we all...?) It does NOT happen very often in this country, so, you have to get yer radiation naturally while you can..!

PLUS...JUST DISCOVERED A FLYING ANT INFESTATION IN MY GARAGE...JOY!

.TO BE CONTINUED...!!

[Banned wagon]

Wow you are going to a lot of work to band-aid this car.

I hope you are using a good rust killer/ converter, and metal etch primer on all the rust before covering it in resen?

I say this in a helpful and nicest way possable.
You really need to put some of this effort and time in to learning how to weld. As the return for your effort will be grater (I.e. work for the rest of this cars life)

[KRAMMIT]

I just took a break for a couple hours....and a reply ALREADY...! Which IS GOOD..! I WELCOME ANY REPLIES OR RESPONSES THAT ANYONE HAS...because, I wonder very often if ANYONE is EVEN READING any of the nonsense that I have been posting here....

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED is that ONLY ONE in EIGHTY or so people who view this thread take the time, or feel compelled enough (through personal experience or empathy) to make a reply...to those of YOU that HAVE REPLIED...I VERY MUCH THANK YOU AND HOPE YOU WILL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW MY RAMBLINGS...! I kind of find this WHOLE exercise very therapeutic and IT allows me to relate some of the ridiculous things I encountered to anyone who cares to read about my exploits...(to be TOTALLY HONEST with you, I had been reading a NUMBER of the posts and seeing all the pics; so, when I was doing this last summer, these were taken in the hope that they would be appreciated by some of YOU GUYS...!)

In all my years of being on this rock, which isn't really that many, I have YET to meet anyone who can READ MINDS...! So, unless you TELL someone what you are thinking....HOW are they gonna know..? What are we doing on this planet if we can't COMMUNICATE with each other and share knowledge to make our lives easier and more comfortable...? JUST saying...anyway...having said that, please do NOT HESITATE to make a reply to this thread....if you have something to share, PLEASE DO...! GOOD, BAD, ENCOURAGING, disCOURAGING...whatever....part of the problem with this world is INDIFFERENCE...where one could care less one way or the other...HAVE an OPINION, STICK TO IT, SHARE IT, let others KNOW how you feel.......wow.....kinda getting off on a tangent here....MUST be all those '70s chemicals I sprayed in the garage to get rid of the FLYING ANT INFESTATION... I see a few of them around still, but, they LOOK LIKE they are mostly just HUGGING one another.....NOT FLYING ABOUT being a nuisance....!

Alright, enough HUFFING the NASTY TOXINS....back to the HORROR SHOW...!
This is a shot of the GAPING WOUND after some wire brush action


Now, with RESPECT to Banned wagons' reply; I don't know if I have used a GOOD rust remover/converter, I used the ONLY ONE I could find...! I tried to apply it as LIBERALLY as I could without having it drip all over the driveway...[ALSO: WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO LEARN HOW TO WELD...!] ...my Dad welded for a living (steamfitter!), but he's too old (and FAT) to get off his ass and teach me anything...!

Here is the AFTER pic...this photo is slightly OUT of focus for some reason...looked okay before....


...the rear left bumper rail...


This is the rear bumper rail with the acid on it...already did the stud in the BG...


...the rear right rail....leave it sit for 10 minutes or so...


...the fuel filler door...


...rear right tail lens area...


...rear right bumper rail...


...The gaping wound AFTER marinating in the ACID for ten minutes...and a quick rinse with water...


...the rear left rail after a bath...


... more of the bumper rail to the right...


...th rear right portion of the bumper rail after the treatment...


...the rear tail lens area...


...CLOSE UP....!


...AND the fuel filler door...!

All is ready for re-coating of some sort...the sooner the better...! What happens is, ANY kind of moisture (...EVEN DEW...!) hits this area, the RUST BEGINS AGAIN, so be SURE to get some kind of coating on it as soon as possible...! I didn't....that is HOW I know this is what happens...!

...The ECHO chamber ready for surgery...


...the rear left part of the hatch closure...ready to be refinished...


The middle section ready to go...


...the rear rail ready for re-coating...


...the tail lens area...


....the fuel door...


....and, a video to describe the progress of this thread....and ALSO, the WORLDS' ONLY SNAIL WITH A BACK-UP WARNING ALARM (Have the volume turned UP and BE QUIET to hear it...!) [Just CLICK on the snail picture and you will be taken to a link of the video...!]


...AND also, as a TREAT for following along this FAR...a pic of my garage door...maybe you have seen it in a video (WOODYS' LAST MOMENTS...) ...or pieces of it in pics in this thread....I painted it when I was 15 years old..!! That was over three decades ago and it is STILL PRETTY COOL..!! ...anyway, I hope you like it...I see it every day, not everybody does...it isn't something that YOU SEE EVERYDAY...! ...for most people...

...there are numerous dents in the garage door from "taking shots" as a kid, shooting tennis balls at the door....and also a few from my friends who had motorbikes, who would take runs at my garage door (while they were HIGH) from the apartment driveway across the street from my house, reach 100 km\h, then do a front WHEELIE STOP RIGHT AT THE DOOR, TIMING IT SO THAT THE MOMENTUM SUBSIDES JUST ENOUGH TO TOUCH THE VISOR TO THE FOCAL POINT OF THE PAINTING....!!! (...they know who they are...! and YEAH, I KNOW it was YOU...!)

It is VICTORIA DAY here in Toronto and all of Canada, which means, a PAID day off of work, and the opportunity to revisit the childhood tendencies of being a PYROMANIAC...! The WONDERFUL time BEFORE we all (sorta) grew up and learned to play nicely with the other children..., a time when setting things ablaze and watching them go, BOOM! was a tremendous thrill (...STILL IS SOMETIMES...!) NEED TO GO GET ME SOME OF THAT...! (I have some unauthorized firecrackers that NEED lighting) not infringing on any ones liberties though...safety first!

I think the rear right wheel arch is next...gotta find my pics...that will be for next time...til then.....HAPPY V D ! ...wait, THAT didn't sound right....!

[KRAMMIT]

Okay, found my pics, gotta keep plugging away at this to "Git 'er DONE!", yeah right, will there EVER BE a FINISH LINE...?

A few BEFORE pics to show what there was left to work with...
This is the inner lip of the arch, looking from the hub to about 11 o'clock...(right profile)...


...the rear right area, about 8" of the arch is MISSING...


...I think there was about 3" left at the top of the arch to work with....the rest is GONE...!


....Pretty Slim Pickens left after "tickling" away the flimsy parts....


....Made myself a little gadget to help me see what I'm doing...AGAIN with the TAPE...!


...the inside of the rear of the well...keep in mind, this is STILL WINGIN IT..! (beginning to have a clue...minor...!)


...wrap it up...in FIBREGAUZE...!


....the inner edge that wasn't really there before...


...the front section of the wheel well...bit of resin there too...!


...Not REALLY sure what my plan IS at this point....but, I'M STICKING TO IT...!


...apply some of the resin mixture to ANCHOR all this TAPE to the car...


....only have ONE CHANCE to MAKE IT STICK...!


...One thing I did find was it was difficult to get all the air bubbles out during fibreglass application due to ALL the layers of tape...I think just enough to cover the area would be sufficient...I was trying to create a skeleton upon which to rebuild...


This is the rear of the wheel well after the mixture has been applied...(note that it is DARK in the BG...!) (....slow is smooth...!)


...and behind the rear right wheel...


There is still more to be done to these arches, I just hadn't figured out what at this point...

I have shied away from using putty because I heard people say that it doesn't stay put very long; vibrates loose over time; is porous, so it will absorb water eventually, get heavy, then fall away...well, i decided to find out for myself....why go on someone else' say-so...?!?

You will have seen the use of putty earlier in this thread; but, that was in an effort to answer Chris' (redone17) request for a bodywork how-to post (the segment about the windshield...!); I think I declared that the pics were out of sequence as far as how they actually happened...anyway...

So I went and bought a tin of Bondo-Glas (the GREEN cake frosting with the RED icing/hardener!) and played about with it on the rear end of the Wagon, patching up all those spots that were rusted....but, that will be for the NEXT post..!

[vwfanatic69]

patiently waiting for the next installment

[KRAMMIT]

The First place that I decided to try the putty was on the rear left lens area....

...then just kept going around the car looking for spots...


....the rear hatch sill...


...the right tail lens area...


....around the fuel filler cap...


...and the door itself...


...after some sanding...


....more sanding...


...also decided it was time to patch the Gaping Wound...it was getting me down, making me feel discouraged whenever I looked at it, like I was NEVER gonna get this thing finished...


Well, there it is, not pretty, but sealed...


....view from below...


....oh look, night has fallen upon me again....


...a view from beneath the Wound...you can see there is STILL MORE work to do...! (THAT'S where that piece of GLOVE got to...!)


...a shot of the INSIDE of the quarter panel....the resin sagged and made an uneven finish...I should have had a 6'6'' friend stick his arm down there to hold it while it set...!!! Ah well, hindsight is 20/20, right...? At least it is sealed now...I can get on with it...one area at a time....!


Keep following...I was going to wrap the arches like a cast...but, then I had an IDEA....!

[doppelfaust]

I have to say, the biggest thing I have taken from your thread is... thank god I don't live where you do. I don't think I could handle watching my car rust away.

Thanks for the updates. It's like watching something saved from the literal age of death.

[novws]

Always look forward to the updates on your thread. I like the commentary and am glad you saved this car from being scrapped.

[Banned wagon]

I have to say, the biggest thing I have taken from your thread is... thank god I don't live where you do. I don't think I could handle watching my car rust away.

Thanks for the updates. It's like watching something saved from the literal age of death.

yea rust sucks ! we have issues with it out my way but it only attacks the top side of the car

[KRAMMIT]

Well, in ALL HONESTY...it wasn't EXACTLY my idea...My IDEA was to get a JIG made so that I could SUPPORT the freshly applied resin mixture with the fibreglass mats and cloths in place....so that the whole mess wouldn't OOZE and SAG all over the place.....I thought I was on the RIGHT track...

I went my good friends at ULTRA AUTO SOUND (...shameless plug...!) and asked Said [Sa-eed] if he could make me a jig, he said, "Sure, for the front or rear arch...?", I said, "I want it for the rear; but you can use the front arch, I think they are the same." AAAAEEEYYYEEERNNNT!! Wrong again BOB! They do differ slightly (realized this fact AFTER the jig was UP!)

Anyway, I was DETERMINED to make THIS WORK...! SAID made the jig for me out of an off cut of MDF board and doubled the thickness (at my request!) for a case of BEER! (ANOTHER GREAT GUY I have met along the way on this journey!)

SO, now armed with my (approx.) 30" x 15" x 1 1/14" jig made from MDF (Medium Density Fibre) , basically sawdust and glue COMPRESSED under MASSIVE AMOUNTS of HEAT and PRESSURE, no knots, imperfections, BUT ALSO HEAVY AS GRANITE...!!

I had to devise some kind of STAND that was capable of supporting this MONSTROSITY long enough to allow the resin to set.......THEN IT HAPPENED...! Another GREAT FRIEND of mine, DAVE, and I were in the garage drinking beer cuz it was STORMING (thunder, lightning, etc.) outside; can't WORK on the car, time to PLAN the work TO BE DONE on the car.....Dave is GREAT to bounce IDEAS off of, because they NEVER come back in the direction that you were anticipating....he has a history of thinking outside the box, sometimes WAAAYYY outside...at any rate...we were halfway through the two-four when he muttered something like, "...it's TOO BAD you couldn't build the arch OFF of the car....NAH...! That wouldn't work..." "WAIT...! WHAT?!?....THAT'S IT...!!!" (...see it WASN'T actually MY idea...but) ...Make The Arch First! Then, Fasten IT To The Car....! Thanks Dave...!!! [MAYBE IF I wasn't LOADED, I WOULD have THOUGHT of it myself...]

...okay, I KNOW you guys LOVE PICTURES...!! Who am I to disappoint...?
THIS became the STAR of the SHOW...!


It looks kind of FLASHY due to it being dressed in ALCAN...! I put the foil on it so the moulded arch would come away from the jig easily, and THAT actually worked, what I soon discovered, was that the foil does NOT like to come away from the moulded piece very easily...well certainly NOT in ONE PIECE anyway...several, lots, & many pieces would be more accurate....
....Those wrinkles on the foil (I later found out!) will manifest themselves in the mould in a negative fashion (NO pun intended.....really?) , do you know how hard it is to make a square sheet of something LAY FLAT on something ROUND without any WRINKLES...?!? Again, patience NOT included...at least not THAT day...


What better way to FIND OUT what this stuff is all about, than just PLAY with it...? Find out what is smells like, didn't TASTE it due its' TOXICITY level; the SMELL can make your HEAD SPIN, initially, VERY slight euphoria....but, prolonged UNprotected exposure WILL give you a headache to remember....(HOW do you think I found out...?) so PROTECT yourself; and this stuff is ACTUALLY QUITE FUN to mess around with...!

THIS pathetic looking STAIN on the foil is my FIRST effort at FABRICATION...


I used only a SINGLE layer of cloth (with the grid-like weave) and thought I would be FANCY and use a WIDE sheet and FOLD it to create the lip of the arch...THAT DAMN BUZZER went off again....telling me that I had effed up once more.....

The procedure was to coat the foil with the mixture, have your pre-cut-to-size piece ready to go, thoroughly wet it, and apply to the desired area...LOOKS LIKE AN AERO BAR...(...there are NOT supposed to be ANY BUBBLES AT ALL...!)


...You can see the TREMENDOUS AIR POCKET trapped in here...note to self...DON'T TRY TO BE FANCY...!! For the NEXT effort, I decided, NO FOLDING, and to go with a layer of resin on the foil, a layer of cloth, resin, a layer of mat, resin, & a layer of cloth, then LEAVE IT to set...I have a tendency to OVERWORK things, gets me in trouble sometimes.....but how else do you LEARN ABOUT FIRE, IF YOU DON'T PLAY WITH MATCHES...?


HERE is the FIRST PROTOTYPE....! Was I happy with it...? Would YOU BE..? Could I do BETTER...? ...pretty sure....


...Not a bad fit though...


...you can SEE how this HAS MERIT.......[ahhh, I KNEW a girl named Merritt...but NOT like THAT.....we were seven...!]......


....would you look at THAT....OVER A DOZEN PIECES OF FOIL STILL STUCK TO IT...!...oh yeah, and....it's DARK OUT AGAIN....! The street lights are ON...!


Time for me to end this segment...keep following to see MORE OF: REALLY FLIMSY STUFF + GOOEY STUFF = WHEEL ARCHES THAT CANNOT RUST....! (at least until I'M done with the car I HOPE!)

[KRAMMIT]

At some point last summer....I became OVERWHELMED by the amount of work I was facing before the weather was going to get uncooperative...I learned the value of picking one project or area to do at a time, complete it, then move onto the next...since I had just patched the 'gaping wound', I thought I should plug up the area that GAVE BIRTH to the DISH RAG...this approach to the quarter panel involved going at it from the inside, via the right tail lens....


I just filled any areas that had LIGHT shining through, with the mixture and mat until it oozed through the bottom and set...


Still not knowing exactly WHAT I was doing....I was trying different approaches to applying, different ratios of resin to hardener, trying to work OUT of the SUN, at some point I recall putting the tin of resin in my BEER fridge to keep it cool, perhaps extending the workability time a couple precious minutes...(seconds count!)

I needed to make some more arches before tackling the wheel wells....and also consider a method for fastening them to the car....
Wrapped the form in foil again, trying to keep the wrinkles down to a minimum on the lip...got out the goop...went for round two...


Now was a good time to clean up a loose end....I needed to drill and tap those two studs I snapped off in the rear bumper rail...the pic on the right side was brutally blurry...you get the idea...


While I was waiting for round (partially round?) two to set, I had some time to mix up some resin mixture, and paint it over the areas that were just puttied...just to see what it would look like...


....Turns out....I LIKED IT...!


...so I painted it EVERYWHERE...!






I wanted to make the drivers door sill nice...only because I will SEE it every time I get into the car...THIS needed some more work...


....this looked okay....AT NIGHT, AFTER INHALING FUMES (and beers!) ALL DAY...!


....But, a light sanding, and CLOSE inspection revealed many depressions and imperfections, a couple tiny holes as well...


...I ended up covering the wee cleats that hold on that bottom trim rail...I don't think I'm going to worry about it too much....I would rather effectively SEAL the holes that are in the door sill...


Back to the garage for MORE FIBREGLASS FUN....covered the form again...cut my pieces ahead of time, planned out where they were going to go...


...resin mixture onto the foil, a coated layer of cloth, MORE resin on top of the cloth, then a soaked layer of MAT in the mixture, another coating of resin, then a final top layer of the cloth with its own coating of mixture.....the result...


You can SEE it...not the ABORTION that the first effort was....!


...strip the mould and cover it again for round four...


....Same approach....


...Similar result....!


After stripping away all the bitty foil pieces..........................(I don't think my netbook has enough dots in it...!) I now had THREE decent arches...AND the first one...!.....so, I got a Sharpie, a mini hacksaw, a drill, and a box of outdoor construction screws...and had A FITTING SESSION...LEFT SIDE...


...here you can see the shadow of the original behind what I am intending....


....I think this will just get drizzled with resin; like syrup on pancakes...


...RIGHT SIDE...


...NOT many places to screw INTO...this lip was all but gone....


....Note there are NO SCREWS on the inside lip for about 7-8"; there was nothing THERE to fasten to...


I used the Sharpie to LABEL all my segments, cut pieces of MAT for each segment, put LOCATING MARKS on the fender and the arches, laid out my materials so they were easy to locate when needed, ALSO, (very important!) covered my SCREWDRIVER with paper towel and masking tape, leaving only the BIT EXPOSED....didn't want to goop up my screwdriver...!

I was going to do the TOP arch first; then, in second and third batch mixings; fasten the smaller pieces....that was my approach...


...the smaller segments...


....and my "Heavy as Granite" mixing/applying board, with assorted requirements...*TIP* That clear vinyl tube is the hardener; USE A SEWING NEEDLE TO PIERCE the opening, that will make the drops smaller, and EASIER to measure....(I used the end of a pair of scissors the first time...! The drops were HUGE...! ...bad results...!)


I REALLY HATE to DO THIS....but, it's getting LATE again....I've been out here 'til 2am the last couple nights trying to get this CLOSER to being....uh...well.....let's say....UP TO DATE....with respect to the CURRENT timeline...Yeah, that's it....up...to....date....CLOSER! Closer up to date. (Damn! JUST when it was getting to actually ACCOMPLISHING something....!)

I look forward to your comments, Gentlemen, if anyone is watching...!?!

[KRAMMIT]

Oh well...the work goes on....this was probably the MOST challenging application of the project so far...wadding up the resin soaked mat between the mould and the arch, while trying to locate the holes for the screws....SEVERAL times in 10 minutes... (it was HOT out...!) .....Anyway....


...the front of the arch...zoom in to see the ooze at the joins...


...the rear section...


...then it was over to the other side to plan IT out...the rear of the right well...


....locating marks on the car...


...And while I was working on the front part of the arch, my LUCKY DAY...can you IMAGINE WHAT I FOUND....? ANOTHER PROJECT...!

....Not sure...but, I think that ORANGE MARSHMALLOW is remnants of some other previous patchwork....looks as though the metal it was attached to....ISN'T...!....no matter...that's WHY I'm doing this....!

...the front part of the car wasn't the ONLY area that NEEDED patching at the welding shop...das ist Haesslich...........gotta get MORE FROSTING......!


....The corresponding area on the other side....ALSO in NEED of some...well, ...okay, LOTS...of TLC....!


...Applied some resin and mat to plug this side......(in the distance....you can see the apartment driveway that my MANIAC friends used to RUSH my garage door on their RICE ROCKETS........100km/h; then touch the visor to the focal point on a wheelie stop...! SAFE !! )


...no hole any more...

Then...one Saturday at about 7 in the morning...the front yard was being torn up......there were interlocking bricks and (rotted!) rail road ties......NO MORE...!

(....YUP...!!! WE ARE THAT HOUSE...!!!!)

What were they going to do with all the bricks...? ....I wondered....then I made a SUGGESTION......
...what used to LOOK LIKE THIS....


...now looks....LIKE THIS...! SWEET...! Another place to PARK...!!

The guy who put the bricks down did a FANTASTIC JOB...! Just a little bit too CONVEX as far as being level goes....but the driveway is FAR from being LEVEL anyway...

...As a small project to do while the LANDSCRAPING was going on......BEFORE...


.....AFTER...!

...Just some putty with a coating of resin afterwards.......

......some PUTTY spread on the INSIDE of the well, just along the NEW ARCH....hmmmm....looks like the TAPE was a GOOD IDEA after all...!


...the left side body/chassis seam.....


......slight pan out...

Looks better than it did....!

....the NEXT DAY....AFTER A LOT OF PUTTY.......


...then after A LOT OF SANDING....!


...the PROBLEM AREA after some putty and resin treatment....


....did I mention that I liked to paint that resin mixture EVERYWHERE.....?


...why not here...?


....and ALL AROUND here....


....here...


....ALL ALONG HERE....


....and here...


....the NEWEST project area...(the ORANGE MARSHMALLOW...!)


...and the FLOOR PAN beneath the passenger seat...AFTER A COAT OF FROSTING....!


NEXT UP: a visit from an ALIEN...!


(....been at it for a couple hours now, need a break...!)
Nachste Zeit..! Aufwiederschreiben...!