Meet my red-headed stepchild!

[DUBSfightinRUST]

rust NEVER sleeps!!

[glidrew]

had a great time Eric. the rocco looks amazing
thanks

[LubsDaDubs]

Anticipation for the next update

[echassin]

had a great time Eric. the rocco looks amazing
thanks

Thank you sir, glad you came.

Chris and Drew drove in from Kansas for Treffen, and we took the S1. For some reason this year, the Sciroccos were in their own class...

...and I was the only one...

...so I took 1st place

Anyhoo, y'all want updates, I got updates. First thing, I 400 sanded the sunroof outside:



and inside (real PIA):



Then I emptied the entire garage and sanitized it as best I could. The driveway looked like I was having a garage sale :



And the I got to it. First the hood:



I missed two dips . I think the skin got pulled down when VW glued it to the inner structure. I suppose the hood's no worse now than when it was new, but I was disappointed because the dips would have been easy to smooth with filler (the areas are stiff because they're glued to the inner frame). Oh well.

Fenders next:





No beef with them, they came out great.

Next doors:





Very happy, no waves

And finally, the sunroof, gas door, and hood hinges:



No pic, but I painted the inside of the sunroof panel first today, so by the time I sprayed everything else, I could flip the sunroof over and paint the outside.

Next will be some assembly, but I have to work tomorrow. Maybe Friday if the paint feels good and hard.

[Mtl-Marc]

The driveway looked like I was having a garage sale :

How much for the Shop Vac?

[nuctech]

Are you going to wait till later to paint the bodykit? Great work btw

[echassin]

I'm doing the kit separate because the paint'll have flex agent in it.

Probably after the panels are on, aligned, assembled, and the car sanded and buffed.

[prom king]

Single Stage paint?

[scirocco*joe]

Sweet business, Eric. Looking forward to it all going back together.

[echassin]

Single Stage paint?

Yessir.

Today I'm pretty sore from lugging the panels around yesterday, which severely limited my enthusiasm, but I was anxious to at least get the gas door installed.

Why, you ask?

Astute observers will note that I'm painting the car piecemeal to make the process more manageable, but accepting some risk of mismatched panels. I took some steps to minimize the risk, but ultimately "the proof is in the pudding".

So the gas door is huge because I painted it yesterday, as opposed to the passenger quarter panel, which I did a few months ago. The result?

You wanna see?

Like, a picture?

[Drum roll]:



Perfect match. The gas door is smoother because I laid it flat and get the paint to flow like glass, but with some sanding and buffing, I'm pretty sure I'll get the quarter panel to toe the line.

It took a while getting the gaps adjusted and sealing the screws and screw holes to keep water out, so that left a few minutes before dark to "real quick" install the hood hinges:





"Real quick", as in, the guy who designed the hinges should have his balls squeezed in a vice The hinge point is so high in the cowl that it's a omtherufcker to get the C-clips into position. Here's what I learned, and yes it is possible to do it without much force and without chipping anything. I opened the clips a bit so that they still snap soundly into position, but they do so with minimal force. I smothered the clips in grease so that I could push them up into the slot, and they held there by themselves until I could push them home with a short screwdriver, done blind. Add cursing, alternating with relaxation and tasty beverages as needed.

Lastly, just so you know, when you paint, cover the floor.

No, I mean the WHOLE floor. Here's mine:





Guess I gotta paint the floor when the car's done

Tomorrow if the Advil works, I'll try to hang the panels

[echassin]

Okey Dokey, big day today, as in it's starting to look like a car

First I bolted the doors on and tweaked the hinges until the rear gap was spot on:



Then I bolted the fenders on, tweaking them so the door/fender gap was spot on:





I went ahead and tightened down the other bolts based on where the old bolt marks were, and painted the bolt heads red :



The fenders are glued with hard RTV where that was done before, and the bolts that go under the car are all soaked in Cosmoline, as are the headlight bracket screws, which are now permanently installed.

Lastly, the hood:



I like the look . The dips I saw yesterday cannot be discerned, so maybe I was being too picky in some unflattering light? In any event, since I always wanna gripe about something, now I'm disappointed with the texture along the front lip of the hood, which seems awfully dry. Hopefully I'll get it to shine without burning through...

And here's where I'm at:



Engine bay done except hood hardware:



Tomorrow I hope to get door hardware on, fender liners installed, and hood hardware done. See you then!

[sciroccojim]

Nice.

I'll throw this out there, since corrosion protection is a stated concern of yours.

The fenders have to be either installed:

1. in a manner that COMPLETELY prevents water from entering the fender-to-wheelwell and fender-to-inner fender areas, either directly or through capillary action. That means seam sealer, schutz, whatever...in copious quantities. Any water that gets trapped in there will stay there for a while and do some damage. This will be tricky.

or

2. installed without ANY sealing material, so water drips, runs or otherwise leaves the area shortly after entering.

Option 2 is practically impossible, as dirt, salt, etc. will clog the openings and (worse yet) act as a water-retaining, decaying, acidic, corrosive SPONGE OF DOOM.

Just a thought.

[echassin]

I guess I'm doing option 2, more or less. I only put a bead where I cut the old stuff, so there's no more and no less than original. I think the liners go a long way protecting things.

I figure it didn't rust before, so it shouldn't now, we'll see...

The exception is the driver fender repair. I'll Cosmoline it but make sure it still drains.

[sciroccojim]

Well, I have to concede that option 2 is better than a less-than-perfectly executed option 1. If the fender is "mostly" sealed and water gets in, it's gonna STAY THERE. That was a common issue with MK1 cars, due to the stupid hood rest grommets and the holes in the fender ledges that they fit into.

Ugh.

It would be better to ventilate the sucker.

[TheTimob]

Fenders are dumb anyway! Just run the liners!

[ANSAracingb]

That sunroof looks good Eric!
I'm glad it made its way to you safely and I can't believe you painted it already

[echassin]

Your panel saved me a ishtboat of work. All it needed was to be sanded

I didn't get as much done as I thought I would because the pool and some tasty beverages both conspired to rob me of half the day , but I made some good progress nevertheless.

First: hood hardware, squirters, various body plugs, etc...:



After tinkering a while, the hood gaps are good:



Astute observers will note the yellow string, which is an emergency backup for the hood release setup, the complexity of which has me a bit suspicious, even though it does work well. Also, the hood gap in front of the cowl repair is imperfect, as expected, but overall it's very satisfactory IMO.

Next was door hardware. First the latches, handles, etc...:



I spent a lot of time getting the gaps right, and I'm happy with them. Astute observers will note that the slight recess under the front of the door handles is missing, but you'd have to know it to notice it, and flat was much simpler to do.

BTW, does anybody know if these slots get covered?



I can't imagine they're left open, but the car didn't have anything there

Other door handle, latch, hardware, etc..., and good gaps:



With the doors level, I could measure and paint the B-pillar black-outs:



After that, vent windows:



And finally, windows, cranks, scrapers, seals, etc...:



And a random shot I like because of the lighting:



Tomorrow I may start on the sunroof, which frankly seems insurmountable . The nice layout I had is now a big [and possibly incomplete?] pile. It seems like my basement is Command Central for all the kids in the neighborhood, which in some ways is cool, and and other ways is a PIA.

[Mtl-Marc]

BTW, does anybody know if these slots get covered?

Mine are not.

[ziggirocco]

Car is looking good!

Those slots are as is, no covers or anything, it stays as is, some sort or air vent I guess.

[Falcor]

tall redheads.....

[echassin]

Tall indeed, and I only have about 150 pounds of parts left, so this car will probably not be "stanced"

I shoulda ordered the Sport Cup Kit instead of the Touring Cup Kit. It woulda been another 1.5" down.

At least it has a good rake.

[ziggirocco]

Tall indeed, and I only have about 150 pounds of parts left, so this car will probably not be "stanced"

I shoulda ordered the Sport Cup Kit instead of the Touring Cup Kit. It woulda been another 1.5" down.

At least it has a good rake.

I imagine the touring kit was just an up graded suspension kit that retained the stock ride height, but since you will be winter driving it, I think it is better this way. At least the car sits nice and straight, without that typical "scirocco sag" in the rear.

[Michael Bee]

When you're all done, throw some bags of sand in the trunk. That'll level 'er out govna'.

or something

[d-bot]

When you're all done, throw some bags of sand in the trunk. That'll level 'er out govna'.

or something

Since this is staged for "winter duty", when he adds the snow plow from the cub cadet up front, and the salt spreader in the rear, it will be "stanced" fairly well.

[TheTimob]

Since this is staged for "winter duty", when he adds the snow plow from the cub cadet up front, and the salt spreader in the rear, it will be "stanced" fairly well.

Just throw the transmission from the club cadet in the trunk. It will be SLAMMED!

[echassin]

The kit said it'd lower the car an inch or so, but it didn't. I don't think it's because I removed the 220 lbs, because the kit's "part" number is the same for all A1 chassis cars, which would include lightweight early Rabbits.

I don't mind the height except that the car has too much rake (the rear is higher). The rear springs have a LOT of dead coils, so the option does exist to cut out a few with no adverse effects. We'll see how the car sits after the kit and bumpers are on, and after I drive it a while.

Anyhoo, today I got the sunroof working. I had it all layed out perfect after I took it out, but over time, my layout became this:





An hour or so of staring at it got me here:



Rails being installed:



Cable drive track being installed:



Washing the cloth (Oxyclean and a light brushing):



Cloth glued on and the panel slid into its tracks:



From inside:



The spot is some glue I dripped .

With the cloth thing in its track, the tracks can be tightened down:



Seal pressed onto the panel:



I used a little silicone to keep water from pooling at the bottom of the seal's channel, which I think is why the other panel rusted.

Panel installed, levelled, and height adjusted, :



Open:



Tilted:



What I'm not showing you are the intervening steps, from the time the panel is installed, till it'll open and tilt. Here's a brief summary of those steps:

1) Curse a lot, like this: @#$%&*!!!
2) Take it all apart, tweak anything that looks bent, reassemble.
3) Repeat steps one and two several times.
4) Jump up and down and consider buying a huge tube of black silicone to just glue the ufcking thing shut.
5) Repeat steps one and two several more times.
6) Stomp away and drink some tasty beverages to relax, while pondering how and why engineers would take a simple goal like "let the Sun in through a hole in the roof", and design the most complicated mechanism ever
7) Repeat step two and WHOA! IT WORKS! WTF? I don't even know what I did different !?

OK, enough levity, because I do have two residual issues I need help with:
1) When the roof tilts up, it doesn't lift the cloth panel.
2) I have this leftover spring:



I'm certain the two issues are related, but I can't figure out how the spring goes in so that it'll lift the panel. I seem to recall one end was on the cross bar, but it seems too far forward to lift the cloth panel, and there's no hook on the cloth panel anyways. Anyone?

Next'll be fender liners, and I think enough of the weight is on the car to do the wheel alignment.

[MrPill]

OK, enough levity, because I do have two residual issues I need help with:
1) When the roof tilts up, it doesn't lift the cloth panel.
2) I have this leftover spring:



I'm certain the two issues are related, but I can't figure out how the spring goes in so that it'll lift the panel. I seem to recall one end was on the cross bar, but it seems too far forward to lift the cloth panel, and there's no hook on the cloth panel anyways. Anyone?

Next'll be fender liners, and I think enough of the weight is on the car to do the wheel alignment.

Eric,

You may have already seen these but seem to cover what you need:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...hlight=sunroof

http://www.vintagewatercooleds.com/t...note/#more-549

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...hlight=sunroof

Slow night here at the hospital tonight.
-Dan

Edit: one more http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...1#post14359521

[echassin]

Got it, thanks!

The one link is the same as Timbo's Technote, but it didn't show where the spring goes, but the link that described the location was enough to figure it all out.

My error was to stretch the cloth and glue it so that the little hole was hidden .

[PoorHouse]

Did you get new cables and drive gear?

I had my SR out this spring for some body clean up and a new seal, reused the original cables and gear.

It is a much "tighter" open and close with the new seal. I get some slipping now when opening or closing.

[TBerk]

OK, hold it right there....

Too much rake...

No such thing, but one thing to keep in mind is this thing is still yet to have clocked (m)any miles of the road's bumps and bruises.

Give it a bit to shake down and settle at it's proper hight before cutting coils...

Just say'n; I know I sound all authoritative and possessive and everything- it's the curse of the Voyeuristic Hanger-On, Interwebby Stylz and everything.

Nonetheless, I pronounce 'Rake' a Good Thing.

[echassin]

Did you get new cables and drive gear?

I had my SR out this spring for some body clean up and a new seal, reused the original cables and gear.

It is a much "tighter" open and close with the new seal. I get some slipping now when opening or closing.

I cleaned up, oiled, and re-used the old hardware. The seal is used but nice, so I used that too. Petra did say that the whole thing sounds too creaky. Sheesh, women .

I noticed that sometimes the seal hangs up on the rear lip of the opening, as if the panel isn't dropping down before it tries to move back. If I back off and try again, all's well . It likely needs some tweak that I dare not risk for fear of losing what I've achieved .

I also see in the pics on the Vintage site that my panel's side brackets are backwards, which thankfully doesn't seem to be hurting anything (?). I can't even say that I know what they're for.

As far as the car's posture, I'll definitely install every last part and drive around a bit before passing final judgement. Early indications are that the rear needs to come down 1/2 to 1" more. If so, two or three of the dead coils oughta do it.

[polov8]

Rake

[RoccoRacer]

Looking though the pictures I was thinking to myself, "no way! He makes the sunroof install look easy!" Then I saw the real story...

What I'm not showing you are the intervening steps, from the time the panel is installed, till it'll open and tilt. Here's a brief summary of those steps:

1) Curse a lot, like this: @#$%&*!!!
2) Take it all apart, tweak anything that looks bent, reassemble.
3) Repeat steps one and two several times.
4) Jump up and down and consider buying a huge tube of black silicone to just glue the ufcking thing shut.
5) Repeat steps one and two several more times.
6) Stomp away and drink some tasty beverages to relax, while pondering how and why engineers would take a simple goal like "let the Sun in through a hole in the roof", and design the most complicated mechanism ever
7) Repeat step two and WHOA! IT WORKS! WTF? I don't even know what I did different !?

I've been there, except I haven't repeated step two enough times yet.

[crazyaboutrocs]

I also see in the pics on the Vintage site that my panel's side brackets are backwards, which thankfully doesn't seem to be hurting anything (?). I can't even say that I know what they're for.

If you're talking about the plastic pieces, they just cover the mechanicals when it's popped up. I don't know whether they are there to keep something from getting stuck there or just so it looks nicer when up.

[PoorHouse]

I cleaned up, oiled, and re-used the old hardware. The seal is used but nice, so I used that too. Petra did say that the whole thing sounds too creaky. Sheesh, women .

I noticed that sometimes the seal hangs up on the rear lip of the opening, as if the panel isn't dropping down before it tries to move back. If I back off and try again, all's well . It likely needs some tweak that I dare not risk for fear of losing what I've achieved .

I also see in the pics on the Vintage site that my panel's side brackets are backwards, which thankfully doesn't seem to be hurting anything (?). I can't even say that I know what they're for.

Quite a finicky operation.

I'll give it another go this winter with new cables and drive gear.