Mission Accomplished!

Tonight Isaac, Steven and myself set out on a mission to install the front end in the bug. We decided that Isaac would be the photographer, Steven would be the jackman and I would be the muscles to get the front end in. The mission went well and our goal was accomplished! The pictures that Isaac took show how it all went.




It only took us 20 minutes and it was done. The only problem is that the front end looks out of place in the old rusty bug!

Its all downhill from here!

Well, Its finally done!, The front beam is ready to install in the bug. Here the torsion bars are being installed


Here are the new Ball Joints that are going to be installed.

Here is the fun part, All the grease is being pumped into the beam. We use only Mobil 1, because its the BEST!

And then while I was getting the beam ready for paint, Steven and Isaac shook the paint and primer


Steven and Isaac painted it. It looks good and Dixie will be happy to know that no one got paint on our good clothes. (Even though we were wearing them)



Its all downhill from here. We just need to install the beam in the car, put the tie rods, steering damper, steering linkage, spindles, brakes, brake lines, gas tank, and wheels on and we are finished! Just another night or so. In all reality the hard part is done now. The boys(including me) cant wait for it to be back on the ground.

Things are looking up!

Well, Since the last post a lot has happened.
The wheels have been powder coated mercedes silver



The tires have been installed on the wheels. (They are very narrow) I will definetly have to be careful tailgating other people





My Friend welded up the last adjuster on the beam and made my whole week. I was as excited as a kid on Christmas day!




and so now the real fun begins. The plan is to assemble the front end with the torsion leafs, and new torsion arms with ball joints installed. (I chose the ball joints for a lowered front end so hopefully it will help the ride be a little softer.) I will then clean up the beam and paint it, and install the new tie rods, steering damper, sway bar, and front brakes. Hopefully with any luck the bug will be back on its wheels very soon. The way this week is looking it doesn't look like it will be done for the weekend but we will see. Thats it for now.

One step forward Two steps back!

Well, The powder coating didn't go as well as planned. I sand blasted the wheels and prepped them for powder coating. I coated them and baked them in the oven but they turned out looking like crap. I used some powder that I was not 100% sure of. I think it was the powder, so that created a bunch more work to get the bad powder coat off and prep them for new.

They are once again ready to coat and bake and hopefully they will turn out as good as the trailer wheels I did this winter. One thing that has changed is the wheels will now be silver. I know and trust this powder and there is plenty of it to do all 5 wheels. (5th is the spare)

On a good note, all the parts we need to get the front end put together have come and the tires are in at Les Scwabb. They are waiting for me to get the wheels done so the tires can be mounted.

Wish me luck tomorrow morning as I try a second time to get the wheels done!

Progress

Well, there has been some progress on the bug. It seems like we have 5 different things going on at the same time. The only problem is they are all getting worked on but not finished.

The front beam is going well. The top adjuster is welded and the lower one is ready to be welded. I have taken the front wheels to work and stripped the paint off them and they are ready for sandblasting and powder coating which will hopefully be done tomorrow. We have decided to powder coat the wheels white and then decide from there.

There is a ton of front end parts on order along with tires from les scwhabb. They had to be special ordered because of the odd size. Hopefully they will arrive and then the fun really begins. Its always nice to install nice new parts.

Well thats it for now. Lots of work being done but not a lot of progress can be seen.

Here Goes Nothing

Well, Here it goes. The moment of truth. We are going to cut the beam and we will be past the point of no return. After it's cut theres no turning back. It seemed to go well and the new adjuster fits good. You can see in the pictures how the adjuster gets installed. As I was cutting it the boys wanted to polish some brass I gave them so they were hard at work doing that. I just need to find someone to weld in the adjuster and then do it again to the lower tube. Hopefully if I did all my math correctly it should give the bug a drop of about 5 inches which should be about perfect!

Solvent Tank

My Dad gave this solvent tank to me back in my first house. I think it was when he was moving to Logan and didn't want to take it. I took it and never really did anything with it until now. My Dad made this solvent tank back when I was a kid. I had to buy some solvent for it and fix the holding tank. Luckily the pump still works great. I love being able to clean parts at home and not have to drag them to work. I can't believe I went so long without it. Simple pleasures.