Ben's Eagle SS

[Deleted]

Ok will do, cheers for the tips. Could i mount it on the inside of the front 'firewall' (or whatever its called in a rear engined car) above the transmission tunnel so its away from feet?
I may start with individual bottles until everything is fitted and i can look at the best place to mount it.

On another note, I think I have found a sprayer who lives in my village (although the workshop is a few miles away) and who does beetle resortations/spraying (was recommended by the guys at GSF car parts where ive been getting bits from).

A quick chat and he does fibre glassing as well. He said give him a buzz when i am ready to get the body painted and he'll pop over to have a look at it etc. I might have a chat and see if he can add in the headlight pods and rear light pods?? I am not made of money but if its going to cost a fair bit to spray/repair anyway...i dont want my shoddy work to ruin his paint job.

Although I would love to do some fibreglassing for the interior, i dont fancy my chances on the exterior.

[Peter]

Believe me when I say, there is no way you are going to have a watertight boot, the design is totaly wrong I tried it and gave up and if I give up, well, nuff said.
You can fit a strip to the inner top of the tub so any water runs to the front but then it has to go somewhere and the flip front doesn't allow for a seal at the front edge.

[Peter]

Doing the rear lights is a doodle (if you have a 'virgin' rear end, if not get it smooth and clean before you start), Sikoflex a couple of bits of 15mm MDF behind the areas to be dut and then cut the four holes where you want the lights, glue a ply panel over the holes inside the boot, drill for wires and screws then fill and smooth to shape. It's called 'Fenching'.

[Deleted]

Peter is, as usual, correct but don't use MDF, it's far too heavy. Get onto your nearest plastic stockholder and ask for a material called Foamex. It's rigid polyprop sheeting & used extensively in exhibitions (my line of business). Much lighter than MDF, it's water proof (a good thing in a kit car) MDF will absorb water, UV resistant, thermally stable and fire proof (another good thing in a kit car). Using progressively finer grades of glass paper, you can get a high quality edge and it will paint up using any normal automotive paints provided it is primered correctly.

[Deleted]

Hey Peter....are you having trouble with your "R's?" ;D

It' called "FRenching".............a throw back to the rodders in the 50's & 60's




..............apologies......couldn't resist....I put it down to watching Carry on Matron on the telly this afternoon

[Deleted]

Ok so a few bits today, took the heater channel wires and levers out, lovely and greasy.
Removed all the brake lines (up to the rubber ones going into the brakes), the master brake cylinder and pedals.
Nice clear pan to finish when it stops raining. A new wire angle-grinder bit is doing nicely.

Plan for the next few days is to finish the top of the pan, remove the engine, front and transmission. Allowing me to turn the car on its side and start removing the crud on the bottom.

Once that is done, i can go either way, depending on the weather.
I can either start cleaning/rebuilding the front axle, steering bits and brakes. Does anyone have a nice list of things I should replace from those parts?

Or try and sort out the repairing of the pan.

[Deleted]

Sort out the pan first. If it turns out to be either too far gone or uneconomical to repair then you are going to have to think about replacing it. Hopefully that's not the case because you'll then be back in the IVA game. But if the worst comes to the worst, there is no point refurbing a pile of components that may not be suitable for another floorpan. I know you are almost half way through going over the pan with a wire brush on a drill but, from experience, I'd strongly suggest getting the bottom blasted. Not only will this save you a fortune in brushes but it will also give you a much better chance to assess the state of whatever is left. Blasting will not only remove the crud quickly, it will also reveal all the weak areas in the pan as any thin metal will disappear with the crud. Your welder will thank you in the long run.

[Deleted]

Just a quick one, i've dissasembled my master cyclinder for a clean out, its rusted a little so i thought id clean it and repaint it. Got the first piston out however i cannot seem to get the secondary piston out. Any ideas? I've removed the piston screw on top. nothing else is attached. Just doesnt want to move out.

[Deleted]

.....dw gentle persuasion with a rubber hammer and screwdriver managed it.

[Deleted]

Make sure the bore isn't damaged or corroded, though. A new one isn't that expensive and it is, after all, something you'll be trusting your life to.

[Deleted]

Bore is good, just the outside needs a clean-up.
The second piston has a nice dent in it, looks like I'll need a rebuild kit at some point.

[Deleted]

Ok so a little update of what ive done over last few days.

1. Brought & fitted brake master cylinder rebuild kit.

2. Cleaned, primed and painted brake cylinder and pedals.



3. My car welder friend popped around today, gave the chassis a real work over with a hammer and some special torque tool. All seems to be good, he's happy that, although it is ugly, its very solid. So he will pop around to fill the few holes up at some point over weekend.

4. So with that good news i took the front axle off the car. I really do love that it only takes 4 bolts to do. That allowed me to....


5. Buzz, clean, prime and seam seal the front area. Used some red oxide i found in the garage for the base coat and some rubber seam sealant over the joins. I will follow this up with another coat of red oxide, grey primer and then black paint. Hopefully this will keep it sealed for a while at least.

[Deleted]

update:

[Deleted]

Almost looks new from here....did you get your mate to sort out the welding chores?

On a different track have you seen the white Nova on ebay this week............in all my years messing with plastic cars I have never seen one with conventional opening doors. Looks a good project too.....maybe a bit pricey??

Keep up the good work.........I reckon your industry has sent the rest of the membership into hiding. Only you, Mike and myself plus occasional appearances from Jon and Peter on this site recently.

C/ya Chris

[Deleted]

Yes, great progress, Ben. It's looking good but you DO realise that your welder is going to want to rub a fair bit of that back to perform his magic?

I agree, it has been a bit quite on here of late but I too hope to be getting on with my SS soon. My son, who I normally take to rugby every weekend is out injured at the moment so, under my instruction, he is due to make a start next weekend (if I can get him out of bed). If you want to see what I've been up to check

www.scimitarweb.com/sgwrs/viewtopic.php?t=3672

and for one of my other projects check
www.peerless-gt.co.uk

and go to restorations - mike ramsay-fraser

[Deleted]

Good effort Mike.......dont know much about the SS1 but the SE5a with a thumping great Essex 3.0 up front is the business...almost the original sportshatch?? I'm going to have to add that forum to my favourites now and follow that build

[Deleted]

Yep Ben (the welder; same name, very confusing) came around at the weekend and sorted the chassis out, the welding didnt take very long, but as u said he did do some prep work on it which took a little while. After this I went ahead and primed it (the grey is the middle layer between red oxide and paint). It will eventually be black, but need to source some clear coat to protect it.

At the moment I am only doing the front little bit so i can reattach the front axle/wheels allowing me to remove the engine and paint the back. I've researched how to remove engine/gearbox/wheels etc, but one little thing is stopping me, although i think i know how to do it.

Separating the handbrake cable from the brakes, I'm guessing i unclip the cable in the shoe rather than having to unfeed the wire from the handbrake and then feed it back when reattaching the wheels?

Yes it is a shame there are so few of us, although I wouldnt worry too much about the lack of numbers, i have just joined the EuroNova team, and they are still finding Novas that have been in hiding for years, just people not knowing about the forums.
By the sounds of it are gearing up for a reshuffle of the website.....just an idea but would it be best to join/share webspace? even if it means having a separate area of the site?
The cars are the same mechanically (bar doors) and i've learnt a lot about how they have dealt with finishing issues etc. Many issues they face, this forum has solved and visa-versa.
The Avante guys seem to be using the information on there too.
Just a thought......or do 'we' like being different??

I too have seen that white Nova, but i dont really see the point, someone has spent much time, money and effort making a car with the most amazing entrance ever seen on a car, less impressive (no offense to our cars' doors ;D). Although someone on the EuroNova site recons it could be a proto-type Nova may or may not have made.

[Deleted]

The white Nova might be the US version which had the flatter dash version....the yanks called it the "British Sterling." there's no denying the impact of the raising roof but I think those doors suit the shape as well.......got to say I might struggle with both...too old & too tall

Good news on the welding front then.

As far as the handbrake cables are concerned the usual way is to unbolt at the handbrake end and draw them through the back end of the chassis but there's no reason why you cant pull the drums off and disconnect from that end. Remember that thise big nuts at the end of the rear axles are very tight so loosen off before unbolting engine gearbox etc......when I loosened mine off I needed a socket, breaker bar plus a 4 foot length of scaffolding tube and even then the kipper was still trying to make a break for freedom. Also you need to loosen off the self adjusters by turning them through the access slots on the brake back-plates and then tap the drums around the circumference to ease them past the brake shoes and off the splines. Do not hit them directly with a metal hammer as they will crack/shatter..and make sure that they have something soft to land on if they suddenly come loose and shoot off on to the garage floor.

Hey Mike...have you come across Mark in southampton, (See ebay id "Karenandmarkfamily")....he's got several Scimitars that he's dismantling.........worth a look if you need anything.

Chris

[Deleted]

Ok cool im going to unbolt it at the handbrake, i'll just tie some string to the end of the cable so that when im done i can just draw it back to the handbrake easily using the string. In theory that is ;D

Friday is my planned evening for engine/gearbox removal, wish me luck

EDIT: News!! Annoyingly my mum opened my new V5c and put it in the car drawer, without telling me!!! A week ago!!!

but at least its here....

my car (at least the chassis) was owned by a John Charles Shorter, from Romford, aquired on 08/02/1982....ages ago!

GLD 938J

I'm going to try and contact him to hopefully find out what state the car was when he sold it (parts/whole) and possibly to whom. My aim is to find who brought the original Eagle Body. Since I have the original body number does someone/Teac have these details??

The V5c has an engine number of AR190603. So im guessing its not the same as the one I have in the car, it could be possible the engine is from the old V5c thus why it was with the original purchase...

Registered on the 16/04/1971, it's last colour was green, 3 former keepers.

[Deleted]

Ben, it may well be worthwhile sending off your V5 notifying the DVLA of a change of engine and supplying the number of the unit you intend to use. This would at least give you a V5 with the correct chassis & engine numbers. All the better for making a case when you come to tax/MOT it.

[Deleted]

Very true (and dont think i have to have it inspected for engine change), at the moment the engine has "AB" as discussed before this could merely be a replacement part. Can i just put down AB in the v5c box without numbers?

[Deleted]

Well, you certainly wouldn't have to have it inspected for an engine change. I swapped the Essex in my SE5a for a rebuilt unit, notified the DVLA by post and got the new V5 with the new engine number back some days later. With regard to the engine number or code, I uncertain what you should advise them of. I'm not familiar with VW engines so I wouldn't know what to look for.

[Deleted]

Ok so i have posted on VZI to see if people have more proof on this being a replacement part. I am going to push my luck and change it on the v5c to simply "AB" from the original engine "AR190603" as this engine no longer exists in my eyes.

Edit: and according to a few websites the AB should be the correct engine number for the year of the chassis.
AB 1300 type1 8/70-7/73
AR 1300 type1 8/73-7/75
The gearbox code/number is AB 3466488. Should this be the same for the engine number. Should i put this as the engine number or just AB??

While I'm at it I'll change the colour and also i thought why not see if i can change the wheelplan/body type as well to "Coupe Eagle SS".
Seeing as there is nothing on the v5c to say it is a beetle (it merely says 1300) hopefully it'll just go through.

I can try at least, the worst that can happen is that it comes back with a "please go for inspection" letter which is where i am at anyway.

[Deleted]

I would suggest waiting a couple of days to see if any of the guys on the beetle forums, or Chris, come up with a more definite answer. Basically, I don't know, but I'm sure someone will. Not sure that I'd advise changing everything at once unless you're feeling very brave. If it were me, I'd take it one step at a time. Maybe change engine & gearbox numbers first & then try body type further down the line. But I'm basically a coward and fear rejection

[Deleted]

Well VZI guys recon its a replacement blank part that someones stamped AB into. I had to send of SORN so i sent off the V5c....thought sod it i'll do it all at once.
No less of a coward, im also fearing rejection.
We'll see, a few of the Nova guys have been successful doing it this way, so maybe i will be too.

[Deleted]

Sept 11, 2009 11:56:31 GMT @bherron said:

Ok so i have posted on VZI to see if people have more proof on this being a replacement part. I am going to push my luck and change it on the v5c to simply "AB" from the original engine "AR190603" as this engine no longer exists in my eyes.

Edit: and according to a few websites the AB should be the correct engine number for the year of the chassis.
AB 1300 type1 8/70-7/73
AR 1300 type1 8/73-7/75
The gearbox code/number is AB 3466488. Should this be the same for the engine number. Should i put this as the engine number or just AB??

While I'm at it I'll change the colour and also i thought why not see if i can change the wheelplan/body type as well to "Coupe Eagle SS".
Seeing as there is nothing on the v5c to say it is a beetle (it merely says 1300) hopefully it'll just go through.

I can try at least, the worst that can happen is that it comes back with a "please go for inspection" letter which is where i am at anyway.

Hi Ben

You're right in the identification of the years and engine size for the AB code. The gearbox should also have an AB code as this should have been a 1300 gearbox to suit the engine and would have come down the assembly line accompanying the engine and floorpan. The actual numbers on the engine and gearbox would not be the same other than the AB prefix.

All mexican and Brazilian cast crankcases bought over the counter had AB stamped on them as AB was also used as the replacement part identifiction code. These replacement cases were all dual relief cases...I.e. they have 2 oil pressure relief valves on the underside...look for 2 large slotted screws about 12mm in daimeter. The engine built with these crankcases could be either 1300 or 1600 as they were identical apart from barrel and piston size. The suggestion on VZI that somebody has bought a replacement case and stamped the letters on it is rubbish..........they all had the AB prefix. Additionally if it was a replacement engine from another car then that engine has had a replacement case at some stage as all factory built engines would have had numbers after the AB.

If it was me I think I would have scrounged a set of numerical number punches and stamped in the number as per your log book....no hassle no grief...job done and nobody would know any different unless you cocked it up

Interesting the the V5 doesn't say "Beetle" on it. If it says VW 2 door or something similar then you have some justification in leaving it as it is.

Good luck Chris

[Deleted]

PS

I've just found the pic of your engine on VZI....The AB is definitely factory done...........no question.

[Deleted]

Yeh i lied a little on the post because i've post other bits on VZI about kit cars and replacing engines and a few people have simply not helped saying "kit cars need SVA test if you change engines" and that was that.
I'm sure the engine isnt original as the gearbox has 113 on it, which is '73.
We'll see what the v5c says when its back, doubt i could mot it on saloon body type.

[Deleted]

The problem with VZI is there's too many "know-all, know b@gger all" hippies on there. There's some good guys on the site but in my experience the former out-number the latter. I look through the for sale section every so often but very little else these days.....way more friendly on here even when it is quiet.....that's a hint Gary

[Deleted]

Also slightly directed towards Gary...
Anyone from Chelmsford/Essex/South East area use a specific/recommended MOT centre for their vw based contraptions?

I'm still a little bit off i know, but was wondering if it was advantageous to use a generic mot centre (who would have no idea what it was) or use a specific mot centre (vw based one that knows "roughly" what it is)?