1930 Roadster Volkster

[markh]

Still working on the rear end of the beast. After all the fitment, re-fitment, alignment, adjusting and cutting and welding, the trunk lid was a 1/4" out of square. That quarter inch caused a lot of havoc, but I have it now where the trunk lid opens and closes without interference. Now within approximate tollerance, I was able to get the upper deck panel tacked in place.


Yes, I cut a big 'ol hole in the top for fresh air louvers welded in.

Before I inserted the rear inner panels in the engine compartment, I spent a good deal of time measuring the gap between the rear tires and the inner fenderwells to make sure they were symetrical. To lock them in, I welded tabs to hold them firmly in place.


Eventually I'll move to t he front end of the car and finish off that metal work. Still have the internal panels and vert cross brace to work on next...

[markh]

Ordered up a new exhaust system to start mocking up where stuff will fit, if at all. Installed the header and the first problem with this came right away...the flange sticks out too far.


Picked up a new Bus dual quiet pack muffler system thinking it would run across the bottom of the model A frame, but found another problem in that it sticks WAY TOO FAR out and is too wide!

Cut it up into a bunch of little pieces and see what happens. More to come in this area.



Also got the other bottom corner filler panel clipped in.
This is the access hole to the spring plate cover. It's really a pretty simple system. Bent a couple pieces three ways and welded in.

[markh]

Tackled the exhaust this weekend. Took the new bus dual quiet pack parts and fitted them together.



Had to keep the exhaust clear of the axle travel and I wanted the muffler tucked up underneath. What a pain!

I have hanger brackets to attach at the ends of the mufflers to take out the drop at the end, so no big deal there. I also need to cut off the chrome tip so the exhaust exits back instead of to the sides. Plus the chrome bend is obnoxious.



I'm certain there is a less expensive and easier way to do this, but I have no patience....Plus I have no idea how it will work or sound so I guess we'll find out when the time comes.

[markh]

Spent some time attaching some bits and pieces on the interior. The rear quarter panels and interior structure are fully integrated. Nothing wiggles or shakes now!




Also cut in access panels or hatches. Two are done and one more to cut in the angled panel. This will make working on top of the trans much easier.

Finished welding the upper deck;

[markh]

Lost photos

[markh]

Received my new tail lights and decided to French mount so made buckets:


and in:

[markh]

Missing photos

[markh]

Missing photos.

[markh]

Work has been progressing. Moving on:
Took the dash out again and started cleaning up the welds.



Have also decided to remove the defrost vents to really clean up the corners of the windshield. The top edge of the windshield will also get capped and cleaned up. Just a couple more things to do before moving to the very nose of the car.

[markh]

Lost photos

[markh]

Finished the engine cooling tin panels all the way around:

[markh]

Not sure where to mount the head lights, made a couple quick brackets to attach to the top of the shocks:



Only after all that work to realize they are too high.
Over the weekend, I picked up a new older hood. Thanks to Mondo, he relayed it up to me. Installed the hood and stood back to take a look:



Yep, the headlights are too high. so created some hard mount brackets that come off the front quarter panels.



Next up is the hood latch and front inside "apron" to clean it all up.

[markh]

Here come the turn signals!
Thanks to Harley Davidson:



Two for the front and two for the rear. On the rear, I
suppose I could simply bolt them to the side of the quarter panels and be done with them? Or not.

[markh]

Missing photos.

[markh]

Before I get to explaining the template, here is the front hood latch installed and the original beam attachment brackets that I cut off the washer bottle notch, reversed and re-welded. You can see a little black knob by the steering box. That's the release.



So the template was used to fill in around the front hood latch and hide the frame. Used a section out of the top of the 68 hood.



Using some of the front metal, welded it in.



The two holes to access the beam bolts are "sleeved" and will eventually get cleaned up.

What else? Oh yeah, a third brake light. I mean...why not right? And why not French it too?

Ordered off ebay a third led brake light strip about a half inch thick and 18" long.
Fab'd up a sheet metal frenching sleeve...



Weld the two halves together the thickness of the led strip. Cut a notch to fit and weld in.



Aside from finish grinding...DONE!

[markh]

Heading out for a grind session:


What I failed to mention in the previous post of this photos is, after the big weekend of grinding...in my haste to return home, my little oversight of the driver side rear axle nut, cost me a drum and backing plate. Never seen a wheel, with the drum securely attached, bounce so high!!

..oh well.

[markh]

Replaced the rear brake drum, both castle nuts and new cotter pins. With everything installed, dragged the pan back home to finish.

A lot of work has been done to date and one more significant update coming on the body.

For the pan stuff:

Installed tab mounts for the front Harley bullet turn signals.


Nothing fancy...


And mounted.


Also got the e-brake to work. Lengthened the tube at the rear to make up for the relocated e-brake handle and the extended trailing arms. In doing so, I was able to use my old e-brake cables.

Got the pans fully welded and seam sealed.
Got the shift tube shortened, adjusted, and new coupler.
Go the quick shifter installed and working through all the gears.
Also got the brakes done with new dual reservoir master, hard lines, soft lines and rear wheel cylinders. Oh..and working with great pedal. My 7-year old son helped me bleed them!
New clutch cable & bowden tube installed and cable shortened. Done. Works so far..
Gas pedal cable re-ran. Seems to operate without problem. Still needs shortened.

Little more finish welding, seam sealer and some new touch up paint and the front of the pan will be done.
Except the front end needs aligned and the camber set correctly. That will come once the body is reunited.

Have a but weld seam in the pan to finish grind and then it will be ready for the last coat of paint. Nothing fancy just protectant.
...And this update puts the pan to rest. It was a lot of work!! Yes, more time could have been spent on some minor detailing, maybe some powder coating, molding, cleaning, etc....whatever!



Should have a body update mid this week. Major advances made! Stay tuned.

[markh]

So a ridiculous amount of time was spent wire wheeling, sanding and banging on metal to get the body to this stage. The old Model A stuff had some pitting and decided to use Rust converter.



Applied three coats and waited two days per the directions..
Afterwards, came back and hit everything with a wire wheel, sanding disc and mineral spirits to get the metal ready for Self-Etching Primer.

Shot the etching primer and waited another two days. Many debate as to which comes first, filler then etching, etching then filler. I just wanted to get the bare metal somewhat protected while I start work on the body.


Next was more beating of metal and scuffing the etching primer to apply some of this:



I like to apply it across all my many welded seams.:



Let it set for a couple more days. Came through with 36 grit and knocked it down and scuffed more of the etching primer around the filler areas to get it ready for Featherlite filler.

Little more beating here and there and started skim coating the driver side of the car.




The front quarters have been intentionally neglected as I added some fender wells or "tubs" on the outside. Still have a couple of filler patches to weld in on the inside of the quarter panels where the gas tank will go. Welding and grinding near filler is bad so bodywork will happen after. The passenger side rear quarter and door still need a skim coat so plenty of work to do back there.

The rear trunk lid will be removed and the underside prepped. There is obvious metal work that needs to occur, plus I need to shave the trunk handle.

Getting closer....

[markh]

Got the other side skim coated. Passenger side did not take as much hammer and dolly work.



Also got the dash installed for final fitment. Have a few tweaks to make. Weld touch-ups to do and filler work to get everything to match at the doors.


Lots of work to do on the trunk.

[markh]

Making bodywork progress. I lost count after 12hrs of longboard sanding by hand and DA time.

Fortunately, I have access to a gentry crane to lift and lower the body on and off the pan.



There will be a couple more lifts to finish the bodywork like the rear wheel tubs and the front fender wells and firewall.

[markh]

Notice there is NO trunk handle? That's because I've decided to use a couple linear actuators. Just creating more work for myself..

[markh]

Deck lid and rear valance are done and ready for block sanding.



Rear quarters and doors are close to presentable status.



The front quarters still need a good beating. Obviously I'm not done with the inner fenders and gas tank support area thingy.

At this stage, I discovered a major f-up on the dash where the dash doesn't line up with the door transition.

[markh]

Remember when I mentioned the loose axle nut and the wheel flying off situation? What I thought was the "fix" only turned out to be half the damage.

This return trip home, I had one very hot brake drum. What I found was the outer wheel bearing was severely damaged which caused the drum to rub on the backing plate for 10 miles at a slow tow. Spent two days disassembling the rear stub axle, CVs and brakes to punch out the old outer bearing and replace. Fortunately, my goof did not damage the trailing arm! After the bearing was replaced, fully re-greased (very messy) and reassembled, no more wheel wobble or rubbing.

So here she is back at home, primed with a light guide coat. (pic is a little fuzzy, sorry).




At leisure, I can start addressing all of the fit & finish metal work and bodywork issues.

[markh]

Still bodywork. Remember the shaved trunk lid?

I couldn't figure out a good latching handle because of the placement, so instead, I installed a pair of linear actuators!
They have an 8" throw and lift somewhere around 100lbs each. A little overkill but a fair price. Wired them up with dual throw rocker switch and they work wonderfully.



Took a bit to get the trunk lid to open and close equally, but super cool. Never done actuators before. The trunk stays closed so no need for a lock or latch or anything..



Oh yeah, the bodywork....I found a couple issues that needed repaired so yes, still doing touch up welding and grinding.

[markh]

In the midst of all the bodywork, I decided to take a break and build the carson top.



I have never done one of these and after much reading, gave it a whirl. Used some 1/2" conduit and a oak 1X2 for the header bow.