VW

I forgot to grab the link where I found this one but you have to admit it's a pretty cool fridge, even if you aren't one of the Volks folks. Me, that's way too nice for my operation. It would be covered with greasy fingerprints and the glass would be pitted with grinding sparks if it was in the shop. And since I don't have any fancy man cave, not much use to me. I dig it, though.

I do have an honest to goodness VW in the barn, however. While it's not quite as sexy looking as the refrigerator, it is showing some progress. I decided to start putting things together, first of all to locate all the parts, and secondly to see how things are going to go together. I've got both front fenders on with the bead welting installed along with new hardware. I was missing one of the headlight buckets when I got the car but picked one up at a swap meet a few years back. I had to soak the screws holding the lamp into the bucket with some penetrating oil for a couple of days before I could them to turn but everything is loose and I've now got both headlights installed and adjustable as they should be. The "eyebrow" trim pieces around the headlights came with the car - there weren't any stock rings included. I'm not sure I'll end up using the eyebrow pieces but at least I've got something hanging on the car now. 

I found the screws for the door hinges today. There's no latch on the door jamb, so I need to dig that up and make sure the door will latch properly. The outside door handles aren't in either of the doors so I need to get them out and install them to make sure everything works. Basically what I'm trying to do now is the get all the bits and pieces hung on the car and make sure I have everything and that it all works. I've never had the car together since I've owned it. It was in pieces when I got it. Always makes things tougher to put together if you weren't the one who took it apart, especially if you don't have any experience with this particular type of vehicle. But that's OK. I knew the job was dangerous when I took it.

The car has lots of bumps and dings and some rust damage. I'm not too concerned with the dings and dents but I do want to take care of the rust damage. There's a couple of spots on the exterior that are going to require some welding but most of that is pretty straight forward. I want to sink the antenna in to the cowling 1950's style. I made up a piece of tube and bought a new antenna. It's going to be a little bit of work for a car that the closest it will get to a car show might be the parking lot, but it's something I want to try. 

Since I'm only working a couple of days per week now for the summer, most of my day time hours are going to be spent on projects around the shack. After supper, however, it's VW or 900 for a couple of hours. If it gets too hot during the day, which it probably will be pretty soon, I'll just get after things early in the morning, come in and rest up during the heat of the day and then go back out for a little bit in the evening. If I can keep going like I have been lately, I'll soon have the outside of the car looking pretty good and I can start welding floor pans and heater channels and all the rest of the fun stuff.