66 Roadster project

[Gregs672000]

Glad to hear that everything is going well with the Car! Sure is encouraging when you're able to fix some things (or they fix themselves:-)). However, as a long term owner who wants your Roadster experience to be long lived, I would caution you just a bit before you run out and spend repair money on "bling" stuff like fancy wheels. Until you know those long sitting brakes are solid, your gas tank isn't in need of some serious cleaning, the front suspension isn't hosed, the stearing box isn't toast, etc I would just be aware that there can be some spendy items on these cars. And when it comes to things like brakes, well, ya want them to work when you need them too!
Glad you're having a great time bringing this car back to life. Welcome to the madness!

[fatmatt]

Glad to hear that everything is going well with the Car! Sure is encouraging when you're able to fix some things (or they fix themselves:-)). However, as a long term owner who wants your Roadster experience to be long lived, I would caution you just a bit before you run out and spend repair money on "bling" stuff like fancy wheels. Until you know those long sitting brakes are solid, your gas tank isn't in need of some serious cleaning, the front suspension isn't hosed, the stearing box isn't toast, etc I would just be aware that there can be some spendy items on these cars. And when it comes to things like brakes, well, ya want them to work when you need them too!
Glad you're having a great time bringing this car back to life. Welcome to the madness!

Good advice. Thanks. I bled the brakes the other day and they stop pretty good for 1966, when I drained the tank, no chunks came out so I'm looking good there although I haven't filled it yet, just put a gallon in, so there could be rust flakes above where the gas level was, suspension feels good and solid so far and everything appears to be intact, steering wheel has what seems to be a reasonable amount of play, similar to any of my VWs. I should be getting the plates tomorrow as well as the clutch cylinders so I can finally get this thing out on the road a bit. I've done a couple first gear starts just to cruise it around the parking lot, I can be very impatient sometimes. Tonneau cover is on the way from Rock Auto. I'm gonna tackle that myself and then decide if I want to try the soft top or not. I got an estimate from a local guy that does some very high end cars for $627 dollars labor, that's 6 hrs at his hourly rate. More than I was hoping to spend, I'll probably shop around a bit but I'm leaning towards tackling it myself.

[pebbles]

the yellow Griffin caps are pretty sweet. I'd love to try to make my own but a quick image search didn't yield anything. Any chance you could provide a clean, close-up, straight on photo to use to print out my own if I do end up getting these rims?

Found one
http://www.311s.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.ph ... p&start=30

[fatmatt]

the yellow Griffin caps are pretty sweet. I'd love to try to make my own but a quick image search didn't yield anything. Any chance you could provide a clean, close-up, straight on photo to use to print out my own if I do end up getting these rims?

Found one
http://www.311s.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.ph ... p&start=30

Awesome! Thank you. I picked up those wheels yesterday. Crusty old American Racing Lemans wheels in 15x5.5. A guy had them for sale on thesamba who didn't know what they were, just that they didn't fit VW. They're cleaning up nicely. Now I need to figure out what lug nuts to buy. Ebay has some blank center caps listed that i think will fit. Tire-wise, I currently have some giant 175r14's on the car that I really like the look of. I think I'm gonna try to get something with the same profile.

[spl310]

I'm jealous! I want some of those wheels!!

[Alvin]

awesome wheels!

[fatmatt]

Wheel progress
-----------------------
Before -


After -




I like the rough cast finish but I want it a bit darker, more like this -

Any suggestions? I found a thread on Jalopy Journal that suggested something called Gibbs penetrating oil but I'm concerned something like that will attract dust. Maybe a coat of paint but if so, what color is that?

[fatmatt]

awesome wheels!

Oh, wow. That looks awesome. Maybe I will just stick with the bare finish. Looks like you have 14's? What is the width? Do you remember what lug nuts you have?

[pebbles]

Dab some clear on the backside as a test. Should darken the raw.

[fatmatt]

Gave 'er a bath the other other day -

Got the plates yesterday and a bunch of parts. Now just waiting for the rain to let up.

[devo]

Man, for $500 you did real good. That looks great.

[notoptoy]

Wow that really cleaned up pretty well!

[dynaguy]

With that patina and so complete, I would be tempted to make it a safe and reliable survivor! Nicely bought. Pat

[fatmatt]

Clutch cylinders on and bled, clutch feels good. Forgot to grab my keys this morning so . Oh, well. No insurance yet anyway. Tomorrow evening is supposed to be rain free so hopefully I can take it for a spin around the block then.

[jarhead]

Wow, what a find. Good luck with the project. It never completely ends--that's the fun part.

Love the mossy decal photo.