The Phoenix project begins....finally

Ron..... is that one of them kit cars?

"...a color somewhere between toffee and coffee"
Sounds like something from Starbucks. ;)

Looking good Ron! Excuse me if someone already asked, are you planning to keep it a roadster or are you going to change it to a speedster?

" I'm going with a Graphite metallic paint with a brown (a color somewhere between toffee and coffee) interior."
Ron
I love that combo it made my top 3 short list I have a ton of pics saved in my pic album of that combo. I ended up going with a very dark Oxblood red interior and leaving the body black.

The car's home and what started as a simple service on the front brakes ended up as a complete strip down of the front end. I decided to go with a new disc brake kit from Airkewld, along with drop spindles and a new master cylinder. While I had the old spindles off I decided to change the ball joints and tie rods. Next, I took off the steering box and sent it off for a service. The beam looked really dirty and the paint was coming off in places, so I decided to pull the beam and paint it. I think I got a bit carried away!!
Ron

glad to see this going again Ron!

I hear you getting carried away...

"While i have this out, might as well upgrade... "

I'm going through this with my engine right now. $$$$$$$

Carried away? No way! New paint makes you feel better. Also, when you put it back together, you KNOW how it is put together. Unless you have Alzheimer's disease!!!

I'm really glad to see that Speedster in particular as the subject of a restoration. The idea of an engine fire bringing the car home, and then getting a chance to really tear into whatever parts you choose to is just perfect. Like Danny said, you get to know what you decided to do with the car.
Short of my marriage, my closest relationships are with my car and my toolbox. It's cathartic!
Are you priming before paint, or just spraying and re-installing pieces? If it's all the same and doesn't kill the budget, primer's a really good idea. I'm really happy I took that extra step for all of my parts.

Been there many times, always best to do it right the "safety first".. way. I am redoing a Beck Thunder Ranch Spyder and have found a dozen different faults that were safety related.

Speaking of safety first items, I know this has been discussed more than once, but 2 weeks ago my buddies Spyder started getting "loose" in the steering. He had put in a 356 ZF box 2 years ago with a new VW supplied (and marked) rag joint. As you can see it has failed pretty miserably....and that is one that can kill pretty quickly....looks like it should be on the yearly check list?

I just found the rag joint on my spyder in the same condition ..as Jim say's " inspect it " and do so carefully
If you are running one of red or black urethane steering couplers aka "rag joint", I would suggest replacing it with the OEM black reinforced type.
Column to steering box alignment is critical,it needs to be straight or will cause the rag joint to fail. There are two notch positions on the steering box clamp a 13 and 14 are stamped on it, one is for the Beetle and the lower setting is for a Ghia, the position that is also used on the speedster.

If you look at the rag joint in a stock VW, the gear box and shaft are in very, very close alignment.....I always thought the joint was for reduction of vibration in the steering wheel.....not for use as a universal joint...

Wow Jim, the 24 year old rag joint I took off looks better than yours!
Alan, thanks for the 'heads up' on going with an OEM joint.

Cory, I'm going to do it right and prime before painting. I'm not sure what paint I'll use, or what color. I'll probably go with black or a dark grey.

Mangosmoothie, are you doing your own engine? I'm having AVR in Abbotsford do mine. I managed to salvage the heads, Pauter rockers, and 82mm crank from the old engine. The engine case was slightly damaged, so I'm going with a new aluminum case. I'm not 100% sold on aluminum cases, but it's what they're recommending. I'm also going with CB's fuel injection kit and crank fired ignition. I'll also be reusing my custom 1 5/8" merged header and 1 5/8" heater boxes.
Ron

sounds like a great engine recipe!

I'm building my own T4. I actually should start my own build thread.

Have you thought of building your own? It's really not that hard. T1's are pretty forgiving.

Us BC folks should get together when you and Simon are finished grafting your bodies / finishing your cars.

Yes, I've thought about building my own, but I'll start with a stock engine first-less money invested if it goes BOOM.
Ron

I finally got 2/3 of my brake package from Airkewld. Pete produces a very nice product, but he is VERY slow when it comes to shipping. Drop spindles are on and I test fitted the rotors. The Wilwood calipers and caliper brackets are still 'in transit'.

One half of my BAD brake kit from Airkewld is on. While installing the caliper bracket on the other side I messed up one of the threaded holes. Now I'll have to wait for Pete, from Airkewld, to send me another caliper bracket. He's only charging me for shipping-that's great customer service!

Nice to see you reunited with your old IM, Ron.

Are you done with your day job?

I'm seriously thinking about retiring this year.

He'll just drill it out and put in a Helicoil. When done it will be better than new, and quite serviceable.

He's going to send me a new one.