Just another 1303s

[SebastienPeek]

It was only a matter of time before I got another late bug. There is something about that curved windscreen that just gets me excited.

If you follow me on Instagram you would have seen the activity in the lead up of purchasing a new 1303s. Today, I took delivery of said vehicle. She is engineless, gearboxless and is in dire need of some TLC.

Her name is Gretl. She is a 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle. Commonly known as a 1303s, a Super Beetle or a Volkswagen L. The other, most common name for them, is a fat chick.

I present, Gretl.


IMG_0089 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

A quick run down of what the damage was when I grabbed some photos while she was still out on the road.


IMG_0091 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr


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After what wasn't very long at all, she was pushed into the garage and the stripping started straight away. In about six hours she went from being complete to the following.


IMG_0099 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

I then went around the car and looking at all the problem spots that were discovered on the road. The C pillars are the worst. This is because of the dreaded foam of death that Volkswagen decided was a good idea for sound deadening. What they didn't realise was that it just held moisture in a very structural part of the vehicle.


IMG_0101 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr


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They're only small holes thankfully and easily fixed. Got digging at where the bog was out on the road, once again, just needs a quick clean up, some welding and then some body work. Not difficult at all.


IMG_0103 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

Then came the fun part. Taking all the windows out. There was a huge nest of ants in the rear window seal. Guess that is what happens when it is out in a garden for a while. Even growing moss in some places!


IMG_0106 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

Front window came out a lot easier then expected. Actually, all the windows came out quite easily.


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Here's the pile of parts that have taken up the space where the second pair of shelves will be built. Just need to wait till next pay day before I can get them and set them up.


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And this is where I left her before calling it a night.


IMG_0107 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

It has begun. Finally getting my hands dirty with another fat chick.

[Smeeeb]

I am so keen for this, you go glen coco

[Spados.]

Sub'd 😎

[floatingdino]

That is some pretty gnarly rust. Keen to see what you do with her.

[TrailerTrash]

great start dude i love seeing people dive right in like this:

that rear window leaning against the fender on the floor makes me nervous

[yat325]

awsome start man...luv thissss

[SebastienPeek]

That is some pretty gnarly rust. Keen to see what you do with her.

Rust is definitely not an issue

great start dude i love seeing people dive right in like this:

that rear window leaning against the fender on the floor makes me nervous

No time like the present to start!
The rear window glass has been stacked against the wall until I get the next two shelves built and what not.

[SebastienPeek]

Alright, spent a little bit more time on Gretl today. Got the front seats out and started cleaning out the interior.


IMG_0109 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

Got the front fenders off and checked out the front strut setup.


IMG_0110 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

Being a 1974 model it is a two bolt strut setup which makes it perfect to make some custom coilovers for the front.


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IMG_0112 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

Went around and removed all the seals from the car. Under the front bonnet is usually the worst. I then removed what seats the seal around the bonnet bit and found a bit of surface rust. Nothing I can't deal with.


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There is some rust around the front valance too. Luckily I already have a brand new front valance that I was going to use on Zelda. A few spot welds drilled out and she should be good to be replaced.


IMG_0117 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

Now the biggest difference between a 1303 and a normal bug is the curved windscreen and the strut front end setup. It's what makes them more aerodynamic and unique in my eyes. The one thing that most people **** though, is the dreaded padded dash.


IMG_0116 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

I finally was able to get the drivers side door off. It was bugging me so much in regards to getting it off as the bottom bolts that hold it in were so tight. It came to me in the shower to use a breaker bar.

Anyway, I cleaned up under the bonnet as well and removed all the pieces of interior that cover up the fuel tank and spare wheel. It all went in the bin, it's quite tidy under there but I will take a better look once the fuel tank is out and the spare wheel is also removed.


IMG_0118 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

I'm quite happy with the overall shape of Gretl. The roof is in perfect condition and there is no rust in the A pillars anywhere. There is a tiny amount in the B pillars as well as the C pillars, but it is all workable.


IMG_0119 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

Hopefully tomorrow night I will get the rest of the interior out.

[SebastienPeek]

First off, in the words of Tranz, getout spam.

Anyway. Had another awesome night spent on Gretl after a very stressful day at work.

I finally got the passenger front fender and running board off. I was putting it off for some reason. But once I got cracking into Gretl tonight, I didn't want to stop.


IMG_0138 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

Unfortunately, if you look closely, you can see that where the bolts that hold the front fender to the body, the thread bit that is usually tacked to the body have fallen off. There was also a rust hole just right of the A pillar in the passenger wheel well.


IMG_0139 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

I figured there was no reason to beat around the bush. It was time to rip up the interior carpet and floor mats and see what the damage to the pan was. I was definitely not disappointed.


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I will be replacing both pan halves anyway so that is not a problem. I took a quick look at the tunnel and all seems to be very solid there. Thankfully!


IMG_0135 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

I **** removing pedal assemblies. But in the photo you can see that the panel behind the pedal assembly has no rust issues.

Then came the fun task of removing the padded dash. I'd never actually removed one myself before, so after removing the speedo, a bit of wiring being disconnected, the bonnet lever cable disconnected and the fan knobs removed, she was good to be lifted out.


IMG_0131 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr


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Before I forgot that I had taken the bonnet lever cable out I quickly removed the front bonnet so as to prevent it from getting jammed closed.


IMG_0137 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

I got a bit side tracked and removed the top seal thingy.


IMG_0143 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr


IMG_0144 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

Then I was on a bit of a rust hunting mood. I went around the car and anywhere that looked like it had rust, I started digging. Much to my dismay I found a lot of rust in the door jams. And by a lot, I mean a lot.


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At this point I fell a little sick in my stomach. Then I realised that this is why I bought Gretl. To build her. To fix her. To bring her back to life. I have already planned a way to get to the rust and make sure it is completely fixed. It means cutting a bit of the roof skin away and then cutting out the cancerous spots. Fixing up the cancer and then re-welding the roof skin back in. Definitely not for the faint hearted.

I got the whole front interior out at the moment bar the defrosting fan mechanism, wiring loom and pedal assembly.


IMG_0120 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

Now off to sleep to get some decent sleep before getting back into it after work tomorrow.

[SebastienPeek]

So, over the past two nights I have been working a little bit on Gretl.

I purchased a power file and took to cleaning up all the rust areas, just getting it all back to bare metal to inspect it a bit more. I mainly focused on the rear rust in the C pillars and the front bonnet seal area.

The front bonnet seal area has a bit of pitting and a few holes, nothing too bad thankfully.


IMG_0159 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr


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The rear, well, I'll let the pictures do the talking.


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IMG_0157 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

I then got busy with some paint stripper around the other side as I wanted to see how far the cancer had spread. I was definitely not disappointed once again.


IMG_0149 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr


IMG_0153 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

I should definitely not be able to do this.


IMG_0165 by sebastienpeek, on Flickr

So, there is a lot of rust due to the infamous foam of death that Volkswagen, once again, stupidly put there for sound deadening. Idiots.

Anyway, Roman chimed in on an Instagram photo of mine and told me to get a wire wheel. So gonna get one tomorrow night, along with some more power file bands.

[floatingdino]

Did you see Zelda go up on the S|W Facebook?

[sparzokm]

I purchased a power file and took to cleaning up all the rust areas

[dartology]

Good to see the project has begun. Lots of dedication right there tackling that sort of rust. I've got a Mk1 with that kind of rust (not as bad in the roof however). I might have missed you saying this - are you going to have a go at the welding yourself?

[P78]

yeay, i'm glad zelda gets a replacement

[SebastienPeek]

Did you see Zelda go up on the S|W Facebook?

I definitely didn't, how long ago? That's ducking cool though.

Good to see the project has begun. Lots of dedication right there tackling that sort of rust. I've got a Mk1 with that kind of rust (not as bad in the roof however). I might have missed you saying this - are you going to have a go at the welding yourself?

Lots of dedication. I'm not giving up on Gretl. I figure I gave up on Zelda too quickly, the least I can do is fix Gretl in memory of her.

And yes, will be tackling the welding myself

yeay, i'm glad zelda gets a replacement

Not a replacement, Zelda can never be replaced. Don't think a first car could ever be replaced