0006 A slight delay

0006 A slight delay.
22nd October 2019
Giles has a heart attack !

So on Sunday the 19th October, I woke up and felt a little uncomfortable in my chest - Nothing major, just like a bit of indegestion.  As I had enjoyed a few beers and some yummy empanadas with good friends the night before, I put the discomfort down to that, and literally tried to "burp" the feeling out.

0005 Dirty work

0005 Dirty work
19th October 2019
Dirty work start of front suspension

Inside floor getting painted

With the engine gone for a rebuild, it was time to start work on the rest of the car.  I had already been working on the inside, so I continued with that to get it finished, and before long the two under coats of red oxide and 2 top coats of anti-corrosion paint were on, and it looks great.  I did find three small rust holes down in the lower corner of the passenger footwell - It is in the air vent where the heating / cooling circulates on a VW, and often causes

Small rust holes in side of footwell

rust problems due to the heat / cold cycle which can end up causing moisture, which can lead to rust.  But this is relatively simply fixed, and I plan to insert either fish oil or Penetrol (or another similar rust inhibitor) into any hard to get at or hollow places on the car, which will help keep any re-occcurance at bay.  In many of the photos you will also notice a silvery or rust-like line along many of the seams between panels, or notice a crumbling product that looks terrible along these joins.  This is in fact an original joint-sealer compound that is applied to all cars to seal the seams fully, and had just age and is crumbling away.  Thus when I remove it, it leaves an unpainted line along the seam. Once all the rust spots are treated, I will use a modern seam sealer (Sikaflex 227) to re-seal all the joints before painting over the top.

0004 Engine and gearbox go for a rebuild

0004 Engine & gearbox go for a rebuild
6th October 2019
Still so much to do !!

Working on engine in trailer

Having got the engine out last week at CCC, I got the engine-less car trucked home, and then hired a 6x4 trailer to get the engine home.  I originally spoke with Peter Walshe at Custom Vee Dub, and was planning to use him to rebuild the engine.  However, for over a week I have been trying to contact him by phone, and no reply, and he never called me back.  So I started looking elsewhere. One place up on the Sunshine Coast sounded good, but was too busy for several months, so I eventually contacted Gary at Conti Engines near Bribie Island, and he agreed that he could help me.  I had two days to get all the excess panels off the engine before taking it up to Gary, and returning the hire trailer.

0003 Work begins on Clementine

0003  Work begins on Clementine
27th September 2019
So far so good......

Clementine

The last 2 weeks have mostly been spent working on Clementine, with a view to trying to get the engine out and under repair ASAP, stripping out the interior to find out how bad any rust is, and to locate the source of the terrible rotten smell in the car, and to start working out what parts are required to get the car mobile so I can use her.   A lot of time has been spent finding out where the best aircooled VW workshops and parts suppliers are located, and talking to people to learn about what I have here, and what is possible.  2 weeks work - And I am still smiling !!