The Ragtop Express

[SCOTTRODS]

Outstanding... your attention to detail on this vehicle has been really fun to watch. Keep up the good work!

[TPB_Karl]

Thanks Scottrods!

Spring has arrived, and during Easter it was time to bring home the summer car, or so I thought… The Swedish spring didn’t quite agree that it was time just yet..




But the following weekend the snow had melted and the weather was nice and sunny! The trip meter rolled over to all ones on the way home, which made me pull over rapidly.




Not much has been done, I finally installed the 25mm hose to the aircleaner that had been spitting oil all over the coil...



Early in the project I wanted fully red lenses for the taillights as well as clear indicator lenses. The new clear indicator lenses I bought didn’t fit the original chrome housings at all and the shape was all wrong. Later I got hold of a few sets of SWF clear lenses, but they didn’t really fit my original Hella housings either. This winter I finally got hold of clear indicator lenses from Hella, and these fit perfectly!







Whether I’ll continue using the red lenses at the rear remains to be seen. I’ve grown quite fond of the red/amber original lenses.

[TPB_Karl]

Small progress again. The new drums and spacers from Franke are in order.





The drums have been sitting in the car since last autumn, so I painted them with some zinc primer and heat-resistant paint before installing them.







Removed the old worn oval drums and inspected how the brakes condition after the Airmighty trip.






The brakes were dry and in good condition, albeit a bit dusty, which was expected. While waiting for some longer wheel bolts, I switched back to the original Euro lenses. Also event season has started to kick off, so I figured it was about time I dealt with the leaking tranny once and for all.. (Because no-one likes a leaking tranny)








Replaced the nose cone gasket and checked the breather hole.




Pulled out my 3D-printed plugs that I installed before the Airmighty trip and hammered in the new aluminum ones.






“Transmission should finally be sealed,” I thought, and set it down properly. Then I was met with oil from the input shaft seal. Probably because it had been standing upright for a while, but I wasn't going to take any chances. I ordered a new input shaft seal and replaced it.






Put the whole assembly back in, changed the engine oil, and filled up the transmission.




The new wheel bolts arrived and were cut to the correct length.

[TPB_Karl]

As usual, I’m terrible at taking photos, but as seen in the images below, the wheels ended up sitting much wider in the arches.






I’m still struggling with a leaking gearbox, though. The front mount continues to get completely soaked in oil. I suspect I may have overfilled it. I’m going to try opening the fill hole with the car on the ground and see if anything runs out.
Take care!

[TPB_Karl]

This will be a very small update. The tachometer is finished and just needs to be installed in the car with the camera present.




I’ve started the prototype work for the roller pedal for my Fast Fab cruiser pedal. I’ve also acquired pedal rubbers with a matching pattern. I’m 3D-printing prototypes, and the finished product will be made from 6 mm bent sheet metal.





I helped a club member sort out his car a few weeks ago, and he had some parts lying around in boxes that might have been for sale. Bought these goodies off him. An unused EMPI sump and an older Berg mid-mount. Also completely unused.




Things are moving a bit slowly as I’m preparing the bus for Hessisch and EBI.. Here’s a picture of the car in its current form.




This weekend I’ll be at Malmö Raceway for Skania Flat 4 shootout! If you're there as well, let me know and lets get a beer! Cheers!
Take care!

[TPB_Karl]

Finally, it's time for an update! Things have been at a standstill here for quite a while. Hessisch and EBI have more or less forced the bus to take priority, and on top of that, moving from an apartment to a house has taken up quite a bit of both time and money!

First of all, I got the engine case back from Servais Engineering when I was down in Malmö back in May.



During our trip around Europe, I at least picked up a crank pulley bolt in the style of the old dished Santana bolts. We also went to inspect a pair of potential seats for the car. They were definitely comfortable to sit in!




A long time ago I ordered 40 mm velocity stacks for my IDF40s because the stacks that came with the Chinese carburetors were 44 mm. When they finally arrived and I test-fitted them, I discovered something I hadn't expected: the CB filter base plate for the linkage. The hole in it is about 45 mm...



The solution ended up being 3D-printed velocity stacks that taper all the way down to the carburetor.





These will eventually be printed in ASA plastic (similar to ABS). Before that, I need to verify that they fit inside the actual air filters.

So this weekend I made some progress on the interior. It's time to replace the steering wheel and the gear shifter, along with all the related work. I also need to reinstall the tachometer.

The tachometer was already prepared and the mounting bracket had been 3D-printed, so all that was left was to install it in the car. And of course, polish the carriage bolt that holds it in place.




Unfortunately, the tachometer ends up sitting in front of the ashtray, so I won't be able to stub out cigarettes inside the car anymore. ::)

That little knob on the front of the ashtray felt a bit unnecessary, so I took it out to the garage and welded a screw into the hole where the knob used to be.










The screw in the ashtray was cut off and drilled out.




I vapor blasted the ashtray and painted it silver to make it look a bit nicer. Then I reassembled it and installed it back in the car.

[TPB_Karl]

As you can see, the steering wheel is missing from the pictures. That's the next part to be replaced!

The VDM steering wheel was taken apart and all the chrome was polished.









The steering wheel center, which is made of black-painted sheet metal, had started bubbling slightly from rust, so I sanded it down and repainted it.






I polished all the small parts and reassembled the steering wheel.




But I'm not planning to stop at just replacing the steering wheel... In the future, when the new engine is finished, I want to be able to shut it off with the key and coast safely to the side of the road without the steering lock engaging, for example if I lose oil pressure or the car catches fire. So the steering lock has to go, and the ignition switch will be relocated to the dashboard.






Drilling out the old steering lock and replacing it with a bushing was easier than I expected! I enlarged the hole in the dashboard where an auxiliary light switch had previously been mounted, and drilled an additional hole underneath the dashboard to secure the ignition switch.




I haven't had time to wire up the ignition switch or check whether the horn works yet... More to come!

[Piledriver]

Hitting a pothole and having the steering lock at 75MPH/120ish KPH is an ass puckering experience no one should have...
That was in my MK4 TDi.
The off road folks figured it out decades ago.

[AdminSteve]

Well done Sir


AdminSteve

[TPB_Karl]

Well done Sir


AdminSteve

Thank you Steve!

Hitting a pothole and having the steering lock at 75MPH/120ish KPH is an ass puckering experience no one should have...
That was in my MK4 TDi.
The off road folks figured it out decades ago.

I had no idea that could happen! I feel even better about ditching the steering lock now....


Last weekend during Scandinavian Callook & Classic I did a bit of shopping at the swap meet, a welded and balanced doghouse fan and 1.25:1 rockers.
I also took delivery of a nice shiny handle for the Berg shifter I have lying around.


Next on the agenda was the rear-view mirror. The old accessory mirror gives good visibility but doesn't look the part for what i'm after.


When I was repairing the rust on the car I found the original plug that replaces the rear-view mirror on the door hinge.


A "bullet" mirror from the UK (intended for Mini Cooper) with convex glass was purchased. I taped the mirror to the door to try to figure out where to mount it.



Instantly added at least 5 hp. As usual with these small mirrors, you can't see poop in them. That's the case here too... At least compared to the old mirror. But the convex glass does help a little!


Next up was the shifter. The Berg shifter isn't new (I'm guessing late '90s/early 2000s) and has 60% shorter throw than stock. It needed some polishing and cleaning up. The shiny parts were polished and the base was painted semi-gloss black.








A nice little kit to put together! The USA-made boot was also washed clean and treated with some tire dressing.
The shifter was assembled with MoS2 grease on the metal-to-metal parts and PTFE grease between the metal ball on the shifter and the nylon bushings.




Time to throw it in the car! Changing a shifter barely takes a minute! Not in this case! Apparently I'm a bit too much of an originality tart to cut up the original rubber carpet.


So all of a sudden I had a whole new project on my hands. New carpets for the entire interior...
I had quite a lot of carpet left over from working on my bus, so I grabbed that roll.




I also made templates of the floor.




Unfortunately, the small amount of binding I had left over from the bus was only enough for one of the front floor mats. More is on the way...

[TPB_Karl]

Next up was the floor carpet and the pieces by the door sills. I made templates to get a better fit against the A- and B-pillars than the original.








What a difference! Can't wait until everything has had the binding added for a more finished look!
Keep ripping out carpet! I'm going to remove the footrest on the passenger side, as well as the entire rear seat. I'll replace the rear seat with an MDF-panel and carpet over it.








With all the pieces cut and waiting for more binding, I tackled the headlight buckets, which had looked awful for far too long. I had some silver 1K spray paint on the shelf, which had to do as a cosmetic band-aid for the time being. I've also found a better looking chrome ring for the drivers side headlight.







Far from perfect. They'll definitely be rusty again by next season. But it'll have to do for now..
That's all for this time!

[slayer61]

Very impressive list of skills you have sir.

[TPB_Karl]

Thank you slayer61!


I’ve continued working on my carpets... I cut a large piece to replace the rear seat.





I shaped the carpet over the inner wheel arches using an iron and a wet microfiber cloth. And lots of steam... Once the binding was sewn on, they were glued into place.








I continued with the pieces at the front.







Comparing the old carpets and the new... I always thought the old carpet "wasn't that bad"





At this point, it’s starting to look pretty fresh.





Instead of doing it exactly like the original around the heater outlets, I bought the chrome rings that fit the earlier models... I polished the visible ring to bring out a bit more shine.








I bought beige kick panels for under the rear seat, but I wasn’t completely sold on the color. Considering going with black instead...





I still need more binding for the carpet but the still has none and the website is also out of stock..
Other than that, I’ve modified an engine stand and started tearing down a gearbox that was donated to the build.
The gearbox is a (small nut) Split Bus gearbox that I’m planning to strengthen a bit internally and flip the ring gear.







I’ve started tearing down the gearbox and so far have only removed the drive shafts and reduction boxes. What I can say for certain is that I won’t be reusing the fulcrum plates that were installed..