nice shocks! he hasnt got any more for sale has he!? 😎

Sorry, no. I did ask though.

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I'm inspired! Thanks for the thread, it's great.

It has prompted a few questions though:

I have 4x500g bags of Citric Acid coming this evening - what concentration should I mix it to to strip the rust off things?

This stuff sounds quite agressive - what shouldn't I put in it? Can I pop a whole carb in for a week for instance?

What's the shelf life of the mix?

Is it ok to store outside in a bin, or is it affected by the cold?

How do you dispose of it when you're done?

I'm really looking forward to seeing it running soon :)

Cheers,

Dave

Hi Dave, thanks for the kind comments.

Firstly - don;t put any alluminium in the acid bath - it will dissolve it - not fizzing away in front of your eyes, but a few people have left carbs to soak over a weekend and come back to find half a carb in a puddle of slurry....

Secondly, due to a process called hydrogen embrittlement, it is not recommended to treat items subject to high loads, impact or shock as it is possible to suffer fatigue fractures in the surface of the material which could lead to more serious failures further down the line - hence I wouldn't want to treat brake or suspension components etc. Maybe this is over cautious, but better to make an informed decision... :beer:

As for strength of mix - this very much depends on how patient you are.

I know of someone who mixed a small solution at 3:1 which had a rusty bolt stripped clean in 2 hours....

It isn't an exact science, but on the basis that vinegar is approx a 5% solution - a 20:1 ratio will give you something similar that will take approx 1 week work.

If I was doing it again, I'd probably go for 10:1 and check on the items every 24 hours.

For the record - on anything other than light surface rust, don;t expect to pull a shiny item out of the bath - it'll look exactly the same as when you put it in - the difference will be that a quick whizz with a wire brush will remove all the rust easily leaving a nice clean shiny surface underneath that wire brushing by itself wouldn't get close to.

If you want to clean alluminium up quickly and easily - I recommend Mr Muscle oven cleaner and a tooth brush for 15 mins followed by a thorough rinse.

I;m no chemist, but the shlf life will be dependent on the ph remaining low. I don;t think this would change over time or temp, but might reduce a little after every treatment cycle? Couldn't be certain if I'm honest but I;d guess it'd be fine for several treatments. Evaporation of the water could also increase the concentration, so keep an eye on the quantity of the fluid - bit like a lead acid battery - you only ever add more water.

Good luck and be sure to post the results!

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Hi All

With regards the Super Duper Techtyl. I got the case from the Valvoline Distributor. Northern Oils 01542 832465. I used approx 6 cans on my 65. Spraying everywhere. Its great to give you that "old petrol runs" look on cleaned carbs.

If you have rusty engine tin spray it on the lightly wipe off. Leaves a oily looking rust proof coating.

Great for cracked heels and rough elbow skin too!

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Hi

When's the first run out? It would be good to potter somewhere that's not a show! Perhaps a Pre 67 Vw Breakaway Meet. Obviously not while there's salt on the road!

Any ideas?

Hi are you still suck for gaskets as I have a few, Bill.

I won;t trash talk any suppliers on a busy thread, but I've been let down twice now trying to get hold of some from the only supplier in the UK that seems to have any.

I did however double check today, and have been assured that they went out eventually last night so should be here tomorrow.... fingers crossed.

If I'm struggling, I very well may give you a shout though - cheers!


First run out????? Now there's a question.


There's still loads to do, and I'm sure it will be a never ending project with the car getting better and better without actually being restored as it goes.

So, in that vein, I must make it my priority to get it on the road and safe first so it can be used and enjoyed, then do all the other minor work as time goes on.

As I see it, the jobs before it can be MOT'd / Registered are as follows:-

1)Re-fit axle tubes, starter motor, bushes, seals, mounts etc for transmission.
2)Clean and protect rear 'under carriage' bodywork and inner wings etc.
3)Replace rear brake flexi hoses and inspect hard lines - replace as required
4)Replace all perished rubbers and grommets in pan and frame horns as required
5)Install transmission
6)Rebuild rear brakes / hubs / seals etc.
7) Fit new BOGE rear shocks
8 )Install engine + final checks and set up
9)Fit NOS heater cable and set up correctly
10) Rebuild front brakes
11) Bleed and set up and adjust all brakes
12) New BOGE front shocks
13) Fit new flexi fuel lines, OG fuel tap/grommet
14) Install fuel tank and new seal
15) Test engine
16) Check all electrics and probably rebuild semaphores, replace bulbs etc
17) Fit NOS door mirror

************** Aim to be at this stage before the winter is out....

18 ) MOT
19) Register / plates / drive / enjoy
20) Attend to dents on bodywork with dolly/bag/experienced panel beater/skill etc
21) Remove last few bits of touched in paint to leave it 100% all original paint
22) Have drivers seat stitched in a couple of places where the piping has come away
23) Clean and detail it to within an inch of it's life, then protect with wax sealant
24) Own and enjoy!
25) Politely decline offers to purchase my irreplaceable pride and joy

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Very happy for your italian shocks , this wonderful oval will have a part from Italy :d

Trying the remove the oil seal from the Oval gearbox and am failing miserably.

Bentley manual says to leaver it out being careful not to scratch the sealing surfaces, which is fair enough....

Lever it out with what, exactly?

And where?

Not a chance.

Frozen solid.

Is there a special technique I need to be shown?

When I did the front crank seal on my old Passat, I ended up having to drill two opposing holes in the flat front face of the metal part of the seal and screwing in a couple of PK screws, then using a puller to pull it out - however, I can't do this on this occasion as the length of the first motion shaft stops you getting a puller any where near it.

Getting a bit frustrated to be honest...

Come on guys, how's it done?

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Don't have an answer Andy...only to say why are you changing it? From the photo you posted it looked in good condition and didn't look like it was leaking, therefore...if it ain't broke, don't fix it...!!! :wink:

Whilst I figure out a way to remove the rear oil seal from the gearbox, the rest of the day was more successful.

At very long last, my cover plate gaskets arrived!





This allowed me to finally install and set up the end play in the axle tubes.
I spent a very long time assembling, checking and disassembling everything over and over again experimenting with various gasket combinations to get the end play just about perfect.

The factory specification is a clearance of 0.4mm - 0.6mm with a wear limit of 0.7mm so I was determined to get it as close to 0.5mm as possible. Sad, I know, but just the way I roll.

Once I'd established that I'd got the cover plates back in the correct orientation that they were originally by matching up the wear and witness marks, I checked for free movement all the way through the axle movement then secured everything tight.





The method I used to measure the end play was to mount the box on it's side, and use a magnetic base and clock gauge mounted to the end of the axle nut against the end of the bearing carrier. A bit fiddly to set up, but once I'd got everything square and central, I got very repeatable results.





With everything seated and ready, I zero'd the clock....





Then pulled up the axle tube away from the box until it 'topped out' on the cover plate.....





I won't pretend that I wasn't just a little bit delighted to get it perfectly on the 0.5mm middle point. Despite much effort, I couldn't get the other side any close than 0.48mm, but I'm still very pleased indeed to get them this central and equal.

This left me with it looking much more complete.





Next up was the new starter motor bush, which following advice, I left to soak in oil for 24 hours before installation to allow the bronze to soak up a little lubrication without having it dripping everywhere.





Which was then duly installed...





I then turned my attention to the starter motor which received it;s final clean. It was officially minus 2 degrees at this point and the reason the picture is slightly blurred is due to Mrs LT shivering in the cold!





It came out nice and clean with the usual aged and patina look.





I then installed it back on to the gearbox where it belongs, covered in a nice layer of sealing wax.





From the bell housing side, it's all snug and cosy once more.





I then moved onto the rear oil seal, where I'm currently stuck trying to remove it....

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When it was all cleaned up, it did indeed look oil tight..... however....

If you look at the bell housing in these two pics, it was plenty wet, black and oily...







Couldn't just clean it and put it back after seeing that - not when it;s all apart and accessible.

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Thats from the flywheel oil seal surely? Be very surprised if anything got passed even a worn input shaft seal. My seal is very loose against the input shaft. no leaks here.

I think it's just there to stop and sloshing oil being let out, there's no real pressure or anything. Unless it's too late, I'd just leave well alone if all seems good.

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Maybe, but maybe not.... how disappointing would it be to have a leak from the bell housing on first fire up. I just figure it's worth changing it whilst I've got it all apart. Interestingly, the rear of the engine case was cleaner than the bell housing, so I'm not entirely convinced it was (all?) from the crank seal....

Anyway... a moot point now...

Drilled holes in the metal cage and using a PK screw, attached a bracket and length of rope....





And using a screwdriver and hammer as opposing levers, pulled it out. It really was stuck fast, as initially I pulled two smaller screws out of the hole without moving the seal, hence the other holes!





Then installed the new seal....





Another box ticked.

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Now that the transmission is now ready for installation, it was time to clean up and protect the rear bodywork, suspension and engine bay whilst access is good - replacing missing or perished rubbers along the way.

As per usual, everything always takes longer than usual, so I only got as far as the initial clean, but the findings and results are well worth the hours of effort.

At least the messiest part of the job is now over.

This included the rear inner wings and underside of the wings which whilst had been wiped over previously, hadn't had a thorough scrub with jet fuel.

I was delighted with what I found - it's just absolutely rock solid - everywhere! The original wings are perfect too, and check out the bumper mounts!

The areas of surface patina are only a dark colour due to the temporary wetting effect of the jet fuel.

Those that know me well, will know that this is just utter pornography for me, and the stuff my dreams were made of!











The other side is just as nice too!











If you think that's nice - wait until you see underneath!

I started at the top and cleaned the inside of the W-lid - don't come much cleaner than this....





The engine bay metal work is in the same condition as everything else.





Now for the really messy part.... The next 3 hours were spent sitting cross legged in the engine bay armed with a variety of brushes, scrapers and squirty bottles of cleaners.

The frame horns were totally cacked!







This what was underneath...

There's a fair bit more to go, but once I'd got the heavy stuff off, I wanted to get the body work cleaned so it only leaves the final detailing of the horns and suspension next time out.

Note the pools of jet fuel all over the floor that I sat in for an uncomfortably long time, considering it was below freezing.





Cleaning the rear underside as anyone who has done this before will know is a challenge, especially at 6' 4" and 200 lbs.... but I got there in the end and boy was I pleased with what I found. Couple of small areas will get the benefit of a fine wire brushing to remove a few heavier deposits, but other than that, it just needs protecting - over the moon.













And this is how things look at LT Towers this evening....





A tough, but satisfying day....

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Perfect work 😎

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Trust me on this, you should do that professionally. With this kind of detail you will make the best name in the country.

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That is very kind and flattering of you, thanks - however, I'm not sure what you mean by 'that'.... I don't really understand that I'm doing anything special other than flattening the batteries on my camera....

I'd absolutely love to do it professionally.

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