A well adjusted person is one who makes the same mistake twice without getting nervous.

I ordered up the parts I think I'm going to need to finish up the two open items on the 'to do' list so that I can drive car more than four blocks.

Most of it should arrive before the weekend, although I'm not sure I'll have a lot of time to get it done this weekend due to other plans cemented several moons earlier.  I'm pretty sure I'll have the muffler situation worked out and the gear oil in the transmission will be filled.  The brakes are the only open item on the list...and they're what I'd consider a 'big' item since they have to be dialed in before the car goes anywhere.

I made the mistake of buying a part from a seller with whom I've had at least one previous disappointing experience.  I figured that experience may have been a 'one off' and to give them another shot.  Turns out, my gut instinct was correct...and I wound up with another disappointing part.  Lesson learned.  Time to move forward.

I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.

After yesterday's setback with the brakes and lacking the 46mm wrench to tighten the muffler nuts, I decided to spend some time today working on things that would yield a more positive result.

I mounted the rear reflector housings and reflectors.  Turns out that the little picks I bought at the FLAPS worked great for pulling the seal out from behind the housing.

 One nice distraction with the rear bumper being mounted is that I can't see just how jacked up the rear apron is...I know it's there though.

I also mounted the chrome trim piece on the muffler pipe.  It felt good to open up that NOS package and put the part to use.

Also nice to see the exhaust exiting on the proper side of the vehicle.

 Found some short elbows since I'm using a later muffler.  They're the wrong color but they're correct for the muffler.  Downside is that I have to block off the fresh air pipes at the end since the car has early tin (64) and there wasn't a provision for the preheat pipe until 1965.  I think I'm going to buy some pinch clamps for the rubber connector for now.  I have NOS bands but want to hang on to those until I mount the correct muffler.

Mounted a new bellows boot with NOS band clamps.  It's amazing how much easier it is to put correct parts on the car vs. fighting with aftermarket shit that doesn't fit properly.

I bought a small spool of wire for the tach but didn't get it installed as of now.

Two orders will go in today for parts needed to finish the brakes and the muffler install (clamps).

I didn't do anything with the interior or the seat belts.  The rubber floor mat is super brittle and that leaves me with no where to mount 1/3 of the front seat belts.  I've already decided that I'm going to have a seat belt mount welded to the rocker when the car is prepped for paint because I don't want to put a weird hole in the floor (not to mention the inherent weaknesses of the floor for a seat belt mount).

I've got some investigation due for the rear seat and seat belts.  I've got too many rear seats so I plan to go through what I have and keep three at the most.  I think I have five rear seats right now.  It's just time to thin the piles to a respectable level.

I hope to keep the work level going and get a few things done during the week...although I'm at the figurative mercy of the many people from whom I've ordered parts.

Found the original 67 only supply tube from reservoir to master cylinder, original German style hose in the larger 7mm size (supply tube is 8mm, IIRC), and I'm waiting to receive a repop 67 Type 1 dual reservoir.  I know the cap will fit and I'm hoping that the pipes that come from the bottom are similar enough that I can use them on the Type 3 reservoir.  If not, I may temporarily rig up the Type 1 part so that I can get the brakes back to fully functional until the proper part is located.  I've got my 'feelers' out there looking for the correct parts...but they never seem to show up right when they're needed.  I'll find a solution-it's just a matter of time.

If there is no struggle, there is no progress

 Early on in the day, I got distracted by an ugly choke on the left side so I replaced it with a NOS unit.  The old choke fell apart when I pulled it off the car and went to set it aside.  Then I noticed the loose wires on the chokes.  So, I pulled out my wiring stuff and fixed the wires to original style spade connectors and got rid of the blue insulated shit ones that were on the car.

 I pulled the glasspak muffler system that came with the car and installed a later (65) NOS muffler and some good used small heater boxes.  All I need to do is buy a 46mm wrench to tighten up the big nut between the small heater box and the muffler.  Everything went in pretty easily.  I can't wait to hear the car turn over with a stock exhaust again.

I took a photo of the new CuLayer tail light bulbs-this is from approximately 25-30 feet behind the car.  I think they're going to work out perfectly.  I'm very happy that I found them.

I wound up changing the axle boots, the fuel filter, installing cotter pins in the outer tie rods, fixed the headlight issue (although I still have a ground issue on the right side), NOS muffler, heater boxes, installed a NOS choke, fixed the license plate light wire (it was broken), replaced some semi-hacked looking wiring, and took a serious look at the back seat and the seat belt situation.

I'm hoping to get up early and knock out a few more things from the list.

When I attempted to bleed the brakes, I discovered that the brake fluid was contaminated by the rubber gasket from the reservoir cap (not sure Type 3's ever had these stock...).  The fluid was dark grey and the reservoir is very mucked up.  This likely means that the master cylinder that's in the car is going to need a rebuild because it's probably full of little bits of lid seal.  It was nasty.

I couldn't get the reservoir clean so I think I'm going to just pull the master and swap the front lines so that they're 'proper' for a dual master and figure out a way to install the reservoir from the 67.  I need the aluminum lines and I'm not sure I'll find those locally...which means more waiting.

I also need hose clamps because, in spite of what 'many' will say, the woven German hose still should have hose clamps.  I'm not one to take a chance on the hose staying in place without them.  I thought I had the right size clamps but they turned out to be too big.

Pedro rack arrived.

The full Pedro rack arrived today...and it is beautiful.

Parts arrive for both cars...

I finally found an early, correct rear hatch striker plate.

On the Ferris blog, I cover with a little more detail the other various parts I received today for both cars.

One nice thing is that in spite of the rapidly shrinking list of required parts, they seem to be getting a little easier to find.

A little patience, along with a long restoration process, has paid off with NOS parts.

I've got grand plans for getting things done on the car this weekend:

• replace master cylinder
• bleed brakes
• replace shift arm on transmission
• replace leaky axle boots
• install fuel tank
• install OEM muffler, heater boxes and elbows
• alignment
• fix rear seat

In a few days, the reality of what I've accomplished will hopefully match my ambition.

The second tail light should arrive in the next two to three days-I'm looking forward to how they'll look when installed together. 

More to come...

New technology for an old car

I received a functional sample of a high power single contact LED brake light bulb today.

It fits and functions as I expected-although I've only tested it under sundown conditions.  It is at least 5x's brighter than the stock bulb which is not very bright.  I know that antique vehicles have dim brake lights and pay attention to them when driving behind them but I know that most other people don't pay that much attention to them.  I'd prefer that, as a driver of an antique vehicle, I don't become a statistic.

I'm going to do additional testing during normal daylight hours.  I think that'll be the real test of form and function since pretty much anyone can see brake lights during the darker hours of the day.  If it's just as bright during the day (red car, brake lights, day light) I'll be satisfied with the testing.  I may just push the car outside in the morning and check it out...still no fuel tank in the front end (blah!).  I'm also waiting for the box from Germany with my bumper bolts to attach the rear bumper.

These bulbs might be expensive but I consider it cheap insurance in preventing someone from rear-ending me in traffic because they didn't see the brake lights.

A little more progress

 Prepared the cleaned and powder coated fuel tank tonight.  Fuel sender is mounted, new fuel sock and gasket attached to the bottom.

Nice and clean on both sides!

Next up will be installing the cotter pins in the tie rods, settling the lock plates and then installing this fuel tank.

Then I'll tackle the rear end-replacing the axle boots and muffler with a NOS unit and get the glass pack / header off the car to be sold.  One piece at a time...getting there.

I also greased the front end.  I wound up using a whole cylinder of grease but I know it's greased thoroughly and should last a while.

I pulled the front horn grill cover to check the respray color against the original Ruby Red and found that they're not even close!

The center 'nose' piece is noticeably a different red than the Ruby Red of the rest of the piece.  Pieces like this will ensure that when the car is painted that it'll be closer to the original color.

Moving forward

 I made some time to work on the car today.  This picture was taken near the beginning.  I'm not great at tracking progress with photos.  Actually, let me rephrase that:  I'd make a horrible photojournalist.

The general goal was to find and fix the cause of the 'floaty' steering and I believe I've accomplished that part today.

 A brief comparison of the newly *rebuilt* steering box vs. the one that just came out of the car.  I got curious and opened up the fill plug and discovered that the box is full of oil but it's likely broken down after 50 years.  The box was tight but the operation was not smooth.

I also replaced the pittman arm with a refurbished part (new grommet/bushing).  Much tighter and definitely an improved feel.

After five hours of distractions and work, I managed to install the rebuilt steering box, reconditioned pittman arm with new bushing, new VW Mexico steering coupler (which didn't quite fit properly), two reconditioned tie rods, four NOS Lemförder tie rod ends and a Cofap Brazilian steering damper, as well as install a good used bearing cap.  In addition, I made adjustments to the speedometer cable (NOS unit not one that I recently purchased) and cleaned the front beam a little more.

I didn't get it finished up today because I discovered rather late in the day that I didn't have the cotter pins for the tie rod ends.  I didn't engage the lock plates in the event I need to make some last minute adjustments.  I'll take it for a basic alignment once I find a shop that can do it and then engage the lock plates.  All in all, everything cleaned up nicely and I was able to get quite a bit done.  I was hoping to finish it up and install the newly reconditioned fuel tank but I didn't quite get that far.  One more day like today and I'll be able to finish it all up.

When things go awry...

Sucks when you buy a part, wait for that part to arrive to finish an open task and then discover that the part doesn't fit.

The square shaft of the speedometer cable does not fit or engage the speedometer.

How awesome.

Fortunately, I have one GEMO speedometer cable that I can use for now.  I was hoping to get both of them working without having to tear into the GEMO parts.

New lights arrive!

The headlights from Iran arrived today.  They're as close to perfect as I could hope.

As soon as I receive bulbs for them they'll go into the car.  I placed an order with Wolfsburg West for the bulbs and new seat belts for the back seat.

Reverse side is clean!

The order I placed two weeks ago should arrive tomorrow-just in time for the weekend.  I'm hoping to get the car back together and take it out for a test drive with a fresh fuel tank, new steering box and tie rod ends.

“Sometimes it's worth lingering on the journey for a while before getting to the destination.”

 I started the work on the car by removing the skid plate on the left and planned to replace it with the one on the right.  I didn't get far enough to put it all back together but I've at least got the right part.  I'll be selling the short one since I don't need it.  Both of my cars will have front disc brakes which will necessitate the longer cover plate.

Take note of the interesting manner in which the single reservoir is feeding the dual circuit master cylinder.

That's some more MacGyver shit right there.  Time to get cracking on a better, more permanent, solution to this situation.

All of the tie rods are shot as is the steering dampner.  I'm going to wind up changing all four tie rod ends and the steering box as well, because, well...why leave only one thing left?  I'm sure it's at the end of its rope too...might as well cover all bases.

 Pulled off the front left wheel and wrestled the cable out of the spindle to find this mangled bit stuffed into the spindle.  There wasn't anything hanging out of the outer edge so I'm doubtful this thing has functioned in quite a while.

I also pulled the 2/64 red needle speedometer and installed the later speedometer with trip function.  It's nowhere near period correct but I like them better.  I didn't get around to installing the tachometer yet.  At least the two gauges that are installed have the same color needle now.  The tach is also white needle so it'll all look nice once I run the wire and get the tach functioning.

Replaced the speedometer cable with a new one and also replaced the crunchy grommet.

Discovered one of the reasons why the speedometer wasn't hooked up (or may have been incorrectly hooked up) the grease cap on the driver's side was once a passenger's side cap that someone took the time to attempt a square hole cut to make the end fit.  But it doesn't fit because the cut out isn't a square.  I briefly thought about filing it down but then realized that I don't have a file that small and that I have to order other parts anyway so why not get the right one?  So that's what I did...in two weeks, some progress will be made.  I'll have a functioning speedometer again.

After nearly an hour of draining, I was able to remove the fuel tank, and set it aside.  I'd only given myself two hours to work on the car today and by the time the tank drained, I'd lost precious time.  The fuel sock filter, even with my tearing the top part open with a screwdriver, was very clogged with all sorts of shit and slowed the draining process to a trickle.  Now that I'll be addressing front suspension issues, the replacement of the tank is going to take longer than I'd planned.  I'm going to use the tie rods and ends that I bought for Ferris since this is a running/driving car and Ferris is still in pieces.  I will have a nice new group of parts for the sandblaster dude that can be refinished and used on Ferris.  The ball joints have fittings for zerks so I'm planning to buy a set and install them, then grease the everlovingshit out of them.  I've got my work cut out for me on the front beam...but it's all necessary work to make the car function the way it should.

I placed my order tonight for 2 new speedometer cables, a bag of 10 e-clips for the speedometer cable ends (I lose them about as fast as I buy them it seems), a few random suspension pieces/bolts and a few other fuel tank related parts.  Next weekend is 4th of July and I won't have time to work on the car so the following weekend will be when it gets done.

Looks like I'll have this car nice and clean and road worthy right around the time I have to put it in storage...at least it'll be ready to go for next year without much work.

New eyes

 I've been searching for quite some time for NOS 3 bolt headlamps.  They're fairly easy to find in used condition although it seems like there's always a clip or a rubber piece missing.  After months and months of searching, I finally found a set.

I briefly pondered buying newer lights but I wanted the 'real deal' and, right now, I'm happy I waited.

They're super clean in the photos and I'm optimistic that they'll arrive in similar condition.

One more thing to scratch off the list of parts to acquire.

Ever put two puzzles together at once?

 The conclusion of a successful parts trade with a fellow Type 3 fan out West.

KlassicFab pans for the 64S.  I now need to track down a rear seat kick panel before I pull the pan for the new floors.  Ferris needs to be completed first so this will go on the back burner for now.

 I bought two of the three carb pivot towers in this photo.  One is a spare for me, one is a replacement for a friend with a 65 S.

 61-63 carburetor pre-heat tube.  I now have two of these and two of the 64-65 version.

I think I know where to find two more, along with a few other NOS parts but it'll take a little time to get to them.

I found a NOS rear apron for the 64S!  I'm fairly certain this is the only body panel that I need for the car.  I'd like to get this installed fairly soon but it'll depend upon the progress with Ferris.

It's a very rust-free body and I hope it stays that way when I take it apart for restoration next year.


I was planning to drive the 64S to the local show and sell off excess parts.  I haven't had time to work on the front end of the car due to other things that have come up.  It's also likely that it'll rain and the window seals aren't up to the task of keeping the water on the outside of the car.  I'm going to take it day by day until the day arrives and I'll have to see how much I've accomplished and how the weather holds up.  I hope I can drive the car to the event since it's so close to the house.