First Build thread of 2015 and of the new Forum - Loretta

[abgiles]

No pictures today, but the difficulties continue. All I had left was to remove the motor, the axles, and the trans. I continued to drain the gas tank, which took another two hours. The last bit wouldn't drain, as the screen in the tank was gunked up, as would be expected. Fortunately, the tank itself was in very good condition, and shouldn't need any work. The only thing I have to consider is extending the filler neck so that I can do the flip top filler that has become popular.

Once the tank was empty and I could move the catcher tank from under the rear, the motor removal was as simple as it should be. The Axles however, proved to be a bit more difficult. The CV joint bolts were a T40 Torx head bolt, and I thought it would be so simple. The issue with torx head bolts are that when they rust, the torx splines strip very easily. About half of them came out with a little effort, and the other half stripped using the torx head socket.

I removed the rust as best as possible with a small screwdriver, and then used a hammer to insert a larger Allen head socket. Seems pretty simple, but it took forever! It took me about 90 minutes to remove one axle.

I'm on a deadline to remove the other axle and the transaxle from the chassis. Tomorrow is supposed to be very cold, and I doubt I'll be out in the garage when I get home from work. So now it's up to Thursday and Friday morning to get it done. I'd like to be on the road up north by Friday at noon, so I'm feeling the stress.

[abgiles]

JSTURTLEBUGGY wrote this response:

Brian,
In all the years I worked on VWs I never seen a TORX bolt for CV joints. The ones I have seen are a 12point 8mm special tool for removing and installing. Bus used 6point bolts.
Did you think someone has replace them at some time?

I understand about working in the cold garage, as the part of California I live in the temp in the morning outside is below freezing. Today it did get to 60F degrees in the afternoon, but still cold overnight.
_________________
Joseph
Fair Oaks/Orangevale, CA
Elrod Racing
Motion Tire Motorsports
Having fun with Dune Buggies since 1970
Into Volkswagens since 1960
If you want a real Meyers Manx, Support Bruce and buy a Kick Out or Manxter

[abgiles]

JOESCOOLCUSTOMS wrote this response:

Don't stress. If you do not get the axle out, I have a tool I use just for that and it makes quick work of it. We can do it in short order when you get here.
_________________
Many wallets go dry before the project finishes.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

Member of Wagenfolks
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/870707.jpg
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=479740

[abgiles]

Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2015 6:10 am

Thanks Joe! I did get the one out, and hope to get the other out tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes!

[abgiles]

jsturtlebuggy wrote:
Brian,
The ones I have seen are a 12point 8mm special tool for removing and installing. Bus used 6point bolts.


Son of a B*&%H! That's got to be what it is. I thought they looked odd, and just assumed they were Torx. I used a T40 that worked on about half of them, and it was pretty snug in there. When some of them stripped, I was able to pound a larger allen socket in there and get the others out. Thanks for that information.

Considering this Joe, I'll wait for the other one until I get up there. I absolutely DON'T want to get a few of the bolts out and make the axle loose, and then have a couple stuck in there.

[abgiles]

I've finally finished the transferring of the thread from the other page, so now it's time to update it!

JSTURTLE was absolutely correct on the 12 point (DD) axle bolts. On Thursday, I took a half day at work, purchased a set of 4 of the DD adapters from Auto Zone for somewhere around $10, and it took mere minutes (compared to over an hour) to remove the second axle. After that, the transaxle came out fairly easily. I still had a few other odds and ends to do, and spent the rest of the day rocking out to some Billy Joel blaring in the garage, drinking a cold frosty beverage or two, and then packing the truck.

On Friday, I hooked up Loretta to Burt (my truck), and got them in synch for the ride up to West Virginia.



I stopped in Troutman, NC to drop off my transaxle with Jeff (owner of Gear Garage : http://geargaragenc.com/) to have the trans rebuilt. Not many issues with it currently, but it would randomly pop out of 4th, and I wanted it beefed up for an eventual bigger motor. More on that at a later date, but I'm very confident he knows what he's doing. Check out his page, and take a look at his shop below:



That's just a sampling of his projects.

[abgiles]

I arrived at Joe's at about 4:00 p.m, after driving through some very cold weather. There's a reason I'll never live up north, and it's simply that it's just too darned cold! There was even some white stuff on the ground through parts of the trip.

I spent about 4 hours discussing plans, and visiting with Joe and David, getting ideas, and enjoying their company before hitting the road to head back. I was an idiot and got so involved in the discussions and ideas that I didn't take a single picture of any of it.

So, now about the only thing for me to do is get to work on the motor, and watch as Joe does his magic on her. He'll be updating his progress, and just like you, I'll be sitting amazed as I see him transform her and take her to the next level.

It would take too long to have me tell you what all he's doing, so you'll just have to sit back, and enjoy the show. I know I will!

[surfnc]

Brian,
Looking forward to your build and Joe's awesome work.

I have seen Jeff's garage, very nice and some neat cars.


Where did you find out about his services?

Vince

[joescoolcustoms]

Thanks for the kind words Vince! You have taught me a lot, and I appreciate it.

David Cash and I finished major fabrication on his Moss Green Manx II this Sunday evening. He can now start pulling apart and "making everything pretty". His goal is to take it on the up-coming ECVW '15 with his daughter. So, now that I am "finished" with David's fabrication, I can move to Brian's Manx.

Right now, just relaxing after three hard days of cutting, welding, grinding, shaping and bending. Playing in the garage for a hour tonight and getting used to this forum.

I have submitted my first picture to this site, and now attempting to link onto the thread:


Looks like it worked for me on the preview!!!! And pretty easy.

I will try and update 2 to 4 times per week on the progress with Monday, 1-12-15 as my tear down day and getting the chassis on the frame table.

[abgiles]

Joe,
If your test photo is a circle with a line through it that says "You are not authorized to view this image", then it worked fine. If not, either my firewall here at work is preventing me from seeing it (I can see all of my pictures though), or a setting is a little off.


Vince,
I found Jeff about a year ago when he was selling a Thing that I had some interest in. When he told me about his place, I asked some people here in Columbia, SC about him, and he had a great reputation. I was very impressed when I spoke with him, and more so once I visited his place. He did mention to me that he had done some Tow'd business with you a while back.

I'm also excited to see Joe's progress on Loretta. I will eventually learn to do some of my own fiberglass and chassis work, but Loretta is NOT the one I want to "practice" on. I've got this one in the back yard, just begging me to come work on her, and eventually I will.

[Mike-Presley]

Can't see any pictures, the space says sorry picture removed or deleted

[manxvair]

I can see Joe's picture, it's the inside of his garage with Loretta burnt to the ground! Lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[joescoolcustoms]

That was a good one Mike!!

Can you see this picture now? Same picture, but loaded off of photobucket instead of this forum's site.

[abgiles]

That was NOT a good one Mike!

I can see it now Joe! I also just sent some design ideas for the cage that I really should have brought with me. Sorry on that one. I did email some pictures to you.

I've been told some of my photos are visible, since I "organized" my photobucket links. I'll fix that tonight.

[joescoolcustoms]

Got the ideas.

I will try and work the photo's from this forum to figure out what I am doing until I get the hang of all the options/functions. So, at first if things look screwy, they are.