Author Topic: the '55 Ragtop.....are we done yet?  (Read 101093 times)

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Offline josh

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Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #300 on: March 19, 2013, 11:31:43 AM »
Spent some time with the few upholstery samples I got from Marcus in Germany and the spray outs. Of course we were having a typical westcoast monsoon rainstorm so natural light was out of the question...so I jacked the wife's expensive full spectrum lamp to see if I could find something that jives.

I know jack shit about photography and couldn't find my memory card for the digi camera so out came the ol standby iPhone......I tried it in HDR mode whatever the hell that is?

First off top of my list in choices so far is JJ's old 55 (now russels) silver granite on grey early vert cloth, black rag and black rollbar and use standard black knobs on dash knobs etc....



#2 is same paint but diff tan/browns and a tan rag



Mango is sweet too!



I do like the mouse grey too but guess I didn't take a pic?

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Thursday picked up the drivers ribbed fender from West Virginia ......the last piece of german steel this pig needed, now I can honestly say the only aftermarket sheetmetal part on the car is a pair of wolf's rear bumper mount sections (that are as close to factory as anybody needs to be)
 

Shes in original paint and while unlike the pass side I got, this one hasnt been welded or "worked" in its past life........she aint no creampuff tho


How she it started out...







starting to beat/twist and tweak back into shape....





crazy how floppy the thing was with a couple bolt holes torn....mucho better





I usually try and get the metal back close to where it lives before welding





start sticking it back together...





little thin down low in the flange....



after grinding down the boogers and more hammer/dolly/shrinking disk action I drug em both out to the blasters....





before-



after-



poor old things have come a ways but still need some more lovin'......just for fun I kept track of hours on this one and im up to 4.5 hrs on just the green one (not incl. blasting) so far!!!!!!!!
55 ragtop T1
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Offline BUSDADDY

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Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #301 on: March 19, 2013, 12:09:57 PM »
Looking good!

can someone enlighten me on how to keep little bits like this from swinging madly when blowing paint at?
I've had good results for the most part by hanging another wire below to hold onto when painting, some just won't sit still no matter what you do so I do them in 2 operations on a peice of expanded metal.
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Offline Baked Beetle

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #302 on: March 19, 2013, 01:42:04 PM »
Holy Crap you did that fender justice. I'm excited that it's going on a car of this caliber. Amazing Build!
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Offline rekka

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #303 on: March 19, 2013, 02:11:39 PM »
Super thorough. It will be worth it in the end, I'm sure. Nice work.
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Offline Jerome

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Re: Project '54 Ragtop
« Reply #304 on: March 19, 2013, 09:23:48 PM »
Looking good!

can someone enlighten me on how to keep little bits like this from swinging madly when blowing paint at?
I've had good results for the most part by hanging another wire below to hold onto when painting, some just won't sit still no matter what you do so I do them in 2 operations on a peice of expanded metal.

Same as busdaddy, but i have an old pry bar from the rail yard that weighs about 50 lbs. I hang it on the wire that hangs down from the parts as a ballast. you can run it under several parts if you have them all lined up. It keeps your hands and arms away from the overspray too.
Sucks to your assmar.

Offline josh

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #305 on: March 19, 2013, 09:46:03 PM »
Nice! I like that idea! I was thinking of building a couple frames out of 2x4 and string stuff nice and tight....would make it quick and easy to pull out the lot as one unit! My little "spray booth" gets pretty crowded!!
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline 70's Looker

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #306 on: May 29, 2013, 12:06:35 AM »
hey josh hows the face doing these days? anyways anything new?? going to see some island sun this year?
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Offline josh

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #307 on: May 30, 2013, 07:50:41 PM »
hey josh hows the face doing these days? anyways anything new?? going to see some island sun this year?

Face is great....how's yours?  :dink:

Been picking away at the ol honey do list o shit around the house......no fun!

New on the oval front.....got all my interior stuff ordered from Marcus in Germany.....super stoked to get that stuff! Got red snapper onboard to sew up the seat covers and door panels.
Received a big box of goodies recently everything from full rebuild kit for the sunroof mech. to floormats and window winders and such.

Finally done with bodywork on the fenders and hood...epoxied, poly primed, blocked and just hit em with 2K lastnight!  :party1: :party1:











55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline josh

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #308 on: August 11, 2013, 07:48:26 AM »
Still moving forward...

Snaps on floor pan done.....after fucking up trying to weld them on(turned out to be plated brass ) didn't want to risk warping pans and scorching a bunch of work by silver soldering I opted to epoxy them on. Spot primed and final scuff done, hope to spray some black tonight





Rounding up all the shit that needs to go black....gas tank still had a little pitting on bottom so it got some more 2K so did backside of deck lid



One front fender was bugging me.... Like everything else they aren't  original to the car, one side was a bullet fender that got shaved, other side was a late 50's euro which didn't have as much of a flare where it meets the running board. When metalworking them I stretched this bulge out a bit but it wasn't quite there so it got a bit more love....both are same now




Original Empi GT wheel has been gettin a bunch of attention lately.....I wasn't having much luck getting stain to penetrate this hard as fuck cherry or mahogany or whatever this thing is made of? Took it into a very talented painter/ airbrush buddy and he worked some magic on it, looks titties now!!





finally something in top coat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!









sprayed 2 med heavy coats of Duponts Imron Elite SS with some flattener to cut er down to a semi gloss. these were original pans from my 57 spliced into a 58's spine made to look like a 55 with the heat adj. relocated and modified throttle cable exit to make it look early.

Next up to the plate will be some more black bits like gas tank, RLR moly roll bar, steering column, e-brake, inspection covers yadayada

a guy might be tempted to bolt on some shiny bits before wrapping pan up till body's done....dont think i'll be able to resist the urges


PARTY ON!!!!
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Stephan Schmidt

Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #309 on: August 30, 2013, 03:18:03 PM »
Looking GREAT Josh!  Loving the steering wheel!

Offline josh

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #310 on: August 30, 2013, 08:38:01 PM »
Thx man! Bit if catch up....

Gloss black session






Got all my interior from Marcus in Germany arrived today!
Looks even better than I had hoped =D>  had him sew up the carpet, headliner, sunroof cover and just supply the raw material for seats and panels (I'm having a Mr. Redsnapper to stitch those) Marcus's lead time wasn't bad (as I hear other un-named shops can be) his prices were very reasonable (much less than the other guys) and the product is un believable!!!! Highly recommend his stuff!!!









Outside in the sun with my paint sample...







Couldn't resist bolting some shiney bits on!!














RLR bolt in bar needs some paint now, all sanded now probably make it shiney this weekend.

[/quote]

55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline josh

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #311 on: September 21, 2013, 10:37:37 AM »
Quote from: Cuba
Bolting shiny shit on is the fun part  \:D/

Some mock up....


















Painted RLR the roll bar .....







was barely dry and of course I had to bolt it up to pan








trimmed floormats for the bars













chucked em up in an allen bolt in a drill, wet sand and then autosol came out mint!



tonight was workin on a bosch 6V horn I picked up at the last swap.





one of the screw terminals had a screw snapped off in it and brass was really eaten away? rather than fuck with that I made a new one with a hunk of brass and a 4mm stainless screw silvered in

Original (good one) on right, one I made on left




Just need to order a repro badge...







I tried to resist but the beam found its home





Thinking about getting some stainless and start my brake lines soon?

55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline josh

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #312 on: September 21, 2013, 10:40:45 AM »
Big ol waste of time but I can't stop bolting up shiny bits...got a batch of shit back from powdercoat so of course had to go on....



Old school solid springplate retainers with bronze bushing. SAW HD adj plates and 28mm bars.....







Rear truss bar, limit strap and QA1 adj. shock all tied into downbar on luggage floor.








More funk fakin' on the quest to make the pan look like a 55, instead of a 58 Modified the ebrake handle so the cables don't poke up.....











Last session of black (I hope!)









Now that all that crap is done I can rip down all the poly in my "booth" and start fresh for some SILVER GRANITE BABY!!!! it's all contaminated with overspray and sanding dust ...I stapled up some thin shit before starting black but I want a clean slate for body color!!


Poof, up to date :party1: :party1:
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline steveo_32

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #313 on: October 02, 2013, 07:47:48 PM »
silver granite.........whadda whay to kill a build by some ass color.
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Offline josh

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #314 on: October 02, 2013, 08:31:28 PM »
Hey homo get back in your purple bus and STFU sign0151 sign0151
55 ragtop T1
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Offline Geoff

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #315 on: October 03, 2013, 07:36:23 AM »
Your insane! Outstanding work Josh.

Offline josh

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #316 on: October 03, 2013, 07:30:21 PM »
Your insane! Outstanding work Josh.

Thx G and yes I think after this build I may check myself into the loony bin for a break!

Got the door panel backing cards done the other  night.... Brian they should be on the way soon!







Also completely tore down the plastic in my booth redesigned a couple things that bugged me and re-taped everything along with a new filter rack for exhaust. Cleaned all the over spray of florecent bulbs and moved them to outside poly.......waaaaay better and so much brighter! If I feel energetic tonight I may just spray a couple odd parts body colour?









55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline red snapper

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #317 on: October 03, 2013, 09:50:00 PM »
Holy crap, lookin good. I sure do like that pretty beam too!

Offline 70's Looker

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #318 on: October 20, 2013, 08:40:41 AM »
Am I wrong or do I smell some color in the air?
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Offline josh

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #319 on: October 20, 2013, 10:23:42 AM »
Am I wrong or do I smell some color in the air?

You can smell that shit all the way across the water ?  :band1:











Those shots are of base coat, haven't uploaded the clear ones yet.....
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline Jerome

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #320 on: October 20, 2013, 09:04:00 PM »
I really really hate how high you're setting the bar. i mean really. sign0098
Sucks to your assmar.

Offline josh

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #321 on: October 23, 2013, 10:18:53 AM »
Haha! Thx!!



More chit done.....








Try and blend the stupid monster tach with a little body colour




Bunch of little shit that I have had strung up and been tripping over for long time






Got a couple things to nib out of hood but it's done




And this is what you"ll see looking in the rear louvers  \:D/

55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline 70's Looker

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #322 on: October 27, 2013, 09:42:55 PM »
Go josh go! The panel inside of the vents have always been a pet peeve of mine! I like your plan!
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Offline josh

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #323 on: November 07, 2013, 12:13:29 AM »
Here ya go Kev see it here first..... :party1:



all inners of removables 100% done and cleared

In base..






And cleared....sorry shitty ass phone pics!












Missed one side of this last session....hit again




been working on the set of semaphores that came with the car....they are late 50's SWF's that I have rewound (lost pics of that...) for 12 Volt so I don't need to run resistors. All clear zinc plated and then made a set of pins on lathe that had to be drilled out to disassemble. have repro orange lenses for them.







got latches plated too and thought this stamp was kinda funny.....


55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline Jeremy

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #324 on: November 07, 2013, 01:19:22 PM »
I think you've got the Nick's Burger Award in the bag. Lookin good Josh.
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Offline josh

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #325 on: November 07, 2013, 01:41:46 PM »
Yeah, I don't know about that?? I heard Nicks was closing...they looking for a new spot for event??
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Offline 70's Looker

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #326 on: November 09, 2013, 01:58:02 PM »
Kaput for sure but I'm sure they will come up big and find a new hang!

Looks great josh it's great to see someone building their car all in house I know I'll never have the balls for that!
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Offline Geoff

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #327 on: November 09, 2013, 02:33:35 PM »
New dkp location has been set and has a good size lot! Get we done!!!

Offline josh

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #328 on: November 11, 2013, 08:13:44 AM »
Didn't get as far as I wanted but I might be able to sneak out tomorrow and blow some clear on it :-k














Thought it would be a good idea to get some paint into the semaphore pockets and defrost vents this round so I could really get it in there...





Base is flowing great and covering the tinted sealer very nicely!

The outsides are gonna be a dream to paint after doing the inners first!! There are some whore spots to get paint into without getting big droolers!!
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline Jerome

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Re: the '55 Ragtop, 5 years and counting.....
« Reply #329 on: November 11, 2013, 09:31:44 PM »
I don't know what base you are using, but unless you've been told and read in a tech sheet otherwise, I'd have clear on it within 24 hrs.  All the base coats I've used wanted clear within 24.
Looks good!
Sucks to your assmar.