The Viking Project - restoration of a 1965 VW beetle

[nmshaikh]

The application....

[d3vil]

Hmmm Waiting for outcome... BOL...

[Xulfiqar]

I hope you are using a new sheet of plastic wrap every time you seal the POR-15 can - anyway PET will melt when exposed to POR and POR is terrible with regards to UV, so make sure you paint over any bare POR coat.

tip: if its not humid out there you need to make a steam sauna to make the POR cure properly.

[nmshaikh]

A whole quart of POR was used to cover the floor pan so there was nothing left. I find that the left over compound in a sealed can lasts longer if refrigerated however I wouldn't want to risk the wrath of 'the Boss' for just a small quantity. The pan would be painted a glossy black as soon as the application has cured. It rained intermittently for a few days after the POR -15 was applied so it has cured quite nicely. There are just a few spots it is a wee bit sticky to touch.

[nmshaikh]

Propped against the wall after a day of curing

[Xulfiqar]

POR-15 is actually a moisture curing epoxy, steam it or splash some water on the hot ground near it. It will become rock hard soon, Why are you painting it glossy black? wasnt the original floor a kind of very dark gray with thick (as in road covering grade) rubber coating

[nmshaikh]

The floor pans have always been glossy black. maybe you are referring to the tar board insulation that is pasted on the inside of the pan as a sound deadening aid.

[nmshaikh]

Meanwhile the parts that were removed from the pan were meticulously hand sanded and washed in kerosene before receiving a coat of paint in preparation of their re-unification with the chassis.

[Xulfiqar]

what grease do you pump into the tubes? I think the original oldschool 1950s grease was sodium based. Nowadays there are a lot of marine greases available for this purpose.

[nmshaikh]

I go for multigrade Lithium based grease as they are easy to find. At present I have a carton of cartridges by Mobil XHP 222 which should last a while. Do you have a particular brand that you are happy with and would recommend?

[Xulfiqar]

any gc lb rated grease will work very nicely specially if its a bit stringy - Valvoline cerulean is very good for this purpose as its used on vibratory rollers too in industrial equipment. It really sticks to stuff. Also good for wheel bearings.

as it is a replenish application you dont need super long life greases in there anyway. Any with a high shock load rating EP grease will work

[nmshaikh]

Mobil's grease is sticky so it stays in the beams as well as the link / king pin longer. You are right about this being a replenish application so as long as you keep up with the greasing interval according to manufacturers recommendation, you should be alright. On our trip up north where we encountered bad roads I pumped grease daily and was able to get a good few pumps of the gun every time. I didn't bother cleaning/wiping the grease that oozed out the ends as it formed a protective seal and prevented water and dirt from getting in.

[AsadIshaque]

Its great to see the progress.

 Lots of points to be noted for anyone restoring a beetle ground up.

 A few questions from my side:

 Why have the rear torsion plates not been dismantled before the POR 15 process? 

 What is your opinion about powder coating an entire pan? A Karachi enthusiast shared his experience and says the pan he got powder coated did not last well and surface rust was noted after a few months. I suspect his guy did not do a quality job as there are stages which must not be skipped or overlooked in the coating process. Also a lot depends on the quality of material used, coating thickness, heating etc.

 Also, do you think its safe for the entire pan to go thru the stages of powder coating? I had my reservations about dipping the entire pan for an acid bath.....usually done for a few hours (overnight or more for stubborn bits). Discussed this at length with a powder coater who said we can skip it and instead clean the pan with acid while scrubbing as opposed to a dip.

[nmshaikh]

The torsion plates are going to be removed, cleaned and refitted with new bushings once the body shell is re-attached to the frame. We could have removed them prior to the POR 15 treatment but getting them back on without the body attached would have been an exercise hence the decision to delay.

Powder coating the entire pan would be nice aesthetically and to some extent save the frame from rusting. The problem however with powder coating is that it can chip exposing the metal underneath to rust. POR 15 bonds to the metal and is virtually inseparable once cured. The success of the powder coating process also depends on the stages. If the surface has any signs of grease or oil the powder coating process won't be satisfactory.

Personally I am in favour of POR-15 as a durable treatment even though I have experimented with some components (like the front axle beam and wheels) which was done after bead blasting without the acid treatment

[Xulfiqar]

even after painting with POR (which degrades really fast with exposure to sunlight) Its best to cover it up with undercoat and the inner side with lots of body cavity wax once the car is assembled. (VWwerke sprayed a LOT of this stuff on the car)

[AsadIshaque]

^^ points taken.

Is bead blasting available in isb??

[nmshaikh]

^^ points taken.

Is bead blasting available in isb??

sadly the only type of blasting available in Islamabad is not suitable for our VW's

[Xulfiqar]

hmm - large tent, large compressor, bead shot gunny bags, body armor, respirator, squirrel exhaust fan and you can do it yourself if you are willing to.

[nmshaikh]

The putting back together of the front suspension has begun... The complete suspension was taken apart and individual components were cleaned and painted. Using new or NOS parts the front end was rebuilt and re-attached to the frame. The new German brake hoses are not in place as they would be added later. This is to protect them from any overspray or damage.

[nmshaikh]

A rebuilt steering box is now in place. The bolts that have been used are original but temp. A complete set of original nuts and bolts for the car are presently being cadmium plated and would replace the ones seen in the pictures.