An Update and I sold my GTI

After coming back from American Stripping in February I had thought things would start to move at a somewhat faster pace. Ultimately though things never came together with the guy I had expected to do the paint and with life, work, and other things requiring money getting in the way the project has stalled yet again for the moment. I taught a number of after school classes along with summer school this year and will continue to do so for the near future. It provides great extra money but it also severely eats into my free time.

I sold my 2004 GTI 1.8T last week. It was a tough decision but with the constant climbing cost of gas (the required use of premium fuel didn't help) and the possibility of a growing family I needed to get something a little larger and more fuel efficient. (Especially with my forty mile round trip each day to work.) I sold her to a couple from Charlottesville, Virginia and I'm confident that she will be taken care of very well.

I debated long and hard about what to replace it with. Brand loyalty is a powerful thing especially given that I've owned and driven nothing but Volkswagens since getting my license fifteen years ago. It came down between a new 2012 Volkswagen Jetta SE and a 2012 Toyota Corolla S with the latter ultimately winning out. The engine is not quite as powerful as the Jetta but feature and space wise I was able to get on the Corolla pretty much the same as what I could get on the Jetta for several grand less. I also know from experience with my wife's 2003 Corolla S and various Toyota's that my in-laws have owned that they're very reliable, low on maintenance, and easy to work on. Still, it was a very tough decision to make. (Knowing I'd never hear the end of it from the wife if I went with the more expensive Jetta also factored into my decision. :) )

It's given me renewed motivation though to make progress on the Bug so I can have a Volkswagen to drive. Hopefully by next spring I'll have additional money available to make another round of progress. Stay tuned for updates.

Paint and Body Update

The Bug came home from American Stripping last Friday. It ended up costing me a little more than I had planned on but with three layers of paint and two of primer it ended up taking longer to strip all of it off. I've added a page with photos and descriptions - Body and Paint Part II. I've also gone back and added a bunch of pictures to Body and Paint Part I covering the welding and undercoating work that was done last summer.

Earlier in the week I spoke with the guy that did the welding for me and will also be doing the painting. He's backed up with insurance work right now but he's supposed to come by my house some time soon to take a look in person now that the Bug's been stripped and figure out exactly what will need to be done to get her painted. I'm hopeful that will be done sometime in the next month or two. I've got spring break from work coming up in mid-April and I'd really like to be able to spend that week starting to put her back together.

At the stripper!

The Bug is now sitting in the blasting bay at American Stripping on Cary Street in Richmond. With my father-in-law's help we trailered her up there this evening and dropped her off. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about her being away from home as this is only the second time in six years that she's been out of my garage. I doubt my stress level and blood pressure will return to normal until she's back home. But I'm also excited about getting this step of the project done. For now here's a photo from tonight of her sitting in the blasting bay on her cart.

Body and Paint Update

Time for an update. Last week I spoke with a local company that does glass bead stripping and tentatively scheduled the Bug to go in for stripping and a basic coat of primer at the end of January depending on their work load. I also spoke with the auto painter that did the welding work for me last spring. He's more booked up but hopefully be the end of February or early March he can get the Bug in for painting. He'll be doing a Cherry Red single stage polyurethane. I asked him about doing a clear coat as well but he said since I plan to keep the car in the garage except for when it's driven that he wouldn't spend the extra money on it.

The big unknown at this point is what will be found under three layers of paint. I don't believe there's any major body damage save for a hit years ago (before I got it in 1997 at least) to the driver side front fender well that appears to have been fixed correctly. I'm sure there will be some small dents and dings that will be uncovered that will need to be filled in but hopefully that's it.

I'm really excited about this. The body and paint work are the last major step that needs to be addressed on the Bug before reassembly can start. It's also the last major thing I can't do myself. Getting it done will mark a major turning point on this project and once it's done the end will finally be in sight.

Back from the Welder

After almost two weeks the Bug came home from the welder this evening. It took longer than expected but the repaired sections look great. I'll be posting additional photos and details of the work soon in the Body and Paint section. Here's a photo of the repaired front firewall:

Suspension Rebuild

With the Bug still at the welder my plan for this weekend had been to take the front strut towers apart to clean every thing up, paint everything with a coat of POR15, and once the parts arrive, to rebuild them. Saturday morning I went by Advance Auto and rented their strut spring compression tool. Once I got home I got the springs compressed but then discovered I lacked the offset box wrench (22mm) needed to remove the nut at the top of the strut. I was able to borrow one from my brother-in-law later in the day but due to family commitments, yard work, and a crazy storm that passed through that knocked out our power I wasn't able to get back out there until this afternoon. On attempt #2 I discovered I needed a socket hex wrench bit (6mm) as using a regular Allen wrench doesn't provide the needed leverage. (One of the pictures in the Bentley manual covering this procedure should have been a clue.) So it's off to Harbor Freight tomorrow afternoon to get the tools I need. Here's a before photo of how the strut towers look right now:

At the Welder

The Bug is finally at the welder getting patched up. Not long after writing the previous blog entry last month my father-in-law told me about a small body shop located a half mile down the street from my house. It's somewhat hidden from the road and in the almost five years I've lived here I never realized it was there. I went to talk to the guy that runs it and after several weeks of trying to schedule a time to get the Bug we finally took it down there Monday afternoon. I was hopeful I'd have it back by now as that was one of the issues with scheduling, that I wouldn't bring it down there until he was able to do the work therefore minimizing the time it would be there. (I won't lie, it scares and worries the hell out of me having it away from my garage.) But the shop owner (and sole employee for that matter) has been working on insurance jobs (his main moneymaker apparently) and hasn't gotten to mine yet. Supposedly he'll have it done by early next week but I'm not holding my breath. He does good work though and the price he's charging me is very reasonable so I can't really complain.

To get the Bug down to the welder my father-in-law brought over his motorcycle trailer. The picture below doesn't really show it very well but the fit was very tight. He had measured it a while ago to make sure it would fit but it ended up only being a couple inches of clearance on each side and less than two inches at the end. Had the Bug been any longer the rear door would not have shut. And had I been any fatter I wouldn't have been able to squeeze out the side after getting in the Bug to push it inside the trailer.



Along with replacing the front firewall the front sections of the heater channels and other smaller holes are being patched and the bent front apron is being straightened. I also opted to go ahead and replace the rear apron. The one on the Bug was hit at some point in it's life and covered with a very thick layer of Bondo which has since been bent and cracked. It was easier to simply replace it with a new one.