Four days to go. Looks like rain. Karen’s coming on Friday; I’ll be there for Caddy Shack Thursday night.

That looks dangerous. Amazing it wasn’t noticable.

Roy, we’ll miss you at Carlisle but hope you have fun doing the other stuff. Piloting a new boat across the Caloosahatchee and Okeechobee sounds like it’d be a hoot. Hell, upstate New York sounds like a hoot right now too. But I totally get having an overfull dance card.

I’m there with Bridget on Thursday night for the Caddie Shack run. Karen’s coming Friday in her yota.

What are we doing Friday for dinner? If y’all want to do something together I’m in, and if it’s pot-luck I’m still in…Let’s figure.

Also: does anyone want drinks? I could try again with the elaborate English summer drink special if anyone is…[Read more]

Keep that hustle.

Any way you could adjust the ride height a little for road duty?

Awesome! Driving these on public roads is a real joy, I say. It’s a bit like being Mick Jagger on a hoverboard.

I dunno, Jack; that all looks pretty good to me. Enjoy the rest of the build!

That is good advice.

Yeah, slow is fastest, and don’t push the tool. This thing is new to me too (got one for Christmas) and it’s a damn revelation. Just makes a lot of formerly hard things easy, and several formerly impossible things also easy.

At your service.

Roy actually pioneered the wire-wheel adaptation. Use Triumph TR2-3 adaptors, drill and tap your VW hubs @ 4 x 4.5 to accept the adaptors. Screw short bolts in from the back to use as studs—I used lock washers and red threadlock. Then install the adaptors and the knock-on wheels as normal.

Any and all wire wheels will push out t…[Read more]

Welcome, Bob! Nice car.

Roy, your explanation of the top differences is bang-on. The BCWs leak a bit, some (like mine) more than others. The price one pays for almost authenticity.

The wood along the back is correct for a real TD. They would have snaps attach to the wood, and the top attached that way, rather than snaps in the metal body tub…[Read more]

Glad to help. The real work is all your own.

For the record, Roy’s recollection is right: TDs (and TFs and TCs, etc.) had plywood floors. The chassis was steel—it looked like C channel but was actually a rectangular tube that was relieved on its inboard sides. The body panels were framed internally with ash wood—that’s the “wood frame” people talk about and it is hard to repair if it rot…[Read more]

use a putty knife and a lot of elbow grease; maybe combined with some Goof Off.

Or better: get one of those oscillating cutoff/multi-thingies that didn’t exist 20 years ago and how did we ever do anything without them? They come with a flat blade that’s made to peel construction adhesive, mastic & tile, etc off floors. Should make quick work of…[Read more]

perfectly nice. They say those old MGs had some wood structural components, ya know.

Is there any way to re-mount the slave so it pushes on the clutch lever closer to the pivot point?

Or is it possible the pedal isn’t giving enough travel to the master cylinder? Maybe drill another hole in the pedal arm a little lower down…?

The fix for too-much-cut on fiberglass is not mysterious, Jack.

You know what you have to do. Also, it isn’t difficult. The material is easy to work and very forgiving.

Have fun!

That is both mean, and nasty!

HOOORAH!

Nice going, Jack. I’m about to start wiring the Spyder, a daunting task. As it happens, I, too, need a wiper rig. I wish I knew you needed one: I’d have sent Bridget’s old setup. No good for the Spyder, as it needs the later (sideways motor) standard Beetle rig. NOT the Super Beetle! (Ask me how I know).

So, a plethora of VW wiper junk here at…[Read more]

Glad you got fire at least. Did you ever find another suitable spot for the oil cooler?