I survived my second and third 2-hour paint-removal extravaganzas this morning and yesterday, and I estimate I'm progressing at a rate of .5 SF per hour. Well, maybe half that. Or less. Honestly, I'm pretty sure paint was growing back onto areas I'd just sanded.
I will soon be calling around about sandblasting.
In the meantime, though, I'm gonna read up on how to rewire the car, since I tore out all the wiring after the fire. That's one of many overreactions I committed when I started cleaning it up; another one (I suspect) was rebuilding the engine. Live and learn.
So after the Sisyphean sanding this morning, I moved the kiddie pools, bike tires, and other miscellanea off of and out of the car to make some working room for the rewire project. That is, if a stick of dynamite doesn't mysteriously blow the car up in the next few days.
My mom e-mailed me some photos from just after the fire. I'm not sure I'd seen these before this week -- check out the heat line on the framing in the second picture. I think the Beetle sat outside for 3-4 years after this before I started fooling around with it.
I tried to rebuild part of a wiring harness for a 1969 Toyota with many unexpected results. You'd be better off trying to buy a wiring harness or simply buying a parts car, like this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/vw-covertible-bug-bus-Volkswagen-volkswagon-/160429246067?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item255a540673#ht_3080wt_1165
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed reading about your project. I did not know you were skilled in automobilogy. Great pictures, too.
ReplyDeleteI once worked for the highway department in Madison County, IL. I sandblasted. It was pretty cool.
After your second post, the "slowest car on the block" and "a bug's life" have come into perspective.
Harry - I bought a new wiring harness 8-9 years ago and looked at it this morning. Most of the labels have faded to near nothing but I think I can still make out more or less where they go.
ReplyDeleteJoseph -- to call me skilled in these things is being VERY kind. We'll see how it goes though.
-Paul