In early 1999, I purchased another Thing. This time a 1973 with original orange paint and in much better condition. The rear storage area had some rust damage and the floor pans would need to be replaced. The front clip had some dents as if it had run under the bumper of another vehicle, but not major damage. Other than this, the car was in great shape and just needed some surface rust under control and a fresh coat of paint. Since the pans would need replacing before I could drive it, I set out to do a "pan off" restoration on it first thing. I went to Kubel Treffen East in Ashville, NC in July of '99, where I met Ron Domeck and saw the results of his work and the fact that he sanded his car down to bare metal. I began by removing everything that could come off; doors, hood, windshield, gas heater, fuel tank, engine, dash, wiring harness, etc. I purchased a small sand blaster from Harbor Freight and set out to strip it down. I got as far as to blast the front clip and the driver side back to the front door.
This was about the time that I met my wife, got married, bought a house and started a family. The cars sat in pieces for years in my father's warehouse at his business, untouched, until 2008 when due to my father's declining health, the business was sold and the cars got evicted. Not having room to store but one of the cars out of the weather, I had to make the decision to let one go. Now, having the benefit of hindsight, I really wish I had held on to the car that I let go. With over four acres, the car could have set outside and been here for potential restoration or body panels that I need. But, at the time VW's weren't on my radar with everything else going on in our life.
This brings us to present day. My 8 year old son has been on me to fix up the car so we can go crusin' around in it; so here we are. I'm going through everything in the shed and beginning the process of stopping any surface oxidation.
Today, while stuck inside thanks to tropical storm Lee, we have gone through a few boxes of miscellaneous parts from the two cars. I'm placing a number of small parts like door hinges and related screws and windshield latches in 91% Isopropyl Alcohol to strip the paint. My kitchen table resembles that image from the John Muir book. :)
In the coming weeks and months, I will be posting progress on this project as well as other things. As soon as I get my scanner working again, I'm going to be posting pictures of both cars as they were when I purchased them. All comments and suggestions are welcomed. Thank you for stopping by.
