2012 Looking good

Here we are approaching the end of 2012 so a couple of shots of the car - She has come along way over the 9 years and is bracing herself for further change - more to follow in the next month or so.

2012 update

The engine has experienced a small degree of oil leakage from the push rod tubes.  As a reslt I decided to replace them all and to use collapsable ones; the challenge was at the time I wanted them no supplier in the UK had them.  I imported a set from PowerHaus in the US and after mastering how to fit them without damaging the seals the oil leak has been cured.  Here is a photo of the kit supplied (missing one push rod tube which they had to send on).

At the same time I stripped back the rear drivers side axle hub; there had been a slight weep from one of the seals due to some trapped Hylamar sealant which had damaged the O ring.  Also now replaced and resolved.
Carsten Klein kindly supplied a replacement window lifter for the rust weakened drivers side window and this has also been replaced.
Finally the points seem to have burnt to an extent after the first 3,000 Km so they and the condensor have also been replaced.

Changes to early vent window glass

As a final bit of the observations on changes introduced in September 1962, as mentioned in the scan of the page from the VW1500 body manual in an earlier post today, there were a number of changes to the vent window glass and chromed pivot frame that it sits in.
The biggest was that originally the locking handle for the vent window was secured to a chromed stud which was permanently riveted through the glass. The head and overall diameter of the stud was smaller than that on the later ones, the hole in the glass was enlarged to accommodate the post September 62 version.
The chromed pivot frame at the bottom of the glass also differed; the chromed stud for the locking handle sat relatively higher up the chromed pivot frame and the leading edge of the chromed pivot frame had a different end profile.
Finally the pivot bar from the chromed frame that goes into the vent window frame had a different profile that eliminated the need for the circlip fitted on the later ones. (although there also seems to be a mid version which has the early prole but later pivot bar with circlip.
The early window glasses with riveted fittings shown here in the first photo are off my early 62 and will be going back on once I have some new locking handles for them sorted out.

Early front vent frame comparisson

Following on from my post about the change to the door glass here are some photos from which you will be able to see the changes made between the pre and post September 62 front vent frames.
The early frames only had one ridge for the locking handle to engage with, later ones had two. Also the shape of the front part of the frame which is hidden within the door has changed as well becoming smaller in size.

Door glass for early cars

If you have a car built before September 1962, chassis number 087078 then take great care of your door glass.  The glass from September 1962 onwards was reduced in width by 2mm and fitted along with an adapted vent window frame - see attached sheet from the 1500 body manual from VW plus photo of early and late window glass stacked on top of each other showing the difference in size.

Drivers door and pain in the glass

I took the drivers door to be repaired and resprayed; it needed the dent I mentioned in an earlier post removing and repair to a small chip in the ridge removing.  I got the door back a couple of weeks ago and refitted it.  The bad news is the dent is still visible; it will have to wait until the end of the summer before I tackle it again as I want to use the car over the summer.
In the process of putting the car back together I wanted to tackle the problem which I kept meeting of the door glass separating from the lifter.  This is happening as the horizontal part of the lifter has rotted, weakening the structure and its grip on the glass.  As a result I need a new lifter - for drivers door on a LHD drive - if you have one then let me know, it must be totally rust free as I have a couple of others that have rust in them already - surface rust is OK but no holes or splits.

External door handles

Back in September 2009 I posted pictures of 1962 model external door handles showing that they differed from later ones by having hollow  backs.
I had by that stage already rechromed a set of later ones for my 62 and have now had the early ones rechromed also.

I will fit them shortly along with the NOS door handle seals I bought across in Germany last year.