Best products from r/projectcar

For rust spots that are rotted through completely, you'll definitely need to cut them out and make patches. This is hard, but with lots of patience and the right cutting tools, a little bit of welding skill, you'll be fine.

Remember that for welding on body panels, the sheet metal is very thin, so weld carefully to avoid putting to much heat in. Too much heat in a body panel will warp the surrounding metal and cause an ugly look when you do body work, making it hard to smooth out the area even with bondo. Try making many small spot welds. If you have an air compressor, a good way to cool down the metal while welding is to attach your 'blowing' attachment and just blow cool air over the region after each weld. Patience is absolutely key. Have a steady hand. Do not just burn through on the body.

When welding on frame pieces or other things that won't be seen, this is not as important, though you should still be careful. A fire is not great.

I would suggest you buy a large sheet of fairly thin steel, a gauge which matches body panels closely. Too thin and you'll burn through; too thick and it will be hard to weld.

For surface rust and that rust which does not rot through panels, rails and other metal completely, use Ospho. Ospho is a compound of phosphoric acid and a few other additives that, when added to rusted metal, causes a chemical reaction which hardens into a kind of undercoat. When using Ospho, make sure that you clean up the area first with a wire brush and, for best results, some sandpaper as well. You'll want to knock off as much scale as you can before applying the chemical so that it works properly. Applying Ospho to scaly surfaces will not allow the chemical to be effective.

Here is a link to the big bottle. I'd suggest it since you can use it again in the future. It is to be applied LIGHTLY. Noting this, it is suggested that you buy a heavy set of paint brushes. Have a dedicated rag. Finally, get a spray bottle that can handle corrosive chemicals. You can find these at your local hardware store.

OSPHO IS DAMAGING TO PAINT. OSPHO IS DAMAGING TO PAINT. OSPHO IS DAMAGING TO PAINT. DO NOT APPLY TO PAINT!

When using Ospho, you must recognize that you are using a corrosive acid. As such, it is recommended that you wear nitrile gloves. Always wash your hands with a good basic soap, like joy or dawn, after using the chemical. This will neutralize the acid. Do not rub your eyes. If you get a little on your skin, you will be ok. Just wash, wash!

If you are not comfortable with bondo, find a good body man. A good body man is hard to find. Choose carefully your body man.

These are some hot tips. If you need help, feel free to message me.

That's tricky. If you don't have a friend that's a mechanic plus you're a novice, a project car is going to bleed you dry financially. It would be a lot less expensive in the long run to buy a fully restored car.

Start here: www.amazon.com/Auto-Repair-Dummies-Deanna-Sclar/dp/0898153417

That's the 1989 edition that I started with in 1989. That, and a 1974 Pontiac Ventura. I was a complete novice at the time myself.

This book will be especially helpful to you, because it uses the author's 60's Mustang as a reference for everything. That's the 1st edition of the book. There is a second edition that's a lot more recent, but I don't know what's in it. For your 'Stang - get the 1st edition for $5 and save $20.

There's also a good chapter about what to look for when buying a car. That'll be helpful to you as well.

As far as being a novice goes, don't let that intimidate you. I've learned that 90% of mechanics is having the confidence in yourself that you can fix it, and you can fix it correctly. Always have the right tools for the job. Buy the best tools that you can afford. Today, there's a whole internet full of videos about car repair. I didn't have that luxury.

And good luck! I wanna see Mustang pictures one of these days.

If you want reliability.. I'd respectfully spend the extra on an engine case that doesnt need line boring. Line bored engines tend to have a shorter life, it's hard to do right (most use a handheld tool) and it usually costs 200-400 to get it done, plus 150-200 for cylinder boring. A new aluminum case (They are a bit heavy compared to as41 mag...) is roughly 830 dollars shipped, and it would include boring for larger cylinders. (aa performance, use code AASAVE15 )

As for the build, it has gone VERY simple. I used gasgacinch everywhere, and aviation permatex on the jugs for the most part. I replaced a LOT of parts with aftermarket ones, including my heads (the old ones might be rebuild-able, but i found a pulled out spark-plug thread in one..) That said, This is my second re-assembly of this engine. I did a non sealant full assembly to check fits, bearings, clearances, etc.

There's lots of little gotchas with measuring this, that, and the other. Some parts are only available in inferior versions, etc. If you can find a complete vw engine for 200-300, you're saving a lot of money on things like the distributor drive pinion, tin, 1.1 forged rockers, cooling fan, oil relief valves, alternator, etc.

Whatever you do for the engine case, do look into 'full flow' modifications. These permit you to add an external spin on oil filter, which is a big improvement. I'm doing a filter pump.. which isn't amazing, but works. Also look into a sand seal to keep crud and moisture out of the oil, and have a proper crankcase ventilation setup (basically, vac hose to air filter, consider a catch can.) When you go to build the engine, measure everything, including stuff that 'should be' correct. Consider having the crank, crank pulley, flywheel, pistons, rods balanced, then the clutch pressure plate (yup..) balanced. That way, you can replace the pressure plate without hosing the balance on the engine. It's really not super required, but it will help make for a longer life engine. Make sure to get a forged crank, cast cranks are problematic in VW engines because they only have 3 real main bearings. If you're not stroking, it's REALLY hard to beat original forged German cranks, unless you want counterweighted (not needed unless you're revving to the moon...)

All of this is really building up to.. make sure you're basically running a cleanroom on final assembly. Wash even new parts, chase threads carefully, then wash again and bottle brush the oil passages. If your build table is dirty, lay down some paper to keep it clean, etc. Then learn to love the assembly lube. And have all the torques on hand. and torque patterns. You're probably going to be about 1.5-2k into the engine, to be totally honest, tack on another few hundred for your choice in carbs, and whatnot. You can do it all cheaper if you find an engine in fantastic condition that just needs some cleanup, and new P&Cs. Those really do not exist, to be honest, outside of finding an older person's projects when they pass...

ALso: Go get a book. Good overall and excellent for engine building. Saves you money.

I think you'll be hard pressed to find actual detailed schematics.

http://www.amazon.com/Race-Rally-Car-Sourcebook-Competition/dp/085429984X

That book has a lot of pictures and diagrams of various racecars (both production based and formula style) and discussion about design considerations.

The To Win series by Carol Smith has some wisdom from a man who built a lot of formula cars, but it's mostly technical stuff - not straight up schematics.

The only resource I know of that has full schematics about how to build a car, is Build Your Own Sports Car for as Little as £250 and Race It!, but that's to build a 1960 era Lotus 7. (If you want to check this out, I have a .PDF copy I might be able to upload, as the original is out of print - the book shouldn't cost 1/2 the price of the car they teach you to build IMO, lol).

A while back, I had the same dream - except not a Formula 1 car, just a homebrew of some sort.

To get "practice" at putting a car together, I taught myself a 3D CAD program called SolidEdge (similar to Solid Works, except there is a free academic version that's readily available to almost anyone). I looked everywhere for schematics of real race cars so I could attempt to model one before I started working on my own design. The best thing I could find was that Build Your Own Sports Car book.

Seems like nobody wants to give away their design secrets - even with 50 year old cars...

About 10 years ago a friend of mine got a book about Ferrari's ~2000 F1 car. I think the book cost $250. You could probably build a ~2000 Ferrari F1 car based on the photos and diagrams in that book, but you'd need an extremely well equipped shop to do it, and it would still cost hundreds of thousands of dollars just to make the shell and suspension. I don't even remember what the book was called. I think it might be this one, but I'm not sure.

Get 15% Tint on all the windows except for the front which has 50%. Make sure said tint has great UV blocking properties (Not all tint blocks UV). Now clean the car to absolute perfection (or just get a really good detail) and prepare for the next steps. To protect the Top and Interior from fading spray them down with some scotchgard for carpet, seats, and other fabric surfaces and get some Armorall products to completely clean your car. Make sure to wash all of your glass as well and get an Air freshener so your car doesn't smell like shit and your good to go. Doing this will keep your cars interior looking like new for years if you keep on top of it.



(https://www.amazon.com/Scotchgard-Water-Shield-Protector-10-5-Ounce/dp/B01LXY3J9I/ref=pd_bxgy_60_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01LXY3J9I&pd_rd_r=4PKZSRXDRKFADJDWFT05&pd_rd_w=AhfFi&pd_rd_wg=APWqG&psc=1&refRID=4PKZSRXDRKFADJDWFT05)

There are a lot of different connector systems available, at a whole range of prices. The top of the line is Deutsch by TE Connectivity. Crimpers start at around $700 with a few turrets! Some mil spec circular connectors are over $100 for a single plug! Crazy expensive but it's the stuff they run on top level race cars.

That just won't do for project cars though. The best bang for the buck is Weather Pack connectors. They were originally a GM connector but they're pretty popular on all kinds of project and custom cars. A proper crimper is under $40 and a variety pack of connectors is like $60. With the right pin extractors and crimpers you'll find them to be very serviceable, waterproof, and reliable. They're not an extremely high cycle connector but they should be fine for regular service.

With any connector system the reliability comes from always using the right components and tools. Get the right pin for your wire gauge and crimp it correctly, use the right size seals for proper waterproofing, etc. There's plenty of information on how to correctly Weather Pack throughout the internet.

Couple things to check that I can think of. Check all of your fuses. Disconnect the battery, then go ahead and just replace them all, they're probably all ancient anyway. Make sure to replace with correct amperage fuses. Check for corrosion on the contacts while you're at it. Clean with contact cleaner and wire brush/emery cloth.

The brake light switch on my '62 was a pressure switch mounted on the brake Master Cylinder, '61s are the same. It's ten bucks from rockauto and wouldn't hurt to replace it, since it's 56 years old.

But the main thing I would look at is the bulkhead connector that goes from the fuse block under the driverside of the dash through the firewall into the engine compartment. My car had some weird electrical gremlins that were intermittent and super annoying. That bulkhead connector is hiding under the Master Cylinder and is held in place with a single bolt. Disconnect the battery to be safe, disconnect that bulkhead connector and inspect the contacts. Mine were corroded bad enough to cause my issues. If yours are corroded, spend some time cleaning both ends of the connector with contact cleaner and a wire brush/emery cloth. When you bolt it back together and it still seems loose (like mine did), pull the bolt out and put a small washer or two on it to help keep the connector tight.

If none of this helps, you might have a bad ground somewhere which will be more a bitch to fix since you'll have to start chasing down grounds to make sure they're all still connected and not corroded. And as has already been mentioned, check and replace all the bulbs. Relatively cheap and probably should be replaced anyway.

All that being said, invest in a Shop Manual for your car. They are worth every penny! Those old books are like the Big Bible o' Buick and will show you how to diagnose, repair and replace almost every part of your car. I highly recommend that anyone with an old car find the one they need and buy it immediately, you'll be glad you did. It will also include highly detailed wiring diagrams ;)

Lastly, sign up on www.v8buick.com, the single best and most comprehensive Buick messageboard on the interwebs. It's always active, the folks are nice and helpful, tons of info and a large classified section. I highly recommend it.

The Arduino website is very helpful, especially the language reference page for help on all the default functions you can use. The getting started and examples pages are great places to start (who knew?). I found the best way to get into it was to dive right in. I ordered a Arduino Uno board and a starter kit from Amazon. Then I made all the different devices work by using the breadboard and simple code. A bigger project is just lots of little parts all working together. If I needed help, I googled "<part I'm trying to get to work> Arduino" and was able to find someone who did it previously. The Arduino Forums and /r/Arduino are also very helpful!

Yes, if you want shiny you could polish stainless bumpers. I was planning on painting mine the wheel color which is a satin gunmetal gray.
The P.O. of my car was a Volvo mechanic and he did the elect fuel pump, which I have since replaced w/ a new one. He also did the headlight relay kit, driveshaft rubber link thing, U joints. He also remove all of the emission garbage and I'm told that makes a huge difference in power felt. It does pull pretty hard. I have the lowering springs, shocks, sway bar bushings, center link, etc. to do and still on my list is control arm bushings and better brakes.
I had an issue where it was running like crap - rough and very rich, all of the sudden and found the issue to be the idle cut-out / shut off solenoid.
If you do decide to remove front bumper and want to fill in the holes, that was a lot of work for me. Welding in the patches wasn't too tough but just all of the profiling / block sanding to get all those radius' to blend nicely took me a long time. The front blinker marker lights I got are for a 1960's Mustang. Their profile isn't a perfect match but close enough where difference isn't noticeable at a glance.
If you want a front spoiler get the one from Vick Auto as it's much better quality than the Mr. Fiat one.

Good luck with your car!

Edit: One thing I would do different is to delete the rectangular side marker lights and go with those tiny 3/4" round ones. That would immediately make the car look 10 years older IMO. Someone also makes a small control board to alternate blinker flash so it would blink front/side/ alternately. Like these:

https://www.amazon.com/Partsam-Marker-Clearance-Light-Signal/dp/B019BT79NG/ref=pd_cp_263_1?pd_rd_w=lJtOh&pf_rd_p=ef4dc990-a9ca-4945-ae0b-f8d549198ed6&pf_rd_r=4QPHKT2N5YZDWKWFM78S&pd_rd_r=a3e15943-32b3-11e9-a6c1-83a6775f2fe5&pd_rd_wg=QVoKZ&pd_rd_i=B019BT79NG&psc=1&refRID=4QPHKT2N5YZDWKWFM78S

I do like mine, I easily get a day of tuning and tweaking out of a full battery. The screen isn't bright enough to compete against direct sunlight (nothing much really is though) but it is brighter than I expected for the price.

If you are like me, blindish, you may want to consider a lighted magnifying glass too. Something like this. I found mine at a thrift shop a while ago for like $5 though I did eventually replace the old cfl ring light with a custom LED setup. It is really nice for the little transistors and such that have more than just 2 pins.

Get Tom Wilson's book. It deals with type 4 engines, it helps you inspect your engine bits to see how "rooted" they are. Then it will help you figure out how to fit it back together.
Also... www.thesamba.com is a huge online forum about everything vw Aircooled and more. Search it.
From there you will ba able to get a picture...
And... www.ratwell.com is invaluable to for info on baywindows... Good luck
https://www.amazon.com/Rebuild-Volkswagen-air-Cooled-Engine-models/dp/0895862255

Sure. First I used paint in a rattle can from https://www.automotivetouchup.com/. You can put your paint code in and get an exact match. My bay used 1 can of red primer for some of the bare spots I did some metal work on. I used 5 cans of base coat and 4 cans of their high gloss clear. To prep the bay, I pulled everything out I could. Engine was already out. I power washed it. Sprayed it with scrubbing bubbles. The power washed again. I used 3M 07777 scuff pads to take the shine off the previous paint. The entire bay. Then compressed air to get rid of the dust. Finally washing it down with with Sprayaway glass cleaner. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0052V1JA2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The glass cleaner sounds strange, but this is what one of my friends uses and paints vehicles on a regular basis and it works. Finally mask literally everything off. I used 7 sheets of plastic drop sheets from Lowes to encase the front of the car from the rest of the garage and started laying base coat. No real technique other than the directions on the can. I let it dry for a day and did clear the following day.

The clear coat is a bit more tricky. You have to get the right distance to get it smooth, otherwise it will be foggy or rough. This took a couple tries to get used to and my bay is not perfect. There are 2 spots in the upper left and right corners at the firewall that are rough. But those are going to be covered up by various parts anyway.

Hope this is helpful. Even the rattle can paint sounded questionable until I saw someone else do it on instagram with similar results before I did mine. Id do it again if I had it. I just hope it holds up.

They aren't cheap! I have a temporary set up Currently, I'm Running this OBD 2 reader https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NLQAHS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have a android tablet (that my wife also got me) that I use for the gauges currently. Works fantastic and gives me everything I need so I don't have to worry about dropping 💴 on gauges until the end. I can't remember the app I have but it cost like maybe 5 bucks but was worth every penny. I can Get you the app I use if you want

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005NLQAHS?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Also buy the torque app. If you're curious about what you're engine is doing this is the best 30 bucks you can spend. Reads codes, clears them automatically, tells you when your engines warmed up, will display and log the output of your obd sensors.

Then supplement this with a video on your exact car I'd say (there's usually something for your model.

I'd start with an oil change and maybe air filter and spark plugs if they're needed.

You don't need many tools to start. If your car comes with a jack then just some axle stands and a socket set probably will be all you need. You can add to this with lots of other tools as and when you need. You don't need super expensive stuff.

Though this was my first socket set, and it's still my most used. I've got a Civic and this can do everything in a basic service. I only really needed more when I started to do brakes, suspension etc. Once you start taking wheels off I'd recommend a trolley jack, 1/2 sockets and a long breaker bar.

https://www.amazon.com/Bahco-S330Af-8-Inch-Socket-Set/dp/B005HVWVNG/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=bahco+3%2F8&qid=1563045808&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Feels nice quality for the price too. Handy that it has screwdrivers and spark plug sockets and extensions in a handy case.

Okay, in that case I'm pretty sure they're both urethaned in. This tool you posted might work from the inside, if you remove the trim panels. Otherwise you could use a flexible putty knife like this with sharpened edges to cut through it, also from the inside of the car.

I don't think that'd work. I was thinking more along the lines of this tool http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31NqFg6GcDL._SX425_.jpg

But it'd have to be shorter than that for the sedan side window, since it's a smaller triangle piece about 9" tall by 5" wide.

I also saw this on Amazon, so maybe this will work better? I just don't know how I would use this?

http://www.amazon.com/Tool-Aid-87900-Windshield-Removal/dp/B0002SRDR8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1463258138&sr=8-4&keywords=windshield+removal+tool

When I had my first beetle I was a big fan of How to Keep you VW Alive - Step by step for the complete idiot. Mostly because I was an idiot mechanically back then.