1960 356B T5 Restoration plus LHD to RHD conversion

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StephenJohns
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Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: 1960 356B T5 Restoration plus LHD to RHD conversion

#61 Post by StephenJohns »

Front support welded in place and a coat of etch primer applied.
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View from the inside of car.
Next job is to weld on the brace from axle beam to bulkhead then relocate pedals from left to right and patch up holes.
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StephenJohns
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Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: 1960 356B T5 Restoration plus LHD to RHD conversion

#62 Post by StephenJohns »

Rear heel board cleaned up and ready for tunnel and floor.
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Tunnel mounted to blocks on bench to maintain the correct height.
Black lines indicate the metal that will be removed and replaced.
Had a power outage 5 minutes in today and then came back on 3 hours later as I was cleaning up.
Thank goodness for battery powered angle grinders and Lithium powered LED lights.
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StephenJohns
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Re: 1960 356B T5 Restoration plus LHD to RHD conversion

#63 Post by StephenJohns »

Almost all of the lower section now replaced. Tried out the shrinker/stretcher for first time today which worked well.
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A bit more practice on the TIG welder to make the centre curved sections.
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StephenJohns
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Re: 1960 356B T5 Restoration plus LHD to RHD conversion

#64 Post by StephenJohns »

Tel is now , bright shiny metal.
Sitting in place ready for a couple of tabs to be welded to rear and then welded into place.

Only took about 6 hours to get the tunnel ready.
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StephenJohns
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Re: 1960 356B T5 Restoration plus LHD to RHD conversion

#65 Post by StephenJohns »

More new steel going on.
3.jpg
Spot welder makes light work of assembly.
2.jpg
Attachments
4.jpg

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StephenJohns
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Re: 1960 356B T5 Restoration plus LHD to RHD conversion

#66 Post by StephenJohns »

Found the correct length VW Beetle heater tube mufflers. At US$36.00, I thought they may be worth a try as the genuine version at almost US$300 is a bit pricey.
Being plastic, it wont rot either.
We decided to pull apart and use a high quality motorcycle muffler mat instead of the thin glass wool type that it came with.
4.jpg
Comparison between the packing. Yellow is what is supplied with, white is the new mat.
Comparison between the packing. Yellow is what is supplied with, white is the new mat.
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Part number for those interested in saving some money
Part number for those interested in saving some money

JohnPierce
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Re: 1960 356B T5 Restoration plus LHD to RHD conversion

#67 Post by JohnPierce »

Fantastic! Thanks for posting the info for the heater muffler. Where did you purchase it from?

Cheers,

John
1963 B T6 Project

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StephenJohns
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Re: 1960 356B T5 Restoration plus LHD to RHD conversion

#68 Post by StephenJohns »

Heater Muffler clamp spot welded on.<br />Had to scrape the paint before spot welding off as it was overlooked.
Heater Muffler clamp spot welded on.
Had to scrape the paint before spot welding off as it was overlooked.
Heater tube muffler installed
Heater tube muffler installed
Painting the outer section ready for trial fit.
Painting the outer section ready for trial fit.

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StephenJohns
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Re: 1960 356B T5 Restoration plus LHD to RHD conversion

#69 Post by StephenJohns »

Problem area at A pillar that now needs to be fixed.
Problem area at A pillar that now needs to be fixed.
Section now repaired. Formed up the lower section of the heater section on A pillar and did quite a bit of stretching and shrinking to get desired shape
Section now repaired. Formed up the lower section of the heater section on A pillar and did quite a bit of stretching and shrinking to get desired shape
Just some spot welding to do now and this section is complete
Just some spot welding to do now and this section is complete

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StephenJohns
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Re: 1960 356B T5 Restoration plus LHD to RHD conversion

#70 Post by StephenJohns »

Trial fit of the outer. Rear needs some more trimming as angle is too sharp.
Trial fit of the outer. Rear needs some more trimming as angle is too sharp.
Front needs a bit more angle but its close.
Front needs a bit more angle but its close.

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StephenJohns
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Re: 1960 356B T5 Restoration plus LHD to RHD conversion

#71 Post by StephenJohns »

JohnPierce wrote:Fantastic! Thanks for posting the info for the heater muffler. Where did you purchase it from?

Cheers,

John

Hi John,

I found these on a website in USA. I think it was called aircooled.com however I couldn't check out as there was a problem with the site so I jumped on eBay and searched for the part number that I knew would be the correct length (16.5-17").

Here it is.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/360602889867 ... EBIDX%3AIT

If that link doesn't work, search for the following on eBay. "Volkswagen Beetle Thing Hot Air Hose Aftermarket 043 255 355 A"

They have 8 left in stock. The price is actually US$30.55. It worked out at approx. AUD$36.00 at the time plus postage. Cost me landed AUD $55.00 each.

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StephenJohns
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Re: 1960 356B T5 Restoration plus LHD to RHD conversion

#72 Post by StephenJohns »

Trial fit and trimmed to suit
Trial fit and trimmed to suit
LH inner fender....jpg
About 150 spot welds 3 at a time and then moving the clamps. It did take a while but finish was good.
About 150 spot welds 3 at a time and then moving the clamps. It did take a while but finish was good.
LH inner fender 4.jpg
Attachments
LH inner fender 2.jpg

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StephenJohns
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Re: 1960 356B T5 Restoration plus LHD to RHD conversion

#73 Post by StephenJohns »

Finished result. Now time to trial fit the floor pan.
Finished result. Now time to trial fit the floor pan.
Trial fitting the floor pans
Trial fitting the floor pans
Trial fit floor 2.jpg

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StephenJohns
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Re: 1960 356B T5 Restoration plus LHD to RHD conversion

#74 Post by StephenJohns »

Pitman arms are finally 99% finished. My friend has done an amazing job on these and put in many hours personally to keep costs down.

Off to the case hardeners over the weekend and we should have here ready to process orders for those that have secured 1 or more initially when offered.
Final pricing yet to be confirmed but will be within 10% of what was originally estimated.
Much more time went into these than initially thought so the cost to manufacture was significantly higher.

We will be in touch with everyone at some stage next week.
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neil blaber
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Re: 1960 356B T5 Restoration plus LHD to RHD conversion

#75 Post by neil blaber »

pitman arms look fantastic stephen! got to be happy with those...

but never mind that, its the shell I'm waiting to see lol
instagram - neilblaber

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