Well it took a couple of weeks to get these pressed out and in, but they are finally done. Removal required using several different presses and hammers and chisels.. even a welder. But pressing them in was very easy with the help of a ball joint tool from Autozone.

Did a little bit of work with the paint sprayer and some Chassis black paint. Layed down a coat.. but I think it might be a little thick. We'll see when it dries in a few days.

Finally got that last torsion bar installed into the beam. That took freaking forever to get the think in.. from start to finish it took maybe 4-5 hours of trying. Ofcourse the method that ended up working was to tape the leaves together, and bevel the ends.. and once they caught in the center was to pound it through.

This method worked, but it wasn't easy.

It took atleast half an hour to pound the bar through the beam.. and then end got mushroomed a bit. After a little bit of grinding.. HOPEFULLY everything is back to normal. The suspension adjusters were installed after that. They vary the height of the suspension about 1" lift to 3" lower. I set them to about 2" lower I think.



The pans were finally in a position to get painted as well. Here is the base coat of Rust Encapsulator. Next coat will be the glossy Chassis black.





Finally starting to look good.

Got the other seat track on the pan today. It turned out REALLY well. The plug welds all were thick and solid with perfect penetration.. I'm really happy with how it turned out. If the car were ever in an accident. I'd be more happy to be in the passenger seat.





Now onto those pesky Torsion bars!

We spent more than 3 hours working on the torsion bars tonight, trying to coax them into the front beam. The upper leaves went in no problem it only took an hour of trying...

But the lower ones are being such a big hassle that I wonder if they will ever go back into the center retainer. Who knows if the retainer was damaged or mushroomed out when we were installing adjusters.



We'll have to finish those tomorrow.. as well as get the ball joints done. The rest of the parts to finish the front end off will be here Thursday.

I hadn't really been working on the car much in the last week. I was hoping to be completely done with the front suspension but the ball joint woes continue on. So far 3 of the 4 have been removed. I think I am going to have to break down and find a professional to do it.

I got the seat track on the passenger side welded in today. It was a hassle, requiring three starts of botched welding. My plug welds weren't holding well, so I tacked it first then ran some beads and plug welded it.

It looks like a mess.. but it works. That seat track aint going anywhere..



On to the other side tomorrow! Plus some bolts from McMaster-Carr will be here for the front beam. I hope they fit!

I have been waiting on parts again for about a week. I really wanted to have the front end together and rolling, but I am still waiting on the ball joints to be finished. Thats not the only thing, because I also need the disk brake seals, dust shields, a few bolts, and still need to strip and paint a bunch of parts.

Here is the front end as it sits now:

Took me just a little while to cut a slot in the front beam to weld on the adjusters. I decided rather than taking out the bearings and bushings, and remove the center retainer.. I would just use the stock one thats in there the same way the Gene Berg kit is.

So I ordered some new bolts that will thread into the existing hole (14mm x 1.5), and will be set when they arrive in a few days.



I also spent some time painting the beam, and floor pan a bit more. Its almost ready for the Satin gloss black paint! I also got a few shipments today of parts, hopefully by tomorrow I'll have 90% of the parts to completely finish the front end.





Now if only I could figure out how to do these damned Ball Joints.

I managed to find quite a deal. I came across a seller on eBay with a full set of disk brakes for the Beetle. They were in an auction and I ended up winning it. For a little under $200 shipped I got: Ghia Spindles, AC Industries Calipers, Rotors, OE bearings, brake lines, and dust caps.

It was a real deal, seeing as how other sites sell the same kind of kit for more than $300, plus shipping and buying the bearings. These brakes should function a lot better than the drums and will be a lot safer as well.

We got the new Danish floor quarters from OEVeeDub last week. These are the highest quality replacement floor peices that anyone makes. They are almost as thick as the originals were. The original floor section was cut out with a sawzall and cutting wheel on the die grinder, and then spot welds were chiseled out.



The new peice fits in perfectly, and everything lines up. We wanted to recreate the original spot welds with our MIG welder. So holes were drilled every few inches, and then with the floor clamped in, the holes were filled with weld. When ground down, it looks just like it should be in there in the first place.

It is just as sturdy as the original had been. It will last quite a long time with a coating of Rust Encapsulator and Chassis black from Eastwood.