I've just bought a big jig-saw puzzle...

[shawn71]

I replied to a for sale add on here that captured my interest last weekend after grovelling to my wife for permission to go and have a look at it.

The add was for a 411 LE project for sale complete with loads of spares, and I mean loads including uncracked dashboards glass, injection parts, seats, subframes, brake cylinders amongst other bits that would come in handy keeping my 412 on the road as well as completing the 411. Having spoke to Grant, the vendor, I arranged to go and have a look at it on Saturday morning.

I had already decided before I went that I wanted it and after I saw it I decided it had to have it!

A brief examination revealed it needs some minor welding to the N/S cill and to the gutter area again on the N/S but it appears that all the other major work has been done at some point and the rest of the car looked solid. The front end was rebuilt using NOS panels and the scuttle was replaced with one from a 412 so the wipers sweep the correct way.

Unfortunately I have no where to store the car near to home at the moment so I have arranged for it to be trailered to Volksfarmers within the next couple of weeks where it can be stripped out, with the help of the Terry's, to work out what needs to be done to get it MoTed and back on the road again as soon as possible.

Looking at the registration paperwork it was first registered in Jan 1970 so could well have been made in 1969 (the year my wife and I were born) and it was originally green, I'm assuming that would have been sumatra green or a similar shade?

Talking to Grant it would appear that at some point in the 80's it was painted a luminous lime green, to match the decade I think, and was around the scene quite a bit then before he took it off the road to repair the rot in the front arches. One thing led to another and he never got around to finishing the work. So if anyone has any pics of it from then I'd appreciate seeing them...its reg number is VTC 939H.


This is where I pick up the storey









More pictures to follow when I can get some more.

[Paul Hayward]

well done Shawn .....looks like you have a fantastic project there, looks well solid , thats half the problem so you have a good head start .........i miss fudge LOADS since selling her last month back, have something else in the system but do miss type 4!...sure one day i will get one again,

good luck with everything! very good v farmers are going to store/ work on it, sure it will be a cracking car given some time n money ....keep the pics coming

[shawn71]

Will do, Grant is delivering it up there at the end of next week...guess where I'll be that weekend!

[Editor]

Probably would have been Elm green L60D if made from Aug '69 (a '70 model). if not, Peru green L60B.

Looks like an interesting challenge!

[shawn71]

Thanks for that Dave,

I must confess after posting I did a little research on the colours and realised that sumatra green was a later colour...either way it will be a shade of green again at some point.

[kps70]

Good luck Shawn.
I now have a race on it seems, getting my sedan back on the road before yours!!!
i hope the jigsaw goes back together without any missing pieces
All the best
Kieron

[shawn71]

See you at VW Action in both of them then Kieron!!

[shawn71]

Managed to grab some time down at Volksfarmers today and have a good look over the 411.

The N/S gutter area is going to need some extensive patching, the rear N/S bumper mounting area needs work as does the N/S cill and both of the front footwell areas. Thankfully Brian has a donor car in mind for the roof sections and the floor patches aren't too big at the moment...

Sorted through the boxes of spares and have a better idea of some of the bits I need to source such as front calipers, bumpers, mirrors and a few other bits and pieces that escape me at the moment.

Did want to get the engine running today but too much was disconnected and the fuel pump and plumbing for it is in a box, maybe next time.

I'll post some pics when I get chance to upload them.

[shawn71]

Time for the promised pics and a more detailed update.

The first job yesterday was to unload the car as it was full of bits and bobs, some useful for the resto and some not that will be sold on soon to help fund the project. Anyway, back to the project, once the car was free of clutter I had a good look over it with the help of Brian.

The most obvious area of work is the near side roof area along the gutter line



and the rear quarter



Brian seemed to think that although this looks scary it is repairable and he has a good donor vehicle amongst the 'graveyard' that will provide the needed sections to save this one.

The off side roof just needs minor attention





Once the inside was clear of seats etc we checked the floor to find it will need a couple of small patches to the front passenger footwell and the drivers side as well. These are easy repairs just like the rear N/S bumper fixing point.

Checking under the car revealed that there are no front brake calipers although the disc are new, these therefore will need to be sourced (late Type 3s use the same calipers so these should be relativly easy to find, apparently). We also noticed that the front has been dropped considerably resulting in the anti roll bar being removed and retaining straps being fitted between the strut bottom and the body of the car to prevent the spring unseating. Not sure what to do about this one yet.

We were hoping to get the engine fired up but the fact that non of the wiring was connected and there were no fuel lines or fuel pump fitted prevented this as we ran out of time, fingers crossed next time it will make some noise from the aftermarket exhaust it has



Talking of aftermarket parts it has had a hole chopped in the roof for an aftermarket sunroof that we need to find a sealing rubber for, but for now this is low on the priorities at the moment.

Amongst some of the treasures that came with it is this cluster of guages in a cracking little pod that you can see in this box



Amongst the other stuff is a box full of rubbers, some are nothing to do with this car and could well be cal-look beetle rubbers but positive ID will have to wait for now.

And this very rare UNCRACKED Type 4 dash that is destined for my 412 as the 411 already has another uncracked one fitted!!



There is also a box full of injectors and manifolds, throttle bodies, ECUs, wiring, pressure sensors and all manor of other useful bits.

All in all a good day at the farm...

[Paul Hayward]

well done

never seen the roof rot through there, all fixable though eh!!

ps if anyone wants a un cracked dash for 45 pounds i know where there is one...somewhere near santa pod

look forward to the next update

[volkswalker]

wow get it cracked on with dude!

[shawn71]

Sorry to say nothing has happened yet though, although there has been lots of talk and making plans. Money is also an issue at the moment (familiar story I know) as the Bug has taken priority as it needed a new N/S heater channel, rear quarter and front quarter and...

Any way back to the 411. The plan is to return it to near stock on GT wheels and painted either moss green or elm green (not decided which yet).

We have decided to cover the roof with vinyl as we want to replace the glass aftermarket sunroof that has no seals with something like the Paris beetle vinyl sunroofs which takes care of that hole by making it bigger . We also think that it will cover the repairs needed to the rot along the gutters on either side. We intend to put vinyl from the top of the windscreen to the bottom of the rear pillar down as far as the top of the rear wings much the same as the old Mk1 Capri. I think this will look pretty good on a car from the era that saw vinyl stuck to most things

I've got a good set of Type 4 grey basket weave high back seats that will fit inside it so we will install black carpets and make either black or grey door cards, I'm liking the idea of black vinyl again here

First thing first though is to get the engine running as it was fitted with a rebuilt unit 15+ years ago and, to my knowledge, this has never run.

As soon as some progress starts to be made I'll update as needed.

To be continued...

[Paul Hayward]

well done mate ..they say its all in the planning , look forward to seeing it change and get nearer the road

[Paul Hayward]

any news Shawn?

hows the race between you n Kieron going for action 2011

[purplepeter]

Are you open to a suggestion about the rear seat?..Lets see if Dave reads this & thinks the same as I did!..we might know where theres a grey back seat!

[shawn71]

Thanks for the thought Peter but seats is one thing that is sorted on this at this moment, I've got a set of grey basket weave ones with high back fronts ready to go in when it gets that far.

[shawn71]

I've been unable to get to Volksfarmers recently but I had an e-mail from Jane from there yesterday informing me that the engine has now run for the first time in 15 years! A major step forward!!

However after speaking to Bryan today it appears the rot has set in far worse than we first thought. It is still savable BUT it is getting close to being financially unviable to do. In the meantine he has suggested another project that could be a more viable opportunity.

We need to check out the target car first to make sure that Bryan's memory isn't playing tricks but if it is still as solid as he thinks then this could be the way forward using my current 411 as the donor to save a different 411.

[kps70]

That's bad news and good, but perhaps places me in front in the race now

[Paul Hayward]

Ah what a shame .......well either way i hope you get one of them sorted.....in time for action?.no pressure

fingers crossed for you Shawn....Kierons in the lead then...im 3rd as not got goldmember deliverd just yet...wont be toooo long though

[shawn71]

Well, it looks like the 2 door wins out after all!

Looks like the other one Bryan was thinking of is in worse shape than he remembers.

[Paul Hayward]

GAME ON THEN ........fingers crossed it all goes ok from here on in

[volkswalker]

holy sheetz this is a mammoth job but great by the look of it

[shawn71]

holy sheetz this is a mammoth job but great by the look of it

Thankfully its at the best place for the work to be done as both Jane and Bryan are very knowledgable about the quirks of the Type 4 and Mat is quite talented with the old welder (if you read this Bryan do I get a discount for advertising???) as well as the amount of potential donor vehicles for parts that might be missing when we finally get to the 'putting it back together stage'.

Lots of the work was done by Grant (the previous owner) but sadly the ravages of time under a leaky car cover have reeked havoc on the bits that weren't repaired and where water could pool in the low points of the floor and where moisture could stay trapped in the expanding foam that VW filled so many of the cavities with.

Amongst the good points are rebuilt inner front wings, rebuilt fresh air box, rust free wings and doors. And a running engine!

The bad points are the floor and roof.

[shawn71]

Well, 6 months have nearly passed since the last update but there has been some slow progress made.

I spoke to Bryan last week and the two good solid steel rot free front wings for the 411 won't be going back on. This is because they have been modified very well to have the indicator holes and fuel filler flap smoothed over and the amount of time needed to undo the work is offset by the fact we have a good pair of Day Moulding front wings to put on in their stead.

The floor of the car is proving to be more rotten than we first thought due to water being allowed to sit in the lowest points for a number of years. The good news is the rot is slowly being replaced with fresh steel, better to do this properly once and make a job that will last some years than to rush and have to do it again in a short time.

Parts have been slowly been sourced and are awaiting the time to be put on so watch this space...

[shawn71]

Where has the time gone?

It's been 3 1/2 years since I last updated this post and I am now happy to say the 411 is now on the road!

I drove it home on Saturday and to say I'm chuffed is an understatement

And here we are leaving the farm, note Denise's blue beetle in the background



and at home (ignore the wonky badge bar, I was in the process of fitting it when Denise took the picture)



It has been long time coming but well worth the wait