Clowning Around

Well this isn't exactly how we got the body up in the air but Tom is muy macho. We are shade tree mechanics so a couple of come-a-longs, 2x4's, and some rafters and we were GOLDEN. :) Oh, by the way, this is by no means going to be a trailer queen. I want to get it looking nice and have something fun to drive. Next step is to get the body back on the pan with the pan gasket, bolt it all up, then off to find a paint shop.

Transmission Time

This will be the trans that will help the little Notch down the road. I got it at a Porsche/VW Swap Meet. I think I'll tear it down to make sure all the internals are good to go. May replace the 4th with a bus 4th gear to make it a freeway flyer. Lower RPM's for cruising down the road.

New Found Love

I kept buying Hot VW Mag here and there drooling over all the Notch's in some of the photo spreads. Then when I was browsing around the web I came across a couple of companies that used Baking Soda to strip paint from cars. After deciding on Anacapa Soda Blasting I loaded the little Notch on my friend Toms car trailer and he and I headed to Oxnard for a blasting. They used garnet instead of baking soda but I have to say it turned out great. Even had them take care of some of the body work too.

Initial Try

After I had everything off the body, tagged and bagged, (I use ziplock bags to keep like parts together and mark them with a sharpie) I started trying to strip the body of paint. Needless to say it was a daunting task. I worked on and off on this stage and ended up loosing total interest in the entire project. This is the time that years went by. I did acquire most if not all of the new rubber from WCM. Had a 2110 long block built by L.M.R in San Bernardino. Bought miscelainous parts from Gene Berg Ent., Bill and Steves, and Unique Supply, Inc. in Redlands.

Getting started

Once I had the notch in my eager little hands I started tearing it down to see how much damage mother nature had done to it. I was obviously going to need an all new interior, new rubber, pan fixed, paint, and body work. After removing all of the interior and external parts I decided to pull the body off and take the pan to some to get the foot wells fixed. I also decided to switch the swing axle to IRS so when the back is lowered the wheels will stay vertical and not bow out.

A little background

Now a few pics from when the car was saved from sitting outside in a storage yard about 12 years ago. My friend Tom spotted it and asked if I was interested in making a project car out of it. I jumped at the chance. This is how it came off the trailer. From the pics it doesn't look to bad but the interior had be totally thrashed by squirrels and rats. The pan was Flintstone style, you could put you feet through the floor to stop it.

Just starting

I've started this blog so my family, friends, and anyone else who finds it interesting can follow the progress of me getting my '64 Notchback on the road. I'm just a techie guy who loves Vdubs. My first was a '62 Baja bug that I got for my 16th birthday. My dad told me I was getting a 2 door coupe. Needless to say in my minds eye I was seeing a 2 door sports car. When the VW rolled out I was a little shocked. But I embraced it, learned to fix it, modify it and drove it into my second year of college. Sold it and bought a '70 sunroof standard bettle. Wrecked that on soon after I got it. Such a waste. Drove a '71 Cal Look until I got married and kinda fell away from the VW scene for a long time. Although once you have the VW 'bug' in your soul, pun intended, it never goes away. Now I have a new found desire to get the Notch on the road so I'm back. Enjoy the site, photos, and my ramblings.