die Ratte

[decapman]

Wayne worked hard over the winter:











And in the end we got a new floor and longs and sills






This was May and we had to call a halt.
I still want to do the front floor under the luggage area but time was getting tight as die Ratte has an appointment to keep in June. More on that later ( road trip alert)

So with the underside water tight and welded up it was time to get her to the trimmers.

Luckily Paul at PRS who has been co ordinating the work splendidly had the foresight to book a date in with the trimmers.
There was time to receive the car fit the sound deadening and send her off for the interior works to start. Meanwhile all the importation paperwork was forwarded with various other documents to get the car UK registered so we would be road legal for the trip in 3 weeks time from now!

[decapman]

So Friday last week die Ratte came back from the trimmers:







And a new headlining:



So this week hopefully we will see the return of the seats which are still being done
Re installation of the engine and final fettling ready for the road trip

[210bhp]

Love the interior Marcus, in fact, love the whole thing.

Regards
Mike

[left4dead]

With one week to go before we drive this thing to der Vaterland, Marcus, I do hope there has been some progress?

[KS]

Going to Hessich-Oldendorf, by any chance? If so, see you there.

[left4dead]

Indeed Keith. Beers on you then?

[KS]

Er, just changed my mind...

[964RS]

Cool thread and cool photos

[decapman]

Went to visit die Ratte today
It's going to be close
Oh I do so love a cliffhanger
Photos from my I phone are taking an age to download for some reason
When they do Steve I will post an update

Will be good to meet up again Keith if you are staying at HO.

[aircool]

Nice trimming. Who did it, may I ask? If in the SE would be interested in the contact details. Also, would be very interested to see pictures of the front seats. Yours, Aircool.

[KS]

Went to visit die Ratte today
It's going to be close
Oh I do so love a cliffhanger
Photos from my I phone are taking an age to download for some reason
When they do Steve I will post an update

Will be good to meet up again Keith if you are staying at HO.

Look forward to seeing the car! You'll do it. Nothing like pressure!
I'll be arriving there Friday afternoon, with Ron Fleming (FAT Performance) and Darrell Vittone (EMPI) in tow. We're staying until Sunday afternoon, before heading to Stuttgart, so I think a beer or three will be in order!

[decapman]

Keith, Steve and I also arrive Friday afternoon and staying at a local guesthouse till Sunday AM
Of course we need to sample the local brew
Looking forward to seeing those schwimmwagens rising out of the Weser

Back to the car

This is Dave from PRS who has been doing a fair amount of the grunt work
Here he is applying wax and Tectyl to the car




Dave applied Tectyl to the whole vehicle allowing it to seep into all the cracks and crevices and liberally covering the bare metal.
Then he removed the Tectyl from the painted areas and they were separately waxed with car polish to preserve them.
He decided against ankor wax in the end and as a result we should have a non sticky finish.

A better photo of the underside:



It's a real surprise to see the ratty exterior and then see how immaculate it is underneath.I love the contrast
And how neat the interior looks now:



The steering wheel is pretty huge but I can still slide under it
Later cars had smaller wheels accordingly
Sat behind the wheel the gear stick nestles against my knee but its a very comfortable place to be



Got the headlights in place all refurbished by Paul Smith:



More detail shots:

[decapman]

Still need to fit rear view mirror
I am also looking for a pair of the early sun visors
Wipers and windscreen washer need fitting too.



I won't be putting the hubcaps on, I like this industrial look:



New rubber and metal trim on the sills to tidy up, it's hard to judge exactly where to stop the new and leave the old, but this seemed logical:





I will need to replace the rear indicators, luckily Paul has a pair in stock




The Trunk area will have to wait
The battery floor is solid but bashed about:




So still more to sort including the electrics which have a few Gremlins, hopefully done by Friday, Paul can shake her out over the weekend and collect Monday
Fingers crossed

[decapman]

I don't know the trimmers but PRS could put you in touch, though they are always busy and my slot was booked ages ago apparently

[Gary71]

This really is wonderful. I admire the self control to sort it structurally and not touch the paint. Trim looks fantastic

I'm not sure I could do it!