Silver Beatle - She's now with an old friend!

[2bits]

OH baby baby! Aluminum going on! You are sooo close to the trim stage! !!! Looking good! I love seeing it come together from start to finish! things start to snowball now!

[aggie79]

OH baby baby! Aluminum going on! You are sooo close to the trim stage! !!! Looking good! I love seeing it come together from start to finish! things start to snowball now!

Thanks Thomas.

My focus has moved away from interior details and cabinets to the exterior. I want to get my teardrop in the dry so it will be campable.

April is not going to be a good month for me to work on the teardrop - this may be all I get to do - so I wanted something visible to keep me motivated for May.

[Lookfar]

Tom;
Glad to see you back on your build. I went to the lumber yard yesterday to see about some wood so I can get started. They are checking on some 4x10 ply and the 1/8" also. Sort of threw them for a loop, but they are all I have except HD.
Hope to get my frame reinforced a little next week and start on the floor.

[2bits]

Hey Tom, I can tgotally understand thatg! At least in a couple of days April will be half over and May is soon to follow! If you ever need anything let me know!

[wlivesey]

At this pace, I will have the teardrop complete for the LCG XIV outing.

I just realized I have spent just as much time on aluminum work as I did on the rest of my build. How depressing...

I've learned a few things (the hard way) about working with aluminum. If you run into any issues, I'd be glad to share what I've learned.

Are you going to make your own trim?

The Beetle is looking great, btw...

[aggie79]

I just realized I have spent just as much time on aluminum work as I did on the rest of my build. How depressing...

I hope this isn't the case for me. If so, I've got about another 18 months to go. My real target is the Loyd Park outing in September.

I've learned a few things (the hard way) about working with aluminum. If you run into any issues, I'd be glad to share what I've learned.

Are you going to make your own trim?

So far so good on the aluminum sheeting. I may take you up on your offer before I start the rest. As much as I like the look of the way you trimmed your TTT, I've decided not to try annealing aluminum to save time. I've purchased some wide lip RV insert trim but may change it out later.

The Beetle is looking great, btw...

Thanks. It has been a labor of love.

I was going to try to work on it this weekend, but on Friday, I had a tooth extracted. It broke off just below the gum line, and the dentist had to use the dental equivalent of EZ-outs to get the three roots out of my jaw. (The next step is to screw a titanium threaded insert into my jaw - not looking forward to that.) Hopefully, I'll be able get out to the garage this weekend.

[2bits]

OUCH! I hope ya heal up quickly! I think your goal is attainable! It will be a long hot summer so you'll lose any extra weight you might wanna get rid of! LOL

[StPatron]

Just wow, Tom! I'd been following your build and then the update notices died for some reason?? I wish I'd known you were at Beavers Bend, sure would have liked to meet you. Ya missed a great campfire on Fri. night.

Thanks for the excellent documentation of your build, I've learned a lot studying what you're doing. Bummer on the jaw, hope you're on the mend soon.

[aggie79]

Just wow, Tom! I'd been following your build and then the update notices died for some reason??

Yep, no updates because I haven't done anything in awhile. I hope to get back out to the garage this weekend.

I wish I'd known you were at Beavers Bend, sure would have liked to meet you. Ya missed a great campfire on Fri. night.

I'm sorry I missed you at Beaver's Bend, too. My wife and I were in the tent at the far end of the campsite. We had visited several outings before but have never stayed overnight. I'm sure our paths will cross in the future. My realistic target date for campable is LCG in October.

[planovet]

I'm sorry I missed you at Beaver's Bend, too. My wife and I were in the tent at the far end of the campsite.

Next time you need to be closer to the action!

[StPatron]

Yep, no updates because I haven't done anything in awhile. I hope to get back out to the garage this weekend.

What I meant was that the auto email update system for your build thread died back in February. It's working again now.

My realistic target date for campable is LCG in October.

Here's hoping you reach your goal. My target date is the same, but at the current rate of progress it'll more likely be LCG in October 2015!

[2bits]

Yep, no updates because I haven't done anything in awhile. I hope to get back out to the garage this weekend.

What I meant was that the auto email update system for your build thread died back in February. It's working again now.

I think it expires after a certain amount of time, but can't say for sure. You can look it up at phpbb.com, too much work for me LOL

[StPatron]

I think it expires after a certain amount of time, but can't say for sure. You can look it up at phpbb.com, too much work for me LOL

Sounds reasonable, thanks for that info. Thomas.

[S. Heisley]

Sorry about your tooth problem. I haven't had a tooth insert done but I have had the end of a root cut off and had the rod put up in place of it. For me, that was no worse than what you've already had done; so, you should get through it all okay.

The big thing is that we wouldn't want you out in the shop, working with electric tools until you are at 100%. Loosing a tooth is one thing. Loosing a finger would be far worse! So, take care of yourself first. The build will wait.

Wishing you well!

[aggie79]

My build schedule has been anything but steady. After a three-week layoff, I made it back out to the garage this weekend, and it turned out to be very productive.

I had already put on the first sheet of aluminum on the front of the teardrop. Next up was to install the two sheets of aluminum on the roof. I'm having to lap the aluminum since the sheets are only 4' x 10' and my teardrop is 5' wide. I used 3M 4200 to ensure that there would not be any water leakage. (The blue screws are temporary. These will be replaced by stainless steel screws.)





Now it was time to install the sidewall aluminum. After kicking around whether or not to cut the sheets before installing, I decided to rough cut them before attaching them to the sidewalls.



After applying 3M 4200 to the perimeter, I installed the first sheet. A combination of clamps, staples, and tape were used to hold the aluminum to the teardrop.







I then applied the second sheet, and called it a weekend.

Gig'em