Engine, suspension, electrical, body, fabrication & welding, you, my good man, are the epitome of a Renaissance Man. I would say that I want to be like you when I grow up, but we're about the same age, and I fear it's too late for me, lol.
Lucky thanks for starting your channel its so cool to see the guy behind the progress show us all the stuff that happens. Like the bug this is just plane old cool stuff!!! Thanks
Loving the channel. Videos getting with each new one. I just bought a replacement rear panel for my 1972 bmw 2002. Wish it was as easy as you make it dude! Awesome stuff.
It's all in fun. Us just giving each other a hard time. I have a lot of nerve damage in my arms from an accident. I have to use two hands just to hold things steady. I've almost had to give up using a stick welder.
Well, I have no nerve damage and still need to use two hands to make good MIG welds... I don't think I'd want to see the result of me trying to weld one handed, haha.
Lucky, I'm a BIG, literally big, lol 6'6, 350 lbs. fan of pretty much anything you work on, even though you're a Chevy guy, and I'm a Ford junky! Keep it comin, brother, and God Bless!
Old asbestos hands lucky! Lol, buy some weld gloves!in Australia we call the scotchbrite wheels, seaweed wheels (for the super coarse ones!)if only welding was as simple as you make it look. Thanks for the vid.
better than new. This works on really stressed out unibodies.. like old subarus with ten gears of AWD. Keeps it looking like origin..the weld seam is actually a beam. Changes suspension, steering feel.
I wished we could still find original examples on this end of the country not rusted to pieces. Is there a restoration planned, or just daily driver car after the repair? It would be cool to see a big bore kit and classic California street bug transformation.
Lucky, love your work on HRG (you're part of the reason I pay for a MT subscription) and I'm doing this exact job on my Beetle project. Did you happen to get video of how you marked everything out before cutting? You skimmed over it but I'd love to see how you did it.
when you are welding. i hear the fan slow down on the welder. is there any chance of you plugging in closer to the circuit breaker box an or using a much thicker extension cord to reduce voltage drop to the welder. nice work so far on the bug. one shop i worked in. they had a thick 220 extension cord for the stick welder. i got a plug for that and made a 120 outlet box just for the wire feed. not legal so i had to hide it in my tool box, but man did i get nice welds out of the 120 V wire feed.
Hey Lucky - love watching you and Tony - just found your youtube channel - Neat Have you ever put a magnet on each end of a chunk of angle iron and used it as a 3rd hand when working by yourself?
Is the audio time-stretched on sped up parts? Funny sounding but much better than the Mickey Mouse on helium -style sound that normally is present on sped up video.
HI lucky like the video my mate here in England has renegade beach buggy on a shortened 59 floorpan so it's tax and mot exempt needs a new floor pan think he is selling though. I like them but they are not really my bag . great for someone though.cheers.steve
Hey lucky i have a 93 f250xl 5.8lwindsor and I've been trying to figure out what to do to the exhaust. where I live there is no "air care" or smog check so.... what I've been trying to figure out is a good true dual exhaust with a cross over no cats with mufflers and exits on the passenger side in front of the tire(there's a fuel tank on the driver side so it all has to fit on passenger side). any suggestions would be very much appreciated. I've asked a few muffler shops around here and didn't seem to have a solution or just simply didn't want to do it.
the 3M tool appears to be a fancy die grinder, I want that other bad ass little guy. The belt sander thingy that looks like a mini chain saw. That fucking rocks. Great video Lucky, I hate bugs but I have to admit the ancient ones are kinda cool.
See, I know what the "belt sander thingy" is... It's called a Dynafile and they're unfortunately expensive (~$600). I think Harbor Freight has a cheap electric version and I think I've seen a Black and Decker version too. I will tell you the real ones are the shit. They're perfect for removing casting flash on odd shapes and smoothing welds on inside corners and such. Anyhow... If that's just a fancy die grinder then I guess I'm good without one. Like you, I do also want a Dynafile...
Maxwelhse Other companies make similar mini air belt sanders for a lot less, is there something special or different about the Dynafile to make it cost 4x more, other than build quality?
I don't really know. All I can tell you is that Dynafiles are insanely high quality. I used to work at a place that had them hanging next to the sandblast booths (which is an obviously horrible environment for air tools) and as far as I know they had been there for decades and in very heavy use every day of their lives. What you couldn't quickly blast off you'd open the cabinet and hit with the 'file. They were covered in blasting media dust. For me, I'd probably just get the real deal because I know that would be the last time I'd have to worry about buying one and I've been wanting one for about 20 years now... Before I start another restoration project I'll probably own one.
What's your thoughts on the black coating that comes on the panels? Is it a true primer coat or just a paint coat to protect in shipping? I have never got a satisfactory answer about it. Obviously if it is not a true primer then no point painting on it as paint not properly bonded to panel? Some body guys say to remove it completely? Thank mate for great video by the way.
MobileTechLucky Costa Thanks for your advice,was told a long time ago that if you ask for advice then make sure it's good advice! So basically it's get the welding and shaping done and then back to clean bare metal and surface finish from there. Thanks mate.
I worked 7 years in auto body repair and we never took the black 'paint' off--insurance didn't care to pay the extra labor hours :--((. And I hated getting it ready to prime. It never sanded easily at all. This was 1980 to '87. I don't even know if it was the same stuff or not back In those days. The best way to do it then was to take it off and spray it with DuPont's DP-40. That stuff was about the best out there, similar to what was on that MoPar drifter that Lucky and Tony did, for, was it Sema? BTW, I also worked 10 years at Tollycraft Yachts and we used DP-40 extensively in the paint shop :--))))))))))))))
What do you do with stuff like replacement doors where that stuff as been sprayed inside of all of the nooks and crannies? Won't solvents end up in the pinch welds and ruin the paint later? I've heard of that happening with cars that have been dipped with chemical stripper.
The black coating is is called e coat and is electricity bonded to the metal . Almost all new panels are coated with e coat ...not for painting directly over talk with your paint supplier
The man is an ARTIST great job lucky mate
Keep us updated on the little bug! it's a cool car that needed rescuing!! bravo!!!
Engine, suspension, electrical, body, fabrication & welding, you, my good man, are the epitome of a Renaissance Man. I would say that I want to be like you when I grow up, but we're about the same age, and I fear it's too late for me, lol.
Its never to late ......lol
MobileTechLucky Costa So true. Are you taking internship applications? I'm pretty handy, LOL.
Good job Lucky.
I also appreciate the more frequent updates.
Thanks for watchin
Lucky thanks for starting your channel its so cool to see the guy behind the progress show us all the stuff that happens. Like the bug this is just plane old cool stuff!!! Thanks
Wow! Outstanding work Lucky. Love to see someone like you work. Trying to keep mouth shut and ears open and learn. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome job lucky love watching you work on the old timers keep em coming!
I love the attention to detail and the craftsmanship.
Longer videos please.
Loving the channel. Videos getting with each new one. I just bought a replacement rear panel for my 1972 bmw 2002. Wish it was as easy as you make it dude! Awesome stuff.
Loving this channel! Great work!
I hate body work but, Lucky makes it look easy and fun.
I"m just happy to see someone else welding like me. Everyone laughs because I use two hands.
Jason Elser They laugh because you do it properly?
It's all in fun. Us just giving each other a hard time. I have a lot of nerve damage in my arms from an accident. I have to use two hands just to hold things steady. I've almost had to give up using a stick welder.
Well, I have no nerve damage and still need to use two hands to make good MIG welds... I don't think I'd want to see the result of me trying to weld one handed, haha.
I'm laughing because you used two apostrophes in I"m
A fellow of many talents. Probably plays piano as well.
Cheers Lucky, will have to find a copper bar. Seen the idea before, but I had forgotten about it.
Good job on bringing an old VW back from the dead.
Very nostalgic. Great vid
Subscribed.
I like your no bullshit to showing the voodoo that you do so well.
You're awesome Lucky! One of the best Hot Rod Garage has! Love you! I so wish I had someone like you to help me.
It's great to see you have your own channel Lucky ! After many years working in the background, your own show/channel is perfect :)
Lucky, I'm a BIG, literally big, lol 6'6, 350 lbs. fan of pretty much anything you work on, even though you're a Chevy guy, and I'm a Ford junky! Keep it comin, brother, and God Bless!
Cool seeing you working on a Bug. I owned and wrenched on a bunch of them.
you are the man lucky, keep up the good work
awesome content, thanks for the hard work lucky
lucky you're the man keep up the vids. glad they are getting longer!
Nice to see the Hammer and Dolly in use!
Old asbestos hands lucky! Lol, buy some weld gloves!in Australia we call the scotchbrite wheels, seaweed wheels (for the super coarse ones!)if only welding was as simple as you make it look. Thanks for the vid.
It will be a beauty when you are done with it. Thats a neat air file.
Man that grinder sounds like a pissed off bee in fast forward mode. lol
Have those same readers lol...Awesome work as always!
The old dealers had a template that fit in the gas tank area. Made swapping a front clip a breeze.
better than new. This works on really stressed out unibodies.. like old subarus with ten gears of AWD. Keeps it looking like origin..the weld seam is actually a beam. Changes suspension, steering feel.
Old school welder with no gloves. Bringing it back to life.
Lucky, I am so glad I found your channel. Subscribed now! Go Go Lucky Skills!
I use those panel clamps to hold things together for but welding, great for positioning everything prior.
WOW that's amazing and really cool. I really like to watch your handiwork Lucky thanks!
Looks great Lucky
Nicely done Lucky.
Looking Good!
hahaha, im in the process of doing this to my 67.. as usual awesome work lucky
Nice work man.
Nice work Lucky.
probably welded better than when it left the factory nice work Lucky
This is a great video, thank you
love the work! Hate it when people dont butweld panels. Ive got a 62 lovely cars
Using copper is good for welding as it soaks up heat & helps fill gaps, doesn't stick either.
Good job! Thinking about getting a VW 1303 for next winter :)
Watching this makes me miss my project car I sold off, to make room for my Mustang..but I still have another project in the back of my garage.
I could use a guy like Lucky to help me out with the projects I'm over my head on.
That's awesome Lucky.
Nice work!
I have to do this very same repair on my '70 Bug. Best video I've seen on this job. Thanks for the tips!
when you hammer on the dolly it looks and sounds just like benny hill slapping the small bald man on the head. great video thank you.
Excellent man...thx!
Lucky you are the man !
Just found you Lucky! Didn't know you had a channel! Keep the video's coming
good work. this is your first video with a beginning, a middle and an end... unless I'm mistaken of course. keep it up!
We like to see how to make the perfect line to cut !
Looks good. Good to you saving a old Bug, their not as common as they use to be.
Would sooo like to see that Bug w/ motorcycle fenders that move w/ the steering, or done up baha style. Keep up the good work Lucky!
Nice...subbed...
Sweet!
Would of loved to see a video of cutting off the old front end.
nice work
I wished we could still find original examples on this end of the country not rusted to pieces. Is there a restoration planned, or just daily driver car after the repair? It would be cool to see a big bore kit and classic California street bug transformation.
Hot Rod Garage is better than Roadkill. Lucky is a Boss.
Thanks Lucky.
very nice
Love the vids.
Please do a volks rod start to finish. Something that won't be done on HRG.
Way 2 go Lucky !
Those first couple tacks always make me nervous.
Something I need to do to one of my Bugs!
Hay lucky good to see you working your magic we miss you guys on hot rod magazine are you coming back
Awesome work as always you make a young man like me look lazy!
Love your work Lucky, even though I think beetles should be crushed.
Thanks for watchin
Lucky, love your work on HRG (you're part of the reason I pay for a MT subscription) and I'm doing this exact job on my Beetle project. Did you happen to get video of how you marked everything out before cutting? You skimmed over it but I'd love to see how you did it.
Lucky! Doing great work ... you need to update your video! Go 720p at least :o) Great looking Bug.
Are you going to have a beer with the Hooligan guys?
when you are welding. i hear the fan slow down on the welder. is there any chance of you plugging in closer to the circuit breaker box an or using a much thicker extension cord to reduce voltage drop to the welder. nice work so far on the bug. one shop i worked in. they had a thick 220 extension cord for the stick welder. i got a plug for that and made a 120 outlet box just for the wire feed. not legal so i had to hide it in my tool box, but man did i get nice welds out of the 120 V wire feed.
Hey Lucky - love watching you and Tony - just found your youtube channel - Neat
Have you ever put a magnet on each end of a chunk of angle iron and used it as a 3rd hand when working by yourself?
Bug hoods are like a healthy pair of labia. The latch is where it's at, Kids.
Thanks Lucky
Great work, I love aircooled and I love Lucky... well I don't love you like with harts and stuff but like... you know.
Thanks for watchin
hey lucky great job teaching us! does choking up on your body hammer give you better control and less impact? thanx again.
Is this car going to get the full paint treatment?
Is the audio time-stretched on sped up parts? Funny sounding but much better than the Mickey Mouse on helium -style sound that normally is present on sped up video.
Hey Lucky, if you ever want to make a demo video on how to weld in a new trunk pan on a 65 Tempest, I know where you can find one:-)
Hey, I'm Lucky Costa and I'm here in my garage with the VW Beetle. But you know what better than VW Bettle? Knowledge.
HI lucky like the video my mate here in England has renegade beach buggy on a shortened 59 floorpan so it's tax and mot exempt needs a new floor pan think he is selling though. I like them but they are not really my bag . great for someone though.cheers.steve
The Trooper as ringtone? :D
which came first the vw or the Pontiac on hrg? looks like the same technics.anyway love your work man!
chopfather 2 The lemans was way earlier.
bring it to Hot Rod Garage! :)
Where did you get the front clip from? I need to get one and am looking for a good quality reproduction.
Hey lucky i have a 93 f250xl 5.8lwindsor and I've been trying to figure out what to do to the exhaust. where I live there is no "air care" or smog check so.... what I've been trying to figure out is a good true dual exhaust with a cross over no cats with mufflers and exits on the passenger side in front of the tire(there's a fuel tank on the driver side so it all has to fit on passenger side). any suggestions would be very much appreciated. I've asked a few muffler shops around here and didn't seem to have a solution or just simply didn't want to do it.
happy this cute bug is in capable hands like yours. is it yours, mister Costa?
Thanks for sharing your knowledge
You seem to do pretty good work. You might want to consider making a career of it. Well if you are into it enough.
you definitely should get a auto darkening helmet. makes life easy
Guy Shred I have one.
Why did you turn off the Iron Maiden?
What's the "3M Tool"? It doesn't look like a die grinder or an air drill. Is it something special just for rol-loc discs?
the 3M tool appears to be a fancy die grinder, I want that other bad ass little guy. The belt sander thingy that looks like a mini chain saw. That fucking rocks. Great video Lucky, I hate bugs but I have to admit the ancient ones are kinda cool.
See, I know what the "belt sander thingy" is... It's called a Dynafile and they're unfortunately expensive (~$600). I think Harbor Freight has a cheap electric version and I think I've seen a Black and Decker version too.
I will tell you the real ones are the shit. They're perfect for removing casting flash on odd shapes and smoothing welds on inside corners and such.
Anyhow... If that's just a fancy die grinder then I guess I'm good without one. Like you, I do also want a Dynafile...
Maxwelhse Other companies make similar mini air belt sanders for a lot less, is there something special or different about the Dynafile to make it cost 4x more, other than build quality?
I don't really know. All I can tell you is that Dynafiles are insanely high quality. I used to work at a place that had them hanging next to the sandblast booths (which is an obviously horrible environment for air tools) and as far as I know they had been there for decades and in very heavy use every day of their lives. What you couldn't quickly blast off you'd open the cabinet and hit with the 'file. They were covered in blasting media dust.
For me, I'd probably just get the real deal because I know that would be the last time I'd have to worry about buying one and I've been wanting one for about 20 years now... Before I start another restoration project I'll probably own one.
Hi, where do yuo got the apron ?
I thought this guy look familiar.
What's your thoughts on the black coating that comes on the panels? Is it a true primer coat or just a paint coat to protect in shipping? I have never got a satisfactory answer about it. Obviously if it is not a true primer then no point painting on it as paint not properly bonded to panel? Some body guys say to remove it completely? Thank mate for great video by the way.
Andrew Wilson it's just to protect the part and will only last about a month in the sun and weather......
MobileTechLucky Costa Thanks for your advice,was told a long time ago that if you ask for advice then make sure it's good advice! So basically it's get the welding and shaping done and then back to clean bare metal and surface finish from there. Thanks mate.
I worked 7 years in auto body repair and we never took the black 'paint' off--insurance didn't care to pay the extra labor hours :--((. And I hated getting it ready to prime. It never sanded easily at all. This was 1980 to '87. I don't even know if it was the same stuff or not back In those days. The best way to do it then was to take it off and spray it with DuPont's DP-40. That stuff was about the best out there, similar to what was on that MoPar drifter that Lucky and Tony did, for, was it Sema? BTW, I also worked 10 years at Tollycraft Yachts and we used DP-40 extensively in the paint shop :--))))))))))))))
What do you do with stuff like replacement doors where that stuff as been sprayed inside of all of the nooks and crannies? Won't solvents end up in the pinch welds and ruin the paint later? I've heard of that happening with cars that have been dipped with chemical stripper.
The black coating is is called e coat and is electricity bonded to the metal . Almost all new panels are coated with e coat ...not for painting directly over talk with your paint supplier