My Caddy on a budget (hopefully!)

I thought I would start a build thread about the Caddy I picked up at the weekend after seeing it on here (cheers Pootle!).

I have had my eye out for a caddy for a while having had lots of dubs previously (mainly aircooled). This one came up at the right price so despite my wifes reservations (she wants me to keep the cabby   :roll: ), we made the trip up to Brum to pick it up on Sunday.

Here are the picks as taken by the PO, I will take some more soon when I get a chance to see it in the daylight - stupid long working ours  :x





So the plans are as follows (probably in this order):

• Clean up the bed
  Do something about the front bumpers (anybody got one going cheap???)
  Modify a beetle rear seat and install bench seat and move handbrake
  Reupholster seat and door cards (I did this once before on a Type 3 Squareback I had, so going to do a DIY job)
  Install carpets (the PO provided a 5 door carpet set   )
  Make a cover for the bed
  Wood clad the bed
  Tickle with the lowering stick
  Hit the shows this summer!
  [/list:u]
  
  This project will be done on a budget and I will be trying to pick up parts along the way. I will also be selling by cabby as I spanked my overdraft to pay for this   Will get an advert posted up soon.
  
  
  
  As well as the Caddy I have a '71 bug which keeps me busy so I will be splitting time between the two.
  
  
  
  Roll on the lighter evenings!

nice, and good to see motors being passed through the club from enthusiast to enthusiast, loving the cabby but get where you are going with the caddy, will be nice :-)

will be keeping an eye out for ya for sale thread :-) , i will ask about

All three cars are bloody lovely 8)  8)  8)

Phataz1 said

All three cars are bloody lovely 8)  8)  8)

This

Thanks folks  

A bit of work to do on the Caddy to get it up to scratch, but I cant wait to get stuck in!

Managed to pick up some door cards today for £6. Good times!  8)

Well its been a frickin' freezing weekend so I avoided doing anything too mechanical as my fingers kept getting too numb!

I did make a tonneau cover to keep me busy.

Got a couple of meters of tarpaulin.



Double stitched the edges and added some push the dot clips.



Threaded some wire in the cab end and clamped it on using a door bar.



Job done. Not perfect but it keeps the rain off.



I will add some bows to give it more shape in a couple of weeks.

I did manage to start stripping the interior down and measuring up ready to install the bench seat, just need to find some seats to install now!

Whats under the bonnet and do you have any plans on any mods ?

Stock as a rock 1.6D under the bonnet at the mo. No immediate plans as I need it on the road for now, I may do something in the future though when funds and time permit.

Reliable o'll motor thats all you need to keep you on the road

Well the tarp is holding up well and keeping the bed dry, although I will definately be fitting some bows this weekend as I came out yesterday morning to find a few gallons of water sitting on the back like a paddling pool  

I did a couple of jobs last night, fixed the broken door handle and started tidying up the front end. I took the front grill off, cleaned it down with white spirit, gave a blow over with a heat gun, a coat of back to black and then attempted my own cheap as chips and potentially slightly chavy mod  :roll:

I wanted chrome trim around the grill like I have on my cabby, but at £80 I cant afford to fork out for it. So with some chrome vinyl tape and a sharp knife in hand I went about doing a home made job which cost me £4.50  :wink:

So here is the outcome, it looks ok from a distance but doesnt stand up to really close scruting. If anything it is too shiny, but I am quite happy really. It was too dark to take photos on the truck but here is the finished article (please excuse the slippers, they were an ill advised christmas present but are adictively comfortable!  :redfaced: )






Next plans are to fit the coilovers I have ordered, paint  and fit cheap as chips BBS's I managed to pick up, and progress my plans to fit a beetle rear seat as a bench.

Still looking for a straight front bumper if anyone has one spare, the existing one is really letting it down.

That's a good, solid looking caddy, I look forward to seeing the work progress.

The beetle bench seat is an idea I've seen mentioned on the caddy forums before, is it the bench from a new shape or original beetle?

The caddy is really solid, its nice to not have to do much in the way of bodywork, that way I can crack on with the fun bits.

I am going with the original beetle bench. I have had experience with re-covering them before and they are reletively easy to get good results with only a small amount of ability! I also like the retro look, so it is going to have a tan coloured vinyl finish.

Ha ha, I like it  

Good luck with the work, keep plenty of photo's posted!

Looks solid this one…

How have you attached the tarp at the cab end? Do you have a pic by any chance?

I want one on mine but not 100% sure if I want a solid frame or soft like yours…

The cab end is clamped in with some metal strips (they are actually carpet rails brought from a local pound shop) and attached with self tappers. The key thing is to run a legnth of wire through the hemmed end of the tarp and put the screws below that when you attach it (if that makes sense). That gives it stregnth and ensures that the tarp doesnt rip when pulled tight.

Here is a picture, it aint too pretty and I will replace the rail with a one piece one when I can get my on one long enough to do it in one stretch.



I did think about a solid one but liked the idea of being able to roll it up if I wanted to put anything particularly large in it.

Quick update today as the weather is too crap to do too much  

Took a photo of the front grill in the daylight, it looks alright for the time being until I can afford a new one.



Fitted some bows in the back to stop water pooling in it.



And finally, I picked up some BBS wheels on the cheap yesterday  :wink:  They are in great condition and with really good tyres, with the only issue being that they are orange which clashed horribly with the truck. So the question is… What colour do I paint them? I am thinking potentially black or cream. What do you guys think?



The good new is I sold some Type 3 bits which has funded some coilovers and a new bumper  

that cover really neat....and looks strong.