Hey mate, what size wire did you use for welding up the holes? Mig Gas? Great series by the way. Really enjoying it. Currently semi restoring a '68 myself.
Thanks for watching! I'm currently using a very cheap gasless mig welder with a flux core 1mm wire . If you are using a gas mig welder I would recommend 0.8mm wire and argon mix gas. I've had great results with this setup when I was in the UK but not so easy to find in Japan. Good luck with your beetle build. Cheers
It’s crazy that you have to be registered as a business before they can sell you the paint you need. It might be worth looking into registering your own workshop and when more people get to see what you can do I reckon you’d have a steady stream of customers which in turn would make more great content for the channel.
We are currently looking into business registration so I will keep you posted! Also another benefit is that some large items online can only be posted to a business address. Thanks for the comment
Very nice project !. Hope your going to put 165/60R12 Yokohama Tyres on those nice new rims. Great to see the car really coming along now from when you first started it.
Thanks for watching! Would you recommend 165/60R12 or original size? Yokohama is a good tyre brand, is that also your tyre of choice? Certainly making progress on this little car! Thanks for the comment,Cheers!
@@MEZURASHII.lifeinJapan Yes having used the 165/60R12 on my kei turbo vans before it was the best all round grip and performance. I would not do the factory Tyre rout at all. 165/60R12 is also in the Nangkang brand too.
@@markhuizinga4993 Thanks for the advice. Certainly worth considering if it provides a better drive! It sounds like you are an expert on these little cars! Thanks for watching
The centre caps really finish off those alloys well 😉 and nice one on the handbrake cable mountings some great thinking there 👍 The effort your putting in to the little details like that and the backing plates, will really help have this little car looking brand new again. And at least you could get the paint supplies thats a result, hopefully should fly through its Japanese MOT when the time comes🤞
Thank you for watching this video series, I'm glad you are enjoying it! Restoring car like this can be difficult with parts being unavailable, sometime a bit of out of the box thinking is needed, like the handbrake mountings but that makes it more fun doesn't it?! It would be great to get this Mira to roadworthy condition as I think it's too good not to be used. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers!
Great work, man. Your pan was in nice shape. I had to replace my pan halves. Super rusty. Lol. A freshly painted pan is a beautiful thing. Keep up the good work.
Yes I am super lucky to have a solid floor pan. I was fully prepared to be doing pans and heater channels on this project but it's really solid! Hope your beetle project goes well! Thanks for watching
Thanks for watching. Yes I'm not a big fan of aftermarket wings. I'm keeping my options open at the moment and let's see. I'm glad I've managed to send you some motivation....Now get back to fixing those VW's!
Thanks for watching! Yes it's a bit strange looking. It's a 2k or 2part clear coat. The pin is pushed in underneath (I guess to release the activator). Wait for 10mins,shake then spray.
They look great now :) but careful with the 2K clear indoors! That stuff will fly everywhere and stick on cars and stuff even many meters away from where you've sprayed... ask me how I know :(
Nice work! Gotta love refurbing old wheels and making them look new again. Actually, they looked kind of nice all black. But the final version was way better. Nice save!
Thanks! Guess I now need to make the car condition match the wheels! I must admit I do like black wheels but it's also nice to keep things original sometimes Thanks for watching
Thanks. Yes I will be using the metal paint that I used for the chassis at some point on the inside of the wheels. Nice and glossy so the wheel weights stick. Thanks for watching
What a score! Those wheels turned on real nice in the end. Did you paint the backs before you sanded down and lacquered the fronts? I guess you didn’t lacquer the backs but probably might be good for that extra protection? Great result and you do make it look way too easy. My alloys need a refurb on the Volvo but they are diamond cut so not sure I’ll be able to do them myself.
Yes a needle in a haystack comes to mind! So the backs are unpainted at the moment. I previously removed most of the corrosion but didn't get a chance to paint them. I will be using the metal paint I have with a glossy finish so the wheel weights will stick. If the wheel design meant you could see the inside I would probably paint and lacquer them. Diamond cut wheels look great but can be tricky if they have damage/kerbing. Thanks for watching!
That's a lucky find with those wheels!! and at least you have two spare alloys now as they're so rare. Maybe pop one in the boot if it fits? so if you ever did get a flat tyre you'd have a matching wheel instead of a steel wheel.
Thanks for the comment. It was very lucky indeed! Great idea,I'll try an alloy wheel in the boot as a spare. Would be 100% better than a rusty steel wheel! Thanks for watching
That's great that we are both doing a similar job! Yes the VW beetle is a very simple design. Although in some cases they can still be a headache. This beetle is in surprisingly good condition for its age and so far looks as if it's not had any welding carried out until now! Thanks for watching
Love the mechanical stuff and really like the way you talk your way through the process including various tips of what to look out for and the way the various components work.
Thanks for the comment. I love mechanical stuff too. It's interesting comparing the Mira to the beetle. The parts working together do a similar job on both cars but in a slightly different way. Hope I'm not talking too much on the videos Thanks for watching
@@MEZURASHII.lifeinJapan Definitely not talking too much. Everything you say has a relevant point and it's the little details like the orientation of the rubber boot that make all the difference. Your relaxed and confident manner and the way you inject a bit of your personality into the videos all add to the viewing experience and make the audience feel part of it. As I've said before, this channel deserves a far bigger following and no doubt over time you'll reach that critical mass where things really start to take off. This type of content is also time proof as someone wanting to do their own project 10 years from now could come back and use this as a valuable reference.
@@daveshongkongchinachannel Thank you for your valuable input as always. I never thought of people viewing these videos in the future. It's nice to think that the next generation could find it helpful in some way too Thanks for watching
Great progress! I'd imagine it'd be hard to get a stock L70V exhaust in good condition. 😬 Btw, stock mira exhaust are quite restrictive.. i changed mine and gained so much more power lol
Yes it seems a stock exhaust or good used one are pretty rare but I'm going to keep a look out. If I change to a performance exhaust system and gain a few BHP...I think that would be considered WILD!😂 Thanks for watching
Yes it does feel good putting things back together. Still plenty of things to do but it's one step closer to saving this little car. Thanks for watching!
Loving both your series. It’s great to see renovations that are being done with tools that people have gone or can be obtained pretty cheap. I imagine a custom exhaust would be an option. That means you don’t have to worry about that crusty one.
Thank you for watching both the project builds. Yes the tools that I'm currently using are nothing special and certainly can be bought easily/cheaply across the globe. If all else fails and a replacement exhaust is unavailable a custom exhaust is certainly an option. Thanks for the comment
hey MEZURASHI what you're doing is really cool and a very big commitment that can be hard on you. I am doing a similar restoration to my first car which is a 2000 Honda prelude, id love to get in touch with you so we could perhaps share some pointers on what to look out for and tips that could save me from painful mistakes. thank you!
Thanks for the comment. Yes car projects can be a huge commitment but worth it in the end. You are very lucky to still own your first car and have the opportunity to restore it. I have quite a few ideas in the pipeline regarding social media for this channel in the near future. This will allow everyone to talk cars/motorbikes and share ideas/information. But for the time being if you would like to leave a comment on a video that is similar to the job you are doing or going to do i might be able to help in some way There are quite a few very mechanically minded people that watch these videos that might reply to your comments too Hope this helps you out in some way Thanks for watching
Definitely repair the fenders (I'm American). I've seen way worse. And new fenders are expensive here too. That's why I try to save everything I can and take each repair as a challenge. Or I find cheap good used ones locally. Not sure if that's an option for you in Japan. Looking forward to the rest of the project. Love the channel.
Thanks for the comment I do love a challenge as you probably know watching the videos Repair could be an option.I'll be keeping an eye out for used parts over here and new parts from the UK before I decide where this goes I think? Thanks for watching
I can't believe you saved and reused those door hinges you had to cut in half just to remove. 😉 If you saved the hinges, and prices are that expensive Japan, I'm sure you can save those wings.😃 Keep up the good work! I'll come and visit next time I'm in Japan.....bring you some parts. 😉
I must admit I'm a big fan of cutting stuff off and welding... maybe a bit too much! I'll have a think about what would be the best option after doing a bit more hunting for parts. Let me know when you pop over to Japan next....will a beetle wing be classed as hand luggage I wonder 🤔? Thanks for watching
I'm definitely one for keeping as much original bits as possible but there has to be a line somewhere and perhaps that bad wing is it, especially if you bear in mind the amount you have to cut out and replace and all the filler needed etc. to make it look good again, there probably wouldn't be much of the original wing left and also all that time and effort. On the parts from the UK, I'd definitely wait for a couple of months that it would take. Also if you can price and 20ft container, I wonder if there's other things you can bring back and sell on to offset some of the cost. Perhaps even get a few sets of Beetle stuff - maybe that VW place you visited would be interested in sharing the container to bring back some bits.
Thanks for the comment. Yes it would be nice to keep this car as original as possible but I don't want to waste precious build hours too. Let's see what happens with the price of shipping large items from the UK or even from another country? I would love to be in a position to fill a container with parts from the UK. Maybe in the future it would be possible I hope. Certainly something that's worth investigating Thanks for watching
Thanks for the kind words. No special tools at the moment. The jobs carried out so far on both projects can be done by one person at home Thanks for watching
I would like to keep the engine in for a bit longer and just paint the engine bay areas where the repairs are. But yet again you never know! Thanks for watching
@@juanpabloromero1784 Your English is amazing! Language skills have never been my strong point so I respect those who are able to learn different languages! This channel has bad cars and bad grammar so not great for English lessons!😂
Yes it should be fun putting it back together. As for Lego...all my bricks had teeth marks. Hope this doesn't happen with the rebuild! Thanks for watching
That's the problem with older cars, try to fix one thing and you end up opening a can of worms. Good thing that you spotted that rusted brake hose. Keep the good job!
Nice, I must remember this trick. Another one is to use a piece of plastic rain gutter with capped ends and soak the hinges in it with a solution of vinegar and citric acid overnight. Sometimes I soak brackets with snapped off bolts in this solution before trying to remove them.
I was quite surprised about that. It's strange how only the original primer was left? It's handy as due to the climate I suffer with flash rusting (even overnight) so this should slow it down a bit Thanks for watching and commenting
You should put a couple more slices into the fold to make the curve a bit less kinked, also I highly suggest getting a gas based mig welder and using 0.024 sized wire. Flux is very hard to do a good job with.
Thanks for commenting. Yes you're right,a couple more slices in the panel would have been better. I'm a massive fan of gas mig welding but unfortunately not in the position to get one at the moment Thanks for watching
Easy to think of these things after it’s already too late but wouldn’t it have been better to pressure wash the whole underside at an earlier stage when you were still able to wheel the car around? In the end I’m sure it won’t make a difference to how good the car looks but might have saved you a bit of time preparing the underside for paint.
Yes you are totally correct. Ideally it should have been the very first thing I did before I started to strip it down. Bit late now but I'm sure I can get it looking good, just a bit more effort. I don't really want to pressure wash in the workshop as would make quite a mess? Thanks for watching
@@MEZURASHII.lifeinJapan Yes, I noticed who you always push stuff outside and realised that was the reason. As it is, the underside is pretty clean and you’d still have to go over it one more time to make sure all the dirt and loose stuff had been removed even if you had washed it. No doubt the end result will be just as good by the time you’ve finished!
@@daveshongkongchinachannel Hope to be cleaning and painting the underside soon. Let's see how it comes out. I'll be using the rust/sealer paint so it should protect it for a good few years. Thanks for commenting
The kei cars can't really be compared to neither european nor american markets. We don't have those cars here in EU, even though i read some manufacturers are thinking about bringing them back. Some model seemed pricey, but i think it's due to the popularity. Thanks to the over inflated prices of newer cars (which are frankly becoming unaffordable for normal people) the prices of used cars skyrocketed. The Mazda 3 in the video has comparable prices, but here you only find specimens with very high kms. The Honda Fit/Jazz here in Italy is overpriced by at least 4-5k euro compared to the one in the video.
It would be difficult to compare prices if the model is unavailable. I did do another video that has cars imported into Japan. I wonder if manufacturers will send these cars to Europe or focus more on the electric car market? It seems like the over priced used car market could be a global thing? Thanks for watching, It's interesting to get people's opinions on car prices in different parts of the world
