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Sun Mar 11, 2007 4:31 am

I picked up a 1990 VW Cabriolet that a friend's BF had driven into the
back of a semi during snowy conditions. pics here:

I tried to take pictures of the damage from as many angles as possible
so a good image of the damage can be obtained.

As this is the first Cabriolet we have ever owned, we are newbies on the
situation, though we do know 90 Cabriolets are a mix of Type 1 and Type
2 Golfs/Rabbits. What we are trying to ascertain is a step to take on
this.

This is what we have thought:

originally we were going to take off the front peice and get a new one
at a wrecking yard. However we have found it is mostly unibody up
there. TAking the front clip off and replacing it with another clip (i
mean clip by the part between the two bumpers that holds the headlights)
seems infeasible. Also, the internal bumper on the right side is mostly
crushed. We were planning on cutting away the crushed part, and
thinking about attempting creating a brace.

Am looking on input on this project. Please abstain from "Toss the
car" or "its not fixable". This is a project car, we plan to get it up and running

Thank you.

Sun Mar 11, 2007 11:40 am

As long as the strut tower didn't get shoved, it could be saved; you can source a front clip from any German-built Rabbit or 'vert, up through '93(US ones were different in the area behind the headlights). If you don't find a suitable 'vert donor, look for a 'W' as the first digit of the VIN on your donor and you should be fine. All of the convertibles were German-built.

BTW, the only parts that car shares with the A2 platform in that area is the brake pads, rotors and strut bump stops.

Sun Mar 11, 2007 3:55 pm

Thank you for the insigt. ACtually, i will post pics of the donor car we found at the local salvage yard (already have the fender and hood off of it) was even in the same color (YAY no painting)!!

I knew from reading and the former owner it was a mix vehicle (as far as Mk1 & 2) but i didnt get to what extent. From what you told me, that helps.

The strut sits straight. It still "driveS" in its current state, without any pull, but there is some wheelrub on the crumpled part.

The shop quoted 4500 to fix it, and i was like "screw that".

Sun Mar 11, 2007 5:34 pm

Well went to the junkyard today, and Low and behold, a 1990 Cabriolet was there, white even.

pics here, with the parts i pulled off that i need so far

What a hellova find.

Fri Mar 16, 2007 10:18 pm

Go back to the Junk Yard, and cut that side of the car off.
Get a pack of 12" Sawsall Blades & a Sawsall.
Punch the windshield out, remove the dash and again measure and cut so you get that whole section.
You can now take that section home, clean the panel sealer off the seams,
and drill out the spot welds until you get that panel.
Repeat on your car to remove the damaged panel.
Then weld or have the new panel welded back in.
I would get a manual with body measurements to insure that when I reset
everything that is was all in the correct location.
A lot of work, but if you are going to save the car, then that is the way to do it.