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Sat Aug 02, 2003 1:51 am

i have a rust free 71 super beetle which was in an accident and is crunched in the front end .I also have 66 baja with really rusty heater channels.can i cut the front of the super off(shock towers and all)and put it on the standard frame?then i can put the one piece fiberglass front on from the baja.

Sat Aug 02, 2003 7:50 am

I may be possible but are you sure you want to? I mean is the front so wrecked you can't have it repaired? I have done some major super front sheetmetal repacements, it can be done but if the strut towers are bent bad it's not worth it. do you have a pics of the damage?

Sat Aug 02, 2003 7:52 am

Oh wait a minute, No... you will run into a bunch of hassles trying to put the super body on the regular pan.

Sat Aug 02, 2003 9:24 am

thanks,im glad i didnt attempt to do this only to run into problems.the super doesnt look that bad, but i bought the car completly dissambled and i can't tell if the strut towers are bent,theres just a crease in the floor at the base of the tower and the apron is pushed in about 3/4 of an inch on one side.I Dont want to reassemble it only to find that its worse than it looks,plus i dont even have hood and fenders to reassemble it temporairly to see.is there a way to measure if its bent?

Sat Aug 02, 2003 9:56 am

I can't be 100% sure( without seeing it or at least pics) but it sounds like the damage is( realtively) minor. It has to be punched pretty hard from the front, or a hit from off to the side is the one that causes the most damage to the struts/ alignment.

You could take some meaurements off another, hood and fenders will not tell you that much... look for bends and wrinkles along the welded /reinforced areas on the strut towers on the wheel wells, it should be obvious with the fenders off. Factory used seam sealant over them and if you see it is disturbed/ cracked and any bare metal or recent looking rust then you may have a problem.

Front apron is not that hard to replace, especially since your already disassemble that far down. I can e- mail you some pics and info if you need it.

I think the laydown tire well and gas tank on the super would interfere with the front beam etc. on the bug pan if you were to put it on a regular bug chassis. I have never tried it though and I could be wrong.

Sat Aug 02, 2003 1:40 pm

it doesnt look like the reinforced areas are damaged.just a wrinkle before the strut tower in the thin metal only.can i email you pics for your opinion?thanks