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Tue Nov 18, 2008 7:09 pm

i need to replace pans. i know it is easier to remove body from pan, but how much harder is it to do with the body on?

and if i do the rosette weld instead of a solid bead how do i seal up the seam that isnt welded?

Tue Nov 18, 2008 8:14 pm

i did mine with the body on but i had the klokkerholm quarter pans. i would be worried about the outer bolt holes lining up if i did them body off.

i plug welded mine and used a sealer made by the great dane semi trailer company that comes in a caulk tube. i would think any quality sealer would do, maybe something in a urethane? i have a couple of pics in the gallery of mine during the install

Wed Nov 19, 2008 3:19 am

Use weld thru primer to keep the overlapping metal somewhat protected. It's better to replace whole-pan halves with the body on, the body bolts keep them aligned.

Wed Nov 19, 2008 8:32 am

does anyone know where i can get detailedtsep by step instructions for this? i seem to remember seeing one in a hot vws mag but cant find it.

i only really need the front section of the driver side under the pedals and the batt tray, but the seat tracks in the car now, it is a 66 bug by the way, are bent up pretty bad and only put in with a few missmatched bilts and screws. i wanted to go with whole halves so i could have the right ones in the right place.

Wed Nov 19, 2008 9:43 am

krusmark wrote: does anyone know where i can get detailedtsep by step instructions for this? i seem to remember seeing one in a hot vws mag but cant find it.

i only really need the front section of the driver side under the pedals and the batt tray, but the seat tracks in the car now, it is a 66 bug by the way, are bent up pretty bad and only put in with a few missmatched bilts and screws. i wanted to go with whole halves so i could have the right ones in the right place.

I rented the bug-me video #6 I think. Shows everthing to replace a pan. Well worth the ~$6.00

Wed Nov 19, 2008 5:33 pm

there's not a whole lot to it. i had the quarter pans so they were easier to handle but the principle should be the same.

remove the old pans by any means necessary(grind,chisel, etc.). drill the edges of the new pans for welding and bolt them to the heater channels. weld and seal.

my new pans didn't have the rear support but it doesn't look like that would make a lot of difference.

or i could totally be talking out my ass. it's happened before

Wed Nov 19, 2008 8:00 pm

I just did the pan replacement. I have never done it before. I elected to pull the body off the pan.

I cut the old pans out with a saws all, and then peeled/chiseled the strips of the old pan from the tunnel and bulkheads. Removing the remnants of the old pan would be painful, with the body in place. I prepped everything, placed the pans in, then dropped the body back down on the pan to check alignment before I started welding.

I used the 'good' wolfsburg west pans. They required no fitting, trimming, or anything else. They dropped on, perfect. My seats ('61) fit perfectly.

When I get done welding the pans in, I'm going to blast, seal the seams with an automotive body sealer, and POR15.

If I did it again, I think I'd do it the same way. The only problem is, with the body off, you see everything else that needs to be fixed. Then you think to yourself, 'Self, I'd hate to do all this work, and put it back together with jacked up parts'. Then, you spend a bunch more money fixing stuff you didn't think you were going to fix. Body to pan rubber, metal brake lines, master cylinder, rubber brake lines, oops, my spindles are wobbly, better get them fixed, those little rubber things that keep water out of the clutch and throttle cable holes... blah blah blah..

The wolfsburg west pans rock, though.

Wed Nov 19, 2008 9:07 pm

I would echo what EOD said... only difference being that I just made measurements to fixed points in order to line up where the new halves needed to be (compared to the old...). Had to trim the WW pans just a bit to get it just right.

Alan

Thu Nov 20, 2008 2:58 am

[quote="EODinert"] The only problem is, with the body off, you see everything else that needs to be fixed. Then you think to yourself, 'Self, I'd hate to do all this work, and put it back together with jacked up parts'. Then, you spend a bunch more money fixing stuff you didn't think you were going to fix. Body to pan rubber, metal brake lines, master cylinder, rubber brake lines, oops, my spindles are wobbly, better get them fixed, those little rubber things that keep water out of the clutch and throttle cable holes... blah blah blah..quote]

X 2

I cant tell you how many times I started a "small" project just to have it balloon into some major repairs. If you plan on doing anything to your ride take your "Budget" and add 50% on top of that for all the little things you find wrong that you never planned on being wrong.

Thu Nov 20, 2008 11:07 am

Body On and you'll be driving it MUCH sooner! :D

Thu Nov 20, 2008 11:05 pm

where did you rent the bug me video? library?

Fri Nov 21, 2008 7:50 am

krusmark wrote: where did you rent the bug me video? library?

smartflix.com, same principle as netflix but with instructional videos.

Sat Nov 22, 2008 12:36 am

http://www.superbeetles.com/Tech_talk/jan.htm

good stuff here

Sat Nov 22, 2008 12:27 pm

Rosette welds are my preference. After welding I use Masterseries and let it run into the joint. Do this from the top and bottom. Jack the car up high on one side to get it to run into the joint from the bottom.

Sat Nov 22, 2008 10:05 pm

metalchomper wrote: Rosette welds are my preference. After welding I use Masterseries and let it run into the joint. Do this from the top and bottom. Jack the car up high on one side to get it to run into the joint from the bottom.

That's exactly what I did. No seam sealer needed if your seam is tight. The Masterseries will seal it up. I'm in the middle of a body-off on a 64 bug. Two coats of masterseries silver & one coat of chassis black, top & bottom. It's so easy to pull the body and much easier to do the pans right.