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Fri Mar 21, 2003 9:12 am

Gentlemen, I know this is a dumb question, but to save myself time and some heart ache, what else needs removed besideds the bolts on the side of the floorpans to lift the body off and replace the pans?

Thanks
James

Fri Mar 21, 2003 9:34 am

Steering coupler. Electrical front and rear. Rear body mount bolts under rear seat. Front body mount bolts behind spare tire in front of tank. Fuel line from tank. Horn wire. Brake reservoir line. Rear body mount bolts at shock towers. I would take the engine out, and the seats too, so the lift will be easier.

Fri Mar 21, 2003 9:37 am

cool, thanks, also once I get it off has anyone done the replacement here? how long should it take a mechanically inclined person with a mig and a grinder along with basic tools? I am thinking I can cut most of the old pans off and then chisel the extra bit off the tunnel, unless anyone knows a better way?

Fri Mar 21, 2003 11:01 am

Personally, if all you plan to do is replace the pans, i would do it with the body on. if your heater channels are weak, but you don't have the cash to replace them now, and you need to keep your bug on the road, you may end up with trouble if you pull the body.if you are going to take the body off, in additon to the bolts down the side of the pan, and all the other bolts mentioned above, there are two bolts on each side underneath that bolt the pan to the body at the front bulkhead.

Fri Mar 21, 2003 11:02 am

As far as time, set aside a whole day. I have done it in less than an afternoon, but allow yourself ample "oh sh*t" time.

Fri Mar 21, 2003 11:49 am

all I am doing is the pans for right now, it needs the front channels replaced and also the sheetmetal between the interior and the fenderwell(right above the heater channel replaced on either side. It looks like I have to cut part of the backs off the pans to get them to fit, because part of the pan is already present on the bug and it looks pretty solidly attached not sure what its called. Any further guidance on installing with the body on?

Fri Mar 21, 2003 12:19 pm

okay, quick and dirty pan replacement, body on. compare your new pans to your existing pans- make sure that seat brackets match. remove seats. remove pan bolts down each side. disconnect and remove battery. If the rear of the pan (where it meets torsion tube) is solid< i would cut the old pan parallel to the torsion leaving a flange about 1/2"- 1" wide. cut along the tunnel,and inside of the forward bulkhead, again leaving a 1/2"-1" flange. now, providing you have removed all of the necessary bolts, your old pan should just fall right out. lay your old pan on top of your new pan, and make sure that all of the mounting holes are in the right place. bend down the outer edge of your flanges left from your old pan, so that you can slide your new pan into place. bolt up the body mounting bolts. secure the new pan to the flanges temporarily with rivets or sheet metal screws. tack weld the new pans to the torsion, tunnel, and bulkhead about every two inches, using a random pattern so that you don't get any warping. seam seal it, top and bottom. (you may want to do some hammering so that there are no big gaps or voids between your old pan flange and your new pan from underneath.) Purists may sneer, but this is the approach i have taken in the past, to keep my bugs on the road. if anyone else has any advice, chime in.

Fri Mar 21, 2003 12:44 pm

this is not a old oval or anything, it is a ran in the dirt 1970 standard that I want to rat out with a nice primed and sealed look, all chrome left on and then I am going to drop it and try to sound proof everthing in order to install a complete fosgate thump source in it

Fri Mar 21, 2003 12:55 pm

I have only done it the fussy right way and while bljones' approach makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up, I agree it is the easiest way if your standards for fit and finish are low (no offense intended to either of you). It will certainly be functional and is way easier. For the car you have, it is certainly not going to negatively affect its value.

Good luck. Take some pictures to share if you can!

C
JHC

Fri Mar 21, 2003 1:04 pm

will do, I would appreciate your way as well if you got a second, I really have no need to cut corners or time and want to do this right even if it isn't a high dollar bug, I want to make a cruiser out of it that kinda looks grimey in a fashionable one solid flat color way and eventually build a 18 maybe 19 hundred that will leave the crx's and civic's with the coffee cans on them wondering why the advertised extra horsepower from the chrome muffler isn't beating an old bug with a bumpin stereo and a "little" motorcycle engine a I have been told

Fri Mar 21, 2003 3:18 pm

IF your plan is to remove body, here's link
http://www.acvw.com/tech.asp

Fri Mar 21, 2003 5:08 pm

Again no offense to bljones. He offers some shortcuts that don't really affect functionality and will make it a LOT faster to complete.
With that said, here is one on body removal
http://204.95.114.10/wired/wired_03_02/wired_03_02.htm

...and pan replacement
http://204.95.114.10/wired/wired_04_02/wired_04_02.htm

...both from the Wolfsburg West site. With thanks to Tony Moore!

Fri Mar 21, 2003 9:52 pm

No offense taken- as i said, it is the "quick and dirty" approach, definitely not the way to go if you are looking to build a show winner, or even a correct car. believe me, i prefer to do the job from the ground up, body off, but if you are looking to keep using your car as a driver, and plan to do a full resto at a later date, as time and cash allows, the approach outlined will keep you on the road, safely.

Fri Mar 21, 2003 10:24 pm

how long should it take from start to finish to do the right way? also do I need to buy a body seal or something when I'm done? Like I said I am fairly new to this and I appreciate the input from the experts.

Sun Mar 23, 2003 7:29 pm

I did mine with the body off in a day. Not including the time to pull the body--full resto anyway so they had to be separated. If I had not removed the rear supports along with the pan, it would have gone even faster. I still have to seam seal it and paint.