TheSamba.com :: View topic - I compared Wolfsburg West floor pan to California Imports' f

Tue Feb 22, 2011 4:04 pm

Well, in my restoration, I had the chance to compare the pans. When I started this project, I thought I would be doing a 'body-on' replacement of my driver's side pan, and I ordered the one from WW. Skip ahead to my body-off replacemnt, and I realized I would be replacing the rear cross braces as well, so I ordered cip1's heavy duty orange pan, because the cross brace and jack support were already welded on (I'm lazy). This gave me the chance to compare them for quality, fit and ease of use.

Here they are side by side:

The orange floorpan was much easier to remove the paint from...WW's pan had paint that was very stubborn to remove. Eventually, with the help of paint stripper and a wire brush, I got them both cleaned off.

here they are both installed:

I have to say that, while the difference is slight, the WW pan seemed a bit heavier and felt a little stronger when handling it.
Both pans fit very well with no major trimming, but the WW pan seemed to lay in a little more snugly. (I used rivets to keep the pans in place while welding and, of course, the rivets will be covered by seam sealer).
The cip1 pan seemed to be a little more prone to 'burning through' while welding than the WW pan.

Overall, both pans seem good. Of course, I have yet to see how well they last...or even how they will line up to their heater channels. Despite the additional welding needed with the WW pan (cross brace and jack support) and the increased difficulty removing the paint, I think I would get theirs in the future. I just liked working with it more. I hope this helps someone.

Tue Feb 22, 2011 4:19 pm

Well thought out and clearly explained topic, comparing both pan types! 8)

Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:35 pm

I will agree, I've just welded my "orange" pans in from CIP1 and I can say that the metal seemed thick enough to me, But the "primer" come off really easy as well. #-o

Tue Feb 22, 2011 6:52 pm

the "paint" is actually factory sealer...the "orange" pans sealer needs to removed as any sealer or primer literally peels off, as the orange sealer does not stick for crap to the steel ruining the adhesion of the primer or sealer...kinda defeats the purpose.

the grey WW pans sealer is super nice stuff,and when scuffed it holds epoxy and sealers excellent.

this is why when we weld the in the new pans ,we blast the chassis as a whole and epoxy,then paint..

here i get the "orange" pans without supports and cross braces like the WW... wierd.

also the orange drivers side comes with pedal assembly locator nut sert and the channel holes are dead on...were as the WW and other are just a bit off the factory locations.

Wed Feb 23, 2011 7:06 pm

i bought the cip orange panfor the same reasons and the seat rail was off by a bout 3/4 inch Its fine if you want to sit facing the radio but i had to cut it out and reweld itt.Looks like yours might be off too in your picture You might want to measure that I ended up installing my seat bottoms on the rail and squareing them up Im just glad i did one side at a time or i might not have caught it

Wed Feb 23, 2011 11:06 pm

thanks for the tip on the seat rail. I will check mine.

Thu Feb 24, 2011 7:56 am

Thank you for posting that up for us to see.....it is always good to see a comparison of products that are available.

Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:33 pm

If I had it to do over again, before I welded my pans in I would have set the body back on and made sure the holes lined up for the heater channels.

Of course, the chassis was from my 69 whose body was shot, and I got a donor 68 body.

Sat Mar 05, 2011 3:46 pm

WW is far superior in all aspects,the primer not coming off is a good thing,that means you dont need to take it off scuff and paint, not sure kinda primer it is but its tuff,far as fit all you you do is prep chassis good and weld them in,fit is perfect i think

Wed May 18, 2011 6:45 pm

I gotta drag this up again cuz i did the exact same thing.I ordered the cip pans and was really not happy.T he passenger side fit well but i had to cut off the seat mount and reweld cuz it seemed way to angled.The drivers side did not fit well su i decided to order the WW pan.Big difference ,much heavier metal. I weighed them and the WW pan is 4 pounds heavier! Needs just a minor bit of trimming and lays a lot flatter.Ifi can get my pictures loaded you can see the difference I think ordering the oarge cip pan was a 200$ mistake

Wed May 18, 2011 7:08 pm

its tight up against the front and rear of the tunnel but way out in the center.Check the angle of the tracks

Wed May 18, 2011 7:12 pm

ww pan

Wed Dec 11, 2013 7:11 pm

Great comparison... thanks

Sat Dec 21, 2013 8:35 pm

TONYWILL1965 wrote: WW is far superior in all aspects,the primer not coming off is a good thing,that means you dont need to take it off scuff and paint, not sure kinda primer it is but its tuff,far as fit all you you do is prep chassis good and weld them in,fit is perfect i think

Agreed. If I were looking to buy a restored Bug and it had CIP pans I'd be nervous. If it had WW I'd find the body guy and thank him!

Sat Dec 21, 2013 9:05 pm

Sorry but had to ask why did you fit floor pans which are pressed different side to side?

Sat Dec 21, 2013 11:05 pm

racoguy wrote: Sorry but had to ask why did you fit floor pans which are pressed different side to side?

I doubt the original poster will answer as this is 2 years old, but in the original post, the pans match. The difference is the passenger side carries the battery. Is that the difference you were talking about?

Sun Dec 22, 2013 11:21 am

durfeec wrote: racoguy wrote: Sorry but had to ask why did you fit floor pans which are pressed different side to side?

I doubt the original poster will answer as this is 2 years old, but in the original post, the pans match. The difference is the passenger side carries the battery. Is that the difference you were talking about?

I think John was asking about the difference in the pressings. You can see the difference inside where the seats will go in this pic.

Tue Dec 24, 2013 2:58 am

Correct Bob, would have thought one would get matching pans.

Tue Dec 24, 2013 1:42 pm

IF you read the first post cutter ordered the cip pan because the WW pan had the rear support separate and didn't want the additional welding.I ordered the cip pans cause I was a dumb ass.After installing one side I wasn't real happy with it and then ordered a WW pan to replace the other. The pan from Wolfsburg West was just a much better quality.The other cip pan half never went on my car I can live with my pans not being identical pressings!

Sun Jan 05, 2014 1:37 pm

A tip for the people who do not know it is to remove the ruddy-colored packing primer (like you did) from panels, which is sprayed on over smooth metal at the factory for shipping purposes only. The metal then should be conditioned before being painted.