thechief86 |
Wed Feb 12, 2014 8:59 pm |
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Well, I got my engine running, and got my wiring sorted out.
So this morning when I woke up to drive home from michigan, I get a text from my wife saying that my car had rolled out of the carport, across the back yard, and into a tree right on the edge of the huge ravine behind my house.
Anyway, it bent up my rear decklid and rear apron pretty bad. I have another decklid, but how do I straighten out the apron? Or how do I remove it to replace it with a straight one? My car is a 73, but I'd love to put one from a 66 or older on there, if they'll interchange. (Nothing else is original on the car, kind of a Frankenstein slapped together) My car has some kind of heat shield on the rear apron that will keep me from being able to straighten it out properly.
Thanks ahead. Just trying to keep from having to sell my pile or cut it up into a Baja... |
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a.wilson |
Thu Feb 13, 2014 1:41 am |
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Keep your spirits up. Crummy luck happens to us all, now & again..
Which ever panel you decide... try working with an original one first. Plenty of used aprons/clips can be had when searching the classifieds.
New aftermarket aprons leave much to be desired with quality. They're okay if you know someone with Welding & metal work skills to fix manufacturer errors. Gotta do a little surgery..
In fact here's a recent topic showing the Inner Engine Seal Channel being completely off: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=584522
Unfortunately it's not much better with earlier aprons either. They suffer the same fate: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=577394 |
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a.wilson |
Thu Feb 13, 2014 1:46 am |
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http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=222934
Shows the spot weld points where to drill. (see page 2)
Handy topic if you want a removable apron as well. |
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thechief86 |
Thu Feb 13, 2014 6:53 am |
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Thank you very much. I searched for a little while, but didn't know specifically what to look for. Are the early and late ones attached the same way?
I think I found a parts car I can rob one from, but I'll look in the classifieds here in a bit in case I could find one in better shape. I drove the car about 60 miles last night, and it is still a blast to drive. I'm going to yank the engine back out next week to install kadrons and ratio rockers, so I'll work on the rear apron then also. |
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Mike Fisher |
Thu Feb 13, 2014 8:17 am |
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Make it detachable with 4-6 fasteners & fender beading. |
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thechief86 |
Thu Feb 13, 2014 5:31 pm |
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I think I will. I still have a stockish engine, so it's not necessary, but may prove to be convenient down the road.
Thank you guys very much for the links. This stuff can get frustrating when you don't know what to search for exactly.
I think we've decided that my neighbor's kids were messing around with the car and ran away when it started rolling. Or someone may have been attempting to steal it, not sure. It was parked in gear on level ground, though.... It would have had to be pushed and steered to where it was. |
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63Ragtop NZ |
Thu Feb 13, 2014 6:56 pm |
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Well while that doe's indeed suck, sounds like it may have be worse if it missed the tree! |
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thechief86 |
Fri Feb 14, 2014 12:56 pm |
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63Ragtop NZ wrote: Well while that doe's indeed suck, sounds like it may have be worse if it missed the tree!
True story. I would be making trips to the scrap yard to fund my
Dune buggy project if that tree hadn't been there. The car was literally teetering on the edge. |
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