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Sun Feb 21, 2016 1:31 pm

This might be a real stupid question but since I'm going into a restoration project I was wondering if metal for repairs from other old vehicles is usable for welding on to VW's?

Sun Feb 21, 2016 3:16 pm

beetlenut wrote: Or better yet, get some old non-rusted VW body metal and use that as a starting point.
From a recent thread

Tue Aug 30, 2016 9:18 am

I use scrap all the time. Go to a Pull a Part and find a long flat hood or trunk off of something from 60's or 70's. Preferably something with slight damage or something that's off an odd ball vehicle that's not collectable. You may find that the bracing under the hood has some uses for stuff also. Run a grinder 90* to the edge and peel away your skin metal.
I also use covers for AC units, washing machine outer skins, They lift right off with a couple screws removed. They are good for fabricating structural chassis items. Just got to keep your eyes open for the stuff.

Tue Aug 30, 2016 7:13 pm

Do a search for 'surplus metal' in your locale. Metal suppliers often sell retail and have scrap pieces that are priced down.

Wed Aug 31, 2016 7:00 am

I agree with prior posts. It's often easiest to get the piece you need from a donor beetle because then it will already be shaped.

For stuff like angle iron and box steel (structural stuff) hit the local machine shops and welding/fabricator shops and ask if you can hunt through their bin of "drops" and leftovers from jobs. Most of them seem to keep those odd leftover pieces around and some corner of the shop is cluttered up with it. They should sell it to you for pretty cheap (just slightly above scrap prices) and if you bring a slurpee with you for the guy and bullshit about your bug project you might walk away with free stuff or pay less.

Between that and bed-frames I grab when I see them on the curb that's where I get most of my scrap angle for making things like seat mounts and stuff.

Buggsy