My 1966 Beetle rebuild

[supercub]

Thanks for the encouragement. The body itself is finally close to done. It always takes longer than you expect. As for the pan repairs I would have to say the thing that greatly simplified the new floor pan install was using little pieces of the excess pan metal to make about 10 little tabs. I then screwed the tabs around the edges of the new pan section with some small self-tapping screws and then screwed it to the old pan. It lined up the replacement panel beautifully and made welding it very easy.

[supercub]

Well the body metalwork is finally done and the Beetle is fairly solid again for the first time in at least 20 years. Here are a few overall pictures. Now on to some paint work and welding up some cracks in the fenders and hood.

[supercub]

Finally a little paint! I got some paint on my pans and other areas where I performed metal work on the inside of the car. It feels good to get to this stage.

[supercub]

The body is painted!!! Ahh, the power of Krylon. 3 cans of primer and 7 cans of Almond Beige which is fairly close to the original Pearl White. In a couple of weeks it will get a good hand polishing for more shine. I wish the pictures turned out better, the sun was at a bad angle.

[beetleaddiction]

Great progress! Krylon looks good!

I just started on my floors this weekend...


_________________
Member of the "Crank Squad"

CRANKSQUADMIAMI.COM

[supercub]

Thanks. My dad was impressed by how the paint turned out. He swore I was out of my mind to paint the car with spraycans, said that it would stripe and look like crap. I had seen other cars spray-bombed that looked pretty good so I knew it was posssible. Durability is another issue though. I don't know how long it will last, but I put it on thick with 3 cans on the roof alone so hopefully there will be enough to last a while. Good luck with your floor pan replacement. If you have any other questions I'll try my best to answer them.

[supercub]

Over the past week I have polished and waxed the body as well as ordered over $600 worth of chassis parts to completely rebuild the front and rear suspensions. Today I welded up some cracks in the hood and then I painted it.

[Bama Bill]

Hey man,good work. I say save them any way possible. I've got a whole car that is made up out of 66,67 and 69 models.Rust in lowers,though not as bad as yours. It was abandoned and left to rot. It will be a 69 body with 67 doors,hood,deck and rear apron on a 67 pan.
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Bill
Montgomery,Al

[supercub]

Thanks. Mine was definitely driven into the ground as well. Nearly everything mechanical is just plain beat. The engine/transaxle actually moves up and down about an inch due to a ruined front trans mount. Add that to shot steering tierods, ball joints, a broken rear body to frame mount, numerous body stress cracks and several previous accidents and this thing was done for. I kind of felt sorry for it when I saw it in such a dilapidated condition so I felt it was my duty to rescue it. It feels good to see something that was so dead slowly coming back together. Good luck getting your 66/67/69 back on the road.

[supercub]

Horray! My large order of chassis parts arrived today. Now the fun can begin. I think I may have gone slightly overboard in my parts ordering though. Assuming the worst for the car's suspension, I purchased new needle bearings and the inner bushings for the beam only to consult the Bentley manual afterwards (of course) to find that these parts seldom wear out and are very difficult to replace. I also welded up the cracks in all four fenders and the deck lid a couple of days ago, so the extent of my metal work is now finished... I hope. I think I will tackle the front suspension first, then paint and remount the front sheet metal and trim, and then move on to the rear end. That way the engine can remain installed for as long as possible because I find that in the car is the most convenient storage spot for it.

[supercub]

I received another order with the rest of the parts I hoped that I needed to finish the brake system. I decided to go with all German brake parts and mostly all German suspension parts, hoping I won't have to repeat any major work for a long time.
Today I started the front end teardown and realized that I am going to have to add new drums and a left spindle to my list of things to replace. I was really pulling for the drums to be okay but that dream was shattered upon removing the first drum only to discover this:



The right front of the car had definitely been semi-submerged in water occasionally. The rest of the right brake assembly looks sort of like it could have been pulled out of a lake.



The seal on the wheel cylinder crumbled to bits when my hand grazed it and it appears as if someone was using oil, or maybe molasses instead of grease on the wheel bearings. The left side looks much dryer but the spindle has some deep grooves where the outer wheel bearing rides. I have a set of used replacement spindles in the works.



It's down to the bare spindles now and tomorrow I'm off rent a tie rod puller and hopefully get the rest of the dead suspension parts off.

[Motomazzo]

Sweet, man!! Keep it coming. I've been watching your thread. I noticed you are in Dallas and doing a '66. I'm in Mansfield just southwest of you. I'm noticing more and more Bugs here in the DFW area. Have fun!!
_________________
Be Plant-Strong!! Watch "Forks Over Knives" on Netflix

'66 Sedan Project - http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=410718

R.I.P. - Mikayla. I miss you Baby girl.

[supercub]

Thanks. I like your build too. You are definitly going a lot farther with your '66. I am actually north of Dallas in Highland Village, but I just say Dallas because no one knows where I'm talking about when I say I'm from Highland Village. There are some VW's around here too, even a few that I see pretty regularly, just two other early Bugs though.

[supercub]

Here's the first new parts the little car has received in over 20 years! Today I fitted the master cylinder and hard lines for the brakes. A couple of weeks ago, I found out that the right lower control arm and associated beam bearing and bushing were completely toasted as was my lower torsion spring on this side. A cracked/torn seal was allowing water into the beam, rusting and pitting the control arm bearing surfaces, and ruining the bearings. Furthermore, the right end of the lower torsion spring pack was pitted and corroded, requiring its replacement as well. At this point I consulted the Bently manual and my spirits sank further as the book recommended replacing the beam assembly due to difficulty in removing the inner bushings. So, I ordered a new beam with bearings/bushings installed. I also ordered a reconditioned lower right torsion arm from Chirco only to find out that they sell a complete front suspension for less than $500. If only I looked there first. Next time.
New master cylinder and lines:

[supercub]

Well today I replaced the shift rod bushing and shift coupling. The bushing replacement actually was a lot easier than I expected. The old bushing was not even in the holder anymore, it was in pieces on the bottom of the tunnel, so the shift rod came right out. The inside of the tunnel is practically spotless which was a pleasant suprise given the generally ruined condition of the rest of the car. I cleaned and regreased the shifter assembly as well.

[supercub]

This weekend I installed the new beam. I was pretty excited to find out that there are still OEM VW beams available although they are Mexican made now. Upon arrival, I found that the "refurbished" torsion arm was actually in worse shape than the one it was supposed to replace. Very frustrating! The local VW shop also thought that the original was the one to go with as well. I had them install my new ball joints in the arms. I reused the upper torsion spring pack but replaced the lower set with new. It was practically an archeological expedition to chip away the caked on grease and dirt off of the steering gear. It was an indecipherable lump of crud when I started but it came out nice. I added some new grease and installed it on the new axle. I cleaned and transferred all the grease zerks and grub screws and installed my torsion arms with new VW seals.

Old and new beams


New beam is in. It was kind of a pain to install by myself


Right side torsion arms in. It took a lot of cleaning to get all the old rust bits out of that lower arm but its all good now.


Left side done!

[supercub]

The front suspension is almost back together now after a couple weeks and several trips to the local VW shop for a few odds and ends. Just waiting for a second wheel bearing seal and some washers for behind the wheel bearing lock nuts and it will be set to go. Once I cleaned the gunk off the old washers, I found that they had deep grooves worn into them. It is crazy how completely ruined the front end of this car was. Practically the only original parts left are the torsion arms, tie rod sleeves, brake backing plates, stabilizer bar and one dust cap.

The drum is temporarily mounted until I get a new washer for behind the wheel bearing lock nut

[supercub]

The awful school bus yellow 60-63 fender makes it triumphant return. It appears to have originally been Ruby Red. Ah the beauty of hasty collision repair.

[supercub]

The left front fender is painted and installed.


It's finally starting to look like a Beetle again. I am sure glad to see these fenders back on.

[supercub]

Back on its feet again. The new lug bolts were about 1/4" too long and rubbed on the brake shoes so I had to grind them shorter for clearance. I was also in the process of intalling the front bumper but it is about 15 degrees and snowing right now so it can wait. Texans and snow don't mix well.