Replacing the front clip on my bug?

kjbtsi

I need to replace the front clip on my 66' bug, but I kinda want to do it myself as well as the rest of the body work. The front clip is the only major repair that I need to do. I just need some help on how to go about this. I'm not very experienced in body work so any tips and pics would be great.

blarneyman · Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:44 pm Post subject:

How bad is the damage to the front of your car? Could you post some pics?
_________________
69 Beetle
70 Ghia(resto)

andk5591 · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:46 am Post subject:

I just broke down and bought the 61-65 Bently manual. Has more than you want to know about doing this......
_________________
D-Dubya Manx clone - 63 Short pan,1914.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Cindy's daily driver.
Max - 73 standard Beetle hearse project - For sale
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

kjbtsi · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 7:31 am Post subject:

I will try to post some pics as soon as possible. I was trying to bang it out myself but I'm not sure its salvagable?

andk5591 · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 8:55 am Post subject:

Just an fyi - there are some decent quarters and patch panels available. Getting ready to replace passenger front quarter, apron, spare tirewell and the front section of the drivers side ( bumper bracket area).

I got my panels from Wolfsburg West. This is not trivial to do, but people do it all the time.
_________________
D-Dubya Manx clone - 63 Short pan,1914.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Cindy's daily driver.
Max - 73 standard Beetle hearse project - For sale
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

keifernet · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 10:27 am Post subject:

There are some pics in my gallery of two different front clips ( out of the many I felt like taking pics of) using original donor clips...

and there are some other threads on here with similar pics and details.

Andy is right though, you may not need to do the "whole clip"... you should post pics and let's see your damage.

kjbtsi · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 11:19 am Post subject:

I can't get my computer to read my camera memory card, once I fix that I will be able to post some pics.

andk5591 · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 11:38 am Post subject:

Here's a suggestion - take a look at a couple VW supplier websites and scope out their panels to get some ideas of what is available.

Couple things to think about and you will probably get other posts with similar comments. The original metal is heavier and will fit better than any aftermarket parts.

Some aftermarket parts are not very good. One thing that I have heard to stay away from repeatedly is the one piece apron repair assembly (apron, spare tire well, etc). Other Samba posters (as well as one VW shop and Wolfsburg West) said that you end up having to cut it apart to make it fit.

For me being in the northeast, finding good original parts is not easy, let alone removing them from a junk car. I went new, but from a good supplier.
_________________
D-Dubya Manx clone - 63 Short pan,1914.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Cindy's daily driver.
Max - 73 standard Beetle hearse project - For sale
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

kjbtsi · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:08 pm Post subject:

had to redo it sorry

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

the passenger side was worse but I banged it out a bit, it was basically flat with the edge of the front apron. the main problem is the passenger side where the gas tank mounts is bent down and the bottom of the spare tire well is just a crumpled up mess, ill try to take some pictures of that soon.

skalywags · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:17 pm Post subject:

kjbtsi · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:33 pm Post subject:

I was wondering about that as well. So far wolfsberg west seems like it has some better stuff, but I want to try and use as much original panels as possible
_________________
"Dammit, every time we have a sweet idea the government has to come and screw it up"-Kyle Broflowski

1966 Bug Bahama Blue(my first car)
1958 Euro Bug
1962 Pearl White Bug
1970 Fastback Clementine
1966 Fastback VW Blue
1970 Fastback Diamond Blue
1967 Bug
1963 VW Variant
1963 Karmann Ghia Ruby Red
1969 VW Variant

keifernet · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:43 pm Post subject:

I would seek out an original donor clip for that damage and do it just like the pics in my gallery show... I don't trust the aftermarket "metal" to fit and there are still plenty of good clips for that year around/not so rare like early clips.

kjbtsi · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 7:00 pm Post subject:

Thats what I was thinking, I've seen a few aftermarket ones and I was not impressed at all. I just have to learn to weld and get better at body work before I tackle this.
_________________
"Dammit, every time we have a sweet idea the government has to come and screw it up"-Kyle Broflowski

1966 Bug Bahama Blue(my first car)
1958 Euro Bug
1962 Pearl White Bug
1970 Fastback Clementine
1966 Fastback VW Blue
1970 Fastback Diamond Blue
1967 Bug
1963 VW Variant
1963 Karmann Ghia Ruby Red
1969 VW Variant

kjbtsi · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 7:03 pm Post subject:

Does anyone out there have a good donor clip for my 66, I'm located in eastern north carolina.
_________________
"Dammit, every time we have a sweet idea the government has to come and screw it up"-Kyle Broflowski

1966 Bug Bahama Blue(my first car)
1958 Euro Bug
1962 Pearl White Bug
1970 Fastback Clementine
1966 Fastback VW Blue
1970 Fastback Diamond Blue
1967 Bug
1963 VW Variant
1963 Karmann Ghia Ruby Red
1969 VW Variant

Danpa · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 9:34 pm Post subject:

There is at least one VW junkyard that I heard of near Ashville, a friend of mine from work saw it just off the highway on his way to Florida. I don't remember the name, but I'm sure you can find it. You should be able to get a clip from them. I wish I would have at least written down the highway he said he was on, he probably does'nt remember now since it was over a year ago.

Dan

andk5591 · Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 4:15 am Post subject:

You are pretty crunched. Mine was whacked but not anywhere near as bad. Since you are in the Carolinas you should have better luck finding decent metal. I would break down and get the 61-65 Bently as soon as you can. It coveres all body panel replacement.
_________________
D-Dubya Manx clone - 63 Short pan,1914.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Cindy's daily driver.
Max - 73 standard Beetle hearse project - For sale
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

Jerry Hundley · Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 6:33 am Post subject:

andk5591 · Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 2:49 pm Post subject:

The later one is very good, but does not have all the body nitty gritty in it. That's one of the reasons its MUCH thicker and more expensive. If you are doing serious body work, I think the 61-65 is worth the investement. I am farming out a fair chunk of this work, but I am loaning the guy that is doing the work for me the manual. It will save both of us hours of work and me a ton of cash.....
_________________
D-Dubya Manx clone - 63 Short pan,1914.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Cindy's daily driver.
Max - 73 standard Beetle hearse project - For sale
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

kermatt · Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 12:33 am Post subject:

Ok, so I have a question pertaining to this...

I'm a welder and fabricator by trade, although tbh, I don't have a ton of body exp...im building a 70 gtv rat, with some fancy stuff, a reverse opening hood, some grafted louvers, plus...

So here's my question; My front driver quarter is pretty bad off. Someone tried to straiten it at some point and made a mess. I don't want to deal with it because I would like to get the car bare metal/clear eventually. So I want to replace it. I would like to cheat and cut the quarter out right in front of the door seam, down to the heater channel area(there's some rust there too), separate it only from the cab and upper seam, and chop the fender line.

I have a strait donor quarter. In my case, since its a rat and im bobbing so much metal away, i figure with some accurate cuts and using the hood as guide, i should be able to get it damn close?

If someone follows what im saying, i would love some input. Keep in mind, im running no fenders and cutting everything from the fender line down and fwd of the master cyl area off except the hood-which on making reverse open...

Pix soon=D

Derek Cobb · Annoying Joined: March 11, 2004 Posts: 2565


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