Claudia's 68

[popason]

Well have you got any of those panels welded back in yet?
_________________
72 Ghia
Not even duct tape can fix stupid!

[John Miller]

Not yet, but I did get to work on it for a little while yesterday. I trimmed up the floorpan some more to get to good solid metal and hit it with a grinder to make sure. I did the final trial fit on the replacement pans and screwed them in place and marked them for cutting. I also fit the quarter panel and marked it also. I'm getting closer.

_________________
The 68 Ghia
The 62 Beetle

[John Miller]

Been doing little bits when I could. It's a shame when real life keeps getting in the way. But here is what I've been able to get to.

I finally cut into the previous tunnel hacks and found exactly what I expected.

I still have about an hour of final prep and then it's time to weld.

_________________
The 68 Ghia
The 62 Beetle

[popason]

Hey looks good so far. Glad to see you can get started again.
_________________
72 Ghia
Not even duct tape can fix stupid!

[John Miller]

I wish I had more time to work on it instead of a few minutes here and there. The wife is going out of town in June so I may schedule vacation time to get some uninterrupted work done. We'll see.
_________________
The 68 Ghia
The 62 Beetle

[John Miller]

Still doing little bits when time permits. I've got the pans about 50% done and the side panel about 75%. It's just tough to be welding this time of year. I really need to get this done.

_________________
The 68 Ghia
The 62 Beetle

[John Miller]

After a long and hot weekend (low-mid 90's & 100% humidity) the quarter and pans are finally welded in.

Those pans were a bitch. If I ever have to do this again the body will come off because welding overhead just plain sucks. But they are done and that's all that matters.


I started cleaning the pans & rear shelf area getting ready for the MasterSeries I just ordered

and SURPRISE!, I found more rust through.

All things considered I guess it could have been worse.

Does anyone know if that rear shelf stamping is the same pattern and spacing on a beetle? I sure hope so since I think I have a good section already.

Next I have to finish welding the tunnel patches in, fix the newly discovered rot and clean some more on those pans. The MasterSeries is on the way and I stopped tonight on the way home from work and got the seam sealer and spray undercoating.

Still trying to decide what to put under the carpet. I can't decide if I want to go back to the original style tarboard or go with something like Quick Roof or Reflectix. I'm open to suggestions.

I also ordered the filler for the quarter. I still need to try and straighten it out some more. Once I got the panel in it really showed how bad that side was hit. It has a huge flat spot that runs from the door to the taillight. The whole quarter needs to be replaced so for right now I'll just get it the best I can.
_________________
The 68 Ghia
The 62 Beetle

[popason]

So John came over this morning and cut some more panels off
the sacrificial ghia . He should have what he needs now.
_________________
72 Ghia
Not even duct tape can fix stupid!

[John Miller]

Yes, thanks to Dave's procrastination of hauling off that Ghia we cut up over year ago I have some more patch panels. Thanks again Dave.

Just back from Dave's.

After some clean up I started taking some measurements and checking the lay out to make sure it was the same since they came from different years.

When I was cutting it out of the parts car I wanted to make sure I had enough just in case the damage was larger than I thought.

I had plenty.


Now comes the hard part. If you read the earlier post that quarter that I fixed was very heavily damaged. It had a flat spot about 8" tall that ran from the initial hit all the way back to the taillight. So while I was at Dave's I went ahead and cut out the rest of that quarter that I took the initial piece from. I also cut out all the rust and rot and here is what I was left with.

Now here are a few shots that show exactly what I'm up against.

As you can tell that quarter has lost all it's shape plus there is still a pretty significant dent in the wheel well. So tomorrow it looks like I might be cutting out some more.
_________________
The 68 Ghia
The 62 Beetle

[John Miller]

Here is what's been happening over the last few weeks. I have ended up spending an extreme amount of time welding on the floors. As soon as I would touch a pinhole a huge hole would open up. The floors, especially the passenger side, are in bad shape and eventually need to be replaced.

This one here started out the size of a pencil lead.

After messing with that floor for so long and getting nowhere fast I needed a break and decided to go ahead and get an idea on what needed to be done in the battery area. Here is what I started with.

And here is what I ended up with.

Since I needed a break from the floors I decided to play around a little and see what I could come up with.

I haven't decided yet whether to continue on them or just go ahead and order the repair panels. If I continue I can tell that the channel for the engine rubber gasket is going to be a pain to get right.

After procrastinating as long as possible I finally had to suck it up and finish those damn floors. It finally got to a point that I had to stop. It was turning into the never ending project. So here is where I'm at now.

Next step is to lay down the seam sealer and then the Master Series black.
Hopefully I can get the floors done next weekend.
_________________
The 68 Ghia
The 62 Beetle

[popason]

Its been awhile John. What have you been doing to this Ghia?
_________________
72 Ghia
Not even duct tape can fix stupid!

[John Miller]

I go out to the garage and stare at it for a few minutes every few weeks, does that count?

On hold till spring. I can't handle the cold.
_________________
The 68 Ghia
The 62 Beetle

[John Miller]

I did look back and found a few things that were done before the cold weather set in and this is how it will be when I start back up in the spring.

All welds on the inside were seam sealed first and the underside was sprayed with rubberized undercoating.

Almost finished with the patch panel. I just need to figure out how to make that curved lip first.

The quarter needs one more light skim coat for a low spot and it will be ready to finish up.
_________________
The 68 Ghia
The 62 Beetle

[John Miller]

Finally got around to finishing and welding that piece back in. I had to be sure and wait until it was in the 90's before I decided that it would be a good time to weld. One of these days I'll learn to schedule welding in the winter. Well here it is. It ain't pretty but it's solid.

I'm going to spray a little undercoating and use some master series on the top side and call it good.

I also had to take out all the prior filler work. I guess I tried to put in on when it was to cold because it never set up. So I wire wheeled it all out and started again.

A little more sanding and I'll be ready for some primer soon.
_________________
The 68 Ghia
The 62 Beetle

[popason]

Nice to see you started working on this . Its been a long time coming.
_________________
72 Ghia
Not even duct tape can fix stupid!

[John Miller]

I know. I hate when real life gets in the way. I want to get that sanding out of the way before I start putting the inside back together. I need to order a full set of hinges also. I might be calling you when it time to lay some primer down.
_________________
The 68 Ghia
The 62 Beetle

[popason]

Just give me a call and I will see what I can do.
_________________
72 Ghia
Not even duct tape can fix stupid!

[John Miller]

Well after several more hours of filling and sanding the quarter was proclaimed finally done. It's not perfect but it's good enough for a temporary fix. Now I remember why it's been over 25 years since I've done any type of bodywork, it really sucks.

I've been it touch with Dave and he's agreed to lay some primer & paint on that quarter for me so I need to get those doors hung. I placed my order for new hinges, straps, rollers, pins, door wedges & some new screws to replace the ones that I destroyed getting out. Almost $250 worth.

FedEx showed up just as I was getting ready to mow the grass and even though it was a tough call I did go ahead and mow first.

After a few false starts door #1 hung.

After fighting with door #1 for close to an hour all the little issues had already been figured out and door #2 was going quickly. In less that 10 minutes I had everything in place and was starting to do the initial adjustments. I pushed the door closed to check the fit when I saw it.

SOB!

I messed up. Before welding that quarter I should have bought the hinges then and rehung the door. The jamb was pulled back toward the wheelwell causing the door gap to open up. It looked like crap.

So only one thing to do.

I was able to take out a little frustration with a hammer, which helped, but now I have some more welding, filler and sanding to look forward to.
_________________
The 68 Ghia
The 62 Beetle

[c21darrel]

Neighbors would have heard me on that one!

[jwold]

Isn't that where they started adding lead at the factory? I know there's an online factory repair book that has some pictures of that...perhaps the gap you had was too great to overcome though.

Sorry to hear about that re-do...but technically, you're always moving forward...right?