Please tell me this is somehow repairable!!

[Sigma.40]

Got the seats out, but the floor pan collapsed and the heater channel fell off. We're going to take the body off, but I need to be sure that I can somehow repair the damage. All of the major damage is on the driver's side. I posted 3 pictures from different angles. Could someone please take a look and tell me their opinion?


Looking at it from outside the driver's door:

Looking at it from inside the car:

Looking at it from under the driver's side:

[johnnypan]

Id suggest yelling "Yabba Dabba Doo" before riding with the family down the street..

[Raceace24]

EVERYTHING is repairable.
The only distinction is the amount of money you are willing to spend to repair the car.
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~ No matter where you go......there you are ~

Michael E ~ Raceace24

[82cabby]

Anything is fixable with enough time and budget, but that is going to be major. Don't pull the body off until you brace it like crazy. With the heater channel gone there isn't much structure there. What's the rest of the structure look like? Frame head and the rest? Got any more pictures?
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71 Super, 82 Rabbit Convertible

[Sigma.40]

Here's some more of the front and the passenger side. Let me know if there are any other spots that I should take pictures of.

Rust damage on inside of passenger side:

From outside:

In the front where the spare tire sits:

[VERTED71]

Can be repaired....however just because something is possible, it is not always economical. That looks like MAJOR structural issues, best handled by a pro but it will cost you big bucks to get it done right.

How much is the car worth to you is the next question? Good luck.
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Aloha'z and have a great day!

71 Super Beetle Vert
15x4.5 Front
15x6.5 Rear
155/60R15 74T tires FRONT
205/65/15 tires REAR
1600 Dual Port
Progessive Carb
Electronic Ignition
Tri Mil "hotdog" exhaust

[Sigma.40]

Can anyone tell me what it would take for me to repair it? What parts would I need? Why would it be so expensive?

[BeetL62]

You're looking at floor pans, heater channels and lower rear quarter panel patches at a minimum. Take a look at the frame head, front firewall, rear luggage tray and the panels where the heater ducts come out under the rear seats, plus the rear body mounts and rear bumper mounts. I've tackled some pretty rusty east coast Bugs and most can be fixed.....comes down to time and money. The Bug-Me video on heater channels is worth checking out before your first time tackling the job.

[johnnypan]

Well,in a nutshell your entire frame.. or what is called around here a pan...is gone,the only thing that stops that car from folding like a taco is the doors and the tunnel..want some advice? salvage whats good,buy a rust free roller from out west and get to assembling a safe car..

[Dwayne1m]

[Mudpump]

If you have lots of money, lots of tools /skills and a ton of time it's repairable. That said, I would find another car unless I had alot of everything.

But if I had that much money I wouldn't bother with it.

[82cabby]

Let's try a different approach that might add some more info. What do you have on the car that's good? Engine? Interior? Suspension? Wheels and tires? Maybe (as was mentioned previously) the thing to do is use this as a donor car to rehab another one.
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71 Super, 82 Rabbit Convertible

[iowegian]

I sure hope your daughter hasn't named the car yet.

[swhitcomb]

It's fixable. Do you own a welder? A good compressor? Have a nice place you can work on it with lots of room? As was already mentioned, you need a channel, a floor pan, and the 1/4 repair panel at a minimum. And, also as mentioned, check the frame head, beam, and trans fork for further rust. Post a bunch of pics from under the car.

Order this:
http://www.bugmevideo.com/volume6.html

And this:
http://www.bugmevideo.com/volume7.html

Expect to have more in it then it's worth in the end. Expect it to take 3x as long as you thought in the beginning, and cost at least twice as much.
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My 71 Ghia Been in my family since 1980
My Patina 66
My 74 Ghia
07 Boxster

[warwgn]

Go look at my build thread in the off road forum, I had to replace all that, it was not overly expensive and not too hard to do. I ditched the heater channels and made my own since there is no heater anyway, but this is not something to take lightly it is a lot of work.

[swhitcomb]

[hitest]

Sigma- I've read both your threads on this car.

I was horrified when you won it at auction, and I'm terrified now. You're asking us from a few photos to tell you what you need. But we can't. You need either the skills to assess this car yourself, or at least 70 photos before I'll bid the job over the internet (including listing the 20+ pieces of new metal it needs).

From what little I see, you need every piece of replaceable metal from 6" of the body on down. You need to know that rust doesn't just hide in plain sight. For the rockers to be that far gone- the lower part of pillars A and B are also damaged. Qtr. panels are just that- panels, and you'll need supporting structure there too. You'll need the bottoms of both doors. The job involves supporting the body and taking it off the pan and then the work begins- so you need plenty of space too.

I second what Johnnypan and Dwayne said- because THAT car is not the one to start with as a Father/Daughter project. You need something with less than 40 hours of work.
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[SCRAF]

Mine wasn't quite so bad and it has taken me almost 2 years to get to paint, doing all the work outside and by myself. And I could already weld. Honestly - paying someone to do that work is going to cost many times the value of the car [as is].

Having said that - everything is fixable if you are stubborn enough.
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'68 build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=557899

[tongjin]

[Sigma.40]