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Mon May 13, 2002 8:34 pm

I was wondering whats involved in removing the body of my 55 oval bug. Is it has?? i heard there are welds, and or bolts. is there any books that can walk me through it????thanks
hiding the heat

Mon May 13, 2002 10:17 pm

34 bolts and you are home free. 22 bolts under the car(11 on each side under the heater channels), 8 bolts under the back seat(4 into the pan and 4 into the rear suspension), 1 under each rear fender well(that makes 2 in the rear fender wells), and 2 into the top of the front beam.

dont forget to disconnect your stearing column, and all the wiring that connects the body to the pan(master cylinder). And the break fluid reservour(sp)....Dont be scared bro, Good luck......Oh ya l almost for got, bro, dont forget to disconnect the fuel line from the tank to the pan.

Wed May 15, 2002 2:51 pm

Yep, it's really not too hard to get this done. The other wires that weren't mentioned above is the positive cable between the battery and starter, and the speedo cable, which runs to the right front drum. Also watch out for the horn wire which runs through the steering column.

All in all, it's not too tough. If you have a tremondous amount of undercoating on the 11 bolts on the side, heat it up with a torch to melt it off. Go for it!

-Jeff
'54 Beetle

Wed May 15, 2002 4:27 pm

thands bro l forgot about the ground, and l also forgot that on a 55(actually 60 and earlier) you will also need to disconnect the choke cable.

heres a hint before you go heating the bolts. Jack the car up in the rear, leaving the front wheels on the ground. Spray WD-40 or another lubricant into the heater channels. Let the lubricant run down and out the front of the pan and then try removing the bolts. Remember that if the bolts start getting to tight stop. You dont want to break the nut off that is welded inside the pan. That isnt that hard to fix if you have the right tools but it is definitly a hassle.

Mon May 20, 2002 11:16 pm

They are sooo right, I just did a pan off on my 55 sunroof. If you hear those pan bolts start to squeal, slow it down, stop and use WD-40 or something. Theres nothing worse than snapping off pan bolts. Luckily mine came out like butter. Good luck, gotta love those early ovals!

Thu May 23, 2002 2:46 pm

Yes, did it too on my 1960 ragtop several years ago. Ofcourse I forgot the 2 bolts located at the rear shocks and could not lift the pan =)
Good luck....just remember that you need two places in your garage when you start to seperate en that it takes longer than you might think to bolt it back together, so space and time can become a problem (einstein theory ???) =)