TheSamba.com :: View topic - My first Resto project

Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:25 am

Hello everyone,

I have decided to start a build thread on here and I hope my project goes fine or it will always remain here to embarrass me and hopefully teach fellow newbies from my mistakes... but I have a good feeling it will work out.
This car was purchased in a batch of 150 - 200 cars by the army for its high ranking officers in 1975, 8 years later a school teacher bought it and just this year, I got this cheaply maintained rusty beautiful super beetle

this is when I drove the car home:

I started off by removing the motor, then all the fenders and running boards, bumpers, hood and motor lid. A few broken, extracted, and grinded bolts later:

I moved on to clean the rusted out quarter panel behind the moon vent, turned out a lot worse than I initially thought, and It took me a lot of time and effort to get rid of the stubborn foam. I am not even sure I will be able to find or fab a patch... this spot is the main threat to this project.. I can weld well with a mig welder but I have never done bodywork and metal fab.

initial look (poked through with screwdriver):

all the bad metal fell off and left 2 big holes and tons o foam inside which i removed:

the bright green color you see on the tail is the OG paint!:

all the foam taken out:

Next Im planning on sanding the rust inside the hole and treating it with ospho then spray it with DTM primer as far as i can reach, hope it prevents the rust from ever coming back.

there are other rusty spots that need patching, I appreciate any tips, comments or advice, thanks guys.

Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:27 am

If that's the only rust you are very lucky!

see if you can find a cut panel from an old body.

Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:42 am

Welcome!!!

Nice super bright green OG color. I don't think I've ever seen one of those before.

How are import/customs rules in Jordan? Would you be able to purchase large body pieces and have them shipped in if you can't find them locally?

Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:56 am

I have the same problem on the other side as I have to remove the foam, floor pans need replacing and so does the spare tire well, and small rusted spots here and there. I will try and find a junked car with a good quarter but im worried they would all have the same problem in the same spot because of that stupid foam.. that was the case with 2 cars I have looked at for donor panels. a good junk yard hunt will tell.. probably in a couple of days.

Sat Dec 09, 2017 8:00 am

joey1320 wrote: Welcome!!!

Nice super bright green OG color. I don't think I've ever seen one of those before.

How are important/customs rules in Jordan? Would you be able to purchase large body pieces and have them shipped in if you can't find them locally?

Thanks!
Right? I love the color, I might go back to it or go with a navy blue, really unsure. its a weird car since it never had fender mounted turn signal lights (it has them on bumper) and its German made and sold straight from the factory, and it seems for this model it meant having a carb (which i like since they are simple).

customs are easy to deal with but expensive .. I have to pay around 70% of items price + that high international shipping charges, but I will do it if all else fails.

do you think I can find them new online? if i end up ordering big parts might aswell go for floor pans as well.. heater channels are mostly fine, just in need of small patches and new cables.

Sat Dec 09, 2017 8:11 am

SupBeetle4Zaid wrote: joey1320 wrote: Welcome!!!

Nice super bright green OG color. I don't think I've ever seen one of those before.

How are important/customs rules in Jordan? Would you be able to purchase large body pieces and have them shipped in if you can't find them locally?

Thanks!
Right? I love the color, I might go back to it or go with a navy blue, really unsure. its a weird car since it never had fender mounted turn signal lights (it has them on bumper) and its German made and sold straight from the factory, and it seems for this model it meant having a carb (which i like since they are simple).

customs are easy to deal with but expensive .. I have to pay around 70% of items price + that high international shipping charges, but I will do it if all else fails.

do you think I can find them new online? if i end up ordering big parts might aswell go for floor pans as well.. heater channels are mostly fine, just in need of small patches and new cables.

I don't think anyone sells those quarter sections new. I would recommend searching the classified section or placing a "want to buy" ad.

Sat Dec 09, 2017 8:17 am

Example:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1784275

You can maybe even ask the seller to cut it smaller for easier/cheaper shipping.

Sat Dec 09, 2017 8:21 am

Brilliant! at least I know if I dont source it locally that Its obtainable somewhere. thank you!

Sat Dec 09, 2017 9:58 am

Kudos to you for saving this bug, a great survivor !

Sat Dec 09, 2017 10:43 am

Zaid, there are a few threads on this forum with pictures, showing how to repair that quarter section. Do a search on Death Foam.

Surely, there is a donor in a junk yard somewhere in Jordan. That would be much cheaper than getting such sections from overseas.

Good luck,

Tim

Sat Dec 09, 2017 12:24 pm

Hi,
the original color is Lofoten green code
which is a color popular on mid 70ies VWs. It was the last year for the 1303, made in Emden and Belgium for the European market.
Here are other examples:
http://www.vwnorge.no/index.php?topic=28543.0

Sat Dec 09, 2017 1:05 pm

alex857 wrote: Hi,
the original color is Lofoten green code
which is a color popular on mid 70ies VWs. It was the last year for the 1303, made in Emden and Belgium for the European market.
Here are other examples:
http://www.vwnorge.no/index.php?topic=28543.0

That's a cool color. Reminds me of the carpet that was in the first house we ever lived here in the states back in '94.

Sat Dec 09, 2017 2:56 pm

Zaid, at first I thought the original green color was Lime Green metallic which was prevalent in the USA, but Lofoten green seems to be a closer match per Alex's comment. Here's a '75 German Beetle brochure showing both colors. Lime Green metallic is listed as Viperngruen (Engl.- viper green) which was the actual name of the same color that Porsche used at the time.

Rust: if there is another Standard or Super Beetle in your local wrecking yards, consider cutting out a larger section of the roof FORWARD of the rear window. The factory-injected foam only went up/ as far forward in the roof channel as the top/front edge of the rear window. From what I've seen on rusty roof pillars, the foam usually did not even go up that far. If you cut a 2-foot section out from beyond that area, and also cut into the roof farther than the outer edge of the rear window, I'm sure you'd end up with unrusted metal that you could cut and patch in to your rusty area. You'd just need to cut it back to match the edge of the rear window side flange.

In this photo you can see how the "indent" line on the roof is a nearly uniform distance away from the rain channel, going frontward. Maybe consider the same cutting technique for the lower rusty areas, by cutting sections from the rear wheelwell areas that are down lower. This could work as long as the fender mounting nuts are the same distance apart.

Sat Dec 09, 2017 3:06 pm

It looks like you could have considerable rust around the rear window as well. Might want to remove the rear window to examine that while you're this far.

Sat Dec 09, 2017 4:40 pm

Alex, you are right, I think the color could be confused with lime green because I take pictures using flash, but from looking at the car in daytime I can say that it seems to be lofoten green, I think the interior used to be the "yellowstone" mesh from Rome's chart.
If i go with the original color I think ill go with light beige interior.

Rome, thank you for sharing the chart and advice on rust, should I cut further up the roof than the foam was to get to better metal? I was going to use a converter because there is considerable rust on the inner panels but no rust holes and its a big job replacing those too and would be nice if I can avoid it.

can I get away with cutting the rust out like the picture below or do I need to replace all the metal in the area?

Dwayne: Thanks I was planning on getting all windows out next and check the frames... I hope they will be fine but I have doubts about the rear window too.. already seen a spot that needs patching.

Sat Dec 09, 2017 5:46 pm

Yes, my thought was to start your cut farther forward/frontwards than the top edge of the rear window. Start at the rain channel and come in maybe 8", then cut straight forward parallel to the rain channel for maybe 20". That should get you into solid metal because the foam did not come up that far. When you set the patch piece back to your rusty area next to the rear window, cut it back to the edge of the rear window channel. Make straight cuts along the original body to get the rusty areas out, so that you can easily trace the cut outline onto your patch and weld it in using butt welds.

If you find another Beetle in a junkyard and want to cut out the entire rear window metal based on the above suggestion because of all the rust on yours, realize that VW made the rear window size larger for the 1972 models- the width is the same, but the front edge of the window comes up about 2" higher along the roof. The increased rear window size applied to both Standard as well as Super Beetles.

Mon Dec 11, 2017 2:28 am

So ill try to find a donor car and bare in mind that the rear window size is different if its a 72.
Excuse my noobishness but is this closer to what your suggesting? Sorry lines drawn by finger on smart phone hehe.

Until I figure this out ill tackle the other side vent from the inside as dwayne kindly suggested, remove all foam and assess the damage.

Mon Dec 11, 2017 8:16 am

No, go up higher on the roof, such as above the side window. And cut in twice as far inward into the roof so that the patch section is wider than the distance you need (from the left side of the rear window to the rain channel). But the length would be sufficient. The curvature might be slightly flatter from the removed patch area, but you can bend to fit as you weld the patch into the original location.

Mon Dec 11, 2017 7:27 pm

Rome wrote: No, go up higher on the roof, such as above the side window. And cut in twice as far inward into the roof so that the patch section is wider than the distance you need (from the left side of the rear window to the rain channel). But the length would be sufficient. The curvature might be slightly flatter from the removed patch area, but you can bend to fit as you weld the patch into the original location.

Understood, thanks a million.

Update:
Today I removed interior and carpeting, firewall is in good condition, surface rust from where rear window leaked, and more og paint:

removed a lot of filler and fiberglass from the front tire wells to see what it was used to hide, left side had a plastic rectangle patch held in with 2 screws and filled over to hide rust in the heater channel that runs there, is it okay to patch that? I have no access to new heater channels at the moment:

on the right side, more patches will be needed:

Today I met this adorable stray kitten that has apparently made my beetle her new home:

Mon Dec 11, 2017 7:38 pm

That is an awesome cat. What a nice surprise.