1955 Hardtop Resto - Way to much

[lardawge]

I have been wanting to start this thread for a while. It has been something I have worked on for the better part of 2024 while my 54 has been on hold.

The initial restoration started in early 2021 when I purchased the car. It subsequently went to get some metal work done, at which point it was media blasted and epoxy primed. While that was happening, I stumbled across the 54 ragtop. At the time, I was debating turning this car into a ragtop.

Given the condition of the 54, I decided to purchase it and sell this car as a project. I had it posted for sale with a completely restored chassis for what was a fraction of what I put into it, with no takers. I didn't even get a single person reaching out. It was strange. At the time, I didn't have an original hood, and I chalked it up to that as well as the work that was needed to sort out the heater channel... but who knows.

Once I sent my 54 off to paint, I decided it was time to get my hands on it and sort out some of the issues that were created by the previous shop as well as fix issues that still needed to be repaired.

As an FYI, I am still interested in selling this project. At the moment, I have the 54 as well as my survivor 57 and not a lot of room. I also can't see myself doing two cars. It is all I can do to wrap my head around one. So, the intent of this thread is to showcase the work that has been done and, at some point, list it in the classifieds. I need to find the right custodian.

For now, let's get started.

The first thing I had to address was the rear apron. There were two problems that I had to address. The first, the engine tin did not fit. For whatever reason, the Auto Craft inner apron is not the correct shape for the early engine tin. It made it impossible to get the rear engine tin installed when I test-fit the engine.

The second issue. I did not like the shape of the apron. The stampings are not good. So I opted to get a Wolfpart apron. I happened to pick the original inner apron off the scrap pile at the metal shop before it got tossed out. It did need some work, but it was original and would be guaranteed to fit.

I am happy that I did take it apart because it turned out that the inner apron was not spot welded in on one side. it was just floating there. They had also spot welded the harness tabs in upside down. They would never hold in wires.
It also revealed that they did not fill any of the holes from the original apron being pulled off.

So after a bunch of repairing pretty beat up metal, I was able to get the apron and inner apron installed and looking good.

Next up, remove and replace bumper brackets and engine shelves...
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11/2/54 L227 Strato Silver Ragtop - Build Thread
1/7/55 L275 Light Beige - Build Thread

[VW_Jimbo]

NICE!

Okay here goes. I need you think about Sesame Street and The Count. He would say something there are 3 Bugs in that garage. Lets count them. Count with me. 1, 2, 3. There are 3 Bugs in the garage!

Lucky man! My wife would kill me! And the association would not allow me to have 3 Bugs in the garage when everyone knows you must conform to the mandated 2!

Looking good!
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[esde]

[kintail]

Well done!!

No surprise ... we will be repairing the rear apron and bumper mounts with WolfParts on our build. Hoping to user the original inner brace by drilling the spot welds. The original inner brace seems to be a thinner metal so will see how that goes.

Thanks for the positive posting...
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Scott

August 1954 Beetle Canadian Deluxe

[lardawge]

[kintail]

Grinding off the apron.... good point! The original apron is still present on the car but well pounded and bent to lift the back of the apron to clear the stock muffler tips. Normal people just cut two holes with their welding equipment.....

Both rear bumper mounts rusted so simpler to replace as well.
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Scott

August 1954 Beetle Canadian Deluxe

[lardawge]

Moving onto the rear engine trays and bumper mounts...

First off, why am I doing them, given they were already done by a "reputable" metal shop? Great question.

After replacing the rear apron, I discovered that there was no room to put the bumper bracket to body seal. Although I could get the bumper level to the body, I could not install the seal on one side without major deformation. This might have been solved another way, but I chose to fix it properly.

There were also a few issues with the engine trays. Again, I could have left it and let the tar board hide it, but it was one of those things that was just sloppy work. They were not level side to side, which created an issue when installing seals. I ordered up some new trays (this time I used Autocraft because they are the closest to the original) and got to work.

Here is the massive amount of work it took to get this sorted. I will add that I would have preferred to have done this work prior to doing the rear apron. It would have made the correction to get the tray to fit much easier.

Next up, decklid repair...

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11/2/54 L227 Strato Silver Ragtop - Build Thread
1/7/55 L275 Light Beige - Build Thread

[VW_Jimbo]

NICE! Nuts on the money!
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[mkhanshaw]

Excellent work!

I wish I had your skill. I am in central coast CA area and have my 54 at a reputable paint and body shop right now, though not a specialty in VW. One of the things that concerns me is fitting the motor I plan to run AFTER having all the metal and paint done.

Ive heard horrors about folks trying to fit 2332s and that it would be safer for clearances reasons to stay at 2110 and under. I may have to come up with some creative tin options and trimming

I saw one guy did something interesting and "lowered" the trans cradle where it mounts to the frame horns. He opened the holes vertically (think in an oblong), and then welded thick washers where he wanted the new frame horn bolt placement. He then ground and cleaned it all up. Looked great when he was done but it allowed the motor to hang just that much lower in the engine bay. the tin basically sandwiched up from the bottom. It was an odd approach but it looked totally good when done.

Sorry I rabbit-holed here as I was fascinated with your engine compartment and apron metal work.
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54 Oval

[lardawge]

[lardawge]

Moving onto the decklid. This decklid, like many, has been hit and then crudely repaired with a hammer. I took a pass at it without taking the brace out. I quickly realized that I needed to remove it in order to fix the brace itself. It was tweaked, and I was not able to fix it without removing it. The benefit to doing that was that I had full access to the panel.

I used a shrinking disc, slapper, and dolly to do the majority of the repairs.

While I was doing the work, and after I was happy with the repair, I added a license plate bracket bolt-down plate.

As I was test fitting the decklid, I was not happy with the shape of the apron, so I did some work to flatten it out a bit to make it look more like the original which also helped the decklid sit better.

As I get deeper into this build thread, you will see that I have been bodyworking panels once the metalwork is done. That is what I did here. It really helps me visualize the finished work.

I am using SPI products for both epoxy as well as 2k. I am laying down two coats of epoxy. The next day, I will add Evercoat Rage Ultra filler so that I get a mechanical bond. Then 80 grit for initial shaping and removal of excess. Then 120 with a guide coat. At that point, if there is metal showing, I will spot that with epoxy followed by 2k medium build.

Next up, heater channel repair... this is a fun one!
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11/2/54 L227 Strato Silver Ragtop - Build Thread
1/7/55 L275 Light Beige - Build Thread

[Dan22]

Beautiful work!

I am debating about removing the deck lid inner panel like you did to get access to some ancient damage. Looks like you plug welded it back into place. How did that process go? No warpage to speak of?
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1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[lardawge]

[stale air]

Lid looks great, nice work!
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WANTED: Henry Veale Santa Rosa plate frames
WANTED: Brittsan Motors Fresno plate frames
WANTED: Any Georgia plate frames

[esde]

Excellent work practices and attention to all the little details. Stuff like this sets some cars so far ahead of the rest.. nice to see it happening
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modok wrote:
Bent cranks are silent but gather no moss. I mean, ah, something like that.

[lardawge]

[lardawge]

Overall this car is very rust free. There was a little rust hear and there, but the main issue with rust was the right rear heater channel. I am not sure what the issue is with how the moister collects in these cars, but it is the same problem I had with the 54. The good news, it was not anywhere in the surrounding metal.

That plan is to remove the portion of the heater channel just to the b-pillar. I did not want to disturb the weld in the door jam. I also did not want to drill out the spot welds but rather remove the channel from the inside to allow plug welding from the inside to preserve the original spot welds.

Here is what I started with.

I did choose to brace the door opening just in case.

Then on to the demolition. Being very careful not to remove good metal.

The plan was to use replacement pieces from Mika and graft them in. You can see where I marked the section to replace on the rear of the channel.

It turned out that the stamping was much to shallow for my particular car. I did not like the way it fit. I contemplated things I could do to fix it like reshaping it and so on. I came to the conclusion that I could just make a piece that would take way less time and get me to the finish line much quicker.

Here is the difference in shape.

I installed it using TIG and MIG and then covered it with Master Series rust protection.

Next up, more heater channel repair.
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11/2/54 L227 Strato Silver Ragtop - Build Thread
1/7/55 L275 Light Beige - Build Thread

[VW_Jimbo]

Nice work! Looks good!

You could swing by and borrow my rotisserie if you want. It is not being used right now.
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[lardawge]

[VW_Jimbo]

No worries. It is sitting off to the side doing nothing till the next build!
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!