body off restore, who deserves it and who does not!

[TheVintageVw]

so you see all these cars "body off restore" etc etc and most look very nice, however do all these cars deserve to be torn off their chasis?

How exactly do you justify a body off restore? What car is a candidate and what car would be best left un seperated?

I ask this because im in a dilemma myself.

Does removing the body take away from its originality?

[Eric Outland]

I have seen Alot Of VW's in my day! and body off or not about the only way of telling is to physically get on your knees and check the pan seal. I think it depends on the individual and the car being restored--some pans rust is so bad it extends into the heater channel and to do a correct resto there really is no other choice , but too seperate. On the other hand I have an original 57 delux sedan, that has original Pans with no sign of rust, and I won't seperate it from the pan during it's restoration, because I choose not too. Taking away from originality--in my case just because the pans have no rust and it really doesn't need it is a choice I have made. Obviously it retains it original seal, and is OG, there are some that will argue that a complete resto isn't correct unless you seperate! but then there go's the original seal. It's your choice! For me anyhow I would save the extra $$$ and spend it on other issue's with the Bug--if your pan and seal are OK! Eric (VMR)

[David]

Think about it this way:

When you R & R an engine, to do it properly you will seperate the halves of the case and replace the seals, rings, etc inside to insure it's good as new.

I think the body/pan question is the same. Sure it won't be 100% original, but if done correctly it'll be good as new (as close as possible).
_________________
Cheers,
Dave

*October '54 Ragtop

[Wiggy]

Do it right. take it off the pan.
_________________
Kevin "Wiggy"

My 58 Ghia Vert

My 51 Split 11G

My 57 Deluxe

My 56 Oval

[DrDarby]

When John Davis & I restored my '53 Hoffman Zwitter (was his at the time) we went through this dilemma and as we were trying to keep the car as original as possible we used the following as a guide.
The car was totally rust free, the chassis was undercoated with an extremely heavy tar undercoating when new and it was / still is in excellent condition, the pan seal looked good, no leaks were found at the pan / body when we steam cleaned it. So in my car's case we left it alone. The car may be an exception to the rule as even the battery tray is in perfect original condition but my body has never been off.
If the heater channels had rust or the pans needed replacing we were all set to bull the body and clean everything up.
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Midwest Autosavers, Inc. Woodstock, IL

[TheVintageVw]

at the same time would you guys not agree that it makes the whole process easier once the body is out of the way?

getting to everything in the rear etc...

[greenoval]

I had the same problem and had a very hard time making the decision. I decided to take it off and am really glad I did. First thing I found was that the PO had done some work and snapped 2 of the 4 front beam mounting bolts off. So I've been driving a car with only 2 bolts holding the front end on. Also some questionable work done to the front cross member to body mounting area. From my perspective the only way to know what you've got and whether it's safe is to take it apart.

[TheVintageVw]

good point