Just found this

[Dan the workingstiff]

I'm ok, with cutting this out and welding in new material. Is that overkill? I'm thinking its not. But what's on the other side? Is there a chance of fire in the car? What is this area called? Thanks Dan

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'69 Beetle
'66 FG buggy
My other air-cooled's
'76 IH 1200
'75 IH 1200

[infiniteLoop]

That's a lot of heavy scale so it's going to be a lot worse after you get it cleanup for an evaluation. What should be under the first layer of metal is the heater channel which will mostly need a repair piece put in as well. Maybe not but most likely. One way to clean that area up is to use a twisted knot brush on a 4 1/2" grinder. Use all the PPE needed.

[beetlenut]

What's on the other side is the forward section of the heater channel which has three captive nuts in the bottom that the front of your floor pan bolts up into. The pic below is the passenger side, but it's the same on the driver's side.

You're going to find that that rust goes a lot further and is more extensive than your picture would have you believe. You won't know how much metal you have to replace until you cut out all that rust and find solid steel to weld onto.

This pic below, which is for the driver's side, is what the forward section of the heater channel looks like. It's more structural than functional. The front of it welds to the lower corner of your front firewall. The inside lip is what the front of your floor pan welds to. The holes on the inside and top is where your wiring harness goes through on the way up the "A" pillar into the trunk. This is from a 74 super, if you have a standard they attach a little different up front.

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scrapyards are for quitters
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[Dan the workingstiff]

Ok, thanks!
_________________
'69 Beetle
'66 FG buggy
My other air-cooled's
'76 IH 1200
'75 IH 1200

[Dan the workingstiff]

If this isn't much worse than it appears. It should be pretty straightforward, correct? It seems like there's multiple layers of metal there. I know sometimes rust can layer like that. The repair patch will just be a single piece correct? I'll probably scrape all the coating off. Its just peeling away, slight effort.

A couple hour job?

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_________________
'69 Beetle
'66 FG buggy
My other air-cooled's
'76 IH 1200
'75 IH 1200

[Dan the workingstiff]

Can i treat this area from inside the car after the repair has been made?
_________________
'69 Beetle
'66 FG buggy
My other air-cooled's
'76 IH 1200
'75 IH 1200

[bomberbob]

I would withhold judgment on what you can do after you dig it out and see how bad it is.
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1968 Beetle (storage)
1990 Jetta GLI megasquirted, burning E85 (currently in heavy maintenance)
2004 Jetta turbo GLI
Marion, Iowa

[Dan the workingstiff]

I can fix this. I'm not worried about that. I told myself when I bought this bug. "Weekend repairs" I don't want to start huge projects that keeps this off the road. If it needs restoration at some point fine. I'll put heat in the garage and tackle the pan one winter. And then split the body work up into 1 winter projects. I don't want to let this SIT! I'm just debating on the length of time and whats involved.
_________________
'69 Beetle
'66 FG buggy
My other air-cooled's
'76 IH 1200
'75 IH 1200

[VW_Jimbo]

[Dan the workingstiff]

I chose to put all 4 fenders back on. I took the rear off to replace torsion bushings. The mating surfaces of the fenders has some slight pitting in areas. So I took the front off to investigate. I'll take care of this this winter.

The car rides MUCH better with new rear bushings and new tires.
_________________
'69 Beetle
'66 FG buggy
My other air-cooled's
'76 IH 1200
'75 IH 1200