August 67 (68 model) Beetle Cabrio restoration

[Puppy67]

I've owned this one for 23 years now. We've been through a lot together. It's been a daily driver, taken me around 8 countries and been a good friend. Unfortunately, not being child seat friendly, it got neglected a little once the twins came along and ended up looking a little tired in places.

This is how it was around 10 years ago.

A little over a year ago I decided it was time to give it some much needed love. The cabrio reinforcing rails and channels were showing signs of needing replacement, wings were rough, and the passenger door gap had closed up due to a bit of body sag. The roof was showing its age, and various bits of the body needed rust repair.

The decision was made. If I'm going to do it, might as well do it properly. This wasn't going to be a patch up, so I needed to know just how bad it was.
Time to strip it.

[Puppy67]

When it came back from soda blasting it was a mix of good and bad news.

Some areas weren't as bad as expected, while others (the front end) were much, much worse. The car had clearly been in an accident in its past and the front end was a mess. If it wasn't for the sentimental value this could have been the point to cut my losses. It was considered, but I also knew another cabrio that didn't need work and was built as I wanted it was a tall order.

It was etch primed to protect it from flash rusting.

... and the body separated from the pan. If you're wondering why it wasn't braced 1st, remember it wasn't straight anyway (door gap issues) - and we had a drastic plan.

[Puppy67]

A lot of consideration went into how we could try straightening the shell and correcting the door gaps before bracing the body and separating it from the pan, only to then cut out the heater channels and rely on that bracing 100%. To be happy everything was still straight, we would have to hang the doors and set it back on the pan before committing to joining everything back together.
As this was the case, we instead decided we would skip the bracing and just build up from the reinforced channels and bulkheads on the pan when the time comes. Time saved now would add more measuring later, but we could set things exactly where needed without a fight. That being the case, the front and back end were separated into more manageable sized chunks and the cabrio specific panels and stiffeners carefully removed and set aside for later. Luckily, all the cabrio specific panels were actually in great condition with the exception of the lip on the rear for the roof - and I already had a body cut set aside for that bit.

[Puppy67]

To be able to build the entire car up from the pan, we needed the pan to be straight and solid. Upon inspection, it was neither.

The pan halves and rear crossmembers were being replaced anyway, and some old "access panel" patches would be properly repaired with donor metal to keep the spine as strong as possible.

Why do these have to be so big? Worse still, thinner sheet steel and not fully welded.

Examination of the frame head showed it was misaligned, so it too was removed. Closer examination upon its removal showed it was an accident waiting to happen, with large cracks emanating from the fuel pipe hole.

SCARY!!!

So with all that removed, this is what we were left with...

[Puppy67]

The rear torsion tubes were taken as the starting point. Straight, stiff, and big enough to take plenty of measurements from.

1st job was new heavy gauge crossmembers.

Then, using cuts from a donor pan, the holes in the spine were repaired to a standard we were happier with.

[Puppy67]

A new frame head was bought, but frankly, we were not too impressed with the quality of the pressings. It was decided to pull apart the new one and the original (the beam mount itself was much, much better on the original) to use the best of both to make something straight, solid, rust (and crack!) free.

Again, plenty of measuring, checking and lasers (woo hoo!) the frame head was attached.

Then the floor pans, Napoleons hat, and remainder of the frame head were fitted with factory specific welds or better where possible.

At this point we bolted the beam back on, partly just to triple check everything was aligned spot on (it was!), but mainly just because this felt like a bit of a milestone.
Progress was being made, and we just wanted the beam back on so we could see it like this again.

[finster]

wow! just shows what can lurk beneath the surface gloss

however at this rate it'll be done by xmas!
_________________
"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[Puppy67]

And so the rebuild of the body begins.....

Heater channels, reinforcing rails, and rear crossmembers bolted in place. Front bulkhead clamped into position.

[Puppy67]

This stage took a while.

LOTS of measuring, adjusting, re-measuring, more adjusting, you get the idea.

But we got there. Everything aligned, straight, equal each side, and no gaps or issues where we were going to be joining metal. Our gamble to cut everything up and align at this stage seemed to be paying off.

A lot of marking, and a few small holes drilled for locating pins later, it was all torn apart again for metal prep. While the channels, rails, etc all got sanded, cleaned, weld through primer, etc. the floorpan was re-blasted and given a protective coat of etch primer.

[Puppy67]

As with the floor pan, trying to stick to "factory" welding methods where possible.
The front bulkhead is still only lightly tacked at this point (hence clamps) until the front end is a bit more "together".

[260KMN]

Excellent work.

[Puppy67]

[finster]

the colour of your car and the wheels reminds me of this matchbox beetle I had as a kid (still have it somewhere)

is this taking place at your company? it seems very 'full-on' for a hobby resto
_________________
"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[Puppy67]

[Puppy67]

The dash required a few repairs, and we had by now decided to replace the bent and rusted front hood with one without the vent intake. This was partly to remove the potential rust/leak issues caused by the bonnet vent, and partly to tidy up the dash. Lets face it, it's not like a cabrio lacks ventilation and needs it.
As the vent controls and extra screen outlets were being eliminated, the simplest here was to replace the dash as one panel, and do this before welding this big section of the body into its final position.

Ready for surgery

The "new" metal getting tacked in.

And looking much better, back on the pan with the reinforcing panels clamped in position to aid alignment and stability.

[KTPhil]

I would think with the disassembly so extensive, you could "correct" the driver position to be on the proper side of the vehicle!

[Puppy67]

[autohaus]

good job!!!
_________________
www.vintageautohaus.com
FRENCHVWMAFIA MEMBER
do not forget, only the mountains do not meet

[Puppy67]

1st big mistake - buying repro wings
Lucky escape - The courier totally trashed them.

Where possible, the best possible panels have been sourced. I've found in the past, cheap panels often cost far more in fitting hassle, and the thinner steel does no favours for longevity.
Unfortunately, there's not much choice with front wings for 1968-70, and what there is, is pretty poor it seems. Even without the couriers handywork, what arrived seemed poorly pressed, flimsy, and would have needed a fair bit of work to even be thought of as satisfactory. Thankfully, a full refund was received.

Rears, in comparison, were no problem, I had access to good used genuine ones (double the weight/thickness of repros, and the right shape/fit).

It took A LOT of searching, but I eventually found a very good left front wing that was pretty much rust free, with just a couple of small dings that needed sorting.

Better still (for the car, but not my wallet) I found a NOS right front wing. It was instantly snapped up (I would forget the cost later).

[Puppy67]

Panels at the ready, time to start on the worst rear quarter.

The eagle eyed will spot this has wrong bumper bracket. Comparing panels available, we found this had the best quality and fit for rest of the panel, so that will be addressed later. 68 on panels just didn't seem as well made. Also, cabrio rear quarters aren't available, so we'll use what we can of the sedan panel.

Marking the rear quarter area being replaced, more to get rid of previous accident damage, dings, and dent pulling holes than rust, as this part of the car was pretty solid.

Inner structure is thankfully all good, as that's cabrio specific too.

Although the general rule is "one panel at a time" the inner arch and wing mounting were also removed to avoid the risk of prior damage pulling things out of shape. Instead, form jigs and plenty of measurements taken from other cars will be used as required.

Trimming complete, a good coat of epoxy went on now as this will be hard to reach later.