"Eloise" - 1978 Super Beetle Cabriolet Restoration Project

[lmar]

Hello,

Back in May of 2020 my daughter and I purchased her first vehicle, "Eloise".

We obtained it for a pretty good price as it had been in an accident in the past that had been poorly repaired. It had been painted at least 3 times since it left the factory in its original blue livery.

At first blush, it was a little rough around the edges, but was in relatively decent shape, given the state of other vehicles we looked at. I've owned 2 other standard beetles in the past so I was under no illusions of what we were getting ourselves into.

The original fuel injection System was removed and a dog's breakfast of engine was installed sometime in the past. Only thing going for it was that it would run.

Was aware there were some structural issues (fiberglass pan and pop riveted nose repair) as well as an abundance of rust.

Getting it home was somewhat of a chore as we had to jump start the vehicle as it would not start by itself despite what looked like a new battery and starter. Strange. In addition, it didn't want to idle worth a damn (despite my adjustments), and I needed to "rev" the engine at stops to keep from stalling. It never did and I got it home in on its own power.

These pictures are from the day we picked it up. Paint hides a multitude of sins.

[OTTO 1303]

Very Nice start

Has the project been sitting for 3 years or have you made progress since?

Good Luck
_________________
74 Super Sun Bug - OTTO
74 Super - DANZIG
74 Super - HERZOG
16 R-Line

[lmar]

[lmar]

Why some people should not go near cars. (I am going from memory here relating the story as it was 3 years ago).

Problem: Car would not start despite what appeared to be a new battery ($150.00), voltage regulator ($100.00) & starter ($150.00).

Background:

When I was bringing the car home I needed an external jump start from my partner in crime to get things going. Got a grand total of 30 feet before I stalled the car at the entrance of the underground parking where it had been stored. Jump start number two. Decided he should follow me in the event I stalled on the way home. Belt was loose, so I removed some shims and got the belt tightened correctly. We are good to go says I - problem solved.

When I got home the car would not start - dead as a doornail - hmmmmm - it was running long enough to charge the battery me thinks to myself.

Evaluation:

Fast forward a week later when I contemplated what I'd need to remove the engine.
I climbed under the car to note the condition of the starter (New) and the terminal end attached to +ve side of starter.

This is what I saw.

Everything so far looks normal and not out of the ordinary.

I then and went and pulled the rear seat to observe the spanking new battery and voltage regulator.

Whoa, something is not right. Spidey senses are starting to tingle so I proceed to poke and look around.

Aha.....

Then I saw the other side of the starter cable ring (which was intact) and I had to give my head a shake. Neighbourhood kids learned a new expletive that day and I was reprimanded by the wife for being a bad influence.

But I digress...…


This is what was on the other end:

Sorry for blurry pictures - autofocus was working on the wrong plane.

Somebody had gone and cold "Soldered" the frayed wires and succeeded in only re-attaching 3 of the 12 or so individual strands. A couple of holes in the solder indicate 1 or 2 had been added to the mix originally. But certainly not enough to carry the amperage required by the starter.

So, instead of purchasing a $30.00 cable, they spent $400.00+ on a new starter, regulator, and battery.

You can't make this fecal matter up.

[skniper]

Anxious to watch your progress, keep posting updates.

I'm in a similar boat...about a year ago picked up a very similar 77 white/white/white convertible from a family member, got a family "deal" on it.
Sheesh! this thing is a mess, yours looks like a much better start.

Keep the inspiration coming.

[lmar]

18 MAY 2020 - day of discovery "The Bad".

Pulled off the carpet and discovered fiberglass repairs extended up and into seat support. Passenger side was the better of the two (shown).

Infamous fiberglass battery "fix".

Leaking rear window caused major rear package tray damage.

Starting to strip exterior of car.

Areas of bubbles a concern.

Previous "nose job". Only saving grace was they did not prep fiberglass correctly and it "popped" right off with a screwdriver and chisel with almost zero effort. You just have to love spinning pop rivets.

Butchered panel interface. No metal behind rivet. Guess it was for show only.

Discovering additional damage after front "clip" removal.

Front bumper mounts corroded and bent. Under carriage component bent.


Synopsis: From forensic investigation it appears car must have gone into a ditch damaging nose and driver side quarter panel. Repairs were done ad-hoc.
Car was painted at least twice with latest white as a result of accident.

[lmar]

22 MAY 2020 - "The Bad - Take 2"

Started to "spot" grind away paint to expose extent of rust. Usually, the headlight bucket area is filled with filler - not the case with this car.

Removing filler reveals that someone had installed an aftermarket radio antenna in the past by randomly drilling hole on passenger side.

Which would explain the condition of the original antenna location. I have no idea what the 4 holes under the rear view mirror mount did. Gonna have to take care of those as well.

Original windshield was replaced sometime in the past. Not that unusual given the age of the vehicle. However, filling in the drain holes in the window frame during installation is not - hence corrosion around windshield frame - the extent TBD.

Cracked dash - gonna need to fix this

[lmar]

[lmar]

23 MAY 2020

The strip down is starting to reveal additional "features" that will need to be addressed in restoration.

Removal of hood resulted in discovery of wrinkle to right of steering wheel sheet metal (rusty part).

Under dash area has seen better days.

Based on the rust - door has had this crack for a while. (Just under and to the right of passenger rear view mirror threaded mount).

The wire brush was my misplaced optimism rearing its ugly head. Driver side pan is pretty bad - hidden by fiberglass and black tar like paint.

Removing lights, license plate, and sagging rear bumper. If you look closely, the original Fuel Injection exhaust hole (right side) has been supplemented with cut-out standard exhaust holes. It now has 3 holes. Going to have to debate what to do with it at a later date.

[VW_Jimbo]

That is all typical for these cars, sorry to say. Most owners do not have the money or skill set to take on these types of repairs and so…..they find the cheapest solution. I am all to familiar with it!

Have fun! It is about the journey, not the immediate task!
_________________
Jimbo

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

[lmar]

24 May 2020 - Fenders, and rust, and oh my

More paint removal and rust discovery. Fuel filler cap sheet metal will have to be replaced. Off with the fenders to see what lurks below. I did not snap 1 fender bolt. Thank goodness for small mercies. Running boards - not so much. It was the complete opposite - only 1 bolt that didn't snap. That is why there are averages.

Funky "Air horn" and quarter panel damage reveal.

Passenger quarter a little better.

Rear passenger bumper mount has corrosion issue.

Standard surface rust that grinder "self encapsulated"

Note to self - going to have to cut away more of rear bumper support sheet metal to see extent of rust.

[lmar]

24 MAY 2020 - Electrical Rat's nest & the joy of working in your driveway.

Inclement weather so working under tarp. Can't see shite.

Splices on splices. Different colours. Extra holes punched through front firewall to run a single wires here and there. Its getting a new harness.

At least the glove box area wasn't butchered to fit more modern 8 track or cassette deck.

No other major surprises other than the speaker cutouts.

Windshield surround interior damage starts to reveal itself.

[lmar]

27 MAY 2020 - How to be at the highest high and lowest low - at the same time.

Good news: Xmas comes early with shiny new parts.

Of course we have to test fit something - anything.

Bad news: convertible tensioning cable lip and underlying support material is FUBAR. Sighhhhhhhhh.

At least the sun was nice and warm........

[lmar]

28 MAY 2020 - Front Hood Seal Removal

Trying to build up positive vibes after last day's discovery of MAJOR PITA repair.

Front hood seal channel are bad as well. Looking at replacing German OEM with VW Mexico seal that clips to underside of hood. Anyone care to venture an opinion on said seal Pro/cons would be appreciated.

Exploratory holes reveal rust under channels. They will have to come off regardless of what I choose to do.

Easiest way to remove them was to partially drill through spot welds.

Pry one end up and using lock jaw pliers.....

Pull and unzipper the channel in one mighty pull....
Guessed right on the rust situation...

This is what it looked like (Driver Side).

Passenger side.

[lmar]

31 MAY 2020 - INTERIOR DISASSEMBLY AND PAINT REMOVAL


Investigating how bad the interior metal.


Floor pans are shot

and rear shelf has bad case of rust.

Removed more paint and contemplated under front hood tasks.

[lmar]

03 JUN 2020 - FENDERS & FRONT END DAMAGE ASSESMENT

Took the paint off the fenders to see what their real state was. Turns out they were not that bad despite the amount of fill that was used on the repair to make the front of the car appear "undamaged".

Crawling under the front of the car reveals that this part took the brunt of the hit.. (Note the gap between bumper which is acting like a ruler).

and that the actual frame appears to be unhurt.

Here is the grafted front end cleaned up (For some mistaken reason - I thought at the time I could reuse it. What was I thinking.

Starting to conteplate how to fix front bumper mounts properly.

[lmar]

06 JUN 2020 - FIXING THE FRONT SUSPENSION DAMAGE

I learned something new today. The part that took the brunt of the impact is called a Deformation Element. Guess the VW engineers know what they are doing.

Went into the shop and fired up the 30 ton press. Flag is from by co-workers 3 wheel trike he rides to work.

With some gentle persuasion I was able to get almost all of the "wow" out of the part. Not perfect - but good enough for a repeat performance in the future if required.

Top View

Front view - I saw this ugly metallic blue paint in multiple locations during the paint stripping process. So at one time the entire car was this colour.

Here it is sandblasted and primed

And another item I can check off of my things todo.

[lmar]

11 JUN 2020 - RUST ASSESSMENT

Hood has some rust pits around trim holes. Ground down paint in area to determine how bad they were. Bottom of hood was done to see if it was repaired in the past. It wasn't. Starting off on a good foot.

Car parked behind the beetle is my other project car - 2004 Miata NB that has been turbocharged.

Door came off to allow easier access to interior.

Removed primary wiring harness and contemplating rear harness removal.
It is just as bad as the front is with multiple splices and different colours.

Thinking about windshield corrosion and what to do about it.

Stripped paint around rear deck to see what the state of the sheet metal to allow me to determine future repair scheme.

Not liking what I am seeing......

[lmar]

13 JUN 2020 - PAINT STRIPPING DAY

When spot stripping the hood the day before I noticed corrosion under the paint away from the trim holes.

Decided to see what the rest of the hood looked like.

As I suspected - there was some corrosion lurking under the paint.

I then decided to do the same with the engine lid and discovered the same thing. Note - I left the paint around the vents alone as it is really easy to flatten the sheet metal around this area. It will get sandblasted instead to preserve the contours.

Decision was made to strip down everything at this point.

[lmar]

16 Jun 2020 - Bad Weather Day - Minimal progress

In between showers I started cleaning up the front bumper area and discovered I will have to splice in a patch panel as there isn't enough metal (there used to be a lip) to fasten the new front clip.

Went to mock up area of what I 'd need before deciding there are patch panels that would give me what I needed - without all the extra work I was creating for myself.

Just before I called it quits due to weather I went to clean up the area where the old hood seal channel was removed.

It cleaned up pretty good. Still needs to be sand blasted.

Here is a reminder of what it looked like prior to wire wheel.