"Eloise" - 1978 Super Beetle Cabriolet Restoration Project

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13 JUL 2025 - DASH AND WIRING REMOVAL - WHAT A PAIN

Decided to pull dash as I needed to strip the body for sandblasting.

Pictures of back of dash prior to removing defrost.

Dash wiring was a mess - someone had the dash out to install a CD player at some time and gave up trying to get harness up and behind dash.

Starting to look a little thread bare.

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09 JUL 2025 - CONVERTIBLE REPAIR SCHEMA

Sandblasted front edge to determine true state of sheet metal.

Corners will need rebuilding as well as creating a new front edge along the entire length.

Sandblasted and primed the areas that will be inaccessible once the top skin has been welded back on.

Right front rust pitting was exposed and is worse than first thought. Replacement metal will just go further up than expected.

Right Side - Top

Right Side - Side

Left front is worse for wear and will require additional sheet metal fabrication.


Left Side - Side

Left Side - Top

Right front rust pitting was exposed and is worse than first thought. Replacement metal will just go further up than expected.

Left side needs to be cut back further to the rear to

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28 JUN 2025 - DISSASEMBLING PARTS CAR FOR CONVERTIBLE TOP FRAME.

Was finally able to get back to the beetle.

Parts car being disassembled.

I will be using the top half of this car and the bottom pan of the original project car.

First order of business was to inventory how bad the body rust was.

Areas marked with green tape indicate deep pitting of sheet metal that will have to be cut out. Most of it is around the windshield frame with some body areas.

Convertible top frame has some rust issues along front of the frame.

As well as a snapped weld that was causing the grunking noise when trying to fold the top down.

The wooden bow is beyond salvage due to rot and delamination.

Started to cut out front edge sheet metal so I can sandblast underneath the area prior to closing it up again with new sheet metal.

Going to have to replace both front corner pieces with new sheet metal prior to re-skinning.

Could be worse.

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05 MAR 2025 - TRANSAXLE BACK FROM THE SHOP - PURDIED UP.

My transaxle was picked up from the shop after it got repaired.

Reverse gear that use to be in it.

Somebody wasn't treating the transaxle very nice.
Was told by the shop that this isn't that unusual.

Pictures of the etch primer on the Transaxle.

Final Black Paint

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04_05 JAN 2025 Pan Gets Raptor Lined

Was waiting for the paint booth to become available since I last seam sealed the pan.

Had to wait until the WW2 Radio Truck was completed before I could borrow the hanger paint booth.

Being prepped.

Finished - Note the PBY in the background undergoing propeller recertification.
On the left side of the picture is a turret for a Canadian version of the M4 Sherman Tank.

Due to inclement weather on Friday night, I elected to borrow my friend and his trailer to get the pan to the shop late Thursday night.

Coming up to temperature.

This would give the pan a day to warm up as it was stored outside under my carport.


My plan was to paint the top of the pan on Friday night, wait 24 hours, and then flip the pan over to do the other side.

I masked off the top half cables, shifter openings, and brake/heater openings.
At the rear, I masked off the trailing arms as they would be removed later for refurbishment. The rear tires were left on to have the pan act as a giant wheelbarrow.

The bed liner.
4 quarts cost me about $240.00 CDN

Used 2 full quartz on the top and 2 on the bottom with some extra.

Fancy adjustable Stutz Gun.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0B4Y4PV33?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title


Originally, I wanted to have a finer texture on the pan. I had read that you could use an HVLP spray gun to achieve this if cut-down with fast reducer (15-20%). I also discovered that the standard non-adjustable Stutz gun (pressure changes only) had a more expensive version with an adjustable nozzle (Material + Pressure) to adjust the "size" of the texture.

I did one coat with HVLP and the second with adjustable Stutz gun. If I was to do it again, I would just use the adjustable Stutz gun as it gave me the texture I wanted.

Here is a view of the masked and painted top half. I used an HVLP gun for the first coat and discovered the adjustable Stutz gun gave me the end results I wanted. HVLP would be a better bet for entire car body as it has a wider pattern to lay down product without tiger stripes. I suspect you would use less material. On that note, I used 2 quarts on the top and 2 on the bottom. I went thicker on the bottom for better protection.

Don't forget to paint the serial number first and then mask a window to ensure serial number doesn't get obliterated by textured finish.

Another view of the finished pan.

Close up of seat pedestal and coverage of seam sealer. If I was to do it again,
I'd pull the tape on the seam sealer sooner so it didn't pull up. I would also use less as my original plan was to just paint top/bottom. The Raptor liner acts as seam sealer so I would have gotten better finish.

Pretty happy with end results.

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06 NOV 2024 - PARKERIZING EXPERIMENT

So I had a diluted solution of Manganese Parkerizing solution I used on a firearm restoration project I did 15-20 years ago.

Figured I'd try it out on the sandblasted hardware to see if it was still any good.

Used an old hotplate to see if I could dissolve the sludge that had accumulated at the bottom of the juice jug.

Probably should have filtered the sludge out, but I am the eternal optimist.

Here is my test setup with cleaning fluid, etch, and Parkerizing solution.
Used a thermometer in the pot to ensure solution wasn't too hot. Never was able to have sludge recombine.

Left the cleaned and etched hardware in the solution for 10 minutes.

Parts turned out ok.

Wiped them down with grease to prevent corrosion.

Need more solution to dip door latches (need greater solution depth to cover parts) so I will order from Caswell Canada.

Will probably Cerakote Parkerized hardware instead of dipping them in a sealer. Worked very well when I painted Duracoat over entire firearm.

Cerakote is more work, but it should ensure better corrosion resistance over the long term.

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21/22 OCT 2024 - SEAM SEALING BOTTOM OF PAN

Had my son come over on Sunday and help me flip the pan and re-position it under the body.

Pain in the butt as there is minimal room to maneuver. However, after some persistence, and a whole lot of cussing. Pan was flipped over successfully.

Spend the next day masking and seam sealing the bottom of the pan.

Scuffing up bottom of pan and preparing to sand/prime where welds burnt through.

Tape pulled on set seam sealer.

There were a couple of tight areas that I either couldn't get in with a brush or the viscous nature of the sealer was pulled out of the brushed areas.

Bought this to take care of these areas. Was like reliving my childhood with its play-do like properties. Made short work of difficult to seal areas.

Also, found a local supply of tintable Raptor Liner by UPOL to paint the bottom of the pan.

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12 OCT 2024 - SEAM SEALING TOP HALF OF PAN

I hate this part of the builds.
No matter what you do it is a mess.
Looked into more modern 2 part 3M products - too expensive for product and mixing gun for a one-off. Especially, after I found an almost full can of brush application sealer.

The pictures that follow show the taping, application of sealer, and final sealer after tape is pulled.

I tend to take a razor and curve the corners so when you pull the tape, you don't get strings of sealer coming off.

Top Pan Taping Done

I run tape near tunnel tube outlets and then using a sharp blade, cut circular profile.

Seat Rails get the same treatment.

Brushing on the sealer around heater tube/tunnel interface.

Head area has multiple overlapping welds - so on it goes thick.

Seat rail sealer application.

Pulled tape on pan.

Passenger Footwell Detail

Driver Footwell Detail

Driver Seat Detail

Passenger Rear Pan Detail

Battery Mount and Heater Tube Detail

Good Day's work.

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[Root_Werks]

Really clean welds and work! - Dan
_________________
When I set my timing, why do I flush, then take a pee?

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09 OCT 2024 - Pan is 95% Done

Seat pedestals/rails, battery tie down, and rear heater cable tools are done.

Welded up seat mounts

Battery & Heater Tube Guide Mockup

Rear Battery Mount hole lines up.

Front Battery Mount Welded in.

Primed and ready for seam sealer.

Admiring my handiwork. Nice to see this completed.

Close Up of Battery Area Completed. Only welded heater tube in one spot to allow me to tweak the geometry (if required) once heater flap fitted.

Productive day

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07 OCT 2024 - Pan seat pedestal/rail welding day.

Been working on my turbo Miata the last couple of weeks. Had to machine exhaust manifold due to pitting from loose metal turbo gasket.

Decided to Ceracoat the turbocharger and reworked exhaust manifold. Using the Miata parts to test paint that I want to use on the VW.

Just sprayed

Air drying

Out of curing oven.

Fitted up the seat pedestal and respective rails.

Welding up outboard side rails. Took advantage of top flange to add some more welds.

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07 OCT 2024 - Pan seat pedestal/rail welding day.

Been working on my turbo Miata the last couple of weeks. Had to machine exhaust manifold due to pitting from loose metal turbo gasket.

Decided to Ceracoat the turbocharger and reworked exhaust manifold. Using the Miata parts to test paint that I want to use on the VW.

Just sprayed

Air drying

Out of curing oven.

Fitted up the seat pedestal and respective rails.

Welding up outboard side rails. Took advantage of top flange to add some more welds.

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18 SEP 2024 - FUEL TANK REMOVAL

Started to remove gas tank so I could run new fuel lines.

Drapes don't match the carpet.

Fuel lines are pretty rotten.

The good news is the tank looks pretty new. Interior has some rust but isn't too bad. 9L of cleaning vinegar plus all my rusted hardware gets dumped into tank.

Vinegar doing its thing.

Not the best shot, but after a day the interior looking good.

Getting tired of loose wires being constantly snagged while working on the engine fuel/vacuum lines. Wrapped them in split wire loom just to tidy things up for now.

Engine with cleaned up wiring (for now).

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12 SEP 2024 - Fuel System Inspection and hose replacement.

I was late for an appointment and it started to rain ... went with what I had - please don't judge me.

Improved upon the situation by adding hair "scrunchies" to hold them in position.

Decided to go back to basics - drained my tank of unknown gas.
Did the old siphon method as I like to see what is coming out of the tank.

Alternating rusty gas and chunks of rust was not a good sign.

Checked on state of the gas tank removed from VW#1 - maybe I'll work on it on another day.

Heavy downpour resulted in me switching to fabricating new heater cable guides for the rear of the VW#1 pan swap.

Switched back to car when there was a pause in the down pour. Went to check on fuel line under the car and it disintegrated into two parts when I tried to wiggle it. Fuel line replacement it is.... Note - in British Columbia E10 is the standard for most grades of gas (10% Ethanol). Non-Ethanol fuel is relatively rare. Can degrade fuel hoses and components that are not rated for its use. Not sure what the cause for disintegrating hose was - but the results are the same.

Traced the line to the engine side. There was no grommet to prevent chaffing of new line. Went with 5/16" FI rated fuel hose and this grommet.

Ran new line through grommet (little dish soap helps here) and Bob's your uncle.

Put a natural curve in the line and we were set.

Played with Eastwood plastic conditioner/rejuvenator.

Finished up with the rest of the fuel lines in the engine compartment. Restored intake plenum top right.

Since the tank innards were suspect (where this all started) I needed to remove the gas heater to gain access.

It is a mess and appears to be cobbled together.

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08 Sep 2024 - Wasted day due to wildlife emergency.



Woke up to this last night.

Time to go high tech. Game camera purchase on sale.

Turns out the camera was a good thing. Wasn't until I got to video 24 of 27 that we found out it was a him and her camping out in our fireplace.

Got #1

Cute little bugger.

Wasn't very happy.

Squirrel #2 pictures repeat of #1.

Live captured and released into the wild to set up camp in in another fireplace.

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06 SEP 2020 - Mocking up position of seat pedestals and rails

My son came over to help me work on my Miata.
Before he left, I had him help me split the pan/body of VW #1 so I could start working on finishing up the pan (Rails, Pedestal, heater cable guides).

The plan is to finish the welding prior to cleaning it up and then seam sealing before raptor lining.

In addition, I was contacted by another VW Cabriolet owner who was looking for an original RH mirror. The Chinese version he bought was absolute "shite" according to him as he had to modify it to fit.

I pulled apart the best 3 mirrors I had and used the best parts to create as close to 45 year OEM mirror as I could. Ended up lubing and polishing the unit. Bagged, tagged, and waiting for him to pick it up.

Spray painted a part with L90E (Artic White) as a colour test.

Pulled out boxes from the front of the car to inventory what I had. New clutch assembly, various heater parts, a whole swak of cables and misc. Cip1.ca parts. The best find was an old wooden box full of electrical components for the EFI system.

This is the first known picture of all three of the girls and one confused Miata.

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04 SEP 2024 - BLEACH WIPE DOWN DAY

Another nice day. Put the heater back in for one more day of forced air drying.
Car is nice and dry with no musty smells or wet insulation that feels like crap when you brush up against it. Makes working on the interior of the car a lot more fun.

My daughter had a day off from work so I had her wipe down the car with bleach and "magic eraser" white cleaning pads. Made short work of mold that had started to engulf the inside of the car.

First shot of my driveway with all 3 VW's in attendance. Bottom left corner you can just make out tail end of my 2003 Miata.

You can see from this shot all 3 VW's. #1 Under brown tarp. #2 Left stretching top and acting as a cloths line for carpet pieces. #3 farthest away. Note - the "white" cover that is on top of VW #1 brown tarp.

My daughter taking a break from cleaning. Why light colour cloths when cleaning I ask - cause they are stained and I was going to throw them out says she.

The carpets and seats were pulled out and I had her wipe them down with a soft bristle brush. They were installed with 2 side carpet tape. Didn't work to hold carpets to metal interior but sure made removal from car easy.

Visors, dash, seats, interior cards were also done. Car was squeaky clean afterwards and no longer assaulted your nose with a musty smell.

Last, was the cover that is placed over the folded roof. White one was toast due to mold discoloration. Black one cleaned up nicely.

With the seats and carpets out (other than the sides), I started to figure out how the weld in seat rails and pedestals for VW #1 by using VW #3 as a template.

Finally, I ordered a spray can of L90E (Artic White) single stage to colour test some parts.

Tomorrows task is to fabricate new rear heater actuator tubes for the engine flaps. Will document and post for others to use as I did not find any information on the geometry.

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03 SEP 2024 - Evaluating Interior

Spent last 2 days swapping out sons clutch in his 1990 Miata. No hoist slows things down.

Put heater in VW #3 for last 4 days to dry out damp interior. Some mold , but not too bad or unexpected.

The remaining pictures were part of a detailed set of instructions via text that were given to my daughter to clean up interior headliner, panels, seats, dash, and carpet.

With enough penatrating oil and patience roof now folds with minimal protest.

Carcass in background is to allow for easier removal of rust stains on VW #1's soft top.

Spent the rest of the day experimenting with field expedient tarboard removal. Will write up results.

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30 Aug 2024 - Powdercoating day.

Did a combination of Miata parts and Cabriolet colour tests.

I made a custom intercooler lower bracket. Modified the radiator supports to fit the custom bracket.

Powdercoated black wrinkle.

Installed.

VW parts

Glass beaded the VW script and then gloss black powdercoated it. I liked the results. The contrast against white of the car will make it pop.