Decklid handle catch on rear apron off-centerd by design?

[50Splitman]

I noticed the catch on the decklid was factory welded down and to the left of center as seen here:

Was this intentional by VW? I feel if the catch was positioned a few mm higher and centered on the rear apron, my decklid latch handle would be much easier to turn, and the tension on the decklid would be more reasonable.

I've tried to adjust the decklid hinges and it doesn't solve the issue. It only makes the panel gap between the decklid and body below the rear intake louvers too large and unacceptable.

[Bruce]

In the early days the accuracy of the parts wasn't anything like later cars. An example is the front window. I had the opportunity to make a template from the original window from an early 52 split. I cut out a sheet of Al and clamped it to the glass and made a perfect copy of the shape. Then to test it, I flipped it over. It was a good ¼" off! I did the same to a single split rear window with the same effect.
I wouldn't try to remove the catch. Instead, grind a little off the bottom edge.
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[50Splitman]

Completely agree that the tolerances and overall symmetry wasn’t there on the early cars. Crazy to hear about the glass, tough, I had not heard about that asymmetry before!

Examples of issues like this can be found on my 50, including the left and right door openings having slightly different dimensions, and I found that the right side rear body to chassis mount was welded to the body about 6mm closer to the ear of the car vs. the left side.

I was also thinking to leave the catch where it is and either take some material off of it, or modify the latch as well to extend it.

Any other thoughts would be appreciated…

[virtanen]

This could be one explanation for glass issues, the size depends the rubber profile type. For example late 52 zwitter has smaller rear window than split beetle.

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Mika
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