The Life and Rebuild of Dad’s Iceland Green 1955 Beetle

[sunroof]

I got some pretty serious spot welder envy

All I got is 6 inches

Great tool tho, really lovin' it.

This is what I have been using for stripping paint and rust

I get the disks from Jeff Bezos which kills me to do but price and shipping cannot be beat.

Don
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Better and better mistakes!

[Dan22]

Spot welders are heavy and awkward but yes for sure they get the job done. It would be nice to have an extra set of hands to hold and control the positioning.

Your unit looks a lot like the HF welder I have. (I have a Miller and HF).

Those wheels do work good. I have learned to stay away from sharp edges as they disintegrate fast. The black one on my die grinder is not rated for that RPM but don't tell the shop police about it! I wear protection.
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1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[Dan22]

My suspicion was right about the new panel being more domed than the previous repop I had installed. About 3-4mm proud. I will rig up something to bring it back.

Pics show the gap from the profile gauge on each side. We will see how it goes.

The reference is just at the bottom of the weather strip valley.

More later of course.
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1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[Dan22]

Got a chance to work on the hood fit today. I rigged up my frame rack to the dolly, and anchored the car to the dolly so I could push on the front apron. I think it took about 10 iterations with different amounts of pressure and direction.

I can swing my pusher left or right to direct where the pressure center was. It needed slightly more on the driver side as indicated by the previous hood gaps. I think this same task could be done with proper hammer techniques. The board is keyto spread the force out.
I should note that all the plug welds I did at the bottom where the apron attaches to the spare tire well did not work. That dang weld through primer! I used 3/16" holes and I think the real problem is those were to small. I ended up just plugging the holes without connecting the layers! Well, it turns out I need the flex space to push the apron backward. It was actually a blessing in disguise.

I did not measure the amount of movement but the profile gauge shows it much flatter (no pic). The results show good side gaps now, and a slight gap at the very nose of the hood.

The front edge has a gap now and the hood no longer catches on the seal channel.

Next I fixed a bit of rust in the windshield flange area. A quick patch.

Hopefully these tricks I use can help others with hood fit. The widest gap I have is about 6-7mm and that is with the inner lip of the hood touching the seal channel part of the car. I am pleased it went well.
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074