73 Super Beetle Front body damage - what now?

[bashed beetle]

I have a 73 Super Beetle. After spending a year restoring it for my daughter, she runs a red and is hit in the right front.... ouch! She's fine but the right front body is munched. It drives fine after removing the fender and bumper. the chassis seems fine and the shock mount is intact but the lower right trunk area is smashed and the spare is jammed in. Fuel tank is ok.

Question is:
Is it possible to cut and replace the front section or do I have to replace the whole body?

Is a baja kit an easy fix for this?

Any other possiblities?

Help! Thanks

[TimGud]

How about finding a cheap body and transfering parts ? Or find a front clip and have a good body man repair it. Good luck.

[bashed beetle]

Trying to keep it on the cheap, how do you find the cut points? are there diagrams?

[VWAdam]

A Baja kit really wouldn't look right on a Super, at least they don't to me. From what you say the damage doesn't sound too bad to fix. I would suggest finding a cheap parts car(maybe one hit somewhere else) and replacing it with that. I would be involved though.

[bashed beetle]

How do I go about replacing the front section of the car? It's not exactly a bolt on/off situation.

[keifernet]

If the damage is not so bad as to mis align the strut towers, then it is worth repairng,
I would try and get to someone elses 73 and take some measurments across the towers and areas surrounding it and it could be worth it to you to have the alignment checked,(yes even with no fender on the one side ect.) Just a gross overall check to make sure it is not too whacked...
I am going to start the same exact job today for a pal of mine at his shop(he does not have the mig/plasma cutter ect...)
I'll take some pics, and I have other pics of a 72 vert that I cut the whole front and spare tub out of and repaired... I can E mail you if you e mail me your address. I will give you some intructions and where to get the parts but it may be beyond your capabilities so you will still have to contract a body repair person, but at least you will know whats going on and if you get the parts ordeered/aquired ahead of time you may save some $$$$

[bljones]

If your spare tire well is dented, than a baja kit won't help- I have a super baja, and the spare tire well is untouched in the conversion. if the geometry is still good, ie. the strut hasn't been knocked out of whack, then a quick approach is to use a piece of cardboard and make a template of the inner fenderwell on the LEFT (unaffected) side , at the same point where the damage occured on the right side. then, just reverse this template, and now you know what sheetmetal you have to cut from a donor car. then, just cut out the offending section, and weld in the new panel. Of course, all this is assuming that the upper and lower suspension mounts have not been munched, which is very possible. If the collision was enough to push the fender and bumper into the tire, it may have affected the lower mounts, as these are a weak point in the structure. good luck.