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how can I identify if a bug is a genuine ragtop?
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dylan1303
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 04, 2024 12:28 am    Post subject: how can I identify if a bug is a genuine ragtop? Reply with quote

I want to check out a 1959 VW ragtop as a project car, but want to know if it is a genuine ragtop instead of a ragtop clip grafted on. Is there a way to tell if its a genuine rag by checking the vin tag? or do i have to check for welds or other signs of bodywork?
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Slow-N-Rusty
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 04, 2024 1:20 am    Post subject: Re: how can I identify if a bug is a genuine ragtop? Reply with quote

The VIN won't tell you anything about the ragtop. If the owner happened to have ordered a birth certificate it might state it there but the birth certificates have been known to have inaccurate or missing info.

Checking for welds might work but if the roof was grafted on at the pillars it would be impossible to check unless you stuck a borescope into one of the pillars

If it was grafted on and they didn't do a good job of finishing it you might see waviness or cracked paint around the ragtop perimeter or at the pillars.
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rcooled
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 12:57 pm    Post subject: Re: how can I identify if a bug is a genuine ragtop? Reply with quote

Many...maybe most...grafts are done the easiest way by just cutting an opening in the roof and dropping in the ragtop section. If there are no obvious signs on the exterior, you can pull down the rear section of the headliner at its forward edge, just behind the sunroof opening, to look for signs of welding on the inside of the roof.
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Mike Fisher
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 2:06 pm    Post subject: Re: how can I identify if a bug is a genuine ragtop? Reply with quote

Buy the 59 ragtop since it will look good on the streets! Cool
Forget about buying a Renault Dauphine. Wink
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