What next?

[Fuzz46]

I am looking for guidance on how to move forward with my VW restoration. I bought a '59 beetle (w/ semaphores!) about 2 years ago. The body is in great shape, but the whole car needs restoration. I'm reasonably mechanically inclined, but not typically an auto mechanic. Last summer i took the body off of the chassis, and stored it in a dry place. So I'm working to restore the chassis first. So far, I've just been working on cleaning it up, removing 50 yrs of grime, etc, but am overwhelmed by all that needs to be done, and what to do next. Would appreciate your ideas on a logical series of steps to take to get moving and complete the job. I can't handle eating the whole elephant at once, and need some guidance on what bites to take and in what order.

[Ga bug]

While you got body off maybe redo the
brakes
fix any sheet metal holes
paint chassis
new pedal assembly
paint rims
new gen/alt
new brake lines
new shocks
steering damper
bushings
redo seat covers

[Itawayoflife]

Once you finish the pan, it will start coming together. Weld in new pan halves if needed and work your way out from there. Make a check list of things that need to get done and check them off as you go. If it is your first shot at it, it will take a year or so. Most importantly, be patient as you work and don't rush things. Focus on one thing at a time. You may be feeling overwhelmed because you just want to get it done so you can drive it. If you are patient, the end result will be sooooo rewarding. There is nothing like getting behind the wheel of one of these cars after a fresh restoration and having everything work the way it is supposed to.

That's my 2 cents.
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The quest continues...

[drscope]

Last thing to do on a project car is buy tires. DON'T buy tires until it is ready to roll out.

The rest of the project and how you proceed depends on a number of things. Your facility, your tool collection, your skills, your budget, and the condition of the car and pieces.

With the body off, it's best to move on to the transmission, and the front end. Get them ready to go and put them aside.

Then attack the pan. Weather or not it needs new pans, or the old ones cleaned and painted is a decision you need to make.

If you go with new pans DON'T go cheap! Unless of course you really like replacing them more then you do driving the car. Get the good ones. Wolfsburg West has some pretty decent pans.

Keep in mind you want to paint or coat and seal everything as you go. that way your restoration will last several years before things start to deteriorate again. If you don't do this, you will be doing rust repair again in a couple years.

When the pan is done, then mount the tranny and front end. Now you have a decision to make. If it's going to be a long time before it's ready to roll out, forget about doing the brakes now. You can run the hard lines, but don't buy the rubber flex lines until you get closer to that finish date.

On the hard lines, there are stainless line kits available. They are more expensive then the standard steel stuff, but they look pretty and you won't have to replace them again. Just make sure you plug up anything that is open while the car sits. insects like to move into fuel lines and brake lines.

Now the pan is done, the frontend is on, the tranny is in, move on to the body.

The engine is up to you as to when. It could be done before the body, or wait and do it latter.

Post up some pics and maybe someone can offer some other solutions.
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Mother Nature is a Mean Evil Bitch!

[JerryMCarter1]

Well just stop is probably correct.
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You have to decide how much money you’re going to spend.
You need at least 15,000 to do the job correctly
At any rate - just set the amount -
Then, just work on ordering parts -
If you have a much lower budget - then you’re going to not be able to tackle everything right now- you will be able to add and subtract from your ordering list and then get a plan in order.
Then get the parts- in your garage --
The rest will fall in place.

Nothing worse than that and not being able to drive it
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Experience always triumphs over hearsay and You get to select which theory to believe

[Fuzz46]

I appreciate the helpful guidance from each of you guys - I'll keep all of your inputs in mind. It needs new, full pans on both sides - I'll buy good ones, thanks Drscope - and will be getting help from a welder friend to install. Any pitfalls I should look out for on welding the new pans in? Can you recommend products for cleaning up the chassis? I've been doing it by hand, but is awful painstaking. Should I try to blast it clean somehow? And can you recommend a paint/sealant to use as I complete an area? Should I go down to the metal? I assume that if the original paint looks good, I should leave it alone - what do you recommend?

[drscope]