My 63 body on a 59 pan Herbie project car

[slave1pilot]

I spent a few hours this afternoon working on the new shell
I removed the front and rear glass and set it aside
(You can also see that I removed the old headliner)

I also cut out the luggage tray cancer

I also went around and removed all the old weatherstripping, but it’s not worth posting pics lol

Some of my weekend was taken up with far more important things...

I’ll post more updates next time I do stuff
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[Untraumatized]

[sportin-wood]

[slave1pilot]

Yep.
Drilled out the spots , moved it back a bit, welded in the new with spot welds.
I posted pics and such starting on page 6 of this thread and continuing for a couple pages (look at the pics so you don't have to read the whole thread lol)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...;start=100
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[sportin-wood]

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I was thinking of welding 1 or 2 temporary support bars attached to the insides of the seat rails before I were to remove them to keep them parallel & true, but I like your method as well.
_________________
.
Paused 66 project bug
.
"Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman. He's got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it." --- Jeff Spicoli

[slave1pilot]

Mine worked perfectly.
I figured this way would remove any guesswork or any measurement mistakes.
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[slave1pilot]

I cut the luggage tray out of the original ragtop body I have
It’s bigger than what I need, but I’m trimming it down
I was intimidated to start hacking it up , but the body had too many problems and the donor body is so much nicer

stay tuned...
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[slave1pilot]

Today, my brother helped me tack in the donor panel.
He’s out from St. Louis forChristmas and wanted to help.
First, we cleaned up the hole to weld the patch panel in

Then we trimmed up the donor panel and test fit

Then Clinton tacked it in place

And finally I went around and did a few welds myself.

We stopped for the day because he’s on vacation and we need to spend time with my family while he’s here

It’s not pretty and it’s far from perfect
But it’s a start
I’ll weld some more and grind it down after he heads back home .
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[old DKP driver]

It looks fine from here 💁🏻‍♂️
I always like to watch something old coming back to life.
Carry on 😣
_________________
V.W.owner since 1967

[slave1pilot]

And today we cut out the ragtop clip to graft into the “ new” shell

You can see in the second pic where I cut out a section of the right rear wheel well for another repair.
That’s all I need from the donor body, so the sandblasted shell has been moved out of the garage to the side of the house .
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[slave1pilot]

Today some more parts were harvested from the old shell for some local builds

Not much left worth having , every section has issues
What doesn’t get parted out will end up in the scrap heap at the local dump.
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[slave1pilot]

The old shell has been purchased by another local and is gone .
I started looking over the replacement shell again to see what was needed
I took a closer look at the body tag and discovered that it’s not actually a 63, but a 64.
Not a big deal as the entire car has been stripped down and is getting redone with 63 parts and a sunroof graft .

_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[slave1pilot]

I started working on the front end of the donor body. It had been hit on the left front, so it was pushed back a little bit and crunched in

Both sides were wrinkled and the front apron is damaged badly
I was going to graft a new aftermarket front clip in

But, I didnt really want to do that. Besides , the stamping is just not right since it covers multiple years
So, I decided to cut off the apron (which will be replaced anyway)and try to save the sides

I pushed the front out by using 4x4’s and a scissor jack up against the firewall
It worked fairly well and offered a lot of control

I then started working on the passenger side with a hammer and dolly as it was less damaged

After spending a few hours today, it’s better but far from done
I added a coat of white primer to show the progress a little better

The sun started setting, so I’m done for today
Tomorrow I’ll try the driver side to bring it out somewhat evenly before I go back to the passenger side
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[slave1pilot]

I continued working on the front end today.
I ended up attaching a come along to a tree and the other side to the front bumper brackets.
I attached the body to my pick up with a chain to help pull out the front end.

Here it is after pulling

I then continued hammering on it for a few more hours today and ended up here before the sun started setting again.

It’s not perfect and not close to done, but it is much better
I’m trying to source an apron to weld onto the front
I’ll keep at it until I’m satisfied
Or
I’ll chop the clip off and weld in the new one
Lol
Only time will tell
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[Rome]

Precious "back yard" repair technique!

Are you able to park the truck so that the Beetle body is still being stretched, so that you can hammer on the front side panels while the metal is under tension? That should help straighten the metal during hammer/dollying better than with the body in a "relaxed" state.

Nice going with the un-denting progress so far. IMO you've rescued the body front beyond the point of considering a new front clip. I imagine that your metal knocking/hammering noise can be heard from far away...

[slave1pilot]

It’s already starting to shape up nicely
Three days of banging on sheet metal and now I’m here
Still more work needed, but I’m happy with the progress thus far

_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[schwim]

That's turning out fantastic! My nose is scrunched almost exactly like yours but I'm considering some creative trimming for some shock towers but had considered trying what you're doing here. I'm sure my attempt wouldn't have turned out as well.
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Zippy the Wonderbug's achingly slow meandering toward roadworthiness

[jitbba]

When is the graft coming?😁
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My other ride is a Zildjian

[slave1pilot]

I'll do the ragtop graft after I am satisfied with the front end.
so...
maybe next year? lol
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[slave1pilot]

Small Update
The replacement apron came in and it’s a nice solid piece

It looks way better than the mangled piece I had

I test fit it and it looks really good too

Now that i have this i can continue banging out the metal and getting everything to line up before I weld it in and move on
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle