1969 restoration :)

[kosti]

Hi all,

after having found a lot of useful information on here I thought I share my project to have a place to share the oncoming labour pains and perhaps ask the odd question here and there....so here goes nothing...

I bought this 1968 german-made sedan a month ago under the impression that the basis is quite fine and worth restoring, not knowing the carnage hiding beneath the shiny paint job.

the plan is easy: research and mental preparation 6 days a week, with hands-on action on the seventh, which may make it a lengthy endeavor.

So far, the body is off with most of the interior removed, the chassis is almost clean, floor gone, engine stored away

today, I ordered a pair of floor pans from WW, before they get here, there is still a lot of work to be done...


fingers crossed

Lukas

[Old n' slow]

Interesting. I thought the rest of the world got front disc's in 1969, I see they still had single jointed rear axles and single circuit brakes. Rear license plate area looks different also.

Now I see the title of the thread says 1969 but in the text it says 1968. That answers some of my questions.
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Currently own : 1969 Beetle w/ 1600cc, Single Port, Solex 30 PICT 2, Dist. 113 905 205 T, stock exhaust.
All my daily drivers gone but not forgotten;

1964(sunroof)1967 & (2)1968 Beetles , 1968 Squareback , 1963 (23 window )Deluxe Sunroof Bus , 1969 Westphalia camper, 1974 Dasher , 1985 Vanagon , (2) 1981 Rabbit Diesels & a 1991 Jetta Diesel .

[kosti]

Honestly, Im not quite sure about the specific year as I dont have the original german paperwork, so I can only go by the VIN: 1102168408, which would even make it a 1970....

[alex857]

Great work! Is there still a number plate on your front apron right beside the front hood lock? With this you can find out the day of production and the original colour of the body.

[glutamodo]

[kosti]

[kosti]

oh well, the first minor issue on the horizon. The frame head bottom plate doesnt fit at all

it doesnt sit well on the fraem head

Im considering replacing the entire head, not sure if tweaking this thing to shape will cut it, but I have heard that the complete frame heads are no better... any advice?

beside the plate not fitting, there is a small repair required on the head itself, this hole also pushes me towards replacing the entire thing but i dont want to create more trouble than I already have..

[alex857]

Hi,
well known problem, the frame head bottom plates available only look similar to thenoriginal parts; it takes patience and a heavy hammer to weld them on an original frame head. Don´t buy an aftermarket frame head, they are even worse.
I personally would try to keep as much as possible of the original frame head and weld the bottom plate on it, unless you get a good used but original framehead. Then go for it.

[Q-Dog]

Hammer and heat and hammer some more until it fits.
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Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[kosti]

I cant seem to get the damn welder to work and could use some advice. i got this cheap dual MIG welder, with four amperage settings - MIN, MAX, 1, 2, from 25 A to 115 A. Im using 0,6 mm wire. is that too thin to weld the frame head and nap hat sheet metal? All i get is spatter and the only time the weld seems half-way OK is set to MAX 2 with wire speed at about 6, but that is also not consistent. will 0.8 mm wire make any difference?

I got to a point where i need to weld the nap hat to the frame - see below, I want to spot weld it, drilled 4 mm holes (too small) but i dont want to start welding before I get the machine to give consistent results.
any advice is welcome.

[Q-Dog]

Are you using gas and MIG wire, or using flux core wire? You may need to reverse the polarity of your machine depending on which wire you are using. Check the manual for your machine.
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Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[kosti]

that was one of the first things I checked, Im using CO2, the polarity is correct.

[kosti]

so this is where we are:

- welding issues: yes, the welder is crap, but with lots of care, it IS possible to put out acceptable welds
- replacement nap hat and bottom plate were SIMILAR to the original pieces, so a lot of tweaking was required to get to a half way decent result but I will call that on a pass.
- replacement pans: I ordered WW pans, the seller sent something that, in terms of gauge, stamping quality and overall impression looked very much like WW, apart from being black and NOT CUT TO FIT, so a lot of trimming was necessary. after a bit of research, I found the pans to be these:

http://www.bbt4vw.com/en/catalogue/1-exterior/4-bo...-69-07-72/

not sure if WW is getting the pans from the same producer and just adjusts them for further resale, but be that as it may, after trimming, the pans fit

however, despite using a jig to get the outriggers right, we were still not able to get the dimensions exactly right, with reference to the 3 or 4 dimension pictures one can find on the internet. still, at most, we are off 10 mm in some spots, which is still within the limits of the pan holes, or so I believe.

[img]https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1555271.jpg[/img

[kosti]

some progress...

[Q-Dog]

Looking good! How did you handle the battery hold-down bolt and the holes for the brake line at the rear?
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Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[kosti]

right now, there is no battery hold-down thingy in place, Im still considering several options, i dont like the stock solution. as for the brake line hole, Ill put that into the cross member when Ill start routing the lines (soon)

[kosti]

so we are slowly getting somewhere

[andrewwebb58]

looking good! keep up the good work! and the pictures!
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1974 Super beetle Lime Green 1600 DP (originally my Grandpa's before he passed)
1995 GMC 1500 4x4
2015 Silverado 4x4

[kosti]

all brake lines finally done, steering box and pedal assembly restored and mounted.

[Kflyer]

Looking good! What did you paint the frame with?
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72' Standard Beetle
59' Beetle
59' Piper Comanche 250

'72 Build- https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=458816