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bomberbob
Samba Member
Joined: May 17, 2015
Posts: 688
Location: Iowa
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 Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 11:39 am Post subject: 1968 rear apron. Attack of the previous owner |
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I knew this apron had issues, but couldn't tell how bad due to the layers of bondo. Started taking a flapper disc to it today to get down to metal. Its pretty messed up, both corners have stuff brazed in there, which is now cracked or perforated. They brazed metal in where the pea shooters would be. I guess I could cut all this out and try and fix. There are a lot of dents in it, I cannot get to the back because of that reinforcement on the inside, So I will have to take those spots out to take that out and try and hammer & dolly this somewhat flat.
Worth saving original metal, or just buy an aftermarket apron and deal with those issues?
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1968 Beetle (storage)
1990 Jetta GLI megasquirted, burning E85 (currently in heavy maintenance)
2004 Jetta turbo GLI
Marion, Iowa |
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Mike Fisher
Samba Member
Joined: January 30, 2006
Posts: 17969
Location: Eugene, OR
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| Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 2:33 pm Post subject: Re: 1968 rear apron. Attack of the previous owner |
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It probably looked pretty good until you took your grinder to it? Skim filler back on it & sand it smooth again if you don't want to put a pea shooter exhaust back on it. You will be using filler elsewhere on the car if you want it looking like new, so good time to get into body work.
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69 FI/AT square Daily Driver
66 sunroof,67,70,71,71,71AT,72,72AT,73 Parts
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'68 Karmann Ghia sold
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bomberbob
Samba Member
Joined: May 17, 2015
Posts: 688
Location: Iowa
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| Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2018 5:38 am Post subject: Re: 1968 rear apron. Attack of the previous owner |
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No it had issues. The bondo had busted out that was covering one pea shooter slot. The other one was cracking. It was just a flat piece of metal with no reinforcement behind, so it was a weak spot. I ground out the bondo after you replied and the apron is trash. Ordered a new one, gotta be less work making aftermarket fit. I have to focus my time on welding the heater channels in and mating the body to the frame.
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1968 Beetle (storage)
1990 Jetta GLI megasquirted, burning E85 (currently in heavy maintenance)
2004 Jetta turbo GLI
Marion, Iowa |
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bomberbob
Samba Member
Joined: May 17, 2015
Posts: 688
Location: Iowa
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 6:20 pm Post subject: Re: 1968 rear apron. Attack of the previous owner |
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New apron arrived. Thought I was good to go, but it doesn't fit. The rail where the engine compartment seal slides, does not line up with the old rails on both sides. Looking at the two pieces side by side, there is a difference. So I initially thought I will just bang out the dents and use the old piece. No, its rotted out at the bottom. So my strategy now is to remove the bottom 5 inches from the new piece, and graft it onto the old apron. I will also use the new reinforcement piece, as the old one is rotted out too. Will post a photo when its done.
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1968 Beetle (storage)
1990 Jetta GLI megasquirted, burning E85 (currently in heavy maintenance)
2004 Jetta turbo GLI
Marion, Iowa |
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theKbStockpiler
Samba Member
Joined: July 07, 2012
Posts: 2316
Location: Rust Belt
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 6:52 pm Post subject: Re: 1968 rear apron. Attack of the previous owner |
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Will the new apron work correctly with the seal lip shifted over?
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My beetle is not competing with your beetle. I have the yellow beetle in my town. There is a red one, a green one ......
Use all safety devices including a mask. |
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bomberbob
Samba Member
Joined: May 17, 2015
Posts: 688
Location: Iowa
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| Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 12:13 pm Post subject: Re: 1968 rear apron. Attack of the previous owner |
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I don't see how. I would love to use the entire new apron, the old one has been abused so much. Dimensions are off, I don't know how I could. I might drill the spot welds out and see what I can do.
old apron, rail right up against the lip
new apron, lower than the lip
_________________
1968 Beetle (storage)
1990 Jetta GLI megasquirted, burning E85 (currently in heavy maintenance)
2004 Jetta turbo GLI
Marion, Iowa |
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RLFD213
Samba Member
Joined: January 21, 2009
Posts: 331
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| Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 12:42 pm Post subject: Re: 1968 rear apron. Attack of the previous owner |
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| If the channel on the new panel doesn’t line up why not just remove the channel and make it line up and reweld that. You’re making a lore work for yourself going by the plan you’re talking about. |
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beetlenut
Samba Member
Joined: May 27, 2009
Posts: 2981
Location: RI
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| Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 3:51 pm Post subject: Re: 1968 rear apron. Attack of the previous owner |
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| bomberbob wrote: |
| No it had issues. The bondo had busted out that was covering one pea shooter slot. The other one was cracking. It was just a flat piece of metal with no reinforcement behind, so it was a weak spot. I ground out the bondo after you replied and the apron is trash. Ordered a new one, gotta be less work making aftermarket fit. I have to focus my time on welding the heater channels in and mating the body to the frame. |
I had to laugh when I read this because I thought the same thing. Then I spent hours reworking the new aftermarket piece. I got it to work eventually, but it bothered me that I had to put that much time into a piece that was thinner than the original one. Mine must have been made on a Friday afternoon.
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bomberbob
Samba Member
Joined: May 17, 2015
Posts: 688
Location: Iowa
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| Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 5:43 am Post subject: Re: 1968 rear apron. Attack of the previous owner |
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Drilled out spot welds holding the seal rail in. Repositioned and cleco'd it where it lines up with the existing rail on both sides. Will try and get time to weld it back on. The bend contours on the new part do not match so the rail is going to be at a slight angle but I can only do so much with this thing. I feel the same way as you do, but I guess we expect too much from aftermarket metal. Its just raw material pressed into the general shape we need, and then we massage it to fit.
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1968 Beetle (storage)
1990 Jetta GLI megasquirted, burning E85 (currently in heavy maintenance)
2004 Jetta turbo GLI
Marion, Iowa |
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