1975 Beetle Convertible Resto/Mod Build-Chop,Dash,Suicide,Shave.

[Buggeee]

I am writing with a thank you note from my Super Beetle. For two days I've poked around out there procrastinating on the last little bits of welding. A fender nut and apron install. Seemed like such a bother, lmao. No longer! Let's do this.
_________________
1966 Sportsmobile Camper https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0
72 Super Duper http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=672387
(adopted out) 61 Turkis Pile https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=728764

[MACJELLY58]

I would also like to say thanks for the supportive posts. Everyone that has seen the car over the years always says,"What's going on with the car, it looks the same." They kill me! Even my family only know before and after, as in finished and driving. So, much appreciated!!

[MACJELLY58]

[MACJELLY58]

Moving to the front of the bug. The trunk area was in pretty good shape. No collision damage. No real problems, except there apparently was a major brake fluid spill that was not addressed when it happened. Bad for me. the whole area of the brake fluid reservoir was devoid of paint and covered in rust! After clean up, there was some pitting over the all inner wheel well. I sand blasted the rust out of the pits. What a mess!. I tried to enclose the area with some plastic, but the 80 grit garnet still got everywhere. 'til today, once in a while I'll get some sand drop out of somewhere.

I removed the reservoir holder. There were five spot welds that I got from the front wheel well.

Sorry, I was shocked and disgusted and forgot to take before pics. Here's after.

I continued with the stripping of the trunk and I removed the original holders for the stock windshield washer bottle. Gonna go electric...no more flat spare tires.

[MACJELLY58]

At this point, I'm in at about the 3 year mark. Originally, I was thinking Ahh....maybe...4 to 5 years, I should be driving around in my happy little tricked out bug. I know, a bit unrealistic for some old guy with no skills in his garage on the weekends, or hopefully MOST weekends.

I was beginning to get that hopeless feeling again. This time no Photo shopping is gonna get me going again. Its been years and all I've done is rust repair to just get the bug back to stock. I was thinking I'll probably die and leave my wife with a torn apart Super Beetle that no one in his right mind would take off her hands.

What I needed was to get to the fun stuff. So, I decided to take a break from rust and do some Mods! I immediately went to Chop the Windshield frame!!

Nah, I chickened out and decided that if I'm gonna change the DashBoard, I should do that first. Then the new Dash will be in a fixed position when I do start cutting the windshield posts.

I looked on the Samba for an early model Dash clip and found a 1961 Sedan dash that looked good and had enough meat on it to try out ideas. It was about $100 from California. The seller even was able to ship U.S. mail which saved me some money.

Here's the original sub-dash, after removing the finished foam dash face.

Some rust through spots in the regular places. Mostly where the Fresh-Air box meets the rear of the Dash. I guess the water gets in from the vents and collects there.

[MACJELLY58]

So I cleaned up the 1961 Dash and kinda trimmed the extra bits to get it in the car and sit in front of the Sub-Dash. Now What? I looked around on theSamba and saw some examples here. I just tried to get it centered and level. I used some tie wire to hang it from the windshield and hold it to the body.

The position looked good, but how do I attach it and where? There was a Body/Dash seam underneath that the new Dash was close to. The others I've seen, have nice smooth contoured sides. I'd have to make that.

And what about that huge open space up top? I'd have to fill and connect that area too. I wanted the top to have some detail. The others I've seen are just plain smooth and boring. I thought, I have a donor car...Or pieces of it in the closet. I took the trunk hood of the Donor and cut out the top and test fitted it in.

I liked it, however, upon having few beers and trying to visualize it all welded up and how cool I thought it would look, I saw in my mind that the Bug's own hood would just repeat it's self again on the Dash. That would not do! I still wanted detail there so, I cut out the downward trailing detail and left a small "widow's peak" at the top. That would do me right.

Next I cut out most of the old Sub-Dash to have room to install A/C, Radio and other goodies. I left the 2 support arms that hold and brace the Fresh-Air vent area and also for strength. I will also want to weld in a horizontal support as well later. Stripped and cleaned, ready for the new "old" Dash.

I refitted and welded up the dash and welded the end covers for added strength and a smooth transition. There are also four old mounting tabs on the top to sure up the and strengthen the top. There were 2 original and got 2 more from the Donor car.

You can also see the mounting tabs I had to add to the bottom of the new Dash to attach to the seam underneath. I'm gonna have to cut and shorten the ashtray later. The Gas Tank is right behind the opening and I really like the storage. Probably only good for loose change because it looks like it's only gonna be like 3 inches deep!

[MACJELLY58]

Working around the Windshield was just killing me! I sooo wanted to Chop that thing. My first car, the '74 Super Sedan, had that high curved windshield and I always thought, "Wouldn't it be cool if, I chopped my car?" Well, I never did. When I was looking for my project car, I was looking and found a few chopped Supers. But, the sedans windshields taper at the top which when chopped, take on a triangular shape. Not to mention, it appears to make the process more difficult.

Then I was looking at the Convertibles. The windshields are just as high but, they are almost square in shape. I thought that was the way to go. Plus, IT'S A CONVERTIBLE !!

So I marked it up. I was thinking, not too radical. I didn't want to be looking out of a louver window. But, the height of the Super Windshield was so high I figured 4" would be a good place to start.

I picked a place where I thought the channel looked about the same width so as to make the rejoining easier. Also, I may have to make some relief cuts to the corners for adjustment. Look Ma! Ima CUTTING!! SO SCARY!!


First off, gotta get my trusty tie wire out and I strung it up to the garage door angle irons. Then cut at the marks. Fingers crossed!

Well, it's cut. Too late now!

Then I made some inserts from the cut out pieces to strengthen the joint. I had to cut out a slice to to bent it into a shape that would now slip into the posts.

After sliding the two parts together, I found that they fit quit nicely. The mating surfaces were very close.

To get them a little closer, I made a small relief cut to the two top corners of the windshield frame.

I measured the height left, right and center to ensure they are 4-1/2 inches shorter that the initial measurements. Then checked for squareness.
**************************************************************
Because of an uneven cut, and shaving to get a good mating surface, the end result was just about 4-1/2 inches.
**************************************************************

I plug Welded the inserts in the bottom half. Then fitted the top and plug welded those in.They penetrate about two inches on each end. The welds are placed accordingly.

Then checked the measurements again and welded it all up. (I hate grinding)

Here's the before and after.

[MACJELLY58]

I need to back track real quick. My time line is a little off as you are probably aware. In looking at the chop pics, you can see that I had cut out the Fresh-Air vent. When I was removing the old Sub-Dash and seeing all the rust in the Fresh-Box, I decided to seal the vents. I also found that the trunk seal just under the vents were rusted out too!

Welded in repair patches.
** The problem with a bargain Donor Car... is if it's a bargain, its probably rusted out in the same places as yours ** No robbing for many of the repairs.

Then I couldn't help but notice the rusted out area under the chrome on the front Quarter Panels.

While I was there, I might as well close the Gas Flap.

[MACJELLY58]

Speaking of the Fresh-Air Vent, I had an idea while I was cutting it out. I never liked the front Apron Grille. It just kinda looked outta place to me. I know it was initially there for the factory A/C Condenser. The after market Aprons without the grille didn't appeal to me either.

So, I thought if only they were smaller. Luckily, the Donor car's vent was intact. So, now I have two. I played around with configurations and came up with this.

I think it gives me kinda a BMW vibe? Anyone? Just me? Probably.

Anyway, I eventually did get around to filling the vent hole. As you can see I can get easily distracted. "FLIBERDIGIBIT"

[MACJELLY58]

Okay, so why shave the Gas Flap? Well, the plan was to suicide and shave the hinges and door handles and trunk handle, so Imma gonna take the Flap too!

That created a problem of filling up the tank. Yes, I'm distracted again. I'm like E.T. following the Reeces's Pieces. Or is it a moth to a flame? I keep waiting to get burned and go down in flames!

On to the Gas Tank. It was in very good shape. Maybe 4 or five small rust pitting and a little surface rust here and there. But, not to take chances, I researched and bought the KBS' Gas Tank Sealer kit.

The plan is to fill up like the older Beetle's, in the trunk. I could not find a Gas Tank that would fit the Supers with this configuration so, out the welder came.**Argon mix is Expensive**

Went Online and found a pipe-fitting site that had printable templates for cutting pipe at an angle, and VOILA!

The Gas Tank was the original Fuel Injected Tank. This tank has a supply and a return tube for a consistent fuel pressure setup. I am closing and rerouting the Tank vent lines to perform more like the vintage functions. The internal piping of the the tank is anything but simple. Anyway, I found this on TheSamba. It shows the supply line and with my newly purchased endoscope, I have confirmed it. The return line and unnecessary vent lines were sealed.

****** PLEASE NOTE *******
****** I was welding a Gas Tank that has been venting for more than 3-1/2 years. NEVER, NEVER weld a Gas Tank unless
****** COMPLETELY vented. Even if you think it's vented...Vent it somemore!

That said, I prepped and and prepped the tank per the KBS instructions. This is a one time deal. If you mess it up, it is near impossible to redo it satisfactorily. So, I prepped it again. I crossed my fingers and waited. Here are some pics of the inside with my endoscope.

Success!! Then on to the outside cleaned and then POR15.

You can see some of the rust pitting in the first picture.

Finished tank.

Pressure testing. I don't have any special equipment for this. I just filled the tank halfway with very hot water, not boiling but a little steamy. then sealed all the vents and filler tubes with strong sealing aluminum tape. The expanding air inside visibly bulges the tank. No leaks!!

[BIGMIKEY]

Where do you find a windshield for a chopped frame like that? Always wondered about that.

Nice fabrication and follow through rust treatment. I am following your thread.

Mike T
_________________
BIGMIKEY

Deserter Series 1 project.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=787047&highlight=

1973 Beetle Driver, Marina Blue.

[Buggeee]

Wow.
_________________
1966 Sportsmobile Camper https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0
72 Super Duper http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=672387
(adopted out) 61 Turkis Pile https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=728764

[MACJELLY58]

[MACJELLY58]

[MACJELLY58]

If you've been with me so far, you might wanna go back and scan through the previous posts. I was able to find a few more pictures to add more clarity to some of the sections. Sorry, but it is harder that I thought to put this together way after the fact. As we get closer to present day, it should get better, maybe?

So, we're at about 4 years into the project, 2018. At this point, I'm running out of stuff to do that do not require me to actually see if all that work is for nothing. I dread putting the body back on the rolling chassis only to find that nothing lines up and it's all twisted and Akimbo!

I did not realize it until, I was in the middle of replacing the Heater Channels and Support Rails. But, when doing this on a Convertible, the car is Literally..."Literally" in half. It scared the crap outta me at the time! It was too late to make sure that all my bracing was doing what I wanted it to do. Just had to put it outta my mind and continue in the hopes that the VW fairies would smile and have pity on me in the end.

I've read threads of Convertible owners that have put their cars back down only to find the doors don't match up. Some doors are so tight that they cannot close them at all. Some get the doors in but, the rear of the door is way higher or lower than the rear Quarter Panel. With all the Reinforcement Panels to limit movement, really all you can do is tear it back down and try again.

[MACJELLY58]

Gotta move forward, right? IMUA! In order for me to get the body back down, I had to finish the Chassis and get it rolling to make sure all is right.

I got to work on the suspension. I ordered parts from TopLine Automotive. John is soo cool! Thanks John, another happy customer!! Anyway, here we go.

As you may remember, I had installed the new Floor Pans and had treated and POR15 them. I had forgot to mention the tunnel. I had sealed the Heater Channel heat ducts so, I had also removed the Heater cable tubes from inside of the tunnel, as well as, the Control Handles on either side of the E-Brake.

And of course cleaned and treated the inside of the Tunnel. Then followed up with the Eastwood Channel Rust Encapsulator spray.

Anyway, suspension. I got the Topline Dropped configured 7/8" Sway Bar to add caster and new Ball Joints. The Ball Joints were a great big hassle! I had said initially, that I was gonna do everything myself. Then I came to the Ball Joints. I did not want to do the usual(for me anyway) of banging away with the big hammer and pressing in the new ones. So, I took it to Midas to get them removed and installed on the Control arms. The lip on the Control Arm is so narrow that they did not have an adapter that would work. I then went to an Import Auto shop. They said the same thing and suggested that I buy a whole new Control Arm with the Ball Joint already installed....Out came the "The Big Hammer" Dad would be so proud! I'm sure that someone out there knows what the correct way is and I would be interested to hear it, now. But, at the time I was ready to get it done. Worked my magic and was successful with great results. ** Insert INJURY here **

No worries, I lived. That had taken me out of the rotation for about 5 weeks. Who needs stitches, when you got a five pack of Super Glue.

Flash forward. I did not wanna see that Ball Joint just yet. So, I moved to the rear. I got the complete Rear Stub Axle rebuild kit and the torsion bar bushings.

First, I cleaned and painted the Axles.

Then did the inside of the Torsion Tubes.

Installed the Rear Axles with the kit that has all new Bearings, Seals and Spacers. All packed with new fresh grease.

Installed the rear Disc Brake Caliper Adapter and new shocks. Also, beautiful new Rubber Stoppers. Never seen one on a VW look so pretty!

Painted the Disc Brake Hub, so it would look clean and not rust.

[MACJELLY58]

Then I was ready to forgive the Ball Joints and continue with the front.

New Bearings, Disc Brakes.

On to the struts. The car came with adjustable height struts. I don't know the brand. It kinda looks like the Mamo Works struts. The Shock Insert Cartridge are EMPI. I replaced the Cartridges with new ones that came with new hardware. The Strut Bearing Cover is separate and also was replaced with new ones.

** INSERT INJURY HERE**
Yes, this time I slipped with the Box Cutter and had a regrettable hole in the upper thigh area of my work pants. I was fabricating rubber Strut Spring Gaskets that go in the Spring Cup. They help with rubbing and rusting. So, apparently, I did not take any specific pictures of the finished springs. They should be visible in later pictures. Keep and eye out.

[MACJELLY58]

Although this injury was unpleasant, it was non-incapacitating. Back to WalMart for more packs of Super Glue. The Cashier must have thought I was sniffing the stuff by now. Good thing there isn't a Law regulating the purchase of large quantities. By the way, over the life of this project, I have had many misfortunes with tools, chassis, chemicals, gases and assorted other materials. I had gone to the doctor because of foreign objects embedded in my eye. Super Glue didn't help with that one. The Doc saw me a couple of times for back and shoulder pain. The wife's head was shaking so often, she had neck sprains. I think that at this point, I have earned a promotion from Backyard MekaNeck to, Front yard MekaNeck!!

I was able to install the Pan Gasket and got my new Pan/Body bolts out( I had bought these items right after purchasing the Bug-FOUR YEARS AGO!
I reassembled the Sawhorses and down came the Bug onto the rolling chassis.

I had to wiggle and jiggle the body to get all the bolt holes to line up but, all the bolts went in. I tightened everything up, as when I do the doors, I want everything where and how it should be when it is fully assembled. So far, so good.

I had removed the door hinges and test fitted the doors. Success!! The doors went in and the gaps are nice and even with good spacing. WHEW!!

Now, another Mod that scares me something awful, the Suicide doors.

[MACJELLY58]

My research on the "How to" and "with what" had me investigating different brands of kits. I checked out Rocky Mountain kits which sounded good. They are a simple design and they are prealigned. I also checked out Autoloc kits. These also have prealigned kits and individual hinge kits. From what I had read, it was said to be best to have the hinges as far apart as possible. The Individual kits from Autoloc looked good and they have a whole line of extra stuff to go with it.

I purchased the regular or "large" individual hinge set. These are monsters, I guess they are made to handle the large American cars and such. They also offer small or "Mini" hinge sets that would have probably worked better for my little car. But, if you have ever removed a Convertible door, you would know...
they are HEAVY! There is a 5" wide reinforcement arm that transverses the whole width of the door...the windows are trimmed with a channel and the inner door skin is almost completely enclosed...Heavy.

So, the "Hidden" hinges are not quite hidden at this time. I will have to work on that at the time of the Interior dressing up.

First off, there is a heavy metal plate, maybe 14ga., that runs down inside the jam under the outer skin that I did not count on for some reason. As I mentioned before the whole bottom of the Quarter Panel was rusted away.

I welded in good solid replacement section and tapered it in to the Heater Channel.

I thought, Damn!, it's good to be a Gangster! I went over to the other side which was not as bad but needed to be repaired as well. Wait, this side goes straight down, away from the Heater Channel. That made sense, the skin of the Quarter Panel needs to be supported all the way down to the bottom. Ahww shoot! I will need to fix that awesome patch on the other side(later).

I was stressing out about the hinge install and did not want to loose any momentum. I also, forgot to take many "in progress" pictures, sorry, again.

The instructions advised to have the Hinge Pin as close to the outer skin as possible without touching. The curvature of our beetle doors necessitated that I first, find the maximum spread between the two hinges. I got a straight edge and got a plum line down the inside of the jam, allowing a 3/8" clearance for the hinge to the skin. I vise gripped an angle iron to the two hinge arms. I needed to consider my options for the operation or lack of it, for the Rear Quarter Windows.

I ended up with the spread seen here. It worked out, in that the bottom hinge
was positioned perfectly to weld up to the Cross Seat Support and the Reinforcement area. I believe the spread came in at about 18" from the outsides of the Hinge Arms.

As you can see, the Large hinges protrude into the cabin a little. The top hinge would be the only one that would be visible, as it just breaks the plane of the rear interior Quarter Panel. The bottom will be hidden in the Reinforcement Panel.

After positioning the doors so that the Body Line, gaps and height were good, tabs were tack-welded on both sides of the doors and on the front and rear Quarter Panels.

Theses are used to rest the doors on while I marked the Inner Door Skins to accept the Hinge Pockets. It allows you to remove and replace the doors while maintaining the door positioning.

On side notes. You may have noticed that the Passenger door has the Exterior Door Handle shaved. I was stripping the door and could not resist. Show you that later. Also, after almost 2 years, I finally got tired of re-treating the bare metal areas to curb any surface rust and sprayed some primer. I used Nason Epoxy Primer. The paint guys said the Epoxy is great for bare metal and that it had great adhesion and would not react to anything sprayed over it later.

Got the Hinge Pockets positioned and tack-welded in. The doors tested great! The Driver's side gaps are a little close and the high point of the door jam rubs just a little. This should be taken care of, when I get the Inner Door Skin bracing welded in. Sorry, Can't find those pics just now.

[MACJELLY58]

Now, the original plan with installing the hinges was to have an elaborate triangular bracing apparatus connecting the two hinges and the body/chassis. But, like I said I was pleasantly surprised to find that heavy metal in the rear jam. It was really strong and should handle the weight just fine.

Come on! You have got to know me by now!!

I went ahead with my bracing plan anyway.

So, the plan was to connect the two hinges to each other inside the quarter panel, via 1"square tubing. Then another angular brace using the 1" tubing form there to the Heater Channel. Which, would have an angle iron welded to the Heater Channel for strength. Clear? Not to me either, I had to make a diagram.

I needed to make a couple of relief cuts to the interior quarter panel, so that the square tubing could clear some of the strengthening ribs.

You can see them there in this earlier picture.

Got it all welded in. This might be only part of the car to survive the apocalypse!! It was really hard to take pics up in there.

I was getting excited. I started to clean up the jams. Cutting out the latch post area and the door centering wedge etc.. Then welding in the patches to smooth it all out.

I was gonna do the bottom patches but, I had to consider how all that mess comes together down there. The Quarter Panel exterior panel folds into the jam and then the Reinforcement Elbow goes over that. I gotta make sure the doors will still fit well into that mess but, the doors aren't even finished yet. I still gotta finish the doors inner skin bracing.

More Jumping around. It sure sucks, Not knowing what you're doing.