Jeremy.G's 1973 Super Beetle restoration

[TK-CS]

[jeremy.g]

Wow. Amazing how well-preserved those cars are. Restoration would be almost too easy!

We moved the body to the center of the floor. I was hoping to simply rest the heater channels on the sawhorses, until I got a good look at the driver's side rear:

Nope! Let's go to Plan B. I screwed some blocks together so the rear could rest on the mounting brackets:

That'll work. Then we simply jacked up the body a bit at a time and slid it over:

Now that there's actually room to open the driver's door, we removed it.

This was easier said than done. We removed the passenger door by driving out the hinge pins. It was a pain, but not impossible. The driver's side pins were not playing nice at all. I tried the air-hammer. I tried the 3 pound sledge and drift. I tried this hinge-removal tool from Eastwood:

The pins on the tool kept bending. SO I made a new pin out of a piece of drill bit. By cranking down the tool AND hammering on it, I got the pin to move about 1/4". But the top pin was not budging.

I finally gave up on the pins and resorted to the screws. My old manual impact driver had a bit that fit the screws quite well:

10 minutes later the door was free. Man. Shoulda done that 2 days ago.

Next up: Out comes the dash and I'll attack the front rust repair.

-JG

[TK-CS]

[jeremy.g]

Hey TK- sounds like a good holiday to me! I miss German beer. I wonder if my boss would mind me taking a 6-month vacation. . .?

I got lots more disassembly done today. Dashboard, wiring, duct parts, wiper assembly, blower; the whole front end is essentially nothing but sheet metal now:

My new 1/4" spot-weld drill came in, so I thought I'd start drilling out the apron. So I first sanded back some paint to find the 'dimples' that a spotweld leaves. But what's this....? I can't find any in the usual spots!

Sanding back a bit further, I discovered something interesting. Is that... brass?

I believe it is. It looks to me like this is not the first nose job my beetle has had. I think a replacement apron was brazed on sometime before I bought the car. behind the apron I see more of the same inside the trunk:

I wonder how extensive the repairs were? This oddness caught my eye as well.

See where trunk bottom panel meets the side? The lip has a big gap that's filled with seam sealer. My donor panel shows this section spot-welded tight. It'll be interesting to see how (if...?!) this lip is attached once I dig into it.



-JG

[VW_Jimbo]

Looks like you are starting to have some fun, finally. Getting into cutting and pasting! I will be following along. Looking good so far!
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[MACJELLY58]

Hey Mr."G"

You probably found them already, but the spot welds for the Front Apron are located inside the trunk where the Spare tire well connects to the apron. They were a PINA to get to with the spot weld cutter. Somehow, I think that with your skills and imagination, you will have an easier time then I did(and faster!).

[jeremy.g]

Fun indeed, Jim! Feels good.

That's just it MAC- the apron isn't spot welded at all. It was tacked in place with braze every few inches on the fender edges and in 3 places inside the trunk. This apron has most certainly been replaced before (back when brazing was more popular for bodywork? When torches reigned, before the rise of MIG?)

Anyhow- I managed to wipe the smile off my car. Time to tackle that spare wheel panel!

-JG

[VW_Jimbo]

DUDE! YOU GOT IT OFF! That is a large hurdle to jump. Great job!

Now, break out the Ospho and get rid of the rust before welding!

Awesome job! My hats off to you!

I am sitting here felling your pain. That looks like hell to remove.
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[jeremy.g]

THANKS JIM! Yeah, that job was no fun. But that was the easy part! Check out this madness:

Yep, I removed the entire trunk bottom. WOW there's not much left up front! You can walk up practically to the windshield.

I realized today that my beloved beetle led a ROUGH life before I bought it in the early 90's -- Both the apron AND trunk bottom had been replaced before. The spot welds were drilled out everywhere (including under the gas tank) and the trunk bottom 'plug-brazed' in place.

At first this realization disappointed me. It's a bummer to learn your car had been 'wrecked' in the past. But then the newfound knowledge emboldened me. This repair is frighteningly daunting. But my car had survived this same repair once before. Surely I can piece it back together again.

Ok- If there is a POSITIVE side to removing the trunk bottom, it is this: I now have terrific access for all the front-end welding that needs to be done. (Bulkhead, fresh-air box, pan mounting nut-boxes, strut towers... *sigh*)

Hey, anybody here use a TIG welder? I'm very enamored with the idea lately. I'd really like the ability to create softer welds so I can metal finish them without the fear of cracking.

-JG

[VW_Jimbo]

TIG,d a few times. Never got proficient at it. A very good friend, the best man in my wedding, is an awesome welder. His family built refrigerators for hotels and places like that. His TIGing was impeccable. I would watch him and was just blown away by the gracefulness.

I also watched when Scott of MCM taught me how to build a VW transmission. He welded 3rd and 4th gears to their hubs. It was like art! That is a skill and a half.

I never got even close to that level. Maybe one day I will get a TIG and give myself a few lessons!
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[jeremy.g]

Yeah, I'm definitely thinking about picking up a TIG and giving it a shot. It looks like the 'mechanics' are similar to oxy-acetylene welding, but with the added complexity of a foot pedal thrown in. Sounds like fun.

I broke apart my donor clip today. So...many...welds.

Towards the back is a bit tricky. There are 3 layers of steel here which are tied together with beads of weld. Had to grind all the weld out before the panels could be separated.

Here's the clip broken down:

And here's an inner wheelhouse panel next to the part it will replace. There will be some careful fitting involved.

-JG

[VW_Jimbo]

It looks different. Is it or am I making shit up?
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[TK-CS]

The difference is no rust...
_________________
AC:
'71 1600LE (Type 3 Notchback FI/AT) Sunroof
'75 1303 (Super Beetle) 1600DP, Sunroof
WC:
'77 Audi NSU Ro80
'88 GTI 16V
'91 Corrado G60
Daily:
'04 Passat Wagon 2.0TDI
'13 Passat Wagon 2.0TSI

[jeremy.g]

HA!

I think TK is correct.

The parts look identical to me. But I'm holding the replacement at a bit of an angle so it doesn't look quite right.

-JG

[Buggeee]

This man loves his Beetle.
_________________
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

[jeremy.g]

[VW_Jimbo]

Keep the access holes round and small (1-1/2”) and you will be good. I like using a hole saw. I cut 7/8 of the circle, maintaining an attachment point to use as a hinge for the 7/8 circle cut. Fold the circle out of the way. Do what you need to do on the interior. Spray some weldable primer in and around that area. Fold the circle back into position and weld it in place.

Good luck!
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[jeremy.g]

Small bit of progress. I tacked in some reinforcement bars, using whatever steel bits I had lying around:

Then I chopped off the fronts of the heater channels so I could get a better look at the bulkhead corners. I didn't need to cut any inspection holes because the rust already made them for me

You can see that the chassis bolts are COMPLETELY rust-fused to the threaded plate. They certainly weren't coming out without a fight!

My hope is that I can repair the bulkhead in-place by patching just the outer 'skins'. I'll have to abandon this plan if my reinforcement boxes are rusted out. But this bit of exploratory surgery leaves me cautiously optimistic. In the last pic I tapped a chisel between (what's left of) the bulkhead bottom and the reinforcement box. The box still looks quite thick and solid. I need to cut a bit more for a better look but I'm hoping I dodged a bullet here!

-JG

[VW_Jimbo]

You need to diagonal brace the door opening. The door opening will move and rack during the channel install. Cross bracing works great.

Before welding in completely, install the door and see how it closes. Adjust and then weld them in.
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[jeremy.g]

Roger that, Jim!

I plan to bolt the body back to the pan and check door alignment before I cut out the heater channels. X-bracing sounds like a fabulous idea.

I'm replacing BOTH doors, so fingers crossed that everything lines up nicely.


-JG