18 and bought a bug, any help/thoughts appreciated

[ThiccHarambe]

hiya folks, just a few quick questions about what i should do, but first a little backstory. i bought a '71 1300 dp beetle during lockdown, always wanted a bug as they have always been in the family (i was bought home when i was born in a indego '68 lol).

so the bug in all of its vw gloryness needs floorpan attention, a sizable hole has made its self welcome under the passenger seat runners, and is believed to run under the heater channels. now i have next to no welding experiance, although i hope to change that in the future (not for a fair little while though). would it be best to patch it up with rivets and sheet material so i can use and enjoy the bug in the now as opposed to waiting till i can do the job properly?

in addition to this, the wings that came with it were shot, along with the bonnet. i have since purchased replacements for these, but they are pearlesent of a custom ghia convertable bug. now these, whilst looking stunning, dont quite match the green and white of the rest of the bug. would it make more sense to try and colour match these replacements with a green paint, or just repaint the whole body? (elm green on the inside with a respray of deep sea green and cream on the sides, it was a cheap bug so didnt really bother me)

i am relativly new to the forums, this is my first post, so i apologise in advance for if i put it in the wrong area/did not follow the posting rules, pls go easy on me ^_^




ps-UK based, unsure if this changes anything haha

[Igpoe]

You will feel much better about yourself and your VW if the jobs you perform on your bug are done properly. The rust must be gotten rid of entirely so that it doesn't multiply. Thanks for the pics, they will help us help you. Your car appears to be in better condition than most newly aquired! The first things you will need are knowledge, tools, and a budget. Bentley manual is chief among repair literature. Don't buy tools of such poor quality that they break and make you bleed! There are always money constraints, we all must learn how to prioritize! This car will teach you valuable lessons and give you a lift! Congratulations and good luck on your adventure.

[bomberbob]

Not sure if your questions were addressed. I am not sure if the rust holes are going to keep you from getting a MOT certificate or not. I would worry about paint last, and address the rust first.
Learn to weld. Find someone who can weld (have them teach you), or go take a class at a local tech school. Its not really that hard. If you are interested in old cars, this skill will last a lifetime.
You did not post photos of the inside, but from the outside I see rust at the bottoms of the doors. There are replacement panels you can install to get rid of the bottom 5 inches or so of your door panels. There are also floor panel sections, or whole pans to fix your rusted out pans.
There are quite a few very smart people on this forum with a wealth of experience, but I post my body and paint questions over in the body & paint forum. You might scan through some of the posts and stickys over there and get an idea of what you are stepping into before you dive in.
_________________
1968 Beetle (storage)
1990 Jetta GLI megasquirted, burning E85 (currently in heavy maintenance)
2004 Jetta turbo GLI
Marion, Iowa

[ashman40]

Welcome to TheSamba!

What you do with your Beetle is completely up to you. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Patching sheet metal with the intention of repair later is very common. Proper repairs often require the car be taken off the road for long periods of time. Maybe you aren't ready for that just yet.

You have a nice project there. My suggestion is you address safety issues before you start driving it around. Brakes, lights and holes/rust in structural areas. My understanding your MOT over there is pretty strict, so you may have no choice but make some repairs if you want to drive the car.

Luckily, there is a whole theme for unrestored cars. Repairing it to "fresh off the factory line" is not needed, unless that is what you're looking for.


TIP: Add your country to your location and create a Signature with some of your Beetle's details so you don't need to repeat the model year, engine size, etc. each time you post a question.


There are members on here from the UK. Maybe a few near you. Reach out and see if you can't make friends. Understand that the majority of the folks here are in the US where the cars are RHD. So take this into consideration when people say "driver's side" or "passenger rear". They may not be the side you are thinking of . Also, don't be surprised if you get sizes in fractions of an inch instead of fractions of mm. Terms like "bonnet" and "wing" may confuse some of us 'mericans as we call them hood and fender. :p
_________________
AshMan40
---------------------------
'67 Beetle #1 {project car that never made it to the road }
'75 Beetle 1200LS (RHD Japan model) {junked due to frame rot}
'67 Beetle #2 {2019 project car - Wish me luck!}

[ThiccHarambe]

thanks so much for the advice man, really appreciate it. ill sort out my signature shortly. and yeah, the MOT would be an issue but luckily its now classed as a historic vehicle so an MOT is not required ^_^

and yeah, your spot on saying that everything is up to me, but thats probably the daunting bit. having so much choice in a field i dont have a whole lot of experiance in is a little overwhelming hahaha

a uk dubber has already reached out to me and notified me about some tips and local shows that should be ocurring in the near future, really is a great community to have joined.

cheers!

[challomoner]

[Lost69Convertible]

Congrats on buying a Beetle!

I started driving in the days when most cars owned by teenagers had big rust holes in the floors and door panels. We kept the windows open and drove the hell out of them!

Now we all know better. So I'll start with the usual caveats: you must pass inspection, you must be structurally safe, you must not allow exhaust gas entry, you must have good brakes, etc.

That being said, I see nothing wrong with riveting sheet metal to cover non-structural holes in the floor. Then seal it over with fiberglass and cloth to keep harmful gas from entering. Drive it.

Later, when you have the time, money, and skill - cut that mess out and do it right. I know this is sacrilege to many here.

Most teenagers don't want a multi year restoration with no driving. My brother bought a 1970 240Z as a teenager. Rusty and beat up. But it was a blast to drive. He tore it apart, years of bodywork, and in the end he never really drove it enough.
_________________
1956 Beetle Ragtop: My Father's car
1969 Beetle Convertible: My first car. I loved it, I lost it, and I never got over it.
1979 Super Beetle Convertible

[ThiccHarambe]

[ThiccHarambe]

[Buggeee]

I'm a big fan of driving a bug. When I was a kid I used plenty of rivets, and bondo as well to keep the water and exhaust out. Keep the brakes and fuel delivery well sorted for safety, don't compromise on those!

Enjoy the car.

P.S. On the colors, I might go to the local store and pick out the closest green rattle can on the shelf, buy two of them, and hit the wing and bonnet on a warm sunny Saturday afternoon just so they don't jump out at you from 30 meters away. Trying to paint the whole car with spray paint isn't a really satisfying experience as its not a uniform finish.
_________________
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

[Tom K.]

Plus by driving it every day you will become much better acquainted with every aspect of the car from brakes to tune-ups to everything. At some point you might feel the need to take it off the road to address something.

I spent a few hours of COVID induced boredom reading old SAMBA threads from back in its first years (2003). People back then were less interested in holding these cars as antiques and instead just drove them. It was refreshing to read. These cars love to be driven every day.
_________________
'91 Vanagon Westfalia
'70 Beetle Convertible
'71 Super Beetle Semi-Automatic: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=714131&highlight=
'65 Ghia: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=762478&highlight=

[viiking]

There are a few of us RHD-ers down here in Australia as well who can help with specific RHD questions.

I agree with others, learn to weld and repair. Even if you botch it up, badly welded steel is much better than rust. Patching and rivets are not really the way to go.

We were all 18 once. When I was 18 (51 years ago )and stupid (not suggesting you are) the traffic was much quieter, cars smaller and slower. When you are driving, understand the limitation of an old VW in the modern era. They are an OLD car and you have to drive them accordingly. They have poor handling, brakes and absolutely NO crash protection to think of. Take it easy, drive defensively and treat everyone else in a modern car as your absolute enemy trying to hurt you.

Finally, to appease us old bastards who went to school in the last millenium, try to use a capital at the start of most sentences
_________________
1968 1500 RHD Lotus White Beetle since birth. In the hospital for major surgery
1966 Lancia Flavia Pininfarina Coupe - in the waiting room
Discharged: 1983 Vanagon, 1974 1800 Microbus,1968 Low Light,1968 Type 3

[Starbucket]

A easy temp. floor pan repair is to get some stiff paper/cardboard and make a templet to cover the hole and the rest of that section of floor pan and cut a 1/4" plywood piece using the templet and seal around the hole with silicone and use small bolts with a fender washer on the metal side this will distribute the weight of people getting in and out better than some pop rivets and sheet metal.

[AutoMechanic]

Nice beetle. I got mine when I was 17. The floor pans can be patched or you can replace the whole pan which involves lifting the body off the chassis.

[ThiccHarambe]

Took some photos of the pan, thinking an easy fix would be to take some rust treatment to the pan, rivit and seal a sheet underneath the damage, fiberglass around the treated area and then add a plate ontop? Kinda like a floorpan sandwich. Not the best solution but gets me driving, and its the passenger floor so not a big deal hahahaha

[gt1953]

Do it the correct way and not the band aid approach. Wow lots of rust which is something we do not see here in the southwest USA.
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

[Buggeee]

Do a search for availability of this repair panel

EMPI 3552 FLOOR PAN, LEFT REAR, VW VOLKSWAGEN BUG, BEETLE, STEEL, WELD-IN

https://www.amazon.com/FLOOR-VOLKSWAGEN-BEETLE-STEEL-WELD/dp/B003KKQA4C

There are shorter quarter pan panels as well, that don't extend into the seat rail area.

In the US it can be delivered to my door for 53 US dollars.

You cut out the bad area, leaving a ledge all the way around, and drop this in over it. You don't have to use the entire repair panel but that is the easiest way. Plug welding is preferred but I can imagine there are other ways of attaching it on a temporary basis by leaving more material for it to sit on. I have seen bugs where its basically just been dropped over the rotten floor and screwed down, which is considered messed up slop but I've seen it.

The difficulty here is that the area under the seat rail is compromised, and that is a safety issue rather than just a weather issue. It would probably be a good Idea to pay someone for a half hour of their time to plug weld the repair panel in place after you get it ready and in position. You could drive it over to them as you don't need a passenger seat in to drive it over there.

If you find the seat rail cannot be saved you can get those cheap as well, about 40 US dollars, but they need to be welded onto the repair panel. Run a search for

Floor Pan Seat Rails, fits ’71-’72 Bug & Super Beetle

https://socalautoparts.com/product/floor-pan-seat-rails-bug-super-beetle-left-or-right/

If you want see what's involved in dropping in a panel like this I did it in my 61 Turkis build, link in my signature below.
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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

[challomoner]

What about the rotten heater channels? major structural body component.

[ThiccHarambe]

[eirofarr]

Regarding the MOT, I have a 1302S from 1971. it doesn't require an MOT, but I do take it in as it's worth the inspection.
Regarding the floor, I wouldn't rivet it, but do it correctly.