New user, and new project - 'Throwitbacktogether' !

[mj2k]

And in other news not related to Leyland's worst (above was one of the reasons the UK no longer has it's own car industry) I've stuck the underseal back on, so once it's dried I can refit the gearbox, and trial-fit the motor:

(surprisingly good condition, bearing in mind how the rest of the car is)

And refitted the wings and rear valence (still need to buy and weld on the captive nuts)

I've gone for the more bulbous Mexican rear valence (despite the quality) since it leaves more room for the motor. All the white stuff is ground-up bondo, it got everywhere!

[mj2k]

Hmmm, I actually quite like the looks of the Bug's rear end with the lower side panels in primer and the rest in Night Blue (Golf/Rabbit colour), so I'm seriously considering going 2 tone so it looks something like this:

Aside from a lot of hassle paint matching, it might make the Super look a bit more, er, classic despite my modifications.

Big question is - dark blue / grey, or dark blue / cream, like in the picture. Or should I stick with night blue all over since classic 2 tone will look dumb with the modern parts (HIDs, no bumpers, and diescrete spoilers will be fitted to decrease drag) it'll end up with. Thoughts, anybody?

[vwuberalles]

I've never been a fan of two tone bugs, but it's all about personal preference. If you're on the fence maybe paint the whole car blue and do the side panels in a vinyl wrap. That way if you don't like it you can remove it relatively easily without the commitment of paint.
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1973 Superbeetle: 1st car, owned since age 12. Update thread --> https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9919140#9919140
1967 Kombi: Owned since age 17, Dad's retirement project.
1966 Beetle: My new project. (SOLD) Build thread--> https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=678040

[mj2k]

[mj2k]

And now for a post I should really do on Halloween - the state of the Napoleon's hat!

Finally got round to cutting the left hand front of the chassis free from the bodyshell, and discovered why it had been welded on:

Think I might be replacing the left hand inner wing too, if that handywork's anything to go by - it's completely crumbled away, but had a fresh panel welded over the mess to hide the gaping hole.

And now for the horror story. Suffice to say if I was the napoleon who had to wear this hat, I'd have the hatmaker shot!

Left hand side - possibly repairable. I do hope it is - repair sections of sufficient thickness are currently unavailable:

And now for the right hand side. Yes, that is a block of wood. You wooden' believe it if it wasn't true...

Luckily I have managed to get a decent repair section for that, otherwise I'd be looking for a new chassis.

[Buggeee]

[VW_Jimbo]

[mj2k]

[calvinater]

pt lumber rots metal (aluminum,steel, galvanized,)

need a rubber or lead barrier.
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"Albatross"!

[mj2k]

[mj2k]

Ok, so decided to take baby steps repairing the front end since I've got no idea how bad it is. Start with the easy stuff - right hand side since I've already got the repair panels, and sort the door hinge mounts so at least I know the door gap's correct before I do anything structural.

Stage 1 - cut off the outser skin of the quarter panel at the rear so I can see what's going on in the black hole. Oh look, 1/4" thick filler again!

Next, assess what's going on inside. Think I can guess straight away from this pic - it's another Klokkerholm repair panel, welded on proud of the underlying metal and then covered with filler so it distorts the door aperture. What you can't see is the 3/8" gap between the A post and the Klokkerholm panel where the hinge sits. No wonder the door wouldn't shut straight, and no wonder the top hinge mount's been damaged by metal fatigue, the top hinge would have been twisting like a cork screw every time you moved the door...

So that bit's a relatively easy fix at least - replace the ripped metal on the top hinge mount, and fit a quality lower hinge mount, properly.

[mj2k]

The above doesn't bode well for many recently restored Bugs - the welding's a decent quality and the filler's perfect, so I suspect this was a professional botch.

If you assume many restorations are done using Klokkerholm panels (they're cheap, easier to find than better panels and less hassle than fabricating patches), if the fitter didn't bother to reshape the panel before welding it in place and instead fixed the gaps / wonkiness with bondo, there may be many many more seemingly well-restored Beetles in a similar state to this. Also the thinner metal in the Klokkerholm panels doesn't bode well for future longevity.

Hopefully most 'pro' restorations don't involve supporting the bodyshell on a piece of old wood though

[VW_Jimbo]

[mj2k]

[mj2k]

Blimey, I think this is another case of 'Klokkerholm madness' (i.e. cutting back the original metal until the Klokkerholm panel fits), just look at how much metal is missing between the quality repair panel and the gap left when I removed the Klokkerholm:

So I think I'm going to have to slice up a new klokkerholm panel to make up the shortfall - not much chance I'd be able to get the complex curves / double skin correct for the missing bit.

Also discovered why the right hand demister didn't work so well - the Klokkerholm panel was butted right up against the heater channel outlet, so the pipe wouldn't slide down. And the reason for this is the difference in shape between how it should be shaped, and the Klokkerholm panel:

The good one appears to be properly shaped since it's profile is near-identical to the badly-patched-but-unmolested lower hinge mount on the other side. Only bit which doesn't butt up correctly is where it should be welded to the inner wheelarch, but that bit's another repair section (no doubt Klokkerholm again) so I'd trust the profile of the new panel over the wheelarch.

And since I haven't got any reference points I trust (door measurements are fine to +- 2mm but the door gaps were still wrong, and most of the panels in the area I could measure from have been patched / replaced) I decided to try something which under most normal circumstances would be really stupid - using the door as a reference point after matching the gap all round, then scribing around the new panel so I know where to weld it.

Once lined up with the remaining upper section of the A post hopefully that should give me a much better door shut, and hopefully prevent any more issues with the upper hinge twisting.

[VW_Jimbo]

That is a great way to do it! Just be prepared to adjust the pillars ALOT!

I would, if I were you….. If you need to (I have had to do this in the past), you can take 2 steel bars, 6mm thick, 51mm wide by 200mm long and plug weld them to the outer door skin, across the gap and onto the quarter panel. One bar high and one bar low, to keep the door from racking. This will keep it all in check while you move the other parts around. It will keep the A pillar in perfect parallel alignment with the B Pillar. Set the channel on the pan, jack it into position and weld it in!
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Jimbo

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

[mj2k]

[VW_Jimbo]

Totally understand. Been there a few times with my Bugs. The Yellow 70 that had a horribly welded on front clip which Bondo had completely masked! And the 54 that started to buckle due to a horribly rusted out heater channel.

You live and you learn! And you learn to make the most out of what life dishes out! I get the t!
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Jimbo

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

[mj2k]

[mj2k]

Not had much chance to look at it this week, but I've got the hole filled with metal now and rather than welding in an extra strengthening plate, I've just welded the bottom of the existing internal brace to the external plate.

Between those two actions it's brought the rigidity of the hinge mount back up to what it should be, though it has revealed I need to move the bottom hinge plate forward a few millimetres, so good job I didn't just go ahead and weld it all up as it was