My Fine '69 Update

[jonathanbuys]

[jeffrey8164]

Hard to tell since everything is covered up.
The dimple pattern in the firewall looks correct but who can say how far the damage extends.
Unless you know how to do metal work, you may want to look into a different car. Pans and heater channels are difficult enough for me.
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[jonathanbuys]

[Starbucket]

Forget the restoration, patch up the holes as best you can, get some carpet for the interior, primer/paint the external patches and drive it until you get your 2.5k worth of fun. When you see rust like that there is a whole lot more you can't see. Keep your eye peeled for a better shape body that needs the stuff you have.

[OldSchoolVW's]

Sorry about the unpleasant surprises. Bummer. It may be a tall (and costly) order to hit the goals you had for the car when you introduced it in your post on 9/21/21. It looks like it may have been Savannah Beige (under deck lid photo) before painted its current color so getting back to a stock color would be a bit of a project by itself.

It certainly has potential. Consider resetting your goals and expectations rather than moving on to another. I grew up in the Midwest and know how harsh the climate can be on cars. It may be very difficult to find another that is in better condition for a price that leaves you $$ to put toward a restoration.

Great that it is an autostick! Wish I could find one out here.
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Tom

"Following distance is proportional to IQ."

'63 Beetle Sedan
'69 Beetle Sunroof
'70 Beetle Sedan
'73 Type 3 Fastback

[irvanm]

i agree with starbucket, put it back together and just enjoy having an old Beetle, they don't all have to be restored.

[wcfvw69]

If you're seeing rust and rot in those spots, you really need to do a thorough inspection of the rest of the pan, heater channels, top hat, etc. In all likelihood, those spots are rusted out as well. That would make your bug structurally weak to say the least.
Let's face it, bugs were not known for having a good outcome in a serious car wreck. With a structurally diminished pan and body, it would be even worse.
My 69 convertible was rusted out in those same spots.

Long story short, it turned into a major project that BBQ'd lots of hundreds to fix correctly.

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[jonathanbuys]

Yea, I think you all might be right. Time to readjust the plan!

[Buggeee]

The Eastwood 235 mig is fantastic, it has infinite control knobs.

You can look up underneath that parcel shelf from below and see what's there.

I would tend to agree on patch it back up for now and drive the hell out of it. $2,500 for a driver is nothing.

Keep your eye on craigslist and Facebook market place. A solid shell off the pan for 500 or less shows up once every year when someone built a buggy years ago and finally gets sick of the body sitting behind their garage. In the meantime, a whole different VW will present itself instead and you will have the knowledge to see these issues a mile away to select a long term love.

If you tear into this one it will be off the road for many years. Enjoy the summer bombing around with those cool slotted mag wheels. I love those.
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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

[jonathanbuys]

Thought about this all night, talked it over with my wife, and woke up this morning around 4am still thinking about it. I appreciate everyone's comments, and I'm sure you guys are right. Thing is, I just wouldn't be happy if I didn't go all the way. I've given up on things before, and the feeling doesn't sit well with me.

You are all absolutely correct that this is going to be a multi-year project. That's ok, that's what the bug is for me, a hobby. I'm lucky enough that this doesn't have to be my daily driver right now, not like my old bug was in high school! My original goal was to have it done by the time my youngest son graduated high school. That gives me a little over two years, so maybe I'll stretch that out to when he graduates college.

The bug is super fun to drive, and I love those slotted wheels too! It's going to be even more fun once I know for sure I've got everything fixed. So, I need to learn some new skills, and get good enough at it that I can trust my own work. That'll take some time. That's ok, far as I know I've got time, there's no rush. This is just as much about the journey as it is the destination.

I found replacement luggage shelf, heater channels, and floor pans online. So, yea, I'll have to burn some Benjamins. Like my wife said though, it won't be all at once, and it'll keep me busy.

Better to be out in the garage working on something cool than sitting in front of the tv for another night.

Again, thanks everyone! I'm sure I'm going to have lots more questions as time goes on.

[Buggeee]

Awesome. Go for it!

Update your build thread that you started and you will have plenty of company for the journey.

Have you begun to prepare the missus for the fact that a second aircooled will be making appearance sometime in early June? Lol! I'm joking, but they do tend to multiply.

P.S. I found an advantage in having most of my updates in a main build thread as people can follow along easily and tailor advice to the history of the build. Like maybe quote your first post in this thread and copy it over to a post in your introduction thread and then roll from there. Or use this one, as the build thread, either way I get surprised sometimes at how far its come when I scroll back in one of my build threads and see what's been done.
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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

[jonathanbuys]

[Starbucket]

Take a night course in mig/tig welding as just an observer (so you don't need prerec.s) and buy a good welder like a Miller with a foot controller (you can always sell it after to get your money back) and when you see some scrap metal picket it up to practice on.

[jonathanbuys]

[TDCTDI]

Since it’s a runner/driver, inspect the overall structure as others have suggested. If the bones are good, and depending on your dedication, don’t get carried away with blowing the car completely apart. Tackle little pieces at a time that can be completed in a day or two, then move on to the next.


You can assess the package shelf by rolling underneath the car & looking at the bottom of it. It’s guaranteed to be rotted away, but it’s already covered over… so leave it alone for now.


If the tops of the heater channels are solid, you can make patch panels or purchase new ones to cut parts out of & weld them in to the existing without tearing the the whole car apart.


These projects are far easier to deal with if they can move on their own, or you can at least drive it around until you can tackle the next stage.

Just a suggestion, everyone has their own goals & process to achieve them.


I personally have to get them to a driving state, as quickly as possible, to remain interested in them.
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Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[VW_Jimbo]

You should read through a few dozen build threads on here. Those are a wealth of knowledge and show how the panels go together, which means how you can take them apart. You will be drilling out hundreds of spot welds. Spot weld cutters are great, BUT THEY LEAVE BEHIND BIG HOLES. Then you have to fill those. I like using a 3/16” drill bit and a air hammer with a chisel end. They pop every time. Buy the best wire wheels you can. Get an auto darkening welding helmet. Get the bigger bottle of gas. And read through some threads!

Good luck! And go into knowing it will cost double the money and triple the time!
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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!

[heimlich]

It doesn't look too bad. It just depends on how much rust is covered up. Floor pans always need replacing and that is a simple repair. You'll want to see how much rot there is so you can evaluate the work needed to repair.
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[Busstom]

Based on the pix in your gallery, the car looks really straight with nice tight lines still. The sidewalls of the spare tire compartment are the tell-all as to whether it's been packed in the front before, but based on this pic above, it looks virgin still. So overall I'd say it's a very good candidate for the rust repairs you have to tackle, in the end it should be a really solid car. Many of the people responding here are speaking from experience and have build threads that you should hunt down for inspiration, they've pulled the long haul and are still kicking. You'll probably need a kick in the rear every once in a while to stay motivated for this one
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[jonathanbuys]

[Buggeee]