Restoration and Customization

Body Work

First step was to remove the VW bug body from pan
4 people to lift VW beetle body (shell) onto stands
Started with hammer and chisel to break welds
Quickly decided to switch to Air Hammer Chisel to save my hands from the shock
Ground the metal clean on the tunnel
Tack welded the new pans to the tunnel of the VW
Eventually sealed the pans with caulk around the seams between the floor pans and the tunnel to keep water out of the bug

This was the first body panels of the VW Beetle I worked on
These VW bug panels are rather flat and hidden from view (both inside and out)
Started by cutting out all the rusted areas
Cut the new panels to fit
Tack welded the panels into the bugs shell
This is also where I first learned to weld - I had practices on scrap metal but this was the first time actually on the bug itself
I only tacked these panels to the old panels so that I could replace the heater channels later without having to do extra work

Cut the old firewall out mostly by breaking original Volkswagen spot welds
Aligned the new firewall to the quater panels, the heater channels (still old and rusted) and the "hump" in the chassis
Tacked the firwall and lowered the VW body onto the pan to check fit
Began the process of filling in the welds to make it continuously welded
Welding was once again pretty ugly but not a problem since it will be hidden by carpet
Rechecked fit of firewall to pan

Brackets were horribly rusted
Did not want to trust them to hold the bumper let alone absord force during an accident in the VW
Made lots of measurements and markings to align new brackets
Cut out old brackets
Aligned new brackets and tacked them in
Remeasured the angles and distances of bolt holes
Welded them in solid
When I was putting the bug back together several months later I learned that the VW bumpers did not align quite right and had to modify by the bumper brackets slightly by filing the holes in thr brackets to get the bumpers to sit right on the beetle
Bumpers are solid and look good now

Lower rear areas rusted out due to heater channel rust
Cut out rusted areas of the beetle again
Fabricated and welded in replacement panel parts
Ground and sanded very smooth since this is a very visible area from the outside of the bug
Rewelded any areas that needed it after sanding and then reground and sanded

Fixed minor dents in doors
Cutout and filled rusted out holes in lower door where drain was most likely plugged
Used very very very little body filler to make door curve fit the rest of the VW bug's line

The fronts and rears of the heater channels were rusted almost completely off the firewalls
The front quater panels were already free due to rust again
The rocker panels needed to be replaced too so this was not an issue either
Carefully removed the heater channels from the rest of the VW body
The first heater channel needs to be removed from the Volkswagen and replaced before the second heater channel is started

The heater channel is an integral part of the vw bug's structural support
The removal of the heater channel will make the shell spread
Before removing either heater channel insure the doors are on and latched
Extra support is still needed to keep the bug from spreading
I used straps from the firewall back to the package shelf but I have seen people go to the length of welding in metal pipe to keep the beetle from stretching

Started by tack welding the heater channel to the front firewall and the rear area behind the seats
Tacked a couple spots along the quarter panels
Lowered the shell again to check alignment
Raised the car and finished welding
Spent extra time around the doors since these are very strong points to tie into
When the first one was done I repeated the process on the next one