'68 Beetle - Basket case...
Discussion
Never buy a car sight unseen with less than 5 minutes thought and a beer in your hand...
Anyway this sorry looking '68 RHD Bug is arriving in the garage on Wednesday. Pushed in of course as it doesn't have an engine.
Plan is to strip it to see what I have then make a plan. Either straight onto Ebay or crack on and make a car out of it, possibly for No.1 Son who is 17 in less than 18 months...
Anyone want some seats? These won't be staying. I'm impressed these are actually fitted into the back but why?
I know it needs a roof and heater channels, other than that I'm sure it's just fine and it will be done by Xmas...
If I make a go of it the body will come off and it will be done reasonably properly. Not perfect as it's not worth it, but a good solid driver resto is the goal.
It's way early to be thinking of the end results, but you need inspiration and somewhere here would be top end:
Or maybe something closer to what it is now:
Or more stock, but with slightly wider wheels:
Anyway this sorry looking '68 RHD Bug is arriving in the garage on Wednesday. Pushed in of course as it doesn't have an engine.
Plan is to strip it to see what I have then make a plan. Either straight onto Ebay or crack on and make a car out of it, possibly for No.1 Son who is 17 in less than 18 months...
Anyone want some seats? These won't be staying. I'm impressed these are actually fitted into the back but why?
I know it needs a roof and heater channels, other than that I'm sure it's just fine and it will be done by Xmas...
If I make a go of it the body will come off and it will be done reasonably properly. Not perfect as it's not worth it, but a good solid driver resto is the goal.
It's way early to be thinking of the end results, but you need inspiration and somewhere here would be top end:
Or maybe something closer to what it is now:
Or more stock, but with slightly wider wheels:
Laughed out loud reading the first two sentences. So true. I used to hate old Beetles but, as I've gotten older and appreciated the engineering that went into cars like this, for the people as it were, I've got a soft spot for them now.
Hopefully it's not a complete shïtbox and you can make something of it. It's a shame to see these old cars scrapped (though I guess there are still plenty of salvageable Bugs around compared to say, Aston Martins or old Mercedes SLs).
Hopefully it's not a complete shïtbox and you can make something of it. It's a shame to see these old cars scrapped (though I guess there are still plenty of salvageable Bugs around compared to say, Aston Martins or old Mercedes SLs).
The car arrived first thing this morning and it's fair to say it's as bad as described...
Fuel was leaking out of the tank as the car angled coming off the truck which moved removing the tank up the job list!
Wings, fuel tank and running boards are now in the local tip and the interior comes out next and will be heading the same way.
I think the body has been welded to the pan down the underside of the heater channels so I'll need to cut full length down both sills to get the body off which is a pain.
Many of the areas that typically rust have already been repaired at least once using the normal repair panels. As they've now rotted again I'll have to do the full panel.
In some ways this is no bad thing as the work required is similar but the end result much better. Downside is the panel cost and trying to keep the car aligned properly once you've cut it up!
This is behind the front wheel and you can see the old repair:
Some dubious ARB attachments. Not sure this is standard VW.
This will be one of the hardest repairs as it will have to be fabricated from scratch: It rots on every Beetle but there are no panels available.
Next step is to buy some steel to make a body frame with casters on so I can store the floorpan underneath the lifted body. Also need the steel box to brace the body before cutting it off the floorpan.
Oh and to invest in the compressor and air tools I should have bought years ago...
Fuel was leaking out of the tank as the car angled coming off the truck which moved removing the tank up the job list!
Wings, fuel tank and running boards are now in the local tip and the interior comes out next and will be heading the same way.
I think the body has been welded to the pan down the underside of the heater channels so I'll need to cut full length down both sills to get the body off which is a pain.
Many of the areas that typically rust have already been repaired at least once using the normal repair panels. As they've now rotted again I'll have to do the full panel.
In some ways this is no bad thing as the work required is similar but the end result much better. Downside is the panel cost and trying to keep the car aligned properly once you've cut it up!
This is behind the front wheel and you can see the old repair:
Some dubious ARB attachments. Not sure this is standard VW.
This will be one of the hardest repairs as it will have to be fabricated from scratch: It rots on every Beetle but there are no panels available.
Next step is to buy some steel to make a body frame with casters on so I can store the floorpan underneath the lifted body. Also need the steel box to brace the body before cutting it off the floorpan.
Oh and to invest in the compressor and air tools I should have bought years ago...
Cheers for the info. I've been on the lookout for a good roof as it needs to come off anyway. It's had sunroof welded up and skimmed with 10mm of filler that has lifted.
Unfortunately every roof that looks good for the sunroof replacement is also rotten in the back corners. No rush, so I'll keep looking as it would be good to do both jobs in one go.
Unfortunately every roof that looks good for the sunroof replacement is also rotten in the back corners. No rush, so I'll keep looking as it would be good to do both jobs in one go.
Fast Bug said:
For the roof repairs it will be much easier to get some body cuts off a scrap car
Agreed. I'm looking for one now, with a rear window included. I'm going to tackle that job first as it will be life or death for the shell. Everything else is low risk and I don't want to invest too much in panels before doing the hardest job. They made 21million of the things so there must be one non rusty roof out there somewhere!As of Sunday afternoon body is up:
...and away:
Only a few of the bolts holding the body on came out so I ended up cutting down the pans inside the heater channels instead. It all needs replacing anyway so not the end of the world.
I going to try and unpick the roof skin, just for practice, as I'd rather leave the pillars and cantrails in place as they are good and solid. This maybe making it hard for me but I've nothing to lose as the roof is scrap anyway.
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