Well, i have been a longtime lerker and have taken on the task of getting my first car (73 Beetle) back on the road and in excellent working condition. Now I have the work space and the time to do it I'm ready to start with the project. There are some firsts that i will have to learn such as welding in the pans, some body work that can be seen in some of the pics such as the rear lower quarter panels and the heater channels as well as a few spots on the bottom of the frame head. I have an unusually awsome place to work as my garage is a three bay with a two post lift installed. All she asks is that her bay stays clean enough to park her car in. I am excited to continue on with the project. I've posted some pics on samba too, but this is for those who dont visit there...
Hot, humid air is less dense than cooler, drier air. This can allow a golf ball to fly through the air with greater ease, as there won't be as much resistance on the ball.
Are you comfortable with how the metal repair goes, or would you like to discuss this before chopping it up... there are a few tricks to ensure the car stays relatively square.
ANY and all help is welcome. I appreciate your offering. I have read some of the stickies that have been posted above so i have a general idea but extra tips and tricks would be awsome.
On a side note. I know this is going to take three things to accomplish, time, money and some skill. I understand that this is a huge undertaking. I am very handy with my hands and have the abilities to have 3 days a week that i can throw at this due to my schedule. Money, well, I'll see what i can get away with sneaking a few hundred away a paycheck that hopefully wont be noticeable. I also understand that this isnt going to be to cheap either, all this little stuff is adding up as i have kept a running total in a spread sheet of things i need in comparison to the spread sheet that MNAirHead has supplied in a sticky if i remember correctly. I will have tons of questions, some of which i have already have written in the garage that i will be posting. I am just waiting for more gas to arrive as I have run out, its a balmy 22 degrees and its snowing to beat the band. Forecaster just upped our totals to 8-12 inches for the northeast a few minutes ago. Ahhh, just means more time spent indoors with the beetle.
First step is to find some old bed frames .. angle iron
WE'll want to start by getting the car square before cutting anything off... the bed frames are good for measuring.. they're then used to brace the door openings for cutting.
Second thing you may want is an old twin mattress.. you can flip your bug up to work on it vs bending around.
Looks as if your bug may need a thorough investigation of the lower 2"
Is that snow on that bug? Yikes! Turn on the heat.
Find ALL the rust and cure it now. You've already made the commitment with the body off. You can make your car new again. A real hot rod expert friend of mine told me, "Most guys do 95%of the work, then quit on the last 5%." Man, it's that last 5% that makes a mega difference.
Hope you enjoy your car, your time, your shop and the forums on STF!
Sounds good. I'm gonna head to the recycle center tomorrow to see if i can pick up a few pieces of tubing or angle iron that i dont have laying around in that length for free. If not i'll make my way over to the metal shop and purchase some. I did pick up some metal sheets from my parents house to fab up some of the lower 2 inches of the body in certain areas as you mentioned. It is a fact that this is where a lot attention will be placed. Is there anyway that someone could post a pic of the cross member welded in and where it is supposed to go. I'll search around a little and see if i might be able to come across one but maybe someone has one kicking around right handy. I'll see if the recycling center has a mattress too. Oh boy i cant wait to see her face when she sees that in the garage....excuse time!!
Another question, i had the engine rebuilt three years ago before putting it in the woods and forgetting about it till now. I have since obviously pulled the engine with the pan and can now see the reminence of sludge buildup from the intake manifolds into the heads on the dual kadrons i have installed . I found that the oil had seperated when i drained the oil and then put new oil in the engine. I have tried to turn the engine by hand and can only seem to tighten and loosen the gland nut. I am thinking that the spark plug holes might need a little more marvel mystery oil, anybody with a thought on what to do next to get this engine turning?
I sure as hell gotta find that camera too, these camera pics suck.
Angle Iron can be found at thrift stores.. the ones that sell beds will have angle iron frames.. you'll choke at what new steel now costs...
Metsal.. for this type of work, it may be helpful to buy the steel.. the cost is just about the same as just plain steel shets.. they're normally bent close to the sizing and profile you're needing.
Pix .. I'll look. I've always used the "bug me video" as the "go by"
Engine.. basically sounds like you need another enigne or a rebuild..
