After far too long a hiatus, it is finally time to get back onto the 55 resto.
There were a few very minor little niggly patches required after blasting showed a few areas of weakness/rust
Heater channels were next on the list so after some body bracing the originals were cut out
As is the case with so many beetles, the front lower corners of the firewall/bulkead will need repair as well
Plasma cutter makes the removal a lot quicker
Only one very small pinhole was present in the rear reinforcing plate near the torsion housing, so to be safe it was removed
This is why you can never estimate accurately the time to restore these old things - the associated repairs around the heater channels will add another day at least. Given the quality and attention to detail that will be imparted on this oval, I didn't want to leave any stone unturned
Donor pan allows accurate alignment of new Klassic Fab channels along with body to ensure hassle free reassembly post paint
Cheers
Al
Sweet work mate, Love the attention to detail.
Heath
C'mon kids gather round,
there's a new sensation hitting town,
It's moving straight, low to the ground,
it'll pick you up when your feeling down.
Great to see it Al
Nice work. Very extensive
Back to work - heater channels bolted up nicely and bracing cut out so pillars can be tweaked to get alignment correct. Still a bit more to go before everything gets welded back up
I've been very lax with both the progress on the oval and the updates but motivated to get it done as soon as possible now! Quick update re. where things are at:
Right rear quarter repair - previous accident damage and lead loaded at some stage in the past along the swage line….donor section cut and prepped to replace damaged original section:
Due to limited access on the back side of this area, studs had to be used to bring the steel out to the required position during welding
Welded and ground, thin wipe of filler post epoxy primer will tidy it up nicely
Swage line remained nice and tight
Left side lower repair
New front valance...
Front bonnet gaps were miles out in all directions so some porta powering on the front inner quarters got them back into shape and alignment
Front inner arches were next on the agenda
Left b-pillar is wrapped up
Both sides of the lower firewall required replacement as well just to add to the list
Awesome work, I love seeing panel work done by a actual panel beater, looks great!👍
It will all be OK in the end, if it's not OK it's not the end!
Wow.... very nice... about the stage i'm up to doing in my 1966 bug... Fire wall and heater channels 🤖
With time ticking by faster than ever, progress has been still slow but steady:
Next up was a big hole in the roof:
Rear bumper mounts were rusty underneath and had a slight crease so they had to be replaced and the surrounding metal repaired as well
Bonnet seal channel was next up to be refitted
Metal work is finally almost over.
This kind of work brings back memories......👍
Top work as usual Al ❗
Can you give me some tips on doing the Firewall / bulkhead section?
Thanks,
Denver
Denver, sorry I missed your reply earlier this year! You've probably done it already but the lower bulkhead/firewall area is pretty straight forward compared to a pillars and heater channels. Being able to drop the body back on the pan after everything is tacked in place is a big help before final welding to ensure everything aligns correctly but other than that, it should be fairly simple.
Going back a couple of months now but finally got all the metal work completed and the body into epoxy primer!
Now to body work, lots of block sanding, more priming, more sanding and more priming!
