I'm currently fitting a lift kit in my buggy, and since I had the welder out I though that I would weld up the four small cracks in the tunnel around the hand brake lever that I noticed last year. Well bugger me, I then noticed the big ones under the hand brake lever in the middle. I plan to weld them up again and add a little bit more steel to try and stop it happening again. Has anyone else done this before with much success? I'm interested in any ideas that you guys have. Photos would be great.
I've attached a photo of my lift kit and since I haven't added the end cap you can see all of the sections. The bottom 25 X 50 section is the original, the 50 X 50 and the 5mm flat bar are the new pieces. The flat bar is there so that I don't have to fit nutserts (they suck). Once complete with front and rear sections joining the sides together I hope that I will gain some extra ridgidity to stop or at least reduce future tunnel cracking.
I've see pics of quite a few VW based buggies and kit cars where they have cracked there or below the gearshifter. I guess that in removing the beetle body you loose some rigidity. The Eureka kit car manual recommended welding a steel U channel on the pan underneath the tunnel to help prevent that.
Has no one out there had to fix their buggy pan?
yep, mine is cracked there too, but i will be just replacing the hole pan shortly.
The guy that was at stockton with the turbo charged manx.
I recall him having cracks in the same area and he seems to have solved them.
I will have a look-c and get some pic's for you
Jasmine the 75 L Bug
56 oval, 2000 New Beetle
I have fixed the same problem. Will try and take pics tonight for you. Because the handbrake-pin holes were elongated, I removed the entire handbrake bracket and made my own out of 3mm steel. I then welded up the small cracks in the tunnel, then welded the new bracket over the top. This removed the option of having heater cables coming through there, but makes it a lot stronger.
This has given me a very solid feeling handbrake lever. I also changed the way the handbrake-pin is held in place......pictures will show you better what I have done.
Here are a couple of pics, as promised, as to what I did to stop any cracks and fix the sloppiness in the handbrake lever.
If you can't work out what I have done from the pics, then just ask questions.
Mark.
Mark,
That looks great. I'll give something like that I try. I'll post pictures when finished.
