Ill fitting repro sheetmetal

I tried reparing all of the rust that I found on the rear apron and the bumper brackets of my '63 Beetle but there was just too much so I cut it all off and went with some repro steel. I went repro because it is just too hard to find a donor around here where I live. For the most part it has gone ok so far. I have only got the bumper bracket replacements tack welded on at the moment and I then just wanted to see how the apron fit on it so it's not yet welded.

That's where the problem lies. As you can see from the photos below, there is quite a gap between the apron and where it is supposed to lay flat on the bumper bracket panel. I know that repro steel is not without its drawbacks but I'm hoping someone else has had this problem and can give me some guidance. On with the pictures........










Right side as well:




Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. Once I have this sorted out, I think I'll be ready for the paint shop...Woohooo!

Looks like you need to use a Gentle Persuader...

VWCOOL wrote:Looks like you need to use a Gentle Persuader...

🥲 I was hoping to avoid that....but I guess it's my only option. I assume that's what everyone else does?

A touch with the red stallion,a good beating hammer and dolley and away you go. The question is why doesn't it fit from the photos it looks like a step is missing in the repro panel.(assuming it is the correct part for the model) But if all else fails back to No1 suggestion.cheers Les

grumble wrote:The question is why doesn't it fit from the photos it looks like a step is missing in the repro panel.(assuming it is the correct part for the model)

That's what I thought...the step doesn't seem long enough. I ordered the part to suit a '63 and that's what I thought they sent me but on the actual Apron the sticker says to suit 65-66. I tried to find a '63 Apron on the Wolfsburg West website but it didn't list anything so I assumed the 65-66 was the same and meant to fit. BTW, I didn't get the part from WW I got it from Classic Veedubs.