been attacking the rusted and bogged up bits on the LHS of my bug all day, and its pretty nasty, goes all along the channel, metal looks solid but a jab with a screwdriver goes thru it with 1 or 2 goes at the most, theres no bottom of it at all, it was just bog with paint over it, looked exactlyy like metal till i stabbed it thru the top, um took the LH front guard off and wire wheeled further down, and the outside of the a pillar, the pillar looked mint, until i saw the back anyway, um the rust goes up to about the 2x bolts that im pretty sure the body is bolted to the pan, suffice to say im rather unhappy/upset that the end of my bug seems near:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry, i can weld really well so it is fixable but just dont know if it will be worth it:cry:cry:cry:cry, repair sections are worth $250 a side ive been told!!!! not havin a job currently dosent help the fact but that will be changing soon, hey penguin if you read this do you want 2 come around and have a look and maybe take some pics to put up on here? input appreciated from everyone, and PLEASE DONT say 2 junk it just because you want some stuff from it:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry

kill it and junk it. then buy one with a beam front end.

what year is it? if its after '67 crush it and make yourself a nice coffee table







that will spark up the debate. :tree

I had the same sort of problem FCB!

I started working on Harriett and the more i worked on her, the more rust appeared. Eventually i had to make the sad decision to scrap her and get another body. It was a hard decision to make, but the better option! Now i look at it as it was Harriett's time to go, but i have given another bug a chance at life. Her name is Mildred, and she loves me for it!

Depends how attached you are to the car...
I started work on one like that and scrapped it once I found how much rust was in there but it comes down to what it is and what you want to do with it...
If it's a '52 split then you wouldn't be asking and if you're wanting a concourse restored beetle then chances are you'd be doing that sort of work to it anyway..
If it's just gunna be an old bomb beater then salvage your dignity and whatever parts you can use and scrap the car in favour of a better one...
If you stand back and look at it and all you see is a dis-heartening amount of work, get out before it puts you off VW's all together...

im VERY attached to it, dont want 2 have 2 scrap it at all, tomorrow will bring the verdict id say, going to do the RHS tomorrow, praying that its not as bad, not very likely but i can hope :cry:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry

if u dont want to scrap it keep it, but scrap your avatar:P

it looks like you used a commodore 64 to design it


[ Edited on 13-12-2005 by XXX-1.8T ]

When to scrap it will depend on how attached to the current body (ie. does it mean something to you in particular?)....also how much time you are willing to devote to it welding (it takes a hell of a long time). No-one can really answer the question for you as it will depend on your dedication and patience.

Look at getting a good body from some where and just swapping it over

BUT

If the pan, body and mechanicals are crap ................. well sit back and think seriously.

But if the motor and suspension and running gear is good, and the pan is good, then seriously think of just swapping bodies.

There are heaps of good 1302 bodies out there.

Then since you have kept the VIN number on the pan the same, and just swapped the plates over (:thumb) technically it is the same car.

You could do it for ..... $500?? and a lot of work

that avtar thing is brilliant did it in paint, im so not an arty type so i like it, only just figured out how 2 make the gif thingos 2 so im proud of it so nerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. lol, im attached to it plenty but still wish to be classified as sane, i know how long welding takes, well its the measuring checking measuring checking etc that takes ages the weld itself is the quickest bit of it, provided you do it right the 1st time, thats the other thing im trying to figure out for myself how much of this car has to remain for it to be of the same value to me? cant figure this out other than it should have the main components as the ones that were there originally, ie body and pan, the engine will stay for a while, but its of less importance to me, yes that may sound funny i know, but yeah sentimental value... its a bitch aint it?

thanks bizzare, true i just have to find the appropriate body or complete car, seems i may be borrowing a trailer from a relative and goin 2 buy a super or 2 to cut up 2 donate to mine, then part out the rest to cover expenses, this is 1 option ive thought of, or just pack my shelves etc in the shed with all the bits, clean them till they are all spotless, store for a while, leave the pan on my side of the garage so the other side can be used, hoist the body off and hang from the roof, stripped, work on it slowly as i get the parts and time to do so, will all depend on tomorrow anyway cause the neighbours dont appreciate me workin all night making noise, um will keep everyone posted and mite go borrow a digi cam from someone to take some pics for everyone so you can all see how bad it is

Yes sentimental value can cost you lots in the long run (time and money).

I started with a 63 beetle and pan.....after 2 1/2 years of resto the only original components are the main shell (minus all the rust repair panels), glove box lid and decklid. A 1970 pan was less work (and had b/j front end), then bonnet, doors, guards etc etc were all sourced. I could have found a better body but it was a challenge, and I promised the old couple that gave it to me that I would restore it!

So do what you need to do to get it done, if it means a replacement body will get the car back on the road sooner to avoid the potential of another unfinished resto project....then do the swap. If however you are committed and will see the major body work through to the end, well no real reason not to stick with the current body. Sounds like I am talking in circles though and not making sense. :alien

if your sentimental, buy yourself a good cheap on -the- road beetle to drive and in the meantime strip yours completely, cut out all the rust and repair slowly, knowing that you have a cool VW ride in the meantime, that is why i am driving a type3 at the moment, i rushed some things last time on my bus and this time as i have cool transport my kombi engine conversion can take as long as it has to.

GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE RHS IS SOLID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! except for a small section above the jacking point, im sayin its salvageable now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!

good to hear

why do i get the feeling that someone put a battery or something on the RHS instead of where its meant to be???? seems odd that the opposite side is worse than the batttery, also figure the front may be from someone spilling brake fluid or something???

cheers camper kid im happy again, but i want me xmas pressie now dammit, will be happy day when i attach new metal 2 it, love my bug again, woooooo hooooo :bounce:bounce:bounce:bounce:bounce:bounce:bounce:bounce:bounce:bounce:bounce

GREAT NEWS EVERYONE the RHS is totally solid thru the middle! I LOVE THE SIGHT OF BARE METAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the rear section behind the doors is stuffed tho, and the front is patchy but SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much better than the LHS, going to hunt for a camera so i can show everyone how nice and shiny it is, also seems like the RHS section has been repaired properly at some point as some bits are seam welded aswell as spot welded, thank god for that, at least now i have an example of how it will look when done properly!!!!!!!!!!!!! gotta love being able to weld!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ever thought of dipping it? Once done you start with a clean car ready for body work, No surprises!
T54

[ Edited on 14-12-2005 by Turbo54 ]

that means more expense tho, besides a couple packs of $5 wire brushes from bunnings work great with a little elbow grease, top buy everyone, work brilliantly, 5 or 6 peice one red cardbord backing, new update, someone must just hate me cos my last ratchet just broke, wont ratchet anymore just spins freely in both directions no matter what i do, like poo, will have to go the old way of wrench or extenssion bar on the socket, damn ratchets make it so much easier... HEY anyone wanna buy me a rattle gun for chritmas??? peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezekisskiss lol

i had to take dads car seats out of the commodore using nothnig more than a wrench and tube of steel. Tey were pretty tight, and doing them with a millino different things in the way, i can understand how u feel. (except dad was surprised how quick i got em out, compared to the fella who got it out for dad at the wreckers).

skill