Hola! Alrighty, finally got the Beetle (Who has been named Charlotte, by my girlfriend ) going, I put the exhaust off the 1600 engine back onto it, and just bodged up the hole in it to get me by. The difference was amazing, suddenly she started to idle properly

Of course, then I back out of my girlfriends driveway (which is at quite an incline)... snag the muffler on the road... and snap...

*mutters darkly about exhausts*

Anyhoo, moving on. I'm about to get my GSXR1000K6 back from it's May encounter with the numpty 4wd owner who decided it was quicker to just drive through me, so I can afford to delve into Charlotte and fix some more issues.

Which brings me to the rust thingy. I have nasty rust at the base of the door pillars, I suspect the heater channels may be toast (I've been too scared to look, but the way things are going I kind of know what I'll find) and the area around the filler cap is... well.. missing..

Where's a good place to buy replacement sections that can be welded in?

What sort of welder should I use? Given I haven't welded anything for 20 years, is there anywhere I could have it welded that won't cost me my firstborn? (I don't actually have a firstborn yet, and the girlfriend wasn't all that enthused about having one to further the cause of Charlottes restoration... woman.. sigh.. I don't understand em )

She isn't into cars anyhow, rides a yamaha R6 everywhere.

And finally, I'm kind of enthused with getting the heating working properly, I hooked everything up, only the cables are kind of screwy, cos I couldn't turn the heating off Feet burny.. eeek, one of the cables at the back seems to be shorter than the other, are they different lengths??

Hi Brent,
the welder everyone uses these days are Mig...
Now there are gas and gasless???
My Son uses a gas MIG welder to do any car work...
although he has My normal welder too...

The easiest thing to do with the doors is to replace them..
If You don't have any actual holes...
You could paint with Fishoil.... to stop any further rust...

The fuel filler part is actually held on with two screws from memory [on My 68]...
so just unscrew and replace... but I don't know if they are all the same... I know a 1971 and 1968 filler flaps are different shapes and sizes, so i'm guessing the inside would be different too...
Just putty or even silicon around the fuel filler bit...
to waterproof it... after screwing in a new one..
just make sure You don't drip fuel there as the putty won't like it...

and VW Exhausts can make a VW engine run like a dream or make them pop and backfire ...
they have a BIG influence on the engine...

I found out from a mechanic that You can use silastic on the exhaust gaskets to stop them from leaking...
excellent...

Door pillar rust... yikes..
I'm not sure who sells the weld in sections...
I know someone does...?
Email some of the advertisers on here and see who replies
they all sell chassis halves... so maybe all sell sections...

Heater - the cables should be the same approx length at the engine end...
the thick bit on the end of the cables should just go thru the little screw on bits...
when they are attached to the heater boxes, You shouldn't need to pull the heaterbox levers forward...
otherwise You are pulling the flap OPEN... so the hot air goes forward... and heats Your feet up...
Having heating in the heater channels helps keep them dry in the winter... also helps dry the fish oil...
I'm hoping You are lucky with the heater channels...
spray lots of fish oil into them.... fishy smell for a while...
If You use fish oil - If its cheaper than $8.. its probably no good... Motorpro is OK... Killrust is best brand..
What model VW do You have??

cheers

Lee -- 68AutoBug -- Scone NSW

http://community.webshots.com/user/vw68autobug 

[ Edited on 6-11-2006 by 68AutoBug ]