I have recently purchased a 1967 bug and my issue is that when I fit the spare wheel into the front apron area where it is to be housed I cannot open the hood and it is a very tight fit for the spare wheel ,

If I remove wheel the hood opens and closes fine when using release catch . The hood does have a very minor dent half way up and the front bumper is not original indicating that it has had a minor dingle in the front at some stage possibly causing the above issue .

Is the repair of this area a relatively easy job by a bodyworks shop or do you have to go the whole hog and put a new front apron in . I cannot see any damage in the wheel well itself and I feel its only a cm or so of gap that is causing the issue .

Can anyone offer me a solution - I have heard that tying a chain to the front mounts and popping it in reverse until chain tightens can work wonders but not sure if that's appropriate for my little bug.

What is the size of the spare wheel?

its got a 165 x R15 Hancook tyre on it . if that helps

Problem is in the wheel well it possible been pushed up and makes the wheel sit too high

Try releasing the bonnet using the cable, then push down on the centre of the hood, and lift up using the handle..
Sometimes this flexes the panel enough to let it release properly.

yes I have tried this and can take 10 mins to open due to top of tyre touching underneath hood , It looks like the tyre is sitting about 1cm too high , should I just do a little manipulation of the wheel well and as you say it could be a tad high . A bit of a tap with a hammer to make it lower ?

Find something like Bearing Blue, or whatever you can get, put it on the inside of the hood where the wheel would touch, and the wheel well, make sure the spare wheel is at the correct pressure ( I'm clutching at straws here but if overinflated it might not fit easily) put everything together and close the hood.
The bearing blue (or whatever) will rub off where it is touching, if there is a ding in the wheel well pushing the wheel up then tap it down. I don't think your Beetle will begrudge you knocking down a ding where there already is a bigger one. If the wheel is touching where the hood is pushed in then tap it out gently.
Autobarn have soft hammers at a good price now, just take it slow.
When you're testing get someone else to push down on the hood as you are pulling the cable so has to take the pressure off and save breaking the cable while you are getting it right.
Sounds like a productive afternoon job!
Good luck, Rob.

get a lump of wood is better to hit it with over a larger area

Thanks for all the reply's, Its all sorted and wheel is in place !Hood will close and open , yes it was an over inflated tyre , I also sprayed a little WD 40 on the tyre to help it slide in and it is now behaving properly ! Thanks for all your input . Cheers G