(o\_!_/o) Project: 1959 Ragtop VW Beetle

[AsadIshaque]

Oki here are some pics snapped on the 3rd of July........That darn cell phone camera again tho.....

The post 68 front end has been cut off totally and what we see is interesting!!

[AsadIshaque]

[AsadIshaque]

Some welding on the front panel just below the windshield.....

[AsadIshaque]

The post 68 front end taken off the bug is lying here.......

[AsadIshaque]

The 67 vintage LHS door taken off the bug.....

These would go into the 'parts bin'......:A

[AsadIshaque]

Coming to the door B pillars......

 Recall that to fit the 67 doors a newer style striker plate had been installed/ forcefit into place.


 This area has been scrapped and underneath we see the story....... the four holes at the bottom accept the bolts for the newer plate. The original holes a bit above have been plated over. The profile of this area has been damaged by denting the lower area in. The pieces of pillar from the donor car should come in handy.

[AsadIshaque]

The donor graft had been dismantled into its constituent pieces......the pillars are made by various sheets crimped together.....the crimps were opened up......

Look closely...this is a view from inside the pillar......we see this as its been uncrimped open! There is a nifty plate inside which allows one to adjust the door lock stiker plate. I hope people are following what I say......if you thread in bolts into this plate, you can move it around bit and then tighten it into the best spot (in which you get a good working door lock).

[AsadIshaque]

The next visit was on the 5th of July.......

I see some more progress on the door pillar........


The buggered up original pillar has been cut out and a graft has been made from the donor pillar......kept side by side for an idea.

[AsadIshaque]

Oh I had my camera with me that day! So here are some good reso pics for you to enjoy!

Im trying to show what we aim at......this graft would go on like this........:*

[AsadIshaque]

The RHS B pillar is still untouched......gives you an idea where we started from......

[AsadIshaque]

Moving towards the front, I get a pleasant surprise!!!

The pre 60 front end had been "trial fitted" into place! No weldind had been done......the 'end was held on by a simple yet ingenious pair of metal strips ......

[AsadIshaque]

Its looking like a 59 again, finally!!!! I was having an overdose of joy!

[AsadIshaque]

Here is a better view of the inner guts.....

As mentioned earlier, the beam forming the main support for the fuel tank to sit on is not alligning up. The piece still incorporated with the main body is actually from the post 68 front end (I have to give credit to whoever grafted that on......craftmanship is excellent). A 50s beam does not have the round holes you see......Anyway, as you can see, the two beams are not linning up perfectly as they should.


We had anticipated this to happen before we cut the front off. The small pieces in the body need to be cut off and realligned.....

[iLLDuDe786]

keep up the good work(Y)

[AsadIshaque]

The dash.....a lot of welding has been done on the front scuttle panel as shown earlier and the pillars etc........the dash itself needs cleaning up and denting to make it perfect.....

[AsadIshaque]

The engine bay area.....

The bracket support hinges I mentioned need changing. One can see a closeup posted earlier. I handed a pristine pair of these to Basit on my last trip.


The yellow circled areas need a graft from the donor piece I provided......

[AsadIshaque]

@ Illdude

   Thanks!!

[AsadIshaque]

@ all especially MSKhan

Im posting two pics together for you to judge!! I was very very impressed by this! Now how much filler would we need???? :)

[AsadIshaque]

I do need the inside area to be cleaned up as good as the outside......the inside would be tackled maybe in one go at a later stage....

[AsadIshaque]

7th July 2009

I go there early morning......its a short trip as Im in a hurry so its just a touch n go affair......


I see a lot of stuff stored inside the car, something usual with denters.....this was why I stripped off all which could be damaged....... I cant afford to get those ragtop rails dented/bent at any cost.......