Restoring a 1965 VW Beetle

[VEEeight]

The ongoing work. This car, at some point in its life has had the floor pan welded to the body making it necessary to proceed very carefully. The original bolt on state is no longer there and to be honest I have no idea if the floorpan and body are even accurately paired up anymore. Suddenly am at a crossroads and it feels as if the whole project is at risk. My denter, however, does not share my pessimism and has told me not to tell him how to do his job....

What me worry then?!?!

Some pictures :

[msabbasi]

The ongoing work. This car, at some point in its life has had the floor pan welded to the body making it necessary to proceed very carefully. The original bolt on state is no longer there and to be honest I have no idea if the floorpan and body are even accurately paired up anymore. Suddenly am at a crossroads and it feels as if the whole project is at risk. My denter, however, does not share my pessimism and has told me not to tell him how to do his job....

What me worry then?!?!

Some pictures :

I am no expert on VWs but to my untrained eye, the repair work looks good.

[VEEeight]

"Untrained"....?!?!?!?

Will find out soon enough!

[nmshaikh]

the body shell has been done up right..the lines are straight, the curves too. However under the skin she would always be a squeaking, creaking rattling old lady if you allow your denter to go his way. They are going to suggest band-aid solutions..like the welding of the frame head or the cover up on the hinge, the welding of the pan to the body....They are not the ones who are going to drive the car and detect a difference in the ride quality..the creaks, groans, rattles and squeaks that would start the moment she hits the first pot hole.

I strongly recommend (and I can only recommend ) that you take control of the project and insist that the body is removed from the pan and the pan restored. I picked up a good (9/10) used German frame head for a project car for Rs. 4000 only the other day. They are still available and they make a world of difference when you set out to enjoy the ride.

The denter can use some steel tubing to make braces that would keep the body rigid even if it is removed off the pan. A simple setup would be to weld a steel tubular pipe to the A pillar and the other end to the B pillar. Repeat on the other side then weld two pipes between the A pillers on each side and repeat with B pillar. The resulting structure would keep the body rigid even when removed off the frame. Lemme know if you would like to see some pictures if I have not been able to explain properly

[VEEeight]

Nasir, sb. Do plz put up pictures of what u are suggesting needs to be done. And thankyou

[VEEeight]

Work on the 65 is at a standstill bec a) the denter has a rush job and can't dent for a few days and b) the controversy on what to do with the 'pan is raging on. He insists that if the welds are broken to separate it from the body, it will be difficult to reattach it as he will not be able to get the more than 70 bolts / bolt holes as per original specs in place.

I am taking the proverbial chill pill on this as I know will wake up one mrng and know which direction to take! Been down too many of these roads to get overly bothered

[VEEeight]

For crying out loud , It DOES look like a bug.......eyeless, toothless......

Will write more on what's been done to it later. It's all been rather tedious !!!!

[nmshaikh]

Work on the 65 is at a standstill bec a) the denter has a rush job and can't dent for a few days and b) the controversy on what to do with the 'pan is raging on. He insists that if the welds are broken to separate it from the body, it will be difficult to reattach it as he will not be able to get the more than 70 bolts / bolt holes as per original specs in place.

I am taking the proverbial chill pill on this as I know will wake up one mrng and know which direction to take! Been down too many of these roads to get overly bothered

I apologize for not being able to send pictures as requested. However the excuse your denter is giving.(not be able to get the more than 70 bolts / bolt holes as per original specs in place. ) is baloney. It appears he just want to take the same route as his predecessor and not go the long hard way to do it right. The body has to come off the pan..there are no two ways about it. Once it is off and repaired all the holes would line up.

[VEEeight]

It's been a really long time since anything got posted here. The "business" of being a classic car enthusiast during the good weather being the main reason for this.
However, work is progressing on the old biddy and this is what has been done so far. Will write in more detail , especially on the floorpan saga in a post that will put up later. Suffice it to say for now, that neither the denter "won" and nor did I. Hopefully, the car will when it's all done

Here is the latest and slow as ever......

The running boards are an in-house fabrication as nothing suitable was available off the shelf without making my bank manager cry!!

[msabbasi]

It's been a really long time since anything got posted here. The "business" of being a classic car enthusiast during the good weather being the main reason for this.
However, work is progressing on the old biddy and this is what has been done so far. Will write in more detail , especially on the floorpan saga in a post that will put up later. Suffice it to say for now, that neither the denter "won" and nor did I. Hopefully, the car will when it's all done

Here is the latest and slow as ever......

The running boards are an in-house fabrication as nothing suitable was available off the shelf without making my bank manager cry!!

Welcome back Asim Sb.,

Just one word ..... Outstanding!!!:o

The workmanship and panel work is just outstanding. Not every pannel beater can get the curves right. Running boards look OK. I suppose these will be coverd with black rubber as is your red VW. Maybe a chrome flash along its length as seen below:

[VEEeight]

Great to hear from you , it's been quite a while
Yes indeed, the running boards will be taking on a chrome strip at some point. Besides, I feel they would look better if slightly "chunkier".

All being well, hope to finally make your acquaintance in Islamabad later in the month as the CCOG is planning a run and hoping to meet up with enthusiasts there. Will keep you posted.

Cheers !!

[msabbasi]

Great to hear from you , it's been quite a while
Yes indeed, the running boards will be taking on a chrome strip at some point. Besides, I feel they would look better if slightly "chunkier".

All being well, hope to finally make your acquaintance in Islamabad later in the month as the CCOG is planning a run and hoping to meet up with enthusiasts there. Will keep you posted.

Cheers !!

Outstanding!!

[reezvaan]

This post was flagged by the community and is temporarily hidden.

[reezvaan]

This post was flagged by the community and is temporarily hidden.

[reezvaan]

This post was flagged by the community and is temporarily hidden.

[reezvaan]

This post was flagged by the community and is temporarily hidden.

[VEEeight]

reezvaan

Thankyou for your posts and the info you have given on parts availability. Only yday, the bug was moved to the paint boys.
I hope to be in touch soon as rgds parts as the work continues. Hope you will be able to help

[reezvaan]

This post was flagged by the community and is temporarily hidden.

[VEEeight]

Work has been going on slowly but surely.
The preliminary denting has been done and as far as I can tell the body is sound and feels quite tight. In the end, it wasn't possible or feasible to remove the body and more as a test case for the next VW project-in-waiting, I didn't make a song and dance over it. The "agreement " with the denter is that if his work is found lacking in any way, the next one gets the body to come off and the job will be done at half-price.....a catch 22 situation as am not sure whether I would like to win or lose!!!

I would like to think it will be the latter as the guy has done over 15 similar projects in as many years and am prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt..

[VEEeight]

Here are a few more :