Guest Kiddys Classics Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 This 1966 VW Beetle Convertible was brought to us by the original owner who wants to restore it to its “original condition, or better!” Purchased in October of 1965, the owner remembers pushing it off the showroom floor in Jacksonville, NC. This sweet vehicle was the family car when the owner and his wife first married, and later became the second vehicle. It was used for trips on back-country roads to picnic with his wife and daughter in Pensacola, FL – where he was stationed as a Marine. The car itself has all its original parts and only 148,000 miles on it and has been a show car for the last 20-25 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kiddys Classics Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 After removing the body, and media blasting the center tube, the floor pans were replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kiddys Classics Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 The bottom drain hole on standard Beetles will often get clogged with debris or insects which seem to find it to be the perfect nesting spot. This in turn, traps the moisture inside, making this a very common area of repair on most of our restorations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kiddys Classics Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 All parts were media blasted and coated in epoxy to protect them from future corrosion. Then, all worn items were replaced, completely restoring the pan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kiddys Classics Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 While stripping the paint, we found that the vehicle was painted several times, covering multiple areas with body filler. When we removed the body filler we found the metal to be damaged beneath. When media blasting was completed, there were several areas of rust that we found that would need to be repaired. Most of the damage was located beneath the passenger rear area and rear body mounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kiddys Classics Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 The front wheel well is a common rust area on any classic VW Beetle. As you can see from the pictures below, the area had been previously repaired and covered with body filler which traps the moisture, making the repair more costly in the end due to a poor quality repair originally. We removed the whole section and replacement pieces were fabricated in house to repair the area properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kiddys Classics Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 The Napoleon's Hat on a VW Beetle is the area around which the pan bolts to the front of the body. This area was rusted on both the pan and the body. We cut away the rusted area on the body and fabricated and fitted a patch panel to replace what was removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kiddys Classics Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Both the inside and out of the rockers were rusted. Any rusted areas on the inside of the rockers were cut away and fabricated panels were welded in place. Because this is a convertible, it has braces that run the full length of the rocker to strengthen the body, and as with most reproduction panels - the fit was hardly accurate. The reproduction braces that were purchased had to be extensively modified to fit properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kiddys Classics Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 The rear bumper supports on VW Beetles are commonly found to be rusted on the inside. We cut away the rusted areas and reproduction panels with the supports already attached were then welded in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kiddys Classics Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 All the fenders were in bad condition and had been poorly repaired. Patch panels had been welded over rust and covered with body filler. We cut away the damaged areas and replaced them with fabricated pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick60 Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 I'm enjoying following both of your VW projects. Very nice work! I think it is great that the original owner is treating this car to a proper restoration after years of faithful service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kiddys Classics Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 The factory never intended for these cars to stay on the road as long as they have. Many areas of the car were assembled with no treatment of the metal in the seams. In areas like the weatherstrip channels shown below all of the weatherstrips were removed, blasted clean, treated for rust prevention, and new ones welded in place. After doing this the weather strip channels are then blasted again and sealed in epoxy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39BuickEight Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Likewise I am enjoying both of your projects. I don't always post, but I am watching. Great stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dusty Cars Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Loving this! Great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boinkffd Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Great restoration with no shortcuts. This beetle is shaping up to be a very nice classic. Look forward to more updates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_Greenlaw Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Many moons ago I completed a half started dune buggy project so I'm familiar with the beetle and transaxle set up. They are not as simple as people believe and your work is first class. keep posting as I'm sure a lot of us are enjoying your progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kiddys Classics Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Painting the Beetle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 On 5/11/2015 at 7:21 AM, Kiddys Classics said: The factory never intended for these cars to stay on the road as long as they have. Many areas of the car were assembled with no treatment of the metal in the seams. In areas like the weatherstrip channels shown below all of the weatherstrips were removed, blasted clean, treated for rust prevention, and new ones welded in place. After doing this the weather strip channels are then blasted again and sealed in epoxy. Bodies, meaning front deck lid, rear deck lid, doors and fenders assembled loose. ( as in doors partially opened, deck lids open ) Bodies were first steamed cleaned, then immersed in a paint in a huge paint vat completely submerging the body, next a grey primer, next a crème filler primer, then four topcoats of paint. The Karmann coachworks where the convertible is made has higher standards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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