ruby red resto

Here's the spot to show off your 1966 Beetle Restoration projects
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relevitch
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Location: Stafford UK

ruby red resto

Post by relevitch »

My son bought a 1966 ruby red bug over the summer and we decided to give it a bit of a tidy up whilst he was learning to drive. Didn't quite realise what we were letting ourselves in for. It has turned into a bit of a full resto, but wanted to get it back on the road as soon as possible so decided not to remove it from floor pan as it seemed to be ok. The rest was a bit of a typical UK 90's bodged body resto from previous owner.

Here's how it started life when it first arrived.
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Doesn't look too bad, hey!

The stripping back begins.

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First signs of rot, rear valance

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Too much filler!

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tasty

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Said it didn't look too bad from the start, but amazing what paint, filler and seam sealer can hide :roll:
relevitch
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Post by relevitch »

cutting out of old metal.

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Didn't cut rust out all in one go, i did it section at a time and welded up, but thought it would be easier to arrange pics this way.

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:shock:
relevitch
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Location: Stafford UK

Post by relevitch »

Welding it all back up.

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my son learning.

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The welding was done over a 2 month period.
Last edited by relevitch on Wed Nov 11, 2015 5:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
relevitch
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Joined: Wed Jul 08, 2015 3:03 pm
Location: Stafford UK

Post by relevitch »

Lining up of the aftermarket wings/fenders.

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Decklid trial fitment and finished removal of paint.

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And, the front all lined and sanded.

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It's taken 3 months of on off work to get to this point in the 'tidy up'. Started to key up all the bare metal to get it ready for it's first coat of epoxy primer.
Here's how she looks as of today.

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:D
darzoom
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Post by darzoom »

Looks Great!
relevitch
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Location: Stafford UK

Post by relevitch »

Thankyou :D
Would be nice to replace a lot of the patchwork welding from previous owner, but it's solid and my boy only has a small budget.
Makes me want to get myself a bug again, but doubt i'd be lucky enough to convince the wife a bus and a bug were necessary in our lives.
relevitch
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Joined: Wed Jul 08, 2015 3:03 pm
Location: Stafford UK

Post by relevitch »

Got a couple hours today, so i masked windows and door gaps.
Hopefully get epoxy on tomorrow.
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:D :D
relevitch
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Location: Stafford UK

Post by relevitch »

Body is all epoxy primered.

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I'm going to put some u-pol raptor on the arches as well as seam sealer before i put the wings on and epoxy them.
thanks for looking. :D
relevitch
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Post by relevitch »

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Time for a bit of U-pol fantastic. :D
https://www.instagram.com/relevitch/
relevitch
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Post by relevitch »

It's been a while, but lots of progress on Pip. Did all the filler work, then put her into some high build primer, final rub down before laying on the paint....
I took loads of pics, but here is a selection.
Thanks for looking :D

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Nearly done. Just doors and bonnet need paint and fitting, then off for the dreaded MOT.
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Digger89L
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Post by Digger89L »

VERY NICE WORK!!! Couple of questions, as I contemplate my own 66 bug rebuild, with much the same work required on mine. (1) for the repair around the rear body mounting points behind the rear wheels: did you actually replace those mounting points, or just reinforce / repair the metal around them? If I choose to replace mine, I'm concerned about getting everything lined back up correctly ..... (2) It appears that you did a 'body on' restoration, rather than a 'body' off restoriation. Was this choice based on space limitations, or other factors? Would you do it this way again, or consider the body-off route? Could you explain a bit more about the process you used?? Thanks!
"If you can't fix it with zip ties and duct tape, or hold it together with velcro or magnets, it REALLY is broken."
relevitch
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Post by relevitch »

Digger89L wrote:VERY NICE WORK!!! Couple of questions, as I contemplate my own 66 bug rebuild, with much the same work required on mine. (1) for the repair around the rear body mounting points behind the rear wheels: did you actually replace those mounting points, or just reinforce / repair the metal around them? If I choose to replace mine, I'm concerned about getting everything lined back up correctly ..... (2) It appears that you did a 'body on' restoration, rather than a 'body' off restoriation. Was this choice based on space limitations, or other factors? Would you do it this way again, or consider the body-off route? Could you explain a bit more about the process you used?? Thanks!
Thankyou :D
The car has been done to a budget. My son has a part time job at a DIY store so the money was tight. Also he wanted it back ASAP, so this was the reasoning behind the none body off restoration. Floor pans didn't need replacing either. I think the decision was based more on circumstance rather than the ideal.If it was my own car, I would have done the welding, then split and detailed the chassis, and done it over a longer period. This car has been welded, bare metalled and painted in about 5 months. I also read a lot of info on the net regarding welding with the pan removed and on, and there doesn't seem to be a conclusive answer to which way is best. I didn't find it an inconvenience working with chassis still on and possibly it was useful for aligning in some circumstances. The other thing to note was, I wasn't changing the colour of the car, so painting inside wasn't an issue.

http://www.justkampers.com/111-801-201- ... -1998.html
I used this panel for the rear cross members, and they are a surprisingly good fit for a klokken ploppen. Because of the mount holes already being drilled in the panel, i used them as my point of reference. So, i cut out the whole rusty panel and surrounding rust. I then loosely bolted new panel in place and then rebuilt the rest of the panels around the cross member (this is where the floor pan came in useful),then welded it all up once i was happy with the fit and alignment.
All the outer panels i took datum points(think thats what they're called or measurements) from the original. Swage line to the bottom of the quarter panel, 'B'post to the rear arch in a couple of places, 'A' post to 'B' post, etc etc....
I would recommend only cutting out as much as you need if using reproduction panels, as quite often they are the incorrect gauge metal. Also, once you have all your panels ready for welding, tac them in place and re hang doors wings etc for that piece of mind everything is still in it's correct place. If not, it's no biggy to undo tacs, but nightmare to remove full welds.

I'm sure there are people reading this who say this is wrong, but it worked for me. Feel free anyone who thinks they know how to do it "correctly" and can further Digger89L's resto knowledge, I won't take offence.

Hope this helps :D
relevitch
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Location: Stafford UK

Post by relevitch »

Don't cut all the rotten areas out in one go either. do a section at a time. Do first crossmember, then weld it all up, then second crossmember etc....
relevitch
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Posts: 16
Joined: Wed Jul 08, 2015 3:03 pm
Location: Stafford UK

Post by relevitch »

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Getting there :D
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