Front Quarter and petrol tank support / wheel well
First job was to cut the access hole for the steering box in the petrol
tank support area and filling the corresponding one (panels are only available
lhd). As the original was rotten and outline was copied off another beetle
and a template made. This was then cut out with a mini grinder. On the car the front quarter was dealt with first. This and the wheel well area were cut off following the panel joins and cutting through the spotwelds.
In order to get the panel gaps correct, the new bonnet was fitted and the petrol tank / wheel well panel and front valance were clamped in place.
After a bit of shuffling about, the petrol tank panel and the quarter were tacked in place. all the panels were fitted for alignment and once this was ok, the quarter and
petrol tank / well panel were welded in place
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Bumper Mounts
Next was the drivers side bumper mount. this area had been slightly accident damaged at some point so the whole panel was put in. Once tacked in place the valance wing were added to check bolt hole alignment etc. This was then welded in.
As the quality of the 1200 bumper brackets on a 1200 is worse than useless (4 spotwelds is
all) I reused the original 1200 brackets that were much more sturdy. These were cut off the original panels and after measuring and trial-fitting the bumper, were welded in place.
During the process, I kept fitting the front valance, wings and opening and
closing the bonnet to check alignment along the various joins and that the bottom of the wheel well was in-line with the bottom of the
wings. Yeah, it takes a bit of time but it means you end up with everything in-line so it's well worth it.
Front
Valance
Final bit on the front was the front valance. This slotted into place and the bumper was fitted and the bonnet shut to get it sitting centrally. It was then tacked in place top & bottom. The bonnet catch was then refitted to check if the bonnet lock would work, which it did, and the valance was seam welded in place.
That was the font together - now for the rest of it.
Front
Bulkhead
Next on the list was the bulkhead panel which goes in the places shown in the photo. The pedals were left in place, although it's easier to get a grinder etc in without them being there you can still do it.
There wasn't much left of the panel around the bottom edge and in the outer corners (common rot spot). Also, watch you don't damage the master cylinder or the brake pipes from it. The panel itself is pretty straightforward to do - just make sure you get it pressed tightly down into those corners to prevent leaks later on.
Door Removal tips
Nightmare with the lower door post bolts - nothing would shift them. so the
bolts were drilled out and the doors removed. This still left the problem of the
hinge bolt plate inside the a post. Luckily I had 2 of these spare and cut an
access flap in the a post behind where the carpet usually goes. This enabled the
old hinge plates to be removed and replaced. The access flap was then welded up.
Scuttle Panel
The scuttle panel was in a bit of a mess needing localised repairs in a no. of
places. Luckily rust free sections were obtained from a scrap car. The bonnet
and engine lid seal clip strips were removed (notorious rust trap) and the
surrounding metal repaired as necessary. Mexican clip on style seals (clip to
the bonnet) were to be used, so only the scuttle clip strip was replaced with a
new length bough from vw heritage.
Seats
Final thing changes was the seats and seat bases. a previous owner fitted recaro
seats out of a 4 door car, so they didn't tilt to let people in the back. These
were removed and the runner mechanisms were removed too. A couple of small holes
left by the removal in the floorpan were welded and the original seat runners
repaired.