Ok, it's been way too long since I've posted an update, so here we
go...
Finally we are making some more progress. Competition Engineering has the pan assembled with a new beam and it's out to the powder coaters.
Meanwhile the body/paint shop has been working on my Herbie. Brady at Independent Restorations is doing the body and paint work.
Here are some pics of the work on my Herbie:
Grafted metal inside the left front fender to fix some rust damage. Notice the antenna hole? It's on the left side, and Herbie's antenna is on the right, so we'll need to fill that in with some metal too. Brady doesn't use bondo much, and instead uses metal, because bondo eventually cracks over time.
Some work on the inside of the right fender as well. There were some random rust spots in "strange" places here. I don't think this is a common place needing a rust repair.
Here's a look at the outside of the right front.
Here's one of the big jobs. Grafting in that sunroof.
Hear was the other big job, grafting in the whole right rear quarter panel where the car had been hit before. From the outside...
And from the inside...
And now we start with the bad news. It turns out that I missed seeing bondo on the rear apron. Apparently the whole thing was pretty bondoed up and was in really bad shape. Remember, one of the reasons I bought this car was for the good "never been hit before" front and rear clips. Well, that made me pretty sad. They've already welded in a new rear clip...
Now you probably noticed, just as I did, that this is after-market sheet metal. I told him I was a little disappointed they used after-market sheet metal without asking me. He responded, "Well, I didn't think you would mind, since all your fenders were after-market." That's when my hear sunk. That's right, the primered up fenders I got attached to this '64 Beetle were after-market and I didn't realize it. Yes it's my fault for not seeing it, and it's obvious now, however, I really thought I had original fenders and that was one of the reasons I paid what I did for a non-running shell.
So I had a pretty sad day and now have to figure out how to proceed. I'm already $1,000 over budget on this body work, because of the unexpected bondo and just basically more work that was needed that had been hidden by the primer.
BTW can't say enough good things about Brady and the work he is doing at Independent Restoration. My disappointment is in no way because of him or his work.
UPDATE:
So I decided the aftermarket rear apron and rear fenders are ok. Most people say the aftermarket front fenders don't have all of the same curves to them, so I will find some original front fenders.
