The 1978 VW Beetle Cabrio


Disassembly begins
Restoration of the Chassis
Restoration of Suspension Components
Major Rust Repair of the Body - page 1
Major Rust Repair of the Body - page 2
Major Rust Repair of the Body - page 3
Pre Painting the Body and mounting to the Chassis
Prepping for Paint
Assembly after Painting
Interior

Pre Painting the Body and mounting to the Chassis

I painted the body around the section where it meets the body, as well inside, and started to put the body and chassis together. Here are some pictures how it comes together.

I test fitted the fenders and check if I can fit 7" wheels.

They will not work with the stock fenders.

Here with a 6" Fuchs wheel.

This will be the wheel I going to use for the car.

All the fenders are on, I need to make some modifications for the bumper brackets, since I will not use the shocks.

The left headlight bucket has some rust, and I need to cut out a piece and weld in a little patch.

Now it was time to weld in some filler for the smaller bumper brackets, and found a layer of body filler.

So I removed the excess body filler and flatten out the sheet metal a bit. So I will use a bit less filler.

Next, making some filler pieces and weld them in.

Test fitting the brackets.

I will have bumper with the turning signal, so I need to close these holes.

The fenders will look much cleaner this way.

I also closed the ugly holes from the rear bumper brackets

I cut out some rust, and made a new piece for the headlight bucket.

Disassembly begins
Restoration of the Chassis
Restoration of Suspension Components
Major Rust Repair of the Body - page 1
Major Rust Repair of the Body - page 2
Major Rust Repair of the Body - page 3
Pre Painting the Body and mounting to the Chassis
Prepping for Paint
Assembly after Painting
Interior