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Old 08-04-2020, 01:21 PM
Antoine_P Antoine_P is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Stuttgart, Germany
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Default My 62 beetle - daily driver

Hi,

Well, as it is my daily driver and not a real project, I won‘t post too much here about that car but as I did a bit of metal work on it, I thought why not sharing it?

I had been dreaming some years of a turquoise ragtop beetle after falling in love with one as a student (that was for sale but I did not had the money to buy it).

And one day, in the beginning of 2014, I got a tip through several corners that brought me to this:


Yes, it was in a barn for 16 years, yes, it was not perfect but hey, a turquoise ragtop!! So I had to have it and organized directly the picking up:


I couldn’t resist to wash it directly when I parked it in my (old) shop:


And then I had to make a plan. Judging that the engine was running and bottom isn’t too bad:


I decided to go that way: make all the necessary mechanics and enjoy it to the max..
So after a brake, direction, tires,..refresh and a fluid change, I was on the road:


Since 2015 I used it every year from april-november almost on a daily basis, with some minor breaks but always with a big smile on my face!
It has its dents, scratches,..but it only says that this car is being used and it is great like that as I am not afraid of using it for everything: Kinder-Garden ride for my son, grocery store rides, going to work… 8)

So, now, what’s next are you asking yourself? ops:

My thoughts were:
-I love driving it but it showed me this year with several minor issues that it requires some attentions to continue using it
-I am missing it in winter
-I am not taking care enough of it as I am working a lot on the ghia and have to take care of the other “daily driver/winter driver”

So the plan was the following:
-I took a small break on the ghia and really did the necessary on it to get it 100% road-ready, reliable
-Body stay like that and was not restored as I can then really use it without being always scared when parking it, when my son is playing near to it,..
-I sold my other “daily driver/winter driver” to save myself some time for this car and I will use it everyday all year long (if really necessary I always have backup solutions, like my motorbike or the train to go to work so no stress here )

So in order to accomplish that plan, it joined my workshop (here a picture next to its sister):


And I started collecting all the necessary parts.

I won‘t bore you with all the mechanical aspects as it stayed original so nothing fancy but next post will show the metal part

Antoine
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Antoine Puygranier
Resurrecting a 60 ghia:
http://www.allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=18852

Fixing a 914:
https://allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=20624
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  #2  
Old 08-04-2020, 01:37 PM
Antoine_P Antoine_P is offline
MetalShaper of the Month August 2020, Sept 2022
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Stuttgart, Germany
Posts: 294
Default

I removed the engine in order to have a good access to change the wiring harness:




Another engine that I rebuilt will go back in as this one isn’t really fit anymore..

Without the engine in, I saw that the back ends had been “fixed” really badly in the past with some metal “welded” over rusted one:




That had to be all cut and replaced with fresh metal as otherwise it will get fast worse being driven under all weather..
I continued the disassembly and the poorely done “weldings” showed up:
















So I bought the necessary to save some time to restart faster on the ghia (putting back the right color fender beading at the same time):


And time to cut:






First I repaired all the back, starting with the sides :


Made a template and formed the part:






And then welded it in place:




Other side also got repaired:




And repaired the original apron to adjust everything :






Ready for Assembly:


Stay tuned, the car is now almost ready so updates will come soon!

Antoine
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Antoine Puygranier
Resurrecting a 60 ghia:
http://www.allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=18852

Fixing a 914:
https://allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=20624
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  #3  
Old 08-04-2020, 03:00 PM
Pehr Pehr is offline
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Location: Öckerö Sweden
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Default

Really kool to use as a daily all year driver.
Thanx for sharing.
(Bitter sweet memories since I used to drive beetle in winter when I was a student in the early 90th.
Couldn’t afford new heat chambers so you literally got “smoked” due to leakage)
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  #4  
Old 08-04-2020, 03:21 PM
norson norson is offline
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I had a '54 as a driver in '64-'65
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Old 08-05-2020, 08:30 AM
crystallographic crystallographic is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by norson View Post
I had a '54 as a driver in '64-'65

I passed up a '47 for $900.
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Old 08-05-2020, 11:04 AM
cliffrod cliffrod is offline
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https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1998246.jpg

I was already in love with your barn/workshop. Seeing the large doors that match the roofline of your Beetle, I realize it is even more perfect.. Very cool.

Nice to see a daily driver, especially an early ragtop, being built instead of just another full-on resto. Thanks for posting Antoine.
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Last edited by cliffrod; 08-05-2020 at 11:05 AM. Reason: Typo
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  #7  
Old 08-11-2020, 02:47 AM
Antoine_P Antoine_P is offline
MetalShaper of the Month August 2020, Sept 2022
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Stuttgart, Germany
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Thanks a lot guys!

@Pehr: yes, the „stale air“ heating system can be terrible.. that‘s why I sacrificed some originality here and I use the „newest“ system

@cliffrod: Thanks a lot, I really love the shop! I will try to upload a pic, there is a really cool detail on the rock over the door where it has been engraved „built in 1560, partially destroyed by a storm in 1714 and rebuilt in 1719“.. yes, my shop is that old

Well, Let’s continue with the build. After thousand checks and measurements.. Let’s go!
Preparing for welding:


Welding:


Grinding:


And then primer, paint:


Same on the other side:






And I used this opportunity to repaint my engine bay:
Cleaned:


Repainted:




one pictures of the Test-fit after welding :


Felt so good seeing it in one piece again 8)
Then I cleaned all four fenders and put some rust-protection paint under it:


And mounted them back using the right color for the beadings :


Same action in the front, with cleaning/painting of the bumper mounts and new sealings:


Starting to look good 8)


Cheers

Antoine
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Antoine Puygranier
Resurrecting a 60 ghia:
http://www.allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=18852

Fixing a 914:
https://allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=20624
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  #8  
Old 08-17-2020, 10:12 AM
Antoine_P Antoine_P is offline
MetalShaper of the Month August 2020, Sept 2022
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Stuttgart, Germany
Posts: 294
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As I wanted to keep an eye on the new engine, I decided to had some manometers but didn’t want to look ist out of place. So let‘s make it happen:











And mounted





Cheers

Antoine
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Antoine Puygranier
Resurrecting a 60 ghia:
http://www.allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=18852

Fixing a 914:
https://allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=20624
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  #9  
Old 08-17-2020, 04:33 PM
Pehr Pehr is offline
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Location: Öckerö Sweden
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Default Looking period

That looks really nice Antoine
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  #10  
Old 08-18-2020, 04:44 AM
Fargoman Fargoman is offline
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Default

VW were never generous in providing instruments.

If you go back to the late 50's they gave you a Speedometer and nothing else. Not even a fuel gauge.
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