My 61 panel (and a 66 panel digout)

[karl h]

next i lenthened the front part upwards to get into good metal

_________________
61 panel: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465022
68 ghia vert
arctic alice (63 on irs): http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,27456.0.html
86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert

[karl h]

both side parts are now welded

next, i fit the cargo floor to not have any suprises with the fit of the pillar later on

_________________
61 panel: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465022
68 ghia vert
arctic alice (63 on irs): http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,27456.0.html
86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert

[karl h]

the pillar clamped for the final time

and welded in

after complete welding i noticed that i screwed up and the pillar part wasnt in straight, it tilted forward a little bit , but enought to not let the dogleg fit . i did use the cargo door for alignment, but not the dogleg part - big mistake. be sure to always use all adjacent part to to check the fit....
_________________
61 panel: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465022
68 ghia vert
arctic alice (63 on irs): http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,27456.0.html
86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert

[karl h]

so after some fitting tries

i first decided to take the inner dogleg apart to make it three-piece (this helps fitting) and weld the upper part to the autocraft skin first

and screwing the inner part to the body via self-tapping screws

using a wooden block and a BFH the b-pillar was "persuaded" to move back a little (after i opened up the spotwelds to the inner rocker at the bottom)
_________________
61 panel: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465022
68 ghia vert
arctic alice (63 on irs): http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,27456.0.html
86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert

[karl h]

some adjusting of the doorgap

_________________
61 panel: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465022
68 ghia vert
arctic alice (63 on irs): http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,27456.0.html
86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert

[karl h]

...and i ended up with an acceptable doorgap

one of the threads of the upper hingeplate is stripped, but i dont want to butcher the a-pillar to get it out. any ideas? can a helicoil be used in steel? not using all four bolts per hinge is not a good idea.
_________________
61 panel: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465022
68 ghia vert
arctic alice (63 on irs): http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,27456.0.html
86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert

[karl h]

after the dogleg was in i finally welded in the WW cabfloor. i had to modify the drivers side because it was too short, maybe my fault...

the front of the cabfloor was welded through holes i had drilled through the inner valance
then i turned to the front crossmember and welded on the outer sheetmetal finally

i started fitting the lower noseskin, not an easy task, stay tuned
_________________
61 panel: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465022
68 ghia vert
arctic alice (63 on irs): http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,27456.0.html
86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert

[karl h]

first im tried to slip the lower nose skin under the headlight buckets from beneath.
yeah, right.....

but that wouldnt work, so i had to....

much easier fit and easier to weld the center section, because i can get clamps in through the headlight holes

_________________
61 panel: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465022
68 ghia vert
arctic alice (63 on irs): http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,27456.0.html
86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert

[asesapie]

Nice work, your build is motivating me to get out there early and attack some rust on my bus.

[Schwing]

You're doing a great job. I was challenged by the same nose repair too. I ended up doing it almost the same as you where I cut the original nose away from the inner valence by about 6" (smaller than the repair panel) and then I clamped the new nose to the area (overlapping) so I could mark an exact line.

I made my mark with a sharpie and once I removed the panel I made sure to barely let the cut off wheel go into the line so there was a decent gap.

Two things I learned from this repair is to really take your time welding and grinding. I ended up with warpage from grinding too quickly. Also make sure you clamp the new panel to the outer valence lip before making your marks; this assures your nose is sitting as low as it should if it were plug welded to the outer valence.

Keep it up!

(I'm not saying I did this the right way, but just sharing how I overcame this area)

[karl h]

if i can motivate one guy i´m happy
nice work, schwing. i will try to go real slow when welding and grinding. i have punched holes in the lip on the front crossmember to try and weld the skin from below and then fold over the seam. pretty sure i will use a combination of flanging (in a flat area) and butt welding (where things are round)
_________________
61 panel: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465022
68 ghia vert
arctic alice (63 on irs): http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,27456.0.html
86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert

[karl h]

continued on the lower nose skin:

it was a little difficult to get the headlight buckets to sit properly

fit on the drivers side was perfect!

_________________
61 panel: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465022
68 ghia vert
arctic alice (63 on irs): http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,27456.0.html
86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert

[karl h]

not so on the passengers side. i was just missing 5mm, no matter what i did

after a lot of screwing around i finally made a vertical cut to get the seam right. failing to do this would stick out like a sore thumb

but also the fit of the horizontal seam was off by 10mm. this would immediately be noticeable when the bumper is fitted, so i had to do another (horizontal) cut

for the life of me i dont know what i did wrong, but its only metal an it can be modified to fit....

_________________
61 panel: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465022
68 ghia vert
arctic alice (63 on irs): http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,27456.0.html
86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert

[karl h]

carefully folding the seam around the a-pillar

and very slowly to not build up too much heat grinding down the welds on the nose skin

_________________
61 panel: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465022
68 ghia vert
arctic alice (63 on irs): http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,27456.0.html
86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert

[karl h]

and welding the last few parts of the cab floor. i will turn the bus on its side to get to the outer welds from below

mount of the gas pedal is original to the car. thankfully the WW floor is marked by dimples where it goes, its not centered in front of the hole for the actuator rod

_________________
61 panel: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465022
68 ghia vert
arctic alice (63 on irs): http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,27456.0.html
86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert

[karl h]

mounted the "rotisserie" and turned the car on its side, then welded the floor on the outside from the bottom

_________________
61 panel: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465022
68 ghia vert
arctic alice (63 on irs): http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,27456.0.html
86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert

[karl h]

closing the lower seam was also easier in this position

_________________
61 panel: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465022
68 ghia vert
arctic alice (63 on irs): http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,27456.0.html
86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert

[karl h]

turned level again the last part of the seam at the driversside a-pillar was folded

_________________
61 panel: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465022
68 ghia vert
arctic alice (63 on irs): http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,27456.0.html
86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert

[karl h]

i cut back the inner b-pillar to be able to slighly hammer it forward from the inside to close a little gap at the b-pillar (driversside)

then fabbed the upper part and used a modified german metal lower part to make it complete

a buddy gave ma a 1200 73 bug for free, i will get it friday, so maybe the bus takes a little break.......
_________________
61 panel: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465022
68 ghia vert
arctic alice (63 on irs): http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,27456.0.html
86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert

[karl h]

disregard
_________________
61 panel: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465022
68 ghia vert
arctic alice (63 on irs): http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,27456.0.html
86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert