The Life and Rebuild of Dad’s Iceland Green 1955 Beetle

[Dan22]

I have moved over to the passenger side repairs which will be more substantial. The driver's side was the learning curve for heater channel replacement.

Now, I have to finish straighening the B-pillar door jamb before I replace the damaged quarter panel. I find that the jamb is supposed to be straight up plumb to the door as verified on my "good" side, and by my interpretation of common sense German design.

The crash caused the latch area to get pushed back by 4-5mm of straight. You can see the gap above and below the pocket in this view with a straight edge.

I rigged up a pulling hook to the door latch screws and used my rack and pull ram to bring it close.

I anchored the car to the rack with the come-along.

It got within a mm or so but the inside edge needed some additional pulling that the door latch could not do. Kinda twisted back. I found a strong hook and some backer metal to pull on the upholstery clip area and the same ram setup and got it very close.

Dang I like that!

Nice and flat almost all the way down. I can dolly out any remaining flaws.

This jamb had me mostly upset from the crash. At that time, I was not sure it could be fixed. I am finding that with a lot of thought and patience and moslty perseverence, it is coming back in a good way. I am fortunate enough to have invested in some handy tools and it makes the project fun to have these little wins every once in a while. My goal is to have no evidence whatsoever of the crash on my little gem.

I think it is a toss up whether to replace the quarter panel first, or to do the heater channel first. I have enough remnant of the original heater channel to align the quarter panel, but it sure would be nice to have a solid foundation for the quarter panel positioning. Any suggestions from the gallery?
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[VW_Jimbo]

Nice job pulling that B Pillar back into alignment!

I always take care of the heater channel first. It is the foundation that the body is built off of.
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[esde]

Very nice work! It's amazing how much can be cleanly pulled out, and so much cleaner than beating on it with hammers..
I would second Jims suggestion to do the heater channel first, even if it was only tacked oil place to establish the door gaps. The quarter panel is really just a skin and shouldn't affect the heater channel, but I can see the heater channel affecting how the quarter panel sits.
I've been taking a break from sparks and grinding, nice to come here and see other early cars coming together!
_________________
modok wrote:
Bent cranks are silent but gather no moss. I mean, ah, something like that.

[tehillah1]

Really nice work Dan. It is always great to see the creativity folks come up with to solve these kinds of problem areas. Half of the battle seems to in figuring out the how and what kind of tools and set up need to be employed.

[Dan22]

I will fit the door back on and see what the gaps look like. It is a chicken and egg thing since the heater channel affects the door gap and the quarter panel IS the door gap.

If the gap is good with the old QP, then I can do the heater channel first and confirm the gap remains good.

If the gap is not good -- I don't know yet what I will do!

If I put in the heater channel and the door gap turns out bad, that is a big problem.

Here is a before picture of the jamb for reference!

I thought I had some twist or kink in the window frame area so I tried to pull the inside upper edge back. I think I made a little progress but not much. I was surprised how strong this was. It basically pulled the body into a wheelie until I tied down the front. I gave up doing any more since it looked OK.

_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[Dan22]

More work on the passenger door jamb this weekend, rust damage at the bottom where it meets the heater channel. This is all to prepare to judge the door gap before the next big repair.

I salvaged a piece of b-pillar metal from a scrap door jamb, but had to form it to the correct width. I added the flare (wing) to the bottom. The challenge was to match the bend radii and curvature of the seal lip, and the upholstery clamp.

It took time to match the door seal step line, and not mess up the door opening height.

Welding went OK.

Now it needs some minor metal shaping to get everything visually linear or curvier, depending on the surface. This area got crinkled pretty hard. It is not perfect yet!

_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[VW_Jimbo]

I went through those same repairs on both doors, when I did the channels. I then had to redo them when I had to unflex the body. It has been all good since then, but man, that is one pivotal point in the body!

Looking good! Keep plugging away!
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[Dan22]

Tearing into the rusty crusty right rear quarter this weekend. This is the one that got hit. I have decided to replace the heater channel before the quarter panel skin. I think I could have mocked it up either way but since the outermost tip of the outrigger/crossmember was toast, it is necessary to do it first, regardless.

Here is the mess I started with.

So nice to have that gone.

Trimming away the bad and fitting up the new section. This piece is a pretty good fit overall. Luckily, the doubler plate is still in decent shape. Just surface rust. It got sand blasted and etched, then weld through primer.

Tacking and finish product. The critical factors I took care of were the horizontal position (outermost lap joint with the quarter panel/heater channel skin), and the level surface that mates up with the bottom of the heater channel.

The spot welds remind me of bullet holes!

Prepping the end of the heater channel for the v-shape end joint.

I am pretty happy with the progress. I am so looking forward to a solid right side to this car shell. I put the door on at the end of it all and the gap looks decent. None of this prep caused any issues there.

Next, is the heater channel removal and replacement.
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[VW_Jimbo]

Nice work! Love seeing these updates! I was wondering how that rear lower shelf meshed with the heater channel! I just winged it during the installation of the 2 of mine. I had never did a pre 55 body and have been amazed at all of the differences in the rear quarter panel areas. I got close to that metal work but went a different way around it. All that to say…NICE JOB!
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[Dan22]

Yeah that end mod is not exactly like the original. I presume it should have been like this example but my approximation works well. I did this on the driver side. It is strong and it won't leak hot air.

Here is Virtanen's version for comparison.

https://restorationpanels.com/product/rear-sections-of-heater-channel/

Oh to have had this panel 40 years ago. I would have maybe fixed it then.
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[Dan22]

The jury has given their verdict, and it is a go for heater channel replacement. This side came out much easier than the other. Experience is definitely a factor, knowing where all the hidden welds are. This time I used a spot weld cutter rather than a drill to separate the sections. The cutting surface is essentially flat so it makes separation easier than with a drill with the tapered tip. Minimizes damage to the back panel.

Here is why I am changing the whole channel out rather than patching it in. The door sill also had alot of rust pitting and I would have to replace 3/4 of it anyway.
Defroster tube and support area was shot.

The nut plate was stripped and the holder rusted away.

It's out!

_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[VW_Jimbo]

You made it look easy!

I like the spot weld cutters, too. BUT, they leave a very large hole to plug weld back together. The 3/16” drill bit is SO MUCH SMALLER! Less time welding, less gas used and LESS WARPING! That last one is the largest reason!

Do not get me wrong. Those cutters are great, but they have their moments. The rest of the time, a 3/16 inch drill bit is my best friend!
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[Dan22]

Jimbo, the cutter I used was the smallest I had, 6mm. They had larger ones in the kit but I agree smaller is best. The little dimple in the center usually does not go through but it works well to keep it piloted in the center. I cut until I see some rust between layers start to show, or some other clue that I am through the one layer by depth.

I find (my) cheap drills tend to wander and aim is critical for a good separation. Once you drift, you have to hack the part that is missed. I know I can solve that with a center punch and good drill.

Most of the welds popped right off without much struggle or warpage to the remaining metal. This is important too.

One thing for sure is my arms could tell I was working at this job. The cutters do not self feed! I had to sharpen it a couple times with a diamond file.

I am stoked to finally get progress on this side of the car. I wish I could take a week off work.
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[tehillah1]

Solid progress Dan. It all looks like it came out clean. Do you have your replacement channels?

[Dan22]

Yes. KF green! Modified with new carpet strip and heater pipe treatments. I can show them in a future post, but it is the same treatment I did on the left side channel.
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[Dan22]

Some progress last night to report. I started by rough trimming the defroster pipe because I am going to weld in my original. I trimmed it a couple inches long so I can precisely match the total tube length later. I suspected the bend of the pipe would be a tight fit in the cavity. Turns out it is not possible the way mine was made. The angle of the pipe should be steeper as it comes out of the channel. This is one problem with the KF channels (Gerson! )

I had to cut more off to pop it up in there. Forcing the bend sharper will split or kink the tube. I have enough leeway to cut it shorter, and the welded joint will need to have a dogleg shape to it. I will try to get a photo of what I did, when I do it.

Popped up in there! The overall length looks good. I need to extend the forwardmost tip of the channel by 7mm to lap properly to the inner fender panel.

I came up a few mm short on my B-pillar patch. This was flush with the original channel. It is fixable.

A good evening's work. Nothing is welded yet but it is bolted to the pan.

More fitting and adjusting the body position is next.
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[VW_Jimbo]

Looking great! Get the doors on there before welding in anything. You may have to tweak on a couple pieces!
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[tehillah1]

Nice fit-up Dan. It looks like it's coming together well.
I have a B-pillar door-side remnant if you need it...left over from my quarter panel repair.

[Dan22]

[Dan22]

Some tidbits to share. Continuing the fitup and prep for the right side heater channel.

Had some rust pits at the bottom of the A pillar to fix. Made a piece from an old b-pillar which has the right bend radius.

Easy fit up. I aligned the bottom with the original metal. Later found out it need it 2mm up when I put the heater channel in for test.

No pits or warpage to worry about.

I am also prepping the used '60 rear quarter panel, making it match the '55 style. I had to add the captive nut for the fender bolt so I filled in the slot for the stud style.

Then on to de-rusting. First sand blasted, then electrolysis and then phosphoric acid treatment. I want to obviously kill the rust permanently, which I have seen just blasted metal come back with rusty stains that were not in fact dead.

I had one rust hole, and some pitting that I backfilled with the TIG. It's coming along, one weekend at a time...
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074