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Sat Jul 04, 2015 9:41 am

I know there are several makers of reproduction VW body repair panels, but has anyone gone to the next step: making complete car bodies? Wouldn't that be sweet to be able to buy the complete body (I know it would HAVE to be pricey) and then just bolt it to your pan, and bolt on your fenders, etc. !

Just day-dreaming after re-surveying all the body work my project needs!

Sat Jul 04, 2015 4:28 pm

A decent roller would be far less expensive--and thicker, too.

Tim

Sat Jul 04, 2015 6:15 pm

'69 Camaros, maybe. '32 Fords, okay. But beetles? Why even try to fake the funk?

Sat Jul 04, 2015 8:24 pm

VW folk are cheap, your market would be limited. Your next issue would be what year would you make, Pre 52 splits, zwitters, 54-57, 58-64, 65-67, 68+ standards, 71-72 supers, 73-77 supers? Splits would most likely be most profitable but the cost to finish it would be pretty steep. I have a friend who repoped W decklids in steel. Top notch repro, reasonably priced in comparison to the originals, but they didn't really fly off the shelves like you would think.

Nice thought but it would never fly.

-jeffrey

Sun Jul 05, 2015 6:40 am

jhicken wrote: VW folk are cheap, -jeffrey

Eggs-zactly... One of the cheapest car cultures to date...

They'd.... :-k ..we'd... want a full body shipped to our door for $1000 (or less) using Paypal and it better include the body gasket, new hardware and be fully painted to original German specs.

Sure.. having a new body would be nice.. but in reality.. .with some work and/or money you can rebuild these tin beaters pretty easily.. and to be BETTER than "factory"..

If the "factory" was so good... why are we having to rebuild most of them :wink:
Answer...The cheap and frugal owners who drove these into the dirt through hell and back and left them out to rot cause "We'z a gonna RE-store it"...

I've watch more turn into a pile of German rust dust than be RE-stored.

Lots of things have been improved on in regards to rust prevention since the 1930's and you can bet it wouldn't be include in a new VW body price.

VW did a decent job.. and in retrospect much better than most at the height of air cooled production.

.

Sun Jul 05, 2015 6:48 am

You should be able to pick up a non running Mexican bug in Mexico for cheap.

Sun Jul 05, 2015 8:16 am

I agree with most of the comments. In general, the air cooled VW hobbyist is a frugal bunch who would never cough up $20K for a bare "body in white" Beetle shell. Even if it was produced the replica would not have the same German quality of fit and finish, sheet metal thickness and high quality steel.

Now, that's for a Standard Beetle. Due to the rarity and high demand what MIGHT sell and make financial sense would be an early Bus FIBERGLASS replica shell that would sit on a newer style ladder chassis. The chassis (tubular steel) could be similar to what Berrien Buggy is currently offering for their Dune Buggy fiberglass bodies. It would still use the classic VW air cooled flat 4 engine and tranny in the rear. It would be similar to what Factory Five is currently doing with replica Shelby Cobra fiberglass bodies and tubular steel frames.

I am also curious as to what happened to all of the original VW Beetle/Bus/Ghia stamping dies and heavy machinery. Are they sitting in a warehouse somewhere in the world(?)

Sun Jul 05, 2015 9:22 am

Yes ....that's what I was kind of hinting at in my original post. Did the Mexicans and Brazilians (and Germans for that matter) melt the old dies down as scrap iron, or are they rusting away in some warehouse? Perhaps a WW crew could launch an expedition and track them down!! And, yes ....perhaps a fibreglas replica would be part of the answer. I've thought of making fibreglas moulds of the patch panels I've bought ...wonder if there's a market for fibreglas patch panels?

Sun Jul 05, 2015 9:59 am

Digger89L wrote "wonder if there's a market for fiberglass patch panels?"

In my opinion no. Steel is always better in most peoples opinions. That's why all the muscle car repro panels are steel cause there isn't a market for glass.

Sun Jul 05, 2015 11:45 am

I concur, steel is the way to go for repro panels. You can currently purchase brand new late '60's Camaro steel body shells, including doors and truck lid, for around $14k from Dynacorn. That price does not include the front clip, hood or fenders. They are official GM licensed body shells and they are currently developing a brand new Ford Bronco '66-'77 steel body tub. The original Bronco bodies were rust magnets so this will be a great option if you can find a rusted out beater with a solid chassis.

I do see a market for officially licensed early VW Bus shells as "restorable" examples are getting difficult to find. What Samba member would not want a "brand new" classic 1949-1967 early VW Bus in their collection?

Sun Jul 05, 2015 1:20 pm

vwnut1 wrote: the replica would not have the same German quality of fit and finish, sheet metal thickness and high quality steel.

That's not true, the W decklids I mentioned earlier were of the same gauge as the originals. The shape and stamping are spot on, even the number of spot welds were replicated. Quality sheet metal is possible, it's just not cheap. Those decklids cost 100k just for the tooling. So to do the same for a complete shell (beetle or bus) would be a significant expense. Gearson at Classic Fab has been creating numerous parts for early buses. All OEM quality. His stuff is top notch. Although he doesn't do complete shells, with his parts you can probably build 75% of an early bus. He's started doing split window fenders, heater channels, aprons and a number of other patch panels. As the need grows, he'll probably start with other needed panels for later cars.

His stuff ain't cheap but you get what you pay for.

-jeffrey

Sun Jul 05, 2015 1:35 pm

agreed. the more a specific car becomes collectible and pricey, the more quality reproduction parts become available. You can already buy complete kubelwagen shells from lehar in the czech republic, and it won't be much time before you can pretty much build an almost complete beetle shell from gerson's panels.

Sun Jul 05, 2015 5:02 pm

I do agree that Klassic Fab (the funky green panels) makes some high quality replacement sheet metal. They are now selling Oval and Split Beetle front fenders, but they are pricey at $800 for the front pair. But like most things in life you get what you pay for. Quality does not come cheap.

Maybe one day we will see similar ads online for licensed reproductions of VW Beetle and Bus shells...

Sun Jul 05, 2015 6:00 pm

It would be interesting to know the fate of the stamping and molding machines. My bet is they got shipped from Deutschland to Mexico (at least, for the most modern body style.)

As far as the older ones, as much as I'd like to think they are stored, perhaps forgotten in a VW warehouse, or maybe in a ginormous storage facility at one of the Porsche estates in Germany, but our luck would be that they were decommissioned and sold off as scrap.

I'm not sure about Germany's laws, but here in the us, auto manufacturers have to be able to Mae parts for cars that are ten years old, from what I remember.

I would like to hesitantly point out that 03 was the last year of production for the Mexibug, which has been more than ten years. However, in Mexico, the law may be different.

So, I point to the fact that very few parts vw sells as new, for the old bugs via mid America motoroworks, and those are the emblems. So, my theory is that they kept an emblem pressing machine and tool and die set for that after all of these years and nothing else.

I also say that Mexican production would be a reason, perhaps not the only one, of why vw enthusiasts are so thrifty when it comes to paying for parts or demonstrating the market for it.

I would love to hear more about this firm making küebel bodies.

Kyle

Mon Jul 06, 2015 3:07 am

http://www.leharmilitaryvehicles.cz/

some members making repro kubelwagens bought parts from him.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=140035&start=160

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5272342

Mon Jul 06, 2015 10:44 am

There are an impressive amount of car shells are available in England for restoration purposes. MG's, Mini's, Triumph's, even the Gilbern Invader!

Mon Jul 06, 2015 6:12 pm

Kubelwagens are awesome, and it's a convertible! Do the replica bodies bolt onto a VW Beetle chassis?

Mon Jul 06, 2015 8:19 pm

vwnut1 wrote: Kubelwagens are awesome, and it's a convertible! Do the replica bodies bolt onto a VW Beetle chassis?
My guess is early beetle style only.

I'm wondering if it'd be a better offroader than a stock thing?

It is intriguing, and I'm sorry if we have departed too much from the original thread.

Kyle

Tue Jul 07, 2015 6:21 pm

Another car that this has happened for is the Citroen 2CV
http://www.ecas2cvparts.co.uk/body-shell-left-hand...-2257.html

Tue Jul 07, 2015 6:39 pm

Well, I guess the roll has started, so perhaps a VW beetle body shell repro is not a far away as some might predict.

Thanks for chiming in on the discussion, folks!!

Digger89L