Beetle Front Valance Replacement
From VolksWiki
Contents |
[edit] Rusty Valance?
So you've got a rusty valance on your Bug too then? look a bit like this?
Hopefully this article will guide you through the replacement so your bug looks as good as new. I've based this on a 1971 beetle, but the process is pretty much the same for all years (not so sure about 1302's and 1303's) even if the panel is a bit different.
If this is your first time it should take between 2 and 4 hours.
[edit] Preparation
Step 1) The first and most important job is to turn the stereo in the garage on, so you've got some tunes to keep you company. I prefer to use Kerrang radio, but I'm told other stations may exist.
Step 2) The front wings and bumper are going to get in the way, so we need to lose them for now. If they haven't been off for a while be careful undoing those bolts, snapping them or twisting out the captive nuts is a pain in the arse, plusgas or WD40 is your best friend here and you can get to the back of most of the bolts from inside the bonnet. You'll also have to disconnect the indicators and headlights.
Step 3) Take the spare wheel and washer bottle out.
[edit] Removing the rusty bit
Step 4) Time to get the tools out and have some fun! The Valance is spot welded (blue dots in the pic) to the front inner wings along the side, if you clear off the junk and dirt, you should be able to see the spots.
There are a couple of ways of going about this:
Step 4, Method A) This is the one I prefer as its quicker and personally I think you get a better result. Get the grinder out and fit a metal grinding disc or one of those nice flap disks and get all safety'd up with some goggles etc. The basic principal is to grind though the old valance but leave the panel behind untouched. I found it easiest to grind along the white line in the picture to separate the panel there, then go back afterwards and remove the side bit later. Take a bit more care on the top 3 or 4 spots on the front bit as its quite easy to slip and cut the wrong bit. Now do the same the other side and you should be able to free the vertical part from the inner wings. You might need an old wood chisel and hammer to persuade them apart (gently!)
Step 4, Method B) This is similar to the other method, but instead of using a grinder you use a spot weld drill to drill out each spot weld. This takes a while and it is very easy to drill through to the panel behind by accident.
You'll have to remove the bonnet catch at this point, on later bugs its riveted on, so just drill through them and put it somewhere safe.
Step 5) So your valance should now only be attached underneath at the bottom. I've never seen a beetle that hasn't been 'repaired' under here, so chances are its all a selection of MOT patches. From the factory, your valance should overlap the wheel well bottom by an inch or two and be spot welded to it. If it is, you're lucky, just grind/drill out the spot welds like the sides.
If not, chances are you're going to be replacing the wheel well too (I'll try and cover this in another article). You'll have to use your common sense here, depending on where/how its been patched. If you're going to replace it, just cut the old wheel well out as close to the front as possible. Hopefully the valance and the rest of the car will part company and you can add it to the pile of scrap metal in the corner of your garage.
[edit] Cleaning up
The front should now look something like the 3rd picture.
I'm going to pretend that you've either already replaced the wheel well or it was in decent condition condition already. So next you need to clean up all the areas that you'll be welding the new valance to. The best way to do this is with a grinder mounted wire wheel. Take it all back to nice shiny metal so you'll have no issues with the welding. You could at this point cover everything in a coat of Zinc 'weld through' primer, although I've always found this quite awkward to weld through, your call this one.
[edit] Fitting the new valance
Now if this were a Haynes manual I'd just end it with the timeless words 'Refitting is the reverse of removal', But even I'm not that lazy.
You'll probably have been parts shopping already, but if not go and buy the best panels you can. For late bugs you can still get a genuine VW (mexican) part for here, earlier stuff is more difficult, but shop around and buy the best you can, they fit better!
To be honest, welding the new valance on should be a doddle.
At this point I would line the panel up as best you can and put a couple of small tack welds to hold it in place. Its a nice easy panel to line up, but would be worth just closing the bonnet to check and if you're feeling really enthusiastic, refit the wings to make sure all is well.
As far as welding goes you've got three options really.
Spot welding
If you have access to a spot welder, I'd use it. You can hire them for about £40 a day, but its only really worth it if you have other stuff to spot weld. This will get the most 'factory' finish. You might not be able to spot weld along the bottom though as I doubt you'll get the arms of the spot welder around the two panels.
Plug Welding
A bit of a poor mans spot weld really. It involves drilling or punching a series of holes in the new panel, roughly in the same place as the factory spot welds were. Then you clamp it tightly against the panel its got to be welded to and 'plug' the holes with weld, essentially, spot welding it to the panel behind.
Seam Welding
This is an easy way to go, but doesn't produce the neatest result. Simply run a line of weld between the edge of the new panel and the panel behind.
[edit] Finishing up
So hopefully you've now got a fully welded and solid front valance. There are just a few things to remember.
Seam Sealer - Its your best friend to protect against future rust. Pop a bit on any seams you've just welded up, inside and out to keep moisture from creeping in and rusting from the inside out.
Bonnet Catch - The one you removed earlier. Just rivet it back in as you removed it.
Seal retaining strip - The new mexican panels come without the metal strip that holds the seal in place, I'm not sure whether the other replacement panels have them or not. You can buy this strip in sections, so just bend it to the right shape and tack weld it in place.
I'll try and add some pics of this when I've done it and the finished article.
