YJE is a 1973 Beetle 1200. It was purchased new in 1973 by a lady in North London. It was her daily driver until the late seventies when her son took it on.
He was the worst kind of owner. He slathered it in filler without any prep and resprayed it with god knows what. Water got under the filler and rusted from the outside in. All four corners have rotted out allowing water inside the sills which have rotten all the way along.
Something, maybe a drilling for an aerial has caused a hole in the rail above the drivers door has allowed rust to set in and water has then run down and sat in the expanding foam in the C post. The paint is 1mm thick in places and the top coat is out of rattle cans.
About ten years ago my friend bough the car, used it for a while then put it in a lockup. The MOT man told him even though he didn’t need one, it plainly wasn’t roadworthy so it hasn’t been used for three or four years.
It came to me as a commission to do the welding. That will mean a respray so the question is how far do we go. The owner wants to use it on the road as a daily driver, so no point painting the underside orange (it would be wrong anyway as the chassis and floors are black). But it does need new brakes shocks, W-bearings, clutch, so why not clean and paint it all on the way??
In action c2105. Production Car trial.
As it came to me 5 June 2022. Looks better than it is!
Jetwashed body, removed wings lights doors tanks bonnet, interior and engine and engine. Labled and boxed al parts. Welded broken seat frame.
Stripping down
Aug 2022 to March 2023 Repaired rust damage as as follows; These are the main areas. many other small areas needed attention. Generally done during free time 5 to 8 hours per week.
NS Front Arch
OS Front Arch
Battery Tray (using purchased panel)
OS Rear Arch
NS Rear Arch
OS Rear Window frame (hand made repair section)
My approach has been to leave welds as they are in areas where they are under the car or covered with trim or carpet and just treat with seam sealant. For exposed areas of exterior body, I have tried to get the best shape with the repair sections and ground the welds flat. I do expect to apply a thin skim of filler. I am confident that all the rust affected areas have been cut away and that the repairs are strong..
Little Mote Studio 