V8 1973 VW Beetle Project by V8 Super Beetle

4 minute(s) of a 270 minute read

Got my replacement head in yesterday and everything seems to be as it should!

7-1-2008

These past couple of weeks I've been doing nothing but body work. I'm trying to finish the body work so it'll be ready for paint and I can move onto painting the chassis soon afterwards.

Now I know the correct way to fix rust on a car is to cut away the rusted metal and to weld in new metal but....

a) I would have to hack up another classic vw to get the metal I need cause the whole rear quarters of the body need to be replaced.

b) They make replacement panels but they are expensive. Once the rust becomes obvious under the paint I'll just fix the whole thing. This will hold me over for 3-5 years until I can afford to do that kind of panel replacement.

c) I don't want to take the risk of setting my car and garage on fire because of the factory foam installed right where the rust in an issue.

Now that I've got that out of the way here are some pics of some body work.


Got the first coat of primer on the body.

I've smoothed out the imperfections in the center of the door. There were a couple more spots on the edges.

If you recall from previous pictures there were some rust holes on the bottom section of the body behind the crescent moon vent. That's been taken car of. I've finished the drivers side rust holes but here's a pic of some layering of body filler smoothing out the holes.

Same for the passenger's side.

Here's a pic of the end results. Holes are gone. There's some small pin holes that need to be taken care of but for the most part it's repaired until rust comes back 5 years down the road.  

I'm just about done smoothing out all the little dings and rust repairs. Next I'm going to finish up the fenders and then I'll gradually sand and layer primer working my way from about 120 on down to 600+ grit. The last couple layers I'll work in some wet sanding. Then she should be ready for primer, base coat, and clear.

How much do you guys think I could expect to pay for primer, base and clear all from the same manufacturer? Honda Vivd Blue Pearl, paint code B-520P. I'm not looking for the highest grade paint, but something that'll last 5 years. My Uncle is going to spray my car so I'm looking into the cost of just of the paint. Enough to cover the outside, inside doors / jams, and possibly under both lids.