The Cal-look Lounge

Or .....

Should I keep hitting ?

Or .....

Should a fanhousing have quarter inch deep filler ?

So I bought this a while ago and didn't do anything with it. I knew it had some damage, the thickness of the filler was a giveaway, but I like the shape and as my engine is raised the flat top gives a bit of clearance.

This is what I got. Brazilian or Puma ?
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Some slightly bent edges
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This is the 'better' lower corner

[attachment=1]

And the opposite side with the filler

[attachment=2]

It's so thick the folded seam has disappeared

[attachment=3]

Now I'm no professional and have never tried to shape or flatten metal before. I can swing a hammer with great enthusiasm but not with much skill or accuracy  :D

So a few good whacks and it looked like this

[attachment=1]

Using a pice of wood and a lump of metal as a dolly it started to take shape

[attachment=2]

The black paint against the clean metal was a bit deceiving so I decided a clean up with a disc on the grinder was needed

So a bit cleaner and the low spots were easier to see.

This was the better side at the start (still a low point)

[attachment=1]

And the side with all the filler

[attachment=2]
[attachment=3]
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So it's getting there slowly but the guides inside aren't making it easy to get a clean swing/strike.

Would a spoon or slapped help (I've been looking at different tools) or is the only way to do it properly to prize open the folded edge and seperate the two halves ?
There are a couple of digs/scratches that will need filling. Regular filler ok or should I try some lead loading ?

Or am I just wasting my time ? Be honest, I can take it  :)

Puma....Pretty rare, I'd fix it....

Can you not cut the bad part out and weld in a new piece off metal?

Henk!!!

Is this the same style shroud?

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2266106

Thanks for the replies guys  :)

Joel - thanks for the identification. I think your right, worth fixing.

henk - that never even crossed my mind to cut it out. At the moment I'm kinda enjoying trying to flatten it out. It's no Ferrari body haha.

j-dub - yeah that looks pretty similar. The only difference I can see is on the front face, mine has a raised rectangle either side with a large hole below. Heater flaps perhaps ?

Thanks
Darren

Not so sure I'd use this method  :D

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_UVW3loti9Y

You can't say whether it's of a Puma or not. It's a Brazilian made fan shroud, that's for sure. Possibly of a Brazilia, 1600 or a Puma.
They were available with or without heater outlets.
The your's is obviously the later type.
The large holes near the rectangle pressing are the holes for the spark plug wire holders which every standard VW shroud has. The same goes for the one in the middle just below the hole for the accelerator cable tube.

It's non dog house, Puma production started in '67...Brasillia was later, '74 I believe...

Well whatever it is, I'm still hitting it  :D

Treated myself to a new (old) hammer

[attachment=1]

Might be my imagination but it certainly seems to be helping with the larger face -

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There is a spot either side where the hammer reacts differently to the surface. Sounds different and has more bounce, hard to explain. I'm wondering if these areas were stretched by the damage.

Would heating help to shrink them ? Where have the metalwork experts gone ?

Just to see how it looks I thought I'd sit it on the case.

Hmmmm might have an issue here ....

[attachment=1]

i have those same pins!  ;D

i recently saw on YouTube, a guy shrinking the metal, he was heating the spot red, then quenching with a wet rag, said it was important to get the temp right, hot enough but not melting it.... was on the hooligan channel where they were restoring an old panel van

Decklid has to be off to install in the car...

....and the hinge brackets.

And possibly stay off too. Removed the brackets to sit the housing in position and there's no way they'll fit.

Only about 20mm/3/4" to the bottom of the mount
[attachment=1]

The top of the housing is about level with the lip at the rear
[attachment=2]

I'm now wondering if a 36hp shape would clear the hinges at the expense of being taller.
Might be able to borrow one tomorrow to test  :)

Andy - was it Hooligan or Hoonigan channel you saw the shrinking on ?

I had a quick look but couldn't see anything that related