The Cal-look Lounge

Hey everybody.
I really like build threads, so it's time to start another one.
I've been thinking about a beetle as daily driver for some time as I remember the good old times with the trusty shit box I had before I bought my 67. Earlier this year I took the chance. A friend of mine searched for a beetle to replace a very rusty body on a customer's car but plans changed and suddenly there was the opportunity for me to buy it for a very good price.
After a quick call with my wife, I gave it a go.
It's an 84 Mexican beetle which is more or less complete apart from a missing engine. The body has rust in the usual areas but is very solid in general. It has never been welded or involved in an accident. The previous owner started to work on the car but stopped for some reason.
This is the way it looked when I got it.
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Plan is to build a low budget car that will be driven daily from April to October.
Of course, it will have some Callook tweaks regarding tire choice and stance and other details. And for sure the engine will not be the standard 1200…
I think I will go for black trim and no chrome as this really fits well to the green color. Maybe somehting like this:
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After disassembly it became obvious that the frame head has some serious rust issues, I guess that's why the project was stopped before. Luckily the frame head can be saved.
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So, I started to take care of the crusty areas, I will try to update this thread frequently.

Cheers Stefan

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Always good to see someone saving a crusty one and doing it right, keep up the good work  8)

cheers Richie

thanks Richie :)
In the meantime the welding fun started. I am by no means a professional, but at least I have some good advise from a friend...
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Brilliant to see another build thread on the go. Looks like an indepth project as well.  :)

yes, like on most projects there was more rust than you would have thought initially  ;D
The front had holes in the typical areas, after test fitting the new parts I welded in the right side front section. Next job is to weld in the repaired bumper brackets again and than the front apron and spare wheel well.
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Nice to see this build, keep up the good work! :)

That's beyond my skillset and very impressive to see.

thanks guys :-)

Yesterday I prepared some more sheet metal, hopefully I will find time to weld the patches in next week. The body is getting closer to the finish line. Doors and two of the fenders still need atention though
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I finished the A-pillars on both sides, repaired the original bumper brackets, welded them back in and also welded the spare wheel well in.
Now only the front apron is missing on the body  :)
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Nice work :)
And great to see a Mexican bug saved  ;)

Yeehaa. The body is nearly finished, yesterday I welded a patch in the rear apron and put the front apron in place. I was lucky to borrow a spot welder from a friend for this task
All fenders are repaired as well.
I only need to add brackets for the removable rear apron and finish some details before I can start to prepare the body for paint.  ;D

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Nice updates Steve, works rocking along

thanks  :)
I started to work on the chassis. I was lucky to score a 1302 chassis for very little money and started the IRS conversion.
On Mexican beetles the chassis is prepared for IRS mounts, the holes are closed with a cover.

Covers removed
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jigs for IRS mounts testfitted on the 1302 chassis
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the cutting starts with some help from a friend
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Next step is to remove the remaining material form the IRS mounts...
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Nice work dude, got a way to go there though …I have a question, where did you find your front wings if you don’t mind me asking?

thanks Matty
the right one is still the original one, just had to weld a small area on the headlight bucket
The left one is a NOS VW part, Scarab in Belgium sells them for a good price

cheers Steve

Cool thanks for the heads up!  8)

Very cool project!

Keep posting the good stuff.

things are progressing.
The 84 is already fillered and I am currently removing underbody coating, dirt and surface rust underneath the body. Would have been quicker with dry ice blasting, but as this is a low budget project I do it the old school way.
I still need to redrill the trim holes on the passenger door. The door is new to the car and the lines don't match. Driver door is still waiting for a specialist to gas weld the outer repair panel in, I hope that's going to happen next week.
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