Phill's Nova Project finally begins

[steve_d]

.......



As you can see it's looking very rusty in parts. Next job will be to go over it with a wire brush and sander to see the full extent of the corrosion and assess how much needs replaced....

Can I suggest getting it grit blasted? You would be surprised how much you will miss trying to do it with a wire brush.
Patrick brushed his and it did not look too bad apart from the floor pans which he had started to replace. Once it had been blasted we had to declare it beyond saving.

Steve

PS That prompts me to ask does anyone want a pair of secondhand floor pans?

[Phill]

I have now had a chance to clean up the pans and have decided it's probably best to cut the existing ones out and replace with new. A quick search reveals that new pans are available from as little as £65 a side - whereas heavier duty pans are about £250 a side. The question is are the cheaper pans any good and up to the job, or should I invest in ones made from thicker metal?

Meanwhile, I managed to source an original beetle pedal assembly.

[MicksRedNova]

Phill
Repacement pans come up on eBay quite regularly, from people who invested new tin but never got round to their planned refurb and scrapped their Beetle. Mine cost £15 and was still in its wrapper with paper labels.
Depends if you have time to wait for one (or two) to come up. If your doing seatpan drops then about half the pan could be replaced with thicker steel depending how you do the mod.

Mick

[Peter]

The thicker pans are from German OEM manufacturer and are about 20% thicker and have a higher carbon content, (stronger and less prone to rust) but are expensive but will last 40 + years. If you are not intending to have the cr in 10 years time, let alone 40 , then the cheap ones (usually Brazilian) will keep the seats of the black stuff just as well and as has been said, you will need to drop the floors anyway unless you are under 5'5" .

[Phill]

I decided to go ahead and replace the floorpans. It seemed a shame not to.

Spent some time over the weekend removing the N/S pan. I'd replaced a pan once before many years ago when my old nova was damaged in a road traffic accident. I cut the old pan out with an angle grinder and used a cold chisel to remove the remaining strip of metal running the length of the frame by chiseling through the spot welds - a long and laborious task for someone of my age. The new pan fits a treat though. Just have to carry on on and do the other side now.

(Sorry for the quality of the pictures - they were taken on my phone which doesn't have the best camera - will take some better pictures after I have completed both sides)

[Phill]

I have managed to source a VW pedal assembly and went to do a trial fit today.

First job was to cut a hole in the central tunnel to allow the assembly to be placed in position. As mentioned before, a previous owner had begun installing an aftermarket assembly and I was now having to revert back to the standard system. I drilled a series of holes then opened these up with a cold chisel to make an aperture big enough to fit the assembly through. With the pedal now roughly in position I discovered my next problem was going to be modifying the Napoleans Hat to accept the Beetle master cylinder. The present hole is in the wrong place and does not line up with the pushrod on the brake pedal

[Phill]

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I have managed to source a VW pedal assembly and went to do a trial fit today.

First job was to cut a hole in the central tunnel to allow the assembly to be placed in position. As mentioned before, a previous owner had begun installing an aftermarket assembly and I was now having to revert back to the standard system. I drilled a series of holes then opened these up with a cold chisel to make an aperture big enough to fit the assembly through. With the pedal now roughly in position I discovered my next problem was going to be modifying the Napoleans Hat to accept the Beetle master cylinder. The present hole is in the wrong place and does not line up with the pushrod on the brake pedal

[Phill]

Started work on lowering the floorpans. Decided on a 2.5" drop. Cut the panels out of mild steel using a jigsaw and formed them to shape using a hammer and bits of wood on my workbench
Spent the evening pop riveting the driver side into place - ready to be welded up properly by a mobile welder.
One half in position - not a bad evenings work

[bushboy]

Nice job Phil.

Are you going to drop the foot well infront of the pedals?

Bushboy

[Phill]

No plans to do that - just the seating area. But I will be shortening the pedals