It's been a while since I have posted any progress on the Beetle, so I figured I better get everyone up to date.

Once I had the front wheel well in looking good and the rear quarter panel welded up to the heater channel I knew that the right side of the bug was now pretty solid. I could then remove the door on the right side and get to work on the lower post. This section of the car was pretty rough and it was poorly repaired in 1996 (I know since I did it wen I was pretty much a kid). I had a replacement panel to weld in place but it didn't have the inner section that the door actually bolts to. Thankfully that section was is pretty good except one of the bolt holes for the door hinge. I had to make some repairs that included tapping the heavy gage steel so the hinge bolt had something to screw in to. For years this door only used two bolts.

I used the new replacement panel for the lower door post as a template and marked the metal that needed to be cleanly removed. I actually bolted the replacement panel in place over the old metal to ensure everything was lined up just right and didn't move. This section includes a fold between the front quarter panel and the lower door post. The key to all of this was patience. Don't rush things and make sure you cut straight lines so you can do a nice but weld.

As you can see in the images the process is a little tricky, but it makes sense as you cut away the rusty old metal and see how everything is actually put together. When you weld in the new place be sure that everything is straight and lined up with the rest of the door post. If you don't do this right the door may not fit properly going forward.

Thanks for following the build. Please leave your feedback, questions and comments below.

THEBUGNUT