Hi Everyone, this time we are taking a look at the repairs that were required on the inside right rear wheel-well.
I had a feeling this was going to be a problem area. You could see a strange buckling from the inside of the car behind the rear seats. This area was covered by seam sealer so the rust was not visible until removed. On the outside the metal was full of holes along the reinforced area of the wheel-well. I thought that maybe I could salvage the area without a large repair but I cam to my senses and ordered a new replacement panel from CIP.
I carefully measured and removed a large section of the inner wheel-well and then used the new replacement panel as a template. I cut off any extra metal I didn't require for this repair from the new panel first and then marked the areas on the Bug where I had to make smaller cuts so everything fit nicely. Just a quick note... try and remove as little metal from the original car as possible. Take bigger swings on the replacement panel for removing material when needed. Remember, you can always get another panel if you screw up bad.
Anyway, This section required a lot of little trims to make it fit just right. I clamped everything in place and tack welded everything as I went. When I was happy with the way it was I finished welding the entire replacement panel in place. The replacement panel was OK, but I am not a huge fan of the body mount. I removed and saved the original body mount and I plan on re-installing it instead of the cheap one that comes with the aftermarket repair patch from CIP. I still have a small amount of work to do on this section before I say it's complete, but I will get to that soon before I move over to the left side of the car.
Thanks for following the build. Please leave your feedback, questions and comments below.
THEBUGNUT
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