Some Hot VWs That Came Through the Shop This Spring

Last few weeks at the bay have been a parade of really nice cars. Quick roundup, in no particular order, with notes on what we did or talked about.

A '67 Beetle with a freshly built 2110, dual 44 IDFs, full IRS swap. Came in for chassis squareness check after the swap shop left a 1/8" diagonal mismatch he'd been chasing. Set it on the surface plate, found a tweaked rear torsion housing where the welder pulled it. Cut, re-jigged, welded with the housing pinned to the plate. Diagonal back inside .020" before we let him drive home.

A '72 Bus, bay window, tin-top, with a full Subaru EJ22 conversion and Kennedy adapter. Owner brought it in not for the drivetrain (already sorted) but because the rear apron was telegraphing through every panel below the belt line - rust pattern from a previous patch repair the prior shop just fiberglassed over. Cut the apron out, fabbed a new lower section out of 18ga, butt-welded with the body still on the chassis. Took two days.

A 356 Pre-A coupe, recent import, customer driving it cross-country. Just stopped by to say hi after he saw our work in Air-Cooled Spirit. Didn't need anything - kept the 6V system, original oil-bath cleaner. Reminded us why these things hold up: simple geometry, simple service.

A '73 Thing in primer, owner welding everything himself, came in with a question on his roll bar weld penetration. We x-rayed the welds in the bay. Two had cold starts. Showed him how we re-strike when we have a doubt. He left, came back two days later with cleaner welds and a six-pack.

If you've got something coming together and you want a chassis check before paint, we book that in 90-minute slots Tuesdays and Thursdays. No appointment, no problem - just call ahead so the lift is open.

Brian