Aircooled VW South Africa

Friends,
Finally decided that my really tired 182 needs a resto and with Sani pass looming decided to get the tools out. I will be there with or without the 182 but in its current state it would have been my certain demise With some help from Slak (dankie) I managed to drive (fully licensed) 182 home with a purring motor but virtually no brakes Also with my arse almost on the ground due to one huge gaping hole in the floor, collapsed pan.
This car, simply put is a danger on the road and a danger to me so time to get it sorted. I knew this was going to be a major challenge
but now that I have started I cant believe how bad this 182 actually is. You read about the rust and bad workmanship but this one has to be up there with the worst of the worst. I have called it a "resto from boat to car" because the pan and body have been moulded together with fibreglass. Yes more fg than metal, and then to add to that the pan has also been joined together with metal plates using rivets, screws and bolts. Must have been whatever the previous owner had in his toolbox Perhaps we should have a thread for worst resto ever done, I might just win with my current 182 And it still got worse, the seatbelts were held on by 3 x pop rivets, yes pop rivets where the one large bolt should be into the body plate. . I simply yanked them straight out of the body they had been secured to. Must have been used to get through roadworthy
What would be interesting is to find out where this 182 came from because underneath all the rubbish the original colour (beige) does not look like factory spec and certainly more military. With so few 182's made I can only assume this was made for the military somewhere, now with help from others maybe I can find out. So this is promising to be a big build with loads of challenges and an endless pit of dosh but I'm enjoying it and excited, I must be completely mal. And don't ask why I bought it, suffice to say I needed it
Madbones
* I will upload pictures shortly.

Madbones...im not sure where the collapsed floor came from as we did drive it and there was no collapsed floor pan!....but none the less, as You were well informed at the time you bought it from Me, i had bought this 182 from Gerhard in Bloem, in fact i bought it straight out of his Museum "as is" and sold it on to You on the same terms "as is" two years later. I supplied you lots of pics and also informed you that it had loads of body filler and rust plus some fiberglass...just so we are all on the same page...and i never repaired anything other than a few things to get the engine running better on it.
All the best with your resto...i do recall i did organize you a pair of new floor pans (at my cost) that came with the Thing After all it is a factory 182 RHD and worth saving by all means !

Hey Splitbusahollic,
I bought what I wanted (as stated) no regrets and this post is nothing about who I bought the 182 from so no need to stress.
What the thread is about is the future build and what I have currently to start with. I will post the facts (done) but stress again this is not about the seller but the resto journey and what I started with. I am a weekend hack so will do the best I can with what I have and also farm out where its over my ability. This is about living the dream and enjoying my hobby, and I wont be using any fibre glass
I did buy the pans from you and you gave me a good price thank you.
Madbones

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So any help or guidance on the VIN number appreciated, this was an early model and a 182 nogal

Can not see the Vin clearly. What is wrong with it?

if you need any parts , please let me know ! i would love to help you get this baby sorted !

The vin plate and the vin number match so great no issue. Trying to find out more about trying to decipher it?

Thanks Split I will be needing some side panels so I will be in touch.
Ciao

So managed to get the body off the pan this weekend.
It always looks easy on youtube but lifting this body off was not easy, weighs a ton.
Next starts the hard work of cutting and replacing floor pans.
The body needs a lot of attention with the normal rust.






Any tips on the best way of removing bondo body filler? Already tried paint stripper and heat gun but hoping there might be a simpler way?

Thanks.

Only thing I found was a grinder..

Good Luck

Herman

And Polyfam sanding disk
Oh and safety glasses and dust mask (very important)

So Ive been busy doing what I like best, stripping things down.
-Removed front beam and completely stripped down. Enjoyed using my new tie rod splitter, awesome and love the crack ! Next need someone to press out the ball joints, sounds very difficult need machinery.



-Removed reduction boxes and gearbox. This was a messy job and often challenging when alone.




-Removed rear springs and plates and based on past post opted for safety first. Saw this on the internet and made one, simple cheap and easy to use.





So the pan is now ready to be repaired so off with the old steel and fibre glass and then welding in the new.
Going to focus first on getting the pan and chassis back together before I decide what to do with the body.
Don't want to start doing too many jobs at once but bite of small chunks and then finish each chunk
Also found a crack in the tunnel and the tunnel seam has slightly pulled apart so that will need welding.
So now to gather the chassis and suspension parts for sand blasting and powder coat.
Ciao
Madbones