Video: How To Remove the Body of VW Super Beetle

Video Overview:

The day is finally here, we’re going to split the body and pan for our 1971 Super Beetle. All of our last few videos have been leading up to this point so follow along for this short but sweet video. We pull 34 bolts and pull the body off the chassis, separating a bond that had been together since 1970 (our car was made in October of 1970).

Video Transcript:

Hi! I'm Sam with JBugs.com. Our last few videos have all been in preparation for this moment. We're done tearing down most of the parts from the body of our 1971 Super Beetle and we're finally ready to unbolt the body from the pan. We shouldn't have to mention it by now but save all the hardware until the car is done.

We start with the car sitting up on jack stands at all four corners. Then in the trunk, at the back end of the spare tire well the two plastic caps are popped off and the two bolts underneath them are unthreaded and removed. Inside the car at the front firewall, the two bolts going to the tunnel are unthreaded. Then, at the rear quarter cross members, the two bolts at either side are unthreaded as well.

Outside the car, at either rear fender well, the bolts at the left and right shock towers are unthreaded. Then, we move underneath the car to the front of the floor pans. The two bolts at either side are unthreaded. The bolts on both sides of our car required the use of a cheater bar and both of the outer bolts actually snapped during removal. Both inner bolts come out completely but show signs of corrosion. Once the body is off, we'll have to replace both nut plates in the body. Just another repair we'll add to the list.

The bolts along the sides of each floor pan are removed. There are nine per side. On the passenger side, there is a metal vacuum line that is held in place with the bolts and reinforced by washers. It can be removed once all the bolts are unthreaded. At the very front of the pan, just behind the sway bar mount, there are two more bolts one at either side which are removed.

Once they are, the front of the car can be lifted up and off the chassis to break the pan to body seal. Then, with the help of an assistant, the body can be lifted off the pan completely. We hope you've enjoyed this tear-down process which isn't quite done yet but pulling the body is a major milestone in our restoration. Next, we'll get to the tear-down of our chassis but that will be in upcoming videos.

Thanks for watching! Make sure to click the like button below, hit subscribe if you haven't already, and when you need parts for your vintage Volkswagen, head over to JBugs.com