Turning Scrap Metal into Useful Beauty

I don't know why, but it seems that the hinges on a Type I decklid get a lot of abuse. On earlier decklids, the brace where the decklid spring goes--with the constant tension on it--pulls loose from time to time. But the hinges just have to be able to open and close the decklid with no real tension on them. Maybe they get torn because some knothead opens the decklid and just lets the decklid fly up, thereby putting a strain on the hinges. I can't tell you how many early decklids I have looked at that have had this fate occur to them. Of all the early decklids, perhaps the "W" decklid, used in various forms from the inception of the Beetle until 1957, are the most desirable, as they are the oldest and therefore the hardest to come by in decent shape. Because they are the oldest, they have had the most opportunity to be abused throughout the years, and good ones are becoming quite rare. And of all the "W" decklids, probably the most sought after, is the Split-Window one, with the "Pope's Nose" brake light. Right after that one in terms of desirability, however, would be the decklid made for the Karmann Cabriolets, or Convertibles. Because the Cabriolet had no provision in the body for cooling air to reach the engine, Karmann Coachwerks made louvers in the stock "W" decklid, so the engine in the Convertible could get it's needed dose of air. Since there were far fewer Convertibles made than Sedans, they are that much more rare. And, the convertible "W" decklid is also highly prized by owners of early cars that have high-performance engines in them, because they can give a big-inch, dual-carb'ed engine that extra amount of air it needs to feed the carbs and cool the engine. I was fortunate enough to be visiting my friend Rob de la Grange (he runs and internet-only business called San Diego VW Parts, www.sandiegovwparts.com), a while ago, and he mentioned that he had been able to talk Jake Raby, in Florida, out of his convertible "W" decklid and was going to have it shipped out to Southern California. Rob offered me first crack at purchasing it. Well, Rob made me an offer I couldn't refuse, and I ended up with the decklid. It was in good shape, considering the age of the lid, but it had the usual dings, dents and torn hinges that are so common with these early decklids.

We set out to repair the torn hinges by finding a "donor" decklid that was beyond salvation, but still had good hinges. We cut out both sets of hinges, trimmed the new ones to fit, made sure they lined up with the hinge perches on the car and welded them in, using as little filler as possible.

We also carefully removed the rain gutters on this lid, as they would interfere with the dual Solex Kadron carbs I am running in the Mail-Order Resto-Custom.

We saved the rain gutters, just in case we ever decide to put them back in, they can simply be spot-welded back into place.