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I have a 1973 bug. I have separated body and pan. The metal of the body is quite rusted all along the bottom. In fact the right bottom
plate is no longer attached. I set the body on sawhorses so I could inspect the underside. As I did that a large strip of the right bottom plate fell off. I ordered new bottom plates but I haven't a clue where to start.

The new bottom plates arrived today. The old heater channels are perfectly solid. I thought I might tack-weld the plate enough to hold it in place, then set the body back onto the concrete. The concrete is level. Then spot weld wherever I found solid metal on the bpdy. Where I couldn't I'd start cutting strips of 20 guage sheet metal and weld those to the gaps. This bug has been turned into a rough-country baja. So it doesn't have to look pretty.

Does this make sense? Anyone got suggestions on how to start? Short cuts? Something simple that I'm missing?

Thanks in advance.

Mount your doors and check all the gaps too - then go nuts ...

Thanks, I didn't consider the doors.

Here's what I did (using these):
1. Body off, windows, doors, etc stripped.
2. Invert body by resting on 2x4's across hood rim and rear side window bottoms supported by saw horses on sides.
3. Measure, document location of body mount nuts in old bottom plates.
4. Strip old bottom plates off, grind old spot welds on heater channel flange flush.
5. Rust-proof inside of heater channels with Eastwoods rust encapsulator.
6. Pre-fit and paint new channel bottoms (masking weld interface from rust encapsulator then painting weld interface with weld-through primer).
7. Turn body right side up on saw horses.
8. Clamp channels bottoms to channel flange and weld along seam (channel bottom is wider than heater channel) inside and out.
9. Reinforce rusted sections of heater channel sides/flange as needed.
10. Remove excess of channel bottom edges with grinder and paint.

Not exactly a quick and dirty job, but I think it will hold up for another 30 years. I recommend a spot weld cutter to ease removal of the old channel bottoms. I had my doors out the entire time. Nothing sagged as my heater channels were in good shape (except small spots in the front/rear corners). For Baja you may want to beef up with the convertable reinforcement channels. Good luck.

Thanks for the suggestions. The body is resting on a flat piece of concrete. I picked up the right side and wedged a short length of 6X6 under the center where the tunnel would be. That gave me enough room to grind the underside to clean metal. The first two bolt holes were solid so I left that piece of metal alone and cut the new bottom panel to fit. Then spot-welded it to the panel part that I hadn't removed while duct tape held the panel up.

Then I laid the car back down and welded the panel in. It took a lot of sheet metal to patch the rusty spots but in the end it looks solid.

I have two project cars. The '73 I've had for eight years. It was a rust bucket when I got it so over time I had converted it into a Baja bug. The other project car is a 1967 Beetle. I separated the body from its pan also. I plan to restore the '67 and put it on the '73 pan. I've already restored that pan.

I like your method of inverting the body. I will follow that when I get to the point of restoring the 1967 body.