Clutch Tube Instal

When installing a clutch tube in a pan, you must cut 2 holes in the tunnel so you can do some welding inside. One just in front of the seat belt threads and one just behind the peddle cluster. These will be the 2 spots where the tube will be welded to the inside of the tunnel. Some people only cut the 2 sides and the top and bend the flap down. I like to cut all 4 sides, it makes for a cleaner finish when you are all done.

The next thing is to drill a hole where the clutch tube will exit the rear of the pan. Since the throttle tube exits where the clutch normally does, I had to move the clutch tube to the right and down a little. You have to make sure the hole is drilled in a location that will allow for the tube to exit from the tunnel passing through one of the 2 holes in the opening to the left of shift rod. The next picture should show you what I mean.

Next, you need to insert the tube from the hole in the front end of the tunnel and slide it all the way through the hole you just drilled. Mine goes through the hole closer to the center of the tunnel as the larger whole was already filled with the throttle tube. Once you know the tube is in it's final resting place, make sure to weld it in tight. You do not want this thing moving around on you. They make a nasty noise if they come loose.

It does not really matter where in the center of the tunnel the tube goes through as long as there is a good place to weld it. Mine happened to go through right next to the side wall of the tunnel so I welded it to the wall itself. From the factory they weld a bracket in place that is used as a support for the tube.

The front one is the hardest to weld in since there is not a lot of room to work. It must be secure and it must be in the correct spot so the cable exits the tube where the hook on the end of the clutch peddle sits in the tunnel. Oh yea, and you are welding at the end of a tube so you can very easily weld through. I managed to get this one without burning through, but the tube did have a small chunk missing from the removal process.

All done with the tube. Before welding up the wholes, replace the shift rod so you have easy access to the bushings. Here you can see that I have welded every thing back up.

Picked up the 69 Pan

I picked up a 69 Auto Stick pan that will hold the 57 body. It will of course be converted to 4 speed but I got a clutch tube with the pan so that should not be a big deal. The pan halves are both going to need replaced, but the 63 pan which the 57 is sitting on now has great original halves. Nice and thick with no rust. It' won't be much fun drilling them off the pan, but worth it. You can't buy pan halves like this new.

The blue car in the background is my 56/69 that I built in 1992. It's for sale right now, but I may wind up keeping it... Depends on if someone will pay me enough for it.

Rear Apron Removal

One of the first things to tackle is going to be the rear apron. It's original to the car, but that is about the only positive thing that can be said about it. It's been so banged up it's actually curved in the wrong direction. The "H" is rough but probably fixable. My plan is to cut it out behind the seal lip and weld the "H" into an aftermarket apron. I've seen this done and the results were very good. http://www.thebugshop.org/bsp57_5.htm

I've started drilling the spot welds to get the apron off the car. What a pain this is. If you intend on doing this, be sure to do some research first. You really don't want to just use a big drill bit. Not only is it slow, but the results are not very good either. In one of my next few posts, I will share some tips on using a spot weld cutter. Not only is this a huge time saver but the results are far more usable.

Project Started!

This blog will document the work I am planning on doing to my 1957 VW Bug over the next several years. I picked it up from a guy in St. John Washington for $600 in March 2008. It was sitting on a 59 pan that barely rolled but it made it home with the help of 4 tires I had to borrow from a friend (thanks Chris). There was no title, but I'm not planning on using the 59 pan for anything but parts anyway.

It came with all the body metal, raised emblem hood (look close it's inside the car), 66 style deck lid, mismatched rear fenders, original doors and a great set of original bullet front fenders. It also came with 5 engines, 2 free spinning dual relief short blocks, 2 free spinning 40HP long blocks with some top end parts, and a frozen 36HP short block. The 59 pan it was sitting on had perfect pan halves, a great front beam, and a nice looking split case tranny. I am planning on using the pan halves to repair the 69 pan that will go under the car. The beam and tranny from the 59 will be sold and the tunnel will be scrapped or given away.