"Texas", your compassion for metal work really shows, your skills are catching up inclusive of your camera and editing / content...tanks for continuing sharing

Outstanding CT!! You and Jason are both on the metal work!! What you’re doing is pretty serious fab work!!

perfect. the seam you made where the glass goes, simply sensational, I never get tired of watching your videos. real surgery. great job CT. 👏👏👏👏👏

Looking good, CT! Getting there...

Heck yeah buddy! That looked really tough and as far I could tell you did great.

I’ve spent countless hours, researching ways to remove the death foam from my 73 sports bug. I’ve been considering removing sections of sheet metal to make easier access; welding the sheet metal back in place after removing the death foam and thoroughly cleaning the cavity. My beetle is a family owned California survivor and it’s currently in dry storage, so I’m not too worried about severe rust, but I need to take measures to prevent it. My gratefulness to anyone willing to share their wisdom and knowledge with me, please! I’m a newbie with automotive restoration.

You have good metal working skills and your work is meticulous.That window will fit perfectly.

Oh yeah another beetle video hello CT !!!!!!!!!!

CT the metal surgeon, you rock!

Great. About time you drive a vintage VW product as a daily driver soon, probably beeing the biggest VW collector in your area. :)

Try practicing laying down a continuous bead instead of hundreds of tacks. I understand that you are trying to be careful, but a continuous need will not only look better, but it will be a stronger more reliable weld Also, tacking the part down is to keep the part from pulling away from the work as you weld from one end to the other. In this case tacking each end and also in the middle both inside as well as outside would be sufficient to stabalize the work so you could then lay down a nice continuous uniform bead. Once grinded you can't see the difference, but every time you stop and start the weldyou are causing a weak spot in your weld. Your weld if done properly should have the appearance of a leaned over roll of dimes. What you've got, (no offense) looks like goat pellets, and I'm not talking about what they eat. I applaud you for learning as you go, but take a moment to watch a skilled welder or two on KZfaq demonstrate a good bead and listen when he explains the purpose behind tacking the ends first. You shouldn't start from one end and tack every inch or two until you get to the other end. That defeats the purpose. By the time you get to the other end, the price gas heated, warped, and pulled away from where you had it positioned. Tacking each end first will stabalize the part to the work so that warping is minimized.

Yay another beetle video 😊😊

You’re a legend, I love this project

Fun times my friend, smart move cutting out those pieces. That has to save you a LOT of fabrication time 🫵🏻👍🏻

Way to go CT. Glad to see you pushing forward on completing this project. Cant wait to see you driving it. God Bless friend

I love watching the progress of things.

very hard piece to put in. Great job

Well done can’t wait for the next episode 👍

You got my attention! I've been watching your videos for a few days now. I have a 65 that I'm going to be redoing for my daughter. Your skills are mad! Keep it up. Oh I believe VW put that foam in the window corners to keep exhaust gasses from entering the interior spaces. I know it has its dark side, but they had a pretty good reason. I don't think you will have an issue with it as long as your exhaust is in good shape and most should vent out the louvers anyway.

DUDE !! YOURE KILLIN IT!! this video is awesome! your fab skills are getting really good. I feel like im learning a bunch from you

Man it looks like brand new! Perfect work! 👍

this is the dream patina! I love this redish tones of oxidation. Mine has patina, but not like this. Iv sanded with 1200grit and did some clearcoat all over.. looks amazing

There you go CT. Making progress on one project. Slow and steady wins the race. Consistent. I hope to start trying my hand at welding this summer!😊

CT, I have a Porsche 914 with its engine and trans that was good when it was parked. A young girl had the car and parked it in her father's barn when she got married. Years went by and the farm was sold. The new owners did not want the Porsche which was in pristine shape and pushed it out of the barn into the paddock. They moved it around a few times before I found out they had it. Somehow they dented every quarter panel. You know that they had no rust protection so the tin worm started its brutal business. When I found out about it (3 or 4 years later I believe) I made arrangements with the people to purchase it I have had it on my dad's trailer for the last three years as I have been recovering from getting hit on my 1957 Harley and nearly having my right leg taken off as well as learning how to walk again and fighting off the blood clots that went from my leg to my heart and lungs making me feel like I was drowning every time they closed off my ability to assimilate blood in my lungs. When I got the hospital the surgeons said I had less than six minutes if I did nt go right into surgery.I am doing much better and can walk without assistance. My dad wants his trailer back and I do not have a place for my beloved Porsche. I am coming back down to Florida in a few months to stay hopefully but I would like to find a good home for my beloved yellow 914.Do you think we might be able to work something out as either a collaborative venture or possibly you might want it. Your brother has that awesome place you do your builds in. I know that it really sucks to work on stuff alone and I would love to join forces and do some great things. message me and I will give you my number . I have a full mobile welding operation with an extra Miller Roughneck 2e that is an AC welder that I have DC conversion kit for. I have almost a full machine shop and will have a full machine shop soon We need to talk. Thanks-John P.S. I have a lot of glass for many years of bugs including wheel spacers and conversion 4 lug to five lug kits including an air-conditioning kit with a dashboard for a bug or a Kharmann Ghia.

Pretty complicated job there and looks like you pulled it off admirably.

I am enjoying watching you and Jason learning metal working at the same time. You guys should get together and take some lessons from Larry and/or Mike F. Onward!

Nice repair, that was tough with the vents! Like the others I just wanted to say I would of used the coat hanger technique, even though I have no flippin' idea wth that is 😆

Cool! Same color, don't even need to paint it! LOL Nice job!

Getting stuck in! looking good and solid.

A grinder and paint - make you the welder you ain't! That is my motto for body panel repair! Your graft looked good there in the end.

Looking forward to you getting back on the Ghia.

Nice job on the window patch. Check out the "coat hanger" technique to fill large gaps Bad Chad used recently on his Hudson project.

For the wider gaps use a coat hanger to fill in the gap. Secondly I would have left more material at the top of the louvers. You created a very tough scenario by cutting so close to the louver itself

Massive undertaking ….. can’t wait to see the completion

Just two suggestions. First, I think that you would have saved yourself a lot of trouble if you repaired the replacement patch before welding it into the car. Second, I suggest that you make a template of the whole window aperture before cutting out the other corner: that will make it easier and more accurate to align the replacement corner after you cut it out. Thanks for the videos and best wishes.

Man CT! I gotta handed to you! That’s some impressive metal work there! Specially when dealing with metal trim around the window trim! 😮wow! Great job overall! Looking forward to seeing the next chapter!👌😎👍

Its Awesome how farr you have come ! Thanks Straight Ahead ✌😎

Nice work Ct 👍

Great job ! 👍 Thank's for the video .

Great job - you sure have come a long way!!!

VW was 1 of my Best cars, I restored a 65 Convertible back in 1980, It came out Beautiful, I payed 150 dollars, I was a body man for Mercedes Benz When I was done I drove the car, for 2 years and sold it for a 68 dodge charger rt 440 4 speed, The Man that Bought the car Took it to have it checked out by VW they Told him the Motor ran like Brand new ,I puy a complete new floor pan it Actually had working Heat, What a great car for snow, , If ct Stands for CT that's were I live, Danbury at the Time, Good luck with your Build, Hope it turns out to be everything you Hoped for GOD Bless

Really good job. I admire your determination -

That fit much better than I thought it would, seeing as how the windows are different heights. It's going to almost look too good to keep the patina.

Excelente trabajo maestro.

awesome work man lovin this build

I really believe you has improved your metal work skills. And I wish you keep on the path and evolve all about it, because I can see this future.

Great job 👍

Awesome job 👏 👍🏿

Hello Nice job ...from belgium

Can’t wait for the repaint video

Talk about precise surgery! You cut it really close! That foam inside always rusts everything out in those more modern models. Somehow my impression was that bodies were the same from ‘58 to ‘64 and then ‘65 to ‘72. If the ‘73 is the same you got lucky. When you reinstall the glass make sure you use black butyl sealant inside the new rubber seal channels. That way you prevent that rust there in those window channels and especially that rear package tray. We’re getting there; like you say 😉👍

Hi CT Great Work Not Bad CT Keep Going CT Perfect Work Done And It Will Look Great After The Final Work Done Super Work CT Nice 👌👌👍

excelente trabajo maestro.....

Looking good CT😮👍💯

Wow didn't know that windows were that bad 😳..you did a great job 👏 doesn't matter what the welds look like CT They grind down...just have to make sure no holes or warping 😢

wow well done bro

Use coat hangar metal to fill in welding gap. That is what "Bad Chad" youtube car restorer does.

Cómo siempre excelente trabajo amigo Saludos desde Argentina

Thumbs up sir!

The way you’re doing it now you’ve got to worry about all kinds of warpage and distortion onto mention affective penetration at every one of those vent louvers!!

I was conserned with you welding that close to the vent holes but after you cleaned up the welds it does not look that bad. I bet with a little clean up with a round file you can get them to look factory.

Lookin' good 👍

Отличная работа! Спасибо большое за ваши видео!

Hey there, Mr. CT.. Tricky, ah? Hehe.. You cut soooo close to the louvers (grilles) it became difficult to weld.. One tip - when welding, try to cut on a good spot, which is accessible for later planishing work.. Avoid cutting next to corners or other difficult parts. Also I see rot damage to the border of the window, which you need to have smooth and precise as it's the thing on which the rubber seals. Well, if things go too south, then you have still the option of modifying the seat and use some polyurethane adhesive, but that's another story. Defective or plasticised rubbers are also mostly the cause of window channels rot, because those retain water in the channel. Other than that, I'm glad to see you making some serious metal work. Don't loose too much time in fiddling with the patches, just cut an approximate dimension a bit bigger than the hole, mark it on the car, dress the hole according to the marking, insert the patch and "glue" it. 😁It's easier. Cheers, keep on!

lookin good

Saludos de Mexico CT

Hi CT, good work on that side so far. Like you said as long as the window fits all the rest is how you get there. You need to try Mike overlap cut and weld the gap trick. Probably not on this but a larger area when you get to one. try it out on your parts bug for practice

1 quick question: why didn't you replace the whole rear window+vent with the one from the donor car?

Little intense cutting close to the vents. But you’re doing good.

Not being as good at body work as you have become over the past few years, I would have removed the entire area around the window, which should have insured the glass would fit. That leaves you with some butt joints to weld. Since you already have a panel flanger/punch, it would be easier to make a lap joint, which is easier to finish. Yeah, I know that's the easy way out, but I'm an electrician not a metal worker! I used the flange method in replacing the entire roof line on a Gremlin. In that case, I joined it at the area aft of the B pillar. The original joint was welded and finished with solder. Mine looked OK, but wasn't really as pretty before filling and paint. You have learned some amazing skills, and are willing to attack projects which I wouldn't have done in the middle sixties.

As always, doing an excellent job of welding, and I ask, why didn't you cut the entire back part where the grilles are and take advantage of it to clean the part that does not have easy access both for cleaning and painting, and likewise you would have cut the entire back of the donor car and thus remains in one piece since it looks like it is in good condition? Greetings from the Southeast of Mexico. Blessings.

For gaps use coat hanger told ya this before ..Bad Chad technique

Not easy work, but you done great. Keep CT

Hey mate you're doing great. I was watching through my hands though, when you welded that corner in - you were so close to those vents!! Did you consider cutting out the whole rear window from the donor, say an inch or so around, then just cutting the 3 inches from its height? You could've fixed the whole thing in one go, and got rid of all that rusted metal on the lip. You could've even taken the vents - cut right down the the top of the engine lid and taken the vents from the donor as well. However the rust and patina on the '65s vents are lovely - maybe it was best to keep them.

good

Hows the dragon coming? Finished casting the engine block yet?

Whatever happened to the weld through primer on the backside and spraying rust converter on the inside of the cavity that you opened up??????.

As long as youre window still fits I see an old Window seal there on the top so it seems you might be checking that

I got that same gab in my back window.

I would cut your patch panel over cutting that close to the grilles.... less chance of disaster or some warping.... leave as much metal as you can away from something that detailed... alot less finish work later too and easier to sand/grind if you have your joint farther away.. and put those repair pieces ( small rust areas and gaps ) in before you weld this piece in...again it is easier to do when it is off vehicle and you can add the metal and trim it easier ...

Looks like that '73 has been driven into the ocean at some point in its life.

I think you can do the same with the swamp dragon!

Inbetween welding runs wire brush clean the welding tip any material inside the welding tip distorts decontamination field of the argon gas

W hile welding why do you use a short wire (on the tip of the tig welder)?

Servus CT, what do you think of replacing the tailgate?

Nice work CT! What settings are using on your welder? Are you using .030 or .035 wire? Thanks!

Nice work.But all those tacks?Tad more heat i think would of helped.

You should have taken the full bottom with the grid since the size is the same. Or there is something preventing this?

When cutting it to size, cut less off and trim it in bit by bit with a grinder otherwise you'll over cut and end up with huge gaps like you had at the top. Also would have primered inside while you had it open

Hi CT! What ever happened with your Karmann Ghia? I thought I saw her for a second. Great videos!!! Dave

Why not cut the whole base of the window including the vents sense you have to fix both sides?

Bom dia serviço tá ficando melhor do que encomenda

Condition of the 73 body looks better than the 65.

sorry I meant to say mainly Parts Place may have *used* bug cabs possibly their price might be high though.

Im just wondering why you didnt just cut out the entire window from the parts body and weld the entire thing in the one you are working on. Looking at it, it may have been easier and fixed a lot of the pitted seams on the rest of the window.

That’s going to look like a bodge imo

Bonsoir une amélioration des soudures par points très bien mais pour une greffe de précision d'une partie de la lunette arrière il vaut mieux utiliser un poste argon pour réaliser des soudures précises en continu sur de la tôle peu épaisse CT préciser vôtre profession si cela vous dérange pas merci

Give the engine to your local technical college, and the apprentices could learn from its basic construction.

🤗👍🌟🌟🌟

Hate to say it, but I think you just screwed the pooch!! It would’ve been a lot easier to cut it all the way down to the rear hatch seam , and use the vent louvers from the donor car!!!! That way you would’ve had a lot more metal to work with and also to make a better weld!!!