JBugs Video Series

1971 VW Super Beetle - Floor Pan Disassembly:

Body Chassis

Video Overview:

We're almost done with the tear down of our 1971 Super Beetle with only the chassis left to complete. We're going to remove most all of the remaining parts down to a rolling chassis. Follow along with our tech as we near the end of our disassembly!

Master Cylinder & Pedal Assembly Removal: 1:13
Heater Control Lever Removal: 2:16
Parking Brake Lever Removal: 3:04
Axle Assembly Removal: 3:35
Shift Coupler Removal: 4:15
Shift Rod Removal: 4:35
Rear Brake Line Removal: 4:54


Video Tips:

Tools used in this video:

3/8" Drive Ratchet
3/8" Bit Adapter
3/8" Drive 6" Extension
3/8" Drive 10mm Socket
3/8" Drive 10mm Deep Socket
3/8" Drive 13mm Socket
3/8" Drive 17mm Socket
3/8" Drive 12 Point CV Bolt Socket
Flat Blade Screwdriver
8mm Wrench
10mm Wrench
Adjustable Wrenches (x2)
Side Cutters
Electrical Tape
Cheater Bar (Pipe)
#2 Phillips Screwdriver
1/2" Drive Ratchet
1/2" Impact Driver
19mm Socket
27mm Socket
Rubber Mallet
Vice Grips
Jack

Video Transcript:

Hi! I'm Sam with JBugs.com
In our last video, we pulled all the front suspension components from the pan of our 1971 Super Beetle 
and bolted on a rolling dolly that we welded up. 
Now, we are going to get the rolling chassis pulled apart, 
removing most of the components that bolt to the pan, and by the end, we will have a bare but still rolling chassis. As we continually mention, make sure to save all your hardware until the restoration is complete.
We start by removing the shifter and honestly, we should have done this before we pulled the body but we got ahead of ourselves. 
We move to the master cylinder and unthread the brake lines there. Note that we use a section of the old feed hose to cap off the ports to keep the master cylinder clean. 
The front brake line chassis T is removed, 
and the tabs for the front right side brake line are pried up so the brake lines can be removed.
Next, the two bolts for the pedal assembly are unthreaded from the chassis, 
the accelerator cable is disconnected from the lever, the brake pushrod clip is removed, the pushrod is removed from the pedal and pulled out of the master cylinder. 
We pull the pedal assembly out of the chassis and we see that the previous owner had safety wired the clutch cable to the pedal hook 
so the wire is cut and the pedal assembly is removed and set aside. 
The two bolts for the master cylinder are unthreaded and removed. 
We make sure to pull out the spacer sleeves, out of the chassis, so they don't get lost.
Moving back on the chassis a bit, we disconnect the parking brake cables from the lever 
before we remove the heater control arms. 
Note that the left lever controls the cables at the rear footwells 
and the right lever controls the cables at the rear of the car, for the heater boxes. The nuts for both levers are removed, along with the brackets and spacers. The levers are pulled off and disconnected from the cable ends. 
The cables on either side are V'd off with one end going to either side. 
The tube on the top of either side goes to the left, the bottom tubes go to the right. Both the heater cables and the footwell cables are pulled from the chassis.
We pop off the parking brake pivot pin circlip and push the pin out 
so we can remove the parking brake lever. 
At the back of the chassis, the accelerator cable tube is pulled off 
then the cable is pulled out from the front of the tunnel. 
Back at the transmission, the clutch cable tube bracket is removed, 
the tube is pulled off, and the clutch cable is pulled out of the front of the tunnel as well.
Next, we are going to remove the axle assemblies. 
If you plan on reusing the axels, make sure to mark the orientation 
so you know that they are installed the same way and will turn the same direction as originally, when they are reinstalled. We mark the outer edges of the axle with electrical tape. We also wrap an extra turn around the left axle, so we know which side is which. The rear of the car is jacked up and all the CV joint bolts are unthreaded. The axles are removed from the chassis. 
The two nuts at the front nose cone mount are removed, 
and the remnants of the reverse light harness are pulled off the switch.
The shift coupler access plate is removed and the grub screw for the shift coupler is unthreaded 
so the shift rod can be disconnected. At the rear of the transmission, we use a cheater bar to loosen the frame-head bolts for the transmission crossbar and unthread the bolts. The transmission is removed from the chassis. 
Then, the shift coupler is disconnected from the shift rod 
so the shift rod can be pushed through the shift rod guide and out of the front of the chassis. The cable and fuel line grommets are removed from the chassis.
Then, we start to remove all of the brake lines at the rear of the car. 
The left flex hose is unthreaded from the trailing arm line and the chassis T. 
The trailing arm line is disconnected from the caliper flex hose 
and the flex hose is unthreaded from the caliper. Note that we use the bleeder cap to plug the port on the caliper to keep it clean. 
The circlip for the parking brake cable is removed 
and the cable is pulled from the caliper and out of the chassis.
The remaining brake line is removed from the trailing arm. 
Then, the bolts for the chassis T and unions are removed. 
The center brake line chassis tab is pried up 
and the brake lines, hoses, and parking brake cable on the right side are all removed as well.
We unbolt and remove the rear shocks. 
We pull off the wheels 
and the brake calipers and set them aside. The old rear wheels and tires are bolted back in place and the chassis is lowered to the ground. We finish up by prying up all the chassis tabs from the front to rear brake line and pull it from the pan.
From there, we are going to load the body and pan up and move them to a friend's shop 
where we will continue our restoration and tackle some rust repair. Those videos will be following soon. 
Thanks for watching!
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and when you need parts for your vintage VW, head over to JBugs.com