Reblogged from Beetle Burner DRT:

Once Mark was done with the welding stick, I took the car up to Bruce at WRP Paint and Resto, who hit the bodywork with his paint stick.

Here are the various stages of the Paint process and the amazing outcome….. Enjoy.

I had initially planned to replace only the closing panel on the left side heater channel as the main portion of the channel inside the car is in very good condition. The complication came along the running board edge where holes meant that repairs would be needed to fit the closing plate. Time is money, and the most effective course of action for the best repair was a whole heater channel replacement. Here is the result.

Round at the back end of the car, inner arch repairs were needed and the body mounts had corrosion cut out and new metal let in.

In this photo (to the left side) you can see the new method of retaining the rear valence. This makes it removable by undoing 2 flange nuts and 2 wing bolts each side. Its a sturdy job, excellent work by Mark, and I look forward to seeing how it works with the body back on and the engine in place.

The next tasks are to repair the front end and get the body re-united with the chassis. Then he new bonnet will be fitted, wings too, and a replacement passenger door.
Paint is booked for 2 weeks time. Watch this space!

This weekend the work started to put a couple of niggles to bed, to sort some MOT-welding, all in preparation for finishing the Burner off in the special 2012 25th year anniversary paint job.

So this is how it started. I had a rust issue on the framehead and a couple on the rear crossmembers. Both of these are common, both are very awkward to get to and I want to know to what extent the rust taken hold. Its a 2 hour job to take the body off the chassis on a Beetle and with some good friends to help here is how it was done.

At Burner HQ I pulled the engine and fuel tank and separated the front brake reservoir. Once at the Welder unit the first job was to split the stitch weld on the closing plate. This was a ‘temporary’ job a couple years back.

Once that job was out of the way and all the bolts out, each man grab a corner and lift.

Raise up above the gearstick (dont forget the battery cable – the only wiring that I didnt disconnet!) and lift away to some sturdy trestles.

The result is very pleasing. The ‘pan is in tip top condition and worries about the framehead completely unfounded.

The body requires a little more work around the rear crossmembers than I hoped, but overall its good news with the rust areas looking at initial investigation that they can be dealt with by local cutting and small repairs.

This week I will be making ready for taking the body off of the chassis, which is scheduled for next Saturday. Its coming off to repair a couple of difficult to access areas ( the channel closing plate and the framehead).

I have also spoken to Bruce at WRP Paint about the respray. Things are getting busy at Burner HQ now, and everyone in the club is looking forward to 2012 – the clubs’ 25th Anniversary year.

Photo courtesy of ‘The Mad Welshman’

In elimination round 1, I chased down Matt Bennett-Sime, caught him by half track and just kept my nose in front to the line to prevent a break out.

The semi final was against seasoned racer Martin Ayrton and I had the head start this time. A double break out, Martin passing the finish post first but loosing the race by a small margin of 0.04 seconds. For the first time I had made the final.

So, I had a 2 second wait on the line in the final against the auto Golf of James London. A chase which I had under control by 3/4 track and then just blipped the throttle to victory, running a 16.50 on a 16.48 dial.

This has been a good season, and has ended the best possible way. Many thanks must go out to AJ who helped countless times, not least when the 1200cc engine was needed for BugJam. Thanks to Jodie and to Imogen the best support crew in the world. Thanks to Nick for the cup of tea, wise words and BIG bbq’s. Thanks to Koen from Belgium. And thank you to all in the VWDRC.

Time for a little break. See you all in a month or two.

Dean Clatworthy, Owner, Builder, Racer > Beetle Burner.

Somewhat battered after an encounter with some wildlife, we are looking for a good finish to the season to secure 6th or even 5th in the champinship. This would be superb, bettering last years 7th place finish.

So for the last time this year we will be heading up to Santa Pod this friday to have a top weekend of racing and socialising with the VWDRC.

See you all in the fire up lane. Vroom Vroom. . . .

Burner 1, Deer 0. ?

The Open Sports Nationals was a difficult weekend, with the track crew unable to keep up with the poor weather. 16.12, and 16.19 runs were sufficient to get me into 3rd spot in qualifying, proving the Burner is abck to full power.
Reaction times were excellent 0.04 and 0.07 seconds. The poor startline grip meant i was a gentle on the power from the lights and therefore 60 foot times slightly down, so once we are back at Santa Pod I will be looking for a 15.

Eliminations were set and I faced the current leader in his VW Derby. I cut the light too fine and with a -0.004 it was red and I was on my way home. I couldnt resist putting the boot in and held out for a quick 1/4 mile at 16.05 to end the weekend.

The countdown is on. The Finals are on the horizon. Can we grab 5th or better? the RACE is ON ……

(24-25 Sept at Santa Pod, email for more info)