Bill's Blue Bug     
Chassis

Here's how the project started May 2003.
The floor pans were stripped. Sawsall, impact chisel, and 4" grinder made this an easy job.
The chassis was towed to get sand blasted.
New pans were welded in after painting the frame with Eastwoods Rust Encapsulator.  Many thanks to Jeff for loaning me his MIG welder.  It was freaky pulling the trigger the first time, but I got the hang of it after a while.  These are the better of the welds I made. In retrospect I wish I would have bought Klokerholm panels from OEVeedub.  These brazilian pan are made of inferior steel that burns easily.  They are also thinner and less rigid than the German aftermarket ones.  I got what I paid for... Also, I should have welded the frame horn seams at this point (after paint stripping, with a bar chassis).  I didn't know about the benefits of stiffening the frame horns until I had already mounted the transmission and body.  It worked out okay, but welding upside down with limited clearance was tricky.
Here's the chassis on it's side ready for painting.
Painted with Eastwoods Rust Encapsulator and Chassis Paint after sealing the seams with urethane seam sealer (also Eastwoods).
Rebuilt the pedal cluster and added cast aluminum pads. Also replaced shift bushing, shift coupler, clutch cable, and throttle cable.
New 3/8" fuel line using 'bundyweld' tubing and stainless tube adapters from McMaster Carr.  Fuel hose is 7mm german braided hose. This shot also shows the Berg intermediate transmission mount.  Welded it with the chassis on it's side for easy access.
Rotary fuel pump.  Filter was later mounted to bottom of steering damper bracket using band clamp.
Completed chassis wired and ready for the body. The RLR traction bars can be seen in the rear (tubes with plates on top).  The cutouts in the sound deadening of the front floor panels are for the RLR roll bar door post mounts.