SHORTENING THE BEETLE CHASSIS
By Darren Parker: Clubs
Technical Advisor
1
Make a two
inch square hole in the top of the tunnel immediately behind the handbrake
lever (marked “C” on the illustration). This will allow you to break the
weld on the handbrake and the heater control cable tubes.
2
Break the
welds on these tubes and on the clutch and throttle tubes where they exit at
the back of the tunnel.
3
Remove the
heater and handbrake cables. Disconnect the throttle cable at the
carburettor and the clutch cable from the arm on the bellhousing.
4
Mark out the
chassis as shown in fig. 2a. Cut out 6” from the chassis being careful not
to cut through the tubes still inside.
5
Pull the two
halves apart. Shorten all the tubes in the tunnel by 61/2” and weld the
heater cable tubes back together in their pairs.
6
Push the two
halves together and tack weld the tubes in their respective positions at the
rear.
7
Reposition
the tubes and tack weld at the front under the hole marked “C”. This hole
can now be covered by a plate.
8
Square and
level the chassis and weld together, welding both sides of the floorpan.
9
Shorten the
gearchange rod and re-install into the tunnel. Shorten the remainder or the
cables as necessary and re-install the inspection plates.
Fig
fig 2a. “A” indicates piece to be removed.
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