Preparing the New Rear Cross Members « My Beetle Restoration

Preparing the New Rear Cross Members

by Garage Weasel on Oct.23, 2024, under Body Work

The outside corners on both rear cross members are rusted away, so I purchased new rear cross members from Wolfsburg West. These are very close to the original cross members on the car. The only thing that I wanted to change on them is to add a support plate over the holes where the bolts go through to the cross braces on the chassis. The originals had a plate like this, and it should be a fairly easy modification.

Support plate on hole where bolts go through to cross braces on chassis.

I cut out four pieces of 18-gauge steel to match the size of the original and bent them to match as well. I also dog-eared the tops of the pieces to remove the sharp edges. I drilled out two spot weld holes on each piece just in front and behind of the existing bolt hole. I then sprayed the areas between the plates with U-POL Weld #2 Zinc Weld Through Primer. Once centered, I welded the plates on and then ground down the welds.

I then cut out holes in the new plates and sprayed the weld areas with primer. The new cross member should now be ready for the fitting process.

:rear cross member, cross member, 111801201, 111801202, 111-801-201, 111-801-202

4 Comments for this entry

Chris Morris
May 1st, 2025 on 3:02 pm
Fantastic work. You are doing a top notch job of it. Your clear pictures and process has helped me as I repair my beetle. I’m doing a hack job compared to what you are doing, but I appreciate the excellent build quality that you showing. You will have a show car at the end. Someday, I’d love to have the time and resources to enjoy doing it so well, but for now – I just need to get back on the road! 🙂

Thanks for the inspiration!

Reply
- Garage Weasel
  May 1st, 2025 on 11:18 pm
  Chris,
  
  Thanks for the kind words. For the most part, I just copy what I see other people doing. I admire people who get their cars done and on the road, which is something I am taking forever to do.
  
  Good luck on getting yours finished and back on the road!
  
  Reply
Scott SD
August 12th, 2025 on 12:08 am
Thanks Mr Weasel for taking the time to write each of these posts. I am about to cut off the Napoleon hat and frame head bottom plate in the next few weeks and your write-ups have been extremely helpful to understand how the frame head was assembled from the factory.

Reply
- Garage Weasel
  August 12th, 2025 on 12:51 am
  Good luck with this process! Both the Napoleon Hat and the frame head bottom plate can be challenging both to remove and to replace, even with donor parts. The aftermarket parts make it even harder to do. Take your time and take lots of measurements and make notes about everything you can think of. Pictures of the original parts can come in handy as well.
  
  Reply