T1 Removable valance conversion?

See if my version is what you had in mind. The rear apron as it's called here (nice to know if you want to search for articles with google)also makes the rear body more rigid. If you remove it, the entire rear end will lose structural strenght.

That's the idea.

--Steve

It's not a very complete site, now that I took a fresh look at it. :) The apron is attached to the side panels with spot welds near where the fender bolts are. In addition there's a brazed spot where the top of the apron meets the rest of the body, right next to the lid seal. But there's more.. argh.. inside the engine bay, the apron inner "lip" attaches to the same side panel on the inside.. just spot welds again, but the difference this time is that if you plan on making it removable, you can't really come up with a good way to make the inner part slip into place. It's wider than the mouth of the opening you'd be trying to fit it through. So something has to be cut off.

Careful spot weld drilling should result in the apron "skin" coming off in one piece, and with some careful fabrication (welding required) you can attach the outer skin back in place afterwards using the original fender bolts to hold it in place. Yes, kind of a juggle trying to control a large, awkward shaped fender and the apron at the same time, while trying to get the bolts started :)

All in all, the inner layer of sheetmetal is the bigger problem. That and structural strenght.

I have also done a completely removable rear clip on another bug, where the fenders come off first, and then the whole rear end. This leaves you two visible cuts on the outside, but you have some room to play with regarding where you want them. MIne are a bit too high and thus long and they stand out, but it leaves me more room when the clip is out and I need fast and unobstructed access to the engine from all sides:

Jan

Here's info I've found on making a removable apron that may be of interest:

Some pictures here...

--Steve