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Reply to "clutch access panel reinforcement & hydraulic clutch kit ..."

I'm not jumping on the "big hole in the backbone is OK" wagon.

It's not. VW designed the pan for a certain load/twist range. If it were my car I'd weld the piece back in. Period. If it were OK, VW would have put the access panel there already, like for the shifter access in the back.

But I don't putt around to get groceries, and well, don't own a pan-based Speedster.

It's your car, do what you want. But I wouldn't advocate that this is OK for others to do based on some anecdotal junkyard testing OR a mechanical-design guy giving his blessing.

My friend Mike is completely doing up a Lotus Elan. He's doing some really amazing work restoring this thing. His fiberglass repairs are better than the original parts. He could have repaired the steel backbone chassis, it had crash damage in a few spots and a big crack. He elected to purchase a new backbone rather than risk the old one maybe cracking in the same or different spot. Did you ever hear of metal fatigue?

Now, a VW is probably made a whole lot better and is more durable than any Lotus. Both are old and from the 60s, but I still wouldn't chance it. Weld it.

Last edited by DannyP
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