Hey guys, Chris here again from our classicvwbugs.com. Today’s tip, I want to talk to you about is mounting running boards unto your classic Volkswagen.
Now, one thing I want to point out is before you buy a bug, one of the crucial elements to make you decision when buying a bug, especially when it comes to price and what they are asking and what is not is the running board section. Not so much the running boards, this are pretty cheap to buy, it is what the running board mount into. And what they do mount on to is basically the rocker panel which is connected to the heater channel, and a lot of time, if you just wiggle up and down the running board, you might hear a crackle in there and a lot of times that is where the bolts are.
Basically, they are all rusted and they are all rotting out so it is a good idea to put down a piece of cardboard, get down on your back and try to check underneath here and see what the damage is like because that is a crucial element to your bug and a lot of times, if that is all rusted out, the heater channels are all gone and when the heater channel is gone, basically the flame of the bug, those are going to get caught up. But one way I want to, if you need a channel, I deliver.
I want to talk about basically mounting your running boards today. The way I like to do it is actually, when I have the running board off, and you might have put it on, do not mount it to the fenders yet because if you mount it to the fenders, the bolts may not line up on the heater channel or the rocker panel to bolt this, the running board on. So, I like to bolt the running board on first and then bolt it to the fenders. Because the fenders, at least you can unbolt and knows they have wiggling, they have some space to actually give you some leeway to match it up, sometimes they are tight, sometimes they are not, sometimes they go in just fine, but a lot of times, what you want to do is I would lube them up with WD40 before you start putting them in even when it comes to even taking the older ones off. Hammer them a little bit, on top of them, just to break up the rust a little and them pull them out. And then you should have on your running board. Most of the running board are the same for almost all years so they are pretty universal and you can get them pretty cheap anywhere, of course they do have the German hardcore mat running board which are a little more expensive but all in all, what I usually do is I can get the cheaper kind and I undercoat them and pour some POR15 on them which is the rust preventive paint so they will never rust again and then what I do is actually will spray on top of the block to make it nice and glossy and then for these older bugs, I get the thick chrome molding that goes on the side and it looks really nice. So it is just a couple of tips there for running board installation. Remember it is a crucial area on the bug and them sometimes it makes a decision when to buy or not to buy a bug depending on how bad it is rusted behind the running board, not so much on the running board itself. Okay. All right, that is our tip for today. If you have any question, feel free to email me Chris at classicvwbugs.com.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services