Cut and Shut

[sigma]

If a cut and shut vehicle is classed as unroad worthy , why was it acceptable to cut and shut a VW Beetle chassis to produce a short wheel base Beach Buggy . ?

[chas2008]

its only really unroadworthy in the way its been done and the quality of the work, i work in a bodyshop and we have repaired cars with enough panels being replaced that puts it into the relms of cut n shut. i.e. 2 rear 1/4 panels , boot floor.back panels, virtually a total back end. If the repair is done to the required standard its quite acceptable .

[gsr600]

i thought cut & shut refers mainly to ******** type construction vehicles,
cars with a chassis are much stronger & do not rely on just the floor pan /sills & welds to keep it from flexing.
GSR600

[pug100]

One of the reasons the old VW Beetle was used in this way was that it had a separate chassis as did most cars in the 1930's when it was designed. This meant that the stresses and weight of the vehicle was carried on separate steel beams under the car. The bodywork was mostly there for protection and looks.

The old Ford popular was another car used by modders to make hot rods as this too had a separate chassis. The old sidevalve engine was replaced by a beefier V6 or V8 engine and the front and rear axles were changed for Viva and Jaguar parts respectively.

Many modern cars designed since the 1960's cannot be used in this way as they use a monocoque construction where the bodywork forms part of the chassis and is a streesd part of the assembly.

[Brooksy]

In a recent Jaguar Enthusiasts Club magazine comparing one of the last XJS convertibles with an Aston Martin DB7 convertible, there was a photograph showing the factory cut & shut line of the DB7s XJS "chassis". Most of the running gear is from the XJS apparently.

[david1702198]

because a beetle is of monocoque constructtion, ie you are able to seperate the body shell from the chassis, most other cars are not like this

[sigma]

Thanks all