I just started a restoration on a 1973 181, now I've restored many classic cars and specifically VDubs. All of the body repairs seem to be in the classic spots for a 181 and this thing has been repaired and painted one or twice already. I've disassembled, sandblasted and epoxy primed the chase and pan. I did blast the fenders, but not the doors, hood and boot. Question ? There seems to be, in my opinion an excessive amount of seam sealer and its hard to believe that the factory would have done it. Is that normal ? All the fenders have an inch of calking on the outer lip and seems to have been chalked to the body the last time it was attached, is that factory ? all of this sealer and calking is to bare metal and factory painted, so it must be that way on your 181 as well ? Now, obviously all that calking is dry and cracked like a desert lake and I gotta fix that
Best Regards
JS