On the Volkswagen Beetle, the Karmann Ghia, the VW Type 3 and the VW Thing, the body is mounted on the chassis with special bolts that have a pointed end. If you used standard M8 bolts without a directional point, the assembly would be very difficult, because of the rubber in between, you would not be able to see the nuts in the heating channel and you would spend hours trying to get the bolt in front of the nut. Through the search tip, you push the bolt into the hole and tighten it effortlessly. The holes in the floorpan have been kept much larger to absorb any deviation. In order to be able to tighten the bolts properly, reinforcement plates are mounted in the edge of the floorpan, which increases the pressure surface.
On the Karmann Ghia equipped with so-called USA bumpers (bumpers with protective tubes), the same bolt is also used to attach the front bumper support covers.
If you take the bolts apart, you'll find that they often don't come out intact, with rust being the biggest problem. If the bolts are used to secure the body to the frame, the underlying plates will also have left their rust and deterioration marks over the years. It is therefore advisable to replace both the bolts and the plates (see the related parts tab).
Note: The bolts listed here are 100% identical to the original, they have a tensile strength of 8.8. Don't be tempted by cheap reproductions with lower tensile strength, or by bolts that don't mention tensile strength.
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