<VV> Convertible frame restoration

[Norman C. Witte]

Good morning.  I have a question regarding my manual top frame for my '65
convertible.  This weekend I started disassembling it.  It shows a fair
amount of rust, and so I thought I would take it apart, have all the parts
powdercoated, and then put the whole thing back together all spanky clean
and shiny like.  As I got into it I realized that my original plan was not
workable.  A number of the joints have pins that are swedged over and
therefore can't be separated.  Most of the joints that I disassembled have
plastic bushings that would not survive the powdercoating process.

I suppose that I could sandblast and paint the parts that I cannot
disassemble completely for powdercoating, but that presents a bit of a
problem, too.  My concern is that abrasive will make its way into those
joints, and I will end up with a nice-looking piece of non-working junk.

So my first question is whether anyone has done this before, and if so, what
suggestions they may have about derusting and painting this beast.

The next question regards disassembly of the header part that runs at the
front of the top.  There are two big phillips screws at the corners of this
thing that go into cage nuts.  What are these for?  Are the parts that bolt
into the handles and side rails supposed to come out?  Mine is rusted enough
that I cannot tell if it is spotwelded or just rusted in place.

Thanks.

Norm Witte