After not driving my bug for many months, I decided to drive it to work today. It got there fine, then spewed out most of the gas tank onto the parking lot.

Looks like the joint between the rubber hose coming up from the center channel to the metal line that goes to the fuel pump is bad. Now that R&M doesn't do aircooled and I don't have time to fix it myself, does anyone have any recommendations for a good shop (near downtown or Brainerd) that can fix this for me?

Is the metal line broke? You are not talking about the tunnel line are you? The line between the tunnel line and hose to the pump, right?

Mark

OOP's.  That metal line is suppose to go through the engine tin about 2 inch or so with a rubber grommet . The braided hose then comes up from the left "wish bone" to the metal line. You need to make sure that the metal hasn't been sawn in half by the engine tin. The hose is "toast".  You are looking for a fire if not corrected right.

Yep, when I saw the hose I thought it wasn't right So... is there a shop round here that can do this for me?

I don't readily know of anyone who would do it. The two sections of hose that are slightly difficult to get to are the one from the bottom of the tank to the metal line in the frame and the piece from the metal line in frame to the metal line in the firewall/tin.

The other two pieces to the fuel pump and then to the carb are REALLY EASY to swap.

If your tank is already empty... I wouldn't hassle with trying to get it somewhere. I'd buy ~5ft of the braided hose and then remove a front wheel and access the front hose. Then I'd remove the back left wheel and replace the second piece of hose. The other two are right there in plain sight on the engine- do them too!

Put the fuel filter in the piece under the tank OR in the piece next to transaxle.

Use good hose clamps that fit well. Poor fitting ones or ones that really struggle to get small enough will cut the fuel line.

Thanks everyone! I think the most difficult thing I have to contend with is that the previous owner cut short the metal line that goes through the firewall, so it's not actually getting to the firewall. Is that metal line easily available locally and bendable so I can create a new piece fro the pump through the firewall?

Check out Bob Hoovers TULZ series in this section. http://www.volksfolks.org/forums/air-cooled-vw-tech/bob-hoover's-tulz-(tools)-series-tons-of-great-advice!/

Specifically Part Siz: FIRE

The other common cause of engine fires is due to your failure to replace
the grommet isolating the fuel pipe where it passes through the forward
breast tin. 

Back in the good old days, whenever that was, every time you took your
Volkswagen in for service they'd check the grommet.  (You check it with
your thumbnail.)  If it was hard, they'd replace it.  And it got hard pretty
quick since it's only inches away from the #3 exhaust stack, which runs
red hot at highway speed.  The rubber grommet soaks up the radiant
heat from the cherry-red steel and cooks itself harder than a bride's
biscuits in no time at all. 

Once the grommet gets hard it cracks into pieces and falls out, leaving
your fuel pipe to rub against the .025 edge of the sheet metal of the
forward breast tin.  Now, you wouldn't think a piece of sheet metal would
make a very good saw but remember, it only has to cut far enough to let
the fuel spray out.  And that don't take long at all.  So now you got raw
gasoline dribbling out the fuel pipe just inches from the #3 exhaust stack. 

Keep reading for his recommendation on the BEST possible solution (remember he was an airplane mechanic or something, so he takes things like this very seriously).