Project 67

[Stauffenberg]

Well after 5 years of not having a beetle im finally back and this time i'm getting what I want, and that's a BAJA

I'm starting with a pretty solid 67 that was involved in a front end collision, but thankfully it only damaged the front clip and not the frame head. There is some small rust areas but nothing as bad as my first beetle, that will all be taken care of. Right now i have stripped it down to find out what i really have and have found some things that were surprising but nothing that cant be fixed (mostly wiring). So far i have gathered a few parts to start the project once the rust is gone including:Thing beam, spindles, arms, and a wiring harness

I'm moving in a couple of months and will soon have a double car garage all to myself and that's when i will start with the rust repair, but for now i'm just gathering parts.

My big thing is that the 67 currently has the swing axle trans and I know I want to move away from that but can not decide which way to go, as of right now I know someone selling a swing axle with the reduction boxes and someone with a 002 trans. I know the reduct would be an easier swap but without the Johnson setup it has all the hop. With the bus swap i know you have to weld in pivot points an d the problem with that is I don't even know how to weld yet and dont trust myself with something that important suspension wise. So i'd like some input on that and what you would recommend.

Anyways here is some pictures so far

[dustymojave]

Class 11 style!!!

That beam HAS to GO!!!

Unless you already have the new beam and the Thing pieces, I would suggest a BugZyla conversion beam and link pin arms and spindles.

For the rear, IRS vs reduction box swing axle with no-hop is not a huge difference in welding. Maybe you can find somebody on here who lives near you in Colorado to help.
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Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[Stauffenberg]

Class 11 is out of the question unless i want to weld on a whole new front end, it was crunched up pretty good and whoever "fixed" it before wasn't afraid to add about a quarter inch of bondo in the front quarters. Plus the front clip is trash

My thing spindles and arms arrived today and I picked up the thing beam the other day it was already raised 2 inches and is very low miles

[Stauffenberg]

Ive been working on it lately but didnt have wifi until I moved and now i have a garage that I can use

Everything I did was before the move because i didnt trust the beam as far as I could throw it, so I went crazy and almost built the whole front end in a day except I had a ball joint strip out and had to get a new one pressed in. But now it sits all on its own and with the cut and turned beam and thing spindles i gained 4.5" inches of clearance at the beam

Anyways pictures

As far as I got after the ball joint stripped

Sitting on all fours

Front end all assembled

[Stauffenberg]

I forgot to upload this picture which cracks me up because its getting towed by one of its younger cousins

I still need to index the rear but wanted to wait until i could do it on pavement and not gravel

[Stauffenberg]

I've been working on the bug and slowly picking up parts here and there, but I don't make progress as fast as some of you around here

I was able to mount one of my seats out of a Subaru Forester, the covers were off to wash

I received my one piece front end from Mark V

I spent 4 hours removing a lower shock bolt that someone previously failed to remove

I also mounted my brake lights that are stupid bright and I plan on adding a third on the cowl

Picked up a cage for the rear off c list for 100 bucks and installed my "all my neighbors hate me exhaust"

Mounted my fuel cell and now I have some parts on the way including an aluminum dash and a front bumper

I just moved again and i hope to get it street legal by May 20th when we have our first VW show here

[tobiism]

Looking great so far!!!
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"There has never been a genius without a hint of madness."
-Albert Einstein

[Stauffenberg]

Also I've been discovering how "body work" was done before

Nothing says proffesional like 1/2 of bondo

[Fenix]

[Stauffenberg]

Not much of update but I finally got the tires for the front end mounted and they look much better! I'm still figuring out how I want to mount the one piece font end but i'm just scared to cut into that fiberglass

Any recommendations on shocks for the front? It's a cut and turned thing beam with thing spindles and arms.

[YDBD]

looking good.

Shocks-depends on your off roading style...something soft and supple for the light weight front end for driving in the bumps, but if you do some jumping or hill climbing you don't want too squishy. Had quite a collection of shocks for my '64, but settled on KYB oil, gas adjust were too stiff on the front.

Cut a fuel filler hole so you don't have to tilt or remove the front clip. Have a vacuum set up when you cut so the dust doesn't go everywhere, it's itches bad, I use duct tape on the itchy parts to get the glass fibers out. Most fine tooth wood working blades and bits cut fiberglass nice. Measure 9 times before cutting.
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'56 pan Dune Buggy since '69
don't live in the past...but when I did:
'67 bug
'64 baja
'60 dune buggy
'73 Personenkraftwagen Type 182 "Thing"

[Dark Earth]

[Stauffenberg]

[Dark Earth]

I took some measurements of my shocks. Not sure if it will help you or not.

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My Build: '69 Baja - Dark Earth Version

~I'm almost done. I just lack finishing up.~

[veeweeman]

If you want to learn how to weld most community colleges offer classes, most even offer night classes so you can still keep your day job. ..looks like you are making really good progress on that baja. ..it's funny that all you need these days is a shell of a car, an Internet connection, a credit card and you can pretty much build an entire car from scratch
If it was my choice I'd choose the reduction GB trans.

[Mal evolent]

that reduction box system will make the car a roll-o-matic. if you add reduction boxes build a roll cage

[Stauffenberg]

[Stauffenberg]

[Stauffenberg]

Ordered the above shocks and some new wheels and tires for the back more on those once they get here.
I wanted to share a project I made a couple years ago to go into a Humvee and have a way to charge our phones in the field haha plus who doesnt like having some tunes! It was very simple to construct and now im going to mount it in the beetle!

Here are the photos from building it, cost me about 75 bucks but it can probably be done even cheaper. Doubles as a mostly waterproof container and you cant see it but inside I also mounted a cheap 12 volt and dual usb outlets for charging, and I also replaced the cheap wire twist connectors with solder and heat shrink. Also has a kill switch to not draw power but that was from hooking it up straight to the battery in the Humvees. Its loud enough to hear clearly inside the trucks on the highway so it should be plenty loud in a beetle

[Buggeee]

That's Cool
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Big Time 1988 Vanagon Westy
Release the Krankenwagen! 1966 Sportsmobile Camper
Dr. Kompressor 72 Super Duper
61 Turkis Pile (adopted out)