so soon?

[cbeck]

I would like to start this one with a question or few. Is the stock fuel pump capable of sucking fuel out the top of a fuel cell? If you are using an electric pump, what are you using for a safety electrical shut off? Now for the more pressing question, Since I am doing the windshield anyway what do you think about angling the top of the hoop down in the middle like a bouncer or angling it forward like a old school sun visor? What ever gets done will include bracing. I hope to start on the frame work this coming weekend.

[dustymojave]

[cbeck]

Installed new trans, carbs, and exhaust on the bad motor in prep for chassis work. Imagine that, a empi exhaust and solid mount fail.

trimmed a equal amount off of each side, left side now ok, right side needs a little notch to clear.

While working on that, my chassis guy called and said he can't fit it in until tomorrow afternoon,so I mocked up the 3x3 arms.

[dustymojave]

I suppose they think anybody using one of those headers is going to be using the stock VW motor mounts instead of a high performance motor mount?


_________________
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.

[cbeck]

My chassis guy could not just drop the seat thing. He cut the top rail where it was bent to start the return to the rollbar and the 1" diagonal going to torsion. He was able to move the seat back about 1" and down about 1/2" . Then bent a new piece with the bend starting behind the seat and attach to new roll bar. Seems like a lot of work for such little return.

Making the first bend and notching.

And finally the first roll bar goes on.

[cbeck]

Finally feels like we are making progress. The first pic shows the bottom rail at the torsion that is keeping us from moving the seats down or back. It also shows how we redid the top rail around the seats, it used to follow the bottom rail.

And a few more pieces that are making it look like a buggy again.

One of the ways we are making it mine. Beeline's top bed rail appears to be located several inches in front of the bottom bed rail. We went a couple of inches the other way for more bed space and are considering radius pieces between the two to resemble the bottom of a wing. Need to bend a piece and hold it up and see what it looks like.

[griffs68]

looking good sir

[cbeck]

Thanks griff. It is taking a little longer than I would like,We are getting a couple of hours of work in a couple of nights a week. Friday night we fit the 1" top rail on the bed and started cutting and fitting the bed's vertical supports. We also cut and fit a cross bar for frame horn supports, another one for right behind the seats where we will reconnect the cut off nerf bar supports, and laid out a roll bar x brace with painters tape.

[cbeck]

It may come back home later this week. We have most of the pieces bent for the rear. The little pieces should fall in pretty quick.

Chopped out windshield and replaced with one 3" taller.

And then started on the roof.

[dustymojave]

Looks good so far. I like the X-brace behind the seats.

Have you decided how to do the shoulder belt bar?

And don't forget to replace the 1" diagonal braces inside the lower sides. They'll need to be a little different from how they were before.
_________________
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.

[cbeck]

Thanks Richard, I was hoping you would chime in sometime. I have not made a final decision on the shoulder harness mounts yet. I have seen the crow drawing showing the proper angles but have not seen free span distances discussed. Can I attach the bar to the rear bar with a 8" span to the seat or should the bar be attached to the main bar and the x and possibly make my harness shorter ? I was running out of adjustment when they were mounted to the bar that was behind the seat and and tied into the top of the nerf bar. And then should the harness be mounted double shear?

It will be making at least one more trip to his shop. I need to measure the angle of the type 2 cv's and see if I can gain a little droop before ordering shocks. I was leaning towards the yellow bilstein 7100 but.., the rear spring rate has softened quite a bit with the 3x3 arms. I am now considering the shrader valve emulsion shock that I understand can be tuned with varying oil weight and nitrogen pressure to stiffen a little bit?

I also need to measure ond order a fuel tank. Summit has a 10 gal, clear, foam filled remote fill. Is that ok for a recreational buggy parked indoors?
thanks, chuck

[dustymojave]

I don't remember seeing your shoulder belts from before. Which type of belt mounting are they? Are they loop around the bar? Or bolt-in?

If they are bolt-in, then double shear is best.

Here's a tab for that purpose:
https://www.aa-mfg.com/double-sheer-seat-belt-tab-1513

A & A Manufacturing sells lots of stuff for fabricating. Could be handy as you rebuild your buggy.

If clearance for the belt hardware is a problem with the mounting bar in the 'X' being too close behind the seat, then the belts can be mounted lower down and then draped over the bar behind your shoulders. Don't try to drape the belts over the seat to make the right belt height.
_________________
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.

[cbeck]

Roger on the bar for the bolt on harness. I will fit a bar for the bolt on harness to drape over at the proper height in the x and bolt harness on at a lower location, probably will be to the bar to be installed right behind the seats at the top side bar and will be behind the top of the nerf bar. thanks

Still need to bend a diagonal that you mentioned to fit around the seats. I also need to do shock mounts, and a engine cage when I get my long block back. And a hundred other small things.

[dustymojave]

As they say..."Nothing's ever easy."

I'll take another look at the pictures and see if I have any suggestions for how to run those lower 1" braces.
_________________
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.

[dustymojave]

Hmmm, that's not easy with things the way they are now.

Personally, while things were apart, I would have moved the torsion housing back to where the B-pillar would have continued straight to the top of the housing instead of to the body mount boss as it does. Then the C-pillar would have gone to the body mount boss. The seats would have remained where they are going now.

That would have made the seat fit a little easier and maybe the 1" braces would have fit better too. The 'X' brace would have gone to the torsion housing and would be a lot stronger for that. But all this is moot as you have gone past that point of doing those changes now unless you want to cut things apart and redo some of the work already done.
_________________
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.

[dustymojave]

Here's a suggestion:

The red includes the cross bar between the B-Pillar uprights at the top of the frame rails. I believe you were talking about anchoring the shoulder belts there. There are also shoulder belt bars to drape the belts over so they are at the correct height. An upright below the top side rail is shown. Then 1" diagonal bracing that should clear the seats.

In blue, and I see after it's done that the blue camouflages into the existing frame. I should perhaps have chosen a different color. But anyway, I propose additions to the tree bars for side-impact protection. These would probably made of 1" tube. They would make it a little more difficult to enter and exit, but could maybe be used for carrying stuff if the bottom were paneled with expanded screen.
_________________
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.

[cbeck]

Thanks Richard. The 2 short bars for the harness in the x is now part or the plan. The bar you drew at the b pillar is going in right behind the seats and will mount the harness to that and then drape over the 2 short bars. I am not sure about the nerf bars you drew, but I do get the side impact thing. Still have time to figure out something there.
We got a few more tubes fitted. Still have a few more to go before it gets kicked out of his shop for now.

ps, the tires, frame, and engine in the background is for his wifes samuri

[cbeck]

Brought it home over the weekend, My buddy needed his shop back. Still a lot of fabrication left, have hundreds of small things I can work on at the house.

Started tearing the motor apart. Had to after the exhaust was bent around the pulley. It had about 2k miles on it. I have no problem reusing pistons and cylinders after honing and new rings. No scratches anywhere

I did find the second and third stock push rod starting to mushroom. I did have chromoly push rods I was going to install that are going in the new longblock.

[ORANGECRUSHer]

[cbeck]

Thanks, but I'm no fabricator. But I do buy him beer.