Page 15 of 26
Re: '71 Super Beetle Autocross Build
Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 4:28 pm
by petew
Great work. That's a hard repair for sure.
Re: '71 Super Beetle Autocross Build
Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2017 4:53 am
by GS guy
Yea, welding thin metal is a different beast! 0.025" wire, sharp cut wire after each weld and lots of short welds to keep the metal "cool" enough to not hole-through works best for me. Followed by Lots of grinding of course! Some sanding drums/cartridge rolls (like in a port and polish kit) with a die grinder can help to get into and smooth the tight contours. I agree on using the edge of a cut-off wheel as you mentioned - works great for kissing down weld lumps. Angle grinders are my best (post-welding) friends!
Jeff
Re: '71 Super Beetle Autocross Build
Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2017 10:17 am
by ChadH
Done - finally. It's not perfect, there's a few issues, but I think it will look OK for a racecar. It's time to move on to other things.
..and a repeat of what I started with.
Re: '71 Super Beetle Autocross Build
Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2017 8:08 am
by ChadH
Re: '71 Super Beetle Autocross Build
Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2017 8:32 am
by FJCamper
Don't try this at home boys and girls. Chad is a professional on a closed course.
I once read in Heretics Anonymous the removal of this very panel can cause a sudden ground loop at idle in a soft breeze.
FJC
Re: '71 Super Beetle Autocross Build
Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2017 9:25 am
by ChadH
Wait a minute, I'm not a professional, and I am trying this at home. I'm screwed.
I plan on a floating the entire chassis ground at 20kV, so I should be good even if being struck by lightning. I have rubber pants and gloves for safety.
Re: '71 Super Beetle Autocross Build
Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2017 9:41 am
by Piledriver
That's OK as long as you never hit a puddle...
...or get out of the car.
Re: '71 Super Beetle Autocross Build
Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2017 5:17 pm
by GS guy
Chop out the louvers, replace with expanded mesh (with front to rear ribs intact), plug weld back in, avoid all the Voodoo Flux Capacitor issues....
Re: '71 Super Beetle Autocross Build
Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2017 5:38 pm
by ChadH
Lots of work for probably marginal benefits, but here's the revised rain baffle:
Removed louvers, and opened up the holes. That 1/2" strip was welded behind/below the window vents to add some more strength for course worker assisted car relocation.
My oldest kid actually did some productive work..I think this was my father's day present here.
After some filling and primer
From the bottom. I think I'll be able to get paint in here much easier.
Re: '71 Super Beetle Autocross Build
Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2017 11:01 pm
by Piledriver
I always found leaves to be more of a menace than water, the leaves want to live in the fan or on top of the cooling fins.
Re: '71 Super Beetle Autocross Build
Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 8:02 am
by ChadH
Another "why I haven't made any progress" post:
R56 Mini - direct inject intake carbon cleaning. Argh - I hate modern cars!
Re: '71 Super Beetle Autocross Build
Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 6:50 pm
by petew
ChadH wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2017 8:02 am
Another "why I haven't made any progress" post:
R56 Mini - direct inject intake carbon cleaning. Argh - I hate modern cars!
How did you do that? Steam? Looks very clean now.
Re: '71 Super Beetle Autocross Build
Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 8:04 pm
by itawolf
petew wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2017 6:50 pm
ChadH wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2017 8:02 am
Another "why I haven't made any progress" post:
R56 Mini - direct inject intake carbon cleaning. Argh - I hate modern cars!
How did you do that? Steam? Looks very clean now.
Ditto that looks great
Re: '71 Super Beetle Autocross Build
Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 9:39 pm
by Piledriver
IIRC crushed walnut hulls or such, although frozen CO2 blasting might work.
Re: '71 Super Beetle Autocross Build
Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 8:18 am
by ChadH
I made a walnut blaster out of Harbor Freight parts and my shop vac. It's probably not nearly as powerful as the professional blasters, so most of the work involves scraping this crap out with dental picks, while using an inspection probe to see what I'm doing. Very tedious.