ShopTalk Forums | Aircooled VW Tech & Restoration Help

Projectile Motion wrote: Hey ricko, Rosamond is a ways from San Diego but if you want to come down I'll bend some tubes for your bumper. Weld them up too.

I may take you up on the offer. My uncle in is El Cajon so Im down there every now and again.

Car is looking good. That front bumper is pretty sweet. Any plans of lights on it?

The advantage to just welding in the beam was that I did not need to mess with a ton of clamps. Not only beam clamps but also tube clamps for the bumper because for the beam to be removable it would have to come out too. After all the tubes and shock mounts are added to the beam I seriously doubt there will be any danger of bending it, which would make a removable beam a waste of time. Plus at the races the beams cars nearly always have the beam welded in, must be something to that.

Yes there are plans for lights on the front bumper. I was thinking about making a removable set of three lights (probably something like Hella non-HIDs). There will also be headlights and flashers out on the ends.

Good ponit on the beam being welded in. I figure once the chassis is done on my car that you won't be able to remove the body unless you cut it off so why should the beam be any different....But I have had others tell me to make it clamp on. But I think I will just go with the welding route and save some weight from all of those clamps and bolts

Here are some more pictures I took this morning with the garage open for better light.

Oh and Super B. My beam is back about 7* but you have heard right anywhere between 4-7 is good. The more laid back the better the "centering" and stability however you loose responsiveness and turning radius. Pick which one you want and set accordingly.

Here are some new pictures of the cage work. The rear is just about done and most of what is left depends on where things like the seats, fuel cell, pedals and so on, will go.



Here is the nearly completed shock mount. There will be a plate connecting the tubes to each other. I have already cut out a plate and drilled it but I need a heavier press to dimple the hole (the plate is 1/8" which is the limit for the die)




In that last picture you can see the rack mounted on the beam. I think it is pretty good through out the travel but it does cut in a bit during the last inch of travel. Not horrible and if I shorten up the limit straps then there will be almost no bumpsteer. That is where things are for a bit because I will be going on vacation in week.

I know it is a little soon to be thinking about paint but has anyone used that Duplicolor "paint shop" product. I saw them paint that Bronco on "Trucks!" with it and it looked nice. I was thinking to try the black for all the cage as I want something a little more than a rattle can.

Cage is looking pretty sweet. Glad to see progress. What is this "vacation". Use the time off to work on the car!!

Actually I have had a little too much time off lately. Not a good thing when you are self employed but I have been able to get a lot of work done on the car. I still feel pretty confident in my goal of mid to end of October. It will not be 100%, but running none the less. The big unknowns for time are the things I have never tried before, wiring and I think I am going to try to build a motor too. I am thinking I will put some 85.5 P/C's and new, stock dual port heads on the motor to get the suspension dialed while I build something bigger from the ground up (thinking 1915).

oh. Didnt know you were self employed...But then you could always be on vacation. Whats the occupation if you dont mind me asking. October sounds good to me. I will be happy to ride shotgun to help you test the suspension

I am a painter in between classes. What about your ride? The rear looks almost done maybe the front by October too!

Painter huh? We need out office painted. Our lowest bid is 8K. Can you beat it?

My car will probably only get the rear done now and torn into again in a few months. I am itching to get it driving before school starts for the fall. When money and time will be sparse.

If I may ask a question. What size steel do you use when making the dimpled plates? ie A-piller tie ins.

Thank you.

I used 14 gauge cold rolled (around .075 I believe). Thin stuff but a lot thicker than the stock sheet metal and pretty ridged after dimpling. That is about the thickest I can dimple without a press too (used a bench vise).

Show how and what you use if you would not mind, that looks cool.

The tool used is a dimple die. There is a good example on the manufacturer's website, Light Racing. The die is a little pricey but it should last forever. Poly Performance sells them individually so you do not have to by a whole set when you really only need one size (a 1" for me).

That info right there went into my " How to" bookmarks. simple to do but man that looks cool.