TheSamba.com :: View topic - what to carry over 2 a rail from a 74 super??

Thu Jul 10, 2014 11:38 am

Currently I have a 74 Super. It would cost a fortune to restore. I would like to buy a stalled dune buggy and bring it up to speed for street legal use in florida. My super beetle is a parts only car. Can I take the vin and title and merge it to the rail/buggy? Where can I figure out what street legal constitutes in FL? I know I cannot use the steering gear. But what about this tranny? Also, I am building an engine but do not know if it is a good idea to transplant into a rail.

It is a 74X88 dual port. A W110 cam, straight gears, dual dell 36's, Steve Tims stage 1 ported from intake through exhaust 40X35.5 valve heads. CB magna spark digital dizzy, 11lb flywheel and dynamically balanced. I do not see a reason it wouldn't fit other than the AA stainless sidewinder exhaust. The compression is set to 8.5:1..

I have a book "how to build a dune buggy" but the info is..remedial… I just want to know what NOT to sell off my super… wiper motor, wiper arms??

I heard you can take the vin plate off the bug & weld it to the rail project.. I really want to minimize my losses but I am not very well informed.. Thank you! ~David.

Thu Jul 10, 2014 11:49 am

Its a federal (and maybe even state) felony to tamper/alter/remove/move a VIN number without proper documentation... Local vehicle licencing authority will have proper information for you on that issue.... Doing VIN alternation with out proper documentation (cut and reweld) can have negative financial rewards (fines) maybe jail time and confiscation of vehicle....

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/511

Good resource maybe to start here....

http://www.semasan.com/page.asp?content=titling&g=semaga

More specifically...

http://www.bipac.net/semaga/TagTitleToolbox_FL.pdf

IF you can get rolling chassis with body and already valid registration it going to be a lot simpler to get licence...

A lot if people will come in with a lot of so called "solutions", but ultimately your states licencing bureau (DMV) has final say, so start there first...

Dale

Thu Jul 17, 2014 1:03 am

I understand, thanks Dale. That brings me to the next order of business. I love the "idea" of my super beetle. but I really bit off more than I can chew. I thought I was settling for a future "baja bug" since building a rail seemed out of reach. Soo...

Knowing my super will never be a baja, or a rail.. time to switch gears. I envision a 4 seat, street driven rail. I want to cut my losses with the super though. Its a parts car. But its all there. What should be kept is the real question. I know I CANNOT use anything from the front end, steering included.

What to keep before I part out the rest?? I cannot afford to make more mistakes like this. I have 5K in engine parts and its not even built yet.

Fri Jul 18, 2014 2:39 am

just put a beam in the super? It been done many times

Fri Jul 18, 2014 4:14 am

Has it? Seems like it would be an entire front clip. Beam, steering, sheetmetal from macphearson to old school and then what about the curved windshield and hood? Or am I missing something entirely??

Fri Jul 18, 2014 5:14 am

I had a similar problem when I bought my 67 baja 'Orange Crush'. She was so rusted and I didn't have body work skills so I chopped her into a rail. Of course I had a lot more parts I could use than you, but you'd be surprised what you can modify to work. The more creative the better. You haven't described exactly why you need to part out the Super, but I would consider selling it whole and finding parts separately. I wish I had never chopped my bug. I really feel bad about it. At the time I felt there weren't enough parts around me to do a rail. Now I know better. There are parts everywhere!
Sell that Super to someone who will restore it, or else just build your buggy and hold onto the Super and transplant parts as you go. That's what I did. I waited until I had everything built and then I sold what was left. But I used a lot of it. All the relays and switches. rear view mirror. Steering box. Shifter. guages. driveline. seats. wipers. wiper washer. pedals. torsions. Then I sold the body to someone who fixed it up and stuck it on another pan and other various parts I'm wishing I had kept now that I have a baja again. If I had been real smart I would have held onto the floor pan tunnel section with the VIN# and the plate on the windshield and sold the Title with them as well.

You'd be surprised how many items you can convert to a buggy if you have a little imagination and some fab skills, but you have to decided whether you can live with the guilt of taking one more bug out of the world?

Fri Jul 18, 2014 12:35 pm

When it comes to the super the passenger pan is gone, right front fender is banged up, both corners of the windshield have serious cancer, more cancer in the drivers firewall, gas tank is rotted, both door have been converted to one piece glass and don't work, no bumpers just t bars, some more rot by drivers rear glass. all drum brakes and tons of water in the brake lines, front end bushings need to be redone. Between that, new paint and interior seems like I would be better getting out from under and getting a rail where I couldn't care less about an interior, body panels and a bit of rust. This engine should be bad ass though. My other thought was do the body work, throw some cream colored paint on it. Leave the car stripped down and chock it up to a weight loss regimine while looking for a rail project then sell off the super.

Fri Jul 18, 2014 5:58 pm

I am going thru this in mo right now. The friendly hp trooper wanted to know where did the h beam, trans, and motor came from.I guess that means I need a title for something that came balljoint and irs.

Sat Jul 19, 2014 9:00 am

from what Dale sent me I called the state and they want an "origin" for the body, frame, trans and engine. Vins & title for both or at least a bill of sale for the rail that meets DOT requirements. From there the inspect that it does in fact meet code then they merge all of this and issue a new 2014 state vin for a vehicle "assembled from parts." now finding insurance for such a vehicle might be difficult. I really wish there were another work around.