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Mon Mar 23, 2015 5:29 pm

So I decided to build a couple of offroad bugs to help with some up and coming turtle conservation projects. We needed some vehicles that could handle going up and down some soft sandy & rocky roads that fallow up the coast line.

I thought about many different vehicles and the overall cost. Wranglers are expensive here, geo trackers hard to find for sale and not all that cheap either. I figure since Mexico has an abundance vw bugs, it was my best cost effective option. I have approximated the total build cost(including the cost of the bug) to be about $2,900 +/-... I'm sure I will end up going slightly over that. Still waiting for quite a few things to arrive, such as exhaust, body kit, seats and some other minor things.

For my first bug I picked up 1992 1600 for about $1,200. Pretty good condition, I did eventually find some rust spots after pulling apart the interior, but nothing that wasn't expected for being a island car. Had it taken to a mechanic to get a small oil leak fixed along with a new clutch and a full tune-up(plugs, oil, timing,

I was originally going to do a full IRS conversion, but after checking out tires sizes I decided to stick with the stock swing axle, the tire angles aren't even an issue with the very conservative build i'm doing. Not to mention it saves me quite a but of money, roughly $1,000.

I got most of the interior carpet, dash, door panels etc off and started getting things cleaned up and ready to sand for some bed coating.

Got all the fenders, bumpers, chrome trim. Will be pulling off the hood and engine cover soon as the baja kit comes. Also got some new rubber on it, fronts 215/70-15 and rears 235/75-15. I think it has a pretty good stance. Hard to tell but it's got 12" of clearance on bottom. I do have some pretty bad sagging going on so will probably get a little more after re-indexing the rear and might put some adjusters on the front beam.

Later this week i'm planning on cutting the back half of the top off and hopefully the baja kit gets here so I can make the other cuts needed to get it fitted up.

In the next couple of weeks I hope to have the front/rear bumpers, roof rack, rock skids and roll bars made up.

Mon Mar 23, 2015 5:40 pm

MY driveway is kind of rocky and uneven in some areas, but I wouldn't think enough that It should be sitting this close to the stops

Mon Mar 23, 2015 5:58 pm

Rad, I think that will definitely be a great patrol vehicle.

Reminds me of this:

Mon Mar 23, 2015 8:01 pm

Brian wrote: Rad, I think that will definitely be a great patrol vehicle.

Reminds me of this:

Haha, I would definitely drive that.

Mon Mar 23, 2015 8:43 pm

Also, you should have more ground clearance than what you have now. I had the same size tires as you and it was above 15 inches.

Mon Mar 23, 2015 9:44 pm

Brian wrote: Also, you should have more ground clearance than what you have now. I had the same size tires as you and it was above 15 inches.

yeah, I got some serious sagging.. as you can see in the pic, almost sitting on stops.

Tue Mar 24, 2015 12:12 am

Almost on the stops indicates a need for re-index.

Now everybody keep in mind here that he is working with a Mexican VW Bug. In Mexico, Swingaxle was the lower price version until the end of production in 2003. Bugs delivered to the US were all 4-joint "IRS" from the beginning of the 1969 model year - on.

Tue Mar 24, 2015 12:55 pm

Were you able to find an IRS transmission yet or are you sticking with the swing axle?

Tue Mar 24, 2015 8:30 pm

Brian wrote: Were you able to find an IRS transmission yet or are you sticking with the swing axle?

Yeah I actually found good deal on bus trans, but I think i'm going to stick with the swing. The tire angles aren't as bad as I thought they would be with the tires i put on. With the 235/75/15 on the back I think it still drives great with the stock gearing.

Tue Mar 24, 2015 8:36 pm

You'll be fine with some slow driving. I had the same on a irs '69, it would rub only if I hit something hard.

Thu Mar 26, 2015 8:11 pm

Brian wrote: You'll be fine with some slow driving. I had the same on a irs '69, it would rub only if I hit something hard.

rub where? It's sitting almost on the stops now and I don't see anywhere it has a chance of rubbing.

Thu Mar 26, 2015 8:21 pm

Not a whole lot of progress. Gutted the rear, pulled off all the insulation and spent most of the day removing all the glue and insulation hairs. What I pain in the ass. But I did manage to get it sanded and coated with chassis seal . Tomorrow ill tackle the floor boards and front area.

Taking a lot more chassis seal then i thought it would, i'm guessing will need about 5 quarts all together.

First time working with this chassis seal stuff. Really had to get it brushed on fast, the stuff starts to dry really quick.

Also got the seats in, just got to work on getting them mounted in.

Fri Mar 27, 2015 5:06 am

nomadczm wrote: Not a whole lot of progress. Gutted the rear, pulled off all the insulation and spent most of the day removing all the glue and insulation hairs. What I pain in the ass. But I did manage to get it sanded and coated with chassis seal . Tomorrow ill tackle the floor boards and front area.

Taking a lot more chassis seal then i thought it would, i'm guessing will need about 5 quarts all together.

First time working with this chassis seal stuff. Really had to get it brushed on fast, the stuff starts to dry really quick.

Also got the seats in, just got to work on getting them mounted in.

Are those holes in the package tray?

Fri Mar 27, 2015 7:54 am

magic 8 ball says yes

Tue Jan 12, 2016 1:23 pm

Well it took quite a bit of time with everything going on, but I finally got the buggy almost finished, aside from some minor interior details. Still need to raise it up a little and work on the suspension. Also got an alternator from a 76 buggy project I picked up that I'm going to swap in. As it sits I got $3500 into it.

And my new project

Tue Jan 12, 2016 1:28 pm

She looks to be worth a LOT more than $3500, oh, the car looks great too.
I like the top (on the car)

Tue Jan 12, 2016 1:36 pm

Just a note about the plastic gas can on top. Sunday we were out playing and I had a similar can strapped on my rear rack, above the engine. We were riding on some gnarly roads for about 3 hours before we took a break. Luckily, we spotted it right away, the can developed a pin hole leak and was dripping on the engine. Yours is alot safer where it is, but things happen....

Tue Jan 12, 2016 1:45 pm

flashho wrote: Just a note about the plastic gas can on top. Sunday we were out playing and I had a similar can strapped on my rear rack, above the engine. We were riding on some gnarly roads for about 3 hours before we took a break. Luckily, we spotted it right away, the can developed a pin hole leak and was dripping on the engine. Yours is alot safer where it is, but things happen....

Yeah actually I plan on replacing it, it's deformed already and I'm not really trusting it.. Need to find a better 10 liter one.. Surprisingly hard to find a good one.

The top came out pretty nice, no leaking problems.. Though eventually I think i have to go through the motor, it's developing a random knocking from the driver side cylinders.. Already got burned on the other buggy I got.. The motor and the transmission didn't work.. What I get for buying a non running project bug.