Brian's V-6 rail (re)build (pics added daily)

quadrazer · Last edited by quadrazer on Mon May 31, 2010 12:00 pm; edited 8 times in total

Last spring, I built my sand rail from the ground up in just under a 3 month period to have it ready for our sand dune trip. The chassis was a knock down Berrien kit, with parts gleaned from a 68 Beetle donor car. Using all stock VW suspension front and rear, a factory IRS transaxle, and powered by a built 3.8L Buick odd-fire V-6. It worked well in the sand with the paddles on it, but was lacking in aesthetics, and needed some modifications in the rear suspension as well. This prompted me to tear it down to the bare chassis a few weeks ago and basically build it again. This time...I'm adding some color to the chassis and other components, long travel rear trailing arms, rear disc brakes, matching aluminum wheels and new tires, as well as a few other odds and ends. I'll add more pictures as the build progresses.

Here's what it looked like last year when I first built it:
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Here it is all torn down to the frame a few weeks ago:
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After sanding the origional paint and putting it into primer/sealer:
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With a base coat of Vermillion Red paint:
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And finally the clear coat. Ready to begin assembly:
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Front seats, aluminum diamond plate floor (rhino lined), headlights and passenger grab bar put on:
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Trans primered 4-19-10
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Trans painted 4-19-10
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Hi torque starter housing primered 4-19-10
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Hit torque starter painted 4-19-10
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Transaxle installed with hi torque starter (still have to change transaxle flanges to Type 2) 4-19-10
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chopperhopper · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 6:45 pm Post subject:

Looking good so far! Rhino Lined floor huh?.......got me thinking about doing that to mine now. How well does it seem to stick to the aluminum floor? I am also in the process of rebuilding mine and I haven't decided how I want to strip the old paint, how did you strip yours?

quadrazer · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 6:53 pm Post subject:

chopperhopper · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 8:45 pm Post subject:

Wow, sanded?! You definately have more patience than me, thats a whole lot of nooks and angles to get into. I am thinking about a liquid paint stripper, but have never used it before. Sandblasting in my area seems to be CRAZY expensive.

quadrazer · Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 5:33 am Post subject:

My origional paint job was POR 15 rust preventative paint. I didn't want to take that finish off completely due to the protection it offers against rust. The nice thing about sanding my chassis was, it allowed the origional paint to act as a leveler to fill in the low areas as I sanded, which in turn provided me with a flatter surface overall in which to paint. And yes....it took me a little over a week to hand sand it, and yes...it sucked. But as you pointed out, sandblasting is rather expensive to have it done. If I were to sandblast, I would buy the sandblaster setup and do it myself. Harbor Freight has a sandblaster for outdoor use that you can get for $130 plus shipping and blast media, here's the link to it: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95014
Obviously you would have to have a good area outside to use it, but it would be worthwhile if that were the route you chose to go. But I'm sure you can find a quality paint stripper out there that would work also.
In regards to the 'nooks and angles' encountered during sanding, I used a scotchbrite pad to sand in theses areas as it conforms really well to the hard-to-get-at areas where sandpaper would be impracticle.

quadrazer · Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:48 pm Post subject: More pics

I got my new 2x3 Rear trailing arms in primer.
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And installed my new Type 1 to Type 2 axle flanges on the transaxle. Still waiting for my seal plugs to get here to put them in.
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Step by small step....she inches closer to completion! Very Happy

quadrazer · Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 2:02 pm Post subject: Front ball joint beam

Got my ball joint beam sandblasted today. Nice to have it down to the bare metal and see how good the condition is. No holes, no cracks...looks good. Now to flush it clean on the inside, hand sand it a bit and get it in to primer, then paint.
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quadrazer · Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 2:07 pm Post subject: Valve covers painted

Well, I got the valve covers painted. These are for the 3.8L odd-fire Buick V-6 I'm running in my rail. Not gonna get a whole lot more done tonight, since I want to watch the NFL draft on TV. But tomorrow is another day, and at least I got something done tonight! Very Happy

po7g · Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 7:39 pm Post subject:

is your type one stock or does it have some beefing up done cause I was always told you should go with a 091 trans to a larger motor cause you will tear up your trans

carlos_magnum · Samba Member Joined: April 21, 2009 Posts: 475

Looks like you're in the right track! Will definitely follow this build thread.

Pozi · Samba Member Joined: October 07, 2004 Posts: 168

ataim · Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2010 9:40 am Post subject:

quadrazer · Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2010 12:57 pm Post subject:

po7g · Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2010 5:04 pm Post subject:

I agree that babying your trans will save it. I had a type one trans in my car and it never gave me a problem and I found a hell of a deal on a 002 so I had to go get it. I would say if you could find a super diff for ur trans I would strongly recommend you install one of those.

quadrazer · Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2010 5:10 pm Post subject:

quadrazer · Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2010 5:29 pm Post subject: V-6 Engine cradle

Ok, here are 2 pictures of my engine cradle I built to house my 3.8L Buick V-6. Commonly know as "underbars" in regards to Berrien Chassis', I modified mine by adding motor mounts and moving the crossover bar down and back in order to clear the belt driven accessories of the V-6. The nice part is, with the engine mounted, the bottom of the oil pan sits almost flush with the top edge of the underbars. This will allow me to install a skid plate completely flush along the bottom of the underbars to help protect the engine oil pan.

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The pic below shows the side view of the motor mounts:
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quadrazer · Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 3:47 pm Post subject: Rain delay on paint

Well, mother nature decided to give me 55 degree weather with high humidity this weekend which stalls me from painting my front beam, rear trailing arms and a few other odds and ends. Never fails...sunny and 65-70 degrees monday thru thursday and then crappy weather when I have a weekend off work! Evil or Very Mad

Anyways, I thought I would toss up a pic of my old dash assembly I made last year for my rail. It wasn't exactly pretty, but it was quick and allowed me to get the rail running for my dune trip last summer. I used an 1/8" thick piece of aluminum plate and mounted it to a plastic housing to keep everything dry and covered. It worked great, never failed, and held up to all the vibrations like a champ. I intend to make a new center console assembly to house everything, and to look a bit nicer. Most likely a floor to windshield frame setup.

The old dash:

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The 4 empty holes surrounding the speedo in the above pic are the mounting holes for the dash to mount to the plastic housing. The bolts are removed in this pic.
_________________
I DID wash my hands....the rest is 'built-in' dirt!

My build: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=409845

quadrazer · Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 12:53 pm Post subject: Engine adapter plate & headers

Well, since the weather isn't cooperating, no painting at all this weekend. But, I did start wrapping my headers for the 3.8L V-6 today. I got the driver side header wrapped, still have to do the passenger side header yet. The headers collectors are welded directly to the Supertrapp exhaust cans with diffuser discs on the ends. And yes...my shop is a mess and the floor needs swept! Rags, sandpaper, and what not from this project are all over the place under and around the chassis. I'll get to it as soon as I can (about the same time I finish the rail!) Very Happy

The picture below is of the engine adapter mounted on my tranny. This allows me to mount the Buick 3.8L V-6 to the tranny.

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_________________
I DID wash my hands....the rest is 'built-in' dirt!

My build: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=409845

DONT · Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 4:34 pm Post subject:

Looks nice. BTW, what is the white project car hiding in there?

quadrazer · Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 5:00 pm Post subject:

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Brian's V-6 rail (re)build (pics added daily)
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