My Manxter 2+2 Build Thread

Tom_Kathleen · Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 5:52 am Post subject:

Scott - as far as drilling the hole for the steering colum, if you use the directions that are supplied with the kit, you will be fine. Basicly you make a straight edge that goes from the steering box to the steering colum mount, but jogs around the the "firewall". See below. It will work. Tom

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Manxter #16, 1968 Meyers Manx & Kick-Out SS #16 (WIP)
Manx Club & CVA

vw60bug · Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:29 am Post subject:

Your build is looking great!! Quick couple questions, Are you gonna use a VW gas tank? If so what sender are you using for the Legacy guage? Thank you!

sbussard · Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 5:12 am Post subject:

Tom_Kathleen · Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 6:43 am Post subject:

Scott - one other tip while building your Manxter. It is not a good idea to pull the roof support bars too far into place. This can cause more stress cracks in the fiberglass. Make spacers out of aluminum or steel to cut down on the stress at the connections through the body. Ask us how we know. Tom
_________________
Manxter #16, 1968 Meyers Manx & Kick-Out SS #16 (WIP)
Manx Club & CVA

sbussard · Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 11:46 am Post subject:

73SpeedBuggy · Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:04 pm Post subject:

Tom_Kathleen · Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 6:05 pm Post subject:

Hi Scott. I'm glad our conversation @ Carlisle was helpful. Maybe next year, I'll get to see your Manxter.

Another area where we had some problems with cracking on the first body was on the passenger side in the rear @ the outer edge of the shelf. If the upper bumper mounts are anywhere near the body, they will hit the fiberglass and crack it. On my Manxter, it was worse on the passenger side than the drivers. The fact that I had issues with my chassis may have added to my troubles.
As far as the gas tank goes, we used a '67and earlier tank and only had to change the filler neck to fit it under the hood.

Kathleen
_________________
Manxter #16, 1968 Meyers Manx & Kick-Out SS #16 (WIP)
Manx Club & CVA

sbussard · Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 9:49 pm Post subject:

Adam - Are you saying yours has the cracks also? Thanks for the info on the tank. Yours looks different than mine, maybe I bought a pre-67 like Kathleen's. I'd have to dig thru the receipts to be sure, but I had asked Tom before I bought mine and I'm fairly certain I bought what he suggested.

Tom_Kathleen · Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 5:58 pm Post subject:

Ours was close like that too. It broke the fiberglass. We didn't realize how badly until we tore the car apart for the subi engine. We had to modify the bumper for the subi and turbo so now it's not an issue.

If you can modify the bracket to bring it more outboard of the body, it would be better. Tom and I think you will need 3/4th to 1 inch of clearance.
It's a fine balance 'cuz you won't want to get tooo far into the wheel well area.

The windshield is tight on the sides with a little space @ the top. I wasn't able to put all the foam around the bar. I cut away part of the foam and only covered the part of the hoop that's inside the car. I held it in place with Glad Press and Seal. I cut strips and wrapped the strips around the foam and bar in multiple places. It holds the foam in place under the naugahyde.

We know about the cold garage. We finally bought a kerosene heater that we use in the winter. It works really well. The only problem is the floor stays so cold you can see your breath when your down low. We also stand on carpet or foam pieces to keep our feet warmer. We do most of our work in the winter so we have a running car in the summer. 'Cuz, "Girls just a wanna have fu-unn!!"

Okay, MOTB 2013. It's good to set a date. I find it helps keep me motivated and on track.

Kathleen
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Manxter #16, 1968 Meyers Manx & Kick-Out SS #16 (WIP)
Manx Club & CVA

73SpeedBuggy · Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 6:44 pm Post subject:

Funny you should mention the windshield as I just installed my new one yesterday. I saw the note about how its supposed to touch the t bars but my first one didnt and this new one certainly can't.
_________________
Manxter #39 on a 1971 Pan
Turbo-charged Subaru EJ25D (DOHC)
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3923620/1971-volkswagen-beetle#

-Adam

sbussard · Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 8:20 pm Post subject:

@Kathleen - Thank you, thank you, thank you! I took a fresh look at my rear bumper upper support brackets. I had it mounted as such from the inside outward, bolt head-->shock-->bracket-->upper shock mount on frame-->nut. With this set up, the bracket was so close like in my earlier pics.

I found that if I moved the bracket to the outside, bolt head-->shock-->upper shock mount on frame-->bracket-->nut, it gives it sooo much more clearance. I thought I had tried it this way but it threw off the angles for the Manxter bumper, but the bumper angled edges are still right on. Once I moved the bracket, I think I have the clearance I need. It's still within the plane of the upper bump stop on the frame, so tire clearance will not be an issue.

That one little tidbit from you saved my body from future damage. That's why I like this forum so much. You never know what little piece of knowledge will save you from so much aggravation in the future. And everyone is so willing to take the time to share their knowledge. Thanks for the info on the windshield also, that will be next weekend's plan.

@Adam - Since you are so well versed and within your recent experience, what's your plan for this weekend? Or any week night this week? Very Happy

I could use someone to hold my hand while I run the drill.... Cool

I think everything is lined up, but that explicit warning in the manual has me second guessing myself.

Passenger side from side

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Passenger side from rear

sbussard · Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 8:27 pm Post subject:

73SpeedBuggy · Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 9:27 am Post subject:

sbussard · Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 9:21 pm Post subject:

Well, the windshield is on! It's not perfect but I'm happy now with the fit. It's off maybe an 1/8 to 1/4" side to side, not enough to notice unless you are a first-born perfectionist like me. The brackets were not welded in the same place on each side and I didn't catch it until the main bars were powder coated and installed. It came that way from Meyers and we made the best of what we had. There wasn't much I could do about it without removing everything, fixing the bracket, and having it re-powder coated.

My neighbor Louie helped and I wouldn't have got it nearly as good without him. He talked me into grinding one of the hinge brackets down for a better fit, and it worked great. I'll take pics of what we had to do and post them this weekend.

Thanks for the help and encouragement,
Scott

sbussard · Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 4:53 am Post subject:

I tried to get a picture of what we had to grind off, but now that the windshield is installed, it's tough to get a pic.

The front hinge brackets on the A hoop were not welded on in the same location. The driver's side was welded more inward of center of the downward roll bar, while the passenger side was almost dead center on the roll bar. The passenger side was the side that gave us trouble, it hit on the fiberglass surround of the windshield.

A bad picture, but you may be able to make out the black stub just to the left of the aluminum spacer sleeve. We had to grind a considerable amount off this hinge bracket so the surround would sit down and around the bar.

I am now on to the rear apron lid. The question I have is on mounting the lower rear bracket for the prop rod.

The manual shows to mount it like this:

But I will need to flatten the back side of the fender in order to get it to sit flat. What's the best way to do this? Dremel, files, sand it?

Here's how it sits today:

Thanks,
Scott

wvmedic · Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 4:37 pm Post subject:

How is the build coming along? Any updates?

sbussard · Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 9:52 pm Post subject:

Manx Australia · Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 10:46 pm Post subject:

Sweet build, very nice colour. I wouldn't worry to much about the little hiccups along the way.... it wouldn't be a kit car build it it didn't need some tweeks.

What body number do you have ?
_________________
Meyers Manx Australia
www.meyersmanx.com.au

sbussard · Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 3:28 am Post subject:

It's number 122. I started the ordering process in Sept 2011 and it was delivered in Feb 2012. Thanks for the compliment on the color, it's looks so much better in person too. I'm well ahead of where I had planned to be. I've enjoyed every step of the project, no matter how many challenges come along.

Thanks,
Scott

Andy P · Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 8:50 am Post subject:

I only just looked at this, Scott, and I have to say I'm seriously impressed.
You talk about how long it took you to do this or that and your reticence and reluctance on particular tasks but I think it only goes to show your thorough and persistant approach to the project.
My brother has a locally made late '60s J&S buggy he resto-modded himself and it took him ages.
More to the point he was more focused on the handling of the car and less on aesthetics so his finish in places was less than showroom, but then he was building an offroad car to race.
Yours, OTOH, is shaping up to be a remarkable example.
What's the expression.....measure 3 times, cut once.
I look forward to seeing this one come together.
Keep up the good work.
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Cheers & God Bless

'62 Beetle

Jägdwagen


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