'74...ish Dune Buggy

[neohic]

Ugh... this little car was kicking me square in the ass today. Last winter I was drilling and tapping into the pan to finish bolting down the body. I broke a tap off and decided to work on something else. Remember that?... I sure didn't until today. Pulled the body off... welded a nut on... turned the broken tap right out. Neat! The front needed a couple more bolts to keep the foot well in place. One side went just fine. The other side was a repeat performance of last winter. Fine... got another nut... welded it on what was sticking up of the tap... and started to turn it out. Nope. Stuck in there tight. Gave it a dozen or so more shots before throwing in the towel. Not sure what I'll try next but it needs to come out.

With my tail between my legs, I figured I'd finish welding the new rear bumper. Nothing complicated about that, but that's what I wanted.

_________________
-Ben

I like to build stuff...

[neohic]

It's amazing how fast one of these little plastic cars can go from a pile of steel and fiberglass to a car-looking thing. This afternoon I got back to tapping those holes. Lots of oil... brand new and sharp tap... no problems today. That allowed me to completely fasten down the body. First time I've even been able to do that! Must of the fiberglass still needs to relax to the point of being completely tight to the chassis, but it's a start. It's been outside for a few sunny days, but it's really due now. The lights went on along with the windshield. Funny thing about that... I always knew that I had the windshield installed backwards looking back at old pictures, so I tried to put it on the correct way with the channel around the glass facing forward. Wouldn't you know it... it wouldn't go on. The seal at the bottom of the windshield was also backwards and the mounting holes didn't line up. Whoever put together the windshield in the first place put it together all wrong. Granted, I like how it looks with the windshield installed backwards, but it'll sure make it difficult when it comes time to figure out a top.

The tape is still there waiting for me to figure out what I want to do with the rear body lines. Of the few pictures I've found of other bodies like mine, they just don't look right. I'm not a fan of cutting up a buggy body, but this one has really been around the block a few times already. The suspension kind of bugs me too. Not sure if I should raise the rear or to lower the front. Once the metal work is done I should have a better idea of where the weight will be sitting in the car.

I had the wife come out and take a few angles with me in the car too. This let me play around with lines and different angles for the future cage. Kind of difficult though... I'm tall and I don't want the car to look too cartoonish. Here's what I'm thinking on that...

Yup... not a whole lot one can do to jazz up the lines of a cage in a buggy when wanting to keep things somewhat simple. She snapped one last picture that I couldn't help but compare to 2004.

_________________
-Ben

I like to build stuff...

[neohic]

It's back in the shop for winter! Time to get going on it again.
_________________
-Ben

I like to build stuff...

[neohic]

Kind of a step forward today... kind of. The car got moved back into my shop for winter and I couldn't help but feel a little "meh" about how the fuel tank ended up. I just hated the patches! So...

Fresh and new! Yes... yes... I know it would've been way easier to order up a new tank and make it work, but then I'd still have to cut it up and make it fit. This way I could make it exactly how wanted, keep the seems mostly clean, add some more capacity, and have yet another piece of the puzzle that started as a pile of steel.

Made the most of the space I had.

Fuel cap for future reference.

Bent around the arm on the stock fuel float so I've got full sweep out of it. What's kind of funny about the filler neck is that this whole project started off with scrapping a rusty fuel tank from an old lawn mower. I cut the top off of it and whittled it down to just the fill hole.

And then everything got put back together again... again. Started going through my box of parts and the windshield wiper motor was right on top. Scratch another item off the list for mock up!

_________________
-Ben

I like to build stuff...

[neohic]

Played around with a ratchet strap today trying to figure out what I want to do with the suspension under this thing. I'll either go up with the rear or down with the front. I'm leaning towards down in the front with a set of drop spindles when I do the brakes.

"Stock"...

2.5" drop...

"Stock"...

2.5" drop...

Looks like there should be enough travel left in the suspension that the tires stay out of the fenders. I'm looking at going with a heavier sway bar up front too. I like these big tubby tires, but I might go with a size smaller when the time comes just for good measure.
_________________
-Ben

I like to build stuff...

[neohic]

'Cuz rollcage.

_________________
-Ben

I like to build stuff...

[neohic]

Started on this little project today. The whole way along, I really wasn't crazy about how it was turning out. I kept plugging along though... you know, hoping for things to turn around. What was really bugging me about it is that the lines just weren't quite right for a buggy. Mainly the main hoop behind the seats is what wasn't really doing it for me. The lines in the rear was what fixed everything, in my eyes anyhow. Still not the typical lines of a buggy though. Maybe they are? I don't know... I think it's more go-cart or race car than buggy. Anyhow...

Did you notice?... the main hoop has a seem in it. I won't tell if you don't. I did a similar mod to my HF bender that Joe did and it doesn't get close enough to 90* before things start to go south. Besides that, I'm really diggin' the look though. Really took on a new look today. Need to pick up some more material though. That's 40' minus a few feet of mistakes.
_________________
-Ben

I like to build stuff...

[heywebonya]

Great build, I like hood lines.
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If I knew what I was doing; I wouldn't be building a buggy!

[neohic]

Wow. I haven't dropped the kind of cash on a vehicle like I did just now in a long time. Ah well... I've got parts on order to get all the chassis components rebuilt along with disk brakes front and rear. Few little odds and ends also on the way.
_________________
-Ben

I like to build stuff...

[BL3Manx]

That's fantastic work on that fuel tank. You should re-locate the filler at the highest point. Otherwise, when you brake you're going to get fuel coming out the vent hole in the cap, especially when you have a full tank on a warm day

[neohic]

[neohic]

Only a month and a half gone by... not too bad for me getting back to a project. It's been a rough holiday season and, quite frankly, I just didn't want to work on anything. All that's done now, so it's time to get back to work.

Ever since I mounted the seats, I've never been crazy about getting in and out of this little thing. I was okay with where the seat was, but then there's the line of sight through the windshield that was filled with more steering wheel than there should've been. So? I had to borrow something from my wall to play around with some numbers...

That steering wheel was what was in my '72 Beetle when I first got it. It wasn't all that bad to drive with, but it won't ever win any beauty pageants. I'm sure it'll make its way back to clock duty, but until then it's solving a problem! Then it was to get back to the cage. I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't a little bit inspired by some of Joe's previous work.

... added a bump for some additional headroom...

... and that's were I fell off track again. I threw away a few pieces of tube that just didn't look right to me. Trying to get a nice "roof" line without going too tall seemed all too difficult. I like the lines of where this ended up, but I'm now wishing that I was about six inches shorter. The seats came out, seat tracks cut down, then seat tracks got removed all together... it comes down to I either need smaller seats or I need to start cutting material. Neither of which I really want to do.
_________________
-Ben

I like to build stuff...

[joescoolcustoms]

That cage looks good!

It flows nicely with that body and looks like part of the buggy, not a add-on to the buggy.
_________________
Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race

Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

[BIGMIKEY]

I think I like the thick tubing rather than the 1.5" I was planning on using. Is that 1 5/8" stuff you used neohic? I know Joe has that size on one of his builds. Nice and beefy.

Mike T
_________________
BIGMIKEY

Deserter Series 1 project.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=787047&highlight=

1973 Beetle Driver, Marina Blue.

[neohic]

[neohic]

Well... one step back today, but also one step forward. I ended up cutting out the rear of the cage for now to think about some things. It was really the rear spreader bar that had to go to make way for the seats to move back another couple inches. I'd really like to put one back in as it would add so much in terms of side impact strength, so I'm sure a replacement with a couple of bends will be in its future.

The next thing on my list was to figure the front spreader bar/steering column mount. After looking closer at things, I had a little bit of a bind in the column. Seems as though the body lift from last year screwed up the location of the front of the column. The hole was originally put there by whoever had the body in the first place. It needs some cleanup anyhow.

I'll come back to that later also. Today I really wanted to get something accomplished after removing the entire rear of the cage. Why not move outwards? My original plan was to have some side protection but I've never liked the look of tube along the side of the interior. Made up a pair of these...

... along with some mounts...

... to hang the new "crash bars" (for lack of a better term) underneath the body.

I'll come back add some triangulation to them once the body is off and out of the way. As for now, it'll wait for another weekend.

_________________
-Ben

I like to build stuff...

[joescoolcustoms]

Good stuff.

Either you catch on quickly, or you have some previous skills. Your quality looks good.
_________________
Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race

Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

[neohic]

Thanks again Joe! I've actually spent a few years working in fabrication, repair, and prototyping that was followed up by being a welding instructor for six and a half years. As of almost a couple months ago now, I'm back in manufacturing as a bridge welder.

On a side note, my wife and I are planning on moving west this year out to Denver(ish) Colorado. I really would love to get into automotive fabrication once we get out there. Lots of four wheel drive shops! Just throwing that out there... you know... just in case someone here knows anyone out there who needs someone like me.
_________________
-Ben

I like to build stuff...

[neohic]

Back at it today! Redid the rear of the cage and I'm happy with it again. Not sure if I really need to add a spreader bar behind the seats again or not now... thoughts?

I found the couple inches of headroom that I needed too. Can't believe I didn't do this in the first place, but I've got no problem redoing something for the better.

Finally a comfortable seating position! Very happy I can use the bigger steering wheel too. It's a little more cumbersome to get in and out of the car with it, but it's a lot more comfortable with it than the 13". Yay!... the white wheel can go back to clock duty!

Then there's the gauge layout... not sure what to do here. Granted, I knew this was coming, but I can only see the top and bottom half of the speedometer. On the other hand, I've got my priorities set with the tach front and center. The steering column is finally securely mounted too.

... as is the front of the body and the fuel tank.

At this point, I just sat and thought about things. I'm pretty sure I'm done mocking up the cage other than the seat belts. Plenty of room for mounts though and it'll be easier to work on those without the body in the way. The hood came off to shed some light on some comfort features up front. Foot rests!

I had my wife come out and have a seat in the buggy with me. What I really wanted to see was where she was comfortable at with her feet and legs and what her thoughts were on what would make it come comfortable on a road trip. She's comes up to 4'10" so of course her feet came nowhere near the foot rest on the passenger side. She really liked the seat placement though and really didn't feel a need for it. Should I find my way to the right side of the car, I'll be happy it's there. Both seats are comfortable for me to sit in now! Interior space sure shrank for a 6' guy after adding about 60' of tube!

This will probably be the last time it'll look like this for a while. Next on the list is to blow it all apart so I can fully weld the cage and then work on the chassis. Really happy with how everything came out.

... as for the list...

_________________
-Ben

I like to build stuff...

[joescoolcustoms]

Very Nice Work!!

As for a spreader bar, if what you have gets crunched to warrant a spreader bar, you will have greater problems to worry about anyway.
_________________
Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race

Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone