Speedster projectproject-- Little Giant Killer 3

[vwfye]

unclebill, the magazine arrived Saturday. Thank you!
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64 No'back Speedster "Pearl"
1980s Sand Dragster "The Plunger"
LME "Little Giant Killer 3"

[unclebill]

No problem.....enjoy!

B

[vwfye]

Well,
One step forward, 2 steps back. Measured 3 times, checked angles, and finally welded. Woot!!! Flipped the pan over on the stands, remeasured and checked angles and welded everything in. Bam?

Then... Sat the cage in place. Crap. Crappity, crap crap crap! The right front corner isn't sitting on the perch. The perch is about 1/2" back too far and 1/4" low. Check and measure. Sure enough, operator error. Now I have to cut out the front mount/perch and try again. Doh!
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64 No'back Speedster "Pearl"
1980s Sand Dragster "The Plunger"
LME "Little Giant Killer 3"

[vwfye]

I have borrowed a body shop hydraulic ram today. I'm hoping I can flex the mount that 1/2" out at 16" without screwing everything up. If I do, I will be starting over. It's just time and money.

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64 No'back Speedster "Pearl"
1980s Sand Dragster "The Plunger"
LME "Little Giant Killer 3"

[vwfye]

Success, so far... 3 tack welds, pressure released and it held.
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64 No'back Speedster "Pearl"
1980s Sand Dragster "The Plunger"
LME "Little Giant Killer 3"

[Notched]

Harrisen is in welding mode. Want me to send him North?
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Phillip Bradfield

Current stock: '57 Panel Bus, '63 Rat Notch, '64 Baja, '66 Variant, '67 Convertible Ghia, '68 Squareback, '69 Squareback, '69 Fastback

Southern Oregon VW Club -- http://www.sovw.org

Oregon VW Forum -- http://www.oregonvw.org

[vwfye]

Is he still around?
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64 No'back Speedster "Pearl"
1980s Sand Dragster "The Plunger"
LME "Little Giant Killer 3"

[vwfye]

Pulled the cage back off and am redoing the chassis.

Much learning as I go.
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64 No'back Speedster "Pearl"
1980s Sand Dragster "The Plunger"
LME "Little Giant Killer 3"

[vwfye]

Much better platform now! Cage will be taken back into place this week as time allows.
I also have the main wiring harness built. I need to fit the wires with the ends, but everything is labeled and color coded.

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64 No'back Speedster "Pearl"
1980s Sand Dragster "The Plunger"
LME "Little Giant Killer 3"

[rubenski]

much nicer!

[vwfye]

It looks top heavy without the actual width of the floor. But, I think it will look okay after the body is test fitted.
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64 No'back Speedster "Pearl"
1980s Sand Dragster "The Plunger"
LME "Little Giant Killer 3"

[vwfye]

First chance to test fit the cage to the body to the chassis. I need to pull 1/2" from all four cage legs and the body to chassis height isn't set yet. So, the height of cage to body ratio is off a bit. But... The cage is 3" farther forward than I expected, which is good. Also, the chassis is at stock height so far.
I will mark cage position and disassemble again to do the next phase of welding.

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64 No'back Speedster "Pearl"
1980s Sand Dragster "The Plunger"
LME "Little Giant Killer 3"

[vwfye]

Did some more measuring. The rear of the body will actually be 5" higher than is seen here. Then, the rear end will be lowered to where the body is 4" off the ground.
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64 No'back Speedster "Pearl"
1980s Sand Dragster "The Plunger"
LME "Little Giant Killer 3"

[rubenski]

I think it is not the right shape of cage for that kind of car. it looks a bit weird to me...

Or i just dont see the bigger picture when shortened

[vwfye]

It's what I have. I can't afford another...
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64 No'back Speedster "Pearl"
1980s Sand Dragster "The Plunger"
LME "Little Giant Killer 3"

[vwfye]

Body to cage ratio is corrected. The suspension is still at stock height

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64 No'back Speedster "Pearl"
1980s Sand Dragster "The Plunger"
LME "Little Giant Killer 3"

[germanx]

I have a lot of respect for this type of projects preserving history.
Just I have to admit, the cage definitely does not fit to the body lines and flow.

Apologies for bitchin' - it is always easy to do and unfair to the one putting in so much time and love.
You do not necessarily need a new cage - you might be able to better fit it by cutting it here and there so cage and body become 'one'.

This body definitely has to be driven, I totally agree! I have tried to mock some rollbar geos first of all yours:

Here two other shapes I think come closer to what the body expresses: dynamic, speed, sleekness, you get it. I have set in the background the 356 speedster convertible silhouette. Even the roof line of the coupe would still sit to elevated in reference to the rest of the body if you know what I mean.

There are thousands of shapes you can think of, but in general I would have gone with a rollbar which kind of continues the curves from the hoods and joins then above the driver.

For example to shape the rollbar in a way that it merges into the body, I roughly shaped the A pillar and radius to be equal to the shape and dimensions if the Gold and pink racing stripes in front of the front tire going up the fender.

Option A:

Option B:

Give it a thought. Like wheels and tires totally change the looks of a car, the wrong rollbar will look itchy - and every time you get into the car, you will not be totally happy because you know this rollbar should have a different shape. You spent to much time already - don't make compromises where it will really 'hurt' you later.

Note: all pictures are designs for the looks and not checked for safety.
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'73 Beach Buggy
'66 T1 Deluxe

[Lo Cash John]

Agreed on roll cage design. Do it right, now, or you'll never be fully satisfied with your build.
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www.LoCashRacing.org
More brains than bucks...Believe it or not!!

If you actually drive your VW, you need www.AirMapp.com

My boss told me I need to work on my mutli-tasking. So now when I use the bathroom at work I surf The Samba on my iPhone.

[vwfye]

This cage is what I am using. It will work and is legal. I still have to add the rear down tubes and the rear of the cage will actually sit lower than in the picture.
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64 No'back Speedster "Pearl"
1980s Sand Dragster "The Plunger"
LME "Little Giant Killer 3"

[vwfye]

After some more fiddling, I have 12" from the dash top to the bottom of the front cage hoop. 27" from the frame horns to the body at where a shroud would be. The front end and the rear end should be down 5" up front and 8" in the rear. I also have enough room behind the main hoop to get the down bars to the frame horns. All in all, I think this will work.
Anyone with a type 1, what is the height from your frame horns to the top of your shroud? I would like to run a belt to avoid any issues in the heat, but if there isn't enough room...

I am done for today as I can only see out of my bad eye and I'm not even sure I have typed this correctly.
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64 No'back Speedster "Pearl"
1980s Sand Dragster "The Plunger"
LME "Little Giant Killer 3"