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Fri Jul 27, 2012 9:24 am

Found this Class 11 on the classifieds here for a good deal, and it was just down the street from my house. Went to check it out and ended up buying it last night.

It's a '67, but unlike my other car, it is actually to stock '67 chassis specs. Balljoint front end, swing rear, high compression but otherwise stock 1600, etc

Picture from the ad

It was built by The GMR shop, only ran once, and the fenders were removed to be rolled because the front tires were rubbing.

How it sits in the front yard this morning

Came with fenders and headlights, I'm picking up the beading today and I'll be putting the fenders on, then figuring out a front and rear windshield. I won't be racing it right away so I think I will go with glass and then remove it once I get into regular racing. Hoping to find some Class 11-eligible short course races in the South Bay or Arizona.

I acknowledge that VW's are a disease...

Tyler

Fri Jul 27, 2012 12:16 pm

Nice!
I remember them having other cars too. Great fab skills.

I found a couple of threads started by GMR, but because they didn't post their pictures to TheSamba, they're now gone. This is why we should take advantage of the Gallery here instead of who-knows-what-site that will be gone in a year.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=378066&highlight=gmr
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=303417&highlight=gmr

Fri Jul 27, 2012 12:23 pm

Good to hear positive things about GMR! I hadn't heard of them until now, but the build quality in this bug is amazing.

I guess I'll get to my first question right off the bat...
The front fenders were removed to be rolled, and it looks like they were to some extent, but the tires were still rubbing on the inside of the headlight buckets. Is this something a hammer can fix, or should i be cutting out the spot where it rubs and resealing the bucket?

Fri Jul 27, 2012 1:00 pm

are the rear tires the same size/brand? looks like the rears would work better on the front and the fronts on the rear. maybe 235's all the way around would work better.

did it come with the race engine? i know it is supposed to be stock but you know what i am talking about.

Fri Jul 27, 2012 1:26 pm

Rears are the same size and brand, having the fenders off makes the illusion that the front ones are bigger, it looks kind of funny. But I hammered the headlight buckets a bit where the tires were rubbing, and just put the fenders back on, so we'll see if the problem is solved.

And yes, the engine came with it, mated to a beefed up type 1 tranny.

Fri Jul 27, 2012 1:57 pm

Saw the ad, thought it was a great deal and (briefly) considered making the call... congrats on the score!. 8)

Fri Jul 27, 2012 4:27 pm

Good looking, but you may want to cut and turn the front beam and a wee bit of preload on the rear to get some more tire clearance or go to 205's or 215's instead of the 235's.[/GVideo]

Fri Jul 27, 2012 4:49 pm

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^What he said^^^^^^^

NICE car !

Fri Jul 27, 2012 5:01 pm

the wheels on your car are either 1) to wide...2) wrong off-set...3) both.... tires on "stock" wheels will fit much better....

these tires are .....215/75R15 BFG AT's on 4.5 in. "stock" VW wheels

Fri Jul 27, 2012 5:01 pm

mrbajadude wrote: Good looking, but you may want to cut and turn the front beam and a wee bit of preload on the rear to get some more tire clearance or go to 205's or 215's instead of the 235's.[/GVideo]

X3. It may be that the rim off-set is causing some of the rubbing as well. Either way, you probably want to get some more lift/clearance in there.

Fri Jul 27, 2012 5:02 pm

Damn, Mr. Bill - you beat me to it by seconds!

Fri Jul 27, 2012 7:45 pm

here as how it sits with all 4 fenders on. There are preload adjuster bolts under the rear so we will play with them tomorrow. I imagine the rears will drag as it sits but the fronts, even fully compressed don't hit when turning.

[/img]

Fri Jul 27, 2012 9:42 pm

Goodluck with the build man looks awesome!

Fri Jul 27, 2012 11:45 pm

Tyler, few of the Class 11 guys run 7.00-15s. Most run 215 to 235s. And those front fenders look "radiused". That's a no-no in Class 11. Rolling the edge is allowed, but increasing the radius is not. It does look as though it could use more ride height like Bill's. I see no skid plates either. But I understand it isn't "done" yet.

Sat Jul 28, 2012 9:12 am

dustymojave wrote: Tyler, few of the Class 11 guys run 7.00-15s. Most run 215 to 235s. And those front fenders look "radiused". That's a no-no in Class 11. Rolling the edge is allowed, but increasing the radius is not. It does look as though it could use more ride height like Bill's. I see no skid plates either. But I understand it isn't "done" yet.

We did end up radiusing the front fenders, the tires that came on it are brand new so I didn't want to have to buy new ones, going to try to run it like this and see how it is. If I do end up racing it I will have to get new fenders and tires to get the proper clearance.

It does have front and rear skids though. You can see the front one in this pic

And the rear covers and engine and tranny, with access hole for oil changes.

Another question for you guys...I want to put in a front and rear window, like I said, and the front window will fit fine, but if I put in a solid glass back window it will block access to the fuel level dipstick and the button that runs the car in first gear to help get unstuck. I was thinking maybe a piece of plexiglass on hinges that flips up in the same way as the decklid? Any other ideas?

Sat Jul 28, 2012 10:02 am

you might want to go with lexan rather than plexy glass
awesome looking car!

Sat Jul 28, 2012 9:35 pm

thext94 wrote:
Another question for you guys...I want to put in a front and rear window, like I said, and the front window will fit fine, but if I put in a solid glass back window it will block access to the fuel level dipstick and the button that runs the car in first gear to help get unstuck. I was thinking maybe a piece of plexiglass on hinges that flips up in the same way as the decklid? Any other ideas?

Check Motorbreath's thread on a hatch for his rear window. That's a concept I've thought of since the late 1960s, but never have tried to build.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=268853

And for those who are reading both of these threads...Think about the bolt holes in the 1/4 window popouts in a Toyota Xtra Cab...the hinge bolts and the latch bolt are in holes drilled through the glass.

Sat Jul 28, 2012 11:02 pm

Interesting thread...the hinges seem straight forward enough, but getting a proper seal around the edge seems like it could be an issue. May be better off having an access hole, like a sliding or spin-off hole?

Mon Jul 30, 2012 10:33 am

pillow block is illegal for your steering btw

Mon Jul 30, 2012 8:48 pm

blitzschnell racing wrote: pillow block is illegal for your steering btw

Since he's owned it, we've found several thing that are "illegal" so it wont be raced unless totally changed so the pillow block and trimmed fenders aren't much of an issue at this point. We'll trim the fenders, and do whatever else he wants to to make it a fun car to beat up a little and race around the desert.