TheSamba.com :: View topic - Pre-A Coupe replica. (photoheavy)

Tue Mar 14, 2017 11:07 pm

Oh, well. Here it goes. Not really a Kit Car but I know the Porsche guys get rash from fiberglass... :lol:
Bought this one off scratchbuilt project back in autumn 2013. Had been pushing the previous owner for a trade since 2008 and he finally gave up. :)

The body was originally molded from an original -54 coupe in 2000 in Stockholm by a bunch of enthusiasts who planned to make a racecar out of it...

Due to some different events it finally ended up in Finland where the Finnish builder started off by building a rollcage for it on a shortened 1302S chassis.

Long story short.

This is how it looked when it arrived in my garage in 2013.

Looks better than it really was. Not much of interior was built. Door innerskins were actually hinged to the fiberglass A-pillars etc.
I was not satisfied to the finish so I decided to build it my own way....

The body had no subframe at all so the rear end had some serious flexing..

First off I started building the subframe for the body.

Tue Mar 14, 2017 11:16 pm

When the frame under the doors including A-post was done I lifted off the body to start working on the rest of the subframe..

I didn't like the cardboard interior that was originally built for the rear area...
(here PO's templates for Aluminum sheets..)

Rear subframe in the making.

Pretty early I had a vision in my mind to use VW original bodyparts for some details..

Tue Mar 14, 2017 11:18 pm

Engine area finished.

Tue Mar 14, 2017 11:46 pm

After this I butchered an other 1302....

The butchered donorpart needed some rustrepair too....
Here fitted on the frontframe as jig.

After the rustrepairs I fitted the frontcowl to the chassis under the rollcage.

Tue Mar 14, 2017 11:56 pm

Next I started to plan innerbodypanels.. Tested with original inner wheelwell and decided to make them from scratch...

After this I tested some different fueltanks and thought this -54 tank looked the best and fitted also nicely in the remains of the sparewheel area.

Here the tankframe is finished. Also fitted the innerpanel between the cowl and dash at this point.

Wed Mar 15, 2017 12:09 am

Also worked on some heaterchannels for defrosting the windscreen..

Here the front end is all done. including batterytray.

Some patches on the inside.

During the work done at the front an idea had grown in my head for the rearend. So a papertemplate first just to test how the idea works...

From the template I cut a pair of sheetmetal pieces and started to form them...

When these were done I started to modify the rearcowl I cut from a -68 body..

All this work just for ducting so I can fit the bakelite heaterducts later.
Here finished.

Wed Mar 15, 2017 12:16 am

I then continued with the remaining enginebay panels. Took some ideas from original 356's for the design...

Wed Mar 15, 2017 12:23 am

After all the metalwork it was time to testfit the body again. So I cut out all the inner fiberglass panels and also scrapped the popriveted alu panels leaving the body as an empty shell... Just one alupanel under the rearwindow to keep the body from not flexing too much..

Chassis rolled under the body.

Body down!

Was a good day as everything seem'd to line up nicely. Looks like the ideas worked well even though the body was off all the time... :D

Evidently the inner panels were not that very well lined up to the body from the previous builds. Luckily they were cut out... :)

Even room for the sparewheel now!

Wed Mar 15, 2017 12:26 am

I had an idea to make the rear firewall out of aluminium sheetmetal...

Wed Mar 15, 2017 12:30 am

Next was to fix the sparewheelwell... Original innerpanels was a bit off...

Now a fullsize sparewheel fits in.

Wed Mar 15, 2017 12:48 am

At this point I had come to the stage I had tried to avoid as much as possible. Start work in with fiberglass... Never ever done that before.... :lol:

Started by making a large sheet of fiberglass.

Using a paper template I cut out two panels.

And fixed them to the inner panels on the chassis.

And then applied fiberglass and resin so the panels joined the body at B-pillars and under the rear quarterwindows all the way to the enginebay.

Had to drill out the holes for the rear lights at this poin too just to make sure the innerpanels didn't interfere with them... :)

Next I closed the enginebay to the rearbody with the scrapped fiberglass I had cut out when I made the new steel heaterchannels under the doors... :)

Then it was time to finally mount the rear firewall and glue it to the body too... :)

Started working on the missing B-pillars too.

Wed Mar 15, 2017 12:55 am

Now I came to the point I had to work some out on the doors and hinges....

First reinforcing some bad joints between the different panels...

Then cut of the original B-pillar to reveal the new B-pillar with the heaterducting... :)

Make some coverplates for the heaterpipes.

And make new hingemounts.

Wed Mar 15, 2017 1:08 am

Decided to make the door windowframes myself too... Cut a template(buck) from MDF then ordered a long U-profile from the local hardwarestore that I bent over the buck...

Wed Mar 15, 2017 1:13 am

Impressive Bodywork! Good to see you try to stay as close to the original as possible. Wonder if your solution will result in a heavier car?

Wed Mar 15, 2017 1:46 am

At the same time as I got the body down on the chassis again an idea to make bumpers for it out of pre-67 beetle bumpers... So into action! Cut two slightly offset from center to them weld them together making one longer bumper.

Then tested if the remaining pieced could be used for the rounded corners...

It looked like it would work so I went on with the idea...

Welded mounts in the sparewheelwell...

Piecut the bumper and lenghtened the corner all around making it to look like the early pre-A bodybumpers.

Made an other papertemplate.

And welded the bumper fillouts...

Wed Mar 15, 2017 1:52 am

In the rear I also welded in a bumpermount similar to originals.

Fitted pre-67 beetle bumpermounts to them and took a third front bumper that I piecut at the ends.

Cut up an other to get the ends all around.

Wed Mar 15, 2017 1:57 am

Still lots to do on it but there's also lots more work I've allready done that I'll post later.

Wed Mar 15, 2017 2:27 am

germanx wrote: Impressive Bodywork! Good to see you try to stay as close to the original as possible. Wonder if your solution will result in a heavier car?

I have no idea but if I think this way the constructions I made in steel are replacing thick fiberglass panels. If I calculate the weights theoretically one squaremeter of 0,75mm sheetmetal weighs 5,89kg's where as one squaremeter of 4mm fiberglass sheet weighs 8,49kg's. :D

And also the constructions I have made will anyways be lighter than the stock 1302S, on which this is based on. :D

Wed Mar 15, 2017 5:31 am

Wow, amazing build

Wed Mar 15, 2017 4:17 pm

Wow!!!!!