My Cheap Daily Driver Baja Project

[GreeneHoosier]

This is the new project- I bought it for $200 delivered to my house. It had a good 1600 SP and a decent chassis those two items should recoup my investment and make me some $$ besides- I am using neither, instead I have put it on a new painted (1974)IRS chassis. I cut the stock hood to fit a bugeye nose, swapped doors, all new brakes, lines and MC, new windshield and popouts, I have the fenders and tail piece. I also have the tube bumpers/cage for front and rear. I also have a stock rebuild 1600 and rebuilt 1971 Super tranny waiting in the wings. I have also painted the entire car in Masterseries rustproofing paint- inside and out- NO MORE RUST. That is some good stuff. I also welded the side trim holes and the hood trim holes, too. I have some RX-7 seats that I have fitted to the car. I have Rhino lined the pans, also. This car will get light trail/off road duty and DD responsibilities. I am making the car as user friendly as possible. Gauges for engine monitoring, including a vacuum gauge to help with mpg. I also have a wooden Nardi steering wheel for it, and a JSC shifter (or an Eliminator from flat Four). I still need to replace both heater channels. This is how I hope to drive it for the next school year. I am looking for a diesel 1.6 from a rabbit to rebuild over the winter, I am hoping for 60 mpg with it in back. But that is a future iteration. I cannot seem to find any one that has real mpg figures for this swap, but I am guessing I can get 60. So, I know it is not as radical as some of yours, but it will be a capable off roader that can also serve as a daily driver. enjoy the pics.
This is about 3-4 weeks of progress.

[elvergon]

great job, just need to take more pictures of the progress!

[cwrisley]

I dig the paint. Is that Masterseries a "do-it-yourselfer" or was it done professionally?

Score on the baja though, cant beat the price. Sounds like a cool start, keep us posted!

[baja kid]

sweeet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! not really understanding when you where saying your plan was to get 60 mpg ??? but looks great
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My old Baja Bug thread

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=243718

[runslikeapenguin]

i dont know if 60mpg is possible, i know a good 45mpg is

[GreeneHoosier]

The Masterseries is an amazing product. It takes about a quart to do a car, and it is $35.00 a quart plus shipping from Chuck at masterseriesct.com . It is applied with a roller (VERY smooth) and foam brushes. It can be used as a final coat with three coats and as a primer only with two. This car will never rust again with this stuff on there. For good info on it check out the website.

The 60 mpg is , I believe, obtainable with the 1.6 diesel Rabbit engine. I achieved 51-54 mpg with a diesel 4-dr Rabbit. I think with the lighter Baja and appropriate gearing I can achieve close to 60 mpg.

Thanks for the comments. The car is up in the air for some beam/suspension work, the tranny will be swapped and the engine installed this weekend.
I also need to finsh the mods to get the RX-7 seats in, too.
Updates as they are interesting.

[runslikeapenguin]

[GreeneHoosier]

The last one I had was a 1981, I think. I sold it for $50.00. I am trying to track down it's carcass now. Low 50's easy.

[notsofastEddie]

definitely looks cool, look forward to progress reports.
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'72 super baja

[GreeneHoosier]

This is Herculiner from Wal_mart. The pinstripes are double silver/black. The silver matches the Masterseries perfectly. I also scored a Rabbit diesel engine. Woo Hoo. 60 mpg (I hope) here I come.

I also did the floor.

[elvergon]

Looks like a great project!

We need more pics thou...

[badcommando]

yeah, lets see that engine.

[Mr. Unpopular]

[GreeneHoosier]

My plan is better gearing through taller tires.
I also have two good (one new, one low mile) trannies to choose from. A 1971 that is fresh and a single side cover 1974 that is a low mile original. I have 235's on there now-with the 1974 tranny, but I can put 30/10.5/15's on there also. I need to do some figuring to get my RPM's where I want them at 60 mph. It seems like there was a calculator somewhere for this kind of thing....hmmmm

[GreeneHoosier]

It looks like I can turn 72 mph at 3k rpm with the 1974 tranny and 31/10.5/15's that measure 29 inches tall.I certainly will not be driving 72 on the rural 2 lane hwy I drive back and forth. I can see 55 to 60 mph and less than 2500 rpm, I think. 48 mph is 2000 rpm, so I think that would be about right. I wonder what rpm a 5-speed diesel rabbit runs in 5th gear at 60 mph? Thanks for the questions, it makes me think...

[Mr. Unpopular]

I think it would almost be worth it to have someone build you a tranny. Use a 3.88 R&P, and the tallest 4th gear you could find. Basically you'd have a big gap between 3rd and 4th, but I think you could learn to drive around it. I think you'd need to keep the revs pretty low to achieve your MPG goals, but man would that be a neat setup.
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"In any racing engine, the nearer you are to it disintegrating, the better it's performance will be"
-Keith Duckworth, creator of the Ford/Cosworth DFV

[birddog1148]

Lets see the new rims on it, looking good!
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'69 Baja, Crusty 62 bug

I Got Your Jeep Thing! Now It Hurts When I pee.

Cigarettes are like squirrels, they are both harmless until you put one in your mouth and light it on fire.

[GreeneHoosier]

[runslikeapenguin]

keep us posted on how the bed liner paint holds up, people ask alot about that and it would be nice to get a solid idea on how long it lasts before it fades and how easy it is to get off if the time comes.

[Crippler]