Okrasa Special

[lovethatconvertible]

WOW, My vote is yes, The Okrasa Special is moving forward. Your panel beaters
are bad ass, Some talent going on over there for sure.

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1960 Convertible

[SBD]

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"Just $99 down and $64 a month for 36 months buys you a brand new Volkswagen Beetle!"

[obieoberstar]

cutting those hand made wings to fit some hand made headlight assemblies must have been the point of no return. It has turned out great. Looks fast just sitting there in the pics. Definitely period correct.

I am looking forward to how this hand formed body gets attached to the chassis.

Awesome update.

[Fifty-Eight Rag]

Very nice!
Looking awesome
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1956 Oval
and a barn full of VW parts

1956 Oval build thread
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

1962 Single Cab Restoration
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7959298#7959298

1967 Beetle Restoration
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=495269&highlight=larrys

[lovethatconvertible]

I just wanted to add that when you finish the Special you should Slam it and throw some early's on it
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1960 Convertible

[mandraks]

looks seriously awesome. Perhaps too good.
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regards

Uli

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'53 3-Fold Oval, L35 Metallic Blue, looking for a narrow hatch panel

[MDKG]

Insane! Where can I get one?

Just went back to the first page to see again what you started with and it is amazing to see how far this got. Nice job!

[bally]

Wow Steve, Just WOW!!! Somehow I was a year or so behind this thread (even though we've discussed progress at HO) so to just catch up on what has been a superb year for the project has been pretty special - it is looking SO good and the skills involved are very humbling.

You must be super excited now to be getting tangibly close to the end (even if it may be some way off)

Excellent updates - please keep them coming!

Cheers, Dave

[kiwisteve]

thanks Dave. yes HO seems like an age ago. As requested, next update

[kiwisteve]

Well, another week and more great progress at the coach builders :

All the work this time has been focused on the front of the car. First up is the finished headlamp, complete with tabs to hold the Plexiglas in place as per the Porsche RSK. Ignore the washers, they're just holding the tab in place 3mm off the recessed lip...

Next up was the tricky job of deciding on the oil cooler shape, size and location. This is one of those jobs like headlamps, that if you screw up messes up the entire car. No pressure then. We made up a multitude of paper cutouts, none of which looked right, before realising that your eye is drawn down by the shut line of the bonnet to the nose of the car. We ran two lines of tape down the nose...

And hey presto, a oil cooler aperture that looks right to the eye...

It's smaller than intended but looks right. There's a separate solution for the brake ducts which I think is both ingenious, simple and elegant, so the aperture for the front is dedicated only to the oil cooler itself. Speaking of which, we got the positioning of the cooler sorted today...

The oil lines will run through the centre tunnel to the middle of the car, avoiding the need to run them underneath along a sill - a much neater solution that doesn't seem so much of an after thought.

There's only one concession to the modern world with this car and that's the battery (if you overlook the roll cage and fire extinguisher!). The car originally ran a six volt battery, but there's no way we wanted to risk the chunter of a slow winding, high compression motor in the pits when you're trying to fire up a hot motor and wanting to get back onto the circuit. So we've plumbed for an Optima25 in the front left corner of the car...

And here's design as it happens! a brief discussion, a few ideas, a drawing and hey presto, the boys from M&Y just magic it up from there!

Speaking of magic, we deliberated for quite some time on the need for a towing eye. It obviously needs one, but there's no way I'm putting something horrible and modern on the car, and we decided after much discussion to do away with the original sub-frame to put it right in the nose. Instead we plumbed for something more in period and likely as it would've been; an after thought! Again drawn out on cardboard after a few minutes discussion, to be mounted under the car to the front of the main subframe...

Next up wipers. Or more correctly, the trailing edge of the bodywork. The challenge with a steel roof and scuttle, and an aluminium body was always how to join them. Again we decided to make the problem a design feature, with the aluminium sitting slightly proud (about an inch) to vent hot air from the oil cooler out over the windscreen instead of under the car (creating lift) and leaving a neat gap that could be flared, to also create a slight air screen for the wipers much like the Porsche Abarth GTL. The 10mm return will be used to wire roll the edge of the ally, so we'll end up with about a 1 inch gap all the way along the bonnet edge...

Finally a major design flaw with the owner of the car: at six foot four inches (191cm) I'm no dwarf, so goodness knows why I love racing small cars. Anyway, we had already put the seat base almost as close to the floor as we dare, without putting it directly on the floor. If we had done that a steel insert would've been prudent in the event of an accident. With a helmet on I needed another 3/4 of an inch in roof height - bugger! So we have opted for a Gurney Bubble, named after Dan Gurney who needed a bubble put into all his closed cars. Here we're measuring up...

Before decided on the profile for the bubble itself, which will be a teardrop. I've been told not to turn up when they do this job as the roof needs to be heated up and bashed with a very big hammer...

And finally the big news of the week. The car (at least the bodywork) will be finished next month. M&Y need the space for the next car so the pace will be upped for the final push in March. More updates next time...

Cheers, Steve

[bally]

Great update Steve although the bubble sounds scary!!

I know you're not painting the aluminium body but what finish will you go for with the steel roof?

March will be here soon enough and you'll be moving on to the next chapter with the car - exciting times!

Cheers,

Dave

[DesignBuild]

I've been following your build but I am wondering why your oil cooler is so large? Consider the size of the VW oil cooler under the fan housing; it is not as large as the one you are using. The oil coolers used for 5.7 liter V-8 engines are typically 3 to 4 inches high and about 10 to 12 inches in length and 1 to 2 inches deep. If your oil cooler was in this size range you could have mounted it up close to the opening in the front of the bodywork opening and ducted the exit through a slot just in front of the bonnet opening. I assume some of the air to the left and right will be ducted to the front brakes. If so aren't you concerned about the air going under the car from there? If you are concerned about the car flying, you can install shallow rectangular tunnels under the car that exit at the rear edge of the bodywork. These rectangular ducts are a form of ground-effects package and they work exceedingly well; simple and not complicated. You can see these on numerous modern British sports cars. Do a search for 'Ground Effect Tunnel Designs'. The tunnels increase the velocity of the air under the car causing the air traveling over the top surfaces to literally push the car closer to the roadway. With these you can duct the oil cooler air under the car.

[kiwisteve]

Hi DesignBuild. There a host of reasons why the cooler needs to be the size it is. Firstly the standard oil cooler is pretty inadequate for racing. The comparison with a water cooled V8 isn't really relevant as the VW engine is oil cooled, not water-cooled, so it needs all the surface area to the cooler it can get. We're also planning on supercharging the engine later on, so need to build in as much cooling capability as possible even if it's redundant to begin with for the naturally aspirated engine. And it's a period build: ground effects didn't exist in the early 1960's so while that's a neat solution, it would look incongruous on the Special.... Plus, the guy building the motor is one of the best air-cooled four cylinder VW and Porsche engine builders in the world, and he specified the cooler size! Hope that answer the question.

[kiwisteve]

Well here in the UK it's been bloody freezing. So here's something to warm the hearts of all those suffering in these cold and bitter northern winter evenings... the latest instalment on the build of the Special. M&Y have like the rest of the country being battling Australian Flu (nasty thing especially the Australian variant ) and blizzards preventing travel to work. Despite this tremendous progress has been made over the past fortnight, so much so that I fear I'm going to be the bottleneck, unable to get down to them in time to provide input on design and problem solving.

Anyway. Something as simple as a battery case demonstrates the unbelievable skill, experience and craftsmanship the guys from M&Y put into absolutely everything they do. As you're no doubt aware the battery has to be secured well. For optimum weight distribution it's also best if it's as far forward in the car and over to the left (opposite side to the driver), but within the wheelbase of the car. Oh, and it's got to be easily accessible to put a charger on it or be inspected by a scrutineer. It's also got to be light and if possible, elegant. No point seeing an ugly old piece of angle iron holding down a battery.

So here we are...

We've gone with a modern battery as the power and light weight just can't be ignored. Nothing worse than an original six volt battery chuntering away slowly in the pits while a race slips away...

The finished product before installation...

And insitu.... Notice how the base has the lovely arc of ally the same radius as the lower torsion tube, to hold the battery against something substantial, rather than resting it on the ally floor, where it would inevitably fatigue the rivets and cause it to bump up and down over time...

Next up is the oil cooler installation. We've spent a LOT of time figuring out how to make the oil cooler work, and optimise the airflow over and out the oil cooler. Here's a series of photos to give a view on this. The first is the bulkhead that will support the nose of the car: it needs to maximise rigidity so the front bodywork doesn't flex...

Next up is the oil cooler itself installed...

Now the clever bit, creating all the panel work around the front of the car, firstly the panels that sit on top of the sides of the bonnet...

And here they are installed...

And then the liners are added...

Before it's all welded together...

And hey presto, the front of the car is tied together in one cohesive piece...

Now, onto a small but important detail on the headlights. In a slavish nod to the Porsche RSK we've copied the headlight cover fixtures. I can only justify this by claiming that it was in period; David Small would've been looking around for inspiration on how to attach the covers; it's an elegant engineering feature to solving the fixing problem; etc. etc. Or I could just admit that I thought it cool and wanted to add it to the car...

And finally, while we're talking of inspiration, the GTL has lovely 'shields' that reduce drag just a little more, for the wipers, so we've emulated this on the Okrasa Special...

More in a couple of weeks, where I've no doubt more progress will have been made. I don't know about you, but I can see the finishing line to the build of the car. In an interesting twist, I dug out the original letter I have from David Small: the build of the car was started in 1958, so it HAS to be finished this year, exactly 60 years later...

[bally]

Nice update Steve. I particularly like the battery holder.

I'm looking forward to the extent update already!

Cheers, Dave

[kiwisteve]

Thanks Dave, the battery holder is typical of the work M&Y do: not fussy, but beautifully executed....

Speaking of which, progress continues at pace. Little details now to finish off the build all of which take time...

First up is the towing eye for the front of the car. this will be mounted to the subframe for the oil cooler. It needs to be bolted on as it needs to be removed prior to the front body work being removed....

Next up is an action shot of the already-completed Gurney roof bubble... Glad it's not me putting that curve in steel. It took three hours with that machine...

The next shot is one of my personal favourites for the whole build of the car. It's the lightening holes put into the tops of the sills. Not really required, but it all helps with weight saving, adds a bit of much needed access to the sill if we run pipes or wires along them, and looks just f*^king cool I think...

Another lovely shot here... this is the inside of the door. We decided a long time ago to put cut-outs in the door, again partly for weight saving, but also to give a bit more elbow room when you just need the space to 'crank the wheel'. Rather than put a simple rectangle in the door skin though we decided to follow the spaceframe...

Next up is the finished fuel filler cap. God this was a pain in the arse. The FIA requires all cars with a screw or Monza style filler cap to now have a modern threaded cap inside which is just horrible. Safer for sure, but horrible nonetheless. But this only applies if the cap sits proud of the. bodywork (it's in case the cap is ripped off in a crash...) so M&Y located it just under the bodywork line...

Here's the final make-up of the front bonnet and oil cooler ducting. So simple in it's final form but boy did this take some head scratching to make work. I'm pretty pleased with the final design, which ducts air over the oil cooler, through the bodywork, and vents it over the wipers, avoiding the need to dump it under the car and thereby creating lift...

The final few shots are of the doors, which are under final construction. Here's the VW bus rear latch push buttons in place, which we're using as door latches...

No door handles on this car, too much drag! Instead just small indents to get your fingers behind the door edge...

The latch needs to be floating to allow for adjustment of the door. An often overlooked detail on a special but crucial if you want gaps to be good all around....

Penultimate shot today is of the door latch, again made from scratch...

The final shot of the doors and indeed this session is the locating indent in the door for the Karmann Ghia/Porsche 356 door locator, that makes sure the door lines up square and shuts positively against the latch. All details but ones that mean the car will be a pleasure to use...

We're now into the final furlong, working out the myriad of small details, prior to me picking up the car and Ian installing the original engine that will be used for shakedown testing.... More in a month's time.

[bally]

Blimey Steve! Awesomely beautiful inspirational stuff!!!!

[kiwisteve]

Well there was a distinctly different vibe in the Mouland & Yates workshop today. A quick 'hello' and a cup of tea, and then it was back to the jobs they were on. A sense of urgency and purpose pervaded because there's a deadline that everyone is working to now. The cars first race (the Chateau Impney Hillclimb), is a little over eight weeks away. Nothing like a deadline to focus the mind! So we're now into the details, the snags, the little things that finish the car off or make it work. Here's a selection from today:

First up the workshop when I arrived. The bodywork has been gone over with a orbital sander and then scotch pad to flatten off the panels and put a decent dull to them.

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Next up is Jefferey fitting the headlamps for the last time...
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The last time we'll see the door mechanism as the skins will go on this coming week. Nice and strong, and light as a feather...
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Venting the oil cooler has been a monumental effort, both from a design perspective but also in making that design work. I didn't want to vent the air to the underside of the car as it increases lift, so we've ducted it through the boot area and then vented it between the scuttle and the edge of the bonnet. Good if it works...
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The bodywork has turned out to be massively stiff. We didn't plan on having to rely on the bodywork for torsional rigidity, that's taken car of by the chassis and roll cage, but it's nice to have the bodywork strong. This shot gives you an insight into why it's so stiff...
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here's the finished clamshell for the rear, minus the liners. This has been a big bit of work but turned out beautifully...
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Next up is Vic Mouland briefing Ian on how to remove the front bodywork. We hope we don't ever have to take it off, but just in case, it's only a matter of 10 bolts and a bit of giggling...
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Thought you would like this. How to scuff up a perfectly good shiny panel!
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Ian and Tom fitting the quarter panel for the last time (this time permanently) with filler cap, hose and breather all done...
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The door latches have been a bastard to make work. Here's a final shot of the latch and lock mechanism. Hats off to the M&Y team for making it all work...
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The car will occasionally get driven on the road so needs to be road legal. Here's an insight into how much craftsmanship and experience goes into making the details work. 1950's VW/Porsche indicator mounts, fitted as though they were factory...
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The guys at M&Y are as anal about the details as I am. Notice how the notch in the Dzus fasteners all follow the edge of the panel...
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The rear quarter panel getting it's final fettle before being riveted in place and lining up perfectly with the clamshell...
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All hands to the pump with just 13 working days till the car goes to Ian for fitting of engine and general fettling for our first race!
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I thought this shot gave a great perspective on the car, plus it also gives a lovely view of the M&Y workshop and the rear of the Special, complete now with cut-out...
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And finally, photographic evidence that I've had a hand in actually doing some coachwork. I only held the dolly for about 3 seconds while the rivet was tapped flush, but at least I can hand on heart now say I've been involved in the coachwork!
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Next instalment will be the final from M&Y, in 3 weeks time...

[mandraks]

[bally]

Bravo Sir!