Long time lurker, first time poster... Class 11 Build

[BG Racing]

Hey all.
I'm not new to VWs, but am new to off road racing... a long time ago, I thought it would be a fun venture to go racing in the dirt. Life happened, and it had always remained a pipe dream. Well, I finally decided to get off my ass and get one started AND finished. After a lot of deliberation, my friend and I decided to go the Class 11 route, for a few reasons:
A.)The challenge... from what I can understand, Class 11 is a war of attrition, with ingenuity and resourcefulness being key traits, instead of burying the loud pedal and keeping it shiny side up.
B.)We wanted to show that it's still possible for ordinary guys to build a racecar in their garage and go have fun playing with it.
C.)We are a little crazy.

We started doing research, talking to some people, laying out a plan. We both have had a lot of experience, both with aircooled VWs, and building racecars... everywhere we went, people told us "Its cheaper to buy one!" But that defeats the purpose, and if we are going to attempt to finish a 1000 mile race, I want intimate knowledge of every nut and bolt in the car.

The first step was to find a suitable car to start with. After a few flakes, and a freak snow storm, we found the perfect car, a 1972, No engine, but otherwise complete, rust free, straight, and unmolested.

Of course, it's not a racecar without a name, so we went with Rocinante. It seems appropriate.

[BG Racing]

With Rocinante safely stowed in the shop, it was time to start gathering parts... as luck would have it, I stumbled across a 1600 dual port on Craigslist for dirt cheap, but needed a rebuild. I called and told the guy I wanted it, and would be there in 15 minutes... half an hour later, and $200 poorer, we had an engine. He had claimed that it had low oil pressure and knocked, so they worked on it for a while then gave up...
When I started on it, I found a loose flywheel (which was brand new). I also found it had brand new cylinders, pistons, fresh heads, and a new oil pump. Seems like someone was throwing parts at it.

I started by cleaning, inspecting, measuring everything. I found most people run REALLY high compression in Class 11, with relatively high power numbers. Since our primary goal is to finish a race, we decided to stay pretty mild with the engine, keeping it simple, low tech and hopefully reliable.
Specs:
1600 DP
9.5:1 CR (Static)
Balanced Rotating assembly
Full flowed
Shimmed stock rockers
Blueprinted Pict 30 carb

Honestly, it's been awhile since I'd built a VW engine, so I hope it stays together for a reasonable amount of time.

Obviously this is NOT the exhaust/carb/distributor that will be on the engine when it's in the car... those were on just to break in the cam...

[BG Racing]

Of course, you can't have a racecar without a rollcage. We ordered up a bunch of 1.5" x .120 DOM, and a bunch of 1" x .095 DOM, and set to work trying to decipher the rulebook. We ran 1.5" from the rear torsion to the beam with clamps, then built off of that. The rear hoop and halo were designed so they could be tacked, then leaned forward and finish welded. We bent up tubes to go from the A pillar bars to the top of the beam with clamps, then bent up the door bars. We still aren't 100% certain the door bars will pass tech (obviously with more triangulation and gussets), so if anybody has any insight, that would be awesome.

Floor bars

Main hoop and "halo"

Front tubes

Main hoop/harness bar/diagonal

Seat mounts out of 1".

We just got our fuel cell, so the next part of the cage is figuring out the rear down bars. There's a bunch of triangulation to add, but most of that will be 1", so we are trying to knock out as much of the 1.5" first to save time.
We designed the cage around a SCCA concept, so hopefully it will pass tech. Some of the cages we looked at passed tech and weren't fully welded! We tried to go to great lengths to make sure our cage is strong, as light as possible while retaining strength, and as unobtrusive as possible for the driver and codriver. So many cars I've been in, the roll cage takes up so much space and is always in your way... when in the driving position, the a pillar bars line up with the windshield frame, so they don't impede on the line of sight. The door bars kick outwards, into the doors, and back in, so they don't interfere with getting in or out, and honestly you kind of forget they are there.
We mounted the passenger seat with 2 positions: in line with the driver's seat, and 3" aft of the drivers seat. This gives the driver a clear line of sight, and more elbow room for both people.

Door bars

[dustymojave]

Welcome to our addictions. VWs and offroad racing both.

I strongly suggest that you race in a number of MORE events in California to get accustomed to the car and learn what will break and what the car will take. Watch all the videos you can about Class 11s racing the 1000 and pay attention to the problems they have. Pay attention to 5/16s too as many of the issues one type has will apply to the other.

Make sure your roll cage joints are welded all the way around. Dennis Sletten and his sons offer a SCORE legal roll cage kit in DOM. (EDIT: But I see that you and I are writing our posts at the same time, so my mention of a kit is not needed. Not all members of the cage are required to be full strength. Some of it could be thinner wall. If careful in your build, much of it could be .095, even the required members. For the sake of weight, I suggest that any members not required be thinner wall, such as .065, .075, or .083. I'm glad you haven't compromised your cage to clear the cell. I have a 5/16 in my back yard (built by someone else) with a cage that failed due to the diagonal having been held up off the bottom corner to clear the cell. NOT good. End Edit)

Join Class 11 Coalition and their forum.

Note that those wheels as shown on the back are cool for a street legal Class 11 style Bug, but do not technically meet the rules, even though they are VW factory original equipment on some VW Bugs. They are 4.5" rim width and the rules say 4".
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[dustymojave]

Regarding the right seat mounts...Rally racers tend to set the navigator seat down low and back to keep him or her low in the CG, and out of the driver's way.
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[BG Racing]

Thanks for the input!

We are thinking our first race will be in NORRA, possibly the 500 next year. We have a long build still ahead of us, and a long test and tune section. We would love to pit for a team a few times to get our feet wet as well, but there are a few events we are eyeing if the car is done in time.

The rear wheel is long gone. It was a the spare that came with the car, and was only on the car because we had a flat while towing it. We have 2 sets of the standard wheels, but are looking for at LEAST one more set.

As far as the cage goes, in some of the pics, the joints aren't fully welded, but I assure you they all are now. Safety is one area we don't want to cut corners on. I've seen and been around some of those horror stories, and I have a family I want to come back to.

We looked into the cage kits, and were quoted anywhere between $1000 and $1800... if we didn't have a bender, they would definitely be the way to go, but we were told we would still have to "adjust" the bars in the kit (understandably so), and fishmouth and notch it ourselves. We have more time than money, so we weighed the cost/labor benefits of doing it ourselves. We spent $400 on the DOM, and beyond that, it's been labor. Our goal is to have the cage done, then inspected, before we continue any further with the build, so we can easily make any changes if necessary.

[BG Racing]

Here's a better view of the staggered driving position. We took our cue from rally cars. It doesn't seem like much, but that 3" makes a huge difference.

[BG Racing]

Scored a great deal on some parts yesterday.
Gary, if you're reading this, thank you again!

Thing stub axles and flanges

A couple of beams, one has had the shock towers welded up already.
We now have 3 good beams (and one bent one), and enough parts to put together 2 beams and have some spares.

New hook and stop kit

Pair of sway a way torsion bars

Also picked up a handful of trailing arms for the front, and a handful of spare spindles, and a nosecone for our transaxle.

[veeweeman]

A nice solid start you got going.
_________________
Never be a follower...Do your own thing, make it your own!

[plotch]

Sweeeeeeeet!. Good luck.

[BG Racing]

We had decided to leave the gearbox alone initially, then when it broke (notice I didn't say "if"), we would have someone go through it for us. But me being who I am, that plan wasn't going to work, so I tore the transaxle apart, and started inspecting stuff. Reverse was surprisingly good, but it had worn synchros, and the 3-4 slider was getting iffy. So, I set off to rebuild the gearbox. While I was in there, I had 3 and 4 welded, installed a hardened key, replaced the plastic caged bearings, and all of the circlips and thrust washers.

Got my opinion but socket today, so I was able to get it mounted in the jig and get the shift forks adjusted. Everything seems right. With any luck, I'll be able to get a gasket set tomorrow and get the transaxle back together, and back in the car on Friday.

I have more picture from doing the rebuild, I just have to find them.

[mr_bill]

MY 1972 Class 11...pre-runner (no $$$ to race)
_________________
see ya' on the trail........

"Mr Bill"
Dos Perros Motorsports
Orange, CA
1972 Class 11x/Stock Bug
'60's era "vintage" Tunnell-Buggy

"...no one here....get's out ALIVE...."

Motor = electric
Engine = internal combustion

www.facebook.com/groups/DosPerrosMotorsports
www.alrchapter132.org
www.DAV.org

[BG Racing]

Beautiful car Mr Bill! The quality of craftsmanship really shows.

I'm in love with the header... I'm sure it was expensive!

[BG Racing]

Got the transaxle together... except for the nosecone bushing and seal, because I'm an idiot and forgot to pick one up when I was at the parts house. So now I have to wait until I can get down there and pick one up before I can reinstall the transaxle... I'd like to get the engine back in as well before we finish up the rear half of the cage. I ordered Bilstein 7100 shocks for the rear so we have those on hand for the cage too, but for some reason, all of the Bilstein suppliers around here are having trouble getting anything from Bilstein at the moment... I'm being told it will be around a month before I see them. At least that will give us time to figure out the mounts for the transaxle, and we can continue adding triangulation to the front half. I need to scrounge up some old Thing axles so I can mock up the rear suspension, too. I found some online for $50 each new, and am positive the quality is probably terrible, but they will be fine for mock up and after polishing them, will become spares most likely. Because I have access to a laser cutter, I'm considering making some CV savers for the Thing CVs. I can find them pretty easily for 930 CVs, but haven't found any for the 100mm CVs. Probably overkill, but can't hurt to have them.
Also I have to clean out the shop... right now there's floor to ceiling race boats in there. Its damn near impossible to move around in there. Hopefully this week I can scrounge some time to get down to the shop and make some headway. It's funny, sometimes the progress comes fast and furious, and sometimes it's like running in molasses, and comes painfully slow. Right now, its painfully slow. I always try during these times to do everything I can to force myself to spend time working on something on the car... even if it something as unimportant as sorting hardware, or something like rebuilding the steering box. The way I figure it, the more stupid menial tasks I get out of the way now, the smoother and faster the car will go back together.

Finished transaxle. Fingers crossed it doesn't scatter itself all over the asphalt on the first test drive...

[mr_bill]

[BG Racing]

Both are works of art.

Is the 02 bung for tuning?

[BG Racing]

Found some more pictures from the cage construction.

An overall shot of the main hoops.

Another one.

How we were able to learn the cage forward to fully weld around all joints.

[BG Racing]

My co-driver and build partner works as a teacher for an auto restoration program, so he was able to use our fenders as instructional demos for his class...

We wanted to keep it close to the original color, but be different.

We settled on Kubota Orange... $35 a gallon at Tractor Supply. Not a bad result.

[mr_bill]

YES.....O2 bung for oxygen sensor
_________________
see ya' on the trail........

"Mr Bill"
Dos Perros Motorsports
Orange, CA
1972 Class 11x/Stock Bug
'60's era "vintage" Tunnell-Buggy

"...no one here....get's out ALIVE...."

Motor = electric
Engine = internal combustion

www.facebook.com/groups/DosPerrosMotorsports
www.alrchapter132.org
www.DAV.org