1972 Highwheeler Bug Build

[Rome]

Your redone chassis looks great!

Super early Porsche 356 back in Washburns' shop. '54 or '55 with horn grill openings in fenders and the kinked windshield?

[jasonvw]

Thanks. More updates coming up soon.
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[McP4ppy]

Great work, enjoying following along.

[jasonvw]

Thanks!
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[72BajaBen]

[jasonvw]

Time for another update. When I got the car I noticed that the existing carpet in the car was soaking wet, and it had been for a long time. On tear down it became obvious that the wetness had taken its toll on the not only the pan halves but also the pedal set as well. Here is what I pulled out of the car. You can see the massive corrosion on the base.

The lower parts of the pedal arms were badly rusted and honestly I didn't think any of this cluster was usable.

So I went back to Pedalworks who built the last cluster for me in my red patina build. I sent them a few photos of what I had to work with. Luckily Scott over there has a large supply of OG good quality pedal cores to build from so I put my original pedal set right in the trash and bought a set from Pedalworks. I went with a powdercoated set with the roller pedal upgrade and cruiser accessory gas pedal as well. I also went with the upgraded clutch cable shaft with the bolt on cable mount. I have used all of this in the past and its mandatory for me. The pedals arrived super fast and the end result is show quality which is a far cry from what I started with.

These will be going on the car very soon as the pan build goes into high gear.
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[jasonvw]

Moving along with the pan assembly, I got my batch of parts back from powder coat including the original front beam. I stripped it down and had it powder coated to match the pan. I installed new bearings and got it on the pan.

I also rebuilt the steering box and gave it a coating of single stage semi gloss to match the car. I can't stand leaving these in bare metal as they start to rust quickly and spray paint always looks cheap and dull. To finish it off I added the billet top and chrome swing arm. I use these on just about every box I do, even the rebuilt original ones and they fit and look excellent!

The pan is starting to look like a car but there is still quite a ways to go.

A quick mention about the front brakes. My car being a 72 came factory with drums up front. I have always planned to convert it to disc for many reasons but mostly because with the added ride height, heavier tires and wheels and the type of use this car will see, there was no reason not to. One issue I see often is the caliper you get with most aftermarket disc brake kits is very large. It protrudes past the lug mounting face which can cause issues with interference on some aftermarket wheels.

That and its a very heavy, bulky cast caliper. The wheels I am running, Mobelwagen Interceptor wheels, can just touch the face of these calipers in some applications. The only cure if this is the problem you are having is to run a spacer. For me that was out of the question. With the big wheels and tires on this car that would put the tread on the fender lip and we all know how that would end. To eliminate those issues and to upgrade to a modern billet caliper alternative I grabbed one of our Wilwood caliper upgrades and tested that out. The new caliper sits well behind the lug mounting face of the rotor and also tucks in nice inside my wheels. It weighs less, uses Wilwood pads which are awesome and mounts right up to the spindle.

These calipers are an upgrade for brake kits that use 4x130/5x130 or blank rotor discs. My application is going to be a little different than a stock or dropped spindle but the good news is that they bolted right on and did the trick. I have used them on my lowered street cars and really felt the difference in braking ability so they were the obvious choice for this build too.
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[Rome]

The Pedalworks unit looks top-notch!

Will you fit Ghia stock dust shields to your front discs?

[jasonvw]

Yep, super happy with the pedal cluster. Its a huge step up from what I had hoped for. Not planning to run dust shields. You will see what we have planned very soon.
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[jasonvw]

Pushing on with the pan build I got the rest of the front end dialed. First up was how to raise the car up front without the negative effects of cutting and turning the beam. It seems like a lot of people go this route but by doing that it really puts so much pre load on the torsions causing the car to ride like a buck board and although for a race car that may be fine, Im not building a race car and I want to enjoy driving this car in all types of environments. Cut and turn was out for me. I also thought about possibly doing adjusters in the beam but that would just cause the same problem. A buddy of mine let me know he had some lift spindles from another project he had shelved and after seeing them I decided to go with those. They look very sturdy and seem to made from a pair of original spindles with a dropped plate and new spindle spuds giving the lift. After a cleanup and trip to powder coat along with the torsion arms and fresh high angle ball joints I put it all together.

Fresh rotors with bearings, seals and dust caps to finish off the brakes.

The last thing I added was the Wilwood Calipers I posted about. These along with some braided steel brake lines as well.

Now that the front is done I will get the wheels on it and get it to the roller stage in short order.
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[dustymojave]

FYI...

Those "High Angle" ball joints allow more angle because the shank of the ball stud is skinnier. A friend of mine put them on his lowered Bug. He snapped one real soon after when he hit a pot hole in the street on his way to a cruise night at a burger joint. Replaced it, and broke another shortly after also on the street. He went back to stock ball joints and raised his adjusters a little.

I don't recommend them even for a pure street Bug. You can ask around on here about lifted spindles. I don't remember who had the lifted spindle break on the street.

I know you're not building a race car, I'm warning you about failures on pavement.

Thing spindles are great for lift and sturdy, but are getting difficult to find and quite expensive.
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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.

[jasonvw]

Thanks, been through all those concerns many times. I have used these ball joints many times, and not had any issues, even in off road use, not hardcore but fun stuff. Haven't had a problem. As far s the spindles go, Im sticking with these for the time being.
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[Schepp]

Nice work on your build so far! I’m using those same lift spindles. I did add a gusset to the steering arm on the spindles. I also sleeved the steering links with 1x.120 wall tubing for added strength.
I’d recommend adding the hook and rod stops so you don’t wreck those new ball joints.
I went with the lift spindles for the exact same reason you did. I didn’t want a harsh ride when not off road.

[jasonvw]

Picking up from the front end build, I slapped the wheels and tires on and pushed my giant skateboard outside for the first time since tear down to see what I had. Stoked is not even the right word... I was beyond excited. Have a look.

All that black powdercoat really ties everything together and will protect this car for years to come.

A lot of you have asked about the rear truss bar kit. I put them up in the NEW section of our website for more info or to purchase so head over there.

The Highwheeler definitely sits tall and proud like I wanted.

Just need to add some shocks to the front end and it will be wrapped

Its funny to see the chassis next to my K5 Blazer. They have about the same group clearance now. The Highwheeler is on 29 inch tires and the Blazer is running 33s.

I just couldn't resist the giant skateboard opportunity. How cool would this be?

A few small things left and then I can put the body back on and get going on finishing this build. Stay tuned!
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[L51C_75]

[jasonvw]

Thanks. Wheels are Mobelwagen Interceptor wheels. We have them on the site in the wheels section if you want to see more. Thing parts would work for sure but that wasn't the route I wanted to go. Stay tuned!
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[jasonvw]

Just about to wrap up the pan build out, so onto the brake lines. Fresh hardline are really the best way to go.

I also added some extra length braided stainless lines up front up to those Wilwood calipers.

New fittings and hard lines out back

Finishing it off with new soft lines to the all refreshed rear drum brakes and the back is done.

And onto the front to finish off this roller

Front hard lines are bent and plumbed to the dual circuit Master Cylinder.

Bowden tube and clutch cable in. Its so much easier to do all this stuff with the body off.

And lastly the pedal cluster was installed and adjusted.

Next up is bleeding the brakes, and finishing up the axle build and install. Its almost time to get the body back on and start the full cleanup of the paint.
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[Ceckert64]

This car is looking great! The patina is awesome! And the pan looks amazing! I’m hoping to build one like yours soon.
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“Fitz” 1971 Westfalia Poptop

[jasonvw]

Right on! Stay tuned, another update is coming up shortly.
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[jasonvw]

I knew from the beginning of this build that I was going to need to upgrade the axles. Stock IRS axles really don't like to be put in extreme angles and on a lifted car they would really not like it. Going to either bus or 930 axles was the plan and for me it really came down to getting what I needed without going overboard. I landed on a type 2 axle conversion. To do the full conversions I started with the type 2 drive flanges for the trans. These were installed when the trans was built so they were ready to go. From there I grabbed a pair of the Type 2 Conversion stub axles. To bridge the gap between the two I chose the conversion axle kit.

These kits come with everything you need, axles, boots, CV joints and the grease to pack them. Trust me, use gloves and lots of paper because it makes a mess! Putting the axles together was very easy and the finished product is very high quality.

With the axles done and installed that wraps up the rolling pan. The drivetrain is in, brakes are done, and the body is ready to go on. Its nice to step back and admire just how far this car has come so quickly. This was a throw away car that needed literally every single bolt taken out and the full pan to be renewed before we could get it back to a usable foundation. Body back on will be next. Stay tuned!
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