Spooky gets a makeover

[SteveM.]

Exhaust looks great, nice job. Cant beat the price...

[joemama]

Started on seat belts, only to find out one of my shoulder belts is assembled wrong. I emailed pics to the vendor, and there may be a way I can correct it. Here is what they look like. I used all steel black oxide jam nuts to install.

I also installed lap belts in the rear for the very rare time someone may ride back there. Most of the time itll be a cargo area, or our dog will ride there.

Here it has a removable cushion

Got the instrument panel back on. You can see some little ghosts peering over the top

Also bought this badass bag (I know its badass because it say so on the logo),

and hung it off part of the cage by the passengers front area. You can see it hanging in place with my led cockpit lights turned on.

[joemama]

Yesterday, the buggy didnt want to start, so this morning I started the trouble shooting, had spark, and could see gas in the filter, but the accelerator pump didnt squirt. Took carburetor top off, and the nut holding the pump lever on had backed off enough that the lever came off its boss, just spun on the shaft but didnt push on the plunger. I went ahead and partially disassembled the carb so I could squirt brake cleaner thru the jets, etc. The needle valve was stuck open, so this would have led to flooding. Also there are 2 o rings that seal the idle jets to the carb body, and those had cracks. I found matching o rings at the local ACE Hardware, my friend had some carb to manifold gaskets, and now its all back to behaving as it should.

Idle is 850 to 900, what its always been with the engle 110 in my motor.

I also added a vent hose to my gas tank. The hose curves around and down towards the front beam. I need to find a place to anchor it to.

[oprn]

What did you anchor the rear seat belts to? There is nothing in that area on my Buggy strong enough for that job.
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[joemama]

This H shaped structure backs and bolts to the body, I am using the 4 holes on the bottom cross piece. There are nuts welded on the other side. Its also what the seat back bolts to. It also helps support the body from sagging with weight on it.

This shows how it all fits together. Obviously I have no way of knowing how much weight it would take, but hopefully it would be better than nothing. Only little people ride back there, if any.

[oprn]

I like it. That should be good enough for younger ones in an around town mix-up. We all know that there is little hope for us in these cars in a serious crash no matter what we build.
_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[joemama]

Thank you. Years ago we would go camping and run from the campground to a town about 12 miles away, with my then 7 or 8 year old son on the back of my Honda trail 90, and my then 4 or 5 year old on the back of my wifes Honda CT 70. Cars would be going 35 to 45 MPH. Talk about feeling exposed!

[oprn]

I had a Honda trail 90 as well when out oldest daughter was about that age. She still remembers riding on it with me!

Yes we are pretty exposed in these Buggies too and I drive mine as if it were a motorcycle. I avoid heavy traffic and give people lots of space. No real close calls yet, I think the brilliant yellow color has a lot to do with that!
_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[joemama]

I made a small front skid plate to protect my lower adjuster. Here are some pics of what a rock did to it. I have since fixed it.

Only thing I could think of was to hang it off my front bumper, but it sits too high, so made some "legs" for it.

I used the aluminum for the skidplate, and a jack, to hold it in position while I tacked the legs in place. This way I could make sure everything would fit.

Once I cut the plate to the size and shape I wanted, drilled mounting holes, and bolted it in place, I used a flat piece of steel, drilled the same as the aluminum, as a brake, and used a floor jack to bend it in place.

Worked to a point, but then the angle got too extreme for the jack, and it would all fall apart. Also, the aluminum would spring back. Moved it over to a big vise. I clamped 2 pieces of flat stock to the front edge, and used a big crescent and a cheater bar to finish it

Only 1/8" aluminum, but I had some, so I used it. If it gets hit, it will push back against the bumper. Should work fine.

[slayer61]

Gotta admit... I'm pretty envious of metal working skills.
We electricians never learned that
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[joemama]

Well, you saw how much I struggled figuring out my problem with stop/turn lights. Im a retired print shop salesman/manager. If I can mess with metal, so can anybody.

[joemama]

Getting it ready to drive. Had a list of small details I had to correct:
Trans shift rod with adjustable end was all out of wack. Trans would go straight into reverse, instead of 2nd.
Alternator wasnt charging. The idiot light bulb was burned out, and the connection (spade) was broken under the shrink tubing.
Moved it out to my driveway (very steep), and ran out to a doctors appointment. When I came back, my wife had put cardboard under the buggy because of a big oil leak. Turned out, I had overfilled the trans, and pointing nose down in my driveway, trans lube leaked out the vent hole thats at the top by the front of the trans. Happy thats all it was.
Right rear disc pads rubbing hard, could hardly push the buggy by hand. I have had problems with this side since I put the disc brakes on. I could not adjust the parking brake past 1 notch. I had sanded the pads some, using a belt sander. Drove the buggy a few blocks, and it would screech. Took off the pads, and I had sanded them at an angle. Only about 20% of the pad was hitting, and it was still tight. I came up with this set up, and sanded the pads again, this time square, for about 3 minutes par pad. Now everything works great, I can adjust the parking brake to 4 or 5 clicks. Brakes are working better.

Adjusted steering wheel position, was off by a couple of inches.
I had my wink rear view mirror pointing the wrong way. Great view of people on the side walk, but not behind me. Flipped that around, now its good.
Adjusted my steering box, had a lot of play at the wheel.
Here is a picture of my buggy on the driveway. Wheel chocks on 2 wheels, ramp in front of one wheel. Resting on stacked 6 x 6 wood blocks, and a strap from my rear bumper to the front bumper of the motorhome. This is why I had not driven it yet, because once I moved everything around, and back, I would not have a flat surface to work on the buggy.

Anyways, starting to drive it now. Ill post an update after I drive it for a while.

[SteveM.]

Great update.

An "off center" steering wheel would really annoy me too. [adjusted mine recently after installing a new wheel]
Seems new disc pads these days sometime need a mod, did a similar on one of my Hondas.

Looking forward to the drive report!

[joemama]

Well, been driving the buggy. I am thrilled to have it back on the road again. So far, I think the irs conversion, new disc brakes on the back, rebuilt tranny, and the good old motor, are working great. The suspension has settled some, but Im happy with were it sits. The trans is a little stiff, but I think it will loosen up with mileage. I had to "surface" my disc pads on the back, and I think its taking a little while for the surface to wear into full contact. The brakes seem to be getting better as the pads wear in. Ill have a full report/opinion on having done discs on the back, and not the front after I drive it a little more. A couple of things have popped up. The extra long speedo cable may have been a bad idea. The speedo quit working, and I think the cable broke. I need to take it apart and see. Having the cable so long may have put too extreme a bend on the cable to make it fit. My accelerator pedal keeps flopping back. Either the little spring that keeps it in constant contact with the roller broke, or I assembled it wrong. One of my low beams in one of the headlights is not working. Need to make sure its getting power before I assume its the bulb.
Here are a couple of pics someplace other than my driveway.

[SteveM.]

Looks good Joe!

On that last pic, the front drivers wheel appears to be "toed out" more than the passenger side, is that normal?

Also have a question about front tire size: I believe you have 175mm on the front, how did you determine what size to put on it? The slotted wheels I bought for mine came with old tires that are too tall, 225's[?]. So, I am shopping for new ones. Thx

[joemama]

Yes, my alignment is not great, but what your seeing is more a cell phone camera wide angle deal. I have 165r15 on the front, which I think is close to stock diameter. Those tires have been on there since day 1, over 20 years now.
I didnt know what to get, I was going to Glamis. The guy at the tire store suggested that tire. Rounded shoulders, and not too aggressive, so it would float more than dig in. Wouldnt be great for anything but sand, and street. Even on the sand, larger diameter would probably be better. Only thing is the more you deviate from stock diameter, the more off your stock speedo will be. If you are going offroad, and lots of rocks, I would want a taller tire so it rolls over obstacles easier. Also a tougher sidewall. However, the front of a buggy is so light, and youre probably running 12 to 14 lbs offroad, any tire will do O.K. But some look better than others. Mine dont look great. Im thinking I need new ones. Sorry, not much help.

[SteveM.]

Wow...tires are 20 yrs old! You def got your moneys worth.


I'm looking at some that are 175/65-14 which have a diameter of 23" about 6" shorter than the rear tires I just installed.

I like the staggered look.

As far as suspension, I need to check the front of mine for worn parts, I hear popping when going over bumps

[joemama]

well, I have a new project for my buggy. As all buggies, storage is very limited. I have 2 of the "BadAss" bags, that are velcroed to the side intrusion bars of the roll cage, and they are great to throw a couple of things into. However, I wanted some kind of secure storage. Somewhere that I could leave my registration, insurance card, and occasionally maybe my wallet, motorhome keys, or?
My rear seat area is like, or possibly, a Manx style, in that it has a built in area for a battery, and on the drivers side, a space for a stock tire and wheel. I have covered that entire back seat area with a double layer of aluminum sheet. The area for a spare tire is no longer usable as such, but I usually shove a soft sided tool bag with a few basic tools, and a tow strap in there.
I laid out an area to cut out to build in some secure storage into that area.

Cut out only the top layer of aluminum sheet

and cut out a 1/4" smaller, all around 2nd hole in the 2nd layer of aluminum sheet

The top section I cut out, now becomes a lid that rests on the edge of the smaller hole in the bottom aluminum sheet. I drilled a finger hole to lift it with.

This "lid" will eventually be hinged.
I laid out a "box" on some thin plate steel I had

folded it up

welded sides into it, and created a box that is 2 3/4" deep. You can see I didnt have a large enough sheet of steel to make it out of 1 piece, so I pieced it together. It will work fine, and Im getting rid of stuff I have laying around.

that box inserts under the previously cut out holes

and it will have a Harbor Freight gun case laid inside it, and bolted in

I ordered some interesting breakaway nuts, from Bellmetrics that will make it difficult for anyone to unbolt this gun case. Ill post pictures of those when they get here. I want to paint the box, and touch up my cuts with the Monstaliner, so it will be a couple of days before I post pictures of the finished installation. But you get the idea. I will still have room for the soft sided tool bag under this.
Also kind of a sad day. I said goodbye to my other volkswagen. My class 11 bug.

The gentleman that bought it is very excited, and Im glad that its going to a good home. I loved that car, but I only have room for one, and the buggy had to remain in our family.

[SteveM.]

Very ingenious design of the storage box!

Sometimes selling an old car/bike can be like saying goodbye to an old friend for the last time.

[joemama]

Finally got around to finishing this thing. Primered all with epoxy.

Coated it all with Monstaliner

Had to make some access slots to insert nuts thru, as I couldnt get to them any other way

Because I use 2 sheets of aluminum stacked, to make my deck, I can insert the hinges between them

Here is the box and lid all bolted together

Used these break away security nuts, they break as you tighten them, and leave behind a smooth cone

Drilled 4 holes on the bottom of the case

Used the same type of bolts and breakaway nuts to bolt it to the "box"
Here Im lifting the outer lid

I added a knob to make it easier to lift the case lid

All done. Now I have a secure "glove compartment". This morning I went to a car show, and didnt want to carry my wallet, and a bunch of extra keys around. I locked them in the case. I could (in theory) go to the beach, and lock all kinds of stuff in here, while I went boogie boarding (maybe a few years back). Any ways. I should tell you I made a mistake, and should have made the box longer. When you open the case, it needs more room to open all the way. The way it sits, only opens about 3". It works great as is, but, would be better if it opened all the way. Oh well! Hopefully youre laughing with me, not at me. Not changing a thing, what with all the impossible to remove nuts and bolts!
Here is a shot of the back seat area now. Most of the time it will be covered by a cushion.

Ill post as I find any other projects to work on.