Neil's bubbletop volksrod build

[cdennisg]

Cool. Even if it's tucked away, that's still an update for us. Glad to know you still have it.
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You can't spell sausage without "USA"!

[nshaddox]

No updates on this project. It’s tucked into the back corner of the shop waiting for the day that my daycare expenses are gone, and for me to get tired of working on other projects. My focus right now is a new drivetrain for my 89 crown Vic wagon. Non-vw content obviously, hence why I’ve been pretty quiet on here lately. Planning to get back to the Zwitter after that but we will see.

[cdennisg]

Photos of this car popped on FB today. The normal stupid observation comments about air conditioning were popular. I posted up about it and linked this thread for folks to see that it wasn't a weekend build with a keg of beer and a stick welder.

Any updates?
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You can't spell sausage without "USA"!

[Buggeee]

sell the Zwitter first... jus sayin
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Big Time 1988 Vanagon Westy
Release the Krankenwagen! 1966 Sportsmobile Camper
Dr. Kompressor 72 Super Duper
61 Turkis Pile (adopted out)

[cdennisg]

[EVfun]

[nshaddox]

Yea, thanks for checking in. Things are good. Expecting daughter #2 to pop out any day now. Between that, some rental property projects, new job couple years ago, major maintenance on my fleet of older daily driver Fords, and the Zwitter project, I'm keeping busy you could say. Might have to move this project soon since we've been house hunting. Might be able to squirrel it away for later, but may also be time to pass the baton.

[big fat whitewalls]

Ran across this again today. Hope it, you, and family are doing well.

[tattooed_pariah]

I actually saw a picture of your car in an image dump on imgur a couple months ago! I was on my phone and didn't think to favorite the post so i could link to it here :/
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-pariah
'72 Volksrod

[Richard D]

Thanks for documenting this, I very much enjoyed reading it. I need to get my welder fixed and get back out in the shop...

[nshaddox]

Goal to get this thing driving again for the cruise season in August. Going to have some time off work for paternity leave in the near future, so some short local trips may be in order. Last time I drove it I noticed oil cooler leaking, so before I put it all back together with new seals I figured it would be best to pressure test the cooler too. While I was looking around my shop for some Al scrap to build a tester out of, I had the idea to try 3D printing one. Happy to say it worked out perfectly.

T4 cooler pictured since I happened to have it laying around and wanted to know if it was good too.

Both this one and the T3 cooler on the bubble car only bubbled when I pressed the valve open. Tested @ 25-30psi.

So motor all back together now. I thought I may have dropped one of the T3 cooler spacers down into the fan housing so that was fun to deal with. Just have to charge up the battery and then hopefully I’ll be able to blow the cobwebs off of it.

[cdennisg]

Certainly understandable. Thanks for the update.
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You can't spell sausage without "USA"!

[nshaddox]

Sorry dudes, 0 progress to report on this project, it’s in stasis for now.

Zwitter project and fiat project taking priority. Fiat just needs water pump installed and minor rewiring to be a runner (I hope). Zwitter needs about as many hours of welding as this thing did still.

I have excuses: cold season here in MI, work crazy busy & requiring travel every few weeks again, wife pregnant, new job transition period starting within a month, existing house projects at rental wrapped up, new property and new building in the works taking up lots of free time with all the research and design iterations. Blah blah blah.

But today I turned 33 and I’m going to do something VW related as a birthday treat to myself. Probably not on this project, however.

Paint will have to wait until I’m older, fatter, and wealthier I’m afraid. I will share progress as I make progress, of course.

[cdennisg]

[vamram]

Bump - wow, I just went through all 22 pages. Amazing. any paint updates...?
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"Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition
to put moral chains upon their own appetites. -Edmund Burke
“If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.”
Stop Russian-Soviet Aggression!!

'74 Super 9/16 - present, in refurb process.
'73 Super - 6/18 - Present - Daily Driver!
'75 Super Le Grande...languishing since 2022.
Click to view image
Save the Supers!!

[Busstom]

Hey, your bubbletop made the homepage random photos! Cool!

I'd sure like to see that thing painted up, preferably in VW Blue (L 633)...even if a Krylon match

[tattooed_pariah]

awesome! glad to see you still around and working on this masterpiece!
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-pariah
'72 Volksrod

[nshaddox]

Yea pie cutting the handle came across my mind but I rejected it because I needed some pretty extreme angle shift and didn’t think the pushrod would work.

Laser cut piece received today. Spent some time deburring it but looks like it’s going to work well.

[andk5591]

I recently did some more work on an MG kit car that I got back on the road for a guy a couple years ago. E brake was way under the dash. I was not as ambitious as you, but needed to do somethind. I did a pie cut in the top of the handle and was able to angle it up about 45 degrees which made it usable.
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D-Dubya Manx clone 1914. Ex wifes car.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Ex-wifes car.
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

[mikemck]

I am really happy you posted an update.

I feel bad I missed seeing the car at Autorama.