Got a manx for my 16th b-day!

bobinater33 · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 12:51 pm Post subject: Got a manx for my 16th b-day!

so i got this manx (not a real one) for my birthday a few days ago that my parents bought for 1800. Im starting to take a real interest in vw's so i found this place to learn.

its an imitation meyers manx body on a semi-rusty 1958 pan. so far all i have done is put in a few hours scraping this tar shit they sprayed on the front suspension. ITS ALL OVER THE PLACE! has anyone ever bought a vw that had this grime all over it? my guess is they did it to stop rust.

this car runs decent, a bit hesatent(sp?) off the start but it could just be me new to a clutch. its an all stock 1500cc, single port with a stock solex carb. (pretty rusty) that im gonna pull out this weekend.

so i pull off the shocks and i could compress them with my hands and when i let go they stayed compressed Rolling Eyes

.

Im lookin to make this thing a semi-off road machine to take to Glamis and to do a little bit of desert running here in AZ.

im on a tight budget but i have 300 bucks to invest and i figured i would start on the motor first. putting the 1641 from chirco and seeing if the rents will pitch in for the weber progressive kit and maybe some new dual port heads.

I got a tig machine and know how to use it better than my father now and he has been welding since he was my age so im looking to fabricate stuff like front shock towers,role cage, bumber, rear engine cage, etc. etc.

ill have pictures later today. Can any of you guys give me some good advice on what i could/do with this thing. i know theres so much but im talking stuff cheap and reliable to make it a nice little toy to tear around in the des.

thanks and later

Josiah · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 1:02 pm Post subject:

well you got a link pin front end, id probably go with a warrior beam or something with like 8" shock towers, is it a full length pan or shortened? you could put a 3" body lift on it for more tire clearance, youve got a swing axle trans ummm not much you can do with that except notch out the spring plates and turn it a couple splines but the camber gets a lil wild with swing axle. probably some bilstein shocks all around. if its a full length body you might be able to use a chenowth class11 roll cage which will probably need some modifying but would be a really good starter point for your cage. you do need to get rid of that 1500sp though and go with at least a 1600dp itd be better if you went up to a 1835. (buy 92mm pistons, and get the heads and case bored by a machine shop) and probably some suspension seats. theres alot more but your just starting and just want somethin for some desert running and to take to glamis. ohh and with that tar shit, yeah ive had it on a coule of my bajas it sucks. someone will post alot more shit than ive said but i dunno how much money youve got
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fear causes hesitation and hesitation will cause your worst fear to come true.

vwclass11 · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 1:03 pm Post subject:

Just from experience, if you were my son and had a dune buggy. I would invest in a roll cage, good off-road seats, and seat harnesses. I remember being 16 in my Baja, I did some stupid things. Live and learn, best advice is to listen to what people with some experience have to say. And get yourself the Baja Bugs and Buggies book, a lot of good information. I live in Mesa, so if you need some help, let me know. Have fun and be careful, Later, Mitch.
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Vanhag wrote:
On a scale from 1-10 I see a class 11.

65BAJA · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 1:05 pm Post subject:

Forget the progressive. Go for the dual Kadrons with vacuume advance distributor.
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All the good deals in the world will still make you poor.

I'll finish it!... Some day....
Edit, I started in 2003 and still haven't built a driving Baja. lol

HamburgerBrad · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 1:08 pm Post subject:

bobinater33 · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 1:15 pm Post subject:

if im gonna put a 1641 will i need to bore the case. i dont think so but im just checking.

yeah the bilstiens sound good there alot cheaper than fox's. a question of mine, seeings how i have torsion bars for spring then it wouldnt be necessary to get coil over shocks am i correct.

when mounting a self made role cage, would i put those rotary shaped flanges on the ends and bold those to the pan to anker it or would it be welded to the pan.

it is a shortened pan so the wheel base is pretty short so for balance, later down the road i would like to widen the front ant rear suspension. does my transmission stop me from putting differant longer and wider rear arms? whats the correct term for the rear arms if the axle goes into the arm through a barring carrier. thanks guys.

and yes im sure ill be leaping it a few feet here and there. ive already cleared a 3-4 foot wide irrigation canal with 4 people in it. the center of balance seems perfect because i landed just perfect the rear wheels landed first but not too much of an angle. Laughing

Josiah · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 1:17 pm Post subject:

thanks brad i was waiting for that Rolling Eyes

haha
_________________
fear causes hesitation and hesitation will cause your worst fear to come true.

Josiah · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 1:22 pm Post subject:

no you will not need coilovers. with the cage you can do whatever you want basically but personally i would put the plates on the bottom and bolt them in. to widen the front and rear suspension, in the front get like a 6" wider warrior beam with 8-10" towers and you can buy wider/longer arms for the beam also. the rear you got a swing axle not much you can do. but you can buy irs brackets and install those in rear and than get an irs trans than you can get 3x3 rear trailing arms (3" longer and 3" wider than stock so your rear would be 6" wider also)
_________________
fear causes hesitation and hesitation will cause your worst fear to come true.

bobinater33 · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 1:28 pm Post subject:

how much would an irs transaxle run me. link me!

im sure more than 400 bones!

im getting a job in december as soon as i get my license and im sure all my money i make will be going into my bug... oh and half of the check in gas to get me back and forth from school. i think i picked the worst time to be introduced into the world of driving.

Josiah · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 1:29 pm Post subject:

actually you can get a 002 bus tranny for like 200-300 bucks here on the samba. just look around the classifieds all the time and youll find good deals. theres one right now up for like 250 bucks but its out here in so cal
_________________
fear causes hesitation and hesitation will cause your worst fear to come true.

UncleBob · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 1:44 pm Post subject:

Welcome to the madness, Bobinater.
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OG JHC

don't worry, the ciggaret is fake.

bobinater33 · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 1:47 pm Post subject:

darn, and i was just in southern cali a week ago and i had 200 bucks on hand.

tons of good stuff were i normally go its in the east county area. i stay and my grandma's house smack dab in the middle of lakeside.

if any of you guys are familiar with the area i stay right next to mad max ENGINES and hes good friends with the owner of johnsons bug machine. im gonna try callin him up to see if i cant find some stuff.

doesnt anyone know of a good warrior front beam vendor, i found some on the chirco site and there located in tucson. any ideas?

bobinater33 · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 2:05 pm Post subject:

http://www.chirco.com/cgi-bin/chirco.storefront/43.../CPR198198

so heres a cast 1641 kit. $129.99 and the forged one was 249.99 or something like that. how much better is the forged pistons than the cast ones. ill probably be building an all new high performance motor later on so this should do, right?

im gonna be taking out the motor possibly tonight. so all there is to it basically is putting a car jack under the oil plug portion of the motor. tagging the ignition wires and what not, removing the oil pressure line and fuel line (making sure to cap off the fuel line) and just undo the 4 bolts holding it to the transaxle ( removing the two bottome bolts first) and viola?

now another one, can a vw engine be lifted onto a bench with only 2 people?

vwclass11 · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 2:17 pm Post subject:

bobinater33 · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 2:29 pm Post subject:

its too slow. top speed is 50 i might pull 60 if im running with a heavy wind Laughing

how many hours away is tucson from goodyear, i might hit my dad up about that because im sure he would like to go.

by the way, seeings how your in mesa.. would you by chance know ian lighjablad that works at random precisions fabrications.

i met up with him down at glamis one time and he does some awsome vw work.

bobinater33 · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 2:38 pm Post subject:

Dont you have to re-gear the bus transmissions?

i had a friend who built a sand rail with a bus transmission and it was geared all funky. it would wind up real high in first and second and the transition from 2nd to 3rd was way to long and it would just bog down.

not to mention he was running a 2180 he had close to 5k in.

vwclass11 · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 2:53 pm Post subject:

Josiah · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 3:04 pm Post subject:

you dont have to re gear your trannys thats just a choice. hahaha lakeside? you were about an hour away from that 002 that sucks.
_________________
fear causes hesitation and hesitation will cause your worst fear to come true.

bobinater33 · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 3:14 pm Post subject:

hey class11, whats your aim screen name?

vwclass11 · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 4:23 pm Post subject:


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