New Berry Mini-T build

[EVfun]

Christmas came a little early, I just bought a Berry Mini-T body for an 80 inch wheelbase. The body has never been mounted to a frame. I have the original windshield frame, but not the glass. It features the original metallic purple gel-coat, though badly faded. There are no holes in the body, I'm starting with a clean slate. Here are a few pictures.

Where can I find the identification tag in the body? It seems there was slight variations on the Berry body over the 3 years it was produced ('69-'71.) Are the changes documented? The DBA doesn't seem to have much information on the Berry Mini-T.
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[BL3Manx]

That's gorgeous. Do you have a set of instructions for preparing a chassis for a Mini-T? Its fairly complicated; pedals, shifter and parking brake relocated, steering column and brake actuator rod lengthened and shock towers shortened, beside having the chassis shortened. One thing is, if you wanted to use some floor mounted sand rail pedals, there would probably be plenty of room.

I really like the original design where you sat on a padded bench and the back rest was the upholstered interior of the body tub.

[EVfun]

I don't have the assembly manual for it, but will need one. I am considering the sand rail pedal route. I have a shortened frame, but not set up for a mini-T. It is a king and link pin frame, so some heavy shock mount changes are going to have to happen. I'm fairly comfortable with a welder. I would like to keep the e-brake and don't want it right against the VIN mostly because I would like to run the traditional bench seat. I am wondering if it would be possible to cut and slightly turn the e-brake mount in the frame so the handle would pass to the right of a relocated shifter.

I'm looking for tail light ideas too. Since the body is uncut it's a clean slate, but something has to be chosen. I bought a Speedhut 3-3/8 inch GPS speedo. The headlights are set by design, 7 inch rounds in shells. I'll likely use something with built in signal lights.
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[BL3Manx]

I've seen factory built Mini-Ts where the hand brake was mounted in front of the shifter. The shifter should be right ahead of the front edge of the bench seat, probably where the parking brake was.

If you decide to go with hydraulic sand rail pedals, figure out first how you will check/service the reservoirs.

Your body is super cherry so I wouldn't get radical with it but I've always thought it would be a natural thing to hang a water cooled engine in back (like an Ecotec or 4A-GE) and mount a real radiator up front in the grill.

You can also put some great looking windscreens on that curved cowl.

There is a Samba member on this thread that has the build manual on CD
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6393773

[EVfun]

First visible progress last night. It is my first call for parts help too. What I need is a section of frame tunnel, perhaps 18 inches or so, that includes the area where the pedals attach. This will make it easier to relocate the pedals back and provide material to fix some previous hacking on the top of the tunnel.

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[BL3Manx]

I've bought VW chassis parts from this guy in Oakland. He's good to work with. Give him a call. 510-533-4416

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/pts/3499457429.html

[EVfun]

That particular listing has expired, but I can start checking salvage yards. I put in an e-mail to Avery's Air-Cooled as they break down some wrecked Bugs and aren't to far away.

I thought I would let everyone here know that I have put my old Buggy body up for sale in the Classifieds here. The back seat will go with it but isn't in the photos because I have it indoors.

Has anybody building a mini-t noticed the body is a bit narrow? Mine fits the front and rear ends nicely, but I need to pinch the floors narrower by up to about 1 inch each side, particularly toward the middle of the floor.
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[crack monkey]

the irony of the new body being purple.


can't wait to see more progress

[joescoolcustoms]

In days of old, that purple was called "Fire Brand" by some.
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Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race

Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

[wythac]

Place all the batteries up high underneath that pickup bed and you will have quite a wheelstander. Of course, that would apply also when at a dead stop......

I like it.

[EVfun]

I put up a few new pictures on a simple web page. The original floors where toast, so I'm going to have to start from scratch. The frame seems sound though.

Somebody has already figured out where the batteries are going. It actually isn't that bad. I replaced a 245 lb. Bug engine with a 105 lb. Prestolite MTC electric motor. The battery pack will be where the gas tank would be, 3 rows of 13 for a total of 39 cells. They weigh just 5 lb. each so the pack weight is 195 lb. It should be about the same total weight as an engine and gas tank, with the weight bias moved slightly forward and up.
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[gr8cobbler]

Looks like your shock towers got a hair cut too....

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Gary

Being a cheap old fart is just a front for my actual lack of money.

[EVfun]

Oh, you caught that. They haven't had shocks on them in 22 years!

Berry made some flat plate metal shock towers to weld onto the cut down shock towers. I cut the stock towers down per Berry spec, but I don't have those angled back shock towers. Perhaps I'll set it up with friction shocks like the Vaughn Bros. did for a build with narrowed beam. It would add a touch of street rod look.
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[BL3Manx]

[EVfun]

To anyone who has had the opportunity to sit in or drive a mini-T, how is the pedal position? The manual calls for the pedals to be moved back 10.5 inches on early Beetles and 10.25 inches on later Beetles. I was wondering if this worked out about right, or seemed to close or to far away. Before cutting the hole in my frame is the best time to choose, but mine doesn't have floors or a seats.

BL3Manx, I could get some batteries up front, but I don't want to hack up the body. The cells are 2.4" by 4.5" by 8 inches tall. I can get a short row in front of the Napoleons hat without hitting the tie rods. With the pedals moved back I could get one or two rows behind the hat too. Access to them would be a pain and I don't have that many more cells anyway. I bought 42 cells 3 years ago. They have already be superseded by newer and better ones, so I can't get more of the ones I have. Mine are 5 lb. each, new ones are about 4.5 lb. each and slightly smaller.

If anyone is looking for a ball joint type frame head I have one available. I bought a section of frame from the e-brake forward to get the pedal area and a patch piece to repair previous owner frame hacking. Most of it I have no use for.
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[johncollins]

My advice to you, would be decide what seats you want, and mock up a mount and floor, put the body on it and see what is comfortable to you.
On my Berry Mini-T, a PO added a mount closer to the front by about 4 or 5 inches.

I used the front mount. If you would like I can get the measurement for you.
I remounted my seats twice, the first time I could barely get into the car.
Before

After

* Mock up is time well spent!
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Check out my build
http://s279.photobucket.com/albums/kk126/johncollins31/
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=359622&highlight=minit

[EVfun]

If you could get a quick measurement from the napoleons hat to some point on the pedal cluster that would be great. It looks like you've chosen bucket seats, but mounted quite far back. Is the seat bottom lower than the top of the frame tunnel?

I am planning a bench seat out of tradition. It will sit on top of the frame tunnel, I did mock that up with the body on and the old floors. It's a pretty high position, but seems comfortable. It is certainly a car you wear, more so than a Manx type buggy. It was harder to figure out exactly where the pedals would lie without a hole in the frame to plug them into. Now the floors are gone too, all the better as they where mostly weld metal, cracks, and rust. I think I will raise the pedals just slightly (1/8 inch), so I can better clear the floor.

Thanks!
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[Iowa Mark]

On my Mini T, I left the pedals in their original spot and moved the shifter back about 6 inches. Seating was sort of a lay down affair. Sloping back and a foam cushion on the floor. I'm 6'-2" and other than getting in and out, it fit me very well. That's our 5 foot tall daughter in the car so you can see just how low the seating was.

Here is a shot of the chassis. Floor framing was 1"x2" 11 ga. tube laying flat on the perimeter and a dropped floor of 14ga. steel welded to that.

[EVfun]

I can see what you are saying about the sloped seat back, wow, you have to look for it in that first picture. So basically, the seat bottom ends somewhere roughly under the front edge of the dash? Now I'm wondering, can she drive it too? (obviously not on the street yet)

I had the pedals in the stock position when I sat on a plank across the top of the tunnel, with a coat rolled up for a back rest, and from that seating position I could barely touch the brake pedal. The shifter is way up there, but I can give it a really angled back handle (with a glass door knob on top) and reach it by leaning forward a little. My only shifting is reverse and 3rd, and occasionally 2nd when hilly downtown areas. It is a lot easier to reach than a reserve handle on a stock Bug (and I've done than many times.)

I do like that windshield frame of yours. I've got a stock Berry frame so I'm going that way. You have given yours a really cool, almost comically stylized, look that fits this body style well. Thanks for sharing.
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[Iowa Mark]

She wasn't old enough to drive when that picture was taken. And even now she continues to take after her mother in the vertically challenged department. The car was set up for me and the seats were fixed in place. I have since torn the body off and am in the process of turning the chassis into something else. Think about putting a couple of those batteries up in front. With the engine hanging out the back and a full gas tank under the back deck, there is almost no weight on that front end. Best of luck on your electric power. I will be watching your build closely.