Airbagged 68 Hard Top BUILD THREAD with Pictures

[KrepszBrothers]

Been lurking for a long time have a couple Project cars currently a 70' Baja bug and this sedan that I plan on making a street car progress has been slow but I have taken the body off the Pan and replaced the Pan halves as well as install a 4inch narrowed JerFab front beam with all new ball joints and dropped spindles. I looked around at the options for rear IRS kits and was not impressed. I decided to build my own as I have decent skills and tools that can outperform my low level skills But anyways here is some pics feel free to comment and criticize this is a first for me airbags wise and streetcar wise I come from an off-road background so let me know what you think. The rear is almost finished just need to finish the passenger side arm and the upper bag mounts.

[DeathTrap]

You lay some pretty welds. Mig? Mix gas? or fluxcore?
No spatter
a little glassy icing(?)
but the browning along the sides like fluxcore
what's the welder you use?

again real pretty welds

[KrepszBrothers]

Thanks man. The welds are a work in progress for sure still although the they have come a long way. For all the welding I'm using my millermatic 252 (mig) and all the plate work is getting cut with a miller spectrum 300 plasma cutter. Lots of clean up and grinding work to do because I'm a hack 17 year old but it's coming out ok I think. Any input is greatly appreciated I used 3/16 plate instead of 1/4 inch because it's what I had laying around the shop for free. Hoping that all the gussets will make it strong enough I will be doing similar gussets on the uppers as well hopefully I can get those done tonight. Thanks for looking!

[KrepszBrothers]

Where's the input?? Seems like airbags are not a hot topic in the IRS community. I had trouble finding much info when I was attempting to research so I just dove into it. Anyways here are some more pics of the car and a few parts running a single Viair compressor and a 5 gallon tank not looking for speed but I can always upgrade to dual compressors later. Working on the body gonna clean up under the hood and decklid. I will be rewriting the whole car with a rebel deluxe kit I have. Going for a patina look on the car hopefully. Most of it is clean and rust free except the luggage tray which I will be replacing soon.

[KrepszBrothers]

Finished up the passenger side arm tonight gonna paint them and get new bushings installed before I get them installed. I still need to finish the upper bag mounts but ran out of time today. Hopefully I'll finish the uppers tommorow and get this thing back on its feet!

[iadubber]

Good idea making your own kit. I bought the Airkewld kit and wasn't really that impressed for the cost and "guidelines" for installation. To get it all to fit with the body on was a nightmare of taking the body off and on several times and redoing many attempts. Finally got it all to fit after a lot of f'n around. At that point, we should have just went custom, but the kit was bought already.

[TX-73]

Very talented, I think this is a pretty cool project, I'm liking the overall concept/patina approach. Structurally, looks like a very solid platform.
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My 1973 Standard Beetle Build SOLD
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[Chochobeef]

You are 17 and working on cars. That's more than most in your generation. As far as feedback. Don't take silence as a negative, but take it as a complement. I'm sure some here will be negative ninny's, but a lot here will be intrigued by your work and the progress you make. Those are the ones you don't need to impress. All we can hope for is the finished product and how you got there. That's the adventure I like to see.

Here is my feedback: Looks good, keep it up and stay on it. You have a bright future ahead of you in the car world if you can produce results like you are showing.

[Boosten Ya(Josh)]

Looks good. Did you tack weld everything and make sure there is no binding, or clearance issues?

With your welds it looks like you are dragging the puddle. Is this correct? Looks like you either A) need to turn the heat up a little as you have some "worms" or B) you need to slow down a little.

I'm in Corona. I can come over and teach you a little about welding if you want.
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07' Ford Ranger - New DD.

71' Super beetle - prostreet trans 4.10 gear, 1641cc with dual 40 IDFs, W110, and a 1-1/2qt deep oil pan.
Needs: cage, seats, harnesses, better suspension, new wheels, and rear disc brakes.

Almost there....

[KrepszBrothers]

I did cycle the suspension and check for clearance before finish welding everything. My only real concerns were the design of my lower bagmounts most designs I see are inset into the arms. I choose to go off the back for better leverage and I didn't like the idea of cutting out the centers of the arms hopefully it works out alright. It's pretty impressive that you could tell I was puddle dragging with my welds I seem to have better luck in tight areas pulling the puddle rather than pushing it even though it is wrong. Anyways here's a little update didn't get much done today picked up a few parts that I needed. Got the brake lines urathane transmount and all the stuff to rebuild my CVs hoping to have it all back together by Friday and then work on the luggage tray and hopefully set the body back on!

[KrepszBrothers]

On a side note their is a meet up real close to me for any SoCal guys it's the grand opening of a ACVW shop met with the guy today while buying some bolts really cool guy wish my street car was done for the event. I might roll down there in my Baja Bug anyways and hang out for a little while. Here's the flyer let me know if anyone is planning on heading out maybe we can meet up !

[FullFender]

Pretty sweet start, looks like a solid build are you planning on sanding the paint down for the patina look? it'll look awesome when done.

[KrepszBrothers]

Ok couldn't stop myself so here's a couple pics of the passenger side bag in place. I haven't started work on the gussets or the driver side upper mount but the arms are mocked back into place and ready to get cycled for the other mount. Pretty happy with the results so far. For paint I'm gonna try and use as much of the natural patina as I can. The hood has a little more patina than the rest of the car but I may add some faux patina as necessary. I already sanded the hood down I'll try and get some pics up of that tommorow. Anyways onto the good stuff

[Boosten Ya(Josh)]

[miller0358]

You have a lot of talent for your age. As far as your welds, it looks like a little bit of under cut along the edges, so turn down your heat just alittle. Also with a mig, try pushing the weld puddle instead of dragging itAnd slow down just a little bit. Nice work. This process is just for thicker metal. Jeff

[KrepszBrothers]

Ok was able to knock a few things out tonight upper bag mounts are both placed and welded starting work on gussets as I let them cool. Gonna have to work on the center gussets because I cut them the same as the outer gussets not realizing I need space for the bag port should have it fully welded tonight. But for now here's some pictures of the process!

[heimlich]

[SBD]

Don't use the red trans mounts. They don't have a very good track record.
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"Just $99 down and $64 a month for 36 months buys you a brand new Volkswagen Beetle!"

[KrepszBrothers]

Ok so I didn't figure out my middle gusset problem last night but I finished the other four gussets and got them welded them in thinking about using some flat plate for the middle gusset but we will have to see. What's wrong with the urathane trans mounts? I thought they were the best option to keep the trans alive I will also be strapping the nose cone of the trans. I plan on putting a 2.0 liter with dual Weber 44s in this car. I can go swap the mounts for some others what do you guys recommend ? I plan on putting some power to this car so I didn't want to go stock.

[Bashr52]

Stock mount with a trans strap, or a mid-mount would be all you need if you're concerned. I have stock rubber mounts and a mid mount in my Thing with a 2232 and no issues.