It's a Bug Thing, you wouldn't understand

[Buggeee]

[FRFABWORKS]

Welcome to the sickness . For sure it is a thing frame because of the formed brace weld across and under the rear torsion tube of the pan . The serial # on the frame should start with 18------. Good luck with the project .

[Bashr52]

Do yourself a favor and get rid of those chrome spring assisted shocks. They are way to stiff for the car and will make it ride like crap.

[Dark Earth]

Have you thought about making it a class 11 look-alike ?
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My Build: '69 Baja - Dark Earth Version

~I'm almost done. I just lack finishing up.~

[MI-Bug]

Subscribed! This is going to be a good one.

Hopefully you're not going to cut it up into a baja. That's been done to death. Not that baja bugs are bad, don't get me wrong, but you have the perfect starting point for a "class 11-esque" bug. Mucho cooler in my opinion. Here are three of my favorite class 11 style bugs. Read each of these cover to cover. That oughta keep you busy for a while.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=335057
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=290228
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=467031

[Buggeee]

[oldschool5er]

Ok I am jumping in on this one. I am in Westerville Ohio and I have two Baja's sitting in my garage right now with Thing undercarriage and I have built many. It is a complete Thing pan undercarraige that has had beetle pan halves welded in so it fits a Beetle body. Things are normally a Ghia pan but you can put Beetle pan halves in retaining the primary Thing tunnel complete with torsion. This looks like what has been done. I am a dyed in the wool Baja guy who has built and raced both class 11 and class 5/1600 and class 5 Bajas from all the way back in the early years so I don't say this lightly, But keeping this as a Class 11 look alike is absolutely what I would do. You don't find them here in Ohio in that good of condition and in fact I just brought a couple of them from Calif out here for friends just because it is pointless trying to find good ones out here. You have a gem and I would not take a sawsall to it and my nick is Sawsall Rob so not making it into a Baja is hard to admit, but in this case don't do it. Where are you located here? I have about 5 of us here that I support 3 Bajas soon to be another two. A class 11 with Thing undercarriage would keep up with anything we do up in Michigan or south of here no problem.
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HRE in Westerville,Ohio

Full machine shop with all types of CNC. Rapid prototyping available, CNC Plasma cutting, 3D printing and Laser engraving.

[Buggeee]

[Buggeee]

Oh, snap... I almost forgot to ask

Oldschool5er, do the thing wheels match up with the bug steel fenders? I read someone talking about wheelbase issues forcing a chop. Lemme know if you know. Thank you!
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1966 Sportsmobile Camper https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0
72 Super Duper http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=672387
(adopted out) 61 Turkis Pile https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=728764

[oldschool5er]

Yep no problem I am happy to see another off road bug here being put together, that has been kind of a mission of our small group down here since so many get turned to rust/dirt from weather. We will help anyway we can to get you on the road, I have a good stockpile of extra used thing parts but there is a couple good yards in Canton area for parts we usually go up there for. I have never had to chop for that, I do roll fender lips and notch/grind the lower lip of the fender well for turning clearance 94.49" Thing 94.5" Beetle same
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HRE in Westerville,Ohio

Full machine shop with all types of CNC. Rapid prototyping available, CNC Plasma cutting, 3D printing and Laser engraving.

[oldschool5er]

Wheelbase is the same, on class11 we roll the fender lip. You are limited to keeping to a non Baja bug width tire in the front and rear though because of the fenders. If you change out those front coil overs and put a good set of off road shocks with the stock top Thing rubber snubbers you won't have issues. The beam should get hard hook and pin stops whenever you can get them welded in though. You get 3" of extra height in the front with Thing beams and the front spring pack is about 15% or 20% higher springrate over stock so other than the lip of the stock fender and the rubbing of the lower body lip in a hard corner I am not sure what clearancing they would be talking about. I clearance the lower body lip on even Bajas because of tire diameter. Your limited to a 235/75x15 on a C11 style. Maybe they are bouncing the car hard in a hard corner with a soft suspension setup.
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HRE in Westerville,Ohio

Full machine shop with all types of CNC. Rapid prototyping available, CNC Plasma cutting, 3D printing and Laser engraving.

[Buggeee]

[oldschool5er]

The 235 some are using in class 11 are being mounted on 4 bolt stock rims on a stock T1 beam, a Thing spindle makes the width a little wider than a T1 but not by much. You might have to use an offset rim to keep the 235's tucked in a little bit. I ran 225's. I included a pic of a late 70's Thing beam modded with a platform stop for droop and compression before hook and pin were used. The stops were adjustable. This is on a Baja not a C11 style though. The beam has not been cut and turned nor adjusters installed. It's been holding up since 78. So much can be done just with a welder lol.

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HRE in Westerville,Ohio

Full machine shop with all types of CNC. Rapid prototyping available, CNC Plasma cutting, 3D printing and Laser engraving.

[dustymojave]

For wider fenders on a Class 11 style for a little more tire room, Creative Car Craft in Florida makes wider than stock (+2 and +4) fenders in stock style.

http://www.creativecarcraft.com/

Not inexpensive...But
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Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[tobiism]

[pullstart]

Once you head to Michigan, if you want a trail ride on the way north, I'd be glad to guide you! Yankee Springs, south of Middleville has a fun trail system and it only costs the MI recreation passport fee to ride them. Up north there are trail permits and orv permits that are required in many areas.

Lookin' forward to your build!
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4 seater Appletree buggy, road legal with 002 IRS, 3x3 Appletree kit, 6" over Dan's beam with 10" towers and Fox 2.0 shocks, '00 Subaru EJ25 with KEP stage 3 clutch and KEP adapter plate.

my build page: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=662104&start=0

[oldschool5er]

there is a whole lot of awesome going on in that picture. Is your frame head clearanced at all for the location of the inner tie rod ends?[/quote]

No none was needed since the rack is moved rearward off the beam and because the slope of the panhead is going downhill a little bit more, they clear. This was done so long ago that most are not done this way anymore. There were issues doing it this way that had to be resolved when it was built, but it has lasted so long I don't want to change it because it was raced this way and kind of historical to me so trying to keep it early vintage oldschool.
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HRE in Westerville,Ohio

Full machine shop with all types of CNC. Rapid prototyping available, CNC Plasma cutting, 3D printing and Laser engraving.

[tobiism]

[oldschool5er]

Thanks for the response! What kind of issues? Fabrication issues or did it not steer very well or have bad feedback?[/quote]

No it steers fine for not having PS but is typical of it's day. Only two issues, added support plates because of being mounted to the pan head which is fairly thin metal and a double U-joint added to ease angularity. It actually has improved tie rod angles to the spindle and rack.
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HRE in Westerville,Ohio

Full machine shop with all types of CNC. Rapid prototyping available, CNC Plasma cutting, 3D printing and Laser engraving.

[Buggeee]