Low down Hillbilly

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First couple layers of 'glass laid down on the bump out and some initial shaping done. I cut out the old piece including the floor, flipped it inside out, then upside down and glassed it back on adding depth and rounding the edges, similar to elsewhere on the shell.

Hard to tell from the under body pic, but the base of the rear wall is now about 0.75" ahead of the edge of the bell housing, tapering up to 1.5". You can see where the flat part of the original shape was cut out and extended inward away from the motor. That should give the fan a little more breathing room.

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Worked on the body lift today, 2 layers of 5/8" marine grade plywood + it's metal frame raise the body 1.5" so I have enough tire clearance at full drop. The stacks along each side are now bonded together, plus the ends are glued/screwed making one solid, perimeter unit. Once a bit of final shaping is done, I'll cover the wooden riser with a couple layers of fiberglass to smooth/waterproof it. The finish will most likely be black Herculiner, along with the underside of the tub/fenders.

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It's a race against the weather as temperatures are dropping, necessitating the use of an electric heater and a tarp to speed up the curing process. Glad I'm working with epoxy not polyester resin.

Not completed yet, but the little bump out for shifter clearance is now roughed in.

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It's often convenient when building cars that are relatively small in a confined space. Giving the wooden portion of the body raise/mount a coat of epoxy/fiberglass to waterproof it.

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It was 2*C in the workshop this morning. Definitely the time to burn some of the scrap wood laying around to warm up the building before putting the next layer of epoxy/glass on the body raise. In order to mount my headlight and 4 way flasher switches, I cut out a couple of metal discs to weld in from the backside of the 1" dimpled holes, the blocked dimples look better than if simply flush mounted.

The silver rim of the air ride gauge will be painted to match the other 4 gauges and the switches. Still far from street legal but even the smallest progress counts towards the end product.

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This was my first non-carboard attempt at building seats for the buggy. I used this experience to further hone the design and create a fixture for easier production of more in future. There happened to be a few office chairs on the scrap pile at work a couple weeks ago, so I did a little up-cycling. Now I have a hot rod inspired chair for the workshop.

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Picked up some 2x2" steel to create a cradle mount for the gas tank, although two of the ends still need to be capped. Used some scrap pieces of 1x4" wood to mock up the tank location/height so the filler sits in just the right spot. Tomorrow I'll lift the body back on, bolt it all together and check the fitment. Hopefully the next step will be cutting the four risers for the tank and welding them in place of the wooden fixture.

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What a pleasant surprise, I dropped the body on with the wooden jig in place and the filler lined up perfectly! Now I just have to replicate this in steel. The four 2"x2" uprights are rough cut and after a bit of length matching, will be ready to weld together this afternoon. The filler neck clears the body on a slight angle, so the cap is not parallel to the flat area around the filler, I may pie cut/weld the filler neck so the cap sits straight.

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Everything is solidly tacked together and fits well, I'll likely add some additional braces along the back and sides. The clamps on the top beam will be welded/plated onto the front uprights. The hole for the filler neck in the body was originally oversize, but now it's ended up a bit offset which will require filling.

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Over the weekend, I welded most of the new front framework together, also welded in the plates that join the upper torsion housing mounts to the uprights of the new frame.

Started constructing the buckets to hold the new bus tail lights. I was originally going to flush mount the lenses, but I may French (recess) them in a little extra, not sure yet. I went with bubble wrap over the housing assembly using 3 layers of painter's tape, then duct tape with a ring of thin carboard to provide depth, which I can trim later. Once the bucket is built up thick enough, I should be able to push the assembly out of the fiberglass part without too much trouble as long as the fiberglass stays below the height of the duct tape.

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I'm on the fence about the depth they'll be mounted for the final install. Originally, I had intended to mount them flush, but will likely 'glass the buckets on as is to give me mounting options later by using spacers.

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Today's minor success included laying out the tail light pod locations and cutting the first opening with a jig saw. I used a flapper wheel in the air grinder to smooth the edges, then duct tape to secure the pod in place until I lay some epoxy/'glass from the back side to bond it to the body. I'll be able to adjust the depth of the tail lights later by using a spacer.

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Got a start on my roll cage today. Base plates are made from 2 pieces of 3/16" stock welded/bolted to where the floor meets the frame rails. The hoop's legs still need trimming and welding to the base plates. This was my first hoop involving multi angle bends, it came out nice and flat and almost exactly like the outline I drew on the floor with chalk. Next up will be a similar hoop for up front, then over head connectors, side bars, a cross brace behind the seats, etc.

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Trimmed the bottoms of the main hoop and gave each side a couple of strong tacks to hold it while I make the rest of the pieces. Temporarily loaded in the seats and compressor/tank to take additional measurements for the rest of the cage.

The bases for the cage are made from two plates of 3/16" material, having one part welded to the thick floor and frame rail.

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Front hoop is now bent and tacked in place, soon to be followed by some connectors and braces to the main hoop. Took me most of the day to get it to this point, but I'm happy with the result. The cross bar is above the windshield line and the down posts blend into the A-pillars when you look forward, there's even a reasonable amount of room for our knees too.

If you use chalk, is it still considered CAD?

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Side bars done, front and rear cross bars up next...

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Had a chance to get a bit more done today, holidays are nearly over for this year but it's been time well spent. Added a brace across the dash and two across the main hoop. Now I will have somewhere to mount my seat belts. Lower side bars, overhead connectors, mounting tabs for seat belts and early Bus rearview mirror up next...

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Decided to start the framework for the cover that will be over the compressor, water trap, relays, air tank, etc. Created a set of plywood stringers which will be built into a 'hump back trunk' style box from plywood. The materials are left-overs from building our woody tear drop trailer.

The cover will be 8" tall to the low sides, glued together from Baltic birch plywood and covered in epoxy/'glass. I plan on having a hinged lid for quick access and the whole thing will be removable for ease of servicing. There is more roll-cage work to do in the rear, so thought it best to build this first to ensure all the clearances are correct.

Approximate mock-up of how the stringers will sit inside the box, although likely won't line up with the compressor head.