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Wasting no time...
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2b6801ae_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...694696a2_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...764d1b96_c.jpg It's slightly before this point that things took a bit of a turn for the worse... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7a7d9879_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f6579a8c_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c8853d46_c.jpg I couldn't afford to rebuild the 901 gearbox when I built the Rally Bug, figured that if it was "bad" I would rebuild it down the road. It's always been rough/notchy getting it into 1st or reverse (common problem) but I didn't think it was was that bad. The Hargett Shifter had developed some play, Mark was going to send me some parts, but it never seemed to happen...lightly clipping reverse would happen occasionally while looking for 2nd. I knew it wasn't great for the internals, but it was not that common. Here's the rub. If this is 300,000km and 12 years on this fluid, it's kinda not the worst. But I think this is only 150,000km on this fluid change. Regardless, it's well overdue for a rebuild. I've got the tools and the knowledge. The "middle of the road kit that replaces the wear items in the transmission from shifting use as well as the bearings that usually exhibit wear from age." is $1500 USD, or $2k Canadian. Ouch. But this really is the time to do it with the box out of the car. There is a part of me that is heavily considering just popping a 4spd Beetle box into the car "for now". Of course, we probably know that would end up permanent. At least I have a lot of time to consider this one :P Call it a hunch...but I think the drivers side axle might be just a hair too long? No marks on the axle end though... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c67d1727_c.jpg |
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https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f50eb749_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9e0c2a11_c.jpg Found a few spots in the body that need to be taken care of...plus I snapped off three fender bolts on the left-front corner. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0d0f1a65_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7eacf241_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8b894638_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4c4f1061_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...135bae27_c.jpg Bob came over and welded in the turn signal holes. Going to go with the Mexi-bumper setup. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8784cddd_c.jpg Still a lot of work to be done here... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3505cdd1_c.jpg But it's at about this point that I got a bit of a crazy idea, which is probably going to be a little controversial. I'm pulling a fair bit of budget out of the Family Heirloom project to repaint and rewire the Rally Bug, and with the transmission sitting on the floor I started to think about something. The one thing I really want in the Family Heirloom is a five speed Porsche transmission. It's a no-go due to two reasons: a) budget. I'm just not prepared to buy and rebuild a Porsche trans for the car. b) it requires cutting out the torsion bar splines on the inside to mount it where I want it. Thus negating the "can always go back to stock" ethos. Well, I've decided that it probably doesn't matter. Let's be honest, it's never going back to stock while I'm the owner of it! If I were to pull the 901 gearbox and the rally bug, fuel injected, motor for the '75 Heirloom project, it would be the perfect setup for that car. But what about the Rally Bug? In some ways, I kind of feel like the Salzburg replica has served its purpose. I've had a good 11-12 years of enjoyment of it, it's had all its magazine features, but it's not doing anything more than just being stagnant. Swapping over the Subaru wheels pretty much ended the "replica" part, so can I experiment further?? I was shuffling cars in the storage area of my property, and scrapping some parts cars that have fulfilled their purpose and overstayed their welcome...when it hit me. I have a complete Subaru setup waiting to go in a Beetle. I bought the kit necessary to do either a 2.5 naturally aspirated setup, OR the twin cam WRX setup. As part of the car shuffling, I had the scrapper yank out the engine and transmission of one so I have a 2.5 RS core motor (to go with everything else I pulled from an earlier car). I recently traded my EZ30 six-cylinder to a buddy for his WRX motor...so I've got a turbo option as well. So, yeah, going to go Subaru in the Rally Bug, thus giving me the aircooled engine/trans setup for the Family Heirloom. Settles the budget issues for me, but totally sets me back timewise! Ha. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...76872082_c.jpg |
that was a big plot twist....
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From a usability perspective you wont regret going Subaru. I have over 3000 miles on my subaru swap now and its makes the car much more livable. It doesn't leak, the factory fuel injection ecu works reliably, and its enough power. Definitely work to have the cooling system installed but in my eyes worth it.
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@72Marinablue. Are you using the factory ecu?
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Hi
Welcome to the dark side. If I can help in anyway let me know. I've made a few errors and found better ways to do things over the years. Cheers Steve |
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Currently trying to find good photos of a radiator setup that I can acquire the bits for in North America… |
maybe something like this?
https://www.csp-shop.com/en/brand-sh...sd-29965b.html I dont know if it has the amount of cooling surface as needed, but in this way you won't be modifying your trunk/front. |
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My latest radiator is from a 944 Porsche in all aluminium. I have used Audi 100/200 ones in past. I've used Audi fans with the Audi fan housing which work pretty good. On the 944 radiator that I'm using now I tried an unshrouded fan which wasn't very good. I'm now using twin 11 inch Spal fans which have an amazing amount of airflow. They came with a fan housing that I needed to trim to fit the 944 radiator. You can tilt the radiator so that it sits lower and is supposed to make the radiator work more efficiently. You need to use a radiator as wide as possible and seal around the radiator so that all incoming air goes through it. Cheers Steve link to fans that I used https://thermofans.com.au/collection...roducts/ef3580 |
Time for an update! I was off traveling for a friend's wedding, and the shop is getting way too full with multiple beetles exploded...but here we are.
The welding on the body shell is now complete. I have my buddy Bob to thank for that. For some odd reason he really enjoys thin sheet-metal welding. He must be ill or something :P https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...323112b0_c.jpg While waiting for the 'ok' to run the car down to the body shop, I've tried to start dealing with a number of the items needed on the Subaru swap. I pulled out my bins of Subaru-Swap items, and discovered that I don't actually have everything that I need for the swap. It looks like I (likely) scrapped the motor that came out of my donor, probably when I moved seven years ago. At the time I had one or two running Subarus that I was using as 'daily drivers' so it would have seemed logical. But one of those Subarus, my wagon, is a 2.5i engine with variable valve timing and the drive-by-wire throttle. Neither of which I want in the car. My '05 that we just yanked the motor out of, rats had destroyed the wiring harness in many places...so it's just a good core longblock I can use. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ca48b7d4_c.jpg In doing some detailed research, I need to have the following from the same car: Wiring harness, under dash harness, intake manifold, cam/crank gears, intake wiring harness. Hmph. In my current stash: - Wiring harness from a 2002 - missing the "intake harness". - Engine and intake from a 2005 DBW - missing the intake harness (rats) - A boat load of rebuild parts and timing belt kit to match the 2005. This leads me to three options: find yet another Subaru donor to strip, find a parts car / wrecking yard that has the right year/model for me to pull my missing bits from, or just accept DBW and variable valve timing and part out my wagon. Hmmmmm. As I was contemplating this, a guy walked up to me at the car wash in town and asked "Hey, any chance you need a parts car?" Um, yes? So I have a tentative deal on a running, driving, Subaru Legacy. More updates soon! On the transmission side, I have two transmissions to work with (currently). The first is a "known good transmission" I purchased from a local rally shop, and the second is the one I just pulled out of my 2.5RS Rat-infested parts car. The rally shop transmission is most desirable, because it has the diff-studs that I need for use with the Subarugears parts...so lets open it up! The fact that there are broken parts floating around the centre diff, not a great start... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b67487b1_c.jpg We haven't even gotten to the drain plug at this point...but pulling good sized metal bits out of cavities here does not bode well. Sharpie for scale. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...213b0794_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...23449470_c.jpg Ahhh, there's your problem. It would appear that 3rd gear has left the building. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ca208f6a_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c1818a1c_c.jpg The rear diff casing has a good score mark on it, but may still be okay to swap over into my newer transmission. I may also just take the circlip axle stubs and see if they will fit in the spring-clip front diff. I can't find any definitive answers as to whether this is OK or not. But onto the second gearbox... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3eed15c0_c.jpg This one is fortunately clean inside, and has all the teeth where they should be. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7278661f_c.jpg Unfortunately, the speed sensor was damaged, and seized to the case. The whole assembly came out in pieces, and I have to find an exploded parts diagram and manual to figure out how to pull the GOOD pieces out of the parts transmission to put into this one. I also may need to buy a really large tap to clean out the threads for it, because I can't seem to get them clean with a pick and brush, and don't want to damage the aluminum case. So that's where I'm at. Body ready for the body shop (but haven't heard back that they are good to take it)...can't start on the floor pan because my shop is out of space. And four steps backwards on the Subaru swap :P -Dave |
Let the case modifications begin! The Subarugears written directions are pretty poor, but his Youtube video on the modifications is quite complete. I'm a read/manual kinda guy, so I find it frustrating to have to pull up the YouTube video multiple times if I need to check something...but alas, I guess I'm old now :P
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...74d73f89_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...14985305_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6db7b5f2_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...69a42500_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4ed9a0e8_c.jpg With the case ready, it was onto swapping out the pinion shaft, which is actually really really easy with the Subaru transmission. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...48e182c4_c.jpg The pinion shaft is then shimmed to set the pinion depth. The Subarugears kit includes the tool needed to do this, but you have to buy the shims from Subaru. With two transmission torn down, I had enough shims to get close...but not perfect. I messaged Todd with a photo, asking if 0.05mm was close enough to zero, or did I need to get it zero'd out. He replied to ignore the tool, and simply check it with the "stock shims you took out". Uh, okay? Why include the tool then? Anyways...we'll come back to that, because it's hilariously annoying. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...37de612c_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...754720bc_c.jpg The next step is to mark the ring gear with grease, and assemble the transmission, torquing the case bolts to spec. You then adjust for backlash, set the bearing preload, rotate the transmission a bunch of times, and tear it all apart. Take a look at where you are at with the grease markings, reassemble and repeat. If (like me) you've never done this before, it helps to dance a tribute to the gear mesh gods, pray, sacrifice a beer on the floor (that may have just been me knocking it over), and any other spiritual things you may think will help the situation. The biggest key, however, is to focus on one measurement at a time and only change one thing in between case tear-downs, so you can learn how each adjustment changes the mesh pattern. Ultimately you need to setup pinion depth and backlash, but changing one changes the other...so don't attempt too many things at once! Three assembly/teardowns later, and if you're doing really well you end up with some patterns like this: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...03fa23e6_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d0c4be91_c.jpg I thought I was pretty much spot on, but it looks as though my gear mesh is a little loose (pattern too high on the tooth). Thing is, I'm measuring 0.005" backlash, and spec is 0.005-0.007. So if it's not the backlash, that tells me that perhaps I want to be just a touch tighter on the pinion depth. Checked with a bunch of buddies who know these things better than I do, and they all agreed I could run it as is, but maybe try and move the pinion a hair just to see. So at this point, since I figured I was almost spot-on, I'd ask Todd what he thought. "Looks excellent, but you should move the pinion a touch. We find that 0.45mm of shims is usually the right spec." I'm sorry, what? Why didn't you tell me that five hours ago when I asked about the shims!?! ARGG! I could have had it spot on tonight if he had. I mean, not really that big of a deal. I learned a lot, and I'm very fortunate that the guy who sells the parts replies so readily. Just hilarious considering the time frame. But at that stage, it was 11pm, and I figured I'd be smarter to go to bed and deal with it tomorrow... -Dave |
Haven't been out in the shop to finalize the transmission setup, time of year and all. But I did hit a major milestone yesterday!
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You're my semi-inspiration for planning my soon, future dedicated autocross/track day car. Semi, because it won't be a rally car. Looks great!
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Nice work Dave!
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---- Stopped in at the body shop right after the holidays. As I suspected, they sort of misunderstood the "tape and spray" quality expectations. But, I know they are balancing the "our shop name is on this job" too. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c1697b6a_c.jpg The hood, for example, was what I would consider to be a "perfect" factory hood with factory paint. I mean, just scuff that puppy and spray it! Nope. Not flat enough for them. :P On the same token, they are taking the time to fix the stuff that really should be fixed. Various parts of the shell have been highlighting for blasting, and you can see a bit of the work they've done to repair all the rally-rash on the fenders. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...234c04e0_c.jpg In sandblasting, however, they discovered an absolute horror I had no idea about. There was a pinhole rust bubble in the front apron, which I knew they would pull out...but that snowballed into discovering this interesting repair. Apparently the front apron was basically bondo...which amazingly never cracked or fell out?! Looks to me like someone backed a trailer into the car, and then did a quickie fix to get it out the door. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...78703c7c_c.jpg I offered to pull the factory apron off my '73, but the vent area needs a little bit of straightening, and we agreed that the most cost-effective way to fix this would be to simply drop a Klokkercrap panel into the car. With the Kamei spoiler, you see very little of the apron and we're going to be cutting up the front end of the car after paint for the radiator setup. So...it's a smart spot to save a few pennies. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...be1d1de4_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6945130a_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2b973ca1_c.jpg When I built the Rally Bug 13 years ago, I desperately wanted to put some carbon bits in the interior of the car. I wasn't in the position to afford them, but was going to figure out how to make it happen. At that time, however, Carbon Joe had sort of 'disappeared' and wasn't producing anything. I had missed the boat. A few months back, a Carbon front splitter was posted on TheSamba and I literally pulled the car over to the side of the road and jumped on buying it (for the '75 project). I realized pretty quickly that it was Carbon Joe selling it, and inquired if this was New Old Stock, or was he reproducing. We discussed my interests, quantities, and (if I'm completely honest) told him how much a young Dave desperately wanted some Carbon Joe bits for his first and second builds. So far I've got the splitter, headlight rings and carbon dash from the list of parts I've asked him for. Each transaction has been fantastic, and I can't wait to see the rest of the bits when they show up. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...cc60c010_c.jpg The fit is incredible, and I think I've decided that this one is actually going to go into the Rally Bug (not the '75 as tested here). https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7f0d1ea0_c.jpg That got me falling down the rabbit hole of what do I want the dash to actually look like? For the Subaru swap I only need a tach, speedometer, fuel gauge, and water temp...everything else is basically 'extra'. With the carbon dash, I also want to try and 'clean it up' and go with a simple setup, and as few switches as possible. I've been exploring digital dash panels, and PDMs (power distribution modules)...I'd love to fully modernize the cars electrical system. I just don't think I'm willing to swing the budget to make it happen. It starts off looking like $1500-2k, but by the time you actually go and design the system and price it out to the final connector...it's $4-6k CAD. Considering I don’t really do track days, and thus the datalogging side of it is pretty useless to me, it’s a big spend. Probably convinced myself not to do it, in lieu of standard gauges. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0d1e4117_c.jpg I have started to rethink the floorpan, however, and cut off all the mounts for everything so I can start completely fresh. New pedal box, possibly flipping the shift assembly back around, and figuring out if I want the vertical hydraulic handbrake, or going back to a horizontal unit. I’m also going to completely redo the seat mounts. In the lower left you can see some 3D printed switch panel options, which I’ve been playing around with whether I can make them fit. One is simply a switch box, while the other is a PDM that has a number of additional features that are quite desirable. But $$$$ :P https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e...082a37~mv2.jpg If I do go with standard gauges, I will need some switches in the dash. This is pretty much the best option I’ve found so far, in trying to keep the carbon dash looking clean. If I can get the switches to be dual LED (one ring colour when off, a second colour when on) I’m probably going to pull the trigger. But with the body delayed in the paint shop, it’s time to put the floor pan aside for a few weeks while I get the 1958 Beetle and the German Look ready for next year’s motoring. |
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https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...905b44ed_c.jpg Rally bug heater channels are looking pretty good inside...but the bottoms of each were pretty rotten. Bob and I found a couple of spots, and patched them, but when the sandblaster came out...what was left was swiss-cheesey. It would seem both left and right sides were full of sand...from sandblasting the shell 13years ago. That held water/moisture, and rotted out the bottom and some of the running-board sides. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2bb64482_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...536415e1_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d9d3f3d4_c.jpg Heater channel bottoms in, door gap on the driver's side fixed, cracked hinge on the driver's side fixed...I mean, this was going to be a quick respray, right? I guess at this stage, we might as well fix everything [img]//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/tongue.png" class="smile" alt=":P[/img] Well, since we're cutting out sheet metal...I should probably feel guilty. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...39bb53f6_c.jpg ...and putting new metal in. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...73795d7b_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...685c8b2a_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0b682eeb_c.jpg Pedal set has the clutch pedal in line with where it was with the old set, but the pedals are 3" closer to the bulkhead. That should give me enough leg room to compensate for the added height off the floor they will have. Turns out the master cylinders shipped without some needed parts, so this project will have to wait a bit. ...and now we spend the next week working in my office, or cleaning/prepping the house for my family from the east to visit. No shop time for at least a week. :( |
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https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9b3950d9_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7ea2f672_c.jpg Not a whole lot of progress on the car...but the pedal box setup is getting more dialed in. |
nice pedal setup!
Something similair is on my wishlist as well, but the required list is still to big. Keep posting! I daily check the GL forums for news |
Yikes. I am so sorry I haven't updated this since February. I had a bit of a rough year with staph infections, and you know it just sorta snowballs away from you. Given that the car has progressed quite a large bit since my last update, I think I'll probably break it down into short updates on some major components, and answer questions or provide more details as requested.
Body After a spring of driving events, I got back home in May to a body ready for pickup! In my head, I had planned to have the whole chassis assembled and ready before picking up the body, but of course that didn’t happen. Turns out you need things like the body in order to work out seat mounts and other details! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...527295e1_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0c690c12_c.jpg With the carbon dash, I ultimately decided that the AiM dash was the direction I wanted to go. With an analog car, however, you end up needing a lot of expansion ports to make it all work. So I decided to go nuts and simply put a whole PDM into the car. That decision (both financially and time wise) was pretty much a guarantee that this was going to be a long term project to the end of 2024. No Rally Bug for summer or fall driving events. Floorpan The floorpan didn’t require a tonne of modifications, outside of the pedal box area. After welding in the new baseplate, and adding some stiffening bars, the pan went into and out of the shell about 3 or 4 times. My buddy Wayne fabricated the seat mounts for me, which required working out exactly where I wanted the driver’s seat to sit. Everything comes with a compromise, even with the exception that I’m willing to fab/move almost everything. The roll bar couldn’t move, I can only adjust the steering column so much before it needs a completely custom solution, but ultimately I ended up with a seat position that isn’t very far off from the other Beetles, but works out quite comfortably. With the seat sorted, I could figure out the shifter location, setup the switch locations, and a few other bits on the inside…before pulling the pan and finishing it off for the final time. Thankfully I remembered that I’ve got a new Kafer bar, I’m changing the oil filter location, and a few other chassis bits that make a difference, and mocked it all up while body and pan were together. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...264b09c6_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...63ebc824_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3c15ceb1_c.jpg The Arcdroid CNC plasma cutter came in super handy for the seat mounts… https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2bc3e2d7_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...957155a4_c.jpg Also visible in the next few photos are the slider mounts I put in for the passenger foot-rest. One of the nice details/upgrades for this round. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...cb2d04ab_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9e3bcc2b_c.jpg You’d think I’d have uploaded photos of the finished painted pan…but possibly not! -Dave |
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Oh, here we go…glorious black. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ca798c2c_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8832dbaf_c.jpg So the AiM PDM32 is going to replace the entire wiring and electrical system in the car. The 6” screen means I can have all my gauges, warning messages, etc all on the screen, saving myself from drilling a tonne of holes in the dash. I’m also using a Cartek wireless switch setup on the steering wheel, to control most of the things you’d find on the dash or steering column. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8832dbaf_c.jpg Fast forwarding past a whole whack of work and here’s the basic dash setup. AiM 6” screen, Cartek wireless steering wheel controls, a Key8 CanBus switch package, Zero noise intercom (under the dash) and the Brantz S2 Pro rally computer. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0069d66a_c.jpg One of the things I’ve decided with this refresh is I want the car to be more enjoyable on the street and on our collector car rallies. I’m eliminating the dry sump oiling to cool down the interior, since the oil system in the red German Look beetle has been completely bulletproof. The car is getting full insulation (Dynamat style, plus a 1/2” of Jute style) and carpeting. Since a traditional carpet kit (on the floor) wasn’t going to work for me, I simply went custom with rolls of “trunk carpet” you might find in a modern vehicle. Future me is probably going to hate me, as it seems to trap dirt really well. Tracing so many holes over is “fun”… https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3ce01e04_c.jpg For the rear luggage area, I did start with a traditional carpet kit. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...79a23a12_c.jpg The firewall was looking a little rough with all the holes (which are covered on both sides with aluminum tape if not being used currently). I figured a bit of carbon would spruce things up a little? I am the only person who’s ever going to see this. Painting it black would make far more sense. But…carbon? Genuine carbon fibre, a single lightweight weave in a very flexible resin. None of that carbon-look decal stuff! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...29b3c193_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2bda813e_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...fa4560c5_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...963e918a_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...09df05f0_c.jpg Sliders under the footrest… https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1a54a71c_c.jpg The old “backseat” setup was a bit of a mess. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...10e04cf2_c.jpg I thought about moving all the fuel injection bits, but didn’t have a great spot to put it, so opted to just leave it…apparently I don’t have a “finished” photo of it to share at this point. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6bf09dbd_c.jpg I did discover a small problem with the pedal box. Not dropping it down, and my big size 12 feet, means I rub the fuel tank area. Ultimately I knew this was going to be an issue before welding in the new floor plate, but I didn’t really realize that I would have cleared if I dropped it just a 1/2”. Ultimately I didn’t want to risk the floor plate getting hit from below (especially since this all started with the rock hit) so figured I’d solve the problem later. When in doubt, cut and weld! I don’t have good photos, but I essentially created a “Gurney Bubble” for my foot in the body, and then modified the fuel tank to clear that bubble. The body remains welded and sealed, and obviously the fuel tank does as well. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9fed8b57_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3442da90_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...eabdda6e_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1267b3d9_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...10f53f35_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b3f9dd57_c.jpg |
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As previously mentioned, the whole re-build plan pretty much circles around the carbon dash, and getting the car “up to snuff” for it. I started laying out the plans for the PDM, and the wiring, and it’s been great fun embarking on a new skillset and puzzle. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d43c1758_c.jpg The entire wiring for the car is now planned out in an excel spreadsheet. Every component is listed, and size/color/label of the wire. Where the wire comes from, where it goes, what terminal number on a connector it is (if appropriate), you name it. Along with the PDM I also ordered a pre-terminated motorsport harness, which essentially saves me from pinning each of the two 38-pin connectors. Here in Canada, the running joke is that whenever you buy a used car, you can pretty much guarantee 50% of it has been rewired (poorly) using exclusively red wire from Princess Auto or Harbour Freight. So the fact that my motorsport harness essentially uses only red wire, is pretty funny. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...93b0d627_c.jpg https://www.hpacademy.com/assets/Taz...c4MCw0Mzld.png Since I had gone this far, I decided to go all the way. The original Rally Bug harness (that I built) was essentially built with PVC, or “auto hook up” wire. Where possible, I did use factory VW wiring, but there was a tonne of regular automotive wiring that went into the car, an example of which is pictured on the left wire in the image above. The motorsport harness I bought for the PDM is made up of Tefzel wiring, shown on the right, which has a significantly thinner insulating jacket. It’s more flexible, creates a smaller harness, and can handle temps up to 150c (vs 80c for PVC). Tefzel wiring, though, is not inexpensive. So for all the other wires I would need to add, I’ve used TXL wire, shown in the middle. It’s a thinner, more flexible wire than PVC, can handle up to 125c, and is a great middle ground and good “clubman” harness wire. The purchase list extended to Deutsch connectors for everywhere, Kapton tape for the harnesses, and I’ve switched over to Raychem as a brand for all my heat-shrink. August through October, essentially all I did was wiring. Every component has to go into the car, all the wires run, marked and taped, and then it all has to come out of the car to be wrapped, junctioned and covered. For the most part, every single wire has gone into, and out of, the car 4 to 5 times before it’s permanently located in the vehicle. Wire sizes, colours, lengths, etc. are all recorded into the wiring spreadsheet. This is also a great opportunity to test each wire and circuit before finishing the harness. A step anyone wiser than me would do, but I hadn’t yet bought the laptop appropriate for the PDM, or started programming it! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...eb4eea03_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5b73bc70_c.jpg Anytime I’ve needed to do a wire splice, it’s done with a proper open-barrel splice and the appropriate tool which makes the “W” crimp we’re familiar with from the factory. Waterproof raychem heat shrink is used, and wires are labeled with their circuit using heat-shrink labels, and covered with clear heat shrink so the labels don’t rub off. In some ways, it’s ridiculously wasteful since many of the these labels end up underneath wiring sheathing and will never be seen. But as you’re building and routing the harness, it eliminates hours of head scratching or confusion. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...275d6688_c.jpg https://www.bmotorsports.com/shop/im...00x300_mat.jpg Eventually I will have two main harnesses. One running up (inside) the passenger side heater channel, and one running up the inside of the driver’s side heater channel. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7801ef96_c.jpg Any masking tape is used just temporarily, and gets replaced with Kapton tape. It’s thin, lightweight, and electrically neutral. Final heat shrink, labels and connectors are added (often after the harness is in the car.) https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9652f178_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5cb50e11_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6c201ea2_c.jpg At times it looks like a complete disaster… https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0c3fcb37_c.jpg And then it starts to clean up. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a27ce65b_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0d1afbb0_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...91d4ee40_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b6f97df7_c.jpg The 3D printer was used to build things like switch panels and towers, and the shift rod was upgraded to a carbon tube. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...39e89d41_c.jpg Interior getting closer. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...20a84d05_c.jpg |
In order to finish the wiring, I had to start throwing body panels on, which mean tossing the suspension in. So for the last week of October, things started to move forward pretty quickly.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...83bf73b3_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...fa0ff084_c.jpg Adding more Carbon Joe bits https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...651d98cc_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...92674d1e_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...76cd9fdb_c.jpg Because of the carbon dash, I’ve removed most of the fresh air venting, and gone back to just the early defrost vents in the corner of the windshield. I 3D printed adapters to go from the 38mm outlets on the fresh air box, down to the 26(?)mm hose that runs direct on both sides to the corner vents. I am a little worried it will restrict the flow too much and burn out the motor, but I have to tell you the flow through those corner vents is unreal now! I think it might actually defrost :P Gas heater is back in the car for heat purposes. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a92e5594_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1c53b0c2_c.jpg Rear fenders, taillights, mud flaps. It’s starting to look like the Rally Bug again, even without the black engine and trunk lid. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...29487e27_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e8bab250_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...766738b9_c.jpg I mounted the deck lid solo, and didn’t spend a tonne of time adjusting it. This isn’t black deckled that was on the car (I saved that for going back to the Salzburg look), nor is it the one I tested before paint. The one I sent to the paintshop was in really rough shape after they stripped it, so I had the guys run by my house and grab one of the many spares. Unfortunately I don’t think it was ever fit to the body, as the fit is pretty poor. We’ll see if I can live with it once it’s been adjusted. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...85df016c_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...34cc2d04_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...63d164fb_c.jpg Another item that will never been seen by anyone, but I had the carbon, so why not duct the oil cooler with carbon?! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...61561d7d_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...bd7ebf62_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0142aba4_c.jpg I’ve also finally started to program the power system. It’s pretty interesting how in depth you can get with it. If you can dream it up, it should be possible, you simply have to figure out the logic behind what you want to do. Figuring out that logic, though, is a bit of a puzzle. I’m not a computer programmer, I took the very basic And/OR/IF logic 30yrs ago in high school, but it did take me almost 6 hours to get the steering wheel to talk to the turn signals in the exact way that I wanted, plus the hazard switch. Tap the turn signal for a five-count flash (lane change), or hold the turn signal button for a half minute flashing (for turning). Once I’ve got it roadworthy, I’m going to work on having the accelerometer turn off the signals instead of it being simply timed. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d0832be0_c.jpg Start up screen is rad. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...585a8db8_c.jpg |
A lot of nice updates on the project! I keep following this one. It made my wishlist a lot longer :P
But first I need to tackle the mustlist |
After a couple of weeks in California (I know, tough) I'm back home for a week and a half. I'll have to split my time between the other cars in the fleet, and the Rally Bug, plus prepping for Christmas...but lets see if we can't get a few things done?
Driven hard, and put away wet (and muddy). I'm sure past-me figured I'd have lots of time while the body was in paint to deal with the engine, but it seems these things don't get cleaned up and readied until you actually need them. So, here we are. Internally, the engine should be mint. No reason to tear it down, the only question is whether it needs a cosmetic rework or not. On the one hand, I'd love to swap out for new tins, and black-out the engine bay like the '58 or my red German Look beetle. But getting rid of the crude red shroud feels very "anti Rally Bug", so I think it might stay for a little longer. There's another purchase in my life that is hampering the budget significantly...so that factors in too. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3f1df1f9_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d246b8d6_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...727c7448_c.jpg Clutch fingers have some interesting wear from the 901 throwout bearing, but considering I've been using these fingers with the Tilton bearing for so long, should be fine with the standard beetle setup(?). Going to run it to find out. Clutch disc is still just above 8mm, so bolted it all back up...will revisit in another 25,000mi :P https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b533ab19_c.jpg And...yup...that's about as clean as it's going to get before being installed :P https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a6e1a6e7_c.jpg -Dave |
Missing the adapter you need? Fire up the lathe!
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5b79db55_c.jpg Annoyingly, the hex portion wasn't cast/machined centred, so it looks like I mounted it off in the lathe. Ah well, pretty sure no one is going to be under my engine inspecting for center! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...56ba1f2c_c.jpg Engine in, brakes bled, clutch bled. I use a Motive power bleeder, to do it solo, and love that I can pressurize the system while doing other work and then use the pressure to confirm I have no leaks. If there is a leak, glass cleaner makes a perfect detection tool... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...73bfeddd_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a4d682e2_c.jpg Snugging up the fitting before actually putting fluid through the system ensures there are no leaks onto the floor. From here, with the spark plugs out I spun up the engine to build oil pressure. At this point, not bench-testing the whole electrical system/harness identified some issues. The pressure senders on the Accusump and engine block weren't working. The oil temperature sender was giving me a freezing-level temperature. What the heck?! One step forward, two steps back as I tore in to try and find the problem... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...219088c5_c.jpg Turns out that I have a bad channel input to the PDM (likely just the connector on the end) and I mislabeled two sensor extension leads after running them from the quarter panel to the engine bay. In the end, they were simple and easy fixes, but it took a couple of hours to diagnose it all. Frustrating, but simple. I also worked on calibrating the fuel level sender, and I'm getting some odd behaviour here as well. The method is to essentially fill the tank 2L at a time, and record the live sensor reading in millivolts on a piece of paper. Then, you build a custom sensor in the PDM using those values. After setting it up, I use the facet lift pump to remove fuel 2L at a time to confirm that I'm getting essentially the same readings on the chart. In my case, it appears that I might have a "dead center" in the sender around the 1/3 of a tank level. I pulled three other senders from parts-car tanks, but they were all rotten. New fuel sender will arrive tomorrow and we'll try this all over again. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d073eafe_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2db9275e_c.jpg Getting closer...but was hoping to have it fired up in the shop last night...so a little frustrated on a Monday morning! Oh well...it could be worse. I've got to spend some of my afternoon working on the 1974 Bricklin project. Why oh why did I ever buy a Bricklin!?! (answer: I'm Canadian. Also answer: Gull Wing Doors) https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...45b15db5_c.jpg -Dave |
I sooooo miss people using this media to share their projects vs. Facebook and Instagram.
Thanks for all the updates Dave. |
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The programming side of things is becoming interesting, annoying, frustrating, and so cool. All at the same time...and sometimes allf four with the same issue. Like, take the tach signal. I swear it worked on the first start up, but the oil pressure sender wasn't...so it got shut off quickly (and obviously I was focused on the zero oil pressure.) Since then, no tach signal. Now, it turns out there may not be enough of a voltage drop off the coil to trigger the PDM correctly, and there are solutions, but in the diagnosing of all of this a new problem has surfaced. If I have the tach signal attached, the whole PDM freezes after the starter shuts off. Didn't do that the first few start-ups, and doesn't do it if the tach signal is disconnected. So did I fry the SPD1 circuit? Is it just freezing up because the signal isn't what it expects? Who knows!?! Diagnosing the issue, while frustrating, is actually part of the fun for me. Building on my knowledge base is rad...but sometimes I just want to be putting the weatherstrip on the car, finished, so I can go for a blast around the block! I probably have to post up a video to YouTube to properly link here, but if you're an instagram user...check out the startup. Almost instant once you hit the starter button. Pretty stoked on this. https://www.instagram.com/davehord/r.../?locale=en_gb -Dave |
Sorry for the lack of updates here. I had to work on the Red German Look beetle to get it ready...and I was a little distracted in November and early December...
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d2d83560_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8ce5f9b0_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...41bcfb8d_c.jpg So yeah, in addition to Classic Car Adventures, Hagerty, the car projects...now we gotta plan a wedding! Thankfully we're going to do it in 2026, which gives me time to do the Family Heirloom in time for the wedding. Eeek. Back to the Rally Bug, I've been working on all the little details that take forever but seem like you're doing nothing. Programming wise, I have all the lights, wipers and accessories working correctly. The tach signal was super static-y and jumpy, but installing Autometers 9116 Tachometer signal filter solved that problem. I've installed most of the blacked-out trim, but the paint didn't work on two front pieces...so they are getting redone for the third time. Windows were almost ready to go in, but it turns out this really is a '71 shell, and not the '72 I thought it was (must be the pan!) so the rear window rubber was wrong. Bob and I have worked a few nights getting all the other seals in, and I'm pleased to say that once we pop the windows in...it's ready for PPF and a test drive. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0fe67c83_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7e31e10b_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...52f0f1af_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1e2a4c30_c.jpg (the red things need to become black...) I did have to spend a bunch of time reworking the mechanical setup of the Hydraulic clutch. I could't get it to disengage with my initial settings, but a bit of time monkeying around with the slave setup and it's all working well. The worn Hargett shifter and a beetle box are a TERRIBLE combination. I need to road test it to see how bad it is, but I've tuned it up as much as I can on the axle stands and it's passible...but not great. I will say it's about as good as the Porsche 901 box was with the worn Hargett shifter...but in that case, when you ground syncros it was easy to say "ah well, they were bad anyways". On a freshly rebuilt box, it's going to hurt! Mark Hargett and I have been talking, and I think with an NDA he is going to send me the files I need to CNC replacement bits for the worn parts. So that's great. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b8e37f56_c.jpg Unfortunately I can't get the CB fuel injection software to communicate with the box using my new PC laptop that I had to buy to communicate with the Aim PDM. It will, however, communicate with my old Mac laptop running parallels. It really shouldn't work this way, and should work the other! Oh well...guess I get to carry three laptops around with me now? FI, PDM, and work laptops. Good thing I used all that carbon for weight savings :P https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0c3986b1_c.jpg If you spent anytime on social media in November 2025, you learned from RWB that tow hooks should be glued on with Urethane and held with green masking tape until it has set. I figured why not up the ante, and 3D print my tow hook before gluing it on?! Lightweight, and the glue won't fail if you try and use it! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...62301509_c.jpg Just kidding. It's a cupholder. No urethane was used for it's installation. So...that's where we sit. Waiting for new window seals, a new windshield, and I need to quote the PPF install with a guy who will come to my house to do it. Pretty much ready for road testing, the weather is perfect for it (no snow, no salt, nice temperatures)...and I'm leaving for a work trip. Sigh. At least it's going to be ready for the 2025 driving season! -Dave |
Thats a good distraction! Congrats! Love all the updates and seeing the progress! New Year new Drives! Good luck!
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A brief update of various things that I probably should have taken more photos of…
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...89c064dd_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...304a514a_c.jpg For years my intercom set have been a US military pair that I re-keyed to work with the Peltor intercom. Happened to see a pair of Zero Noise transit headsets while at a race track in California, and decided to head home with them. 3D printed a quick hanger to toss them behind the passenger seat. You may wonder why I’m okay with them on an angle, and touching the seat, but it’s pretty simple; I need to keep as much space between the headrests for passing event boxes and gear into the back area. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f19b3433_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...116bf8e9_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9f197016_c.jpg Also 3D printed a modified cupholder/brace for the shifter, which allows me to place the Paluxette espresso machine in a useable spot. “Why,” you might ask, “is this going in your Rally Beetle?” Well, that one is pretty simple. You know the black beetle dash with a silver coffee maker on it, that gets posted to your favourite Volkswagen group every month? Usually with the caption “in 1960 a dash mounted coffee maker was a VW accessory” (or similar). That’s my 1958 Beetle, my Hertella coffee machine, and my photo that is being used without credit and an incorrect caption. So, car mounted coffee makers has kinda become one of my “things”. Figured might as well put one in here too :P https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c7df58b2_c.jpg Rear bumper is mounted, still haven’t gotten rid of the red bolt washers on the apron, but ‘eventually’… https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0a5fb379_c.jpg I got multi-colour printing working on my 3D printer. I think in order to make the text work better I may need to move to a 0.2 nozzle instead of the stock 0.4, but overall I’m pretty happy with the results I’m getting. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...91393c93_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...61f89744_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...509fc895_c.jpg Built a new floor plate, with dead pedal. On the one hand, it looks great and I’m quite happy with it. On the other hand, I now realize I should have put a ‘bubble’ above the clutch pedal as well. The brake, totally fine. I may see if I can lower the plate on top of the clutch master. I need to road test it to figure out if I need to modify it, but we’ve got salt on the roads and snow coming, so that isn’t going to happen quickly. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9ce5f7f1_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2016ea6a_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b60e9dc9_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...dd789563_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2569f8dc_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...10ec46ec_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9dac16bb_c.jpg Running boards, and the scary part, mirrors have been mounted. The mirrors are temporary, but long-term temporary. I have different set of mirrors that I really want to use, but no good way to mount them to the car. Eventually I will use these mounts, and use the 3D printer to make mounts for the mirrors that I want…and eventually CNC them. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...96a3b2d8_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...77676fa0_c.jpg Glass is in…and these photos are totally out of order :P https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ec89e18b_h.jpg Hoping to get the car outside in the sun tomorrow for some real photographs. But it’s ready for road-testing! |
Good news! The Rally Bug left the garage today for a quick photo shoot. Roads are still salty, so I could only do a 1st gear and reverse gear run on the driveway :P
Bad news! It looks like a great German Look car (in my opinion) but it's not the Rally Bug. I am definitely going to have to do something about that...but without all the stickers. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...97dce034_b.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7e22b5db_b.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3dcdfd8b_b.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9de07a72_b.jpg Ran out of time before I could get some interior shots. -Dave |
The bug is looking good again Dave.
But like you said, not like the Rally Bug. Why not adding the stickers again? Not going to be an 'Hommage bug' again? |
Quote:
But...I've got a spare hood. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...769d5be6_z.jpg[/url] Which I painted black on the inside, and wrapped with matte vinyl on the outside. Of course, I forgot to do the inside of the fresh-air vents, so I spent a bunch of time with a little paint brush... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8be7a13c_z.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...71264968_z.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b2de1b2f_c.jpg[/url] Need to get a buddy to help me out, but we're going to mount up the black hoods and build a new rally light bar. Thinking I'm going to run it with the VW GT look, minus the roof stripe and the side decals. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3a4401a6_c.jpg -Dave |
Do they really say that? Oh man, that stings indeed.
I really like the flat black with this color, keep up the good work |
Hmmm....
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5f24d1ec_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...817fd54d_c.jpg Started to work on the mirrors I really want to have on the car. This starts with creating an "adapter" that gets the mirror in the spot that I want it to be on. Once I have that, I can then work on modelling a much nicer looking part to join the mirror to the base. But first, the adapters. I wanted to have these sitting in the orientation shown, but about 2"(~50mm) closer to the body. Only problem? There isn't enough glass to see anything useful. If this was a stage rally car, it's "good enough" but on the street, unacceptable. We're going to have to rotate to an uglier 90deg fitment... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6071644b_c.jpg Orientated this way, I can actually see enough to make these useful (I think) in driving. I whipped up some mounts that are strong enough for street testing, and will wait until the snow subsides and I can road test the fitment. This will also give me enough time to learn how to "loft between two planes", a 3D modelling skill I don't yet have. I'm completely self taught, and this will be another fun mental skill to learn. But for now? "good enough". https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...26235b47_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9bd095c3_c.jpg I've been working on a foot plate solution that gives me enough heel clearance for my clutch foot. The raw plate looks a right-mess out of the car, but once fitted it's actually tight and square to everything. Sometimes, you just have to pull out the body hammer and work things until they fit right :P https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...84bc78d0_c.jpg Some quick black paint on it for now. I think I want to drive it for a bit and make sure it's useable before putting the final finish on it. I can't put it in the bender or effectively metal work it if I used my textured finish. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7f7dc2e2_c.jpg From here the project got a little stuck waiting for parts, and for snow to melt. And so, we started to work on the cosmetics. One of the things I love when looking at other peoples cars is the various event stickers from things they’ve participated on. The Rally Bug has always had this on the side glass, but over the years it’s gotten really busy. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...45b38487_c.jpg I’m not entirely opposed to it, but the car has looked so clean in my shop for months that I’m wary of redoing all the decals on the glass. So, I thought since race cars normally put their tech decal on the roll bar, maybe I’d try that out for this round? I’m not sure that I’m sold on this. It definitely breaks up the cleanliness of the car, but at least it doesn’t behind the glass? Each event is an advertisement for my business, so I don’t want to get rid of them. But then, on the same token, how many photos of of California event stickers have I taken at things like Good Vibes Breakfast Club…and then never remembered to Google them when I get home? https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...88fa17b8_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c53e0bc3_c.jpg Okay. I’m not going lie. I like this. Ignore the “clear” hood handle gaskets. They are in the order along with the passenger wiper arm. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d3a6a41c_c.jpg Turns out, I like this less. Maybe if the light covers were black? https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...02bd8953_c.jpg At this stage I decided to put the stripe on, and now I’m really torn. My buddies are 50/50. Half say it absolutely needs the stripe, half say the stripe should go. I think I might hate it only because my vinyl cutter kept fritzing out, and in the end I had to hand cut 60” of red and white. But hey, I got it straight! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ee5bca7e_c.jpg Now, the silver hood IS hanging on the garage wall, so I can go back at anytime (presuming I have a buddy to help me swap). I can’t remove the stripe because it will damage the flat-black wrap, so I’ve decided to leave it until I can at least get the car outside for some proper photographs. I also swapped the back lid on, which doesn’t match the front since this is semigloss paint and not a wrap. If I decide to stay with the black hoods I will paint or wrap one of the ends so that it matches. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...26fc5fe9_c.jpg I found a PIAA 540 light cover someone had modelled up with a Transformers theme, and used some of it to model up a PIAA 580 lamp cover. Fairly early into the test print I had a pretty significant error. 3D printing is awesome, until you’re trying to diagnose why something like this happens! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3e1bc34f_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e53640a5_c.jpg |
Managed to temporarily solve the problem by doing the two colours separately. Covers fit tight though!
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...388b50a9_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6c3d467e_c.jpg |
Alright, not sure why I don't have a photo...but decided after all that the black covers don't look good and we're going with white! :P
Whipped up a couple of rock shields for the O2 sensors: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6ba2c5ac_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...fe5ba8ea_c.jpg Started on a skid plate to keep myself from having to re-pan the car again :P https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d9b8531f_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...52215a83_c.jpg Oh hey! Looks like it's smaller than this skid plate that came off of some rally car of the past that passed through the shop... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ac5fdd27_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...44a6fe17_c.jpg Had to make a few adjustments, and that meant trimming and adding some bits. This is obviously far too ugly to actually run with, but it gives me everythign I need to measure and have a plate cut and bent. I don't have the equipment to manage 3/16" thick aluminium, so we'll mock it up and send it out to a fab shop for a nice one-piece bent unit. In the meantime, we'll paint this puppy black and run it! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...cb67ceb3_c.jpg No idea when I acquired a genuine Kamei front spoiler with cooler holes, but I think it's finally time to take it off the wall and hang it on the front of a car? https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b93a2497_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3bc3109a_c.jpg Either they were supposed to be painted, or someone put the ABS sheet in the mold upside down...or both. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...87515046_c.jpg I'm a big fan of putting mesh in holes to keep stones from hitting the car...but silver mesh in a black spoiler looks terrible. If you paint the mesh, it chips, so you need a system that allows you to touch it up pretty easily. Enter plastidip! A little bit of protection from chipping (since it's rubbery) but also very easy to touch up. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d6c27aec_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...577a708e_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7f667b83_c.jpg I've also built ducting above and below to help direct airflow into my oil cooler. Was going to do the sides as well, but it turns out my lovely financee has 'borrowed' my contour gauge. Guess that will have to wait! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...43031bc0_c.jpg Taped up the rear fenders, and got it outside for it's first 230km worth of driving! It's absolutely fantastic. Has some issues, the steering wheel is off to the left, I'm going to need to go to the gym for my clutch leg, the speed signal isn't getting to the rally computer, and both the fuel gauge and gear indicators in the PDM need some work. But it's driving, and a BLAST! The PDM and programming functions into the car is fantastic. Having intermittent wipers is awesome. But I realized as I was driving, there is nothing to indicate that they are on unless it's actually wiping. There isn't a physical switch that has moved. Same with the headlights, if you put them on in the daylight for rain, there is no way to actually know if they are on...since the display screen adjusts the brightness due to outside light levels. Hmmm. A quick 2min with the laptop, reflash the programming, and I now have an indicator icon in the dash for both of them. Sweet! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...25ed8c08_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2808a04f_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d9517b78_c.jpg And then, cuz this is totally normal after 200km, I tore it all apart in a friend's shop in Vancouver. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...10f8868e_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...144697d6_c.jpg While I'm on a trip to Florida, he's going to do Paint Protection Film (PPF) on the front fenders, front apron and rear fenders. He'll then do a graphine-nano-ceramic coat on the whole car, after fixing two scuff marks I put in the clear on the roof. When I get back, I'll reassemble the car and it's basically good to go for the driving season! The PPF should keep the paint protected for 10 years, at which point it needs to be steamed off. You then decide if you want to reapply, or let the stone chips begin from that point on! The minor items from my test drive above should be pretty easy to deal with over a night or two in the shop...so this thread is probably going to be getting pretty quiet soon. -Dave |
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