Back on the front

Made some little brackets on the back. Don't look like much but they make a big difference.


After that I turned the car around again and started to clean up the trunk. Still trying to figure out how to lock the spare in one place.....

Removable rear valance part 2

After a few days of other stuff to do, weird weather and a neighbourhood swarming with cops because of a double homicide (wow) 1 block from my home (I was not going to risk atrackting a bored cop with my noise making endevours) today I finally started on the other side of the rear. Also testfitted the rear bonnet. It all needs a lot of tweaking but I am ok with how it came out.

Brrrr, that hideous green keeps popping up everywhere....

Removable rear valance part 1

Started on the removable rear valance. Since the rear is already in 2 parts I first did the drivers side. Will do the other side in a few days. Oh, and I got the idea from Hebster52.

So easy now to get to the gearbox and stuff.

Let's see if I can get this a bit cleaner.

4 bolts and it's on, just need to make a little bracket on top.
(at this moment I am going to ingnore the rust)

Front is 'done' back to the back....

It was such a nice sunny sunday I decided to finish the little brackets on the front and after that take my bug outside. There's still a lot to do on the front but I need to buy stuff for it and also need to think about what I am going to do (bonnet clamps, radiator fans, bumper brackets, etc) so for now it's done. So up next is the back. I'm going to make the rear valance removable but not just the exhaust gard but the entire part up to the fire wall.... Going to be interesting. But first, boring normal life stuff. Juck!!!

If you look carefully you can see the little bracket on the bottom of the front. Just 4 bolts and the radiator is exposed

All the junk in the trunck....

Bonnet on and you can't even see it's going to be watercooled.

So next up, cutting up all of the back...

Cutting corners (me and my silly titles)

Seeing as my replacement dash came with the window corners, I decided to switch those corners too. So I cut the ugly patched stuff out I had made before and replaced it with the somewhat better looking pieces. Ok, I had not used the grinder on those corners so they could of ended up a lot neater but this was a much easier solution....

First the drivers side....

Then the passenger side, look at what I replaced... juck.

Some grinding and primer makes it all look kind of decent. Started on the front too, 4 bolts and it's off.

Dashing

Taddaaa....
Yes, that's right. Got my dashboard fitted. Took a lot of figuring out 'how to' tho. Stil needs a lot of work and bondo and stuff but for that I need to get the rolecage out of the way. So, want to know how I did it...?

First I cut the left over piece of the dash up so it was close to what I wanted...

Then welded everything together again....

And then cut it again, holes this time and after that welded rings in it...

Then drilled holes in it so I could weld threaded studs in it (also checked if the gauge ring fitted)

Used a piece of wood for now to hold the gauges but I don't like wood in my car. Still it has to be something that doesn't conducts electricity. Thinking of PE.

And finally welded everything together.... Next up, the front.

Finally back at it.... for now.

It feels like forever since I've worked on my bug. After the cold and rain and snow, the weather finally started to get better. But somehow I found myself working behind my computer for about 2 weeks now while watching the sun shine and thinking it was such beautiful weather to work on the bug. So today I couldn't take it anymore and went at it. I had picked up a dash a few weeks ago and had been contemplating on how I was going to fit the 944 gauches in it and today I decided I had thought about it long enough. So I took my grinder and my welding machine and had some fun. My snot is black now and one welding spark landed way to close to my crotch but I haven't felt this content about myself in ages. Even the stupid police ticket I got in the mail today didn't phase me. I really need to find a way to make a living from tinkering on beetles...... Here are some pics.

Because I need to change the tacho hole I decided to do this in steps.

First I cut a piece out the new dash...

Then I cut the same size out of the old dash.
All that metal is really wobly without a dash.

Weld weld, grind grind and we're done. For now anyway, the rolcage is in the way so I can't weld everything. To bad I need to lift the body to take the rollcage out...

And here is part 2, changing 1 hole into 2. Hmmm......