Project "Doom-Buggy" Early '60's Buggy...

[ChiefRocka]

It has been a while, but this past weekend, I brought my welder home from my shop...I couldn't wait any longer !!

In two days...after work...I have quickly built the jig to keep everything level and square....Check it out !!
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[ChiefRocka]

Keep in mind, I built this jig out of scrap steel I had laying around. The main base structure is not as wide as I would of liked it, but again budget is as budget does !!

Some day when I can afford the prices of steel these days, I want (need) to build a FULL size frame jig, table style on massive casters...but for now, this will do !!


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[ChiefRocka]

I pulled the rear spring plates and torsion, and bolted some 3" angle to the flanges, then welded 2" tubing down to the main 2.5" square tube structure.

The front is supported on the 'sliding' portion of the jig will allow the two halves to meet once I section out the center.

Should work out great !!

The Manx site pretty much said just cut out the required amount and pust them together, measure it up and weld....

I prefered the jig ... who knows, mabey I can CL it when Im done !!

More soon ...

[ChiefRocka]

Back on it again, couple days ago:

Even though the floors were in great shape, I decided to cut out the floors .... rather than spend time sectioning them.

I have a sheet of 1/8" diamond plate that will be going back in ... nice and strong, not too heavy, and will look cool.

In doing so, I also have raised the rear section (area were back seat riders would have their feet) thus giving me about 2" more ground clearance and a smooth area for sliding off the dunes at high speeds ....

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[ChiefRocka]

Next, I added a piece of angle to the 'slider' and braced the side rails a bit:
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[ChiefRocka]

Time to start cutting !!! - Removed the required 15.5 inches from the side rails. Slight triming of the rear corners (2nd pic) when we slide, and it'll come together nicely ... way better than the OG pan.
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[kyull67]

Nice work!

[ChiefRocka]

Originally Posted by kyull67

Nice work!

Thanks man .... just checked out your 'scayne' thread... cool man !!

I miss all the Imp wagons I used to own ... they were fun ...

[ChiefRocka]

I put in some more time on the VW pan this morning ....

Cut out the the 15.5 inches out of the main tunnel:
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I'm gonna remove these seat belt points from the tunnel, and relocate them into a 'stock' location in relationship to the seat tracks ... Although, plans are for multi-point belts in the future.
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Inside these VW tunnels, there are various 'guide' tubes for heater, throttle, and clutch cables ... as well as a fuel tube. I went ahead and removed the heater control tubes, as they are not needed.
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[ChiefRocka]

Next came the task of drilling out spot welds. The first set are to remove the left over floor pan lip:
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This is my "drilling out spots, while holding the cell phone face"...
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Thats it for this Sunday ...
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[ChiefRocka]

I'm almost ready to slide the two halves together !!

Last night I took care of the last two items, before the final grinding/sanding of the surfaces.

First I removed the bottom plate for the sectioning:
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Then came the tedious task of relocating the e-brake tubes....
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Here is the LS e-brake tube protruding thru the rear frame horn ... The welds around this tube need to be cut, in order to slide the tubes back further.
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Cut and then drill....
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These clips were holding me up ... outta there !!
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I pulled the tubes out, and after reshaping them, and cutting some slices I got them top feed smooth ...
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[ChiefRocka]

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Tube is back to its OG position and length ...
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Mount is welded to rear tunnel ... which will be directly behind e-brake lever once halves are welded together ...
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I slid the tranny over so I could test fit the cables .... After straightening one of the tubes (too much of a sharp bend) the cables slid perfectly ...
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More later ....

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Damn talk about down to the bare pan..

[ChiefRocka]

Originally Posted by FRENCHBLUE72

Damn talk about down to the bare pan..

Yeap ... thats the way I like to build them, too bad not all my customers want to go that route.

[ChiefRocka]

I must say the sliding jig is a success .... Check it out !!
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The great thing about the slide, is that I can move it back and forth as I make cuts and trims to make everything fit perfect ....
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Here, you can see the differences in the tunnel shapes ... Which will require a little shaping ...
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Here, small slices on either side of the 'front' half to allow the flange to 'ride' up the rear plate....
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Note how the sides come together evenly ...
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Even the center has come together with the same bottom plate side lap...
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[ChiefRocka]

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minor trimming here:
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Tubes exiting ...
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Made some slices.....
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......... before my kids came in the shop asking for some daddy time .... MORE SOON !!!

[ChiefRocka]

Well I took a couple days off of the chassis, but after wheeling all day at the "HILLS" ... I spent a few minutes on it today ....

Before I slid the chassis into homebase, I removed the seat-belt weld nuts from the cut out tunnel, and relocated them into the rear section of the tunnel (in relationship to where the seat tracks are located) Just in case I decide to use them ....
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I must say, the jig ended up working like a charm ... cross measurments yielded EXACT marks !!
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Slight pie cut to allow the flange to creep up a bit ...
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Got myself an arrow underneith ... If I screwed up any, it was here, I should of sectioned it so an "X" would of come together, oh well !!
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[ChiefRocka]

I little shaping here will do the trick:
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I little pounding will take out the waves from drilling out spots:
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And for all the "haters" out there .... HERE ARE THE MEASURMENTS !! ...
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PAN: 52"

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BODY: 52"

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More soon !!!

[ChiefRocka]

Got down on it again tonite !!
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Started by hammering flat, and welding up the drilled out spot welds:
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Welded the corners:
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Few more stiches here and there:
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...and started on the tunnel ... hammering and pulling to get the sides to line up:

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Here you can see how different the tunnel sections were .... No problem !
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Make a cut, and away we go:
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[ChiefRocka]

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[ChiefRocka]

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All done for tonite ... A little grinder, then some sanding .... and it should come out a lot better than this :
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See you soon !!

[rcrahn]

Great looking work!

[Palf70Step]

Looking good.

[KShortell]

Cool!

Paint it yellow and it'll remind me of the couple just like it that my uncle built back in the 70s.

[ChiefRocka]

It's toss up between Bright Yellow, a Bright green (like the new charger) or a Hugger orange.