There may be a lack of posting here, but that’s not for lack of activity. Honestly there hasn’t been much to post about, as machining heads and cases, prepping pans and tunnels for welds, tearing down and diagnosing engines, collecting parts to finish projects, Jetta control arm bushings, Chevy Suburban overhauls, and getting golf carts running again aren’t terribly exciting posts.
But what DID happen was finally we finished this buggy. What originally was supposed to be an easy custom roll cage build ended up turning into a long project of diagnosing and fixing what needed to be fixed. The clutch tube had been shortened inside the tunnel to about less than a foot in length with a plastic sheath used instead. This caused the cable to coil on itself inside the tunnel, as well as rub a section away at the pedals in the tunnel that pinched it, effectively rendering the cable [eventually] inoperable. We had to not only get a doner tube from a Ghia pan but also cut two holes in the buggy tunnel to install it. The pedals themselves were broken and missing their plate, so we fabricated a fix for that. The single master cylinder had failed, so that was replaced with a dual master. A too-long bolt was installed backwards in the rear suspension, severely cutting down travel. And several other random issues to make it safer and more reliable.
But we are very pleased with the outcome, and the buggy’s owner was thrilled when she finally got to drive it again (immediately noting that it actually shifted!). Seeing people happy with the results always makes us happy, too. And just in time for convertible weather!
Next up was a friend who brought us his transmission to have a Quaife differential installed in it. I haven’t seen his project yet, but it’s a custom flatbed Bug truck with a Corrado engine. He will really enjoy the handling better with this Quaife.
And to quell the rumors (or maybe start them?) we have indeed uncovered the Green Booger and have commenced prep. Slowly, anyway, as we have time for it. It has been fun working on the Booger again. Alas, I forgot to tell Ken Porter of Porter’s Precision I planned to paint it green as well, but he did a nice job painting it black while refreshing it. So black it will stay for now!
As we have time to do so, we have been working on a complete tear down of a 1973 VW Thing (T181). Acquired from the second owner, who purchased it in 1975, it had been sitting for quite some time. To do it right, we took it completely down to square 1 – just the tunnel, and even only partial of that! In the long run, it will make this Thing much more reliable as we will be will addressing every single part of it.
So as we continue work on this, we’ll post updates. The ultimate plan is for link-pin suspension with Fox shocks and fully caged, among other things.
Thanks for reading!
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