Bug to Butterfly

[sc5080]

Satin finish the fins, same for the inlet, black the rest....

Thanks for the visual Doc. I like the look and seeing it really helps.

I finally got the distributor done ... decided to go old school with a Mallory YL marine distributor but it had to be modified to clear the carb. Unfortunately the crab cap didn't fit and the body of the distributor had to be machined and a different rotor found. Also had some difficulty locating the correct advance springs. At least the Pertronix Ignitor III fit correctly. In the end I should have bought an MSD crab cap distributor and used the brand new MSD Digital 6 box that I have on the shelf. I would have saved money but that wasn't the setup that I wanted.

And don't get me started on what it cost to modify the old school Offenhauser 360 intake to make it fit the heads. Didn't realize when the deal was made to buy them that the Patriot heads had raised intake ports. Had to weld up the tops of the runners to cover the ports and then port the intake runners to match the heads. The machinist did a fantastic job of making it look like nothing had been done but it didn't come cheap. The 1" spacers raise the carbs up enough to clear the modified distributor. A new tunnel ram would have saved me money but it wasn't what I wanted.

The retrofit hydraulic roller cam with .580 lift and 223* @ 50 (282* adv) on the intake using a 1.6 ratio roller rocker and .525 lift with 235* @ 50 (294* adv) using a 1.5 ratio rocker coupled with 10.8:1 compression makes this engine only slightly less radical than what I put in the dragster for my daughter to drive. That car runs in the 8's at 150+ mph and weighs only a couple of hundred pounds less that what I expect the bug to weigh.

In the end it looks great and will perform even better. Its what I wanted but my wallet is crying! Someday I'll have to learn to be satisfied with a stock rebuild which would have made more that enough power for the lightweight bug. Silly me! LOL

Forgive my rant ... I'm really not feeling that sorry for myself even if I might sound like it.

 

[sc5080]

Chasing around the garage floor mounting tires by hand is a form of masochism with which I was not previously acquainted. Definitely not for the faint of heart. But now I can start mocking up ride height, suspension, engine and body placement.

I picked up the 195/60-15's at a garage sale for $10. The 255/60-15's I had out in the shed and the rims were originally bought for the "sheets & giggles" altered.

 

[sc5080]

The first session of "where should this go". Clearance under the frame is about 12" at front and 12 3/4" at the rear. It looks like its sitting a little to high but I'm not sure. I'm thinking that a small Z might be in order for the front and a higher kick up for the rear. What height would be correct for a street rod? Wheelbase for this setup is 102".

 

[Old Iron]

Usually a 6" Z in the front and a 16" Z in the back will get you where you want to be.
I'd also use a drop front spring perch, say 2.5 to 3"

 

[earthman]

............[P

 

[sc5080]

Thanks for the advice Old Iron. I will be doing a Z in the frame .. just haven't gotten up the nerve to do it yet!

I did decide on a somewhat different direction for the front cross member. At our local swap meet I picked up a reproduction 32 Ford cross member and decided it would work better for me. I narrowed it to fit, cut off the round cross member and then cut out the inside of the frame rails so that the new cross member could fit inside. Leveled it all out as best I could, made sure it was square and then welded the 32 cross member into place. It is welded inside and out so I was able to clean up the welds that show. I plan to make frame extensions coming forward to better mimic the old style frames but haven't got the material on hand yet to do it. Anyway, the pics show where I am now.

Slow going on this one with everything else that is happening around here. I've been focusing on trying to get a shop built this summer and that process is far more difficult than I imagined.

 

[sc5080]

This one arrived today. Gives me all the glass and hardware I was missing and enough body parts that I can make a mistake or two while I try to fabricate what I want for the Bug project. Once I get it all ripped apart the engine, trans and anything else I won't be using will be for sale.

 

[Skip]

This one arrived today. Gives me all the glass and hardware I was missing and enough body parts that I can make a mistake or two while I try to fabricate what I want for the Bug project. Once I get it all ripped apart the engine, trans and anything else I won't be using will be for sale.

You know this one is a Super Beetle, right? It won't have as many interchangeable parts as you may hope.

 

[05snopro440]

You know this one is a Super Beetle, right? It won't have as many interchangeable parts as you may hope.

Looks like the main differences were from the windshield forward, so it may not be too big of a deal?

 

[Bamamav]

Super had a strut front end and a curved windshield, except for 71 and maybe 72 which still had a flat glass. Super also has a different dash. Everything from front doors back will interchange 58-76. That one looks like a flat windshield one, but I can't tell too good from the pics. I fooled with Bugs for years, have about forgot everything I knew about them.

 

[Skip]

Super had a strut front end and a curved windshield, except for 71 and maybe 72 which still had a flat glass. Super also has a different dash. Everything from front doors back will interchange 58-76. That one looks like a flat windshield one, but I can't tell too good from the pics. I fooled with Bugs for years, have about forgot everything I knew about them.

Me, too. Supers were still new and rare when I got out of the working on bugs business, so I didn't have too much to forget about them.

 

[sc5080]

Thanks for the info Skip and Bamamav ... I really don't know very much about VW's. I thought it might be a Super because it has the strut front end. I checked the serial number and it appears that this one is an early (January) 1971 production. The windshield has a very slight curve in it when I hold a straight edge against it. It looks flat and you can't see the curve otherwise.

With the amount of slicing and dicing I am planning to do I don't know if it will make much difference which body I wind up using in the end. The older one is still my preference since it has a much nicer cowl shape and I have a title for it. Hopefully the windshield will fit but maybe I can merge the two and make it work. Find out when I get there. [S

One thought was to use the front of this one to make the back of the other one and then shorten the roof to make a 2 seat coupe. That might be beyond my skill but I won't know if I don't try.

 

[forbigpicture]

That might be beyond my skill but I won't know if I don't try.[/QUOTE]

I like the way you're thinking ....[cl[cl

[P[P

 

[Skip]

One thought was to use the front of this one to make the back of the other one and then shorten the roof to make a 2 seat coupe. That might be beyond my skill but I won't know if I don't try.

Now that is an idea I like a lot. Maybe shorten the super hood a bit in the process. [cl

 

[smallfoot]

It would not be beyond your skill as long as you keep the desire!

 

[sc5080]

Its been a long time since I added anything to this thread but I haven't given up on the project. Progress is intermittent since life keeps getting in the way. Here are some pics of what has been done .... the frame has been Z'ed and the I've started on the body. Still have to cut the tops off the doors. I decided to use the newer bug simply because I have a windshield for it. I am also getting a chance to learn how to use the shrinker/stretcher that I recently bought. Absolutely thrilled to see the pieces turn out usable! Hopefully progress will start to be a little more frequent going forward.

 

[DozerII]

Good to see your progress, for the price the shrinker/stretchers work great.

[cl[cl[P[P[P

 

[sc5080]

Continuing to work on the cowl. Its coming out OK ... and bondo will hide all my sins.

I'm trying to decide how much I like this idea ... it will be a lot more work than a box but might turn out kind of cool ????? Still have to take the tops off the doors to get the full effect.

 

[bob w]

Nice frame. Isn't all that sheet metal bending, welding and grinding fun? Not sure about that last pic.

 

[joedoh]

if I squint I can see it, and I like it, the vw hood should give it a boat tail look with outrigger fenders, eh? maybe find some teardrop looking fenders, 4 of em, and weld pairs together. [cl[cl