OT: Working on my shop car, The wagon Porsche never built. . . Options

[Cap'n Krusty]

Having had a bad experience with hydraulic hand brakes, I would caution you to be VERY careful with it. If it's tied into the main braking system, the heated fluid contracts as it cools and releases pressure. You could find your car in the street in the middle of the night as I did. Beyond that flaw, it's illegal (DOT) to use the main braking system as a parking brake.

The Cap'n

[aircooledtechguy]

One thing that consistently bugs me about ALL A/C VWs is that there are no cup holders in the car. Typical aftermarket one-size-fits-none solutions generally suck and are flimsy. The Squarsche needed a set, so I came up with these (after seeing sixnotfour's cool drink cup), which could be the words fastest cup holders. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) I made them out of a pair of un-usable Porsche 911 Nikasil-coated Aluminum cylinders. I first TIG welded them together, added a piece of pinch-welt to the base (from an old set of beetle pop-outs I had) and then mounted them to a bracket I welded to the tunnel to keep them from moving around while driving. They fit a large McDonald's coffee (Mmmmmmmm. . .) great as well as any of the drink cups.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1348758346.1.jpg)
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1348758347.2.jpg)

[aircooledtechguy]

I finally got the opportunity to make a mount for the seat heater switch and the cruise control switch (though I haven’t yet mounted that). I didn’t want it to be visible from the outside and didn’t want to cut big holes in the dash, so I made a 4 sided box and a pair of brackets and mounted it all to the side of the passenger seat mount between the mount and the tunnel. It’s ergonomic for yours truly to reach as I drive and that was a must. I ran most of the wires down the tunnel so they won’t be visible and won’t interfere with carpet later.

So how do the new seat heaters feel??. . . Aaaaahhhhhh, so nice on a cold morning and they have really turned cold as of late which was part of my motivation. It takes about 2 minutes for them to heat-up and then it’s pure heaven with 10 adjustment settings. I can definitely see my lower back getting a therapeutic benefit from this upgrade. New car amenities in an old package; gotta love that combo!! If you’re planning to re-do your front upholstery anyway, these are worth the $80-$100 for the set of elements, the switch and the wiring.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1353959233.1.jpg)
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1353959233.2.jpg)

[JRust]

Nice! Love heated seats in the good old PNW. Excellent add on (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif)

[Chris Pincetich]

OMG I want cup holders like those! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[aircooledtechguy]

Big changes coming to the ProVolks shop car. . .

I've taken it off the road for the foreseeable future to complete the final body mods to fit the wheels, brakes and front-end under it. I'm begining with the rear-end since it's the easiest. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

Brakes: I recently scored a complete rear-end off a Porsche 924 turbo so i could switch to Porsche wheels and brakes the right way. Since I already had IRS rear-end under it, I just swapped out the backing plates and the hub assembly. At this time I didn't swap the stub axle since I the stub is identical other than the CV required. Since I already had that sorted out, I figured, why bother at this time??

New brakes mocked-up:

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1362459160.1.jpg)

Mocked-up with 17"x8" 40ET Porsche wheels w/ 235-50-17 wheels w/ the 23mm factory spacers:

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1362459160.2.jpg)

Mocked-up with 17"x8" 40ET Porsche wheels w/ 235-50-17 wheels w/o spacers:

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1362459161.3.jpg)

On the ground (yeah, it's on the fenders):

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1362459161.4.jpg)

A glimpse of the old and new:

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1362459162.5.jpg)

I'm gonna have to stretch the rear fenders about 2.5" - 3" in order to get everything to fit. I'm going to be doing all the body work with these over-sized tires AND the factory spacers so that there's plenty of clearance ion the inner side (which was tight without the spacers). When completed, I plan to run slightly smaller tires on these rims, but also this will allow me to run 17'/18" BBS LM wheels if they should ever present themselves for a good price. 8)

So much debauchery; so little time!!

[aircooledtechguy]

Friday, a friend of mine came by the shop to help me out with removing the damaged front clip off the ’67 Square. Originally I was going to just run what I had and body work it, but I soon discovered that the clip was pushed back almost ¼” on the drivers side making it all not square underneath and preventing the fenders from mounting properly. What I have planned for the front suspension requires it to be 100% square, so the old had to go.

We began by removing the fenders. Then made a series of careful measurements so as to ensure repeatability from one side to the other. Then marked the front-end with cut lines. Then taped the cut lines and cut along them with a cut-off wheel.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1363738722.1.jpg)

Won’t be driving fro a while until this gets back on. How’s that for adding some motivation??

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1363738722.2.jpg)

I’ve currently got about ½” overlap which will be slightly trimmed to about ¼”. Then I’m going to flange the rear side with a flanging tool so I can properly overlap and weld the pieces back together on either side. This method should make a super strong re-connection.

Had to stop on a clients car early due to waiting on a part, so I put the rest of the day to good use.

I prepped the edge of the cut on the body with a 2" wheel down to bare metal. repeated this to the replacement clip section. Then brought out the flanging tool which is air driven. It makes a nice off-set flange so you can slightly overlap metal to be welded. Makes for a nicer joint in the end and is easier to fit pieces too.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1363738722.3.jpg)

Once the body was flanged, I test fit it and double-checked the key measurements. Then triple-checked them again. Then tacked it in place. . .

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1363738722.4.jpg)

Then mounted the hood for a test fit before final welding. . . PERFECT!!

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1363738722.5.jpg)

Now I have to finish weld both sides after I get another bottle of shielding gas.

[VaccaRabite]

Badassed!

[Kirmizi]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

[RickS]

This is good stuff!

[audio_file]

I'm such a sucker for (all) wagons, love it!

[914werke]

Break out the Teener front end!

[aircooledtechguy]

Break out the Teener front end!

Patients Rich, patients. . . (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

I gotta get the foundation layed before I can start the major surgury.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif) Once this front clip is welded on, I will have no excuses for not tackeling the front suspension.

[aircooledtechguy]

Am I missing something here????? :shock: The "point of no return cut" takes place. . .

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1365011759.1.jpg)
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1365011759.2.jpg)

The lid is ready to come off on my plans for the front-end. Out with the old beam, in with highly tunable Porsche 914/911 front suspension. :twisted: Don't worry, the center beam will be powder coated like all the rest once any mods that need to take place happen first.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1365011759.3.jpg)

Mocked-up to the general position where this front-end will call home from now on. Before that happens, MUCH prep work will take place beginning with boxing in the area that was cut out in order to gain back the strength.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1365011759.4.jpg)

The fun continues. . . 8)

[VaccaRabite]

...Porsche 911 Nikasil-coated Aluminum cylinders. I first TIG welded them together, added a piece of pinch-welt to the base (from an old set of beetle pop-outs I had) and then mounted them to a bracket I welded to the tunnel to keep them from moving around while driving. They fit a large McDonald's coffee (Mmmmmmmm. . .) great as well as any of the drink cups.

I was thinking about this today.
Wouldn't this set up effectively make hot drinks cool and cold drinks warm a lot faster then usual? After all, those jugs are made to shed heat quickly.

Zach

[aircooledtechguy]

I was thinking about this today.
Wouldn't this set up effectively make hot drinks cool and cold drinks warm a lot faster then usual? After all, those jugs are made to shed heat quickly.

Zach

You're way over-thinking these cup holders. . . (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif)

[aircooledtechguy]

Made a fair bit of progress today. Made the box-in section for the frame horns to regain the strength. I made the load bearing part out of 1/4" thick flat stock. The rest that actually goes up the front of the horns is 1/8" steel. Once I have it all tacked in place, I'll be boxing-in the outer edges where the center truss mounts. I plan to tie it into the body of the car with plates and gussets since this is where 80% of the stress is on this front-end.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1365125066.1.jpg)

Here's a couple shots after I raised it up in place so I could see how it would all fit in the car. I can already tell that I will need to make a small pocket for the aft end of the torsion bars and clearance the bottom of the frame horns where the strut arms connect. The shock struts are approx where they will be mounted, eventually. . . (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1365125066.2.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1365125067.3.jpg)

[aircooledtechguy]

I finally got the Porsche front mounts that I cut from a derelict 914 trimmed down and prepped for mock-up. In these shots, they are mounted to the a-arms and the whole lower front-end is mocked in place so I could get a really good look at where the cut lines will need to be made. These will be recessed into the nose at the rear about 3/4", but will need to be boxed outward significantly at the front. I'm going to first recess the rear edge so that it fits correctly. Then after that is done, then I can tackle the box structure in the front.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1365525972.1.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1365525972.2.jpg)

The material it's boxed with will be the same .75" (2.0mm) sheet that the Porsche mounts are made from. This will then have plates on the inside that tie it all to the body and pan via the upper frame horns. So far everything is going according to my sick plans. . . (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

[aircooledtechguy]

Made a ton of progress this Saturday. Here are the highlights:

- Finished the main front-end support.
- Welded said support to the frame head.
- Located front mounts on body and cut recesses for them.
- Fabricated and welded front mount supports that box them in and tie them to the front-end.

I started off with the main support. I had that basically made (all the hard stuff anyway), I really needed to make the relief cuts on the fwd corners so it didn’t interfere with the movement of the A-arms. With that finished, I decided that I could no longer put off mounting this piece to the car.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1367247839.1.jpg)

Everything else depends on this piece, so I really took my time to get it aligned with the center line of the car and to immovable points on the pan; Points that I knew would have to have been very accurate when the pan was made on the jig at the factory. With it all spot-on, double-checked, triple-checked and one more check for good luck, I tacked it into place and then made another check. With it still good, I began laying beads of weld to make it all permanent.

After that was in place, I attached the main support beam and slipped in the A-arms so I could then locate where those would mount. On the under side of the sheet metal, I carefully measured for center line and then measured out from there. The torsion tubes are just less than 26” apart (center to center), so I marked out the centers for those and began marking the rear edge of the relief that would need to be cut in order for them to sit straight and level on the multi-curved surface. I also had to cut a relief so that I could use a 2.5” piece of tube cut in half so that the tops of the torsion bars could pass through the bottom edge of the front apron.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1367247839.2.jpg)
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1367247839.3.jpg)

Once all that was done, I needed to make the fwd sheet metal that would box-in the front of the mounts. Rather than begin with sheet metal, it’s a lot easier and quicker to make a template out of cardboard. After some careful measurements, I was able to make this cardboard template in about 15 minutes and it fit pretty well.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1367247839.4.jpg)
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1367247839.5.jpg)

The next step was to transfer this to my metal and fabricate a pair. The metal I used was pretty thick; .065” mild steel. I need these mounts to be extra heavy duty and at least as thick as the metal that the mounts themselves are make from. This is how they turned out.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1367247839.6.jpg)

Once I got them placed exactly where they needed to be, I used the hole puncher and made a series of holes in the mounting flanges. This way I could not only weld the out side but get some rosette welds inside. These cannot come loose!! Then I welded them in place one at a time indexing off my center line mark.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1367247839.7.jpg)
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1367247839.8.jpg)

Happily, they are exactly the same distance apart at the front as they are at the main support tube. So far, I believe it should align and track straight since everything is done exactly as planned (whew!!).

I didn’t have time to box-in the inside of the front since I ran out of welding gas.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1367247839.9.jpg)

No big deal since I was out of time and tired!! I did bolt everything on since it’s not going anywhere at this point. Here’s the first look from underneath.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1367247839.10.jpg)

All in all a good day. . .

[Dr Evil]

Dibs if you ever sell this (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)