Bolton

Got the pan and body finally bolted together with all the weatherstripping and stuff. Very happy how it all lined up so far. The extra tubing to front fork aligns very well to the beam center and thanks to Tomi got good clamps for mating those together. All there is really before welding those and back tubes to pan is to fabricate some extra diagonals from the main beam to the tunnel. Should get that done this week.

Made some seat attachments by using regular furniture tubing and steel profiles. They feel very solid even without the front attachment points. Seat angle, position and maneuvering the shifter and pedals feel to be about there, hard to say when the car is not moving and your speed is 0kmh... There is an adjustment on the clips to raise the seat for 3cm but I think I will not be using it. Sitting pretty high as it is now. Lower than original seat height of course.

Plumbing

Some images below of the fuel piping. Since the NHRA rules don't allow the lines to run inside the car and rounting them under the pan would be unsafe I looked into getting them inside the tunnel. Just like the original line does. Getting 2x 1/2'' lines inside the tunnel ain't that easy. Wanted to make them replaceable so they're clamped with rubber clamps via maintenance holes at the top. Will plug the holes with plastic sewage plugs before carpetting. The fuel pipes are one piece, only 1 fitting on both is inside the tunnel at the front where it turns 90 deg and exits. Found some suitable AN bulkhead fittings. A real pain to tighten them and install but in theory they are replaceable as planned. At the back there was very little room between the tranny and cage but they should work after a few mock ups very well...

Back on all 4 feet

Got the car back on it wheels last week. To be honest, without the problems with our garage heating system and the being forced to move the stuff around, it would still not be there. Nevertheless, here we are. Some images of the stance below. Does not look too bad at all, some adjustments have to be made with the front axle since the tie rods are hitting the extra tubes of the safety cage and for some reason the shell mounting brackets on the beam are not like the originals... Anyways, not really that bad. Looking really forward into getting the car assembly going. There is a barely non-existing chance of maybe testing the car later after the summer. Not really likely but still...

Pan Wrks

Despite the non existing blog updates some work has been done over the past few months. There was a few issues to be sorted with the pan, especially the fuel lines. But now since I've got it "all" sorted out got it welded back together and paint prep is on the way, just in time for the new years... I'm waiting eagerly to get the car on its feet again with the new 4'' narrowed front beam. Very interesting to see how the front works since 2'' narrow beam was just not working. I've got one off the shelve beam with urethane bushings since I did not want to make a custom one, for now. Might have to, depending how it all goes. Hopefully get to show you some mock up images early in January...

Painters deligt

Timewise it all went bust, but that's no news when it comes to car building... I think the shell was at the painters for about half a year. Nevertheless, it came back and results are really pleasing. It was, and I said it loud and clear, one of the highlights in vw hobbyists life. There is just something about getting a rough shell back with a smooth shiny finish. Resurrection time!!! A few images below. Hopefully I get to assembly stage soon. Some work still with the pan before the "marriage".

Fittin' and weldin'

At this moment I feel pretty damn good. The roll cage is mostly done, some minor additions and touch ups before paint. This surely eases some pressure from Christmas holidays. Fitting the tubes was easy but it still took loads of time to get it right. And by now means this is to be considered as a "one man job". My garage mate Tomi helped me through the toughest spots. Maybe if you had some previous experience and suitable tube "clamps" or such one could make it alone. But I think another eye pair is welcome when checking the symmetry and angles right. Not to forget all the speculations of the available options that one could escalate the build into.

Since I'm not really a good welder by any standards I'm not including any glorious detail shots of the perfect seams. Instead I want to appraise the borrowed Kemppi mig welding machine. I did not think there would be a big difference between different types but my god was I wrong. This Kempomat was a really old one, but then again, basic mig welders have only gone plastic over the last few years and yes, they've become lighter also. Our garage mate Iiro was kind enough to lend me his Kemppi for the final welds session. He had obtained this machine after getting a hint from one of the Kemppi sales people that these old ones go from "father to son". I can believe that, really. With my none existing welding skills I was able to obtain some pretty damn perfect seams on trial pieces. It did not really have any hiccups no matter how we tried to off tune it. ;) So the final seams on the actual cage should have been easy right? I guess the difficulty comes from the non ergonomic positions when doing it. Some of the seams you can't get to and some spots are just too tight or you can't see or... List goes on. Still, very happy with the results.

Ah yes, and the cage itself is built to comply FHRA specs. Diagonal tubes from the main arc to main frame are still missing and some extra tubes to front axle will be added. I believe the horizontal tube just below the dash is not required either but it does make sense doesn't it?  This set proofed to be a snug fit with the shell. I wish the old RL would sell similar style with his CroMo cages. But that would not be "Unisex" then would it?

Tubular works

Fitting a roll cage is nothing familiar to me. Cost and time wise I think there is really no excuse on making it by yourself. Still, new things give me the thrills and I ended up buying a few gadgets to help me with the task. I believe there are a few "form combs" on the market for different size pipes if one decides to fit the pipes the hard way. I took an el cheapo short cut and got a Woodward Fab tube notcher. Must have been something around 100 e for the tool and "experts" on the web say it's pretty much bs. I must say first thoughts on the tool are very positive. Of course there are fancier solutions on the market but as I wasn't planning on making a business out of cage fitting this looks to be more than good enough. One does need a strong hand held drill machine that revs around 800 rpm or so. The tool uses regular hole saw bits available on most tool shops. Below are some images of after we got started. I'm very pleased that the main arc sits just behind the b-post. front arcs could have gone slightly forward but then there would have been some more dash painting issues so this will have to do.

The cage is an old mild steel set made by former company Hewiset. All in all, the fit is quite good and tight. Bender was needed to get the fit up to FHRA specs. Original dimensions on the main arch would have required mounting straight to heater channel and we were aiming to mount them on basic 3mm plates on the floor pan.