Bottoms Up!

So where to start, where to start…? In a project like this there is so much to do that you’d almost need a guide to take you through it all. But as the saying goes “you start from the bottom up” works fine in this case also. Since there was no floor pans and most of the bottom section of the shell is totally out of shape it makes sense to tackle with the main frame and then adjust the shell to it. Sounds like a piece of cake doesn’t it? I’m sure this’ll take a few mäyräköiras to go with but one has to bite the bullet. Since my welding skills were non existing anyhow this would also be a great way to learn some new things…
And when it comes to mäyräkoira, for those of you not familiar with the current Finnish beer scene, the included image should explain a few things about it and I’m sure you’ll get it eventually after having a few on your own. ;)

Pussihousutus

I did already some explaining on the issue of "baggypants" people. I do have to admit that I have some such symptoms every now and then. After the decision to dig into the split welding for a while there was a void of cruising transportation and the old disease hit me again. I went out looking for a 911 again. Did that a few years ago and it ended in disasted after a sure deal went bad, I mean really bad. Still gets me pissed of so I'm not going into that this time. Just remember what Leo Gets says in the "Leathal Weapon X" - "They fuck you in the drive through!" That surely goes with lots of things these days...

So went out shopping and found a pristine condition 69 911T, and really just fell for it instantly. Used to belong to a TV production head man sometime in early 70's and has been treated nicely over time. OG color was Green but in this case I'm not complaining of this altered color choise even though metallics are not my fav. The car had all the S extras installed when it left the factory and the RS front spoiler. Runs smoothly but burns lots of gas at this moment. Needs a complete tune up, after that I'm pretty sure it feels miles better... I assume it will give me the patience to complete the split as planned. One nice thing about this 911 is that I can hardly do anything to it since it's a historic plates car and should remain original all the way.

What's behind?

Since I have done my share of VW's before getting involved with the split project, I thought to share a few things on the issue. I used to think that it all started with my 1968 standard in 1995 but how wrong was I? 2 years ago I got a surprice present from my parents - it was a framed drawing by myself done in '92 while studying in Phoenix, AZ. Well that was a trip! I had drawn a california style 1967 beetle with 5 spoke EMPIs and once piece windows... How about that! I wonder what else is coming back once I start digging? ;)

Well the first beetle I owned was a half done 68. Kind of ruined for good, but still unaware and clueless of the rest of the world I went ahead and finished it. Soon realized that this is not me and ended up selling it in 2002. Bought a ragtop oval window. Went ahead with a traditional cal look scheme, 356 wheels and OG interior etc. Really a nice ride that I drove for 2 years all together. Actually went all the way to UK with the car. It performed flawlessly all the way. Really miss that car. Sad stuff to see men weep isn´t it?? A few images on the side of the oval. It was a Nile Beige original. 34horse engine with a magneto and merged. That combo delivered some awesome mileage and reliability...

But, in every enthusiasts life, there comes a day when you have to do something extreme and I quess this split racing thing is just that for me! Everything else becomes just boring and pointless. Faster pussycat, Faster!!!

Scheme

It's been a real delight to see some ancient iron racing equipment on the track. Seems that even though prices of 50's VW's have exploded people still have the courage to do the "nasty" every now and then... I do have a heart for an unspoiled historic piece of automobile history but since my project was a heap and collection of "non-matching" parts I did not hesitate on this. I'm sure there are a few purists out there who could have tried to save this piece of junk... ;) We call these guys "baggy trousers" referring to traditional mens trousers in the early 1900. You wont find that in directory, trust me on that one.

Anyway, there have been a few cars which I've really liked on these last years. One of them, the all so famous "Last Project" from France. Maybe a bit too high in finish quality for my taste but still pure and simple, raw and powerful piece of machinery. A shame that we did not see it go fast, really fast. Check out the drama if you have not seen it yet! http://s.hutchings.free.fr/l76/l76.mov

Of course I've been moved by the Rat movement and hoodrides alike. On my previous projects ('68 and '56 T1) I've tried to get that paint and chrome finish pretty "bling" but on a car which is driven daily or just plain fast it seems pointless - after a few days I usually end up scratching the fenders with tools or such. All that frustration just leads to excessive beer drinking! And who could cope with that?!! So to sum this all up. And you already quessed it, a non noncense full on race car with a hint of nostalgia with all the tried and true combos attached. No hipo cpu junk should ever touch this car. Maybe a good kick on the side every now and then if it does not perform as agreed!! Little sketch attached to bring some ideas to light. PastelGreen with tear and wear visible, chrome either removed or really beat up. Sure this one keeps changing but I'll keep it posted :)

Core...

So the only little obstacle seemed to be finding the right kind of a core for the project. Sometime in July '06 we went to take a look at a 1950 split bug with a 3 fold rag top. It was also the 3rd oldest officially imported bug in Finland. The ragtop was not original for the car but rarely ever happens with nothern cars. All in all it sounded really promising. The slight problem was that it was quite rotten. Then again most of the projects floating about are quite flimsy and no straight as arrows solid pieces are found that often. Well the nice thing about this one was that nothing was hidden underneath coats of bad paint or underseal. Another nice thing was that all the little pieces came with the car. Only the "very rare" ragtop handle was missing and interiorlight glass... No interior was included either, but since this piece was to become a 1/4 mile beast I was not really worried about them sea weed sofas. ;) The deal was done after little finance issues. I finally got the car to Helsinki in mid September.

Bunny Racing?

Yeah yeah, what is this lame ass thing about? Another one of these killer ideas shining on race car doors and just trying to look as cool as those loaded guys with their chrome fan shrouds and shit... You could be right on the money. Aguess it just hit me this summer while visiting latvia when I saw this tag by a local artist about a skull with bunny ears. Might have been the local beer that I had that day but somehow it seemed to hit me like a blaster coil - fun but deadly as hell!!! That's the way this thing should be!

Duh!

So it seems everyone these days is producing blogs to share some "nice" things to all. Well, I'm merely documenting my punk ass no good trip through a racing car project currently on its way. Not really sure where it is going but it should be something interesting and self rewarding to say the least...

My carage mate Santala pinned me this motivation image when I got the car inside our cave. It's a Finnish drag racer Jussi Jyränkö's baddass split doing some "mild" wheelie last summer... Kind of radical to put it mildly! Jussi came to our carage a few weeks ago and saw my project. He merely hinted that if my '50 would do the same next summer I would surely get a nice reward of that stunt... ;) Yeah, aguess he knew that it would never happen in that time scale...?