The hotwires were alright for that Ferrari look but this is much better.
November 7, 2001.
The car is now well and truly at home in my new garage. It's great to have a dry, well-lit place to work and to not have to pack up when it get's dark. If you can afford to do it I highly recommend it. On Saturday we (myself, Andrew and Dave) mocked the body for a six inch lift and the car now has 28inch (?) 4wd tyres on it. It looked wicked.
This week I'm working on two specific things. I've measured up the body and marked it ready for the cut prior to grafting large sections back in. I'm also working on the seat mounts.
The Garage warming.
The body is to be cut in about five spots. Firstly the whole base of the tub will be cut off six inches from the bottom. This is so that I can add about six inches of extra height to the body for really good fender clearence. The forward put of the sides will then be cut diagonally from top to bottom to add extra length for the full length pan. I thought very carefully about this and I won't cut the body until I'm sure this is the best way. I also bought quite a good fibreglassing book the other day and I'm reading all the relevant sections before I do anything major.
The seat mounts seem to be a much easier proposition. The frames my solid racing seats go on are a kit that is height adjustable. My motor engineer said they are fine and just needed to be mounted attached to a flat strap on 60x3mm steel that goes across the underside of the floor front and back with high tensile bolts holding the four mounts in place. The only concern is clearing the frame that strengthens the pan (see pictures).
Another shot of those rims.
December 8, 2001.
Sometimes this car makes me despair. Things are moving appallingly slowly. The body has been cut into about four pieces and mocked up at two different heights, those being a 7 and 6 inch lift. The 7 inch mock up lifted the car miles off the pan and made it look rather silly. Nothing short of tractor tyres would work with this height of lift. The six looked a lot better, but still a bit high. I think I'll end up with a five inch lift.
The seats cannot progress now until the body is finished. It's time to pull my finger out!
On a brighter note, Hans Klaack has finished rebuilding my gearbox. Initially he thought it was a 2ltr box with an 1800 bellhousing, however, on inspection, it seems to be a very early 2ltr box or a later 2ltr case with 1800 gears. It was in quite good condition and just needed synchros and the odd bearing. He's also doing a few minor things to the subaru motor. The attention to detail that he and his son, Peter, show is excellent. If you ever need VW stuff worked on in Sydney's south west, Klaack Motors is the place to go.
December 16, 2001.
The body is now mocked up with a five inch lift and I am beginning to make cardboard patterns for the MDF (medium density fibreboard) I am grafting in. Liz helped me do this, this afternoon, and I really enjoyed including my wife in my car obsession. While I thought about using fibre glass the MDF can be cut and shaped to the right size easily and I don't have to stuff around making my own sheets of fibre glass or forming up the body and laying on layer after layer.
The paint job looks to be heading away from orange and towards the factory sky blue(?) available on kombi's during the 70's. After a serious jaunt in the direction of metallic gold or copper a decision based in reality was made so we won't wreck the paint the first time we take it offroad. There will also probably be some racing stripes ala AC (Shelby) Cobra.
The other consideration at the moment is whether to aircondition the beast. I know, you think I've lost my mind completely. Thing is, (as John Staib would say) the motor came with a compressor and all the relevant belts and Australia does get very hot, so why not. Anything that will endear the car to my wife at this point is a major asset as far as I'm concerned. Besides it won't fog up so easily in wet weather.
