Hi there, folks! I've been poking around here for a little while and I've been over on TheSamba for a while. My buggy is probably a Linton... no ID tags or stickers anywhere, but a few spots in the gel coat that are near as faded as the rest of it. MY BUILD THREAD has been going for about three years now but I've had the body for about eleven at this point. Figured I'd share the build here as well being that this is apparently where the cool kids are hanging out. A few of you might remember my Beetle from the stop in Alexandria during the ECVW '15 trip...
Anyhow, the buggy! Here's a quick run down...
That brings things up to now. I made up the front bumper today. Everything on the buggy has been done by me so far and I plan to keep it that way. It's starting to look complete but there still so many little maintenance things that need taking care of before it's road worthy. Brakes... wiring... going through the engine... everything. Been a fun project thus far though. Albeit a long one, but it just might get done some day.
Howdy folks! Back on the buggy today. Had a real humid week! The newly finished but unpainted front bumper turned a little orange. A quick scuff, prime, and paint solved that problem. It'll probably get another few coats in the future, but for now it'll keep it looking nice. Had to throw the headlights back on for a finished look. I also found a 1965 license plate in my stack of plates... not sure where it came from, but it was in there.
As for the rear, I returned to the failed attempt at the front bumper and kept going with it. It's all the same angles as the front so I think it matches really well. It grew legs...
... and then some other stuff happened...
Mounts that need some cleaning up and straightening...
Future tie-ins for the cage...
Depending on how loud the exhaust is... whenever that happens that I find out... the exhaust might change. It's not near as tight as the pictures look at the top of the "mufflers" but I like the idea of hacking them off and adding a couple of small real mufflers in their place. I need to pull it off and fully weld everything, but until then...
Thanks! As for today... well... ... this little car was kicking me square in the ass. Last winter I was drilling and tapping into the pan to finish bolting down the body. I broke a tap off and decided to work on something else. Remember that?... I sure didn't until today. Pulled the body off... welded a nut on... turned the broken tap right out. Neat! The front needed a couple more bolts to keep the foot well in place. One side went just fine. The other side was a repeat performance of last winter. Fine... got another nut... welded it on what was sticking up of the tap... and started to turn it out. Nope. Stuck in there tight. Gave it a dozen or so more shots before throwing in the towel. Not sure what I'll try next but it needs to come out.
With my tail between my legs, I figured I'd finish welding the new rear bumper. Nothing complicated about that, but that's what I wanted.
It's amazing how fast one of these little plastic cars can go from a pile of steel and fiberglass to a car-looking thing. This afternoon I got back to tapping those holes. Lots of oil... brand new and sharp tap... no problems today. That allowed me to completely fasten down the body. First time I've even been able to do that! Must of the fiberglass still needs to relax to the point of being completely tight to the chassis, but it's a start. It's been outside for a few sunny days, but it's really due now. The lights went on along with the windshield. Funny thing about that... I always knew that I had the windshield installed backwards looking back at old pictures, so I tried to put it on the correct way with the channel around the glass facing forward. Wouldn't you know it... it wouldn't go on. The seal at the bottom of the windshield was also backwards and the mounting holes didn't line up. Whoever put together the windshield in the first place put it together all wrong. Granted, I like how it looks with the windshield installed backwards, but it'll sure make it difficult when it comes time to figure out a top.
The tape is still there waiting for me to figure out what I want to do with the rear body lines. Of the few pictures I've found of other bodies like mine, they just don't look right. I'm not a fan of cutting up a buggy body, but this one has really been around the block a few times already. The suspension kind of bugs me too. Not sure if I should raise the rear or to lower the front. Once the metal work is done I should have a better idea of where the weight will be sitting in the car.
I had the wife come out and take a few angles with me in the car too. This let me play around with lines and different angles for the future cage. Kind of difficult though... I'm tall and I don't want the car to look too cartoonish. Here's what I'm thinking on that...
Yup... not a whole lot one can do to jazz up the lines of a cage in a buggy when wanting to keep things somewhat simple. She snapped one last picture that I couldn't help but compare to 2004.
If you are even thinking about a body lift for off-road clearance, do that first before you build the cage. Otherwise the cage won't fit right if you do the cage and then the lift (the lift also helps raise the windshield for tall people).
Nope. Last winter I added 1/2" to the frame to get just a little bit more clearance where I needed it. I like the look of taller buggies, but more so in the squared off fender Manx styles. For mine, I like the look of a fat tire and a lowered stance. I'd love to find a taller windshield, but it's not totally necessary. Seat position as shown is all the way back is is very comfortable for me. The current windshield height is fine as long as the rest of the made up numbers for the cage work out.
Kind of a step forward today... kind of. The car got moved back into my shop for winter and I couldn't help but feel a little "meh" about how the fuel tank ended up. I just hated the patches! So...
Fresh and new! Yes... yes... I know it would've been way easier to order up a new tank and make it work, but then I'd still have to cut it up and make it fit. This way I could make it exactly how wanted, keep the seems mostly clean, add some more capacity, and have yet another piece of the puzzle that started as a pile of steel.
Made the most of the space I had.
Fuel cap for future reference.
Bent around the arm on the stock fuel float so I've got full sweep out of it. What's kind of funny about the filler neck is that this whole project started off with scrapping a rusty fuel tank from an old lawn mower. I cut the top off of it and whittled it down to just the fill hole.
And then everything got put back together again... again. Started going through my box of parts and the windshield wiper motor was right on top. Scratch another item off the list for mock up!
Played around with a ratchet strap today trying to figure out what I want to do with the suspension under this thing. I'll either go up with the rear or down with the front. I'm leaning towards down in the front with a set of drop spindles when I do the brakes.
"Stock"...
2.5" drop...
"Stock"...
2.5" drop...
Looks like there should be enough travel left in the suspension that the tires stay out of the fenders. I'm looking at going with a heavier sway bar up front too. I like these big tubby tires, but I might go with a size smaller when the time comes just for good measure.
When you lower the car, you have to worry about more than when the tires a straight ahead. Will you also have clearance when the wheels are turned and you hit a bump? If you remember Kathleen's Manxter at our stop with you in Alexandria, it looked like it could go lower, but we rub the tires under turns and uneven pavement. Tom
When not playing around with plastic cars, I'm playing with dirty Jeeps over rocks. Articulation is everything! Proper bump stops (and sway bars in the case of the buggy) also play a part. In between taking pictures I was moving things around the floor jack and turning the tires with a few sand bags on the hood to simulate a full fuel tank. Took another ratchet strap to get each side to full bump also. It'll be close with the balloon tires, but I think everything will clear.
All else fails, I'l take it out where I take my Jeep to check for tire clearance.
Started on this little project today. The whole way along, I really wasn't crazy about how it was turning out. I kept plugging along though... you know, hoping for things to turn around. What was really bugging me about it is that the lines just weren't quite right for a buggy. Mainly the main hoop behind the seats is what wasn't really doing it for me. The lines in the rear was what fixed everything, in my eyes anyhow. Still not the typical lines of a buggy though. Maybe they are? I don't know... I think it's more go-cart or race car than buggy. Anyhow...
Did you notice?... the main hoop has a seem in it. I won't tell if you don't. I did a similar mod to my HF bender that Joe did and it doesn't get close enough to 90* before things start to go south. Besides that, I'm really diggin' the look though. Really took on a new look today. Need to pick up some more material though. That's 40' minus a few feet of mistakes.
A few of you might remember my Beetle from the stop in Alexandria during the ECVW '15 trip...
... this little car was kicking me square in the ass. Last winter I was drilling and tapping into the pan to finish bolting down the body. I broke a tap off and decided to work on something else. Remember that?... I sure didn't until today. Pulled the body off... welded a nut on... turned the broken tap right out. Neat! The front needed a couple more bolts to keep the foot well in place. One side went just fine. The other side was a repeat performance of last winter. Fine... got another nut... welded it on what was sticking up of the tap... and started to turn it out. Nope. Stuck in there tight. Gave it a dozen or so more shots before throwing in the towel. Not sure what I'll try next but it needs to come out.
Time to get going on it again.
I did a similar mod to my HF bender that Joe did and it doesn't get close enough to 90* before things start to go south. Besides that, I'm really diggin' the look though. Really took on a new look today. Need to pick up some more material though. That's 40' minus a few feet of mistakes.