Project "little monster"

its a non sunroof model mate lol

paul_c said

I'll definitely be keeping track of the progress on yours! It looks like you're around a month ahead of me. There's lots of issues still to face which you simply don't get on a 4 cylinder conversion - for example - rev counter calibration? Speedo? How to squeeze in the radiator? etc.

Just got back in from good day on it again!!
Yeah, lucky for me a friend of mine is a whizz at auto electrics/I.C.E, so he's re wiring the hole thing for me!
As for the speedo/rev counter, you should be able to use the mk3 clocks, (at least the behinds the scene's bits) and face them however.
i'll be using the same size wheels as on the vr6 so im gambling on everything being roughly the same, give or take couple MPH..if it's not, then i'll sort it out!
Cant believe how your engine is so far over! I've used 100mm cabby shafts, connected up all the front hubs etc again to make sure it was centre etc, will be getting uprated shafts towards the end of build, also, if you need custom shocks/springs, give AVO a shout, there gonna put together a custom setup for me, mk1 coilovers, standard mk1 spings for rear and vr6 rated for the fronts to help deal with the extra weight! so it should run nice!
Liking the floodlights aswell! 8)

How much would u VR6 my mk1 for ?

Me or paul c?!!!!!!
I dont know bout paul, but mine has taken bout 1.1/2 years to get this far..but thats mainly been weekends workin on it.
I expect we could both do it again, but need to get these finished 1st to get to grips with it fully…and to total up the cost etc! we'll see!

Paul, ive just finshed making up a new removable front mount frame, which use's the bumper mountings on the chassis…will dig a picture out and PM it to you if you want?! 8)

Its too open ended for me to say a price - there's things ahead of me I haven't even worked out how to do yet! In any case, I'm not a pro mechanic, I'm taking my time and going to gradually build this car.

If you're serious, try Awesome GTI (Irlam, Manchester) or TSR (Somerset) or The Phirm, or any of the other VW tuning companies would do it. I'd be unlikely to undercut them by any significant amount, don't want to get into that kind of thing.

Its been a couple of weeks since I last worked on the car, with one thing and another. I've obtained a sheet of 2mm plate steel, to customise the chassis leg. So today, I fired up the cutter and did this:



In the end, even more was trimmed off, the mid panel also came out and I'll do a final grinding and neatening of the edges (and clean up/paint the inside areas) before welding the plate over it.


Here's the metal which was removed


Test fit number 3


The engine now sites comfortably in position, with clearance all round. Also its not too hard to fit and remove over the top, even with the gearbox in place.


Here's a shot showing the clearance available to me. Enough space to make the next bunch of tasks a lot easier.

looking good paul,

Nice work. So is the chassis leg only 2mm thick steel??

Its thinner, but the shape means its stonger, so replacing with (flattish) 2mm plate will put back the same amount of strength.

Thats good news for me, i was wondering how thick it was due to me moving the mounting bracket. I have some 2mm zintec (zinc coated steel) at work if you need any, its better than standard steel and doesn't rust  8)

staffords said

Thats good news for me, i was wondering how thick it was due to me moving the mounting bracket. I have some 2mm zintec (zinc coated steel) at work if you need any, its better than standard steel and doesn't rust  8)

Its not weldable with a MIG, though?

Not sure about that i'll look into it as i wanted to use it

A little more work done today:


I've neatened up the original cuts, going right back to the seam


cardboard template shows the shape of the custom panel


This shows how much has been removed from the chassis leg


Ready to cut from 2mm sheet steel

That brings back memories of doing my rear arches

Looking good though  8)

Rich

Another mini update, still making the custom closing panel for the narrowed chassis leg. Here it is getting cut out, that 2mm x 2m x 1m sheet of steel is heavy!


Cutting from sheet steel


The main bends put in place. Not so easy with thick sheet steel.


The flat section is strengthened at the back, using angle steel section.

that is one very well used work mate!  

bigdave said

that is one very well used work mate!  

Used and abused! I have 2 now, I bought another one this morning. Basically I've worn this one out. Its still handy for supporting the other end of long materials, painting, welding, etc.

A little more bending and shaping of the panel, now it fits nicely, and its welded in. The welds from above are beautiful, the welds from below are yukky! I guess that's just the way things go.



I ran out of time to grind flat the welds, wire brush then paint it, so I'll have to do that through the week.

Nice work there, prob alot stronger than the original.

Wow, nice job!