Volkswagen Kit Cars

[DeathBySnuSnu]

So I had found a Bradley GT2 all new hanging in a basement.

The problem is that right now is that I dont have the money to build a full car. Especially to the level I would want to.

So maybe later......maybe not......it has been hanging there at least 40 years.

But

Now I am interested in kit cars.

So guess what I find now.....a Vokaro, one of 500 made. Rare but no value.

It is a little thing on a cut down vw chassis. Basically the same thing as a dune buggy.

No doors

No roof.

No interior.

No niceties or bells and whistles.

Now this I may be able to finish.

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

So here it is for $500.



And here is what one looks like whole.

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

So the idea is to build an autocross car. The dodge the orange cones in a parking lot lap time race.

Something me and my daughter could participate in.

Dune buggies used to tear it up back in the day. So I think the Vokaro could be competitive.

I am thinking a style that reminds you of the 60's Porsche racers.

Silver and red. Steel wheels. Ect.

 

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Sounds like a fun project.

 

[grandpanystrom61]

I know my daughter would have loved this project over what we did. I had gotten an old bug for her, and yes it needed some work and we did it together. She drove that bug until it could give no more, LOL.

Yes that would does look like a super fun project, and it would be even funner zipping around town in it..

Love to see your work and how it all turns out in the end.

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

It is likely to take me a couple years to do.

She has a car.

This will be a toy that she can play with too.

Most of the parts will be much more "normal" than the scooter was.

The class I am looking at is sub 2 liter and turbo.

I have not decided what combo of parts.

94 x 69(stock stroke) 1915cc

92 x 74.......1968cc

90.5 x 76........1956cc. this may be the favorite

88 x 82........1995cc.

I do have an 82 cranks with the dowel pins wallered out. I wonder if I can fix that myself. I do know it cost to much to ship to a vw crank shop, get fixed, and ship back.

 

[LarryA]

a project with purpose.....looks and sounds like a good one, have at it!

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

So here it is. Hauled to vicksburg.

 

[peteg59]

IRS or Swing?

Looks like its in pretty good condition, without major broken body panel(s) to fix, with somewhat of a drivetrain still intact.

Definite score for $500, all day long!:clapping:

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

A nearly complete 1600 dual port, dual relief, dog house. The right engine to build from. A 1973 model AK.



It also has a dual side cover IRS trans and ball joint front suspension.

No numbers on the body to date it.

The company was in business 1974 to 1986.

This body style was discontinued in 1981 for a larger upgraded comfort body.

The molds were sold and others claimed that they were gonna make them again. I caint find one that was made by any new owners of the mold. I would assume a couple got layed up but that there was a lack of interest for any customers and the project scrapped.

So I am gonna say the body can not be newer than 1981.

The vw pan/chassis is late 70 to early 71. It looks like the beam and trans are 71 and there were bits and pieces of a 71 motor laying around it. It was never driven or registered, so never completed.

So all that leaves me with the vw that was taken apart was minimum of 3 yrs old to a maximum of 10 yrs old at the time it was taken off the road.

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

Parts collected so far.

I came across these old Enkei lightweights. Technically not a street use rim....but the car is light. The wheels are not all that lightweight by today's standards anyway. I was going to have $250 in getting stock look steelies in 6" wide.

I got these with 2 barely useable tires of the right size for the rear and they are 17 dia and 7 wide (which is kinda narrow to find in a 17) which I think is the absolute maximum I could fit to the vw parts.

I might have to modify the body some. But a wheel I like and I paid $150 for them. Probably paint them red. Still thinking the silver and red racer look.

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

Dug around in my own junk pile and came up with this. It has been in my beetle back in the day.

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

I am on the lookout for a Karman ghia windshield.

And an IRS pan.

The chassis shortening job on this pan is horribly botched. I purdy much need to start over.

I do have a swing pan.....I could cut the IRS parts off and weld then to the swing pan if I had too....

Still keeping the eyes out seeking the other big pieces.

I did find a 125hp BMW motorcycle engine......interesting. I do have a motorcycle with a car engine......so a car with a motorcycle engine would balance the world out.

Then found a flat six cylinder subie.....no idea where I could put something that large in the Vokaro. I would have to make it longer and mid engine it....

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

Went digging in my junk pile.

Found this chassis knock down kit in a very old pile.

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

More digging in the junk piles.

A few more pieces parts.

Add on sump.



2-1/2 gal of resin. A lot of glass cloth. A few packets of matt.



Viper red paint for the stripes and wheels.



Gas tank sealer.

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

Ceramic for headers, piston, ect.



Eagle 2241 cam (about same as w110)



26mm in out oil pump.

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

Grade 8 pressure plate bolts.



I did find my old 041 heads modified by cb performance. These were the budget performance heads back in the day. Much like the "los panchito" heads are today. ......but not as good.

At one point I had all the parts to rebuild these heads.....but I have not found the parts. If the parts dont show up I doubt I will spend the money on this older model head.

 

[peteg59]

Not a kit car but a fun looking project for someone...

https://columbiamo.craigslist.org/pts/d/loose-creek-1974-super-bug-drag-custom/7049546423.html

Too bad a split window was sacrificed, but it could be a cool car in the right hands...

[SUB][/SUB][SUB][/SUB]

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

That began life as a later model super.

The body has been heavily modified. Headlight graft, early style rear apron, shortened, repop deck lid, conversion rear window insert, just all kinds of custom body work.

Too bad it was not chopped also. But the curved windshield of a super is not as easy to do.

Those little bitty amr superchargers are good for a few lbs on a smaller engine.....say...1776 and below. But you have to over rpm pretty badly to get there. Still though....putting 5 to 8 lbs on a stockish 1600 would be a major power gain for not a lot of money.

No .... wait....that has b and m on it. But it is small and v belt and looks like an amr.

Not to sure how many lbs it will do. Possibly can do more than the amr......or is that an amr with a b and m drive on it.

Curios.

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

Ordered the front suspension parts.....disc brakes...lowered spindles...ect

I have not done much with it. I have some outside work to do towards it and it is winter here. Here in the deep south winter = rain.

Winter "snowman" in the south.

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

Found those missing head parts.

New exhaust valves and seats.

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

Waiting on those suspension parts.

Did get the super low profile tires for the front.

The rear will be almost the same size as the old tires on the rims now.

I still hafta get another pan/chassis to cut up. I do have an older model one.....but it keeps raining and I caint get it pulled out of the trees and loaded up.

So the idea is red wheels. In my head wheels are supposed to be aluminum/silver. This is a new one for me here.





Only painted one.....just to make sure I like it.

I think I do.

 

[Papa Zook]

Cool Project!

[Following]

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

A long ways to go.

Just working with what I have right now.

So ready to start cutting up a chassis and re-making it into the geometry I want.

Rubber band looking fro t tires.



The size difference between front and rear.

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

Steering wheel quick connect.....straight from China.

Dont look too bad.

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

I got the other front wheel prepped and painted. Now to wait a day or two and mount the other front tire with the motorcycle tire spoons.

The front end big parts came in today.

2-1/2" drop spindles.

Rotors and calipers.

Bearings and seals.

Camber adjusters and brake hoses.



I know.....no lug bolt holes.

I need a pattern they are not available in.

So I will put my own holes in.

5 on 100mm circle and M12 x 1.5 metric stud and some odd nuts these wheels take.

Just waiting on some money to spend on the lugs.

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

So the plan on the chassis is to have it as low as what is reasonable. I do not want it to drag the ground. I may have to go around bigger obstacles like larger speed bumps.

The spindles lower the front 2-1/2" and I have to go this way because I can not move the front torsion beam. I will remove the front springs and set the suspension down on the bottom out stops. With the spindles and short tires I should be quite low at full bottom. I hope my measurements hold up and the chassis is where I want it on the front. Then if it is I will lower the floor boards to get a bit more leg room.

Your butt goes in the low spot the battery was originally mounted in. The top of the tunnel is about 6 inches from the dash. I will probably cut the whole dash area out of it and only use a pod console with switches. It is incredibly hard for an old man to get into....lol.

So if that works out....

The rear will not be squatted down to match like the lowered beetles do. I will cut the entire rear torsion tube and shock towers out of the chassis horns and raise/move it to match height the front.

After all that is done at full bottom out....I will the lift it up and install the springs.....tentatively 3 inches off bottom. I should be in the sweet spot of the suspension travel and close to geometry. I have the offset bushings to get the front end aligned. I do not know yet if I will have to move the inside anchor points for the rear arms to get the alignment I want.

 

[peteg59]

Don't take this the wrong way Rex, but that sounds like a lot of work to get the lowrider look?

A complete re~engineering of the stock beetle suspension and chassis is, as you're aware, quite an undertaking...

Why not simply use the lower than stock front spindles you now have, and air bag it to accomplish the rear lowering?

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

Ok..

The objective is NOT the low rider look.

The objective is the low sports car/ racer look.

The front spindles lower the front without changing suspension travel, trailing arm angles, or the overall geometry of the front. An increase in scrub radius, but that is gonna happen with wider wheels anyway. Just add the offset bushings so you can move the camber from a couple degrees positive to a couple degrees negative and possibly a heavier sway bay.......and you have hard cornering geometry.

So for the back end......yes it is "normal" to just squat the rear suspension down, even remove or use short rubber bottom out stops. But it kills the handling. You would be much better off just leaving it near stock.....just letting down a spline tooth or so until you get to one degree negative camber.

Hard racers drop the back down with lots of bracketry. Engine and trans raise, offset trailing arms....all kinds of stuff to avoid the squatted low rider handling.

I have no body limits....I am willing to cut the body or whatever. So the current plan is to move the entire rear suspension and its geometry to where I want it to be. Thus avoiding the handling complications involved in squatting it down.

It may not actually work out that way.......but the math fits.

 

[DeathBySnuSnu]

Brake rotors drilled and tapped for the metric jap wheels.