V8 Super Beetle Project

[paulj]

I notched all of the tubes on an Alston Pro-Link kit using a 4" grinder. It's not as bad a deal as it sounds. Those were the days before you could buy the cheap tube notchers that use the hole saws. Where did you get the cage? It looks like it would work perfect for my car too. is it 1-5/8 or 1-3/4?

[V8 Super Beetle]

Thanks for the tip. That what I was thinking of doing, or just buying a hole saw and giving that a try. I don't have a drill press so that would be tough.

The cage is from SW Race Cars. Here's a link.

www.swracecars.com/store/10-Point-Roll-Cage-OSCARItem_38=11-5550.aspx


It's 1 5/8" x .134. It was $350 shipped to my job. I'm sure it would be the same to your door because it was shipped FedEx as you see it in the pic. I bet it would fit perfect too.

[V8 Super Beetle]

I spent most of all Sunday trying to get my cage assembled. It's going to take longer than I thought, but It's getting there.

I trimmed and notched about half of the bars. I did quite a bit of thinking and just figuring out exactly how I want this thing to fit. Now it's just making it happen.

The main hoop didn't exactly go where I originally wanted it to so I'll be welding it into the body and the rest will be welded to the frame. I plan to gusset the cage to the body in various places just to stiffen the body up and so the cage and body become one unit that bolts to the frame.

It doesn't look like I got much done, but It's kinda tough do this solo.








The die grinder worked great using the edge of disk to cut. So I got the main hoop and bar tacked.

[paulj]

It's a good start. Will you be able to lift the body so you can weld the tops of the bars on the main hoop?

I don't know if you are still looking for a drive line company but I found one I didn't know existed on my way home. I took Hwy 529 off of Hwy 290 due to the accident at Telge and saw a driveline company on the right hand side. If I go past it again I will get the name of the shop and an address.

[V8 Super Beetle]

Th hoop is welded / tacked to the b pillar right where the seat belts bolt in, so I can't lift the body without lifting the main bar. Great thing is the way the hoop is bent there's plenty of clearance so I can fully weld it up at the top. I'll take some pics tonight. I hope to have a little more done and I'll show a pic of what I mean.

Awesome. I forgot to mention but I was looking up drive shaft shops and recall finding that one. Good thing they're close by so I don't have to make to far a trip to have one made for the bug. I plan to just take the car so they can measure it. I'm not sure how to measure the drive shaft.

[V8 Super Beetle]

Quick update.

I have been working on the cage all week. Everyday for a couple hours at a time and I'm almost finished. I just have to cut and fit the side / door bars.

I've had a slight change of heart. I decided to just go ahead and weld the cage and body to the frame and to do away with the idea of being able to unbolt the body and cage so I can lift it off, whenever.

Although I'm sure this cage is for a standard beetle, the cage fit pretty well. I wish I could have the dash bar closer to the dash / further away from the steering wheel, but there is plenty of clearance although it doesn't appear to be that way in the pic.




The roof hoop fit up pretty snug to the roof.






The plates did come in handy though. I was able to weld the lateral bar a little further out. Right about a 3/16 gusset I had welded in for strength.






I should have the cage finished and all welded up by the end of the week.

On a side note, my hardened sprag and spring compressor tool came in. I'll finish tearing down the transmission after I'm finished with the cage so I'm not getting junk in it.

More to come soon.

[Mock1racer]

I'm startin to think you done this b-4.

[V8 Super Beetle]

LOL, naw, never done anything like this before. I'm just taking my time trying to get it done decent.

[V8 Super Beetle]

Well, things were coming along pretty good and then my wire feed welder started acting up. The gun has seen better days and the feeder chugs the wire along rather than feed smooth. So I'm on the market for a new wire feeder that'll plug into a 115v outlet and can weld up to 3/16"-1/4" steel. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The cage is almost finished. I have about 65% of the welding finished.




I did have to cut out four panels of the roof to be able to access the top of the roll cage.






I'll more than likely have to cut out a section of the B-pillar to access the side bar too. Just not enough room to completely weld up the cage. Also, I'll be adding some 2" gussets to the top of the cage, one on each side of the bar, just to make sure it's nice and strong. Over head welding isn't my best welding position.

It'll be another week or so before I have the money to buy the welder so in meantime I'll be working on the transmission.

[Mock1racer]

When overhead welding try turning the speed of the wire up a little. If your machine is acting up (wire not coming out smoothly) you might have a dirty tip, or your rollers could be too tight.
Get a set of torch tip cleaners and just clean out the feed hole, that should help[ a little.

[V8 Super Beetle]

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to see what I can do to get it working right again. I've put a new tip on it, tried different tension on the feeder and the spool, and it still doesn't want to act right. I'm going to get one of these kits and blow out the feeder hose. If that doesn't do it I'll look into a new welder.

www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200381940_200381940

[paulj]

If the metal liner is in bad shape it will do what you described. It should be replaceable. The one for my Miller runs about $20 to replace.

This is the part I'm talking about

store.cyberweld.com/miromiggunli.html

[V8 Super Beetle]

Thanks Paul for the advice. I found the parts needed to fix the welder. It needs a new gun and a liner so I'm at $150 in the cost to get it back up to speed. I decided just to go ahead and buy a new welder so I could finish the cage this weekend and I could use a good quality welder, even though the one I've been using is adequate.

I went ahead and just bought a new welder and I'm glad I did. It welds so much smooth, has more amps using a standard 120v outlet, setup is easier, it's quieter, and unlike the other welder it only welds when I put the trigger instead of whenever the wire touches metal.

I bought a Lincoln 125 Pro Core. It welds up to 1/4" metal. I pretty happy with it.

[V8 Super Beetle]

I finished the cage this weekend. I still need to weld in the seat belt tabs but that'll have to come later. I might do a couple gussets too for strength. Still debating that one.

I did have to cut out a section of the b-pillar and the roof to fully weld up the cage. So I'll have to weld those sections back in. Work, work, work, but fun nonetheless.
















I'm working on tearing the tranny down and I'm hoping to have it rebuilt within the next two weeks. Also, I need to work on making mounts for the radiator.

[murphytj]

You can get all kinds of mounting tabs from Jim Weimer garage. If you want, I can send you the info.