Elvergon´s Baja

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just bought a 1985 beetle for 180 bucks, but I had to pay for the tickets and debts of the car so it came out to be around $600. It has some nice seats (not racing thou). Front end was changed cause the one before was bent. Transmision was also changed cause it popped 2nd (and its a swing axle). It has a running 1600 DP but threw a lot of smoke. It has stock rims and tires. Seems to have no rust on the inside and on the outside,and paint job... well pics will tell... after all its a baja who cares  Well I didn´t took many pics cause the camera batteries were drained so this is all I could get... Have a lot of plans for it but for now I´m working on a 1350 bucks budget, I hope that since they´re a lot of VW´s here I could get cheaper parts than in the US. With that I´m planning to leave it running and hopefully will get some used tires. If I have some left I could start with the rollcage. Engine is on a rebuilt right now with new internals, it will cost 330 dlls and hopefully I´ll get it friday, we´ll see what happens! Well... I´m loving this feeling! finally getting to offroad!Trying to be Paul on this project  My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:I received it 1 day ago, I spent it stripping everything from it. It was a mess cause the PO used a kind of bolt that has a mushroom type head and I couldn´t grab em to remove them. They were used to hold the seats in place which BTW use wood spacers. I used the grinder, the drill and vice grips to try to get em out. Finally I did. I started also removing a kind of plastic coat which was mainly in the tunnel but it also had it on the pans. Tunnel was in great shape but floorpans not. I don´t care THAT much cause I will be runing a cage and it will be attached from rear torsion up to the front one with braces going to the tunnel so the pan will not be THAT useful for me. I´ll patch it up with some rivets and hope for the best. Here´s a pic of how I received it and once it was strippedYou can see the little steering wheel the bug has. It was kinda difficult to steer at low velocities but once you go fast it won´t matter that much. I have one that is unused so I will put it as soon as I can...Heres a Pic of the pedals and the front tunnel part sorry for the blurrynessA pic of the right floor, I still haven´t got all the coating off and I´m pretty sure I´ll find some ugly things under it...Rust in the rear area...it isnt that much...Up rear right area....upper rear left...My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:I like pretty much this design. This baja is from a thesamba Forum member called Huck. Soooo..I started cutting the rear part I did it with a cutting disc and the 4.5 in grinder...You can also see the otherside A picture of a stock mexican baja clearance...Before loosing its tail...When stripped it had a lot of certain type of mat (correct me if im using the right word) which seemed to be like the sound deadening used inside some speakers. Those are the little dark spots that appear in this pic. I tried a wire wheel, sanding it, washing it and a plastic wire brush. The wire wheel took it off nicely but it also stripped some paint and it didn´t had a thick coat so I did it mostly superficially trying to strip only the mat so some was left. I cleaned it with water 2 times, then a thinner pass and then I hitted it with rustoleum hammered gray paint. I used hammered cause i doesnt need primer and hides imperfections butttt I had tried the black one and this one which is more like silver requires a lot of passes to sit nicely and that sucks. I already bought 4 cans of it so I´ll have to stick with it. I forgot to take a pic of the tail removed but I´ll take it tomorrow.I´ll try to make the rear bumper tomorrow so I can add a skidplate and offroad saturday. The trail I´ll be ridding is pretty light but I don´t wanna try it without a skidplate (broken engine or carter by rock? not nice). Finally getting to do some welds in the baja My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:Great. Good project for ya. Every body has to have at least one pit to pour money into .. Keep us up to  date.Don't let denrep see it, he'll have you putting ooga horns on it, cow hide seats covers and a dog  in it.
Reply:nice..keep posting picturesmatthttp://www.aloumac.ca/
Reply:That going to be an awesome ride.I love VW beetle's. I wish I could get one for that price in that good of shape. Where I live that bug would be 4,000.00 minimum.Keep posting the project pic's.Miller DVI2Lincoln Precision Tig 225Thermodynamics Cutmaster 38Everything else needed.
Reply:Thats so awesome.How much power does that thing have?Any plans for races?I was watching dust to glory the other night , pretty cool stuff. Its on the baja 1000 race. I think there was a few of those bugs.Last edited by Bikespot; 07-11-2008 at 11:20 PM.
Reply:My brother and I built woods buggies (like a sand rail but shorter) years ago. We cut up a few of them. Tough little motors, my first one was a 1300 out of an early '60s bug. I had a pancake motor with dual carbs on it last, great power and last forever. Took plenty of abuse.Tim Beeker.
Reply:Originally Posted by SandyGreat. Good project for ya. Every body has to have at least one pit to pour money into .. Keep us up to  date.Don't let denrep see it, he'll have you putting ooga horns on it, cow hide seats covers and a dog  in it.
Reply:Originally Posted by jamlitThat going to be an awesome ride.I love VW beetle's. I wish I could get one for that price in that good of shape. Where I live that bug would be 4,000.00 minimum.Keep posting the project pic's.
Reply:Originally Posted by BikespotThats so awesome.How much power does that thing have?Any plans for races?I was watching dust to glory the other night , pretty cool stuff. Its on the baja 1000 race. I think there was a few of those bugs.
Reply:Update....First I´ll show my little "shop"Welding tableWell my goal for today was having the rear bumper ready so I can try it offroad this weekend, but I had to do lots of stuff. I had to go for the tubes for the bumper, well actually I ended buying pipe and I even have the HF pipe bender/kinker. It works great on thick wall pipe but not on this one. I´m using 1.25 pipe SCH 30 which is around 1.6 in OD and has a .090 wall. I know this isn´t the best type of material but its cheap and my ride is mostly recreational. As an soon to be engineer I can tell that a certain structural element its resistance depends on the size/shape and material. 1.6" OD its pretty rigid so its ok for me. Yeah I had to use the tubing kinker and it kinked it (it has worked great on SCH40 pipe). In order to regain some of its resistance I welded the kinked area. Heres a pic that shows how severe was the kinking And heres what I did first pass with my promig175 More passes...I also made the plates for sandwhiching the ends into the area over the engine. They were made from leftovers of another project. It´s 3/16 steel with 4 5/16 holes. Here´s what the done plates look like Also made the frame horn plates which will hold the bumper to the hornsThen I noticed I needed something to take the horns bolts out. I tried an adjustable wrench and noticed it didnt open enough so I headed to the superstore (I didnt had cash and I had cash coupons) so I bought a bigger wrench and some led lights for the rear. For 13 bucks I couldn´t let em go. I´ll post pics of them later. Then I noticed there wasn´t enough space for the bigger wrench so I´ll need a 1 1/16? bit. I´ll get it tomorrow. I´ll also need something for attaching the 3" wide high air flow cleaner to the 2" carburator which I´ve seen in Autozone. I cut some angle for attaching the skid plate to the bumper and tacked 70% of the bumper. Tomorrow I´ll try to leave it on the car so I can take a ride.Sorry for the blurry pics, I´ll try all the settings on the camera to see if I can shoot better onesMy Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:Elvergon,Looks like you bought a nice one. Hope it makes a fun project.The first pictures seem like, "How many VWs can you spot in this picture" contest. Notice the white one way in the back of second pic? Maybe he's looking for spare white fenders??Bending tube is tricky, to help prevent kinking while bending, you can try filling the tube with sand. Also, try putting pressure on the walls that want to push out. Maybe a little heat, and some gentle tapping. A tight fit in the bender's saddle is important too, you may want to shim it.Speaking of saddle... You know... A smaller car like that wouldn't take much cow hide to add some tasteful accent.Eh-hum...  I just happen to know of some hide and a set of smaller horns;  left over from a job, they may be available:Attachment 21809Good LuckLast edited by denrep; 10-19-2010 at 11:33 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by denrepElvergon,Looks like you bought a nice one. Hope it makes a fun project.The first pictures seem like, "How many VWs can you spot in this picture" contest. Notice the white one way in the back of second pic? Maybe he's looking for spare white fenders??Bending tube is tricky, to help prevent kinking while bending, you can try filling the tube with sand. Also, try putting pressure on the walls that want to push out. Maybe a little heat, and some gentle tapping. A tight fit in the bender's saddle is important too, you may want to shim it.Speaking of saddle... You know... A smaller car like that wouldn't take much cow hide to add some tasteful accent.Eh-hum...  I just happen to know of some hide and a set of smaller horns;  left over from a job, they may be available:Good Luck
Reply:Originally Posted by elvergonWell there were a lot of VW engines made, this one is a 1600 DP which seems to be around 40 HP. It really isn´t that much but most of the weight is under the rear tires which are the ones driven by the engine so its great for offroading, and its lightweight also helps. No plans for races, they require good rollcages, many rules and many MONEY. Dust to glory owns, I have that movie, someday I could maybe go to baja and see Paul drive  There are a lot of bugs classes running from almost stock to almost nothing stock it all depends on your wallet
Reply:Originally Posted by elvergonDust to glory owns, I have that movie, someday I could maybe go to baja and see Paul drive
Reply:Originally Posted by ZTFabNice project Elvergon...I'm building a baja right now, too but it's not for me.  Oh well, maybe someday I can build my own toys. You might have to come to the states to see us race....I'm not racing in Mexico at the moment. I'm racing with a class 1 team owned by the owner of Pro Armor (where I work now)....but you're still more than welcome to come out, anytime!! Our next race is a quick jaunt from Las Vegas to Reno...about 600 miles...in August. It'll probably be 105-115 degrees. - Paul
Reply:Originally Posted by BikespotWhat exactly is your job. Like you build all the frames for it , what do you end up doing at the races?
Reply:Originally Posted by elvergonThanks Den but I think that I´ll leave the trans mounting horns only for now I know there are more ways for getting the tube bended correctly. But they´re a pain (g.e. sand packing, heating) to be done time wise. Since this is the rear bumper I didn´t care much. I´ll look into the shimming for the next bended thing. When I get to do the bends for the cage I´ll try SCH40 pipe which I´m pretty sure it won´t kink. BTW there are a LOT of VW´s right here, picture was taken outside the engine builder guy though which specializes in VW¨s, but the trouble is that they´re 95 and newer. They run fuel injected engines and that sucks. My uncle had one which burned one part (can´t remember which one exactly) and he paid around 300 bucks for the reemplacement. I paid 330 for the engine rebuild which included new internals, paint job (ugly one btw), grounded crankshaft, and core machining so that´s why I wanted to stay with a carbureted engine thus looking for a 80 something or up to the 92 year model.
Reply:Originally Posted by ZTFabWhich one?  I used to own Zero Tolerance Fabrication where I built everything from hot-rods to dragsters and off-road cars. Then a nasty back injury basically forced me to shut the shop down and once I recovered, I got a job working for Pro Armor.At Pro Armor, I am the head prototype and tooling fabricator. We make ATV and UTV accessories...I build all of the production weld fixtures and prototypes.The baja is being built at my shop "after hours". Basically a full tube chassis utilizing the stock pan, stretched wheelbase, widened, etc. I'll be starting a thread on it once I get a little farther along.As far as racing goes, I currently chase for Alex, the owner in his class 1 car. I am basically a rolling pit crew. I drive my truck which is outfitted with spare parts, tires, fuel, welder, generator, tools, etc. and provide support for the vehicle whenever needed.I used to co-drive with MD racing and Dave Turner Motorsports in stock mini and stock full. I then went on to chase for Vildosola running a Pro-Truck and a Trophy Truck but now run with Pro Armor racing.Sorry for the thread hijack Elvergon....back to our regularly scheduled baja build...- Paul
Reply:Originally Posted by ZTFabWhich one?  I used to own Zero Tolerance Fabrication where I built everything from hot-rods to dragsters and off-road cars. Then a nasty back injury basically forced me to shut the shop down and once I recovered, I got a job working for Pro Armor.At Pro Armor, I am the head prototype and tooling fabricator. We make ATV and UTV accessories...I build all of the production weld fixtures and prototypes.The baja is being built at my shop "after hours". Basically a full tube chassis utilizing the stock pan, stretched wheelbase, widened, etc. I'll be starting a thread on it once I get a little farther along.As far as racing goes, I currently chase for Alex, the owner in his class 1 car. I am basically a rolling pit crew. I drive my truck which is outfitted with spare parts, tires, fuel, welder, generator, tools, etc. and provide support for the vehicle whenever needed.I used to co-drive with MD racing and Dave Turner Motorsports in stock mini and stock full. I then went on to chase for Vildosola running a Pro-Truck and a Trophy Truck but now run with Pro Armor racing.Sorry for the thread hijack Elvergon....back to our regularly scheduled baja build...- Paul
Reply:Originally Posted by jamlitBelieve it or not that bug would still fetch big bucks here. Also I never knew they made VW bugs that style with fuel injection. As to bending Schedule 40 pipe with that bender, no problem. Since chrome molly and DOM are hard to find here. I use schedule 40 pipe for just about everything that I want to use something round on. I would recommend getting the tube notcher to. Works very well on pipe but use decent hole saws.As it stands right now, I still have two 1600cc DP and one 1500cc air cooled motors from the 70's. VW motors are rated at low HP but work awesome for baja's and dune buggies. Plus it is easy to get more HP with out breaking the bank. I build all my own engines. Here is a pic of the last buggy I built and had for awhile. I built it before I had the bender though. Worked great but I sold it last summer. I have enough parts to build a couple more.Just to let you know Elvergon, dunebuggy.com is a great site for info.Have fun
Reply:Well I wanted to go offroading tomorrow but I´ll have to wait. Carb needs a rebuild and dad said he would sponsor the headers. So probably the bumper I made will not be used. Maybe the next one I´ll use SCH40 pipe for the bends and SCH30 for the straight parts. If I can find a matching pair of sizes that allow sleeving by itselves. Transmision shifter has also a lot of movement so I´ll see if there´s a mechanic that could come here so I can see what he does and meanwhile start removing the rusty bolts so I can lift the body and weld the lower braces of the cage I´ll be doing something like this just to start. And have a nice solid way of attaching everything else. Thanks all for the repplies My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:Originally Posted by elvergon.Does that rail was built with SCH40? Which size of pipe? It seems that the "bends" were butt welded. BTW the rail looks great. If you´ve got the parts why not build another one? Thanks I´ll take a look at the site. 2 forums that helped me out a lot were www.thesamba.com and www.shoptalkforums.com offroad section of course
Reply:Originally Posted by jamlitThanks for the tip and yes it was all 1.5 inch schedule 40 pipe. I might build another someday but the laws here have just about screwed the idea for now. I would like to build a street legal version like the one in your pic's someday. That would be the best idea for me here. I love bug riding so anything is possible.If you have any question or need some help, PM me anytime and I will see what I can do.UPDATE....Well dad got on a good mood, and he´s starting to feel this one is his proyect too (it brings memories to him and he had like 3 bugs). 50 bucks after this is what we have... Its kinda surface rust,... So I got my weapons out....and hit em good...Here´s what happens some time later and what do you do so you can do some continous polishing?And this is how it looks after hitting it with thinner and a coat of rustoleum high temp paint. My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:Originally Posted by jamlit I would like to build a street legal version like the one in your pic's someday. That would be the best idea for me here. I love bug riding so anything is possible.
Reply:Originally Posted by elvergonAnd this is how it looks after hitting it with thinner and a coat of rustoleum high temp paint.
Reply:Well I don´t know what´s the politics for importing cars in the US. But for 1200 bucks you can find a good one, no rust, fuel inyected, 93 or newer, NO RUST and straight perfect body. Where I live its 2 hours from the border. Anytime you want you can gimme a call and I can take you guys to see the ones sold here. But for making it a baja? a 600 buck 85 beetle works great My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:Well dad got on a good mood, and he´s starting to feel this one is his proyect too (it brings memories to him and he had like 3 bugs).
Reply:Originally Posted by NomandWhat is the name of the paint? I've never seen one in HomeDepot or CanadianTire...
Reply:Bumper is finally done. I had some issues with it. I came home with some SCH40 pipe, made a bend and it bended nicely without kinking, however I got less than 90 degrees so I had to make one again. Next 2 tries kinked (WTF?) and then 3rd one worked beatufiully and so did the 4th. I used SCH40 and 30 in the bumper. 40 was only used in the bended siderails and everything else is 30.  Here´s some pics of the progress so far. My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:I also got some red LED lights for the rear, bougth em in the mexican HEB competitor called Soriana. I hope they work just fine. I also made a steering wheel adapter for my new wheel.  Then after all I plugged the carburator and battery. Some sparks came out of the battery wires. I tried cranking the engine it turned but it didn´t start. Tried it in some intervals and sometimes it almost started but then died. Then I noticed that when I plug the battery the carbon brushes of the alternator get really hot fast. Did I just screw up the alternator? I´m having an electric comming tomorrow. I´ll ask him also what wires do what so I can cut everything that´s not needed. I think my first journey will have to wait =(My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:Thanks for the paint picture. Actually was going to ask for this picture.I see there is BBQ shown, so this paint must be available from HemoDepot or CanadianTire. I am gonna do a hard targeting search.But I am a bit confused. If this really protects ehxaust system why they do not use it routinely in auto repairs?You did very good job on this car and looks like fast too. Apparently even grinders could not keep up... Still makes me feel a bit sorry for the little guy. I just can't tell what a beautiful time passed on the Earth together with this Bug...Last edited by Nomand; 07-19-2008 at 01:16 AM.
Reply:Originally Posted by NomandI see there is BBQ shown, so this paint must be available from HemoDepot or CanadianTire. I am gonna do a hard targeting search.But I am a bit confused. If this really protects ehxaust system why they do not use it routinely in auto repairs?
Reply:They announce it can hold up to 1200 F but we´ll see. I don´t know how it will protect my exhaust but I´m hoping that it does OK. They claim helps grills, burners and heaters not exhaust
Reply:Originally Posted by elvergonYeah I bought it on HomeDepot on the Rust-o-leum can department. Here they seem to have many of them (exterior, interior, hammered, primer, metallic, blackboard...etc). They announce it can hold up to 1200 F but we´ll see. I don´t know how it will protect my exhaust but I´m hoping that it does OK. They claim helps grills, burners and heaters not exhaust :S but that´s the best I can do for the $$ and for the looks right now. If you want lemme try it some time and tell you how it works... (if I can get this baja started). If you really want to make a non-rusting exhaust there´s aluminized tubing, ceramic coating, stainless? (which I´ve seen rusted anyway), and galvanized too. I think galvanizing comes off with heat but I think I´ve seen some made with it. And you´re welcome with the pics anytime!
Reply:Originally Posted by SandyYou guys have to consider just how big a word 'exhaust system' can be. This exhaust system begins at a blast furnace called an internal combustion engine and can end up being a piece of pipe dragging through the brush and rocks. Think of all the torture an 'exhaust system' goes through then think of what you are asking a rattle can of paint to do.
Reply:is that a mexican bug ??
Reply:Originally Posted by compis that a mexican bug ??
Reply:Originally Posted by compis that a mexican bug ??
Reply:Well school has gotten harder and there hasn´t been any time at all for the baja :S I finished 2nd partial exams this thursday and this weekend did some work. Dad went fishing and my friends were hitting the SAE mini baja so I was all by myself. This is the progress: I saw that the front shock towers had cancer, SEVERE cancer, so I had to cut them out and make a new tower. I used the same SCH40 1.25" pipe. I also cut some gussets with the 4.5" grinders and cutting disks. I found some cutting disks that are 1 mm thick and cut really fast compared to the ones I used to use (about 2.5mm thick). Both gussets and top plate are .25" thick steel. Here are the pics: I also finished the lower part of the rollcage. Its all 1.25 SCH40 pipe too. The tabs welded to the tunnel are .25 in thick steel plates. I still have to weld the last 1/6 of the tube to the side rails cause I couldn´t finish them. Here are the pics.My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:This one shows a "Stich weld" how some people call them Since the floor is pretty rusty I´ll replace it.My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:I was thinking about using the side rails and attach some tabs to it so the body rests on this tabs, it would sit about 2 inches taller. Cut the floor out and finish the welding. After priming the tubes make a fiberglass floor so that it wont rust no more  I could use the body tabs so the floor could attach to them too. Watcha u guys think? Heres the car as it sits right now...My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:Let me know if you need some lifted spindles i have some that i will sell that have never been used from Blind Chicken Racing. Also if you want a hot set up on a motor let me know, i built a nasty 2165cc stroker for my 74 baja.
Reply:Originally Posted by ClayKann101Let me know if you need some lifted spindles i have some that i will sell that have never been used from Blind Chicken Racing. Also if you want a hot set up on a motor let me know, i built a nasty 2165cc stroker for my 74 baja.
Reply:Originally Posted by elvergonThanks bro but I´m in Mexico. However when you come here you can send them anytime if you feel like giving them away I also accept any kinds of funds and donations
Reply:Has the HF bender worked pretty well?  I've read pretty heated discussions about the pros, and cons of the tool.From here, it looks to have done an ok job."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:I like how you used hot glue to put it all together.. --Gol'
Reply:Well coulnd´t make much in this time, money is the problem. However here it is a small update for you guys to see...A uncle I did some favors before got me new balljoints (which are $11 each and $11 for pressing them in), so I´ll wait until the school shop is again open so I can make a die for pressing them with a 6 ton jack, Hopefully it will work because I´ve read you need at least 20 tons, maybe I can make an adapter for the tube bender. Anyway I did finish the triangulation brace for the front beam and it is now finished and primed. It is also cut-n-turned 3/16 on both tubes. Here are the pics...Also the steering box had a type of wax plug, 2 of them, so I took them off and I threaded the holes for 3/8 fine thread bolts. With the little cash I had I tried to work with the sewing machine, bought some fabric that seem to be pretty rough so hopefully it will hold on great. This is my first time sewing and I think it didn´t went that bad. Here are the pics. Now I´m waiting for some cash for the new brake lines ($50) and the floor is completely cut becouse of the cancer. I´m making the tabs for attaching it and I got enough money for buying the floor and installing it. I also made some square tubing tabs that are attached to the low part of the cage, which will make the body sit around 2 inches higher than before. Will add for sure a brace that makes the rear torsion stronger, and some braces for the tranny horns. My camera broke today so tomorrow I´ll add the new pics.Last edited by elvergon; 01-05-2009 at 09:31 PM.My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!