mblommel said:I'd love to see a shortened version that would fit under a Meyers Manx style fiberglass buggy.
I'd love to put a Speedster or Spyder body on top, but yes....a SWB version from the factory would be the ticket. I'd be tempted to make them take my money on the pre-order list if that were an option.
I realize it's been a while since my last update on the VeeDub ReDub project, so I thought I'd bring you all up to speed with our latest progress.
First, to answer the previous questions about a shortened wheelbase version, this is on our mind but we don't have a timeline for a shortened chassis. To battle our nemesis scope creep we're forcing ourselves to focus just on the Beetle at first no matter how much we are currently drawn toward other options.
Also, I just want to let you know that there will be a short delay on other versions. After we finalize the Beetle version, we will be developing our next Goblin to fit on a platform similar to our Beetle version. Same suspension, brakes, and powertrain but adapted to fit a tubular exoskeletal frame that'll bolt down onto the platform (instead of a Beetle body).
As for our current prototype, I left you guys hanging after we got the chassis down on its tires. The next step was to test fit the powertrain. It nestled down into the rear cage with minimal clearancing required.
Next we trimmed out the rear seat/parcel tray area of the Beetle body for a test fit on the chassis. We trimmed more than we had to but this prototype will get a one-off firewall/engine cover so we just trimmed the body where it was convenient. The next prototype chassis and the production versions will be different (espcially at the rear of the floor pans) so we'll figure out exactly how much the body needs to be trimmed when we work on those iterations.
We did a bare minimum of work on the electrical system to get the engine cranked up for the first time in our prototype (we didn't thin it out or make any major modifications and instead left too many things plugged in for the first drive). Our first drive was a bit abbreviated because we didn't install doors or seat belts. We just wanted a quick drive before we tore it all apart to get the chassis powder coated and to paint the body.
After tearing it all back apart and getting the chassis pieces coated, it was pretty quick to get it back up to the roller state and install the powertrain again. It is very cool seeing this thing side by side with the antique chassis.
The rest of the steps we've completed have been pretty tedious work like paint, wiring, mounting electrical equipment, and interior work.
We're still hammering away doing the rest of the interior to get the car finished up. We hope to have it on the road soon and start hitting some events and VW shows. Then we'll be hard at work again on the second prototype with more emphasis on finalizing the chassis and making something that is fit for production.
If you guys have any questions, just let me know.
So cool , I like the modern look dashboard ,
About the shortened chassis , the wheelbase of a Fiberglass Speedster and a Manx style Dune buggy are not the same ,
First of all, fantastic work. I love it when someone actually does what most of us dream about on a high level.
Secondly, and I understand your concern about scope creep, but I'd love to see this keeping the original configuration. Yeah, the tendency towards oversteer concerns some people, but a rear-engined car can be a formidable tool. I hear that there's still a company in Germany using that setup. Whoda thunk?
In reply to californiamilleghia :
Yeah, we've considered a version that comes ready to weld-to-length vs. making several different lengths ourselves. We'll have to see how many different lengths we'll need to make to cover everybody but figuring that out will be saved for another day.
In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :
A version using the stock transmission and engine layout is definitely on the table. It would have to be an IRS transmission though because our suspension would not work with the swingaxle. This would also allow the Subaru guys to do their EJ20, EJ22, etc. swap. And the body of the Beetle wouldn't need to be cut out to clear our mid-engine powertrain. Definitely something we're planning to offer.
We completed a lot of little steps over the past month but I figured I'd hold out for a day with a big update. Today is that day: we have paint!
We mocked up the design in Photoshop since it is easier to change things on the fly on the computer than when applying tape to the car. We were looking for something that said "race car" without being over the top. We liked what we landed on so we moved from Photoshop to the real world.
The design changed a bit as we put the tape on the car but it stayed pretty true to the design we came up with on the computer.
After we got the blue on and then the black on, we waited for everything to dry before peeling off the paper, plastic, and tape. We were happy with the result.
We've got a lot of finishing touches to do including some vinyl decals. Here's another Photoshop mock up, this one showing the decals we have planned out.
Love the vintage race car look , nice that its not too busy :)
Love the look and the stance with those wheels! I know you need to advertise but it'd be nice to leave it unstickered. :-)
Looking forward to seeing some video of this thing driving in anger!
Quick question before jumping into the update:
Do you guys know of any shows or events coming up where we can share the car? We've got a couple appearances planned over the next few months but we still have plenty of weekends unplanned.
Now for the update:
I shared the Photoshop mock up last time. Since then we've added windows, started on the lights, and installed decals. The car came out looking pretty much exactly like the render.
We used our Cricut Maker 3 to cut out the decals ourselves. They're pretty straightforward decals except that a few of them are stacked decals. For example, for the "GTI POWER" decal, we had to cut the chrome background first, then cut the red "GTI" and overlay the red on the chrome (the transfer tape makes the red and chrome look unimpressive but once the decals were on the car, they looked great):
Not shown above is the number plate. We knew we had to do something special for the number so we went with "MK 7".
We still have to finish up the lights, install the seat harnesses and tie up a few more loose ends but the car should be on the road and ready for real test drives in the coming weeks.
Looks great!
I hear they take off at 112 mph.
Great job. 
Impressive!
Any pictures of the cooling system?
You'll need to log in to post.
