OT plastic kit car

[Ulu]

Haha… No this wasn’t rust. The panels had a big gap you could see through 

 

I found out when I stripped the gasoline soaked carpeting.

Edited September 24 by Ulu

[Ulu]

I haven’t welded those rear frame connections yet. I keep changing my mind on how I want to do this.

 

Also there is some additional tubing that needs to be worked onto this connection, where I reinforce the frame at the door sills.

 

I decided that I really needed to work out the sub frame connections and brace the crossmembers. I have some odd stamped channels & light tubing that will do the job quite nicely.

There you can see how the heavy steel brackets will bridge from the reinforced crossmember to the edge reinforcement channel on the back of the floor pan. (Where are the red magnets are.)

 

Those landing pads need some big bolt holes in them and I don’t know exactly where they’re going to be. I know approximately, based on what the pan was like before I reshaped it and Welded up all the holes.

 

But I think I’m going to put oversized holes in them on the drill press before they are welded in, and then I will use big flange nuts.

 

The rear subframe rails will each get some sort of a reinforcement shoe on the on the forward end, which attaches with the flange nuts.

 

 

[Eneto-55]

You have done a tremendous boat load of repair work on that frame.  I'm curious if, in hind sight, you might wish you had just built an entirely new frame.  (I have never worked on a VW, or even been under one, so I don't know how complicated that might be.)

[Plymouthy Adams]

I also read Ulu's comments, lots of work going into the unit.  The basic design of the car he is working is to sit on the VW pan.  The pan is attached longitudinal sections that is the strength combined with the cross supports and of course the suspension mounts.  It is my thought if Ulu were to build a frame separate, he would have to also build a pan still yet for the floor of the molded body....maybe I am wrong here but as I see his drive to build a combo unit such as he is.  Then he would be back to square one for steering and rear suspension.  

[Ulu]

My plan was always to buy a rust free California chassis to put this body on.

 

But there were legalities and expenses and effort required. It was much easier to get it titled here, with a chassis matching the import papers.

 

Also it’s much easier than titling a new construction, to register an already constructed/titled/continuously registered, imported car.

 

That was part of what I was buying. The situation of easy registration. I could have registered it on day one, but it wasn’t safe to drive.

 

Also, I wasn’t privy to the total junkyard “engineering” behind this kit design! Just pan-swapping would leave me nearly in the same place. Re-designing it all but with less rust.

 

Plus I would need to chisel up the stock seat frames, move the pedal assembly mounts, shorten the shift rod, move the shifter mounts, bob the jacking point brackets, then still strip, burnish and paint it all.

 

As they say in Vegas, it was a push. A 50/50 deal. Except for the $$$ and effort to find another titled pre-smog car or pan. Pre-smog cars with title are fetching a premium price. Even the lowly VW.

 

BTW, the longer this takes, the more valuable the P-15 becomes, just sitting.

 

 

Edited September 26 by Ulu

[Ulu]

 

So it looks like someone almost MIGed this repop floor to the cast steel hook, (machined casting is factory welded into the frame.)

 

But there should be two welds, and this half-weld is 50% slag.

 

The re-design of this connection is keeping me awake at night. The previous cardboard mockup isn’t looking good.

[Ulu]

Well that bogus weld cracked as soon as I smacked it with a hammer.

 

I bobbed off the remaining unneeded sheetmetal pan and carefully removed the frame doublers. I ground off all the old welds until I was left with the bare hooks.

 

 

 

[Ulu]

I figured out how to tie the last 9” of my SS frame together in the back, without buying more steel. Old parts from a Craftsman mower and a ww2 army desk will make a sturdy boxed gusset.

A couple closure plates were required too, so basically I fabbed up six new parts (lefts and rights) and started burnishing off the old paint.

I’ve been acid etching everything, so into the bucket they go.

[Ulu]

You can see that the frame rail steps in a little bit here, because the body has a lap joint in it, and I start losing clearance for the panel-to-panel connections.

 

I got the little front rail closures tacked in. So I don’t lose them.

 

I only have to do a little more cleaning and welding and then I will be ready to flip the chassis over and continue welding on the other side.

 

Of course I still have to patch those rear pan corners, but that’s just minor sheetmetal.

 

I am really anxious to flip this chassis again as that will represent a major milestone in the design and welding.

 

Once I flip it over I can start working on the seat frame supports.

Edited September 29 by Ulu

[Ulu]

More special frame doublers.

 

 

I made two by hand, a left and a right. That’s gray USAF paint from the ‘60s. That’s how long I kept the metal they came from.

 

These strengthen the pan corner and provide a doubled 14 ga pad to weld the casting.

Edited September 29 by Ulu

[Ulu]

 

Better view of the little doublers.

[Ulu]

All of those dirty parts have been dipped overnight, scrubbed, sanded and brushed. Now all of the paint and rust is gone and everything is nearly ready to weld on.

 

(I am currently out of photo space again, so just imagine all those dirty parts in the previous photographs are clean and shiny now.)

[Ulu]

OK! I got both pan corners trimmed and made the patches.

 

[Plymouthy Adams]

like a dog with a bone....but hey, you staying busy and I will give you full credit for that....anyone can eat an elephant one bite at a time...so many refuse to take that first bite and well, they get little to nothing done either.   Hope you do not have near the work to do on the body to fit to this new pan.  

[Ulu]

It’s a plastic body. I can just glue it to the chassis, right?

 

Anyhow, if I survive this job, I have a steel body car awaiting.

 

Body has very minimal rust. Engine is seized. I shot some penetrating oil in the cylinders. It won’t turn. I filled the cylinders with atf and let it sit for a while. 20 years now…

 

I might try again to turn it, before winter, but I broke my JC Whitney flywheel turner.

 

 

[Plymouthy Adams]

JC Whitney will exchange that for you......lol   That is the IHC Scout is it not.   Not seen one that old in quite some time around these parts.   IF it is around, they want restored prices for junk cars....reason they still sitting behind barns and in the woods.  They will rot in place before sold and when sold, the heirs are doing the crushing run to turn the property for cash.  They don't want this stuff and smart enough to recognize it is a lost cause.  

[Ulu]

My dad bought that JCW fly wheel tool in 1967, so I don’t have the receipt to return it. ;(

 

I will have to make a real manly flywheel tool. I have been putting that task off a looong time.

 

Today was just hours of sanding, brushing, and scraping; all to prep for welding.

 

I have to plug some holes. About ten of them. It will be easier to do them later, except one that is right in the way.

 

The front of the rear body subframe Was bolted with one half inch dia bolt on each side. It’s a ridiculous situation for this lite gage metal and I am going to add some plates to those connections and use smaller bolts. Probably two 3/8 diameter on each side.

 

 

[Ulu]

Today I was geared up to start welding all those new parts in; but I needed a field day in the boat yard, and I spent some hours cleaning up my big mess.

 

I still managed to get in some minor welding. I filled an unnecessary hole in the pan, and added a dozen extra spot welds to help hold the pan and it’s reinforcement together.

 

My subframe hangers needed a couple holes and so I drilled them in, but before that, I decided that I didn’t need those original factory holes in my sub frame hangers, so I welded those up.

Edited October 3 by Ulu

[Ulu]

Several mundane issues have slowed me down, but I did get one of the floor patches welded down today.

 

 

I also welded in the pan doubler, and welded it to the cast hook. No pix of that yet.

 

I was about to start the driver side, when my wife brought me another distraction to deal with.

 

More fun tomorrow.

[Ulu]

Ok, the driver side patch is in now too.

 

 

now I have to trim both patches to fit the big gussets.

[Ulu]

Yesterday, I finally got my floor pan corners trimmed off & the frame rails tied to the VW frame “clip” with big 0.140” thick steel gussets.

 

Now real steel connects the front and rear frames, instead of the sheet metal pan. I can lift a corner of the frame and it does not flex. 

Everything is tacked together heavily. Just a bit more welding and I will prepare to flip the frame over.

Meanwhile, the neighbor’s cat was out there teasing my favorite squirrel. He was really upset too.

I have never heard a louder squirrel in my life. I had to go chase the cat off my fencepost, so I could hear myself think.

[Ulu]

I got the subframe hangers drilled and tacked in place. The setup was a pain, but it is getting done.

 

 

[Ulu]

I’ve been thinking about this for a couple days, and I have finally built something that will work, without much effort.

This big clamp-on pivot will let me flip the frame over.

It took two days of hunting through parts and deciding what to build.

But it only took 15 minutes with saw and drill and ratchet wrenches.

I know it doesn’t look too substantial, but it is stronger than me, and I can lift the front of the fame by hand. It is 3x heavier on the other end.

[Ulu]

It was too breezy to do any more welding, and I decided I would put some “speed holes” in, to lighten my huge gussets. 

There were two unnecessary slots in one gusset, and this would make them match.

I had an old (new) 1.75” hole saw, so:

I was just starting the second one when my hole saw decided to croak. I sharpened it, but that was wasted effort.

It has lost temper and is useless for cutting even this mild steel.

I should have done this on the drill press before welding. I could cut the welds and use my flycutter, but I decided to do it the hard way.

Drilling a hundred little holes, bust it loose, then grind smooth.

I want to do this to the two subframe hangers, but not without a better hole saw.

[Ulu]

Busting it out with a prybar.

 

Using the saw as a gauge, I slowly grind it out round.