Finally started the General Vee
 

I have been tossing this around for some time. I have been torn between a baja (which I started with) or a rod of sorts. So I have decided to blend aspects of the two together. I have a bunch of house work to do before I can get this baby started. But I think I will take a weekend and get it stripped down. The body is almost 100% straight. Won't need much to get ready. Hardly any rust. Link pin front, type 3 rear. I have been wavering between a hard topped window less style and a carson style. The jury is still out. I am going to take some cues from the Kubel as far as extra equipment. Kind of a survivalist recreational vehicle.:funny: It wont be dumped, but lowered. The orange looking stuff will be a Copper paint and alot of stuff will be hammer formed copper simply riveted to the chassis. I am not sure if the paint will be flat or gloss. Just wanted to share the rendering.

Mike

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

damm that would be awesome if it came out just like the picture. thats gnarly and i love the running boards

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

holy shit man, thats fuckin awesome

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

That is just flat cool!

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I'm guessing you've seen Chip Foose's P32 project ?

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Thanks guys. I look forward to sharing aot of the fab process. Got a lot of cool stuff lined up for it. I have been ebaying and craigslisting and sambaing my ass off for goodies. Not sure on the wheel combo yet. Nothing fancy. Going to try soe stuff mocked up on the puter.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I have seen it here.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I like!!! I like!!!:bow:

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Love the military look.Great drawing.Do it!

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

The roof line looks real good.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

looks cool mike! :grin:

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Dude if you need any help let me know. I got a grinder and Hobart mig. I know just the place to get the roof sewn up too after we build the frame ofcourse.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

how are you guys making these pictures? like is it a specific program? they're awesome!

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I use Corel Draw for most of the illustration work. Some times I use a photo editing program like Painter or P-shop to do some final detail or lighting effect. Any vector program like Illustrator, Freehand, or Draw should do it. Just got to get to know the program. I will start by doing some sketching in pencil, but most often I just embed a photo into my drawing page then use that as a template.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for my stuff. Mostly Photoshop. I have a little step-by-step on my website here:

CarArt by John - The Process

Very nice rendering and concept, PalePainter.:bow: :bow:

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

looks cool.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Hi Jaronson,
I totally dig the how to's. I think I may have seen some of your other work over at the Hoodride site. Absolutely killer work!!! You have a great style with your work. I primarily do airbrush work, but dig the puter projects when they come along. I use alot of vector art with my airbrush, so it kind of goes hand in hand.

Totally killer conceptual stuff on your site!! Very inspirational!
Mike

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I appreciate the offer to help. I may take ya up on it when time comes.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Well lets see, It has been almost 3 years of living in Colorado doing nothing but remodeling in my spare time. I promised my wife I wouldnt start any car projects until the house was done.:love: Ah, well....the house is done now. It's exactly the way my wife wanted it.

SO NOW IT IS MAN CAVE TIME!!!!

I have been lurking the forums for most of the time I have been gone, have been greatly inspired by quite a few of the projects here, Johns Type 3, Hawaiin Punch, ClarkCustom's Section 8 and a few different truck projects I have been keeping up on. Great work everyone, thank you for keeping me from selling my cars.

I have decided to keep the sedan roofline with a Capella chop. I am debating going for the hard top look and removing the B pillar. I am not quite firm on it yet. 4.5" chop in the front and 2.5 in the rear. I am going to keep the stock rear glass unless I can find an oval clip to graft. I have my eyes open for an 8 in beam extension. Not wanting to cut into the hood for the 10 in beam. I am going to utilize VW door hinges for a suicide door set up. Also am considering an earlier model windshield section to obtain a lower looking front roof line. Also, the rag top to be plopped in as well


I am starting with a 66 relatively rust free that I found between a barn and a house here in North Colorado. A couple hundred later I was down the road with a car on trailer and a title. Weeeeee.

I have gutted the full car and removed all the burnables. Found about 400 bucks worth of gold locket and chain in the car. Gave it to my daughter. I will be keeping the original General Vee for another project after this one is done.
Here are a few pics from the disassembly and the concept I am going to go with.

Only a couple of rust patch panels needed on this.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Sounds like you got it planed Mike. Look forward to watching the progress :thumbsup:

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I have had nothing but planning time with it Carlene. HHEHEHE. I have been pushing this carcass in and out of my shop for almost 3 years. Every time I moved it, I got a new idea. I suppose it was a blessing because I will not be jumping into it with no clue of how it will begin or how it will end.

My new years resolution this year was two fold. First to drop about 15 lbs, and then finish the car. I figured the time in the garage will easily shave off the lbs as long as I am drinking light beer. :)

I am going to attack the aprons then the roof this week.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Looks like an awesome concept. one to watch for sure.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Yeah I look forward to seeing this one progress!

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Got a few hours after working on hockey masks today. Got the preliminary cut work done on the rear and front aprons. Now I have room for a beam extender when I can find it.

Couple questions, has anyone done 10in beam extender with center steer? Just curious if there there was room behind the hood for the latch mech?

Also, for those running the hacked rear apron where it doesnt utilize the stock heat isolation tin that holds the seals connecting to engine tin. Have you noticed significant increase in operating temperatures or are you compensating with external cooling?

Couple pics from this eve's hackfest.:sawzall:
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/rear.jpg
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/front.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

is it cool that, thats almost exactly what i had planned? almost to the "T" actually. i didnt have a cool name for it but that pretty much what ive got going on at the moment. im out on the road so i cant really provide up to date progress pics but yeah thats just about what im doing minus the chop.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Looks really cool, good luck with it

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I got a oval clip for 150 + ship pm me if your interested

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

The car looks like a very solid platform to work from........keep up the good work in the "man cave":thumbsup: btw.... post plenty of photos as you do the chop!

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Well the mancave was busy today. It was a one man show, but this not being my first time at the rodeo, it wasn't too bad.

The door was sprung bad and the edge where the door skin meets the hinge needed flattening. So I made a piece of wood that set on top of the rivets inside giving me a great support to bend the doorskin back to its spot with a couple wacks with a flat hammer.

Started off with getting the driver door aligned properly before I started cutting. I had to replace a lower hinge as it had been sprung bad and there was no longer a gap in the front of the door. Not sure of the best way to deal with it, I called my bro Matt Howard at www.deluxecustoms.com .
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/hinge1.jpg

http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/hinge2.jpg
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/hinge3.jpg

Above you can see the bad jam gap.


He advised me to insert a small 7/16 socket into the jam. Placing it right over the phillips door screw. Then you close the door carefully not to crush your fingers. You need to adjust it this way incrementally to not go too far the other way. You can feel it make its changes. You can prob see from the pics better than I am explaining.
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/hingefix1.jpg

So with the adjustment, here is the results. The door will soon come off and finish welding now that I got the Mig set up and running smoothly.

http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/hinge4.jpg

So now it was bracing time, I went with 1x1 square thick wall steel. I had to run the brace from rear door jam drivers to Readdoor jam pass side at the right position so I wouldn't have to remove it to do the hardtop and remove the b pillar.


I took one of the frontal pictures and checked the chop with photoshop before I started cutting.
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chopcheck.jpg
I was happy with the visual vote of conidence, and it was time for a beer and move on. I took out the verniers and measured around the A pillar to determine where I would get the best results cutting. I found the narrowest and most uniform point on the post and marked it. Then I measured 2.2 above and below that point. Then I checked multiple dimensions at those two points to determine how much relief would need to be applied vertically to the post. It really wasnt that much.
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/measure1.jpghttp://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/measure2.jpg
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/measure3.jpg


After I had measured, I cut a row if vinyl on my plotter exactly 4.5 inches and threw it over the marks trying to keep it as perpendicular to the post as possible.

I busted out the Sawzall with a 6 in metal blade. A good sharp one is advisable. Finished with a cut off wheel to clean it up a bit.
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/firstcut.jpg

Then I just hacked through the c pillar leaving the b pillar untouched until I had the back done. This way it wouldn't bind the blade doing the complex cut. I simply drew a line from the furthest part of the curve in the rear glass and split it right down the quarter just above the fender body line.
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/cpillar.jpg

Then it was time to hack through the b pillar and get it ready for alignment in the front. I cut through and then moved the entire section forward so I could see how much it affected the rear section. It moved ahead approx 2,5 inches. Hopefully a 36hp doghouse will work with clearance.

http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop1.jpg Above you can see the main cut full welded. The rest tacked. I will prep the rest of the metal when I am ready to fully weld.
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop2.jpg Here is how the rear is looking after it has been roughly moved into position. To remove the 2.25 inches, I simply marked the bottom with tape after I had the front into position. I measured the distance off the edge of the top piece then removed the material from the lower rear quarter. It will take just a minimal amount of clean up on the firewall in the back.

I am going to set up the back tomorrow and start welding it up.

http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop4.jpg
Below you can see it clamed up with the relief cuts in the upper roof section. I will be finishing up all the welding tomorrow.

http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop5.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

All in all this was exactly the way I cut my 39 ford. I can not imagine doing a chop any other way honestly. This is going to be a breeze to simply drop the rag top section in it and do a bit of hammering a little mud work. It certainly was the way to work by yourself. Over all drop was 4.5 in the front and 2.25 in the rear. I will start the hardtopping tomorrow and getting rid of all the be pillar. I will compensate for chassis strength with a 6 point cage in the future that I will be mounting my 50 cal to through the ragtop. :)http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/BACKSHOT.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Finished the outside section on the driver side rear. Came out pretty clean with a bit of contemplation with a Guiness. :) I tacked the roof section in the center of the car on the firewall keeping the roof section on center. Then I peeled out the backside of the rear quarter panel so I cound get in with a hammer and a dolly. Heading over to the passenger side now. Then on to the b pillars and the hardtopping.http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop7.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

http://www.volksrods.com/forum/attac...0&d=1262736839

I'm diggin' your concept. Progress is lookin' good.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

that's an awesome graphic!

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Thanks guys.

I got the passenger side done today. I will show you a couple pics of the slices I had to make in the rear quarter and how I had to sew it all back together. It really was a matter of putting in the relief cuts and working and trimming away as you moved towards the rear deck lid. I used a contour guide to check progress matching from side to side.

http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop13.jpg
Above gives you an idea of how much was taken vertically out of the rear section. I removed all the foam in the rear section so I wouldn't burn the place down. I measured the height both sides from identical positions and made a mark for how far down to bring the rear quarter and set before tacking.
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop12.jpg
Above you can see the two relief cuts I had to make in the rear sail panel. This kept things flowing as it all tapers out before the rear decklid. I had to move everything up about a 16th of an inch on this side, so I had a bit of gap to tack up.

As I worked back towards the deck lid, I trimmed and hammered and welded as I went until I had everything tacked together about half in a part. Then I started to come back in and fill.
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop11.jpg
You can see it mostly stitched together here. I had cleared out the inner panels so I could get to the welds while they were warm. I continued to hammer on the panel with the dolly on the outside to streth the seam back out. Every now and then a few strikes with out the dolly backing was needed.

http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop8.jpg
Here you can see the inner panel peeled back to access the seam. You can also see how nicely the fire wall lined back up with the top edge of the vent area under the window.

http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop9.jpg
And finally the rear shot so you can see how easily things lined up. I will wait until I get the motor back in to figure out how I will be skirting the areas on the side under the deck lid.

Over all, quite happy with the results. Only a few chunks taken out of my hands, but that is par for the course.:dancing:

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Oh ya...My wife took this one for me after she helped me put the rag top back in.http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop10.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I feel your happiness at the stage of cutting and pasting. Your ride has that apearens your looking for. that is always a good feeling. A dead friend always told me if you dont find the time to finish you never will. keep it up, looks good :wink:

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Has anyone seen one of these for a Beetle rear glass. http://www.jcwhitney.com/jcwhitney/p...1789G_CL_1.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Wow, talk about a very methodical way of measuring and planning.:wacko: I just cut and eyeball and hope it turns out decent. :Idunno: Looking forward to more progress.:thumbsup:

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Back in the early 80's yeah. Haven't seen one of them for anything in years, let alone a bug. I liked the aluminum ones that mounted inside more. Cleaner look, same function.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I found some with 3 or 4 louvers still in production actually. Pricey though. Hoping to find an abandoned one. Chances are slim.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I started to work on the B pillar and the rear section on the drivers side. I checked the differences in contours along the sides with my little friend here.
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop17.jpg
Then I cut up the rear side window frame relocated it to its rough position. I also had to realign the door window frame as well. Then I tacked the rear side window frame where it attched to the upper quarter panel. Then seen how far I needed to bring down the front section in order to get it to line up with the door. I have a bit of tweaking and tacking to do tomorrow eve. I wanted to stop and get away from it for the eve to evaluate where I am before I go any further. :panic:

Here is the shot of it mocked up and then the computer enhancement to see how it will work out. I am considering getting rid of the drip rail all together. But not sure.
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop15.jpg http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop16.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I made a new sail panel with a cardboard template and a plasma cutter. I used the cardboard and the cutting guide. Cuts fast and clean.

Then I took it over to the english wheel to make some long passes across the length of the metal. This gave me the compound curve I was looking for to get a nice smooth transition off the back of the quarter panel into the roof under the drip rail.
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop18.jpg
I had to do a few checks with the curves then put it through the wheel a few times. Trying to get it to fit nicely with out having to force it into place. I tacked it all up and and need to make a decision on the rail at this time before I head into the door area. Not sure yet. I think this is a good time to go back to capping off the door jam area.

http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop19.jpghttp://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop20.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Sitting here looking at the photos, the drip rail doesn't look bad in it's stock location. Opinions?

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I like it with the stock drip rail.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I'm with you on the drip rail, but I'm also wondering if that's because it follows the line of the new sail panel? Once you blend that panel in will the rail look out of place? It still follows the upper body line though so that might help.

Where's John? He is the photoshop master. :grin:

I think maybe a better side view of the whole car might help see it better?

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

John's probably photoshopping my project as we speak..:licklips:..or not....

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I photoshopped the rail in above kind of following the new opening, But I do not like the way it ends in the middle of the car. It is either stock or with out it all together. Not sure, gonna contemplate this eve.
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop21.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

G'day... I'm sure your Idea for the General Vee is Great from the other replies but I cant seem tio find a Picture of it... am I missing something? I'd like to see it!:unsure:

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Ok Ignore my last as soon as I posted it all of the Pictures and your concept became visable, what can I say WOW I think its Awesome... I must admit you have a great eye for style and it looks to be coming to life very well.... I am currently lookin at building a military themed volksrod as i'm in the Australian Army and have an interest in these vehicles I really like Military rthemed cars and bikes well done and I will be keeping a keen and interested eye on your project all the best with it all.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Looks like one of them frenchy cars. or like pepi le peu

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Got the back part of the door tightened up and am going to start door glass frame next. Here is this eves progress.

I have been managing to sneak in an hour here and there. Thank god for the heater in the shop though.
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop22.jpghttp://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop23.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I like it with the stock rail, keeps the eye going long. Following the window, it makes the car feel short. Plus that lil area might make a nice place for a lil airbrushed scene later ;)

It's nice to watch someone building during winter, and thank you for posting so many pics! :thumbsup:

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Finished up tacking and cutting the door window frame. I have a bit more to tack up on the driver side then I will go in and do all the finish welding. I am doing a bit at a time to avoid warpage. The convex curve of the new sail panel help keeping the shape, unlike welding flat sheetmetal.
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop24.jpghttp://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop25.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I ordered my beam extension today from Doug. I am looking forward to it. I have a friend down in AZ who builds buggies and is setting me up with a new rack and pinion steering system for the bug. He will have the entire set up available as well if anyone is interested. He will be sending me the Solidworks rendering of the mounting unit. I will post it when it is here.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Are you going to make the drip rail follow the contour of the window opening ?

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I have debated that heavily and am going to keep it where it is. I think it will flow better to the back of the car in a more sweeping fashion.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Finished up all the welding and grinding on the outside of the car's roof. It is pretty sturdy with out the B pillar. The increased area in the sail panel seems to have stiffened it up nicely, I would imagine even more once the inner panels are locked down. I capped off the door and have a bit of shaping to do in the glass channel. I am going to do a few mods to the deck lid and the hood later. Then move on to the other side so I can cut out the bracing and then do the inner welding.

http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop26.jpghttp://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop27.jpghttp://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop28.jpg

The car eagerly awaits the beam extension and rack and pinion mount. A friend of mine who is a great suspension guy is doing the rack set up for me. You can see his work here. http://www.fergfab.com/

I am looking into tires right now as well. I am happy with the fronts I have, but have not been able to find a widened smoothie rim so I can run a fattie. I am going to hold out for a while before I get the rear tires until I decide what to do there.

Gotta get back at it.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Nice work Mike :thumbsup:

is it dun yet? :grin:

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Lookin good man!

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

HEHEHE...Slacka.....:stoned:

Thanks guys,
I welded up all the trim holes today. Shaved the hood and the decklid. I will get pics tomorrow. The welder is really working well. I am going to get rid of all of the fender mounting holes on this side of the car while I have this side next to the fab table. Once I get finished with the majority of the heavy fab work on this side of the car, I will back it out and flip it around and repeat. I think this will work better for me in this kind of sequence.

I am up in the air on headlight treatments. I was considering mounting the early bug lights into the sides of the lower aprons but will not verify that until the beam is in it's final position. Oddly, I think one of the old bug lights would look great where the handle is. HAHAHA. Kind of a cyclops, but I do not know if that is legal on a car. I will have to do a mockup. :Idunno:

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

and look at you, you come back 5hrs later with no pics~
yeah, slacka :tongue:

(and then you edit, bad boy lol!)

btw~ what are you doing for door windows or will there be none? with the door more or less frameless now (which I think is pretty cool) just curiuos , sorry if I missed it in a previuos post~

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Honestly Carlene, I am up in the air on the windows. The rear glass will be permanent using the stock seal. I was considering making a front post that attaches to that glass. It would resemble that of something like on a ghia rear roll up window. That would provide the seal between the two. I have been trying to keep things in order enough to be able to do some kind of roll up. But the only problem is that the glass would have to be down to open the door. Not a big issue. I had also considered no glass at all on the sides and using safety netting in the rear attached to the cage inside. I had also considered using plexy on the sides and making a sliding opening on the door pieces. I figured with the ragtop, getting wind in the car wont be an issue, especially with a little rake. I am pondering a safari front window while I am at it too.

Lots of decisions, but trying to have some leeway until I am forced to decide.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

:tongue:Here ya go Carlene. Just for you.

Some shots of this eve's progress. In the one pic, you can see the cyclops concept I was messing with for lighting. I will have to consult DMV for legality issues, but I do not think so. Kind of oddly cool.

http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/mono.jpg

http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop29.jpg
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop30.jpg http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop32.jpghttp://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop31.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Hmm, the windows are gonna be tricky, but I like that mod for a car that wouldn't care if it got a bit damp inside. Could look into the snap in pieces like that in jeeps. But the safety net gives a bit more to the military feel though kinda mad max :)

Not sure of that cyclops look, yet lol!

And thanks for the pics of the lil tedious stuff of last night,:love: motivational for some. But for me? nah, I just like to watch you guys work :grin:

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Today I went in and got rid of all of the fender bolt holes and welded in little squares in their respective spots. I assessed the rust in the lower rear and the inner rear wheel well. I will need to do a bit there as well.

I also got rid of the trim holes on the rear deck lid and fit an earlier plate light housing. I messed around with the bees hive taillights too. Not sure where to mount them until I get the rear apron in. That will have to wait until I get the motor fitted later on.

Still up in the air on lighting in the front. I was looking at some later model Ford Taurus head lamps that could be made to look good on the lower apron area. Something that is going to be practical yet different.

I have a bit of weld flash today. I will give it a break for this eve.

http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop36.jpghttp://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop37.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

So, you were able to chop the top without having to cut the roof up into sections (no need for a donor roof) by making relief cuts and making it fit? Do you think a guy could just move the front window pillar (B post) back if he wanted to leave that? Your technique seems to be much less work and less parts needed to complete a chop. I like what you're doing here.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

No donor roof needed. No welding in the roof at all. All the stock lines are intact. The reliefs were made in the A pillars and the rear sail panels. The B pillar could have been relocated, moved back about 2.5 inches and a piece of sheetmetal could have been bent to fit. Had I kept the B pillar, I would have angled it forward. I had considered that too.
This is the Capella method basically.

The crucial part is figuring out how much drop in the rear. The more you drop it, the tougher it gets to realign everything back up. I went with about 2.5 in the rear. But the way I am redoing the side openings makes it look a bit less of a slant chop. Even before with a 4.5 front chop and a 2.5, it doesn't look too slanted. If you are real careful and calculating, you would need no filler piece in the rear sail panel like mine. You would just need to move the lower section of the rear window forward and put in a filler piece of sheetmetal.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Finished up all the welding on the driver side. Cut out a few rust repair areas that will have to wait until the pan is separated from the body. I backed the car out of the shop and turned it around then started the passenger side mods. I capped off the B pillar and started the new rear sail panel.


http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop38.jpg

Looking forward to getting the inner supports cut out and then mounting up the beam extender and finishing off the front apron area. Then I will mount up the motor in order to finish up the rear apron before separating the chassis and body. My plans are to powdercoat the entire undercarriage.

http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop39.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Great work but why is this thread so wiiiiiiiiiiiiide?

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

You must have the resolution on your monitor quite low. The images are 800x600. I am not having any scrolling issues from left to right. If it is a problem for people, I will make the images smaller.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

the pics are fine Mike :thumbsup:

Rodder, Steve did a bit of redesigning, the threads are wider than they used to be, so, dunno :Idunno:

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Most of the other threads are fine but I can only view about 1/3 of this one at a time.Guess I'll keep scrolling since I don't know Jack about changing things in my computer.Still nice work.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Started on the passenger side sail panel and rear quarter reconstruction. After plasma cutting the template close to size, I ran it through the wheel to get the correct convex curve. I checked it compared to the drivers side for symmetry. Then started tacking it to the upper roof line. http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop40.jpg http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop41.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Go faster, I want to see it with the extender on it!

Lookin good. Is that a homebuilt wheel? Got any pictures and build specs for it?

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

It is a home built wheel. It will handle 18 and 20 guage fine. I have only two different wheel set ups for it. One for putting arc in, and one for smoothing after beating with a bag and hammer. It is pretty basic. I will snap a pic of it tomorrow for you. I didnt really have any plans. I found some pics on the Hamb for a bench top wheel and kind of went from there. Grangers has a wide assortment of wheels and bearings that work great. I can not remember part numbers as it was along time ago when I put it together.

I think Doug shipped out the extender today. Weeee. I will get it on when it gets here. I am working on the R/P steering too.

I have yet to decide on tires. I am kind of looking at these on all 4 corners.
http://www.universaltire.com/truck-a...-sta-ndcc.html

The only prob is the fronts will be the same size as the rear. So...I am undecided. If I keep the radials I have in front, I want a tall profile tire for the rear. I have probed a few times about how tall of a tire I can put on stock rim, but have gotten no input. I am going to call a local tire co or Universal to see what they advise.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Those military tires would help carry the theme well, but I also love bigs and littles on fenderless rides. IMHO.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Me too. Love that look of the talls in the rear. It would be easier to emphasize that if I could find widened rims. They want an arm and a leg to widen the rims here locally.

Unfortunately, I can only find the military style tires in one size for the 15 in rim. I will have to do some mockups to see how it will look before I commit. Other wise its gonna look half assed when i get the extension on and have the same smalls on all the rims.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Can you switch to 16" wheels? They have a wider range of sizes, from 600 to 900.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Miller Tire has 16" inch hoops in 3 widths.
http://www.millertire.com/wheel_catalog.asp?class=99

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Do you think those hoops would work with VW center section? That is not a bad idea if it would work.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Measure the VW hoops, ID and OD.

All those 16" hoops have the same 13.5" dia.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Same size tires front and rear sounds practical, like stock,
but bigger/taller on back looks better especially fenderless.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Sometimes it is easier to measure the circumference, instead of diameter.

13.5" dia -> 42.525" circumference.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I will do that. Thanks for the links!

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Got the passenger side window frame tacked in as well as the rest of the sail panel. I will grind and finish welding tomorrow. Then I am going to pull the supports inside so I can get to the inner areas that need welding.http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop42.jpghttp://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop43.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

First off,
Let me throw out some props for Doug and his new BJ/BJ 8" extension. It showed up today. Better than I expected, not that I didn't expect great quality, but was extremely happy with the details and clean welds. You rock dude, and I wish you the best with your business. If you need anything I can offer you for services, just let me know.

So I got it, it was a little banged up on one of the corners from the gorillas in the shipping dept. Easily beat back into place. I sized up the hardware I would need to install and hit the local hardware store. For anyone getting into one of Doug's extenders, here is the list of hardware needed to install,

1. (4) 4 in 1/2 inch grade 8 bolts.
2. (8) Thick grade 8 washers.
3. (4) Split lock washers.
4. (4) Grade 8 nuts.
5. You will reuse the stock bolts that mount the beam to the frame head. Use these bolts to attach the extender.

I will be researching the U joints and the steering extension. I am working on a Rack and Pinion system that should clean things up a bit under the hood.

My wife gave me a hand this eve dropping the beam and resetting it on the new extension. She is a good sport. Now I can get the sheetmetal and head light fabrication done up front. I believe I will be going with dropped spindles on the front to get it down a bit more. I am looking for a nice rake to the stance.

Again,

THANKS DOUG!!! I WILL BE TALKING TO YOU SOON ABOUT SOME MORE STUFF!!!
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop44.jpghttp://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop45.jpghttp://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop47.jpghttp://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop46.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Made decision on my rear tires. I went with 225/75/15's in the rear comfortably on 5.5 rims. It sure helped a lot with the rake and stance of the car. Now I just need to do some rust repair in the lowers and then adjust the spring plates a notch. I am debating on the adjustable beam or the dropped spindles. What have you guys had the most success with?

Here is how it looks with the tire change.
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop48.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

As soon as I get the majority of the structural work done I will take the body off the pan and get busy with the suspension and drive train. I am going to mock it up with a motor first to finalize the exhaust and the rear apron section. Not sure yet on the exhaust, but am going to try a few things lying around here. I may even make my own system. I have a nice collector here and have thought about a stinger out the back with a spark arrestor. So many decisions. I am also measuring for the 6 point cage and getting that bent in the very near future. That will stiffen everything up a bit.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

So, this weekend I sat in my booth at a motorcycle show in Denver. Each time I was able to get away, I ran pas the Custom Chrome booth and eyed up some goodies. A friend of mine is a sales rep for them, so I had him hold some items till the end of the show. I can not tell you what I paid for them but let's just say dealer cost. I am going to make military style black out shields for the lenses after I install H4's.

I also found a really trick item off a heritage softail front fender that will make a great 3rd brake light. I have a lot of fun stuff to work on this week. Very excited to make some unique progress, I will be going out on a limb design wise with a few ideas. But we will see. Anyways, if anyone cares, today's score.

I am done with the chop and will soon permanently mount the rag top also. I am going to bounce around now to maintain a certain creative involvement besides a whole bunch of welding and grinding.

http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop49.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I have also been using the search engine for lowering the rear on swingaxle but not coming up with anything specific. Particularly with pictures or the plate and the axle tube details. Does anyone have any good tech articles from any place regarding dropping the rear one spline on the outside?

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Same as irs for lowering but just swing axle.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

here ya go Mike, from the tech bin~
http://www.volksrods.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15982
just check the link in the first post :)

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Thank you Carlene!!

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

So this evening I made up some brackets for the headlights and got them welded to the beam. I went to Lowes to pick up some metal stock that I didn't have around. I didn't realize how much steel was these days. I will be more resourceful with the scraps I have lying around. I positioned the lights in front of the shock tower to break up the mass of them. I am going to be doing some sheetmetal work to the beam to clean it up as well. Here are a few shots of the lights.
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop50.jpg http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop51.jpg

Then I had an idea and kind of wanted to see how it would look. I would be sectioning the bumper. Basically only using the outside 16 inches or so. The overriders and may look kind of cool all painted to match the rest of the body. Anyways, I held up the bumper and wanted to get an idea.
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop52.jpg
And lastly, this was the final project for the evening just cleared it after finishing the art during the day.
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop53.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Working up mock up for a front bumper. Here is what I have. Opinions?
http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop54.jpghttp://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop55.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

To bore you even further, here is a better shot of the height I like.http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop56.jpg

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

The bumper idea is very cool. Are you going to lower the whole car ?

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

I like the first one.

what about one bumperette in the middle?

-Gary

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

http://www.rollingchrome.com/vw/chop56.jpg I like this one.

Alien right? Cool! just watched that series friday.

Re: My concept for the general Vee
 

Ya Unkl,
I am going to drop the entire car. Spindles in the front and one outer spline in the rear. I don't want excessive camber and don't mind a bit of excessive rake.

Gary,
I had played with the single bumperette, but the two looked more menacing IMO. More of a Dracula feel. HAHAHA.

Carlene,
I like that one also, I will play with the height on Pshop to see where it will go. I am going to get rid of the hand on the lid too. Gotta love the aliens.
Most of my work these days is on guitars.

Thanks for the input guys. Glad to get opinions on the little bumper.

Oh ya, I am going to make the signals apart of the bumperette.