My 2010 technology 66 Bug

[fatalifeaten]

I see some of Pete's hood hinges on there.

What are your plans for the heater tube openings in the shroud?

[agggilli]

Yeah I have a lot of Pete's stuff on the car, the hinges and shocks, ball milled door pulls, full air ride, dropped spindles, Badd Series brakes front and rear, Iron cross jack plugs, ultimate front beam, etc. I've asked a buddy of mine to mill me a couple of aluminum covers that I plan to screw onto the shroud to cover them over. He is slow to get things done however and I may just wind up putting some polished S/S covers over them. I did snap a picture with the doors on last night. Now I just have to get the wiring finished under the hood so I can put the hood on.

[agggilli]

Man it has been so HOT here in NC this year, and we're not even into the really hot stuff yet. Well I am really close to getting her finished now. I drove it down to the gas station last weekend and put 1/2 tank of gas in to to verify my fuel gauge and get an idea if my carb jets are close. It did great with no popping or stuttering, so I think I pretty much nailed that. I am now totally finished with all of the electrical and it all works perfectly. The alarm/security system works great. The key fob locks and unlocks the doors, flashes the parking lights and chirps the siren when you arm the system. Disarm flashes the parking lights twice with two chirps and unlocks the doors. Once inside the car, turn on the ignition and the doors auto-lock in 30 seconds. Shut the ignition off and it unlocks the doors instantly. Very cool!
You can also roll the drivers side window up with the fob if you forget and leave it down.
I installed the electrical cover and trunk carpeting this morning before it got too hot. So what I have left is to install the hood and deck lid and polish them and install the window scrapers. I also want to install a HD skid plate for the Berg sump since it is the lowest part on the car. If I ever lose my air pressure I want to make sure the skid plate hits the ground before the sump. I'm arranging the insurance and getting my custom plate ordered this week. 1 BADBUG. I'm thinking next week I will probably start driving it and start thinking about getting the rest of the AC design completed.
Here's a picture of the completed trunk area. The amp on the driver's side powers the four interior speakers and the smaller one is for the 10" sub-tube behind the back seat.

[agggilli]

So this project is in its final stages. The car is basically finished other than finishing the AC, and I think I'm going to save that project for next spring. This has been an intensive project over the last 18 months, and my wife and wallet are ready for some relief for awhile. I'm going to try and get some nice outdoor photo shots to post up this weekend. I want to just drive and enjoy it for a few months, then finish the air in the spring, so it is ready for next summer.

[agggilli]

Well I haven't found a good outdoor location yet for some outdoor shots, but here a some shots I took that show the interior pretty nicely. Note my new custom drink holder/12vt power supply. I built it and covered it using more of the interior fabrics. This entry is fairly photo intensive. It is probably the last of the photos this year until I post up the outdoor shots. The car looks a sight bit different than when I brought it home. It looks exactly like what I had envisioned in my mind when I started this project. I think at this point the only thing I would do differently is to use the coconut seat pads instead of the foam. I don't like the foam weird line in the back seat bottom. I think I am going to order the coconut pads at least for that cushion and redo it.

[agggilli]

I finally got a few outdoor shots today, I think she looks pretty good. Not bad for a complete do-it-your-self garage restoration. Lots of money in parts and stuff, zero in labor.

[agggilli]

I updated the distributor to a Magnaspark distributor, so here is an updated engine picture.

[DC-Dubs]

What a Sic Ride!!! I have just spent an hour reading your whole thread. What's your real job? Rocket scientist? Brain Surgeon?
How goes your cancer battle?
I have about two million questions to ask... Can I ask a few at a time without bothering you too much? I have already asked to many probably...
Besides knowing about your successful cancer battle here are two questions to start I would love answered:
1. Your airbag brackets; did you custom build those or did they come as a specific Vw beetle kit, and where did you get them?
2. Your widened fenders; fiberglass or steel and where did you get them? I have only seen fiberglass and wondered of their quality.

I bought a 71 beetle vert with 2" widened steel fenders in rear and were done in someone's shop but done very well. I love that look! Many more questions to come if I may?

Thanks,
Benjamin

[agggilli]

Thanks for the compliments Benjamin, the questions are fine. As far as my cancer, I had a radical prostatectomy by DaVinci robot in march 2010 and have been maintaining a <0 PSA ever since. I get it checked every three months just to keep an eye on it and so far I seem to remain cancer free, so a great outcome.
I was a heavy equipment mechanic/welder/fabricator for about 17 years before moving into management. I current manage two engineering departments at a major lift truck company.

I assume you are asking about the upper air bag brackets that are welded on the rear of the pan? Those were purchased as part of an air ride kit from Pete at Airkewld. www.airkewld.com Feel free to ask anything you like, as the whole purpose of the thread was to show what can be done with a little ingenuity and an open mind. There are those that do not like the fact the car is highly modified, and those that do. The point is that it is any individuals choice to do what they wish to their own car, and it can be seen as a blank canvas just waiting for your ideas.

The fenders are fiberglass 2" wider than stock from Ralph out at Inovations in Fiberglass in AZ. I was not happy with the overall quality and bought my hood from Creative Car Craft. It is much better quality, and if I had to do it again I would have purchased the fenders from him. I got to meet him last weekend at Volksfest and he is a great guy. He also had his fenders and hoods on hand and the fenders were night and day better than what I got from Ralph. I bought my power window kit from Ralph, and he is a great salesman and great on the telephone. That is why I bought the fenders from him, but the quality was not there.

Thanks for reading my thread.

Gregg

[DC-Dubs]

So glad to hear that your cancer free! That has to be a relief for the family and yourself....
I made reference to your occupation as a brain surgeon or rocket scientist because of your ingenuity and creativity! But it sounds like your skills are well suited to your job as well.
I have two'66 Bugs. One is my daily driver. It is all original 6 volt with original 1300. Original paint and interior. It's lowered front and rear with stock rims and white walls. It's getting new sewfine replacement interior and new rubber seals all around.
My second 66 is a body off resto. It's been diss mantled and the Pan is going in for sandblasting this week. Not a speck of rust on that one not even in the battery tray. So my next battery of questions:
Transmission? I want something very durable that can handle around 200 hp. What do you recommend? Yours looked like a piece of art! What is the final gear ratio in yours?
Weather strip channel? Did you replace the channel under the front hood? And if so, where can you buy that channel?
Did you go with an adjustable front beam? Plus drop spindles?
Sound deadener? The rattle trap stuff, where is the most economical place to order that from? How much square feet did you end up using?
I will limit my questions to that for now. Thanks for your kindness in taking the time to answer. Have a great day!

Benjamin

[agggilli]

My transmission was a Chirco "Pro-street" with 4.12 x .89 gearing. I painted it and polished the ribs myself. They (Chirco) were pretty expensive though and if I did it again I would probably go with a Rancho.
I believe I got the weatherstrip channels from Mid-America Motor Works, and yes I replaced them all in the front. The front beam is an air ride "Ultimate Beam" from AirKewld, and yes it has dropped spindles from them as well.
The "Fat Mat" Rattletrap is cheapest on Ebay from the manufacturer. I believe I paid about $150 for the 100 foot roll with tool and used about 80 feet to do everything. I also put it behind the stainless in the engine compartment. No problem with asking questions. I certainly do not mind.

[DC-Dubs]

Thanks again for your kindness! And your honest approach to " if I had to do it again". Nothing compliments knowledge like experience!
Are you happy with the front beam and its performance and comfort? Is it worth the price difference from an adjustable beam? I know a flip of a switch is way better than a jack and a hex key... Just wondering what you think?
Did you fabricate your own console between the seats? I know you built the gauge console, very classy by the way!
Is there a place to get a template for the cuts to notch the rear spring plates?
I sure appreciate your time and experience!

Benjamin[/list]

[agggilli]

Yes I am very happy with the front beam and I think the ride is fine. I usually drive it with a normal ride height and only drop it when it is parked or I am showing it.
Yes, I fabricated both consoles from scratch. I usually make what I want from cardboard first to get it exactly the way I want it first, then use the cardboard as my templates for the wood or metal whichever I am using. I got extra material from Sewfine, so I would be able to match the interior and keep it all looking like it came that way.
When I bought the air ride kit from Airkewld the template for the spring plates was in it. I believe if you go to their site and search it, he has it available to download. It is just a sketch on an 8 x 10" piece of paper, but it is actual size, so you just print it, cut it out and lay it on the spring plate to mark it. I bought new HD spring plates for mine, because I didn't know how well those 50 year old spring plates would hold up to being cut and then subjected to twisting with less metal in them.

[DC-Dubs]

Makes good sense on the replacement HD springplates!
I want to try to mock something up for a center console like you made. I have built many many custom speaker enclosures for all types of vehicles and spaces. I use your same practice of fabricating in cardboard first to create templates. What sort of material did you find best suited to build the console structure? The shape is very clever. I like it a lot.
Speaker kick panels? Where did you get those or did you build them yourself? How did you attach them?
Thank you for your time and patience in answering all my questions! Very very kind of you...

Benjamin

[agggilli]

I used a good multiply 1/2" birch plywood for the sides, I believe it was like 6 or 7 ply, and 1/4" plywood for the front. I used glue and a brad nailer to assemble. The speaker kick panels came from Sewfine and they put the carpet on them for me at my request. I don't believe they carry them any longer as she said she thought she had the one pair left, and those are what I bought. They wedged tightly into place, and I put one strategically placed screw into the heater channel for insurance.