Louis' Manx Project

[louisb]

Nice wagon.

--louis

[Bryan67]

Thanks. It was fun while I had it but just couldn`t live without a VW I guess.

[louisb]

For kicks and giggles I decided to mock up the buggy with the new rims & tires to see what it would look like. I was a little concerned that the front tires were too wide for the look I want but I am happy with them now that I see them up against the buggy. I may go a little lower than this in the end but not too much. I still have not been able to get the rear tires to seat correctly so I may end up taking them to the tire shop.



--louis

[fredy66]

nice

[Bryan67]

Looks good but maybe the front tires are a little tall.

[Jon]

That stance looks badass! I like the thread on the back tires as well

[Zach Gomulka]

LOVE IT!

[Nico86]

That looks great ! You should go with a red/orange metalflake like the body color is now.

[Lee.C]

Looking good dude (ps I recieved your package back the other day "undelivered"  I will resend it on tuesday!)

[louisb]

Been working on the fenders over the past few days. Got one sanded down and the other ready to be sanded. I still need to do a little shaping and some more filler before they are done.


Passenger side ready for filler and final shaping:







Grinding down the driver's side before laying 'glass.







Waiting on it to dry:







It has been raining non-stop here for several days and the temp is up in the '90s. I have been trying to work on it early in the morning before it gets too hot. I am so ready for fall.

Thanks,

--louis

PS: No worries Lee. I am sure it will get here sooner or later. 

[louisb]

I have been down for the past week with a major sinus infection. That and the fact that we have had 100+ temp and 98% humidity for the past couple of weeks means I didn't get anything done last week. But if I go too long without working on the Manx I feel like a bad parent so I sucked it up today and spent a couple hours sanding on it. Got the driver's side fender roughed in and most of the Passenger's side fender filled and sanded.








I also started dealing with this issue. As you can see the lip does not line up correctly with the top hat. I drilled a hole in the front and put in an eye bolt backed with a fender washer. Then hooked up the come-along and started stretching it. I used the halogen lamps in the bottom of the picture to add a little heat as well. It seems to be working but it's not where I want it just yet.







Time for a beer.

--louis

[louisb]

Finished up block sanding the rear fenders where the new sections were grafted in. I also finished up another small repair and mounted the rear tail lights and license plate light. I hope to get those off to the chromers soon. I still need to finish up the repairs where I widened the rear of the body and glass in the wire tubes since mine are missing and clean up the mounting flange but that is it for the shell. Still lots to do to the hood though so the itching is not over yet.


Fenders Done! The profile may not be exactly the same from side to side but as Bill Hines once said "You can only see one side of the car at a time." Or something to that effect.













Tail lights mounted. I am still not sure if I will run the solid red lenses of the Euro style. I do plan to convert them to LEDs though. I was thinking of adding a backup light w/ a red housing as a third brake light right above the license light but I may not.







Inner rear fender area. This section has a big hole where the original mounts were ripped out. I have some sturdier mounts in mind to help support this area. A friend of mine is going to make up a rear seat back and bottom which I will Velcro in place. That way they can be removed and a box can be installed for storage on longer trips. If I get adventuresome, or lose my mind, I may try to make the rear box out of fiberglass.




Boy I can't wait to see this all in one color. It almost looks like a real Manx body. I found a painter up in Tenn that will be doing the metal flake paint. Bass boat flakes, here I come.




Thanks,

--louis

[louisb]

Oh yeah, forgot to post a pic of the front bulk head area I pulled back into shape



--louis

[Zach Gomulka]

Fenders Done! The profile may not be exactly the same from side to side but as Bill Hines once said "You can only see one side of the car at a time." Or something to that effect.

"If cars were meant to be symmetrical, they'd say "FORD" on one side, and "DROF" on the other

Looking good, Louis!

[chopperdentist]

hand made staff never looks simmetrical!!! 

my car isn't simmetrical!!!! but it looks good the same! 

really good job.

[louisb]

Picked up my pan and suspension parts from the sandblasters today. The pan will get a coating of rust bullet and then bed liner. The suspension parts will probably just get a coat of rattle can black.







--louis

[louisb]

I was home the last two days with a sinus infection, the second one this month. So I took the opportunity to paint the suspension parts and reinforced the tunnel access hole with 1/8" x 1" flat stock.  Hopefully this weekend I can get the first coat of rust bullet on the pan. Oh, and the temp outside today is 112+ deg F.







In other news I am looking at FI for the engine instead of the 40 IDFs I had planned. (Mild 1835) If anyone has any input on running a buggy with FI I would like to hear it. I am thinking a Megasquirt brain box and one of the Mexico FI setups as see here:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=519841

It looks like a nice clean simple setup, but in the end, price may be the deciding factor. I could sell the freshly rebuilt Italian IDFs to recoup some of the cost.  Still, I need to get this buggy finished some time this century. I am already getting grief from certain parties at the length of time this 3 month build is taking. 

It also looks like I will need to come up with another BJ beam as the one I sent to the sandblasters came back with several holes in it. Two steps forward, etc, etc.

Thanks,

--louis

[Shubee2 (DSK)]

Hey Louis I got a Beam for you
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=992523

[Eddie DVK]

Tail lights mounted. I am still not sure if I will run the solid red lenses of the Euro style. I do plan to convert them to LEDs though. I was thinking of adding a backup light w/ a red housing as a third brake light right above the license light but I may not.

Nice project to follow, but what I don t understand is why aren t you/people using Bus ('66) taillights and place them horizontaly,
saw that once and looked the part on buggies.
Sorry for this comment.

Kind regards edgar

[louisb]

Hey Louis I got a Beam for you
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=992523

Nice beam Shubee but I don't think I want to drive to Tejhas to pick it up. 

--louis

[louisb]

Tail lights mounted. I am still not sure if I will run the solid red lenses of the Euro style. I do plan to convert them to LEDs though. I was thinking of adding a backup light w/ a red housing as a third brake light right above the license light but I may not.

Nice project to follow, but what I don t understand is why aren t you/people using Bus ('66) taillights and place them horizontaly,
saw that once and looked the part on buggies.
Sorry for this comment.

Kind regards edgar

Hi Edgar,

I dont think I have ever seen bus tail lights on a buggy before. It probably would look good though. Thanks for the comment.

--louis

[Shubee2 (DSK)]

I can ship it to you LOL  Lights look good on the Buggy but I think you are starting to part out the 66?? Why not use the beam in the 66 since you are going for the 6 inch narrowed  look in the front and 2 clicks in the rear  Dont Ya just love that Look??? LMFAO!!!

[louisb]

I just borrowed the tail lights, they are not that hard to come by. I probably will use the '66 beam since I have a lowered 2" replacement already.

--louis

[louisb]

Jeff Denham contacted me yesterday to let me know my heads are ready. This is the second set of heads done for me by Jeff and as always the work looks top notch. They are a small oval port with 40 x 35 valves. Engine will be an 1835 w/ a Webcam 163. Should be a nice little cruiser motor. Here are a couple of photos:







Thanks,

--louis

[Donny B.]

Remembering back in the day most of the Manx bodied cars I saw had '65-'66 Mustang tail lights.  The fit well and looked good.  You probably won't want to do that, but there sure were a lot with those on them.  Hey I have a set of the smaller taillights from an oval.  They look good, but need upgrading to be seen.

[louisb]

I never cared for the mustang tail lights on a buggy. I thought about the Oval style lights but I am already worried about getting rear ended. I think I am going to try and rig up a third brake light some how. I plan to convert the ones I have to LEDs as well which should be fun when I do the wiring. Speaking of Donny, you want to fly out and stay a week in Florida and wire this thing? 

Thanks,

--louis

[Bryan67]

Louis, you got the look right. All you need to do now is chrome the T lights and Lic. light.

[Zach Gomulka]

I agree, it looks right. And the license plate light housing can just be polished, if you decide to go that route

[louisb]

Put a coat of Rust Bullet silver on the top of the pan. I decided to go ahead and get a coat on due to the high humidity, as the pan was already developing a nice coating of surface rust. Unfortunately, I miscalculated how much I needed and only had enough for one side. Next time I will know to order at least a quart.








I am almost tempted to leave it silver but I plan to put a coating of the black top coat they make after I have welded on the skid plate.

Thanks,

--louis

[Shubee2 (DSK)]

Put a coat of Rust Bullet silver on the top of the pan. I decided to go ahead and get a coat on due to the high humidity, as the pan was already developing a nice coating of surface rust. Unfortunately, I miscalculated how much I needed and only had enough for one side. Next time I will know to order at least a quart.








I am almost tempted to leave it silver but I plan to put a coating of the black top coat they make after I have welded on the skid plate.

Thanks,

--louis

Will THe Skid Plate Fit With The 4 Quart Sump you will be Using?? LOL