Louis' Manx Project

[louisb]

Cool, thanks to the tip guys. When I get ready to start on the *itch* *itch* fiberglass repairs *itch* *itch* I will get in touch with him. Probably be in the spring. Right now the focus is on the pan and engine.

Thanks,

--louis

[Lee.C]

Send me a photoshopped pic of the areas you need replacing and I will let Rob know - he VERY accomodating - Shipping might be a bitch though

[louisb]

I will get some up close ones tonight.

Thanks,

--louis

[louisb]

Tonight's work:



Mocked up for a quick sanity check. Pan halves are from Wolfsburg West. Still some trimming to do but I should be able to weld it in this weekend.

--louis

[Shubee2 (DSK)]

Tonight's work:



Mocked up for a quick sanity check. Pan halves are from Wolfsburg West. Still some trimming to do but I should be able to weld it in this weekend.

--louis

Hey Louis beter call the Cops Someone stole your Seat rails?

[louisb]

Stole nothing, I cut those suckers out with the sawzall. 

--louis

[Neil Davies]

Looking good Louis! E-mail Rob at East Coast Manx, he might be able to mould up the rear arch sections you need and post them to you. He's a good guy and it may well be the sort of thing he'd do to fix an original Manx.

Yep drop rob an email - I am sure he will be able to help 

Rob is on here too - he's ROBTHEMANX, his build thread is about his NED Bug replica.

[louisb]

Cool, I will PM him and see what he thinks.

--louis

[danny gabbard]

 Careful louis, Your on your way to the worlds nicest manx !! Very nice repair and shorting the pan work that you have completed. Off the subject, But how square was the body from the builder. Kinda nice to see how stuff was built many moons ago. Could any thing been improved?

[Lee.C]

Careful louis, Your on your way to the worlds nicest manx !! Very nice repair and shorting the pan work that you have completed. Off the subject, But how square was the body from the builder. Kinda nice to see how stuff was built many moons ago. Could any thing been improved?

Agreed cool work on the pan - thats pretty much what we've done (me&Rob) but we also cut and lifted that dropped section so we have an almost flat flooor

Worth it if you eevr wanna take it for a spot of off roading and trust me YOU WILL 

[louisb]

Careful louis, Your on your way to the worlds nicest manx !! Very nice repair and shorting the pan work that you have completed. Off the subject, But how square was the body from the builder. Kinda nice to see how stuff was built many moons ago. Could any thing been improved?

Thanks Danny, its not up to your quality of work yet but I am getting better. Really wishing I had a TIG right now so I could do the roll bar myself. My little 110 MIG won't handle it. As for the body, its a little off but I am not sure if it was a manufacturing thing or just age and abuse. This body was built after Bruce Meyers left the company and I have heard quality dropped some after that. The front bulkhead is bowed out and the rear of the body seems to be about 1" - 2" narrower than the pan will end up being. I will have to figure out some way to fix it. Its a question of cutting the pans some or cutting the body some.

Agreed cool work on the pan - thats pretty much what we've done (me&Rob) but we also cut and lifted that dropped section so we have an almost flat flooor
Worth it if you eevr wanna take it for a spot of off roading and trust me YOU WILL 

Honestly, if I had not already had the pan halves from WW I would probably have fabed up a flat floor with square tubing and 18 gauge steel sheet. Or just purchased one of the Berrian tube frames with fiberglass floors.

--louis

[Jon]

Nice work Louis, very tidy!

[The Ideaman]

Dunebuggy Dave Barret builds these in town.  If and when I do a buggy, it will have one of these with a tunnel welded or bolted to the spine for registration purposes.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=291681

[louisb]

lol, you and Bryan67 must think alike. He just PMed me the same info. Those are nice too and I know he makes a cross country trip once a year. I just like trying to do things myself. To me, building them is as much fun as driving them. I must me touched in the head.

--louis

[Shubee2 (DSK)]

lol, you and Bryan67 must think alike. He just PMed me the same info. Those are nice too and I know he makes a cross country trip once a year. I just like trying to do things myself. To me, building them is as much fun as driving them. I must me touched in the head.

--louis

Hey Louis Did You Forget About your 66?  What Happened to Sweep the Floor Manx???  LOL your getting like me once you get out in the garage you look around, its real easy to find something to Do I have Three cars Going at once and Cant get Any of them Done LOL

[louisb]

I think I blew through that $1000 budget in about three days. 

I am trying really hard to keep this project from getting out of hand but you know how it goes, especially when you tend to have high standards. The '66 is on hold for a bit while I get the Manx up and running. I want something I can drive and realistically the '66 is a five (or more) year project. By having a running car I will be less likely to cut corners with the '66 just to get it done. At least that's what I keep telling myself. I hope to have the Manx done by end of summer, then I will get back to the '66.

--louis

[Lee.C]

I think I blew through that $1000 budget in about three days. 

I am trying really hard to keep this project from getting out of hand but you know how it goes, especially when you tend to have high standards. The '66 is on hold for a bit while I get the Manx up and running. I want something I can drive and realistically the '66 is a five (or more) year project. By having a running car I will be less likely to cut corners with the '66 just to get it done. At least that's what I keep telling myself. I hope to have the Manx done by end of summer, then I will get back to the '66.

--louis

A Manx...... A 66 project...... you sound WAYYYYYYYYY to much like me dude 

[louisb]

At least I know how to blame now. 

--louis

[Hotrodvw]

Nice!  This is gonna be a great ride for you!   

[danny gabbard]

Cool, thanks to the tip guys. When I get ready to start on the *itch* *itch* fiberglass repairs *itch* *itch* I will get in touch with him. Probably be in the spring. Right now the focus is on the pan and engine.

Thanks,

--louis

  Use baby powder to clog your pore's in your skin before doing glass work! No more itch!!

[louisb]

I have never heard that one before. I will give it a try when I start the body work.

Just as an update, I decided to take Lee's advice and cut out the lowered section of the floor pans. I will fill the hole with some 18 gauge sheet metal once I get my hands on a bead roller.

--louis

[Lee.C]

Good idea dude - its not mine idea though, I have Rob at eastcoastbuggies for mine 

[kingsburgphil]

Cool, thanks to the tip guys. When I get ready to start on the *itch* *itch* fiberglass repairs *itch* *itch* I will get in touch with him. Probably be in the spring. Right now the focus is on the pan and engine.

Thanks,

--louis

  Use baby powder to clog your pore's in your skin before doing glass work! No more itch!!

Thanks for the tip...

[louisb]

Couple of update shots. Got the windshield and mirrors mounted last night. I used a Berrien kit to mount the windshield and it worked great. I also mounted the steering column support but didn't get any pics. The mirrors are repos I think from a 1970s Honda motorcycle. They fit the period theme perfect. You can also see the standard VW steering wheel I picked up as well. I like it because it doesn't have the horn ring.  This weekend I am going to pick up my new hard top.

Its almost starting to look like a real buggy.    In the foreground is the rebuilt tranny from Locash Racing waiting to be installed.













--louis

[Lee.C]

Diggin the mirrors dude 

[Hotrodvw]

I would love to do a project like that!   

[louisb]

After an 11 hour drive I picked up my new hard top yesterday. Here is a pic of it set in place. I am really digging the orange and black combo.



Now I need to decide what color to paint my steel rims. White, black or silver. Currently leaning towards silver as see in this pic:



I really like this blue buggy.

--louis

[chopperdentist]

I won!! I drove 26 hours in a weekend to go at the European bug In to have my hardtop!!   

Cool seeing new update about your Manx, where did you found the hardtop?

[louisb]

I won!! I drove 26 hours in a weekend to go at the European bug In to have my hardtop!!   

Cool seeing new update about your Manx, where did you found the hardtop?

I found a guy here in Florida who had planned to build a vintage style Manx and then changed his mind. He was selling off all the parts he had collected.

--louis

[Neil Davies]

Looking really good Louis, I'm more than a bit jealous!