Louis' Manx Project

[Hotrodvw]

Looking good Luis!  I'm waiting for some brake lines to get plumbed.   

[ugly duckling]

good job there louis. keep it up . BTW cool neiborhood you live in with all the trees . GITER DONE there sir . UD .

[louisb]

I took the day off today so I could graft in the new rear fender sections.  My friend Bobby came over to provide an extra set of hands and also took the pics.


First two shots are from last weekend when I glassed up the cuts I made in the shell to fit it to the pan:







First we drilled a few holes and used sheet metal screws to hold the  new fender sections together with the shell:







Then we flipped the shell over and I used a jigsaw to cut both the shell and fender sections so they would match:







Fitting up the new sections to check for fit:




Then we used some scrap 18 ga sheet metal and sheet metal screws to hold everything together:










Shot of me glassing in the new sections.




The bracing removed:










Next weekend I will layer in some mat on the bottom and top then coat the top with some epoxy based filler.

Thanks,

--louis

[RobtheManx]

Hi Louis

Looking good , glad to see they were a good fit .

Just a tip , on my Manx's I glass in a length of 40mm flexible rubber hose each side from front to back , from inside the ridge on the rear arch , down the side , ending at the front bunkhead panel. Hold the tube in place with a hot melt glue gun, then glass over the top . This puts a ton of strength into the body to help prevent cracking , and is also great for wiring , just remember to feed a bit of string through the hose before you fit it , for pulling wiring through .

I get the hose from a Koi carp/ garden pond shop .

Rob

[louisb]

That is a great idea Rob. I know the original Manxs had something like that but I guess they quit doing that when Bruce left the company and quality took a back seat. Thanks again for making up those fender sections. Getting those on is a major step forward in resurrecting this old girl.

Thanks,

--louis

[louisb]

I managed to slip out into the garage tonight and start working on the pan braces. Hopefully these will stiffen the pan and body some. I have put the body in summer storage, meaning in the back yard under a tarp, until I can get the pan rolling. Then I will get back to the fiberglass work in the fall when it cools back off.


I started off with some 1" x 1" steel tubing:




Bent it to fit the body with the redneck tube bender (sawzall).







Tubing was not quite long enough so I have to add an extension:




A piece of 1/8" plate will anchor it at each end:






I also plan to use some 1/8" flat stock where the seats bolt in and weld it all up together. 

--louis

[Lee.C]

I managed to slip out into the garage tonight and start working on the pan braces. Hopefully these will stiffen the pan and body some. I have put the body in summer storage, meaning in the back yard under a tarp, until I can get the pan rolling. Then I will get back to the fiberglass work in the fall when it cools back off.


I started off with some 1" x 1" steel tubing:




Bent it to fit the body with the redneck tube bender (sawzall).







Tubing was not quite long enough so I have to add an extension:




A piece of 1/8" plate will anchor it at each end:






I also plan to use some 1/8" flat stock where the seats bolt in and weld it all up together. 

--louis

Great minds think alike dude - I did the EXACT same thing on the SR I just built - I will post some pic's soon 

[louisb]

Please do. I would like to see what you did.

--louis

[Lee.C]

Like I said dude Pretty much EXACTLY the same thing apart from the plate at the front, I "puddle welded" the box section to the pan from the TOP and welded up ALL the "slices" I had made, Then drilled through all the original pan holes, and before painting I ran a bead of seam sealant down each side of the box to fill the gap - The pan was SOOOOOOOOOO much stiffer when it was all finished 

Oh I will be picking up a certain little package for you this weekend by the way 

[louisb]

Like I said dude Pretty much EXACTLY the same thing apart from the plate at the front, I "puddle welded" the box section to the pan from the TOP and welded up ALL the "slices" I had made, Then drilled through all the original pan holes, and before painting I ran a bead of seam sealant down each side of the box to fill the gap - The pan was SOOOOOOOOOO much stiffer when it was all finished 

Oh I will be picking up a certain little package for you this weekend by the way 

Cool, on both parts. Good idea with the seam sealer too. I hope to have the pan to the blasters by the end of the month. BTW, is the SR yours? I know where one is I have had my eye on for a few years. Same guy I got the Manx from has one. But that is a few projects down the road.

--louis

[Lee.C]

Like I said dude Pretty much EXACTLY the same thing apart from the plate at the front, I "puddle welded" the box section to the pan from the TOP and welded up ALL the "slices" I had made, Then drilled through all the original pan holes, and before painting I ran a bead of seam sealant down each side of the box to fill the gap - The pan was SOOOOOOOOOO much stiffer when it was all finished 

Oh I will be picking up a certain little package for you this weekend by the way 

Cool, on both parts. Good idea with the seam sealer too. I hope to have the pan to the blasters by the end of the month. BTW, is the SR yours? I know where one is I have had my eye on for a few years. Same guy I got the Manx from has one. But that is a few projects down the road.

--louis

Na I built the SR for a friend for Volksworld shoew this year - Should be being featured VERY soon 

[louisb]

There has been a change of wheel plans. I got annoyed with the steel wheels and sold them over the weekend. I also ordered a set of these:



American Racing Torque Thrust D's (2 14x6s & 2 15x8.5s) and I am looking at 205/70R14s (same height as 165/15s but wider) & 235/70R15s BFGs w/ raised white letters front and back.

I am also reconsidering color choices with the new rims. (Plus the wife hates the orange color) I am thinking one of the following:

Close to guardsman blue:




Gee, where have I seen this color before:




Purple, maybe with flames?



My wife is pulling for the purple but I am not sure that I am manly enough to pull it off. I would list it as third. I do think it needs to be a bright color with the dark rims. I think the bright blue with a white top and the raised white letter tires would look pretty good. Any input? If you have another suggestion, post it. I am not really good with colors. Oh and no reds.

Thanks,

--louis

[Jim Ratto]

Kawasaki green

[Zach Gomulka]

I hope you're not planning on disc brakes with those 14's...

And I'm partial to metalflake orange myself!

[Nico86]

Nice wheels ! I like the blue and the green.

[louisb]

I hope you're not planning on disc brakes with those 14's...

And I'm partial to metalflake orange myself!

Nope, it will be drums w/ adapters all the way around. A metal flake paint job would be my first choice but I doubt its in the budget. And then there is the issue of actually finding someone who could do a good metal flake paint job.

--louis

[Zach Gomulka]

You've done a great job by yourself so far, I think you should set up a makeshift spray booth and give it a try.

[louisb]

I have been thinking about it. I may try to get some quarts of paint and play around a little.

Thanks,

--louis

[Speed-Randy]

I say lemon yellow, like on a Suzuki dirt bike

[Zach Gomulka]

Ohhhhh you're right, yellow would look great, too.

[louisb]

My best friend's bug is yellow and it would be a little weird to have matching cars. What about this green in a heavy metal flake?



I am thinking kind of Gasser colors.

--louis

[Speed-Randy]

Looks like a booger

[javabug]

Not that I intend to impose my opinion on you, but:

Buggies that are done in "modern" colors and styles usually turn me off.  So I think if the color choice stays close to looking like an "old Manx" color, you can't really go wrong.

The bright blue with white top would be great.  That purple shown looks too modern to me.

[louisb]

The purple is actually '70 Cuda Plum Crazy. (Monitor may make it look different.) I am thinking a blue along these lines w/ big bass boat flakes:



I have been reading up on spraying flake and it looks doable. I may try to get some small quantities and practice on some spare fenders.

--louis

[Bryan67]

Good choice on the wheels but not too sure about the 14`s. A friend of mine re gel coated his buggie with BIG flake blue and it looks awesome.

[louisb]

Manx's originally were offered from Bruce Meyers w/ 14x7 & 15x7/8 rims depending on what tires were going to be used so I decided to KISS and do the same. Plus it lets me run a 70 series tire for a taller sidewall without going really wide/tall in front. I was trying to keep it around 26" in front and 27' to 28" in the rear. The combo should give a nice rubber rake to the buggy. (At least I hope.) And before anyone starts, no I am not running bias-ply tires.

Thanks,

--louis

[danny gabbard]

My old paint instuctor use to put a ball bearing in his spray gun cup to keep the large flake stured up, Never tryed it so I do not know. In the new Hot Rod mag there is a artical on heavy metal flake paint jobs.

[Speed-Randy]

My old paint instuctor use to put a ball bearing in his spray gun cup to keep the large flake stured up, Never tryed it so I do not know. In the new Hot Rod mag there is a artical on heavy metal flake paint jobs.

but only if you use a siphon gun, gravity fed gun it will just make a good stopper

[javabug]

That's funny, I was actually thinking "maybe Plum Crazy would be nice" when considering the purple.  My grandfather had a 71 Super Bee in Plum Crazy with white top & interior, so I am familiar.   

[louisb]

Here is the new version.



--louis