79 Convert Kaefer
 

Well while waiting for parts for my Meyers Manx STi Pikes Peak car, I lost my storage building and had to pull out my 79 that had been resting for almost 10 years. So out came all the parts I have been collecting and I am getting her ready for new paint. Ordered Kerscher Kaefer cup flared fenders that arrive on United Airlines tonight and will be building a new rear apron. What a delight Kerscher is, one email, one Paypal and one week later fenders. It has KW-V2 coil-overs with MBT uniballs. Porsche GT3 seats, wheels, e-brake handle etc. My Mini-GT3...

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Looks great and in far too few pieces for having been in storage.

Any chance you are in NM? Everything about that second picture looks familiar

Yes in Santa Fe
And there are boxes and boxes of pieces in the shop upstairs.

I want to see more of this car as it comes together. I wanted to do a GL vert but I couldn't pass up a good deal when I saw one.

I have a built Beetle 4 speed that will have a 2.3L Type IV attached about 180hp. The motor is being freshened at the moment. This will be a DD and street play car, maybe a little autocross. I will use Cayman S red brake calipers now that the Pikes car is getting yellow calipers. A leather/alcantera covered 911 style dash is now in the works using VDO 911 gauges and 904 combo gauge rebuilt about 10 years ago by North Hollywood Speedo. Audi TT A/C vents with full A/C. Webasto gasoline heater for winter. CAE shifter in aluminum.

In talks with Remmele now about providing the front bumper spoiler, CF hood and CF central air filter. Hoping that works.

Any plans to stiffen the chassis?

Jason

Definitely sounds/looks like a great start!
Rich

I plan to add DOM to the rear shock towers and torsion bar a la Remmele, and do the roll bar similar to the Canepa Twin Turbo Speedster that I think might be the best looking street convert 911 ever!


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Canepa is local to me and those guys have all the fun. They open up their shop and parking lot once a month for cars & coffee. What I would give just to build a car in their shop, and some of their current projects have me drooling with envy. McLaren M8D, Shadow V8, and just about every kind of racing porsche you can find. He recently got the Tyrell P34 #4, and it's in race ready condition. Its also a lot smaller that I thought it would be, quite literally a 6-wheeled coffin. I can put up some pics if folks are interested.

@ super RSI.....damn....im going to drive down to santa fe, nm as soon as i get my car dialed in. i wanna see your projects in the fleash. and im so close as well. look fwd to seeing this awesome car you got going here. keep it up man.

That's going to look really subtle and the safety of the roll cage and side bars will be great. If it is all tied together it should significantly improve stiffness as well.

Jason

Hey Randy, coming along nicely! If you're wanting to stiffen up the chassis,the best way is to support the shock towers.This keeps the rearfrom twisting and the shock towers are a weak spot.Take a look at my FB page,I posted pics of the conversion.You will have to cut the body a little,but that can be sealed up easy.

@70turbobug im interested in this. whats your fb page?

Hey Mark, I am tying in the roll bar back X to the towers and adding the lower bars in the rear like a 5 bar.

That will work well also. I wasn't sure if you wanted a roll bar since it is convertable.

I need the roll bar because sometimes I run out of talent...

LOL! Yeah I know what you mean, I have ran out talent a few times myself!

Fenders cleared Customs for a total of $31. in duty. Edi sent me an email on parts. Life is great. Pictures to follow.

Great!! Good to hear! $31 for customs fee is great! Here it would be 23,5% of the total...

Got a little time and test fit one rear fender. Things are going slowly because we are filming Longmire an A&E TV show and working 60-70 hours a week. Sleep a lot on weekends.

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There is no rear brake disc fitted so things will move out some and will use spacers as necessary.

This is a late aluminum 968 trailing arm with a Porsche OEM GT3 11 rear wheel inside an 11cm widened inside and out Kerscher fender.

Looks good, nice fit!

Nice, it hides those huge rear tires well

Spent some time fitting things before building the new seat brackets. Checking out the CAE shifter with the 993RS steering wheel and Rennline quick disconnect. Will build a mount and re cable the 944T rear to use the 996 GT3 handbrake. I am happy with the way things will fit.

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Strangely I think that the flare on those fenders stands out much more in photos than it does in person. In person the flare seems mild

Orange against black does not help in photos...

To continue this theme of everything I seem to buy to add to the bug is a shade of red/orange, I now add the door handles. These were purchased years ago from Carlotta (spelled wrong I'm sure) the guy that built the rising 911 rear wing on the back of a Bug. He was selling his Bug and I tried to buy the rear deck but he said all or nothing. Then he offered up these bolt on replacement door handles for the Super Beetle. So I bought them, and now a dozen years later have dug them out for use. My question is should I drill them like a light weight Porsche or leave them smooth? Opinions?

Smooth vs Original Chrome
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Yet another red/orange part
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I would leave them smooth!

Smooth fer sher.

Jason

Smooth. What are the handles off of?

Not sure but exact same mounting bolt and bottom end. 964 Porsche maybe? Will shoot a shot of the bottom next week when back.

The guys in the shop gave me an opinion on waiting for parts and completion of my project. So nice of them to also pile parts inside...
I would ask if anyone wanted an original Kamei front spoiler but maybe I should wait for my Remmele one first.

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More info on those door handles please! What are they from?

Very inspiring project - I own a Cabrio and have a decision to make... restore or modify/GL it?

Trying to get some work done before we go on to the next film. Working on brakes and suspension and could not help but plug two fenders on to see how they look. I think they will be fine once filled with tires. Have to remove A/C unit to remove gas tank. Always had gas smell from the POS so building an aluminum version to be bladdered and foamed. Will weld up fuel door and use a 911R through the hood fill on driver side. After that it is take out the dash board so I can start bending tubing for the roll bar system. Never ends...

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Kafer Mike and Oval, I just saw the door handles on a Porsche 993. So that explains that.

Also working on spacers to fit the rear Falken 615K tires (315/30/18) and GT3 wheels tight into the Kerscher fenders. Working on suspension now and hoping to build a few tubular lower front control arms next week.

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Sexy!! Keep it up Randy!

Hey thanks for the hint on the Porsche 993 handles

They also may have been used on some 968s I am now told...

No worries.... it gives me something to ask for at the wreckers/breakers' yards

Looking good.

968 handles are different to the 993 ones, but are a direct fit onto a beetle and early Golfs (Rabbit) The 993 uses a two stud fitting rather than the hook that you find on the beetle.

993 do look the better of the two but neither are cheap nor plentiful