Oval Bugster

[volkdent]

Big day, I finally came up with a structural solution that is also elegant in its design. It ties the inner and outer Boxster chassis, the new frame rails, and the roll cage together, all while allowing a nice edge to finish the bug/Boxster seam along.











Also finishing up a factory-like re-attachment of all the lines running back to front.



Jason

[volkdent]

Starting to get fun. Installed the stock Boxster trunk latch.

















Jason

[volkdent]

Devil is in the details. There was a fatigue fracture through this area. Hope this makes it better and the decklid easier to seal against water.







Jason

[Jadewombat]

Just curious about something, I scrolled back a few pages but maybe I missed it. How does the wheelbase look front to back? I mean does the top curve of each wheel line up with the curve of the fender? My super was in an accident years ago and I went through quite a bit just with small changes here and there to get everything to line back up.

[volkdent]

I can't see a difference, although apparently there is one. Keep in mind I have fiberglass fenders, so it's really easy to modify the opening too. I believe the difference is less than 3/4"' and I like my front wheels a little tucked forward a la Foose.

Jason

[volkdent]

More body mods. Not too many things good about getting old, but a couple are patience and knowledge, so I scraped up as much of each as I could and this is what happened.

[volkdent]

Slow, tedious progress, but progress nevertheless.

Built the template for the side storage pods, the drivers side will house the rear relay block.



To close off the frame rails, I built a plug that also includes a nut to affix a bracket for the trailer hitch. I see myself building a trailer that I can haul track tires with and that is also a tent someday.







The inner fender seam between the Boxter and the bug is almost complete. Built a panel that merges the strut mount to body.









Jason

[volkdent]

Little update:

Got these aluminum mufflers, yes, I said aluminum. Got a buddy that builds big HP cars and he swears by them, very, very light, no cracks yet for him. I'm doubtful, but they aren't that expensive and I could flange them to a stainless system if I wanted and still get big weight savings.



Ditto for cheap Chinese headers. They are supposed to be stainless, and they are except for the severely warped flange. Had to spend a bunch of time on them to get the flange flat and to open the bolt holes up. Really surprising how simple some of the mistakes are, but equally surprising how little a complete header setup was.



Working on the fitment to the fenders, these will have to be widened ever so slightly unless I like the smell of burnt rubber around every corner. Looks kinda cool though...









Finally got the condenser attached to the rad, used aluminum spacers my wife uses for her business, re-threaded them for metric, and had Eric at NorCal Motorsportz weld them on for me.









A before shot of the area I need to fill between the Boxster chassis and the tubing.





The mess I have yet to tackle...



Jason

[ricola]

Looking good Jason.. Did you see that there's another one that appeared recently, on the front cover of the new Ultra VW magazine..

[volkdent]

cOOL!!! How can I get UltraVW over here?

Jason

[ricola]

I'm pretty sure you can either buy a single issue or they do electronic copies too..

[Kafer_Mike]

Originally Posted by volkdent

cOOL!!! How can I get UltraVW over here?

Jason

UltraVW Website -- http://www.ultravw.com



It's available in iTunes -- https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ultr...525983654?mt=8

[owdlvr]

Just noticed you're using Vibrant mufflers. My first job out of Uni was with Vibrant, product development and tech support. Nice choice!

-Dave

[Luismj]

Originally Posted by Kafer_Mike

UltraVW Website -- http://www.ultravw.com

It's available in iTunes -- https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ultr...525983654?mt=8

The same?!

http://www.vwheritage.com/blog/2013/...orsche-beetle/

[volkdent]

I bought the online version. The interior is amazing, but it's clearly a street car that won't see much track time, like the Bugster, and I really wonder what the thought process was on leaving the rear edge of the rear fender as odd as they did. In the article they mention doing an early version, boy are they in for a surprise. Every one of these conversions I've seen have been Supers, the early body is soooo much smaller, like building a ship in a bottle!

Dave, what are your thoughts on aluminum exhaust systems? I'm sure they would have a hard time holding up on multiple rally stages, but what about a street car?

Jason