Hi….thought I'd share one of our current restorations with you.
I run DAS Resto Haus - a VW restoration shop on the Gold Coast in Australia….this 71 Dual Cab project was the idea of an owner who wanted an old styled 'ute' (what we call a pickup) but with all the mod cons and handling/performance of a new car.
Without rambling on much more here is what we started with:
This thing was destined to be torn down to its bare bones given the brief of the project and the importance to get the panels super straight. So off with the nose:
As usual rotten a-pillars and inner valance:
The D-pillar (passenger side) had received a big whack at some stage and rather than fixing it properly, someone decided just to plate over it with a second skin
Both doglegs were to come off and be replaced with Klassic Fab units:
Awww nothing a little bog and a good sanding block can't fix😂
Seriously though, looks like you have your work cut out for you, there are a few (no names mentioned) places around that do sub standard work so I look forward to seeing how this one turns out done properly.
Craig, it is an original 23 window - lost a back brake drum doing 90km/h and hit the wall hard a few times. Unfortunately was an insurance write off but the good news is the bus is being rebuilt currently on the sunshine coast by bob and ash. So it will see the road again some day which is great.
I know of a T25 owner with a 3.6 Porsche lump and it does 60km/hr in first, 105km/hr in 2nd, 160km/hr in 3rd, 210 in 4th, and 250+ in 5th. He has a Porsche gearbox of course.
Scott, we discussed options with Dave Butler (vw transaxle guru here on the gold coast) and whilst we considered a G50, we opted for a well built 2L 091 box. It will have full Albins internals and super diff etc which we acknowledge will not withstand to a lot of abuse from the torque the Porker motor will put out, but there was a trade off for a bit of sensible driving (this DC is going to be more a family car than drag race vehicle) vs cost of fabrication/installation and rebuild of a G50 or 915 etc.
After our final mockups we'll get the box to Dave so he can start ordering all the goodies whilst we continue with body work and other mods.
Of all the cars to showcase did you have to do a lowlite dc resto - Finally all of my imaginary friends had come to an agreement that we would offload my lowlite dc but now those inner voices are saying - wait we can do this..
Now I am having to sit through the build process on the forum..any chance this can be done as quick as overhauling - sure would be less painful
Damn you Al...
VW Toys
64 Beetle - club car - Herbie
RSK 718 Porsche Spyder
76 Southern Cross Offroad racing buggy. "Manx Buggies"
77 Cobra Offroad racing buggy "RipOff"
68 Country Buggy KO200
64 Manx swb
70 Dual Cab kombi
74 Dual Cab kombi
74 Micro bus
Haha, no quick bondo overhaulin resto's here sorry mate 😉
I will probably have around 200+ hours just in planning and research by the time this one is done, never mind actual hands on work that Baz (my head fabricator) has done to date, and both of us will do to get it completed!
Post blasting things always look a little better (but certainly reveals exactly how much work is ahead)
Time to start cutting:
To make way for this:
After lots of research and talking to our gearbox builder, it was decided an 091 bus box would be mated to the 3.2L Porsche engine….it will have full Albins (weddle) internals and super diff. Whilst it will not withstand 3rd gear burnouts or drag race starts, the owner was happy to compromise some sensible driving to save a load of funds on buying/rebuilding/installing a G50 or 915 box.
When mocking up the Porsche engine mated to the 2L bus box using a late bay gearbox top mount, two issues arose - one was the firewall/tranny hump was in the way, and two, engine to ground clearance was very limited if the box was mounted in the factory position.
As a result, a 2 inch tranny raise was implemented - front torsion housing mount was left in situ and the actual bolt on mount modded?the rear tranny hanger was then set 2 inches higher up on the chassis
nice work Al.... another thread I will be glued to 🙂
Gotta love a VW resto, I'm sure there are some who, after digging and finding this level of rust and damage, would conclude that its not worth doing. Thank god there are those that persist, and those that have the skills to make it happen.
Gotta love a VW resto, I'm sure there are some who, after digging and finding this level of rust and damage, would conclude that its not worth doing. Thank god there are those that persist, and those that have the skills to make it happen. [/quote]
and Very Deeep pockets $$$$$$$$
1961 K Ghia - Porsche 5 sp, EJ20T, Brembo's, Dble A arm susp
1974 L Bug - Porsche 944 brakes, Boxster 16's
1974 Bay Camper - EJ20, twin radiators, Boxster 16x7's
Half Beetle trailer with Boxster 16x7's
2011 Tiguan TDI 4Motion
2010 LR Discovery 4 TDV
No full custom builds are ever cheap, but we are thankful that there are customers out there prepared to spend a few bucks on Volkswagens.
Lots of small rust repairs to go along with the major panel replacements
The left side D-pillar had received a big whack at some stage and needed replacement. Since no repro panels were available Barry (my head fabricator) had to rebuild it from scratch. Of course its Murphy's law that two weeks after we finished the repair, a NOS left side early bay D-pillar came up for sale in Australia! Grrr! If only it was listed a couple months earlier!
I still think you would find that you would need to do a heap of work to the repro piece anyway and still not be as satisfied with the steel gauge used and other issues of repro panels as compared to the Barry made item.
Looks great all rust free and in primer - even if it is a bit lighter than when it came from the factory.
Given the custom theme of the DC, Baz fabricated a new firewall and tranny hump from scratch and bead rolled some swages for strength and function (air flow - more info shortly)
Air ducts will be fed via sub cargo floor scoops
Part of the original tranny hump was retained and mated to the new section
Cargo floor was in fairly good shape apart from some rust under tank area so some new sections were welded in with the centre being left open for shift rod raise.
Splitty tank separation strips were modified and used to retain stock tank separation panels
Shift rod cover under raised tank
The thin flimsy Brazilian noses have the raised centre section for the emblem which we wanted to delete….and of course are for later high light bays so this needed modification too
Mockup on the DC - a lowlight lower nose had to be fitted as well but the repro items don't come with the indicator housings
One original was good, the other knackered….so only the brackets were salvageable and the housing had to be fab'ed from scratch
Late bay indicator holes gone and new vent trim mocked up to ensure aperture was the right size/shape
Belly pans (sides only) will help to provide some more torsional rigidity for the DC
Initially we were going to run with splitty rear corners and modify them to fit since no bay DC panels were available repro….but in the end found a pair of NOS rear corners in the UK that we had shipped over instead
Similarly, no complete side panels are available so we used an early bay section and then tabbed the rest to suit….also decided to delete the side vents for a cleaner side (air will be ducted from underneath, more about that later)
New rear tubs
A lot of subtle mods on this DC that will mostly go missed (which is alway the aim) include things like reversing and deleting a lot external seams to keep the sides super smooth
Hey Heath, no trips to adelaide planned at the moment sorry mate 🙂
Sold the oval to a customer in Sydney (turned out to be a 55 according to chassis number), but still have the body as we are doing paint and panel and new owner will do assembly. Let me know if I can help in any way I can.
Can you take rough templates for the inner door skins and rear quarter inner for it and where the factory handles and chrome trim would go? I am thinking or pressing mine our of ally with all the details them wrapping in 3d Carbon wrap.
Thoughts?
Heath
C'mon kids gather round,
there's a new sensation hitting town,
It's moving straight, low to the ground,
it'll pick you up when your feeling down.
