Hello All,
I thought I would post some pics of my car form a month or so ago, just back from Minus Paint in SA. Completely stripped, rust free and etch primed,
Will try to put updated photos on soon of IRS pan with EFI Lines and pumps etc. Hope you like it,
Turbo54
Turbo54 ·
T54
[Edited on 18-11-2004 by Turbo54]
Turbo54 ·
t54
[Edited on 18-11-2004 by Turbo54]
Turbo54 ·
t54
[Edited on 18-11-2004 by Turbo54]
BLUE_62 ·
Looking good so far. :thumb
U know when u get a shell to that stage its full steam ahead. No doubt a good feeling. All these people doing full bare shell resprays certainly makes me want to do my own. Look forward to seeing photos as the restoration progresses. 😎
ikube ·
Whats your plan ? which look ?
Very nice so far ! 😉
nbturbo ·
That looks like the way to start a resto-a good straight body.Did you have to do much to it? Dave did my Oval for me as well- I was really impressed with his work.
Turbo54 ·
Want to keep it a bit of a suprise but let say 'Heaths Look'. I don't like pigion holing things. It's not original, not cal look nor german. The closest thing would be a hi-tech custom hotrod look. Billett 17's, 2165 EFI Turbo motor, two tone paint, stock interior. Standard body work w/ IRS pan. Period Accessories! That's all I ready want to say about it but I will keep updates coming, Turbo54
Turbo54 ·
No, this is how it came out, a few suspect areas but nothing really bad, nbturbo are you who want the carbon running boards? I am still doing them just have to wait for a little bit,
Thanks, t54
nbturbo ·
Way to go-that's what I'm doing with mine- making it look the way I want. I think we may have been in contact already-about running boards-is that you?
nbturbo ·
Must have hit the post reply at the same time-yes I am the one.
ruckus ·
could you u2u me with a price for the running boards please?
Turbo54 ·
Sorry Ruckus, Only doing a small run of 6 sets and have all spots filled, I only want to do this many as I want them for my custom and dont really want many people to have them. Just cheaper to do only 6 sets. If i do more I will let you know. Thanks,T54
ruckus ·
cheers mate - keep me posted
Resto64 ·
nice one t54
will have to get up and see it in the flesh!!!
VWFREAK ·
Nice, it'll be intersting to what sort of look you go for.
Mikey-56EJ20T ·
Hey T54!
I am doing something similar with my 56. Just wondering how much Minus Paint slugged you ??
Cheers,
Mike.
Turbo54 ·
Hi Mikey, Depends on how much stuff you get done. I had everything done, fuel tank all accesories, bolts everthing and if you think of the time and materials and mess it would take to do it all around 1500 is pretty good. Speak to dave at minus, he is really helpfull.
By the sound of you user name your putting a ej20 Turbo in your car, why? Why dont you keep it aircooled? Are you in the enthusiast club and if not why not? Dont get me wrong I love customs but I wouldn't do anything that you might regret later. I have got my car planned so I can always turn it back later to a stock car. No holes and cutting needed.
Have to thought about getting it through regency?
Turbo54
2006! Because of the standard I am building this car to it will take lots of time. I will be building the whole car in rough form first to make sure it will all fit, no rubbing, no unneeded holes or anything and then sending it off to be tuned run and brake testing. Then I will be pulling it all down again and then starting panel work and paint prep. My painter is really fussy and wont paint it if its not done this way plus the finished result will be perfect. I am smoothing out all the welds on the bottom of the pan at the moment and should have the pan in 2pac hi-fill in December and in 2pac around Xmas.
I'll keep on posting shots so you can see how it's going.
T54
Dasdubber ·
Can't wait for the next update - lookin good!
shmikuk ·
if only all cars were built this way!:o
looks good dude! great basis for the works! good luck!😎
Fossil ·
:sandrine tales do come true :bounce
Turbo54 ·
Hi Fossil,
The car is completely factory stock, what you see here is what it is. the car is a early Jan 54 and I think one of the first 54's to come in the country. It even has a set of the luggage racks in behind the back seat which I have ever only seen on split beetles. Typ2's 54 that he's selling is also a Jan and we think they came on the same boat but his must be a little older by like a week and doesn't have the racks. I thought all 54's had the bever tail but I have seen some with only 1 hole cut into it. Not sure but this is how mine and Dan's is. I found my car in a shed and had been stored for 26 years when I got it and I have had it stored for another 8.5 until I started it early this year. It has some damage but not much rust (I can retain the original heater channnels) so I think it was a lucky find. The guy I bought it off all those years ago is a well known VW fanatic here in SA and wishes he kept it for himself. The photos I posted are straight from being dipped, no panel work has been done yet but it should come out well when finished. I will keep posting pics to show progress so keep an eye on it.
Thanks
T54
[Edited on 2-12-2004 by Turbo54]
Turbo54 ·
Hi All, Things were quite slow for a while still collecting bits and searching for the hard to get bits and engine parts, but while all this is taking place I have been working on my pan. It was fairly good when I got it with only a 2 little holes (the biggest was about 3mm round) and a few dents. As I am painting the pan the same colour as my car with some extra detailing I started straightening it out and after one thing led to another I ended up smoothing out all the spot weld marks, stratches, daggy welds etc. Now I just have to have the gearbox mount welded in and the hi-fill on hopefully next weekend. Things should roll on well now for a few months with the engine getting dummy assembled (no internals) to send on to have the turbo manifolds / intercooler and fuel system built. Hopefully it will all fit under the decklid with 2" standoff's. I know these are just the bottom of the pan but thought someone might be interested after all, it's all part of the build.
Will post motor pics soon,
Turbo54
[Edited on 4/4/2005 by Turbo54]
Turbo54 ·
No more spot welds!
[Edited on 4/4/2005 by Turbo54]
Turbo54 ·
Front Section
[Edited on 4/4/2005 by Turbo54]
Turbo54 ·
Extra Gearbox mount
[Edited on 4/4/2005 by Turbo54]
Turbo54 ·
Front fuel tank ready for painting.
[Edited on 4/4/2005 by Turbo54]
Turbo54 ·
End of the night, damn! No more daylight saving.
[Edited on 4/4/2005 by Turbo54]
Turbo54 ·
Hi all, as I said in my last post my motor is almost ready for pre-assemble and I am getting ready to paint my case on the weekend so i thought I would post some pics of all the bits
i'm using and my engine specs. Also some shots of intake and exhaust ports for those who have never seen a set of CB street Eliminators up close. I am still waiting on a few things.
Engine Specs Are:
NEW CB Duel Releif AS41 case - full flow'd, 94mm bore, 10mm case savers
NEW CB 78mm crank - hardened etc, etc, etc
NEW CB Street Eliminators - 42X37.5, with a cleanup and bit more ground out.
NEW 94mm Mahle pistons and barrels
NEW Scat H-Beam rods
Autocraft ratio rockers 1:25
CB Slimline sump
Total Seal Ring Set
Teflon Buttons
Still waiting for:
Scat Pushrods and tubes
Scat Hi Tensile Head bolt set
Fan / Shroud / Alternator / Tinware
TCS-20 cam and cam gear
Garrett GT25/35 Rollerbearing Turbo
Mahle 910 fuel pump
ASE surge tank and all solid or braided lines
Like I said before, it should be pre-assembled in the next few weeks so I
will keep you updated. and show pics. Geabox should be on its way then also.
Cheers,
Turbo54
Hopefully with the bits I have collected / selected, my motor potential shold be pretty serious. Hoping to run some good times once it is complete but that's a while off. Thanks all,
Turbo54
Doug Sweetman ·
Love seeing pics of builds, and engine bits ! looking great, and it will be a bit of a monster I reckon by the time it is finished !
Good to hear that you are keeping the body as original as possible, seeing as it is such an early oval. I have located a may 54 over here, but it needs quite a bit of work and the bloke who owns it wants too much for it.
oval TOFU ·
yeh, nice to see you're keeping it stock and making it fast! Look forward to seeing how it turns out!
btw, when you refered to the luggage racks behind the rear seat, are you talking about the vertical metal runners? Can you post a pic? I may have the same thing on my 54 - but I'm pretty sure its a 'late' July 1955 make - just before they started to make the Model Year start from August...
Cheers
56astro ·
Looking good H.
Che Castro ·
wow looks sweet. what colour is the car going?
hellbugged ·
teflon buttons......?
Turbo54 ·
HI, the colour and wheel package is a suprise. All I will say is that it is going to be two-tone. As for the teflon buttons, they are the white mushroom looking things in the pic and they replace the wrist-pins in the piston sleeves. They locate by lightly rubbing on the sleeve wall and dont break or come undone. These are recommended for performance engines. You should have a look at a book called AIRCOOLED VW, Engine Interchange Manual by Keith Seume. Really good explanations and info on different setups. Cheers, T54
malcolm ·
t54 the garret ballbearing water cooled and ifso are you using a separate water system with a water to air intercooler and craig davis electric pump or is the bearing system iol cooled.
mountainbug ·
That's quite an aray of quality motor parts, great credit card burner. Should go like the clappers when it's finished.
Turbo54 ·
Malcolm, not sure what how i'm going to cool turbo yet. Might do a seperate radiator for the turbo or run the same water through it from my water 2 air intercooler. I the heat sheils is going to air as an air duct to increase air flow but i'll have to see what space I have left after fitting everthing up. It's going to be a watermelon in a moneybag as it is.
T54
malcolm ·
don,t try running oil to cool the bearings wont last and rollerbearing centres are a throw away item $450 + for a new centre.I think ATS in vic were developing a oil cool rollerbearing centre using aircraft quality bearings.exhaust valves are you using NIMONIC VALVES graet for turbocharged motors.
malcolm ·
what efi system,I,ve used Altronics in the past great boost control can run open loop with no problems run the crank angle sensor of the flywheel better timing use a head temp sens off a porsche and if you extra outputs you can control things like thermo fans have launch control etc and the ecu is better priced than others I used Altronics on a nissan vg20 with a clutch driven toyota supercharger no intercooler 7/9pounds boost supercharger came in @30% throttle 680nm of torque trouble was it was in my wifes car and I couldn,t take it further .
Turbo54 ·
Cheers Malcom, computer was undecided at the moment but it was going to be a microtech, haltech or altronic. All much of a muchness just pirce difference. Problem here is SA is that we only have limited people who can tune and be trusted so it's really up to who you want to tune your car. Never thought of putting the crank angle sensor on the flywheel at the back of the engine rather than the front pulley. Does this make it a head f--k if anything goes wrong. Wouldn't it be more accessable at the front? As for the valves, there all stainless but not sure what they actually are. I am going to build a loop going from my turbo to a radiator and back to cool the turbo. I have converted an old esky into a water and ice holding tank to cool the water in my intercooler and was going to just run it from that but proberly heat up the water too much too quick. Thanks for you imput and if you have more please let me know,
Thanks
Heath
mattie ·
what heads are they heath? i was looking at pro race cb`s for my 1835 ive got the motor but i dont know what heads ect so im gonna start from scratch with the block ie new pistons barrels 44ml idf`s cb full flow heads of some sort and a big trand full on drag spool with quaife diif parts and axels cant wait to build her!
she looks great mate
mattie
malcolm ·
Heath spending x amount on a motor I,ll go Altronics or Motec the crank angle sensor placed in that position was told to me by a company that builds and races porsches.
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
I was doing some thing around the study where all my parts are kep and come accross the old box where I keep stuff in and found these old pics of my car. This was the first day when I brought in home. What a sad state it looked back then...amasing what a trip to Minus Paint makes. I polished a little section on the body just to see what she would of looked like in her former glory. I mentioned 'she' because anything that can grab you by the balls and scare the hell out of you must be female! Anyway thought you might be interested.
[Edited on 15/6/2005 by Turbo54]
Turbo54 ·
Another
[Edited on 15/6/2005 by Turbo54]
Turbo54 ·
Another
[Edited on 15/6/2005 by Turbo54]
Turbo54 ·
front
[Edited on 15/6/2005 by Turbo54]
Turbo54 ·
interior - has anyone got a spare passenger seat!
[Edited on 15/6/2005 by Turbo54]
Turbo54 ·
Rear
[Edited on 15/6/2005 by Turbo54]
Quoll ·
Now I can see em :P
whats with the camber on the front end I have never seen one like that before?
[Edited on 15/6/2005 by Quoll]
Turbo54 ·
Quoll, your too quick, I was still linking the pic files!
T54
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
I also spent a good portion of the queens b'day long weekend (5hrs) masking up my case for a splash of paint. Because it is brand new, all I did was give it a little was/scrub (800 grit) and some heat proof paint. The engine is going in to be dummy assembled in the next few weeks. I'll keep you posted. Here it is scrubbed!
[Edited on 15/6/2005 by Turbo54]
Turbo54 ·
Masked up
[Edited on 15/6/2005 by Turbo54]
Turbo54 ·
And another. I thought I had painted ones on my camera but for some reason there not there. Will post tomorrow,
Thanks
T54
[Edited on 15/6/2005 by Turbo54]
[Edited on 15/6/2005 by Turbo54]
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
Lots has been going on and progress is happening. My camera is broke at the moment so I am limited to post stuff but this is it. My gearbox is finally being built, Motor will soon go together after that and my turbo arrived yesterday. I finally went for the GT2871RS with a .86 rear on it. Apparently good for around 450hp and will spool very quickly. I was going to get a small exhaust housing but they are having troubles with tuning them as they overspool too quickly. Will post pics when I pic it up. Also I will post pics of my case now its painted.
Here's a good story and lesson for everyone, I was flicking though the local paper a few months ago and saw a 54 unfinished project advertised for $3000. I thought man this guy is dreaming. It was in every week for about a month and then stopped. I rang the guy up and asked if he had a spare bonnet but he said no. I thought nothing of it after that. A few months later I was on my lunch break and picked up the paper and looked through the classifieds not really looking for anything and I saw the ad again but with a $1000 price tag. So I rang the guy and foung out he still had it but it was a huge storm here that day and night and he was about 40 minutes from my house. I battled the wind, rain and hail and went to look. After seeing it I was amased that no-one had already bought it. Most of the rust work was done, It is almost complete and had the widespring and wide spring deck lid, bonnet and doors (although one is crap). So I bought it and got it home on the weekend.
I was going through boxes and boxes of part on Sun and realised that its better than I expected. It has perfect semaphores, batwing steering wheel and variou interior bits. I am very happy for the 1000 that it cost me.
The plan is now to use this body for my Turbo car and the other body and stuff I will take back to original condition eventually as this was always the plan but now I can have both 54's. With the panel work mostly done it means that not as much repair has to be done and time is less. I would of spent way more than 1000 on the body of my other 54 so it was a good investment. The moral of the story is go and have a look, you never know what you'll find!!!
It has a few weird bits like a indicator that lights up and a interior mirror with left and right sun visors and a flip mirror that can block out headlights. I will be putting these and some other bits up on 'For Sale' soon if any one is interesed U2U me. Dont post on here. Here it is,
T54nn[ Edited on 5-7-2005 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
anothernn[ Edited on 5-7-2005 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
anothernn[ Edited on 5-7-2005 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
Some partsnn[ Edited on 5-7-2005 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
More partsnn[ Edited on 5-7-2005 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
Some morenn[ Edited on 5-7-2005 by Turbo54 ]
oval TOFU ·
lucky lucky man!
Che Castro ·
wow you got a light up indicator stalk? I'd be interested if you are going to sell it
Turbo54 ·
like I said previously, the turbo is a Garrett GT2871RS, it has a .60 compressor housing and a .86 exhaust housing. Good for 450hp but the reason I got it was because the efficiency band was so wide compared to similar turbos so there will be little or no lag time.nn[ Edited on 6-7-2005 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
Intake sidenn[ Edited on 6-7-2005 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
Exhaust Housingnn[ Edited on 6-7-2005 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
This is my brand new case, in previous posts it show the masking stages of painting it. The case was brand new so all I did was scrub it and paint. The paint was a hi-temp paint and hopefully wont peel up. Should look good with all the crome and silver other parts.
T54nn[ Edited on 6-7-2005 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
Close up of finish,
T54nn[ Edited on 6-7-2005 by Turbo54 ]
oval TOFU ·
might seem like a stoopid Q, but why paint a silver case... silver? Protection?
Turbo54 ·
Cause I hate how they tarnish! After a bit of use they look like crap!
HGFS ·
What a deal on the unfinished 54. Couple of hundred more than mine cost me and you got all those parts, bodywork done etc etc. I got no cool parts & rust, rust & rust 😢 Definitely right place right time, nice score
Turbo54 ·
I think I might buy a lottery ticket this week as my luck is running hot. First the 54 and then some of the parts I found in the car and now the one part i have been searching for for ages finally has turned up.
A friend has just been on a holiday around Europe on a parts grab for a few rare parts and last night at the Volks Enthusiasts meeting he tapped me on the shoulder and handed me a perfect KM's Speedo Stamped 1.54 for my January 54 beetle project.
I am over the moon and finally there isn't many more I need.
Sadly the 2 54's I have are both missing passenger seats. They are the last peice of the puzzle for both cars. Anyone?
Turbo54
oval TOFU ·
yeh, it's all about being Johnny-on-da-spot innit?
steve-89 ·
Heath,
will find out about that car in the hills because that has good seats in it, will get mattie to send you some pics.
cheers steve.
nbturbo ·
Heath-catch up Micheal Clarke-he spends some time at Volkscare at Windsor Gardens-a few years ago he had a lot of 54 parts.He may have got rid of it all,but never hurts to ask.
2443TT ·
What kind of cooling system are you going to end up with on your engine?
I liked the comment about the tarnished crankcase. Me... I figured I had that much else to do I didn't care, plus you can't seen any of the block anyway because there is that much other stuff around it.
jvl054 ·
malcolm wrote:Heath spending x amount on a motor I,ll go Altronics or Motec the crank angle sensor placed in that position was told to me by a company that builds and races porsches.
....Hi heath been watching your build up.Lots of money already spent on the right gear which is good.Ill have to agree with Malcolm....All ECUs are not the same...Mate the best eg. to give you is....You have built to identical cars...one runs Motec the second car runs Microtech same tuner for both.....Which computer will give you the better results?......Software is the key for better tuning.Have a think Heath before buying....Nice project JVLRacing:thumb
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
Well lots has been happening lately but unfortunately not much on the 2 beetles. My better half and I are going through the trouble of building a lightweight pole house on the land behind my mums house so this has been taking up lots of time with the architect and coucil as the planning for the area is strict. We have got it pretty much under control and are really to to permission now so we are moving back to mums so we can keep an eye on proceedings with the house. We also found out a while ago that come Feb I am going to be a dad. Good to know it works! Mums over the moon as it will be the first in the family and thats another reason to move home. It aslo means I get my shed back! Yeeha. The bad thing is packing up 2 homes and moving them into 1.
When I got there a few months ago I opened the door and though s--t. where did all this come from. There was crap piled all over my boat so i asked mum and she replied " I dont know, it just got there". I have spent the last 4 weeks with skip bins and sorting through stuff and thought while it was empty I would paint the floors and get some shelves. The floor paint was nasty but not as bad as the acid etch first. I really cleaned it good hoping it would stick and seems to have worked a treat. I have also got 5 bays of new shelves anog the back wall to house stuff and on the weekend Craig welded some beams in the rafters for a loft... thanks
Mate! So in the next 2 weeks I should have on of my ovals home and the pan..
Now for the good bit. I didn't want to cart all my turbo beetle up home and then back down the turbo shop so I decieded to throw some more $$$ at it and get the last bits I need to get the dummy up in. I sent it to Debiasi's to do it and Adam was kind enough to take some shots for you. It will be going in the car on the weekend if the weathers good. Then to ASE (www.aseturbo.com) next weekend. I will also be asking the builder down there to take shots for you to see.
The engine was put together so we could work out the width and compression. It ended up at 7:1 and should be nice with 15-20psi. I have also got all my new tinware but as you will see nothing is painted until it is ready to go in. I dont want to have to repaint it when we want to weld a mount etc. See first page for engine specs if you are new to this post.
I will post more pics after the weekend.
Turbo54
[ Edited on 30-9-2005 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
Case
[ Edited on 30-9-2005 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
Case, rods and crank
[ Edited on 30-9-2005 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
Under Case
[ Edited on 30-9-2005 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
intake of head
[ Edited on 30-9-2005 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
Valves = 44x37.5
[ Edited on 30-9-2005 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
Also after looking for about 14 months I found a near perfect 53-54 bonnet. They are out there but you really have to pay for them. I figured the dollars weren't so bad after i thought about panel beating costs.
I still need another so if you want some extr pocket money let me know (U2U). Must be early and have 3 bolt holes and a triangle plate under in top hood emblem.
T54
[ Edited on 30-9-2005 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
Close up
[ Edited on 30-9-2005 by Turbo54 ]
HGFS ·
Hey T54, can you come round and do that to my shed?? I'll even shout you a beer.:thumb Looks nice mate, looks like you will have plenty to distract you from the 54 soon aswell. Congrats on the expecting fatherhood
Turbo54 ·
Cheers SVW, looking forward to it but not keen on doing a shed floor again for a while.
Here is a couple of pics of the end 2 end engine minus internals. We took them out int the end just incase something happened when it was at the shop like something got dropped in the engine or the engine went missing etc.
I also put both of the beetles back on there pans on the weekend getting ready for the move. Will be putting engine in this weekend. Post more pics then.
T54
Jan 54
[ Edited on 3-10-2005 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
OCt54
[ Edited on 3-10-2005 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
2165 front on
[ Edited on 3-10-2005 by Turbo54 ]
56astro ·
Ahh,.....
Heath,.......
that's the back end
🙅
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
Its been a long time coming but have had a bit to do lately. The house is in council and waiting for approval, and the baby was due on 9/2/06 so it's running a little late. This has given me a little time to do a bit on my car. We have been working on the turbo manifolds and these are from a week ago. The 4th tube is back in now and the tube on its own now has a 5cm bit in the bend to make it not so sharp. Hopefully will get some shots of it in the car this weekend. The intercoolers have been started as has the injection and I will get some pics shortly. Enjoy.
Ian, could you please pull these from here and put them on STF as I cant work out how to link images on there.
T54
[ Edited on 13-2-2006 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
another
[ Edited on 13-2-2006 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
another
[ Edited on 13-2-2006 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
how do you
[ Edited on 13-2-2006 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
post multiple pics in one post?
[ Edited on 13-2-2006 by Turbo54 ]
VDUBXTC ·
you need to register with photo bucket or an image hoster.
They are free and provide you with a URL and image link for your pics.
All you do in copy and paste the image link to AVD.
as many pics as you want and it doesn't take up band width on the forum either.
or where you do the original the add attachment, once you've picked up your first one, click on "add attc.." again.
this allows three per post.
cheers, i'll get this out of your thread when you've got the hang of it.
Resto64 ·
nice heath
have you guys had the new member of the family yet
Details?????
engine is the goods mate
Paul
Turbo54 ·
Hi there, got some work done on the weekend, finalized shape and not just needs to be sealed and poilshed. Will go into the car on the weekend. Will post more then.
T54
[ Edited on 20-2-2006 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
another angle
[ Edited on 20-2-2006 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
After slotting it into the car we had a few areas that were really tight and also foung it hard to access some things and it was almost rubbing on the axle boots so we changed a few things. I went in on monday and slipped it back in. It now fit perfect. About 20mm gap around everything which is great. Now we have to pull it all apart again, have it polished and then put it all back together again. This weekend we will be fitting up the intercoolers and throttle bodies. I know some of you are going to question how low it sits behind the sump but there isn't really any room to push it up without it becoming too tight on the frame horns. Also lots of the parts arn't the new ones so it isn't going to look this messy.
T54
[ Edited on 7-3-2006 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
altered manifold
[ Edited on 7-3-2006 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
From engine bay
[ Edited on 7-3-2006 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
underneath from drivers
[ Edited on 7-3-2006 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
underneath from passengers
[ Edited on 7-3-2006 by Turbo54 ]
[ Edited on 7-3-2006 by Turbo54 ]
pete wood ·
nice. unless people know to look they're get a nasty shock at the lights. 😁
57 Chook Shed ·
Nice one Heath.
I`m gonna do a similar set up on my `58 Panel Van except I think I`m gonna sit the turbo and a lot of the pipework etc above the gearbox. I`m going this way mainly as the previous owner has cut away the firewall panel between the inner wheel arches! I`m thinking of grafting in some kind of access hatch (maybe Type 3 engine cover).
I get my Oval soon too.
It`s supposed to be a `53 but not too sure as the chassis number is not too clear.
Seeing as though you know your early Ovals, what years did the ribbed doors run for as mine has these and they appear to be the originals,it also has the 3 door striker recesses in the B pillar.
Congrats on the great work again mate!
Graham.
vwtyp2 ·
hi Gra,
ribbed doors ran up to march 1955.
57 Chook Shed ·
Thanks Dan.
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
Just a quick update with what has been happening with my car. A few things have been going on lately with the new arrival and the house is getting there with council so around this i have managed to scrape in a few hours at the fabrication place. I have been going down on saturday morinings for a few hours and working on the coolers.
I have decieded on going twin intercoolers (one on each side) with the throttle body just after the turbo in the middle. This will fit into the oval with room to clear which was hard cause I wanted the biggest coolers I could fit. I think we have done it well.
They are not quite finished as the top tanks haven't been done yet but that will be the weekend after easter. The flow will be unrestricted into the heads and there is no tight ugly bends for the air to flow through. We used oil cooler cores for better surface area for the water and got a big fin rate for the air surface area.
Keep you posted.
T54
Where my time goes
How I intend them to fit.
Footer tank and cut down webber manifold
in the car but not bolted - it will sit up straight
Manifolds joined to footer tanks - took ages smoothing the ports
Folded up water endtanks for cores
Core with endtanks and footer ready to weld
Enjoy! T54
[ Edited on 11-4-2006 by Turbo54 ]
Turbo54 ·
Oh and I forgot, I just bought myself another early oval - the white one is going to a new home soon where development can start. My plans haven't really changed, still Heathlook! I will post pics soon.
T54
pete wood ·
awesome coolers bro. very very impressive 👍
what tranny have you got in mind to take all that torque?
Turbo54 ·
tranny is being built by Debiasi and is a close ratio albyns 1&2 with a kombi big tooth 3&4. Also going to use one of there LSD setups. Should hold together fine.
T54
Turbo54 ·
tranny is being built by Debiasi and is a close ratio albyns 1&2 with a kombi big tooth 3&4. Also going to use one of there LSD setups. Should hold together fine.
T54
pete wood ·
swing or IRS?
Turbo54 ·
IRS
malcolm ·
T54 love the intercooler set up I was thinking of doing the same ,thats how some racing boats set their intercoolers
Dasdubber ·
Well done mate - I wish I had your fabrication skills and access to tools/machinery! You're doing a great job.
Turbo54 ·
Thanks Das, I cant take all the credit. Dave from ASE really knows what he's doing and I go down there and suggest this and then he suggests something and then we think and decied on something. I started with a complete plan on how I wanted it to fit, work and look and I think you have to do this. There is so many fittings and things to think about that if you just wing it you will miss something or it just wont be practical etc. I have been doing all the shaping and cutting, smoothing etc while dave welds it up and yes it is awesome to have all the tools you will ever need at your disposal. I went to a college for school and they never did tech or woodwork there so I missed out on all of that and really regret it now. I so look forward to Saturdays and somedays before work, going down there and fabricating stuff up. Awesome fun.
T54
Malcolm, do you have any sites or pics of the racing boats? You didn't used to build racing boats did you?
Here's another of what we did this morning!
My oil cooler, anyone can buy these at around $250each, very good value.
063bug ·
Absolutely awesome.....
Gracey ·
Looks fantastic, can't wait to see how well it all works.
malcolm ·
no I didn,t build racing boats just reading through different mags and books and also talking to different fields of motor sport 22 years ago I had a turbocharged celica no intercooler just a big su carb 250 hp and a e28 5 series with a supercharged 300zx motor altronics ecu which had 600+ nm torque so I,ve picked up things along the way .I like the idea of the intercoolers because you can have the decklid closed and look stock great fabrication .
Turbo54 ·
Hi all,
Another update.
A fair bit of dealing has been going on lately and for all of us it a win win situation. It all started about 10 years ago when I bought my first 54 (i still have it) and I bumped into a friend down the road who also has 54's and he mentioned that he had a rust free 54 with a only a couple of slight dents in it for sale. Now I was thinking can I sell mine and buy it but it was more expensive but better. I was on student wages and couldn't really afford it so i let it pass. 7 more years went on and I dont see him much but when he's home I usually stop and I asked him how things were going and he mentioned that he needed to move the 54 and di I want it. The timing wasn't flash and once agin i had to pass. DAMN! I saw him about a year later ready to buy it but it had sold and I was annoyed that I let one slip. This would've been the easiest resto around and would've saved me heaps of money in the long run.
A couple of months ago i bumped into mt friend again and was talking about his 54's and he said the guy from Sydney stil hasn't picked it up yet. It had been about 2 years since he got the deposit and heard anything since. I asked what are the legal rules to ending the sale to him and giving it too me. After a bit of mucking around it is mine...finally!
In this process I have already agreed to sell my white one to a friend which is good for him as it is better than his current project and should save him time.
The seller wins cause it gets out of his shed
Friend wins as he gets a better car and less rust repair
I win as I get the car that I should've bought 10 years ago.
Now I cant wait to get it home. Here it is:
Slight surface rust over the roof section and boots lid. It rubs off with your hand. The car is covered in about 6mm of dust. I squirted it with a compressot and it filled the shed with dust and we had to evacuate. Comes wit all correct guards (with raised sections inbetween bolt holes), bonnet, boot lid and a rear apron as someone butchered it with a muffler.
I will have more of the intercoolers update soon.
T54
Dasdubber ·
Wow that looks mint from initial pics - well done mate and good story to go along with it!
HGFS ·
Lookin nice T54, was wondering what could be a better start than your white car, but now I can see why you went for it. Definitely sounds like a win - win for you and this friend of yours 😉
Its intriguing at times to think of how many good cars there are just sitting in peoples sheds all over the place, they're out there...
Hi all,
Just another quick update, He are the coolers not far from finished, They have been pressure tested, and the top tanks are on.
Just have to do the pipe work to get it to fit.
T54
bond ·
mate - looks like you got jibbed a rear apron hehe
sweet pickup - congrats and love the engine makeup
nick :thumb
Flintstones ·
Turbo54
Where are you going to mount your injectors?
Cheers
malcolm ·
are the inlet pipes going to clear the deck lid
hellbugged ·
looks like he has extended the hinges out.
i would think they're going to need a brace to hold em steady,the intercoolers that is,
thats a lot of weight atop a small area with only two studs- those mannies are known to crack as it is. just a thought to consider
[ Edited on 23-4-06 by dumone ]
Turbo54 ·
To answer the question about the standoffs,
I am going to be running a different hinge setup like youve never seen b4 but you'll have to wait and see! T54
malcolm ·
t54 I looked a the BMW E28 bonnet hinge so the decklid comes forward in a arch instead of tilting back into he engine bay love your work.
Turbo54 ·
HI all,
Well its almost finished. All the intake is done except the pipe from turbo to TB because i am waiting for my blow off valve to arrive and then position. It is one of the stelth black turbosmart ones. I am running standoffs but it should fit under the lid with some room to spare. Now for all the plumbing and the injector bosses.
T54
VWFREAK ·
Very nice, a real work of art. My hat goes of to you, keep up the good work.
pete wood ·
very very nice. all fabs should be that elegant. could almost be factory if it wasn't so MENTAL!!🤘
Flintstones ·
looks like you won't even need the decklid standoffs!
Cheers
Che Castro ·
damn that is hot!
tourer TL ·
Awesome work Heath!
I met ya at "the Day of the Volkswagen" at Glenelg. We spoke about our type 3's (mine is the tan fastback). Good luck with selling your square, it truly is a beautiful car.
Your centrainly coming along with the 54. That is the neatest intercooler set-ups ive seen. She's a real beast.
Good luck and keep the updates coming.
Cheers
Matt
malcolm ·
Heath have a set of injectors firing into back of the inlet valves for top end power and another set before the intercoolers for bottom end torque 2 stage just like Audi had on their group A cars but the fuel mightjust wet the walls.Have another single injector firing into the turbo housing to keep it spoolling on gear changes.
Turbo54 ·
thats a lot of injectors! I will be running just the bottom set for now and see how it goes. As the engine is 2165 it should have good bottom end and the turbo is a GT2871rs and have heard they come on strong and early. Apperently the choice for drifters for this reason. T54
malcolm ·
T54 the intercoolers are they water to air and have youthought about the weight on the heads.keep the good work up.
Turbo54 ·
Malcolm, yeah have thought about the weight thing. They dont actually weight that much and I will weight the full of liquid and compare them to webbers. We made the end tanks small with this in mind but with the way they brace together on heads, joiner tube and trottle body the weight is distributed well unlike webbers which are just a tower of power with a linkage.
Thanks
T54
Turbo54 ·
I just wanted to post this to keep track of the build. This is my diary.
Will have more to update very soon.
T54
Hi All,
The worst thing that could possibly happen happened to me today. I never thought someone could steep this low or be so cold. I had contacted a man lets name him bill to buy his 54 and them sold my good white 54 to buy bills 54. I had also sold the pan to someone else in melbourne but promised the new owner of the white 54 that he could have bills pan. The plan was all going goo and I saw bill only a few weeks ago and everything was fine. I went down there today to pay the rest of the money off to him and he said sorry I have changed my mind and decieded to keep it. and handed me the money back. Someone in the VOLKS ENTHUISAST CLUB in ADELAIDE had told him that it was worth heaps more than the 3000 I was paying for it and that he should hang onto it. Now I dont know about you or me but when you have a agreement like this you stick to it, you just cant change your mind at the last minute like that. An agreement is an agreement. It is morally wrong to do this. Not only this but the owner of the white 54 now has no pan and I have lost a really good car and am back to square one looking for a suitable car so not only 1 of have lost out ion this deal gone sour but two of us. I feel really bad for the new owner of the white 54 and I dont know what to say but sorry as I know you will read this. As for the club, you can go to hell and bill the member, I also dont know what you are thinking in your head or where your heart or how you could do this to someone and sleep at night.
So if anyone out there has a 54 pan close to october please let me know as I have to fix up the owner of the white car... as for me I am going to say F--k it to VW's and build something else. I am that pissed off.
T54
Turbo54 ·
All replies are here, please dont clog up this thread with comments. I am over him and all the shit he has caused.
T54
thats gotta be the best looking t1 based engine bay in a bug i ve ever seen
Turbo54 ·
Hi all, I haven't updated this for a while and that is really because I haven't done anything for a while. This is because its been too cold here to go out and work at night on the car so I have been enjoying the time with my little girl but now its starting to warm up things are changing. Every morning I have been getting up at 6am and going out to work on the car for an hour before work. It is kind of cool cause then you go to work and think about the car all day and it makes the time go so this is what I have been doing.
Firstly I split the new car from its pan and gave the pan to SVW-054 as promised. The pan is in good shape and I hope he's happy with it. The body is also in good shape and I finally got the grinder out and cut the rear mounts off to mate it to the new pan. It is very tight between the rear shock towers so I might have to grind it out for ome clearance. I have been in 2 world about keeping it in the colour that it is but I have deceided to stick to the plan and paint it the colour I have wanted from the start so out with the grinder again and start un-picking all the interior tabs. I also picked all the tabs in the engine bay while I was at it.
While it was off the pan I have run fuel and water lines through the tunnel and exiting out the back and front ready for the fittings and pumps tanks etc. The body has to come back off this weekend for some other stuff so I will try to take some pics.
A lot of parts are out having things done also like the front and rear end are being narrowed and I am hoping to have them back next week. The esky is almost finished and with initial tests it looks like it is going to do its job and well. The esky was a old esky that I rebuilt all the bottom section to house 2 motorbike radiators and 2 seperate compartment, one for ice and the other for liquid. This is to run through my intercoolers but I wanted it to look period so I thought an esky would be cool. After the legs and fittings go on I am going to paint it up like and old one so the boys in blue shouldn’t even know.
Also good to cool a beer or two down.
I had to slide the motor underneath just to check out what it looked like again and to start planning exhaust, air filter and oil filter and all the other little bits.
The manifolds are going off next week to have the injector bosses, blow off and a few other things done so I will post pics of that soon also.
The hour a day also has seen the rebiuld of a set of headlights, all door inner workings and painted and detailed my gearbox. It is really starting to come along and I am stoked
and I have a little helper when shes aloud.
T54
pyr0 ·
sweet work man 👍 looking like its coming along very nicely
humpty ·
Great to hear your back in the shed Heath and the 'help' will sure come in handy with that snappy workshop trolley!... Im really intereste in hearing how your intake works out... I'll be getting to mine early next year, so your a real inspiration...
Keep it up mate...
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
Took the body off again to do some more jobs on the LONG weekend we had here and got a lot sorted. Like I said I would post this for anyone who is thinking of doing this. It really isnt that hard with two people but I drives you nuts trying to do it on your own. As you can see i used the factory outlet and drilled another on the other side and another hole at the front. I am just waiting on a friend to come around and weld all the fittings on the solid fuel lines.
Have now worked out all the water lines for the intercoolers, and just have to get my beam and mount the radiator to it and plumb it all up. Also finished painting the gearbox and now that will go in for assembly.
Stay tuned,
T54
dangerous ·
What are you going to do with the tranny Heath?
"All the fruit"?
Got to remember this is a street car with occasional drag work.
T54
Mmmm, good combo!
I love a tall first gear!
mattie ·
heath mate that is gorgeous im gettin back in ath the moment sick of the skyline`s the cops are starting to know what theyre talkin about they know what a blowoff valve is now so were all stuffed!
top work
matt
Turbo54 ·
Good to see your back from the dark side. My mates raced up WRX just got done for everything including turbo and computer. They sure do know what there looking at but they dont know if its legal or not. Half the things my mate got done for regency wiped off the list over the phone. He still has to change back to factory turbo, intercooler and computer. He will get it through and then throw it all on again and then have the cr engineered.
Total cost of defect $1800. Total cost of engineering. $800.
The problem is they can still defect you even though you have the papers in your glovebox, just means you go in and out of regency and have to pay the $90 as you pass go.
Always seems to be motorbike cops that do it also. I have this theory that they round up all the cocky trainees at police school and say come with us. That becomes the motorbike division!
Isn't there some show here soon?
Heath
[ Edited on 18-10-2006 by Turbo54 ]
Special Air Service ·
That intercooler setup is the Ducks Guts mate, awesome stuff.
Cheers
Brendan
Dasdubber ·
G'day Heath - how is it all going? Any progress (still waiting to see what you do with those hinges you referred to a few pages back) 🙂
I bet the little one is keeping you busy!
Sorry if you have addressed this already, but apart from the intermediate mount, are you having any other tranny bracing (ala kafer cup 3 or 5 point)?
Cheers
Alan
Turbo54 ·
Hi Alan and all, there is a update coming soon as the motor is out having more work done. I get it back later this week.
I will be runing a 3 link kafer brace but a little unsure how its going to fit yet as I have lots of piping around the mounting areas.
Check it out soon.
T54
lunar_c ·
Are you going to duct and enclose those 'coolers with a whale tail or side pods at all?
The engineering is beautiful.. the fabrication is just mouth watering! Nice work,
Ben
humpty ·
lunar_c wrote:Are you going to duct and enclose those 'coolers with a whale tail or side pods at all?
The engineering is beautiful.. the fabrication is just mouth watering! Nice work,
Ben
Bite your tongue!.... Whaletail indeed.... Your kidding right?... Please tell be your kidding.....
Turbo54 ·
Must be on drugs! Just kidding Ben, No have a little surprise that will enable quick cooling but keep the engine lid in the stock position when parked. I am going for the factory look.
Quick update:
I actually went down to check out how the injection was going this morning and it is actually all finished. I wipped out my camera to take some shots and the battery was flat. You will all have to wait a few weeks before I go and pick it up. The job looks good, We couldn't position the injectors on the exact angle I would of liked but we are limited with room. The fuel rails are nice and shrot and once again ASEturbo.com has done a great job. When I pick the motor up it is off to have the turbo header finished and polished and thats it for the motors manifolds.
Will post pics as soon as I have them.
T54
humpty ·
I can't wait.....
[ Edited on 1-11-2006 by humpty ]
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
Well its not back but i went down to where it is and took a few pics to get some of you by... they know who they are.
The BOV is now fitted and intake manifolds with the fuel rails and injector bosses are also in. The pipe from the turbo goes small to big to clear where some piping is going to go as well as give some room from the barrels and stop heat creep. I am going to have to modify the little side bits in the engine bay that are great for putting spanners on but we really had no other choice as the intercoolers are large and take up a lot of room. Hope you like it.
T54
Dasdubber ·
Heath that is fricken fantastic! You must be stoked thus far with how its progressing...well done and keep up the good work!
Alan
humpty ·
Awesome looking work there Heath..... Its gonna be a machine or sure....
koolkarmakombi ·
I have two words for you
nitrous oxide!
vw54 ·
looking good this link works LOL
h ·
man that looks sweet.. cant wait to see it in the vw.. hmmm
Turbo54 ·
Well another small update. Been busy of late and not really on the car. The house is started taking over now and apart from the odd days going snorkling with Debiasi4 I have been clearing the block ready for construction. I have been getting a few little things done so heres some pics. After trial fitting the motor with the injection things are really started to get tight so I have given in and I am going to cut a few little things. Also all the way through this build I have trail built everything out of cardboard first to 1. make sure it fits and functions and 2. to make sure it looks good.
Debiasi4 mush laugh eveytime I come and fit up a cardboard something to his oval to make sure it clears tyres etc. Thanks Adam for letting me. I have to cut the little spanner shelves on the inside of the engine bay quite a bit, some sections out under the bumper mounts and some other sections near the firewall so I can access the rear bolts for the intake manifolds better. As for the spark plugs I am thinking of using scupper plates off a fishing boat. Look them up, I think this idea might catch on (get it... fishing ..catch?) anyway he are some pics.
T54
Now you see it...
Dummy muffler and exhaust. It is a magnaflow and is about $300. The whole exhaust is only about a foot and a half long so i can afford to go 2.5" and get good flow. Nice and neat and I have found some burn and heat proof shielding so I dont melt the paint off my guard.
Now you dont. Cut under the bumper mount and around the firewall.
Good little helper!
On some of my days off I have also been down with my welding friend finishing my exhaust manifold. I have had to split it apart and weld all the bends up for good. Then it was my job to linish them all off smooth. I did some by hand with a file and some with a little air belt sander. It was 37 degrees in the shed and bloody hot but now there off to the polishers. When they come back we will bolt them all up and weld up the collector. Another section ticked off.
Onto the exhaust, rear bracing and suspention and plumbing.
T54
Me linishing.
Finished product before polishing.
humpty ·
Looking good Heath... Good to see some progress on the monster!... Your muffler arrangement looks alot like the one I fabbed for my NA engine back in '91.... Its still on that engine to this day and works a treat.... No heat issues on that car either, but things could be different with a turbo bolted up!!!!
Dasdubber ·
Hey Heath, sorry if you have mentioned it already (had a quick scan through the previous pages but probably missed it)....can you give me some info on your injection setup? ie. throttle body type/size, injector types (and any info on bung dimensions welded into your manifolds), ECU??
sorry to be a pain 🙂
Alan
Turbo54 ·
Alan,
The TB is a Ford EB with the 2 sensors TPS and I cant remember the other but it is best to have both. I got told it was a really good tb to use by my turbo guy and that the 4 bolt mounting is the way to go. I think it's around 90mm across but I got the oval one to keep the clearance better under the lid. The ECU is going to by a Haltech E6X. (I have just answered this in the Drag section). The injector bosses and rail can be bought from Debiasi Motors (08) 8262 7533 or ASE (08) 8299 0320. www.aseturbo.com
Are you getting close?
T54
Turbo54 ·
Also a big update coming really soon, just have to download a heap of pics.
T54
Dasdubber ·
Heath thanks for the info. I am a long way from having the type IV turbo up and running - I've been planning but have no $ at the moment so will continue to research until funds allow me to start!
I look forward to the pics 👍
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
I have started sorting out some of the pics to put on here and am waiting on a few things to happen before I do a big update but here is a few things to get it rolling. Been working a bit on the exhaust manifold and we have changed it a little tucking it up under the motor more, giving me more clearance to really lower the car for its nice new big wheels. The manifold was all joined together and then sent as individual pipes to be polished and then brought back to do the collector.
It will then be sandblasted on the inside to get rid of any burs that could snap off at a later date and then back to the polishers to be finished off.
I have just had a better turbo mount lazer cut as I wasn't happy with the one I had and that will be on by friday and hopefully all back in the car on the weekend.
Alan - I hope this help so you can see the position of where the turbo is going to sit. The inlet pipe to the turbo is very close to the oil pump!
I have also started stripping the paint and sound deadner off the car preparing it to go and have some minor body repairs and modifications (Whale tail and Torana Tail lights) before paint.
This is the worst possible job for anyone to under go, the shit is sticky and need to be heated really hot to get it off with a scraper. They went to town on this car, bonnet, boot, under all guards and interior, WTF! As the look I am going for is super clean lightweight car it all has to go so I have been scraping for over a month now and soon it will be off to the bead blasters to get rid of the small bits I have missed. I have also been doing a bit on the water cooling side of my intercoolers and have it all sorted but need a radiator that can fit on a 2" narrowed beam that can have dash 8 fittings into it. I was thinking a radiator out of a 2hp split system airconditioner but that has very small fittings. Any fridgy's out there have any sugestions?
Turbo54
malcolm ·
good to see it coming along keep the pics rolling:thumb
62ragtop ·
think twice mal...........selling? or not selling......
Turbo54 ·
63 Rag, never said anything about selling? Are you offering?
T54
62ragtop ·
Malcolm is selling his project and by looking at your project, i hope it could change his mind.......by the way, its 62ragtop, not 63. hehe....
Your car is awesome, don't think you will want to buy mine anyway!
Turbo54 ·
Get it 😉
T54
Turbo54 ·
After spending 2 months trial fitting and ajdusting my collector, pulling the motor in and out hand fulls of times, last night was the sight I have been waiting for. Tucked up high, everything clearing, and can even do engine outs and ins with the piping on. Another hurdle over and onto the next job. Also started mocking up air intake and filter pipes out of PVC.
T54
humpty ·
Turbo54 wrote:I have also started stripping the paint and sound deadner off the car preparing it to go and have some minor body repairs and modifications (Whale tail and Torana Tail lights) before paint.
Turbo54
RAOTFLOL!
Dasdubber ·
He's serious humpty - don't knock 'em - you might hurt his feelings! 😁
nbturbo ·
I see the ends of the fuel rails are still open-what have you got planned so that you can screw some fittings into the aluminium?
Turbo54 ·
There threaded for -6 fittings. I saw you were trying to work yours out,
Adam and Peter have got all the stuff to make these now, you could give them a call if your stuck
T54
nbturbo ·
I ran all around town here trying to find some plugs I could thread the rails to fit and could find nothing.Got the shits on-so machined up some plugs 12mm long and welded them in and then threaded 1/4NPT- job done now and looks really neat.Fitted my pressure reg in the end of one.
nbturbo ·
Drivers side finished-will get some flasher looking fuel fittings or polish up some brass ones.
Turbo54 ·
Nice one, if you have any trouble ask the guys at horsepowerinabox.com or dave at ASE www.aseturbo.com
they have all the stuff I have used to build mine. Also you could try Mildrens Automotive (the rotary guys) as they are Earls distributors, T54
Turbo54 ·
It's been a long time since I updated this but I promise you things haven't stopped at my end. I have been busy with the new job and house but I have slowly been working on various parts of the car and hopefully will start seeing sections coming together in the coming month. I also dont have a camera at the moment so I will try to backtrack a few pics on whats been happening.
The main thing I have been doing that has taken soooooo much time is scraping off all the stone guard that someone thought to spray all over my car. I mean all over...interior, under boot, bonnet, and everywhere else under the car. This has been a shitty job and for anyone who hasn't done it and really is in two minds about on or off. Leave it! I really dont like it and I wonder how much weight I saved by pulling it all out. You just cant blast it off as the beads/ grit just bounces off without massive pressure and that bends panels. You have to get a heat gun and a scraper and get it off like that. It took me about 3.5months on and off. As this must be one of the most depressing jobs around I have also been doing the finishing port matching and finishing on the collector on my turbo header. I am a bit of a perfectionist and have still been playing with the shape of the header and am finally how it sits.
The body is going off to me soda blasted in 2 weeks and when it comes back I can start fitting up all the new bits I have been collecting. I have also found a set of pre pressed panels that I am going to weld into the engine bay to give clearance to the injectors. These came out of the door pillar of a FB Holden. The IRS trailing arms have been narrowed and I found a set of a 181 Thing. The rear CV's that are half beetle and half kombi are apparently really strong and popular with the offroaders. They are now being mated with the IRS arms and having all the brackets for my Honda NSX 4 wheel disks made at the moment. These will then be machined and painted.
The disks came in 114PCD (ford stud pattern) and this is good for me as my new wheels turned up yesterday. I have settled on a look that I have been toying with for the moment and the idea is to eventually have 2 sets of wheels and swap when I get bored. One set is 17" x 8 on rear and 17" 6 on front and the other set is 15"x8 rear and 15"x4 fronts. One set is classic drag and one set is a little more circuit driven.
I have also received the scavenge pump to draw the oil out my turbo and having the little drip tank made for this. Also having the air intake made and got my filter and a really nice cover to stop muck from the tyres (it's positioned under the rear guard behind drivers tyre) flicking up. A good friend (thanks Adam) also got me a Berg shifter and a Oberg filter from a recent trip to the states. My glass rear guards should also be arriving in 2 weeks also. My balance has been taking a beating and with the sale of my 65 Square I should be back on the parts grab for some rear axles, gearbox build and LSD and maybe some panel work.
I will try to update some pics soon.
T54
Before
Scraping:
After:
Under apron:
Front Drivers wheel Arch Before:
Half Done:
Done:
This is a lot of pics but I wanted to share the pain of how long it has taken to get rid of it all!
Front Pass:
Rear Pass:
Rear Drivers:
Under Bonnet:
Interior:
Scavenge Pump:
The can is there so you can guage the size of it.
Berg Shifter:
Oberg:
Golde60 ·
I have missed reading about this car, as it has got to be the best concept and best looking engine bay that I have seen. I am looking forward to seeing some more pics, as I have withdrawal symtomns over here. Not much aircooled stuff in the middle east
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
Things have been moving along well for the last few weeks with the replacement panels turning up for the injection to clear the body. These are now going to be ground and the body cut to suit. Then welded in. I am now cutting holes in the side of the engine bay to access the manifold bolts and sparkplugs. My fabricator has done a set on another car and it looks very neat, and will make things easier. My breather tank and airfilter have turned up with this cool cover for the cleaner that will allow me to mount it under the drivers rear gaurd behind the tyre and not be filled with crap. The ali tubing pipe from the turbo to the aircleaner should be done this week also. Also my Quaife should be here next week and then my box can be done and in the car. Axles, CV's and boots are all waiting for this. Got my tyres put on the rims and now have them sitting under the car planning the ride height and are just waiting for some 2" widened guards to get the rear tyres under the guards.
Should also be getting my oil filter and flywheel next week so we are slowly getting somewhere.
The NSX 4 wheel disks are out having the brackets made to adapt them to my pan also and should have them done within 4 weeks to roll it down to the DOVW so people can see it is actually happening and not just and dream. I have also started sorting out some of the interior things like batwings steering wheel and rear seat frame to match my new Berg Shifter.
The new house should be starting soon so I am trying to power through some of it before then. I will post some more pics soon.
T54
Steering Wheel:
JVLRacing ·
mmmcoming along nicely😎
Dasdubber ·
Great stuff Heath - good to see some progress pics!
56astro ·
Hey H,
The race is on now.
Looking forward to seeing the finished product.
reub ·
SCHWING!
Golde60 ·
nice wheels
nbturbo ·
Looking good Heath-will come down for a perv in March and catch up with you.
Turbo54 ·
Hey 56,
I dont know about the race is now on, I have just started stripping the body and getting it ready to go to the panel / painters so we are still quite away yet. I will also be getting all my shed back soon so that will make it a hell of a lot better.
T54
56astro ·
Aren't you leaving the Polar Silver on?
It's a great colour.
Turbo54 ·
No swapping it over. Yes it is a great colour but I have something else in mind. I have also stripped all the interior out and made it a standard and scrap all the body shultz off the inside of engine bay, under bonnet, under all four wheelarches and under the every other area so by the time I paint the inside and all these areas I might as well blow the rest over again.
T54
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
A quick update. The brakes have been started and should move along quite fast as the setup I got of Malcolm on here is awesome. I am so happy that I got these. I must admit I was a little shady at the start on how easy they would bolt up but they have measured up fantastic. The handbrake will even line up, run under the arm and still use the factory mounts. The caliper mounts are almost perfectly inline with the arms 4 bolt flange. These are the rears as i am now working from the back forward to finish the project. The IRS arms have also been narrowed 23mm on each side to keep the track in.
The brakes are off a Honda NSX and the stubs are off a 181 thing (these are meant to be really strong, we'll soon see) if you haven't read any of the rest of the thread. I spoke to a guy who owned a twin turbo NSX and asked him how it pulled up.
His answer was "They pull up pretty average between 300 and 200 but under that they are great!". I dont think I am going to have any problems.
Post more soon.
T54
Putting the stubs in the arms with all parts layed on table
Thinking hard about caliper mounting bracket
The perfect lineup
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
More has been happening on the dub in the last few weeks and I am just waiting on a few more bits and pieces. I promise a mega download of a heap of bits over the next week.
The rear brakes are almost all done, they are n the CNC machine right now having the plates made up for the calipers. Then the rear arms need to be drilled and sleeved as they distorted a little when they were narrowed. Then it is fit the new bearings and bolt it all on. Then the rear will be positioned and wheels fitted up properly. Also waiting on a set of 2" widened rears but in the meantime I am borrowing one off another adelaide enthusiast who is building something a little special 18" porsche wheels etc. and it looks fat.
When I drop it to the wishful height it has that tubbed feel I am looking for. I am really happy about this.
The front brakes are in the works also and I still intend to get it rolling fo the next VW day down the bay. Just looking at ways to get the disk to bolt to a hub in the right position for the calipers. Malcolm if you read this please shoot me a U2U on how you were thinking of doing it.
The calipers almost line up so the plate wont be very hard just getting the hub right.
Also have got the oberg oil filter mounted directly onto the deep sump under the oil pump and the air intake pipe from the turbo to under the rear guard. In previous pics you can see it made out of PVC tube which I did a few alts and then got it made out of thin ali. Mounted to the turbo and airfilter I should get great flow as well as keeping well clear of the exhaust manifold.
I have also started match porting the manifolds to the heads and joins. This is a little tricky but with plenty of patience and going slowly it should work out fine. I have marked all the areas that need grinding and will start that when it's not 40+ degrees in the shed. The stainless files are shitty on your skin so you need to wear overalls and that is way too hot.
Hopefully gearbox will be really next week and then can be fitted.
All the paint stripping is done but I am waiting for a few more things before I send it to the strippers. Axles and rear fork bracing is next,
i'll keep you posted.
Have a good one.
T54
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
The car is progressing and here is some of the phtos I have been promising. I will ty to post more tomorrow if possible.
We have had a bit of trouble with the offset of the wheels I have got and the rear calipers fouling on the rim so the plate I have had machined is a test and is now in the scrap. I have been building lots of different brackets from Balsa and now are getting close. We have had to put the disk on the rear of the hub and run a 10mm spacer to get it all to clear. This positioned the 8" wheel an inch under the 2" widened guard and will most likely be more once it is lower and more squat.
This is the original template when the caliper mount is higher than where it bolts to the arm.
This is the new plate where the caliper will be lower than the arm
As the arms have been narrowed it has warped the bearing housing lip slightly and this is going off this week to be bored and sleeved.
I am still aiming for the show but if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen.
I have almost finished portmatching the turbo manifold. I have spent many hours doing this and it just needs a little finishing but it shouldn't take too long. I have to go down and get some fine sanding wheels.
This is before the turbo flange was welded on and the first rough cut of the collector. It took about 2 hours per port to get it too this with grinding and filling to get the perfect point. You have to be careful if you pick it up from there as I have stabbed myself in the finger a few times. Sorry for the bad pic.
Then the flange went on and there was more grinding and smoothing. It looks a little rough in the pic but that is just the heated metal where the welds have penetrated through. It is all nice and smooth.
I have then started matching the other ports. As you can see here the one on the right is how it was and the one on the left is done.
Another one finished, These also took about an hour each and some very sore hands.
The header with only finishing to go! Yeehaa!
I have also trail fitting my front beam so put it all together and will slide it under the car tonight. Then I can hook up all the steering arms to check nothing fould on the EFI tanks, pumps and filters under the fuel tank.
It has been narrowed by 2.5" and have adjusters welded in. I also have placed on a set of hubs that will allow me to fit up the rather large ford disks. Thanks Glen.
Also got my air intake tube back from the welders. Once again a great job on the welds. You may remember this from back in the post somewhere. I have a template made out of PVC and had it copied in Aluminium.
I will post a pic on how it clears the oberg filter and the pod filter behing the rear wheel soon.
Thats it for now.
T54
westi ·
coming along nicely.
can't wait to se it finished,when are you aiming for.
Turbo54 ·
Year from now or there abouts.
bond ·
looks awesome heath. a real credit to you.
who is the other enthusiast fitting 2" widened fenders and 18" porsche rims?
appreciate their details. thanks.
nick
Turbo54 ·
Not too sure if he wants to let it out but they are 4" widened with alloy rear arms, brembos and 18" cup wheels. It's going to go round corners real well.
I will see if he wants to put up some pics.
T54
humpty ·
What is it about you East Coast guys and your wide guards? 😘
Anyway.... Top stuff Heath.... It sure is coming along nicely... I have no idea how you manage to fit it all in.... Family, house and the amazing amount of development you have in this car.... Keep it up!
Turbo54 ·
Went down and checked out the progress on my gearbox this afternoon,
Here's some pics. Will try to post some more of what I have been up to tomorrow.
T54
humpty ·
Now thats some pretty stuff there Heath.... Its almost a shame to lock it all up inside the transaxle case!
Almost!😁
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
Here's some of the other body mods that have been taking place. These have been mentioned back in here somewhere but I have never posted pics.
I have now removed all the tabs and interior mounting clips (not just snapped them off) to create my own look interior that I have in mind. Also dont want the weight of a full trimmed beetle.
Heater channel lip removed:
Also as my injector stacks come sreally close to the body I have been looking for a piece of pressed metal that would increase clearance ans look factory.
I marked the area out in sliver paint that I will have to cut out and that gave me the shape for what of was looking for.
I then cut a template and went to wreckers holding up templates to indents looking for the right shape. I was looking at 180B datsun rear quarters where the bumper is recessed but could weld a peice of 180B into a VW on principle.
It also did fit but would do if I couldn't find anything else. I went to a old holden place and was looking at bumper recesses when I saw a doo jam striker plate section of a FB. It was a great match so I bought them home.
What I didn't realise that it was structural and there was 3 of them welding togetherinside each other. After drilling all the spot welds I noe have the perfect spacers. These will be placed in by my panel beater as I don't trust myself.
I have also plumbed my hoses through the heater channel for my radiator on the beam and the Ice tank I have made for the intercooloers.
The Ice tank is an old esky I have had for a while but we have built a new esky for it and are using the handle and lid for the look.
It is 4mm aluminium and has an internal section for the ice to go in. The water will be drawn from the outside area run through the coolers through the radiator and back to the tank. It will then run through the 2 radiators (WR450 Radiators) surrounded with ice and then flow into the outer tank going through the process all over again. I have done some tests and the temp drops are amazing. I am just awaiting the gearbox and oil cooler to be installed and I can work out where the water drains can be, then it will be welded up.
Radiator on front beam:
I have also modified my tank for a breather so when I pump the fuel back into the tank it doesn't gas up and pressure lock anything. I know that the cap does this but I wanted to make sure it is enough.
I made the opening at the top really close to the bottome of the cap and don't think petrol could go down there but if it did it couldn't get through the loops and will turn to vapour.It had been acid dipped before any welding took place and only etch primed on outside.
Standard tank:
Inside breather:
Bottom Section:
Turbo54 ·
I have update some of the posts through out this build, they are not all at the end. I didn't want to double up.
I didn't think the car was going anywhere and was getting a little shitty so I went through my own post from the start with all the ups and downs and am amazed on how much it is really coming along.
I am enthused and will be going up to work on her tonight.
T54
Dasdubber ·
Hey Heath, great update mate - can't wait to see the next install of progress pics!
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
Been quite busy with house and family but are managing to squeeze a few hours of car in here and there. Really working to get it rolling soon.
I will be posting more pics this week, here are just a few off my camera for the moment.
This is the progress.
Been working on the rear axles / hubs and brakes. After much playing and checking / measuring etc I have finally machined the adapters to get my big brakes under my weld wheels. (A big thanks to Dave G who has come over a few times and given me a hand.) I have also had to get my rear arms re-machined so they were perfectly round as the heat from narrowing them egg'd them slightly and I didn;t like the idea of just forcing my bearings in there. After that I bought a set of bearings and did a fit up and my machinist has balanced it all so we have a perfectly aligned hub and rotor package for each side. He also marked all the part so when they are pulled apart it can go back the way it is intended.
While this has been happening I have cleaned up my rotors and given then a fresh coat of heat proof black. Also finished the air intake for my turbo and the shroud covering the pod filter behind the back drivers wheel. Also been cleaning up my beam and rear arms to get it into hi-fill. I have filed all the marks out of these and then skimmed them with filler before laying on coats of hi-fill. Also been painting little bits here and there and getting stuff ready for the power coaters.
I hope to have on its wheels within a few weeks so I can roll it down to the next VW show here in Adelaide. Fingers crossed but as it is 45.7 degrees here today, and not under 40 until sunday, no work will happen this week.
T54
Front beam getting ready to strip
Beam Filed
Beam Filled
Ready to paint
Painting
Torsion Bars
Ready for powder coating
LIFE IN THE LOW LANE ·
Looking good Heath. you sure do have some hot weather down there atm!!
VWFREAK ·
Nice work, looking good.
Super1302 ·
NOICE.........
and isn't fiddling in the shed great.
keep it up.
westi ·
get a riggle on,not that i can talk.
i want to see the brakes and wheels on.the car will look unreal back on her feet.
Turbo54 ·
Here is a few more as promised,
The rear stub axles are from a type 181 which are meant to be really strong. These have been mated to the hub which is a machined down rear drum and then drilled and tapped for a ford stud pattern. I have also used fully threaded wheel studs. This is because I am going to mount the brake disk to the back of the hub and sandwich it on using the spacer to lock it down. As you can see in the image the spacer is also tapped and it will all be torqued up together to form a strong unit. The spacers aer machined out of aircraft grade aluminium as the material is already hardened.
The whole lot has been put together and spun on a lathe to work out where the best balance was and then marked so it could be out back together again the same way left and right. Also after this the whole unit including the disks was balanced. It should be all back together and assembled on the rear arms next week after being painted.
The hub assembly
Brakes masked, look back in this post to see condition before machining.
Amazing what a slight skim with wet and dry can do.
Brake disks and parts
Close up of all spacers
181 Stubs
New bushes
Turbo54 ·
Also if you scroll up a little you will also see a pvc and a aluminium pipe that is the air intake from the turbo, I really needed a wheel on to make sure it clears the tyre and the oberg filter so while we were doing all of the test fitting, I fitted it up and made sure it all clears. I then sent it off to have the mounting tab welded on to fit it up on the bumper bracket.
I also bought a K&N pod as I have had good results with back to back testing in my Supercharged Vortech Commodore and found a nice plastic cover that should protect it from crap coming off the back drivers side tyre. This cover was too big so I have had to trim it down but it is going to work perfectly - just awaiting a coat of paint now. I am also very happy with the way this bit went together. Fit in nicely and tight up against the rear apron and wil just need some wrapping / heat sheild in 1 section near the turbo header.
One more bit ticked off! Have a good one.
T54
Air filter pipe out of turbo and around apron
Out from under apron into guard
Pod and cover
trickysimon ·
Nice work so far 👍
Wont the cover fill up with rocks and dirt?
debiasi4 ·
looking great heath - you have way more attenion to detail than me - i just want to steer the thing around the block
adam
Resto64 ·
good stuff heath
took me 2 days to read the post
at home with the kids u know the deal
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
A fair bit has been happening over the last few weeks. Stuff powedercoated that I will be puting together with pics soon, stuff sand blasted ready to be details and hi-filled. Have ordered one of the colours of the two-tone so I can start painting the beam and other little bits and pieces. Still need to detail the calipers and have them checked for leaks as the haven't been on a car for a long time. When this is done they will go on to the custom brackets. Then onto the front setup.
I am very happy with where the wheels sit on the car. I have no issues with fouling on anything and have at least 8mm clearance everywhere so everything went as planned. I was always worried about fitting such a bit wheel but with the 2" guards that are coming soon they should sit about 10-15mm in under the lip. I like the rear drag look that it is starting to get with the fat and skinnies and the rake. Keeping very motivated at the moment but will slow down soon with the actual construction of the house starting soon now that the site works are done.
The little thing bolted to the back of the drivers hub is for a bar to hold the hub while on the bench for taking the nut off.
The brake disk is actually bolted to the back of the hub and the spacer to the front sandwiching onto the hub. I have used fully threaded moroso studs to hold everything together.
Passenger side assembled
Drivers side assembled
oldskl60 ·
Looking awesome Heath!! When are you aiming to have it on the streets of SA?
cnfabo ·
that is going to be one bad ass ride dude, keep up the good work...
boristherat ·
You're a clever prick!😀
Good to catch up Satdee night. Will have to come up and have a closer look at your progress.
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
A quick update, still working on getting the wheels right on the rear end, this car is 1 step forward 2 steps back. It's unbelievable. Now that I got the wheels to fit in the above post The tyres then rubbed on the spring plate bolts so I then took the rear arms off again and had the 3 holes countersunk to match the countersunk allen key bolts and locktight nuts. Happens that the countersink is a odd 43 degrees so my engineer has to make a 43degree cutting bit to match. It's just the little things like this that is slowing things down. Now it is all fitted up and the wheels are spinning freely I notice that they are also rubbing on the bumpstops bit that sticks out. Out comes the grinder and yah, they spin by themselves! Then it was time to set the height but for some reason the brand new nolethane rubbers wouldn't squash into the end plates so off to where I bought the rubbers to swap them for the right ones. Turns out I had the wrong end plate covers and that sucked cause I just had them powdercoated so I got the right ones and after powdercoating them they fit perfect.
I have had the motor out for a while now and wanted to fit the final gearbox so the jigsaw was to go in again. This was so I could see the car with some weight in it and look at the final ride height to suss out the exhaust which is the next piece I am going to tackle. Upon fitting the gearbox I notice the studs for my middle gearbox mount weren't long enough so They need to pull out and longer ones to go in, not biggy but another thing back on the too do list. I also noticed that now I am running kombi CV's, the flanges are almost rubbing on the framehorns and will need clearancing ( 2nd step back for the night)! Have also decided to do a full removable rear end like 2442TT's black beetle. The jigsaw of bits is just frustrating and I think it will make life easier. Some might give me grief for cutting up a 54 but it is so modified who cares.
While this is being done I have also found a better intercooler ice box setup so I will be changing that and my front top arms of my beam are being flexed (bent) to give better camber. Also a lot of other things have been powdercoated and my exhaust is all there ready to be shaped and welded, hopefully I will do a template this weekend. What I have noticed with my killer muffler setup is that it seems to be too big and I am going to have to modify it also. So my brand new polished muffler is going to have 3" cut out of the middle of it to fit under the guard and not hit on the tyre. (Is this the 3rd step back for the night?) Anyway it is still moving forward or backwards i am not sure and ticking things off the list.
I also trial fitted a friends shermann 2" guards on to see what it will look like and apart from getting it a little lower I am happy with the way it sits. Almost looks a little tubbed with the tyres sitting about a inch in from the outer edge. I am not holding my breath with the 2" guards from vforce and will proberly get a set from shermanns. Also cause my front guards are so perfect I am going to give them to someone who is going to use them for a plug to make perfect glass ones for a set to shed a few more pounds.
Have a good one,
T54
Empty car
Jigsaw
Gearbox
2" widened guards
Stanley ·
A little pain now for a lot of gain when it's all complete.
Top work
vassy66T1 ·
Looking great!!
Would love to see how you go with the removable rear apron as I have to do the same for my 54. I want to be able to get the motor out a little easier and just to have access to the rear of the engine. It is a tight fit inside the oval engine bay is it not?
Keep it up.
555bug ·
what he said also for my 60 🙂 looks amaving and keep at it, I know its taken me about a dozen times to bet my 996 brakes frikking working with the wheel that did not fit under the guards etc etc... also make sure you bring it to Warwick 2010 🙂
Turbo54 ·
Sorry guys but I am not talking about just the apron, I am doing it from the firewall. This will enable me to slide the rear end on with the intercoolers in place. 😉 T54
Flintstones ·
T54, I remember a time when you said that you'd never cut up the 54........👍
Cheers
D
reub ·
Looks sweet as Heath.
Look forward as always to future updates! 👍
Turbo54 ·
Yeah I remember a time when I wasn't going to cut it but seeing this car has been cut before I have changed my opinion. Also I figure if I sold this car, the new owner would but it for all the modification and uniquness not to turn it back to original... not that I will be selling her. I will keep my other 54 original.
Anyway, some more progress. A long time ago I made up a cardboard muffler and had trouble finding one with a inlet and outlet on the same ends. I eventually found a magnaflow which looked the part, but after fitting it all in the car it was too big. I was looking at other route for the exhaust but I have a plan and I am going to stick with it. I have had far too many sleepness nights planning this thing to change so I have made my mind up to cut it down to fit. This is quite a challenge as it was packed with shit and made it really hard to get the end off the muffler. I finally did it and too 80mm out of it. Also while I was there I made a PVC ( I love this stuff) template of my turbo dump pipe.
When you see the PVC dump and the muffler it is a really nice fit and then it is a rotary style turned down end out of the muffler and that is it. My whole exhaust is only 1.5 feet long. Cant wait to hear what it sounds like.
Thanks to Westi for your help and advice the other day, I was going to send it to you but a friend here is going to do it all cheaper than the freight to get it to you.
Thanks,
T54
What I am aiming for
PVC Dump - It took a while and will be a challenge to get that odd shape in stainless
I used a piece of 2.5" and 2" to mold the shape going into a 2.5 total at the end that will blend into my 2.5 Muffler. It should be fairly free flowing.
The cutdown Magnaflow size difference
Side by side
Total length of my exhaust system minus rotary style dump on end.
Flintstones ·
Looking good there👍
Stainless is such a mongrel to work with, especially if you want it to look pretty. I know how much fun it was make my exhaust......
Have you factored in the twist of the motor under load, and how that muff is going to be supported?
Remembering that the further you move away from the centerline of the crank the more space you'll need for the muff to move around in.
Cheers
D
Dasdubber ·
Great progress Heath, we all know too well the 'one step forward, two steps back, a thousand more dollars spent' scenario! The wider rear guards suit the car well, those wheels really are awesome.
Don't worry about cutting, its only metal - I've got lots to cut on my 54 - in the last couple of years I've seen that many 54 beetles pop up on AVD that I figure theres enough around to keep the purists happy.....and if not, well f*#k em 😉 The knockers are most often the keyboard experts that haven't done a stock resto ever themselves - for those people who criticise I'd love for them to show their cars and let me pick it to bits highlighting all the faults and "non original" aspects. For the select few that do 100 point stock resto's, I find they are usually the ones who are more reasonable and understanding how diffiicult it is keep things 100% stock. Anyhow, enough ranting, keep cutting mate....I'm loving your work. Imagine how boring the scene would be if no-one modified their vw's.
Al
nbturbo ·
Good response Alan-well said.
JVLRacing ·
Dasdubber wrote:Great progress Heath, we all know too well the 'one step forward, two steps back, a thousand more dollars spent' scenario! The wider rear guards suit the car well, those wheels really are awesome.
Don't worry about cutting, its only metal - I've got lots to cut on my 54 - in the last couple of years I've seen that many 54 beetles pop up on AVD that I figure theres enough around to keep the purists happy.....and if not, well f*#k em 😉 The knockers are most often the keyboard experts that haven't done a stock resto ever themselves - for those people who criticise I'd love for them to show their cars and let me pick it to bits highlighting all the faults and "non original" aspects. For the select few that do 100 point stock resto's, I find they are usually the ones who are more reasonable and understanding how diffiicult it is keep things 100% stock. Anyhow, enough ranting, keep cutting mate....I'm loving your work. Imagine how boring the scene would be if no-one modified their vw's.
Al
hahaha very fukin true.....and sometimes we try to make a square wheel go round😊
Golde60 ·
hey Heath
whatever happened to this beast? any updates??
hope it is going well, this is one of my all time fav builds along with 2443TT's
h ·
I think he has been busy building a house..
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
Yeah not much on the car. Moved it the other day so i could do some work in the garage but planning a bit effort real soon. Have unpacked some of the boxes and got parts ready for mods. Also after thinking a little about it have changed my mind on a few areas. You will find these out. As for the house. nearly finished. Just won a SA award and entering a few more. Grass is now down and some stirs off the deck to the lawn.
Just got to tidy up the hot tub and some fans, daughters bedroom inside and back to the car.
As for the car. New wheels are on the cards, seats have been chosen as well as interior. Guards have been test fitted and just trying to sort out plumbing and where it is all going to fit.
Thanks for the compliment Golde, goes for both of us, I am in love with the 550.
Updates soon I promise.
T54
Aussie Dubbin ·
Hi in this post below there is some photos of your hub. It looks to me like youve cut down an EMPI combo hub??? Is that right and if so do you have some more pics please. I am a little cautious of the rear brakes i have chosen but like the idea of being able to lathe them down and use my own hub Bolted to it... They seem really meaty.
Cheers
Aaron
posted on January 29th, 2009 at 11:15 PM
Here is a few more as promised,
The rear stub axles are from a type 181 which are meant to be really strong. These have been mated to the hub which is a machined down rear drum and then drilled and tapped for a ford stud pattern. I have also used fully threaded wheel studs. This is because I am going to mount the brake disk to the back of the hub and sandwich it on using the spacer to lock it down. As you can see in the image the spacer is also tapped and it will all be torqued up together to form a strong unit. The spacers aer machined out of aircraft grade aluminium as the material is already hardened.
The whole lot has been put together and spun on a lathe to work out where the best balance was and then marked so it could be out back together again the same way left and right. Also after this the whole unit including the disks was balanced. It should be all back together and assembled on the rear arms next week after being painted.
The hub assembly
Brakes masked, look back in this post to see condition before machining.
Amazing what a slight skim with wet and dry can do.
Brake disks and parts
Close up of all spacers
181 Stubs
New bushes
Turbo54 ·
Hey Aussie,
From memory they are machined down beetle drum back halves. Don't quote me. I bought them off a guy that used to be on here called Macolm and all the machining was done. I suspect thats what they were and the cross that on them is the strengthening.
Someone on here might know more. Post it in the general section and you might get the right answer.
Sorry T54
Aussie Dubbin ·
Cheers i will just borrow a couple of pics though hope thats ok
h ·
lurve the pad heath.. hmmm
buzz ·
oh damn :O thats an awesome built loving it Wanting to see more
SebastienPeek ·
You're pimping an old Mac, so not only are you a VW bloke, but you're an Apple one too.
Respect.
House looks crazy by the way, where are you in Adelaide?
Wouldn't mind catching up and meeting up with you at some point.
Turbo54 ·
Hey Sebastien, I'm in Adelaide hills, Don't really get out to things VW related, mainly blow through to say hi to a few people. Lookout for the Turbo54 Tee Shirt. More into Hot rods and street machines.
I'll keep my eye out for the car in the avator.
T54
Camo ·
Wow, I remember looking at your house plans about 2 years ago and it looks great as per the plans. It's great to see your dreams and drawings become reality, well done. Although it must of been hard putting the VW on hold.
Congratulations, Kevin
SebastienPeek ·
Yeah, I figured you were up in the hills from the house photos, you around Stirling/Bridgewater?
I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for the man in the shirt 😉
I'll have to update the avatar soon, check out my thread on what I'm doing to her and you'll see what I mean.
See you around!
Golde60 ·
nice house there heath. congrats
love the outriggers done at two different levels, makes you look twice, and the big black beams at the top give it a real presence and structure.
still got to finish the cfc on the front? metal clad i presume?
Turbo54 ·
Hey Golde,
The CFC at the front? If you mean the rammed earth, no it's staying natural. If you mean the underneath of the house, this will be in stage 2 of the house with another hip roof and build in to house the beetle when done. polished concrete, bi-folds etc.
There is another set of outriggers going up in a few weeks in the middle section made out of steel. These will look light weight and have slatted timber across the top. I will update pics.
Thanks for all the compliments.
Heath
mactaylor ·
got much polished concrete? have a mate who does it and he is rolling in money, they are downright thieves!
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
Been a while since I have posted. You all know how it is life gets in the way. The best thing is the house is now at a place where I can start concentrating back on the car again. I have been scratching at it over the last couple of months but never got into it too seriously. The best thing about the house build is for the last 5 years is the fact I have had time to think about what I want to achieve with this car, the use for it and the final look. This is now locked down in my head in a solid plan. I have a photo-shopped goal on the wall of the shed to keep me on track next to the dirty calender!
Over this period I have almost sorted/collected/swapped out all the parts needed to finish the car, turbo system, injection etc which is nicely boxed on the shelves.
The main thing to do with the car now is getting everything to fit and look like it should be there. This is hard with 3 big pumps, and ice box and a motor that should not really fit and looks nothing like factory.
I have a plan.
Over the next few months there should be a significant progression in this build so keep posted!
The first agenda is the body. Since I opened this thread I have had 3 54 bodies and this is the worst. Finn you got the best one and I am kicking myself now!
Anyhow as it has been bumped around a fair bit and sometime in its life (about 12years ago) got a nice paint job I am now not too concerned about cutting it up to get what I want out of it.
The previous repairs are done well but finished badly. I set out to find out how bad and spent months scraping all the deadner off the body. That was a while ago.
I bought new quarters and rear apron from wolfparts sweden and tracked down a new front clip here in adelaide that will be replacing the previous repair work.
The rear apron will be removable to allow me to get the motor out easier. The guards and w lid are going to be fibreglass.
I have spent the last 2 weeks modifying a rotisserie (thanks Paul for the ends and Dave for the ideas) that mounted up on the bumper mounts that I cut off my car. So I had to build a frame that mounted off the original pan bolts. I think it worked well. It needs to have a few more brackets in it to take out some flex. Once I sorted this it was off to the soda blasters so now I await what I get back.
Always a scary scenario when your car has seen previous work!
I'll keep you posted.
T54
This is the first time it has seen daylight for years. Was waiting for one of those mummy effects where it all starts crumbling to dust.
reub ·
👍
Turbo54 ·
Got it back from the blasters. Not much to tell. Nothing showed up that we didn't know about and no rust. A few sections that have been repaired but hey it over 50 years old. Also had the new front clip blasted and that is perfect. As some of the car was really good I made the decision not to touch bits that I didn't have too. The paint is already over 10 years old and have come out in anything so the plan is to scrub it back and paint over it.This is the roof, 4 quarters and doors.
The worst bit is trying to get out all the dust and blasting compound.
T54
After that I removed all the tabs and other bits on the shell I didn't want and cleaned it all over and started taping it up for the 2Pac Epoxy Primer.
Primer on
New wolfparts replacement panels
Masking ripped off.
So overall it was a very busy weekend. Now the fun starts of the replacement panels and straightening the interior out.
Peace,
T54
SebastienPeek ·
Coming together really well, can't wait to see it on the road!
When you thinking it'll be back on the road?
Turbo54 ·
Not sure, as soon as I can get it there. Have been working pretty hard on here lately and I think the family is forgetting who I am.
The panel beater is coming over the week after next and then off to him for a few weeks. While that's happening it will be full swing on the pans and brakes suspension which is almost all done.
T54
SebastienPeek ·
Sounds awesome!
If you ever need a hand with anything I can come around and lend one, I enjoy helping out and would love to meet more Adelaide VW people 🙂
Keep us posted, can't wait to see this all come together though.
Mr Bubble Head ·
Heath
Very nice build mate you and I have been living parallel lives by the look of things, car build, then kids, then a house another house build now the car again etc. I'm just finishing the final bits on our old house reno / reconfig extension. Most of the last year has been taken up on the house build.
Seeing your engine gives me vibes to build the 1776 injected turbo I originally had planned for my Oval. I started collecting a few bare essentials case crank etc , I ran the bigger fuel line in the tunnel and used the original as the return to the tank (54 tank just cos). I also had the filler neck mod for the breather
For the moment I'm sticking with the vintage Okrasa copy 36hp
Great to see your back on board as well keep it up you'll be giving me the push I'm so in need of too.
Aussie ·
Looking great 🙅 I like the frame you have built to work on the body.
cressy75 ·
hey heath
paul here (resto64)
long time no see,great to see you are still doing the 54
trying to find a nice beetle to get back in the game after a long break
hope to catch up with you all soon
Paul
Turbo54 ·
Hi All,
quick update, will post pics soon.
As I am not a panel beater and after much deliberation I have sold the body that I had spent so much time and $$$ on. You can see it in the above pics. It is the grey one on the rotorisserie. Once I got it back from the blasters there was a few sections that had been repaired that are key to the look and vision I have in mind for the car. Nothing crazy bad or anything that cant be rectified but it just didn't suit what I had in mind. The $$$ that it would cost me to do as I have no skills in this and the standard that I work to so I was in two minds on what to do. That is why it had just sat for 12 weeks.
The funny thing is that things happen for a reason. I was working at a photoshoot one day, it was friday and I asked the photographer what he was doing on the weekend and he mentioned he was going up to a mates house to go go karting. The topic soon turned to cars and as it happened, his mate had a bit of a collection of VW's. I asked him if he had a 54 he might want to part with.
A few days later it just so happened that he had a 54, and that he was thinking of parting with it. It was a shell only that had the rear apron removed and needed a little repair on the nose.
This sounded like a carbon copy of what I had currently had so I organised a time to check it out.... and eventually bought it. It had been dipped and primed 15 years ago and then stored. It was just starting to get some surface rust on it as it was just under tarps outside for the last few months and he knew it wasn't going to last another winter without deteriorating.
Got it home on tuesday and started pulling it down to put up on the rotorisserie. I would have to say it is one of the cleanest 54 bodies I have owned (this is my 5th).
Never been hit or repaired, very minimal rust... only a small hole on the passenger door pillar bottom and a little under the rear window and a few small holes under the windscreen.
The next steps are to redo all the stuff I had already done on my old one.
- clean all the cable tabs off it
- take out all the interior tabs to make it back to a standard
- Clean off body deadner
- strip down and 2pac primer
It should be going to the panel shop in 4-6 weeks to have the lumps and bumps smoothed out for a perfect finish.
Looking forward to this and feel like I have taken 2 steps backwards but I know it will pay off in the end with $$$ and a better car for the look that I am after.
As for my old 54, keep an eye out. It is going to be awesome. I hope he will post pics up on here with the progress.
Heath
T54
humpty ·
mAdMan!? 😂🤪
57 Chook Shed ·
No 5!
Turbo54 ·
I know it sounds crazy but this is a better way of going. 2 of the 54's were two good to cut up, one didn't come off and these last two. I will do full updates on the progress of this body all the way through to paint.
T54
Turbo54 ·
As promised... here's what followed me home.
And then pulled if off the pan and this is what I found.
Passenger foot well
Drivers foot well
Drivers inner front arch
Heater channels
luggage compartment
Engine Bay
Turbo54 ·
1st Job - Getting it to fit on a later model pan.
Rather than just cut them off and move them up, I drilled out all the spot welds and will weld the whole plate on in the correct position.
Next is to remove all the interior trim tabs carefully.
T54
57 Chook Shed ·
Looks pretty damn good Heath. Is that just underseal on the drivers inner guard?
Turbo54 ·
Yeah the whole car is covered in etch primer and under the guards is a very fine layer of underseal. Comes off with a light rub and will be strip disked and finer areas sand blasted.
T54
retroresto ·
G'day Heath,
Your Old #4 baby is nestle lovely between VW bits in my new shed.
i think 54 #4 is a good name for it!
I've started work on the floor pan, had it bead blasted and have replaced both pans. i'll get some pics up on the forum and start a new thread so everyone can track the progress seing as you had done sooooo much work it.
Talk soon!
Cheers
Paul
Mr Bubble Head ·
Looks like a great start Heath. The shell seems to be solid and perfect. Do you want a lend of my can opener for the roof ?
waaagh ·
What ever happened to this? Did it get finished?
Turbo54 ·
Just sitting in the shed half built. Got almost everything to finish but in the process of finishing the house and 4wdving. My daughter isn't that interested but really loves the outdoors. She's 8 and at the moment I would rather devote / spend time with her and my wife as she'll not want to hang out with mum and dad for much longer. We'll see, she might like it one day but at the moment I'd rather be catching waves with her. 😉
Heath
waaagh ·
Good to hear. Spending time with your daughter is definitely time well spent.