Not strictly a beetle, but hey there's a late 60's wrecked beetle out there in VW heaven that donated its organs for transplant, so I reckon its just as good....
Going to document the rebuild of my 1981 Boekhorst Formula Vee.
Most of you would know about Formula Vee, but wouldnt know the process involved in this sort of thing, so I thought it might be a nice learning experience.
I bought the car in 2006 off a couple of mechanics in Toowoomba.
The car was neat and tidy, but was mechanically in sad need of attention... which is stupid seeing mechanics owned it.
I ran it a few times as bought, and after swapping the front end for the back end at Morgan Park after an axle seal and brakeline blew together, I thought it time to strip it down for a rebuild, before something IMPORTANT decided to break.
The idea was to search for the original logbook/owner of the car so I could trace a history, whilst doing the rebuild.
Happy to say that after last week, and near 2 YEARS of searching, I spoke to the guy that built the car, and things are now underway after getting original pics of the car in 1981.
Its going to be logbooked as a historic car, and therefore has to be basically the same looking as it was originally to get the Gold Certificate of Description with CAMS.
Chassis is going into the workshop this weekend to be sprayed, and I'll post a heap of pics along the way.
Here's what the car looked like in 1999, and then in 2006, and one of the chassis as it is now. Followed by pics of the car when it was built in 1981.
BizarreModeratorThe artist formerly known as blue74l
OK here's pics of the next stage..... the chassis back to bare metal. There wasnt too much nasty stuff to speak of, but there was some cancer creeping through.
Chassis has been cleaned up as is, as I was happy that the cancer wasnt terminal on any of the rails.
Ultimately, this won't be an issue, as I'm installing an electronic rust prevention system. This one uses sacrificial anodes, and will keep the car in its current state for good.
Pics show the bare chassis, and with it's primer coat done.
brilliant find!! looked pretty awesome in the day, keep us posted on the progress and good luck, oh and the last pics didnt work, well, atleast not for me....
VW - helping put oil back into the ground for over 60 years
Recieved my race cam yesterday..... so looking forward to taking some incar race footage once she's back on the track. Hopefully the pics will work now.
Thanks to the work of Ian Lee (chequer57) from The Historic Formula Vee Association of Australia and others, many old Formula Vees are coming out of hiding, being rebuilt, and tossed back where they should be.... on the track, not stuck rotting in someones shed somewhere.....
The way I figure it..... if you have an accident in a vee thats bad enough to warrant a collapsible steering shaft, the steering shaft is the least of your worries......
Here's todays update..... starting to look like a car!!!!!
Had to cut a new dashboard. The old one was shite.
Test fitted new master cylinders, and got the positioning of the extinguisher and battery. The old extinguisher was up to the left of my hand, which was not only a pain in the arse, but was seriously impossible to get out. Should have never passed scruntineering.... but anyways....
Old battery used to be bolted up the firewall on the engine side..... not much room for anything really.
New battery has 6 times the capacity of the old one and is a gel pack sealed battery. That way I can lie it down under my legs. This moves 5+kg to the front bottom of the car, and another kg and a bit from the top to the bottom of the car. Not much of a change, but will certainly help weight distribution.
Making better progress than I expected, so pretty happy right now.
Had a few days off. Here's progress for today. I'll finish the bundy tube for the brake and clutch lines this evening, and then she's ready to put on wheels!!!! 🙂
Here's the battery insitu, with its new bracket and main power connected. Couldn't mount it to the floor as I wanted, as the floor just doesnt have the strength to hold it there.
New roll bar padding.
Dash wiring all finished. I hate wiring.
I HAVE THE POWER!!!!!
Electronic rust prevention system installed. Will stop any rust forming on the car FOREVER!!!!
Was asked a couple of questions last night about the car, and how the rebuild was going.
Haven't really gone in depth on the rebuild as its pretty simple stuff. Painting, cleaning, rivetting, wiring etc.
It was more to document the build on the net, for anyone else who was looking at racing a Vee, or rebuilding an old one. Just to give some ideas on how things go together, and my take on how I thought it should be done.
This won't end when the car is running again either, as I have a racecam now, and I'll be posting pics from events I attend. I'll also be continuing the Certificate of Description saga to get the car fully historic registered.
Here's a few points I thought I'd add.
I was asked why I built the chassis on stands up off the ground, and why I didnt mount it on wheels and work from there.
That's a really easy one.... It's ALOT easier to work in and around chassis tubing and panel work 3 foot off the ground than 40cm off the ground!!!!
The car as a chassis is EXTREMELY light, and can be comfortably picked up by two people and moved around. I move it on my own without too much hassle.
Had I put it on its wheels, it would be a pain to work on.... on the ground.... for all the fiddly bits.
Now all I have to do is pop it on its wheels, drop the motor in, wire the motor up, and she's ready to drive.
The second question I was asked last night was...... how much does it cost to get into Vee racing.
Well I recommend historics in the long term. Whilst not UBER competitive, its a fun class of racing, where everyone(almost) is there to have fun and enjoy the racing.
You could go for a new one, but don't expect change from $40k to be competitive in a new car.
Historic cars though are relatively cheap, and can be bought ready to drive from about $5000 upwards.
I paid $6500 for mine with a trailer ready to race.
Ian Lee(chequer57) was just telling me the other day a G Vee changed hands for the princely sum of $1000!!!!!!
Given it needs some work.... but a grand???
There are licences involved, that cost about $350 a year, then there's your entry fees which range from $100-$200 per event.
We use second hand tyres we get off the main class FV racing..... which cost us next to nothing, and generally last a couple of years..... they're a control tyre.... so easy pickings.
The rest is just general maintenance, which you'd all be aware of.... as its all Beetle gear!!!!
The class is set up to emphasise driver skills, rather than how good your car is. The cars, whilst essentially different, are very similar and if you can't drive all that well, you can't win. Simple. But you can still have a hell of alot of fun learning.
THe other question I was asked last night is why would I waste that money on a racecar when I could build a hot road beetle for the same money.
That's a simple one....... Your ass is 2" off the ground, in a glorified gokart, with nothing but a nosecone and two wheels in your line of sight.
With a max speed of over 180km/hr depending on what gearbox ratios you're running, and a setup that allows for cornering speeds of 100km/hr...... sorry.... but I'd rather enjoy the ride, and quench my thirst for speed on the track, than drive around in a car weighing 3 times as much that looks good, but can't exceed 60 clicks most of the time.
Besides.... I already have a Harley and a Jeep for the weekday drive.....
Anyways..... if you have any questions about Historic Formula Vee, or want an idea of what you can get for very little money to go racing, contact myself or Ian Lee(chequer57) and we'll point you in the right direction.
It really is a great, fun, and inexpensive way to go racing, or sprinting, or regularity trialing, or hillclimbing or or or or.......
And finally..... front end test fitted.... now a full rolling chassis again!!!!
And just a tip for those test fitting front ends that don't want to scratch new chassis paintwork..... Note the racers tape around the beam..... does a great job of preventing scratches.
So madpostie... are you the Boekhorst Vee on the entry list for Leyburn ???
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'70 Hillclimb Bug 'Jezebel' w/- Haltech EFI - http://bit.ly/VwTNtQ
'60 KG Coupe - resto kinda started
01 New Beetle - gf's car, but I turn the spanners
Car is now a full roller. Brakes fullt operation. Only the engine left to install. Then bodywork on and we're away!!!
Steering box fitted.
Front end completed, cept for the brakelines(which are now in) and a wheel alignment which I'll do in the next couple of days. Note the chrome 4 stage adjustable shock absorbers.
Electronic corrosion guard system is online.
Starter motor installed.
New throw out installed.
Transmission and shift linkage fitted.
Speedflow fittings and brakeline.... fiddly, but superior to standard stuff.
