Hi all,

I am completely new to anything VW. I have just purchased a 1969 Beetle convertible that I want to make into a Volksrod. More specifically my own version of the “Heb Rod” of sorts as you can see by my avatar.
The Heb Rod...


My 1969 convertable...



The first items i need to get are:
a front beam extension (8")
drop spindles
1935 ford wire wheels.

looks different, but have you spoken to an engineer about these mods as it could be hard to get registered and do legally in australia.

mate to do it legally you need to get engineering approval. if you were to do this without the engineers and have an accident even if you arent a fault, the insurance company will just wipe their hands and walk away.
also the rta and its forms in other states employ people to go one forums to look for dodgy modifications, then they send their inspectors out to look at them.
not worth it in my opinion. but feel free to do the dodgy way.
also just because someone in another state has done it doesnt make it legal especially if he hasnt done it right ether

mate i never said what you was doing was dodgy but ive spent enough time working at a mechanics to know 70% of mods done to peoples cars arent up to standard. some of the stories of cars ive seen would scare you like 5mm wood screws holding set of seats in to the car.
the reason im saying do the engineering, is your modifying the wheel base of the car beyond what the manufacturer designed. its going to impact else where.
ive heard of the inspectors waiting outside someones place for over a month just to have a look at the car and they got him in the end, he was on a forum spruking how he had done this or that to the car and didnt care if it was legal.
good luck and make sure you send stoppa a pm about this, hes the only one ive ever seen get it passed the rta, which is impressive as they have the highest standard for modifications to cars in australia.

Looks like a good project. Keep us up to date with your progress, I am interested.

Easy lads, you can modify all you like... its up to you, engineering approval keeps it above board that red rod-vert was in adelaide i thought and looked amazing.

there is nothing more passionate than a Vdub owner and their baby

G'day TheVman and welcome to aussieveedubbers.
A forum that is usually very friendly and helpfull place.
I think barls was of his meds yesterday so please excuse the gruff greeting you recieved.
If this is your first vw i hope you find it more of a movement than just a manafacturer.
Vee Dub folk are the best people around and you will hear endless stories of people being overtly friendly and helpfull. Give us a yell if you need any help. cheers.

Hello Vman,
Being a buggy guy I have to get engineered to often, I think you may be misunderstanding Barls reason for saying go to the engineers first. It's that the strength, design, or quality don't mean anything if the legislation says anything contrary. Some of the interpretations I have heard of are bazaar, for example demister required in an open buggy so to get around this some guy don't put on a windscreen were is the safety benefit in that, also what is it with 7/16 bolts with seat belts (don't the RTA have to abide by the Metric conversion act of 1975ish) shouldn't it be 12mm. So to save many thousand of dollars talk to the engineer and be sure everything is OK with him and hence your state traffic authority. You will be dealing with bureaucrats who know jack about anything mechanical who are only interested in appling the rules that have been issued to them by other bureacrats who know jack about anything mechanical. So do the project but do it the way they want it, which may not be quite how you want it but I'm sure there are ways to do it. How would you like to spend 30G to have the RTA bureaucrat look over the screen and say "the computer says NO!"
Best of luck Ian

Well its almost 12months to the day since I went to swap the NSW rego for QLD rego and got knocked back. I had to take the NSW Transport Dept. to the freedom of information act to get the original engineers report for the car. They still could not produce it so I had to get it re-engineered all over again in QLD. Many thanks Kelvin Ney the engineer that has a common sense and practical approach.

So today I am legally registered in QLD with all the correct paperwork. There were no modifications required to the original design required, basically a 12 month paper hunt.

* Nice lady at the QLD Transport Dept. looked through the stack to find me ones that match the VW year, 069-SCK , personalised non personalised plates.

Now its time to get stuck into it and the real work happens.

great to hear

Hi mate,

As Aussie Dubbin said, that red volksrod lives in South Australia. Here are some photos from a run last year.





The car has an early Ford-style dropped I beam axle with split hairpins and a transverse leaf spring, which is definitely a bit different to a VW beam extension! It also has a bunch of other mods, including deleting the side windows and welding up the top of the doors, which has allowed him to shave the outside door handles.

An 8" beam extension seems pretty extreme to me, I am not sure whether you will get it approved. At the very least you would have to do substantial reinforcement to the front framehead, as you are adding a lot of lever arm to the forces imparted by the front beam. As others have said, it is definitely essential to get a certified engineer involved with this project in order for it to be legal. The sooner you do so the better, as it will prevent you from having to do things twice.

Welcome and enjoy your project! Make sure to keep us updated.

I know how you feel with the paperwork. I am in the process of doing a very extensively modified vehicle at the moment, and 2 years (yes two years) of getting engineering FEA reports done with drawings and dimensions, and thousands of dollars paying for the reports. This is before any actual physical testing is done. The beauty will be when people say at the end. "How did you get this registered?" and it is all legal.

Quote:

Originally posted by waveman1500 Hi mate, As Aussie Dubbin said, that red volksrod lives in South Australia. Here are some photos from a run last year. The car has an early Ford-style dropped I beam axle with split hairpins and a transverse leaf spring, which is definitely a bit different to a VW beam extension! It also has a bunch of other mods, including deleting the side windows and welding up the top of the doors, which has allowed him to shave the outside door handles. An 8" beam extension seems pretty extreme to me, I am not sure whether you will get it approved. At the very least you would have to do substantial reinforcement to the front framehead, as you are adding a lot of lever arm to the forces imparted by the front beam. As others have said, it is definitely essential to get a certified engineer involved with this project in order for it to be legal. The sooner you do so the better, as it will prevent you from having to do things twice. Welcome and enjoy your project! Make sure to keep us updated.