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V8 1973 VW Beetle Project

826K views 836 replies 88 participants last post by  V8 Super Beetle 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello all!

I'm in the process of building a V8 Bug out of my 1973 VW Super Beetle. I know this is possible because it's been done before. I'm on the v8bugs.com forum where you can find a handle full of example and different ways to accomplish this, but I still have questions. There's a lot more traffic here so hopefully I can get some help. I'm pretty much a beginner hot rodder that's a DYI kinda guy.

I'm looking into building a custom 2"x3" tube chassis for my build. I've took some measurements from my bug and designed a chassis in Illustrator to size. I'm trying to design the frame so it'll use the stock suspension up front.

I currently have a 283 SBC and th350 to put into the bug, but at the moment the motor is the block, with pistons and all, and heads. The motor is at my old mans (he works nights) so I don't have access to measure the motor off for mounting and what not.

Could anyone tell me, ballpark figure, about how much distance I'll need from each frame rail to fit the engine with mounts and shorty headers?

Here's my frame design, the distance between each frame rail is exactly 27.5". Also I intend on mounting the motor to the crossmembers that hold in the front control arms / suspension. Is this enough distance? Could I bring the distance between the two main frame rails closer? How should I mount the engine to the cross member with then motor mounts I have (see picture below)?



Here's some pics of my beetle and progress. I'm still working on cutting out the trunk!





 
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#705 · (Edited)
I made some good progress on the bug this weekend. I sprayed another coat of high build primer. I did a walk around video rather than MORE pics. You can hear my neighbors cammed 2000 or so reg cab short bed pickup firing up and passing by. Encouragement...the guy regularly has shoe polish numbers on his windows from the drag strip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFCUdxyZ3L0


I wet sanded the fenders, deck lid, hood, and the driver's side of the car, inside and out, with 400 grit. The fenders and deck lid need just a touch more sanding (pin holes) and it'll be ready for sealer, color and clear!

Some pictures of the sanded panels.












The plan when it comes to paint is to do it in sessions so I don't where myself out. I'll do the fenders in one session: a coat of sealer, two coats of s/s hugger orange, and two coats of clear. Then I'll let the paint cure for a few days, wet sand with 400, and then spray an over reduced coat of clear.

Next would be the deck lid and hood, cause they'll be black, same process, and then I'll do the body.

So I hope to get the fenders in paint this coming weekend. Did I mention the weather has finally gotten cooler and is perfect for painting.
 
#708 ·
ere are the results of my paint session. I did one coat of epoxy primer to seal everything and to give a uniform color to paint over. I then sprayed 2 coats of single stag hugger orange and two coats of high solids clear.

I'm pretty happy with the way everything came out, but I did get a little orange peel in some areas, some trash, some solvent pop going on, and a couple of mess ups.

I laid the paint on a little too thick and have some sags and solvent pop going on as mentioned. I do and have planed to sand the panels with 400-600 grit to take care of any orange peel and then spray a wet / over reduced coat so it'll be pretty glassy. Sanding the paint will remove the imperfections.

All in all, it came out decent.




You can see a little bit of the solvent pop. I laid the paint on a little too thick. That's okay, nothing that can't be fixed with a little cutting.










Gotta fix this. ::) It wasn't the best idea the way I hung the fenders with the plastic and all. No biggie. The fender beading will cover most of it, but I still plan to fix it right with a little rubbing and some touch up spraying.






A little more solvent pop. Tis cool. Will be fixed.




I also did a little video so you could better see the results.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEPALNDafsI
 
#709 ·
Got a few things done over the weekend.

I finished sanding the solvent pop out of the fenders. I broke through the clear in a few places on each fender. So I'm going to have to put another coat of orange and two more coats of clear. I also let them sit out in the sun for a full day so they could vent all the solvents out.




I also sanded on the hood and deck lid a little more and then painted them black. I laid down a coat of sealer and a couple coats of black giving plenty of time between each coat so there's no solvent pop issues. I did however manage to get a run at the nose of the hood and a couple small spots on the deck lid. So I didn't move onto clear. I tend to spray my coats on a little too heavy. I just need to dial back the material a little.

I'm going to sand out the runs and the little bit of orange peel and trash in the paint, then follow up with another coat of black and 2 coats of clear. Other than the runs, it was coming out pretty nice. I couldn't be happier with how the body work come out.










Here's a quick video of how the hood and deck lid look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ax4fGf0F9o
 
#712 ·
the paint looks great, really smooth. the one thing i regret was waiting too long to sand and buff my summit paint. (almost a month :drunk: ) it was near impossible to get it all flat even with 1000. and buffing back took for ever too. so if i were to do it all over again, i wouldn't wait more then a few days. your doing great work and i've enjoyed following this build!
 
#714 ·
I got some spraying done this weekend. I finished sanding the runs out of the black. I put down two more coats of black and followed up with two coats of clear. It came out pretty well, but I had a bug crash land in my paint, a run on the deck lid, and the usual dust. No problem though. As planned, once the paint cures I'll sand out the imperfections with 600 grit and lay a final wet coat of clear.

I recorded my spraying sessions, well I forgot to record the first one.

Second coat of black.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHilV2q-AjQ


First coat of clear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQTyLxWOZXg


Second coat of clear. My creeper tried to sabotage the paint on my deck lid. LOL. I laid the second coat of clear on wet so I will have some material to sand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc_E-Yhe6XY


Here are the results.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yJwi8sXkvY


I should have the hood and deck lid sanded before the end of the week. Maybe I'll get it done before the weekend so I'll have time to work on the fenders some more.
 
#718 ·
I finished the deck lid and the hood. I sprayed a final flow coat after sanding with some 600 grit. It came out almost as nice looking as a cut and buffed paint job. I'm very happy with the results. A couple dust nibs here and there, but what can you expect in a garage. ;D








I also resprayed the fenders. I finally figured out what I was doing wrong that I was getting solvent pop. I was just hosing too much paint on. They came out much better. Heck, I could leave them as is, but I'm going to wet sand out the texture and do a flow coat.






I also recorded some video of me spraying and the results. They're currently uploading so I'll post those soon.
 
#721 ·
Paint's looking great, and I love the project. Very DIY, but one thing keeps bothering me, and that's the hole in the hood for the carb. It's off-center. How did that happen? I know that the carb and scoop are centered in the opening, so that means that the engine is off-center. Could you not get the engine centered due to clearance issues?
Minor point, really, but it just keeps nagging me every time I see the hood...
 
#722 ·
I can answer that one..........

On the s10 the have the engine offset towards the passenger side a little bit, I'm guessing for steering shaft clearance. I think that some of the v8 motor mount adapters actually let you shift the engine further towards the passenger side for more clearance.

Here is a picture I took of our V8 beetle project yesterday, you can also see that the engine is shifted over a tad bit.





70OldsSportsCoupe said:
Paint's looking great, and I love the project. Very DIY, but one thing keeps bothering me, and that's the hole in the hood for the carb. It's off-center. How did that happen? I know that the carb and scoop are centered in the opening, so that means that the engine is off-center. Could you not get the engine centered due to clearance issues?
Minor point, really, but it just keeps nagging me every time I see the hood...
 
#723 ·
Thanks guys!


70OldsSportsCoupe said:
Paint's looking great, and I love the project. Very DIY, but one thing keeps bothering me, and that's the hole in the hood for the carb. It's off-center. How did that happen? I know that the carb and scoop are centered in the opening, so that means that the engine is off-center. Could you not get the engine centered due to clearance issues?
Minor point, really, but it just keeps nagging me every time I see the hood...
zbhover has got it. The engine is mounted about 2 inches to the passenger side so the engine will clear the steering box and shaft. Otherwise, the engine would be on top of it. The steering shaft on V8 S10 conversions actually passes through the header.
 
#724 ·
#726 ·
No real updates since my post earlier this week. Right now I'm wet sanding the fenders and this weekend I'll put down a flow coat of clear so they're nice and slick like the hood and deck lid.

Not this weekend, but next, I'll paint the car. I still have a little sanding to do to it.
 
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