Thread: 1970 baja build

well, what the heck. ive decided to start a thread of my build. Its a 1970. Got the car for free, had no motor and full of crap and rat crap, etc. My dad has lots of extra vw parts laying around from other builds over the years, which means all of those parts are free.! Plus his help is priceless..really.

Started just before xmas. Hoping to have it done mid-end of summer, so its ready for next riding season. Build will be fairly slow, with everything being so shitty, jobs, houses, etc. I dont wanna blow all my extra money on this thing, so we shall see.

I first gutted the whole thing, mostly. ....

Currently its at my dads where it will be for the next couple of months.

Been working on the front and rear suspension. Its ALOT OF FRICKIN WORK. i really underestimated IT!!!

heres a couple pics.

front suspension is a off road 5" wider beam. stock trailing arms and some kyb shocks for now.

rear suspension is 3x0 trailng arms, with sway away torsion bars, stock axles and cv's, dual kyb shocks.Rear cycles 10" or so. I will probably limit it to 8" just to be safe.

any criticism or help is welcome!

SWEET what you doing for the front end?

5" wider beam, switched to all link pin stuff, stock arms ( for now) and some simple kyb shocks.

any pics of how u mounted teh link pin beam in the bj's stock location?

the beam i have, the lower bolts you can actually get threaded and on there fairly good. So as of right now, thats all that is holding it on. The front has to be welded on.

i have seen them notch the top off and drill 2 other holes below the 2 upper holes and throw a nut and bolt to hold it..

Those front rims suck, I think you should sell them to Me.........

Originally Posted by whitemike

I dont wanna blow all my extra money on this thing,

Boy did you pick the wrong hobby.

ya know, i am really not a fan of those rims, because they are a little bit of a negative offset. But i have 4 wheels that match, so im stuck with them for now......they're not that bad i guess.

i love being in the wrong hobby.!!!

I was actually looking for a set like that cuase they keep the scrub radus where it should be. Only problem is, they are rare and the one set I found, the dude wanted a fortune for them.

hmm, whats a fortune?? I think i would be willing to sell or even trade if i could get some 15x5's or 15x4's with more of an offset.

i think he wanted 40 bucks each for them!...can you belive that!!!!! sheessh


now sell me your for 30 and we got a deal lol.....Got any spare parts for sale?..i think i might just keep mine and build it

Originally Posted by whitemike

hmm, whats a fortune?? I think i would be willing to sell or even trade if i could get some 15x5's or 15x4's with more of an offset.

He had 3 rims, they had a couple dings in them, nothing major and I think he wanted like 450 for them.

Found the add....... RDC add

very interesting...... well apparently i have a complete set. my front two are in a little bit better condition than those on RDC. i wonder what a complete set of 4 runs for??

so now i need to cut the rest of the front body off. I am ( or would really like ) to keep the front gas tank. Keeps the front end down, plus i can still use the front storage area. I have cut the front nose cone off. But i left part of it because it has the id tag on it, and i dont think i have the back one.....anyway heres a couple pics...lmk where you think i should cut it.....thanks

Originally Posted by partybarge_pilot

I was actually looking for a set like that cuase they keep the scrub radus where it should be. Only problem is, they are rare and the one set I found, the dude wanted a fortune for them.

Can you explain scrub radius with a beam front end, I'm confused...

Originally Posted by fathead

Can you explain scrub radius with a beam front end, I'm confused...

Scrub radius...... The imaginary line that runs through the spindle pivots to the ground. The distance from the center of the tire to this point is your scrub radius. Ideally you want between 0 and 1/2", up too 1" is workable but hard on the steering. Over 1" beats the hell out of your steering. Think of it as a lever, the longer the lever, the more stress it puts on your steering. A little is nice for feedback and feel, but a lot is bad on a non power steering car as it will like to rip the wheel out of your hands when you hit a bump on one side.

Originally Posted by partybarge_pilot

Scrub radius...... The imaginary line that runs through the spindle pivots to the ground. The distance from the center of the tire to this point is your scrub radius. Ideally you want between 0 and 1/2", up too 1" is workable but hard on the steering. Over 1" beats the hell out of your steering. Think of it as a lever, the longer the lever, the more stress it puts on your steering. A little is nice for feedback and feel, but a lot is bad on a non power steering car as it will like to rip the wheel out of your hands when you hit a bump on one side.

That is kinda what my car does, im going to have to check that out

any ideas or pics of where i should cut the front body at??? or can i just lay the 1 piece front end over it and dzus it down...??

finished welding the front beam on, finished rear trailing arms.

Need to, fab some dual shock hoops for the rear, install e-brake, cut off rear body, tidy up front suspension, all to just get a roller! hope to have it rolling in a couple weeks.

whhhhhhaaaaa no pics? lol

will resume work on tuesday, have to have it rolling to get the motorhome out of the garage for glamis. will take pics then.!!

finished front beam, remounted steering stabilizer, brakes are all plumbed. Now i just need a new master cylinder, cuz i got no front brakes.

As of right now its a roller, with 3 different size wheels. plan is to run 31x10.50's on the rear, and 235/75's on the front.

first pic is a 33x9 mickey thompson baja pro on a 15x5.5 rim.

second pic is a 33x12.50 bfg mud on the rim i am going to use 15x7 ( looks huge!!)

3rd pic is baja pro again just to check how far it sticks out. note: that is the front rim and tire off my dads car. so the offset is a little wrong.

whew! ok, got a few things done. The brakes have taken a lot of time and alot of fluid. I think i will invest in the disc brakes once the car is finished.

I have been mostly messing with the brakes the last couple weeks. Yesterday cut the back off.

Got all 4 tires mounted--- 235/75's up front and hard 31/10.50's in the rear.....looks good, i think.

We decided to tear apart the motor. It ran good the friends rail, but knocked bad!!! so cleaned it up, little pressure wash, blah, blah. Take off the heads...........and wow.! piston is thrashed. A metal lock washer from the air cleaner fell into the intake and beat the piston to death. So i need new pistons and barrels.

So now i have to convince the wife if i can get 300 bucks worth of motor parts this weekend, since ill be in cali. And it aint going so good. Guess we'll see.

heres some pics....

my wifes not mean, shes just scary looking, and this is today.!!

Hot wife...I mean bug...lol.

stay focused..........ha

...........update...........woooo!!! Visited family in HB and got some new parts as budget allowed. Got new 85.5x69 pistons and barrels, for my 1600. Also, got new clutch disc and pressure plate. Some new door handles, tie rod end boots, and my sweet faded yellow with black racing stripes one piece front end. ( thanks samba for the front end ).

Plan on going to town on my bug on saturday, and bugorama on sunday, for hopefully some cheap parts and some more ideas.

stuff

if giving your wife that black eye got you permission to get some engine parts im gonna have to put that shit to the test....hmmm...maybe ill give her two and get an entire engine

just got back from the bugorama here in phoenix, pretty sweet, got a grip load of parts for dirt cheap.

stock speedo. 5 bucks
rebuilt 12v starter. 40 bucks
full exhaust with glasspack. 30 bucks
almost complete turbo. 40 bucks
electric fuel pump. 2 bucks
kn air filter. 5 bucks

motor will hopefully be fully assembled in a week or two. Fiberglass hood is now tiltable and front bumper is almost done. Started on rear dual shock hoops.

Fixed a couple of rust spots on the pan by the battery tray.

post pics in a couple days....

lookin good man! are you going to race 5-1600 with it?

you know. i would love to race in a couple years....but the plan for this one is mostly baja cruiser. I dont even have a clue to what the rules are for 5-1600 and what not. Always been interested though.

Originally Posted by whitemike

you know. i would love to race in a couple years....but the plan for this one is mostly baja cruiser. I dont even have a clue to what the rules are for 5-1600 and what not. Always been interested though.

nice...that'll be fun to cruise around in! im not totally sure on the 5/1600 rules because we race in the 5 open class but i think there is a limit on how wide your beam can be and i know you have to run a 1600 engine.

got a little work done on the bug this weekend...suspension is pretty much finished...finally...

fabbed up rear hoop for dual shocks, assembled motor 90% complete..

really i cant wait to go 3x3's and coilover in the rear.....But this setup should give me a fairly good ride and about 8- 9 inches strapped.