VW Drag Beetle

[ninja90177]

Hey v-dub guys,

First build on the forums here. After acquiring several Tamiya Beetle models, i've decided to begin with a Drag version. This'll be a fully built, turbocharged, and very detailed build. Been about 7 months since i've got the ball rolling on a model, so this may take a while to build. Please bare with me.

Molding removed and general clean-up around the body



Apron removed to aid in engine replacement speed



crits and comments welcome

[ninja90177]

Quick update before I call it a day (after 4am). Began building and mocking-up the RLR-inspired spoiler. It's not perfect yet, but it took my holometer, protractor, and about 3 hours to do, and appears to be usable.

Here's a few pics. Next up, removal and widening of the rear fenders.

[wagonguy]

that looks really good so far, i cant wait to see this in progress...

[67impala427]

Looks great.

Alex.

[The Mad Modeller]

I will be watching this one. Great start so far.

[ninja90177]

Thanks guys. Here's a quick update before I start laying down the putty. Now that I look at this thing, i'm really concidering filling in the rear window for an oval ;D

Here's the fenders off and general placement. I gotta find some meats to stick in there before getting to work with the putty, but I think it's gonna be close.

[kod38]

I love the concept.
I have wanted to do one too.
I will be paying attention to this one..
Doug

[ninja90177]

Thanks Doug. I'm trying to capture this one as much as possible so others will concider making drag cars after seeing how simple it is.

So, here's a fairly large (but not so far) update. I've added fender extenders, slid the calipers around this thing several times, and scaled down a 3" wider fender. So, without further ado, the pictures after placement and putty. I've also included a photo of the drag slicks I may or may not use.

Thoughts and comments welcome. (However, no comments on how much putty is on there. I have a plan in mind for all that extra putty.









Special Note - I rolled the fenders back ever so slightly. In person, it looks better than the original placement. More aerodynamic. Pic shows no justice.

[kod38]

Sweet,can't wait to see it with the pro mod wing.
Doug R

[The Mad Modeller]

That Bug is looking sweet. Keep at it.

[greg40515]

Great start!! This should be one of a kind for sure.

[wagonguy]

this is coming along nicely!!!!

[67impala427]

Can't wait to see what you are doing for the engine.

Alex.

[ninja90177]

Thanks for the kind comments guys. Things are really starting to slow down with this build since the other night.

Funny you should mention the engine 67impala427. I about started working on it wednesday night, when I got a knock at the door and 2 crates in the driveway. My GB# type 4 case came back from rimco, as well as my new J&E 96mm pistons (back from teflon coating). I've also got the rest of the goods I need for my 2.3L Type 4 big block (96x80).

In short, i'm gonna be a little busy building a real engine for my real beetle (non-drag). In my spare/break time, i'm gonna try and get some stuff worked out with model.

I've managed to remove the fresh air vents from the fan shroud. No heaters on this guy. Also, I mocked up the engine for the turbo header. Unfortunately, I have no turbo or carb for reference on the model, so the engine may be the last thing finished on the car.

Here's a basis for the engine i'm doing.


Found a fantastic carb over at VCG Resins, and now i'm looking into a turbo. Something to the effect of a T04R or comparable. I just can't seem to find one. I did find some from the Parts Box, but shipping is 2x the amount of the little part. I don't have any spares around, so i'm kinda screwed 'til I find one.

Thanks again, guys.
Kenney

[wagonguy]

hopefully you can make that engine like that, it would be very kool, a suggestion for the turbo, i heard from someone, that the wheels out of a plane model work, i dont know what scale plane, or which one, but thats what i heard, hope this helps!

[stefan]

Hi ninja,


VERY cool!

What kind of putty do you use?

[ninja90177]

wagonguy said:

hopefully you can make that engine like that, it would be very kool, a suggestion for the turbo, i heard from someone, that the wheels out of a plane model work, i dont know what scale plane, or which one, but thats what i heard, hope this helps!

Whoa, I just so happen to have a couple of parts box planes (most of the parts, minus some major pieces). I'll have to see what I have. Thanks for the suggestion.

stefan said:

Hi ninja,

VERY cool!

What kind of putty do you use?

Thanks stefan. I started with Tamiya Quick Type just to get the whole thing filled, bonded together, and shaped overall. Then i sanded (alot!), ran a thin cover of Squadron Green putty over the whole fender and sanded to shape. I can't say i'm too particularly fond of the tamiya putty (mainly because of the price), but it gets the job done.

[67impala427]

WOW! Can't wait to see it.

Alex.

[a2race]

i have a source for the turbos for ya.....get the revell-mongram calloway corvette speedster....it's a green colored car.......it has twin turbos and they should be about the size you are looking for......i would let you have mine, but they are comitted to a project already....and i do not know how to cast.......adam

[ninja90177]

Thanks for the resource Adam. A couple of calls to my LHS turned up nothing, so I turned to the net and they all seem to be on e(vil)bay. A route I can't take. Would you post or send a pic of one so I can see it? That way, i'll know if it'll be worth the hassle (and price!) to find this kit. I'd appreciate it.

[kod38]

Manny makes resin turbos I think?
Check the VCG resin link at the bottom of this page.
Doug R

[ninja90177]

I spoke with him earlier this week about it. He said they were a little small for the application, but thinks he might have something in the works this weekend. Hopefully so. That way, I can get away with buying everything from him and not sourcing out 10 parts from 10 different people. It's a royal pain.

[ninja90177]

Just a quick update. I'm back on the model now since the engine is out to be dyno'd and tuned.

So far, i've gotten to work on the chassis suspension stuff, and even began fabbing up the trunk area (since there won't be anything but the fuel cell in there), as well as templating the rear seat/lower engine tin piece to make room a tub jub and setting up mounts for the roll cage, electrical boxes and such. Also, working on raising the engine/trans for a little clearance on the rear tires.

I should get some pictures going here soon and an actual update. This car really does look super.

[Honest Charlie]

This one is coming along very nicely.

[vwdave]

I'm liking it a bunch as well; please keep us all potsed on your progress.

FWIW, www.thepartsbox.com has some nice (and big) turbos, as well as carbs





Any plans for the leftover stock Beetle bits? ;D

[ninja90177]

Hey guys. Sorry I've been away for so long. I haven't really been around much and had any time for the model. Most of my time's been spent dumping a 5-speed in my car and doing some major interior resto stuff.

However, on a lighter note, I did manage to spend a few hours modeling some parts in Rhino and putting them through the paces of my mini-mill. So, at a minimum, I'll have some one-off stuff for this build.

This weekend, I'll be waiting for some more goodies for my car, so I'm really gonna knuckle down and get some more work done on the drag bug.

Honest Charlie - Thank you. I hope to have an update sometime this weekend.

vwdave - I'm getting back to it, so there'll be plenty of pics to come. I've considered TPB for some time, as they've got some great looking parts. Unfortunately, the shipping rate triples the price of only a couple parts I actually need. This is an important build to me, but not THAT important. Spares? I dunno, we'll see what's leftover in the end.

[vwdave]

I hear you on the postage thing....although the US dollar is still strong against the Aussie dollar(1USD=1.25AUD as of today, says http://www.xe.com)

I made an order from them just before Christmas, and had two friends add their wants to my shopping list; we split the postage three ways to help 'soften the blow.' ThePartsBox ships fast, and they're great to deal with.

[ninja90177]

I hear ya man. If I could find someone or a even a couple other folks that wanna try something like that, i'd be more than happy to do it. Unfortunately, there's not too many modelers in Vegas, and I really don't "know" too many people in the modeling world, so I usually make my own parts or go with a different design.

Hiroboy's website has alot of TPB products, and shipping isn't nearly as bad, so that's still something to consider.

I've been contemplating whether or not to go with the turbo engine or to go with an all out N/A engine. I know there's not a whole lot of all-motor bug dragsters out there, but it'd definitely be something that would throw everybody off.

The December 2006 issue of Hot VWs had an amazing dragster on page 68, so I may well be better off building an engine like that one now, and build a turbo car later on.

[kod38]

Check out the new Hot Vw's there is one picture of a bug with a regular blower on it.
Doug
You are in the same boat as I am here in Oregon.
I really don't have anyone close to me that builds.

[ninja90177]

kod38 - Yeah I caught that. It's another option I have available. I'm just gonna save the engine for last, before it starts to tick me off.

And now for some updates. Well, the afternoon was rather uneventful, so I grabbed the old Xacto #11 and started scribing. I figured the back seat had to go, but I didn't feel like scratchbuilding that whole piece. About 4 hours of careful planning and work, resulted in a HIGHLY modifiable rear interior section.

This now affords me more room to modify the rear suspension, as well as making it easier to tie the roll cage, wheelie bars, and engine brace into the frame horns. I'm debating whether or not to modify the tranny mount to raise or lower the rear, depending on which tires I end up with.







Here's the tires and rims I have available that look the best. I'm still not happy with them. I want some smaller wrinkle walls and porsche teledial rims for the back, maybe empi 5 spokes up front. I'm open to suggestions.





Here's a scuffed up, well worn, original steel fan shroud. The aging look was an accident but looks fine by my standards.



Now, i'm going to go ahead and cut the doors off, and then get to work on the roll cage and hopefully have an interior mostly mocked up by the end of tomorrow. I'll be sure to get pics up here as I go along.

Questions and comments are welcome and encouraged.

Thanks,
Kenney