Pete's Porsche/VW Based Build

[mr.peabody.d]

EstFields
Based in Estonia
http://www.racetech.ee/a/fh12-index.htm


In Poland (Rumania, Hungary Chec?) There is a company hand forming aluminum Cobras
Poland
Kirkhams
http://www.cobracountry.com/kirkham/kir ... ture2.html



And the Attack from Solvakia
www.k1-styling.sk

All very nice cars,,,but a kit based on a LADA? The true test of automotive enthusiam...taking what you got available and makeing it better, faster and Funner.!

[Dave]

the old rwd Ladas weren't too bad - based on old Fiat bits. They sold Ladas up until the early 90s in Canada. Still see the occasional one around - mostly fwd Samaras or 4x4 Nivas though.

I'd rather like a rear engineed Skoda myself - see those very occasionally.

[Pete Gossett]

Andy,

Thanks for those links! I may have access to a cheap Tracker if the 924 idea doesn't work out, so I'll keep the Acme address close by.

[Andy Bro]

You're welcome.

I would consider them, but from what research I've done this afternoon, they modified a Suzuki flywheel to made onto the VW crank, so all one would have to do is machine the center holes and the others to match and that part is done. The other bit is the adapter plate. It appears to be 3/8 inch steel, so all one would need is some cardboard and a little time and I think it may be feasible to do. The other bits they sell appear to be parts that a locoster should be able to fab up. But on the 924 transmission, which two bolts line up? It may be easier to adapt the Porsche pieces. Still thinking outloud.

[calvin]

FWIW, Shelby funded their start up as they were the source for the Cobra bodies for his "continuation" Cobras that were/are being produced (CSX3057 and up minus CSX3063).

Yeah, I know a little about Cobras

[Pete Gossett]

I still need to pull the flywheel/P-plate/clutch off both engines & compare them. The 2 bolts were from the front 924 bellhousing to the back of the GTI engine.

Welded a few more tubes in last night & tonight. Just as stated in the book - the chassis can be picked up & moved, and is amazingly strong for just being tacked in a few places. Building the chassis was the part of building a Locost I had feared the most, and the reason I'd never really considered it until recently. However, I'd have to say now that this is really pretty easy. I'm sure the rest of the build won't go nearly as easy as this has.





There's only a few more tubes to add before I pull it off the table to fully weld it up. I'm waiting to do the back of the chassis until after I've had a chance to position & mount the 924 trans, which means I have to shorten the torque-tube first to ensure the length between the engine/trans is correct....which means I need to get going on adapting the 924 pressure-plate to the GTi engine.

[chetcpo]

Looks good, your really moving along quickly. I like those 8v Vdub engines. I had a 86 GTI nearly identical to that one once. I pulled the 1.8 and dropped in a megasquirted turboed 2.0 from a 98 jetta. That little sucker would scream. When I sold it I was able to lift the stock engine up and into the passenger seat by myself. It still ran good when I pulled it with nearly 200k miles, those motors are tough.

I can't wait to see your torque tube drivetrain when it's all put together.

[Pete Gossett]

Yeah, I still need to find someone who can re-spline the T-tube shaft for me. Shortening the housing won't be bad - I can cut 12" off the input side and 4" off the output before I get into the bearings. Thankfully, 16" shorter will be the perfect length.

I'm actually thinking about talking to my dentist about it. He's a Porsche guy, has had a 924, and has a pretty sweet lathe setup at his house...not sure if he'd have the time though.

I could probably find a shop who could press out the shaft, cut/shortened the whole assembly in the middle & reassemble - but that would cost $.

[Andy Bro]

Maybe check out a truck shop. Many big trucks have custom driveshafts for their application, so you may be able to get someone to chop it shorter there.

[Pete Gossett]

I lucked out & got a pretty good Score last night!

I'd noticed the machine shop down the street from me had a couple old rusty steel sawhorses outside, so I stopped by to see if they were available. The owner told me they weren't scrapping them, but didn't have any use for them so I could take them for as long as I needed them. I also asked him about aluminum sheeting(they do all the trailer repairs for a nearby Autozone warehouse) - he had a pallet full of old roll-up door sections skinned in aluminum. Unfortunately, the way their fastened onto the doors there's only ~2' between holes, but there's enough there that I can splice them together to do the entire sides of the Locost. I also grabbed some 1/2" steel plate, a 10' length of 2"x4"x3/16" aluminum tubing, some 3/16" aluminum plate, and a box that looks like it will make a perfect battery box.

Dumpster-diving is great!

[Pete Gossett]

I haven't had much time in the garage, but I do have a couple updates...no pics though...

I removed the flywheel/clutch/p-plate assembly from both the 924 and GTi engine yesterday. The 924 flywheel is a chunk! Haven't scaled it yet, but it must be over 20lbs! I'm still looking into a VAG parts-bin bolt-on solution - I've found someone selling an Audi 1.8l engine, which I believe is the same internally as the GTi engine, but(hopefully)with a bolt pattern & flywheel assembly that will bolt right up to the 924 torque-tube. If not, it looks like there's enough material in the 924 flywheel to drill new mounting holes to match the GTi crank, so I should have a workable solution via one means or the other.

I also spent most of tonight doing final welding on the main part of the frame. It went pretty well, there's still a couple of my early welds that I need to grind out & redo, but my welding is improving to the point that I'm willing to strap myself into this contraption after it's all together. Oh, and I also used up the last of the flux wire that came w/the welder, so I loaded up a brand new spool of flux cored wire that I'd bought at Menards - what a difference! Not sure why this wire is so much better, but from the start of the spool, I haven't had nearly the ammount of splatter I was getting from the other spool.

[the JoKeR]

Pete-
I changed the title of your first post to better define what you're building (part of "Operation Sticky Post"). If I didn't come up with an accurate name, please update it to make it better.
Thanks
Jeff

[Pete Gossett]

Thanks for changing/stickying it!

I've got some more work planned for this weekend, so hopefully I'll have some updated pics!

[Pete Gossett]

Sorry for the lack of updates!

My fiance and I are getting married this coming Saturday, so I haven't had much "garage time" for the past month; still, I have managed to sneak in 10-15min here & there and make a bit of progress....mostly on redoing my original crappy welds. The good(?) news is that Christina recently started a new job, so our honeymoon has been put on hold until likely next year, and since I already had a couple weeks scheduled off work & the kids are going to be @ their dad's during that time, I should have at least a full week to dedicate to the locost!

I did win a couple ebay auctions recently: I picked up 2-more R1 shocks, for a total of 2 w/linkages & 2 w/o...though I'm not sure I'll need the linkages. Has anyone else calculated/measured the spring rate of the stock R1 springs? I calculated them to be right around 484lb/in, which means I need a linkage-ratio of around .6-.65 to get to a decent wheel-rate. To me, that seems easily doable just by careful locating of the bottom shock mount. Any else have thoughts on that?

I also picked up a cheap 13" steering wheel, but it hasn't arrived yet.

One of the 15-minute projects I accomplished was on this VW Fox radiator. Size wise, it looks like it should fit, however the stock orientation of the end-tanks had the top hose pointing the wrong direction.




Although I've never tried it, it appeared the tank could be removed by prying open these tabs, so I tried it.




The tank came right off w/o much drama...




...but as you can see, I'll need to flush this thing before I put it to use.




Here's the finished radiator. I used lineman's pliers to ensure a good tight crimp, and chose not to use any sealant upon reassembly - but if I have any leakage problems, I'll just redo it.




My goals during vacation are to get the rest of the main chassis triangulation taken care of, shorten the 924 torque-tube, install the floorpans...and hopefully start designing/construction of the rear transaxel/IRS assembly. We'll see though....

[Pete Gossett]

I had a bit of time this week to get a the diagonal chassis braces started.


I decided to use 1x1 for the braces on the cockpit - I had plenty of it(I haven't bought my 3/4"RHS or round yet), and I like the idea of a little more side protection.




I also installed the front diagonals...probably going to do the Aussie mods to the very front, but I'll wait until the radiator/fan is fitted to ensure there's room.




Probably won't have much time to work on it again until the middle of next week though.[/img]