I can't believe how long it is since I updated this thread. Quite a bit of progress on the buggy.



Seats are now set in properly. I used a heavy 50 x 25 mm box section between the runners and the floor. That allowed me to get them straight and square without worrying about the shape of the floor itself. there's enough elbow room for two lard-arses (we tried it) with plenty of backward/forward movement.



Steering column was mocked up so the support could be fabricated from 40 x 20 mm box section and 40 x 3 flat bar.







I chose to run the flat bar down to the main floorpan to add strength and a good earth for any electricals later, but again I might change my mind if I can't get a better paint match or find some other way of making the legs less obvious.




I'm happy with the driving position, the seats are slightly lower than the stock beetle but the steering wheel is the stock height, the difference isn't vast as as I'm a nudge over 6' tall I can still see over the bonnet.

Next issue was the fuel tank. I had two beetle tanks, the one from the donor '72 with the filler on the rear right corner, the second was a pre '67 tank with the filler on the front left corner. This would have been under the bonnet on the original beetle. Long story short, I couldn't make either fit. I was unhappy at the amount of battering the later tank took underneath to clear the steering gear and both had too much height at the front edge to allow the bonnet to sit flat.
The thought of putting a tank at the back was just too scary to think about and the small fuel cells I'd seen online were 250 quid and held 3 gallons.
Then I found this on ebay...



It's a brand new fuel tank for a petrol or diesel generator, it holds 7 gallons (allegedly) and even when the frame is in place to clear the steering gear, the bonnet will sit in place properly. It was £62 delivered. I've got a bit of work to do to it yet, the sender unit will go where the main filler is now, the filler will be moved to the top and the outlet to the front left but I'm hoping I should be able to have a good 6 gallons of usable capacity.

Next issue was the fuel tank. I had two beetle tanks, the one from the donor '72 with the filler on the rear right corner, the second was a pre '67 tank with the filler on the front left corner. This would have been under the bonnet on the original beetle. Long story short, I couldn't make either fit. I was unhappy at the amount of battering the later tank took underneath to clear the steering gear and both had too much height at the front edge to allow the bonnet to sit flat.
The thought of putting a tank at the back was just too scary to think about and the small fuel cells I'd seen online were 250 quid and held 3 gallons.
Then I found this on ebay...



It's a brand new fuel tank for a petrol or diesel generator, it holds 7 gallons (allegedly) and even when the frame is in place to clear the steering gear, the bonnet will sit in place properly. It was £62 delivered. I've got a bit of work to do to it yet, the sender unit will go where the main filler is now, the filler will be moved to the top and the outlet to the front left but I'm hoping I should be able to have a good 6 gallons of usable capacity.

Great idea with the tank , do you have a link for it ?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155620946329?itmmeta=01HR9WEV4XPP33KWDSZ8QEMCJJ&hash=item243bbb3199:g:ecUAAOSwa3dkkqYv

Moving the filler to the left front you may get spillage on right turns I would be tempted to just raise the filler so it is close to bonnet and fit a filler cap cover or bonnet level with a nice cap as centre has no surge problems then fit a sender to the flat area. A Being a flat tank can you raise the front closer to the bonnet to get max filling and help underside clearance.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155620946329?itmmeta=01HR9WEV4XPP33KWDSZ8QEMCJJ&hash=item243bbb3199:g:ecUAAOSwa3dkkqYv

Thanks , cheers Jon 

Moving the filler to the left front you may get spillage on right turns I would be tempted to just raise the filler so it is close to bonnet and fit a filler cap cover or bonnet level with a nice cap as centre has no surge problems then fit a sender to the flat area. A Being a flat tank can you raise the front closer to the bonnet to get max filling and help underside clearance.

The filler will be the usual arrangement of an aero cap fitted into the upper half of the bonnet in the centre, it's the outlet that will be at the bottom left to avoid the steering box and lead to the hard fuel line in the tunnel.

Jon.... might be pointing out the obvious but be sure to earth tank to chassis. 

Good point, the tank will earth through the support frame mounted on the front beam.

Just noticed that the tank is actually 7 U.S. gallons which is nearer 6 U.K. gallons , what sort of capacity does the modified( i.e. bashed in a bit )  standard tank hold ?

I have read online that some buggy owners have about 5 gallons of usable capacity as the angle of the tank doesn't help with matters.
I thought I was hoping some that the new tank was actually 7 gallons as it is clearly smaller than the beetle tanks (which I think are 8?)

Needed specific data for iva so accurate measurement of my modified beetle tank as fitted to my Manx is exactly...... 2 litres from true empty tank to level where fuel becomes available at tank exit. Then additional 28 litres to "full" level (which leaves suitable tank air space). (The tank loses no fuel whatsoever no matter how hard it is driven around corners etc).

Due to the tank shape being modified,(bashed), and lying at a slight slope I managed to achieve a accurate fuel gauge reading throughout empty to full range by using a "Spyda" gauge matcher. I cannot recommend this little device enough... really is brilliant. (Full details on my build thread).

If you use a standard VW speedo/fuel gauge note the needle is not damped in any way so it does wobble a bit when buggy is on road. Nothing to worry about tho`.... Quite old school to be honest   

Just looked at the Spyda website and the newest version,  mk5, has

Adjustable Anti-Slosh (responds slowly to input changes )

So not quite as old school any more

There is an oddity with regard to the original VW fuel gauge which I thought would prevent it`s use with a "gauge matcher" but I was wrong. The gauge uses the bi metal principle whereby as the bimetal section heats up as voltage is applied the bending moves the gauge needle. Briefly... the gauge matcher was my first delve into a this type of electronics. For love nor money I cannot remember the name of the principle of this function.... really worrying memory hiccups now.... however the electronics fool the gauge, which is an analogue principle device, into responding to the digital spyda as an analogue signal.   Important to remember that the fuel gauge operates on a 10v principle and it is the "vibrator" that converts the 12v to 10v. If by chance you connect up the fuel gauge to 12v you will see within the gauge a puff of smoke and the needle falls off it`s hinge   

+1 on the Spyder gizmo. Use the mk4 on mine and it's as accurate as it can be and no slosh movement. When i eventually convert mine to rack and pinion i'll swap it out for the newer version so i can stick a meter on the sender without the front end on and make it a lot easier.