It really sounds like you've been taken for a (rather rough) ride by companies that a lot of people have relied on in the past as being trustworthy ones. I really feel for you Dave and count my blessings that I can do most all things for myself. If I were paying good hard earned cash for this kind of work I'd either be going mental or going legal! 

'...get better as everything frees up' was a shocking thing to say about a vehicle that sounds as if they let it go in a dangerous condition. Shocking!

It really sounds like you've been taken for a (rather rough) ride by companies that a lot of people have relied on in the past as being trustworthy ones. I really feel for you Dave and count my blessings that I can do most all things for myself. If I were paying good hard earned cash for this kind of work I'd either be going mental or going legal! 

'...get better as everything frees up' was a shocking thing to say about a vehicle that sounds as if they let it go in a dangerous condition. Shocking!

I hear you loud and clear David, but this does seem to be the general attitude right across the entire Classic VW Air-Cooled Scene nowadays. I know many traders and Mechanics who have now given up on the older stuff due to the quality of parts. As I have often said before, No other Marque would put up with what we have to accept here, but rather than accept what I am told, I will always strive to find a better way to do it. Somebody has to try some of these unusual approaches, else how would we learn what not to do? It can often end in tears as my build thread will testify, but I will never give up as the gauntlet has been thrown and challenge accepted. My views on letting others touch my car, and that I find it increasingly hard to trust any of the big names out here, are well documented on my build thread, and it has sent me down a massive learning curve that has also been quite enjoyable at times - It would be nice if the car was drivable too, but I am actually making progress, albeit very frustratingly slow.

For the Record, I have a hell of lot of time and respect for Dave Fisher and for the avoidance of any doubt, the car was safe, drivable, and they insisted on me being happy with a test drive on the smooth surrounding roads before it left them. It was taken to them as I simply could not fathom out what had gone wrong with the beam supplied by Eva Resto (who are certainly NOT on my Xmas card list) and it took them a while to suss that one out too. With every single component being brand new, stiff and badly made on my front end, I can understand the theory behind the comments made - but it does not mean that I will accept it.




My goal is 2-fold here. Firstly, due to Lisa's physical condition and Brain Injuries, I need to make the car as soft and smooth as possible over the pot-holed Rally Stages that we have come to know as our roads down here as she is struggling with being shaken about so much. And Secondly, a few years back, Farmer Rob once told me that my Buggy was the worst that he had ever driven ( I couldn't disagree there ) and my challenge is that one day he will drive my car again and think the ride to be amongst the best.

Just not yet.   

FWIW I run 100lb/inch at the wheel (Not the spring rate, as that's useless given my arm length differences, but that's only 185lb/inch even with my long arms) for my front rates, and only 40lb/inch when it's on the tender/twin springs initially. Obviously bear in mind that's a full race car so comfort isn't a priority.

I thought of going down the twin spring route, or even progressive springs, but not really cost effective for a trial and error exercise as most seem to be made to order and not readily available off the shelf.

Yea progressives are a pain, best only gone for when you know exactly what you want - twin springs are easy though.

There's a whole lot of bullsh.. in the aftermarket world these days by people that don't understand a damn thing they're selling beyond it being shiny. I try to counter what I can with info but unfortunately there's too many bullsh..ters out there to cope. Same as all the crap a-arm/double wishbone kits and things out there made by people with zero idea bar copying what they saw on an MX-5 and hoping it works...paint it red and suddenly it's a top-tier motorsport part 

...paint it red and suddenly it's a top-tier motorsport part 

  I couldn't possibly comment . . .

. . . . But if Powdercoated BLUE, then I may still give it a go   

The top three things to worry about on a VW front end, both the suspension and steering, are friction, friction, and friction.

Springs, dampers, arms, etc, can be worried about after you minimise that. Geometery is almost an afterthought given the weight and tyre heights (which is why tiny little a-arms are pointless).
Getting a steering box rebuilt that tight it's causing issues from friction is a bit of a red flag for a VW specialist...

Time to swap to a rack and reopen that can of worms  

Time to swap to a rack and reopen that can of worms  

Reopen?  That can was never closed . . . .   

This time around I want to be able to drive it in between playing though, been off the road for far too long.
At least the knackered box will allow me to set the suspension up in the mean time. 

What front end did KK use on this build Dave? Is it one of your old ones? I do know it's got a custom tube chassis though. 

What front end did KK use on this build Dave? Is it one of your old ones? I do know it's got a custom tube chassis though. 

It is indeed the same as mine - however, the car has been lowered and the A arms are pointing upwards - this will give a very limited amount of vertical movement, probably less than 2 inches. If used on a slammed car with stiff suspension, then it will probably work quite well. The problem I has is that I ride quite high with just over 3.5 inches of vertical travel and soft shocks which is outside of the geometrical tolerances of what that front end can do.

There's an old circuit racers quote for that - "Any suspension works great if you don't let it move"

There's an old circuit racers quote for that - "Any suspension works great if you don't let it move"

Cannot disagree with that one 

Apologies if I have been a bit quiet over the last few months.

There have been a few things going on down here mainly Health and Hospital related and life in general seems to have taken a bit of a turn. Arguments with GP's, referrals by new GP, Hospital Admissions, Severe Medication Reactions, Heart Surgery, Blue Lights, Nose Operation not going to plan, Severed Arteries, Uncontrolled bleeds, Cancer Scares, you name it, we have been hit with it, but save to say all is well and Liz and I are both still here.

I think I can sum most of it up with this. 




Anyway - Back in the land of the living, (literally), and trying desperately to recall where I left off several months ago 

Steering - That was it   

- That expensive steering box was returned back to Dave Fisher, and I know he is frantically scratching his head too. I have a knackered box with a brand new steering damper fitted, and whilst not ideal, its certainly driveable and enough for me to now draw a line under it and accept that replacement VW Steering boxes are bad. End of. I still want a rack and pinion at some point but for now will concentrate on the suspension for a while.

Everything is new and it desperately needs some miles under its belt so that it can free up a bit, but I figure that it will never free up if the springs are too stiff and will not allow it to move freely. So as my vast spring collection seems to have a full compliment of poundage options, I have just replaced the front coil over springs with a lower rate and dropped down to 120lb ones to see how it feels.

Next outing will be down to the MOT Centre in a week or so, as it sadly lapsed a few months ago. 

Lets hope the worst is over medically and you can both get out and enjoy more stuff in 2025.

N2 steering boxes I fitted one on a buggy that in my thoughts had to much play but did not want to alter it incase it had to go back as warranty but then had to tweak the adjusters after a bit of use as it got worse so hope that when it gets used this summer it stays as is for the owner.

Any Drive back from an MOT Center, with a Pass in hand, along a Sea Front in glorious sunshine should be a heavenly commute.

But down here it isn't. 

The 3 mile Journey from Torquay to my house in Paignton is along what must be one of the worst roads in the Country. With Bump steering over the potholes and tramlining along the knackered tarmac, its quite a challenge to keep more than 2 wheels on the ground at any time and it makes it near impossible to know if the Buggy is still at fault when the roads are this bad. To be fair though, my Landrover also struggles along this bit too.

So trying to ignore the road surface and reflect on the Buggy, the suspension, whilst still very stiff and not yet bedded in is certainly absorbing a lot more of the potholes and the seat belts now feel like they are protecting me once again rather than strapping me down and preventing me from going into orbit. The ride height seems good too.

The knackered steering box felt like it used to, but something was still bothering me. Everything seems to be niggling me with this bloody car and I would really like to rekindle my passion with it once more - and then it dawned on me - could it be the steering wheel itself? This is nothing more than a psychological thing, but I really miss my old silver Mountney Steering Wheel, it was the part of the Buggy that I physically connected with. When I changed my steering column, I had to ditch the Mountney as they do not appear to make a boss adapter to fit a Classic wheel to a modern airbag equipped shaft. It didn't seem an issue at the time as I opted for a really nice brand new Momo wheel , but it radically changed the look of the cockpit and things have never been good with the car since it was fitted.

Time to revert back to Old Skool and see what can be done to get my old wheel fitted. When looking for obscure fittings and weird adapters, I have tended to look towards the Rally World, and sure enough I came across a multi fit disc with numerous PCD holes that looked suitable. For the price of a small mortgage, it arrived on my doorstep a few days later.



I remember my steering wheel being a bit scruffy when removed as the moisture had previously got to it and anybody with a Mountney wheel knows that whilst the outer leather rim usually remains intact, the edges of the spokes tends to flake off and look really messy. I managed to gently remove the flaky painted surface and get it back to bare leather using a scalpel.



You have probably worked out by now that I have been watching too many episodes of the Repair Shop, because it actually inspired me to have a crack at this and see if I could somehow revive it. Sure enough with a bit of searching on the Bay of E, and I came up with this stuff for a very modest fee.



Not quite sure if I was doing this right, but I applied a fairly thin coat and then as it was drying, applied a second heavier coat. It went on and covered really easily and felt almost like a really high quality Acrylic paint. Once dried and left for a few days, I gave it a little polish and I think it came up quite well.



The Adapter plate is fitted to the Momo Boss on the column - Amazing how many variations this covers



And I think it now looks more like my Old Buggy again.



I am using a polished center horn push which whilst it looks great, my advice to anyone looking at this is not to bother as you will be forever fighting with it to make it fit properly. I spent many hours trying to get it to fit the old setup, and for the hours spent, it just was not worth the money. It sits a bit too far forwards on this setup, and I need to fettle it a bit, but that can wait for another day because its on and working.

And as for that black repair, you really don't notice it at all once fitted back on the Buggy.

 

If you are a Welder or Fabricator of a nervous disposition, then please look away now as I take no responsibility for any injuries sustained whilst laughing at what I am about to attempt next on here. This is probably not the correct way to do this, but I am trying to learn a new skill on my own down here and will post my attempts to inspire others to seek professional advice where possible.


Now that I have gone back to a more traditional front end, I am looking at my old bumper. Its more cosmetic than structural, and I am fine with that, but this one no longer fits and has evolved into a bit of a mish mash of shapes. I spoke with a metal fabricator who quoted me a four figure sum to manufacture something, (who was promptly told where to go), so I thought I would have a go myself and try and replicate something that looks like this, my old one.



I certainly do not have the skills nor facilities for bending anything, so I guess its down to cutting and welding something. I learnt to MIG weld at a college course a few years back, but was always told that stainless is best TIG welded. I have a small TIG welder here, but cannot find a course nor anybody down here to show me how to use it, so whilst what follows will look bloody awful to most of you, I am desperately trying to learn this by trial and error. What I did learn from the MIG course though was to invest and buy shares in flap wheels - so I did.



Its a very complex shape to reproduce, and even more so for an amateur. I have to make this in a way that everything points in the right direction and I am very aware that any heat from welding can bring a lot of distortion too. Looking at some of the metal suppliers online, I came across a company called DC Iron and they had a very good selection of Stainless Balcony and Handrail products that were sleeved, which would make fabrication a hell of a lot easier than I was expecting as it initially looked as though I could get the shape I wanted with a few pre-formed sections and a long length of tube chopped into short pieces. How hard could it be?





I suspect you can see where I am going with this by now . . . . 



Now for the TIG Welding bit. I cannot decipher the Chinengrish Manual to know how this machine works. Amongst the numerous buttons and displays are only two that I have currently worked out. One appears to be a form of current setting, and if too low does not penetrate and if too high burns a big hole. The other is an on/off switch. So, Crocodile clip connected for the earth, point the torch at the metal, big flash, and hey presto - I made a mess. I know to make a small tack joint at each side first to keep the joint aligned, and as it gets hot, feed in some filler rod where I can see dips and holes.



I can hear the laughter from here, but whatever I did wrong, with whatever settings I had, the two bits are firmly joined and I can clean up this mess very easily with a flap wheel. I`m not going to go too mad grinding the lumps fully just yet though as that will come much later if all goes to plan.





The front hoop was easy to make as I lay those parts out on a flat surface, but I need to find a way to ensure that the two lower legs that fit to the car are in the same trajectory, and I figured that if I welded a couple of end caps to a bar with correct spacing, then in theory with the front spacing correct and the rear spacing correct, I would just need to join the two together. I'm sure there are easier ways if you know how, but if it doesn't work, I know I can chop it up and do it again.



So far, so good. From a distance it does look like I have got reasonably close to the shape I was trying to replicate. However, if you look closely, then you will see the limitations of the flap wheels as the round tubes are certainly showing more than a fair share of lumps and bumps where I have tried to grind the welds down.



Now the sun is out, I am going to have a play with another toy that I have picked up. Its a belt sander attachment that fits to an angle grinder. I tried this on my cordless grinder, but it didn't really have the power to operate this quite like a corded one. It came with a range of coloured belts of different polishing grades.



Its sprung loaded to fit around the round tube, but you have to be a bit careful as any deviation in angle of attack can see the belt flying into orbit, but with a bit of practice it soon becomes quite easy to use. The results though are just staggering - the lumpy bar is starting to look not only round, but also starting to shine.



Moment of truth time - cutting that rear bar in half 

If I have got it right, with no distortion, then it will be a simple straight cut 

If I have got it wrong, and everything is under tension, then the bars will go ping and be out of alignment 

Gulp 




    PERFECT !   


Actually, there is another problem that I have just spotted. The lower bars are too short to clear the bumper and could do with being a few inches longer. I know I originally said I would chop the rear to make it fit, but this was a real schoolboy error as in my excitement to get this made, I completely forgot to measure the bar lengths with the bonnet fitted. I`m not too sad about that though, as those were the welds I made many hours ago when I first started and they look really bad where I have melted and distorted the metal very badly. Out with the angle grinder and extend them with some more bits. On the positive side, at least they are pointing exactly in the right direction now and have matching lengths.



I welded the flat bar back on to the ends and bolted it onto the car. That didn't go well.   

The problem was that my stainless bar was flexing about quite badly and was giving me motion sickness whilst looking at it. So plan B was hatched to double up the thickness of the bar by welding another length behind it. Bolted it back onto the car and it's rock solid - doesn't look too bad either



It still needs a lot of polishing to get the lumps out, and some of the welds that I did in a hurry will be gone over when I can work out a few more of the settings on this machine, but for now, its good enough to bolt on and let you guys pick it to bits at the next show.



Still laughing? Or is it not really that bad for a first attempt?