So a surprise number 2 build as a distraction

Only a surprise to you lot lol, l knew it was coming but I wasent expecting the the disco 3 to be dumped on me just yet but I'm not complaining

well not much to report really, been faffing about clearing space so i could get the vitara chassis in the workshop,
i chopped a bit of the vitara floorpan off and the top of the bulkhead just so i could see how it sits














the back end will go down another 4" which i think will be about right
the front i still have to solve the suspension towers which will mean cutting the body somehow but it needs to go down by the same 4"

and number 2 buggy made it into the back workshop where i connected up the airbags just to see it raise and lower 








ive got a Jazz body on order from FF buggies i cant really proceed till thats here 

Wow - that looks like it was almost made to go on that

Sort of reminds me of those toy ones with the batteries in that used to flip over

Hi
its quite a close fit as it is,  it was always going to need a tinker as im playing with a lwb rat body ( i think ) which is 94" wheelbase and the vitara is 87" wheelbase  so im 6 or so inches adrift  which you can see when i put it so the rear wheel is in the centre of the wheel arch the front is a bit out

it needs 6" out of the middle of the body really to get the wheels centered, and luckily there is a parallel section halfway along where i could easily zip out  the required amount 

ive dropped the body down to almost where i want it, it was sitting on these to corners



out with the trusty grinder and down it went,  it now sits much better on the vitara floor pan, i would think it would be possible to keep the vitara floorpan and front bulkhead and have the shell marry up to it, it would make a lot of sense as the mounting for the steering column pedals heater and dash are on the bulkhead and the hand brake mounting gearstick holes and seat mounting are all in the transmission tunnel, but i dont know if i am going to do that as i want to move the bulkhead backwards 10" or so to where the spirt level is in the picture, this would give me much more room in the engine bay should i want to fit a large engine later, will mean i will have to lengthen the bonnet a touch too but easy enough

Looks like it works out pretty well.

and now the awkward one, the front suspension towers they live in just the wrong place, 4" further in or 4" furter out and they wouldent be a problem the body would drop down to where i want it, they land just on the "valley" between the wings and the bonnet





so i could make the bonnet narrower which drags the wings in or i could make the bonnet wider pushing the wings out,  narrowing something is usually the easier option as you dont have to make an infill panel, but im facing another problem  a vitara is a lot wider than a beetle and im going to add fat wheels as well
at the moment the standard wheels stick out by about 4" each side so narrowing the body work just makes things worse




so widen its going to have to be then

Hi Snoopy  its going all ok i have found nothing that makes me want to give up and go and work on buggy 2 lol

the rear of the body work is about the right width it just barely covers the tyres but it narrows dramatically  as it runs to the front  leaving the wheels sticking out 4" each side, so if i split the front panel would the body work spring out to match the rear ?

yep is the answer

and would you believe it the bonnet drops back on with the suspension towers tucked nicely up inside out of sight




there is the small matter of the bonnet being 6" to narrow now lol but thats probably my next job, stitch a bit in

Surprisingly still working out pretty well and widening the bonnet is straight forwards. The wider screen and tweaked body will give more interior space and seat room.

yes it is surprising how easy it looks like it will fit,  maybe i should have started with a jimny chassis then i wouldent have those strut tops to deal with,  but its higher in the centre, will perceive with this for a while




only 3" to add each side or 6" up the middle rather, but this bonnet is in very poor condition shape wise, it all over the place  were they this bad to start with or has this warped and sunk ?

never mind i ordered an extra bonnet with my Jazz body which i think will be ready next week so will drop back onto old number 2 till the new bonnet is here and i can drop it on and see whats what