Wheeeeeeeee.....guess what we got today!! Wheeeeeeelllls. Ok now for the decision of the day. To paint or not to paint. These wheels are kinda ubiquitous in the VW world yet Ive never seen a set that wasnt rusted or painted in some ghetto backyard paintjob. They look so pretty and fresh right now. But I hate white, hate it on wheels even more and they don't blend with the aesthetic theme of the vehcle at all. So I guess I should paint....but time is also short.
Rock the whit. Paint later. Get this thing DONE.
Dusterbd13 wrote: Rock the whit. Paint later. Get this thing DONE.
If its of any concern paint or no paint on the wheels will not be the deciding factor for done. The checklist is getting shorter. Jeg's had my fuel pressure guage dropp shipped from the supplier...who hasn't shipped it yet...sigh. But I can adjust pressure in guess mode if I have to. Otherwise I have all the parts I need to finish I think.
Front shocks, which had remained woefully forgotten until now, arrived yesterday. Realizing rather last minute I had no shocks I guesstimated and went with a set of Afco's from Speedway that were a)in the right dimensions b) designed for a dirt stock car which I assumed is similarly light in the front c) on clearance sale
And my missing pressure plate bolts materialized this morning so I don't have to wait on the replacement shipment to get the motor installed.
I vote for excessive pin striping on the wheels. They have blue and red already, yes? Mount them on a front hub, get them spinning and add more stripes. They're wide enough you should be able to get a couple dozen stripes on them at least.
I second that idea. Or if you really want to get crazy with the "lizard" theme, water transfer print lizard/snake skin pattern. 
I think THIS would set the green off nicely.
In reply to ¯_(ツ)_/¯:
oooooo I like that idea. For real though, lets get this done.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: I second that idea. Or if you really want to get crazy with the "lizard" theme, water transfer print lizard/snake skin pattern.
I love the water transfer stuff but this needs to be done tonite or tomorrow so no.
Would I do something without pinstriping? Yes if I painted the wheels the plan is definitely to add stripes back in the theme colors, and then some ;)
The lizard skin idea is brilliant. I have a vinyl cutter (that I don't know how to use) coming in the mail today. When is this skidpad thing again?
mazdeuce wrote: I vote for excessive pin striping on the wheels. They have blue and red already, yes? Mount them on a front hub, get them spinning and add more stripes. They're wide enough you should be able to get a couple dozen stripes on them at least.
This has me thinking. I had definitely planned on spin striping them, easiest way to stripe a wheel, but because they do have such a deep dish I could spin slowly and get a spiral stripe from front to rear in the dish, that would be pretty cool. Maybe I can make a quick jig to move the brush at a constant pace to keep the spiral spacing even.....and down the rabbit hole we go.....ADD strikes again.
I kind of thought of the spiral but immediately dismissed it as too hard to repeat wheel to wheel. Your brain seems to have sorted that out already.
Constant spin speed is easy- friction drive the wheel with rotating tool of your choice. Then maybe a jackstand with a boom arm added, brush at the end. Put it on a dolley/skateboard, pull it away with a winch/golf cart/rc car?
Major bonus points for filming it. Super duper bonus points for doing it on a rear wheel, idling the engine in first, holding the brush steady yourself while you're dragged away by another idling vehicle, and filming all that.
Win the internet by not having anyone in the car pulling you
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: Constant spin speed is easy- friction drive the wheel with rotating tool of your choice. Then maybe a jackstand with a boom arm added, brush at the end. Put it on a dolley/skateboard, pull it away with a winch/golf cart/rc car? Major bonus points for filming it. Super duper bonus points for doing it on a rear wheel, idling the engine in first, holding the brush steady yourself while you're dragged away by another idling vehicle, and filming all that. Win the internet by not having anyone in the car pulling you
If I have any helpers around when I do it I'll film it. I'll stick with the front wheel method though :) Honestly, designing the jig and all is the "lazy" way, the real skill would be in freehanding it. I lack real skill. Constant speed on the wheel is easy, consistent steady movement of the brush (or if Im using a jig then I'll use a beugler tool) is the more challenging part. I guess I'll spray the wheels tonite so I can stripe them with the theme colors....sigh.
With the wheels I got a stud kit because wheel bots suck. Well so do chinese manufacturing standards. 16 wheel studs with nuts. 15 install perfectly. #16 stud goes in fine but the factory supplied nut is completely stripped. Stupid manufacturing defect, easy to go get a new one from the FLAPS but its just annoying.
If you need an easy way to advance a brush for the spiral pinstripe, you could mount the brush to an acme thread on the center of the hub. Spin the wheel, let the acme thread pull the brush in at a constant rate. Getting the thread/stripe pitch you want would be the hard part, since it sounds like you will finish in a few days.
stafford1500 wrote: If you need an easy way to advance a brush for the spiral pinstripe, you could mount the brush to an acme thread on the center of the hub. Spin the wheel, let the acme thread pull the brush in at a constant rate. Getting the thread/stripe pitch you want would be the hard part, since it sounds like you will finish in a few days.
oooh, elegant solution. Wish I had time to do it :) You are right I have bigger fish to fry but if I get time I might have to give that a shot.
In other news being an automotive hoarder it seems I already had a 1/2-20 tapered seat lug nut in my bins, still in the package. Doesn't match the others which will drive me crazy, but at least I know I can bolt up the wheels.
mazdeuce wrote: The lizard skin idea is brilliant. I have a vinyl cutter (that I don't know how to use) coming in the mail today. When is this skidpad thing again?
Missed this in the fray. I have a vinyl cutter too, that lizard skin stuff is water transfer, not vinyl, its very cool but I couldn't get the supplies in time. You'll see quite a bit of cut vinyl on the final product though.
What cutter software did you get? The cutters themselves aren't too difficult to learn, the software can sometimes be challenging.
And the skidpad thing is next weekend, thus the timeline panic.
Ah, yes, time to panic. I got the cutter that Irish steals from his wife. He seems to be able to make it work. This is where I figure out if I'm as smart as him. I have my doubts.
mazdeuce wrote: Ah, yes, time to panic. I got the cutter that Irish steals from his wife. He seems to be able to make it work. This is where I figure out if I'm as smart as him. I have my doubts.
You'll enjoy it, you suddenly find yourself doing things with it you may never have thought of. Like making fancy labels for your switch panel.
More car work tonite. Wheel studs all installed
Clutch and pressure plate are in
Plug wires are run. I think the coil usually mounts inside the engine bay, I just drilled and tapped a few holes in the fan shroud, works good.
And yes, I painted the wheels.
Weekend to do list, mostly for my own sanity but also to update those who are worried if I'll finish
Install motor, wire motor (3 wires), hook up fuel and oil accumulator to motor, fabricate attachment points for rear motor mount.
Install seat belts (slight fabrication still required for inner mount) points, install passenger seat.
Mount tires, condition tires, install front shocks.
Finish weld exhaust and install, fabricate support for muffler
Install side panels, apply graphics
Install battery, includes creating a chassis ground for battery, note to self: ground eng/trans to chassis. Charge and/or replace battery.
Fill and bleed clutch and brakes.
Oil, fuel, pray for start.
Suspension adjustments.
If there is any time left, fab skid plate for under motor.
Hello my old friend scope creep. What's this you have for me? A subaru motor in the trunk of my car....hmmm, I DO still have a whole week left.
Can you get it done in time?!
I want this thing!
java230 wrote: Can you get it done in time?! I want this thing!
The only way I'll seriously consider the Subi motor is if the T4 grenades on startup or has some similar failure.
I do however already have the adapter plate, radiator, ECU and wiring to drop this in. If the wiring was a little more plug and play (its still a bit of a rats nest) it would be a doable swap in a day.
And yet I cannot seem to find a good 2.5 for the wife's Subaru. ..
Dusterbd13 wrote: And yet I cannot seem to find a good 2.5 for the wife's Subaru. ..
Its a 2.2
Exactly which Subaru motor is that? I know some of the older ones (like one you might pull from a GC), especially 2.5s, have problems with oil pooling in the heads in corners so one of those wouldn't be a good choice for this car.
You'll need to log in to post.
