Once we had the transmission in, the axles on, and the brake system with shocks mounted the next step was to get her on the ground and put some wheels on.
So we moved her from the shop table to the floor and balanced the frame on jacks.
We grabbed some old tires that were laying around and put them on as a temporary system. The funny thing is these are Porsche rims which some people would think of as perfect.
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| However, they just happen to be the perfect size for now. |
You may notice the tires bowing a little so they don't wear evenly on
the tread. That is part of the bug design. Once we get the weight of the
motor on they will even out.
So before we can put the motor in we need to put the front end on so the trike is supporting her own weight on all three wheels before we add anymore. In the background of the above picture you can see the wheel we are going to use for the front end. We just need to mount it on the front end and then put both of those on the frame. You may remember the mock up of the front end mounted from the earlier picture...
Getting the front end on was a bit more challenging than we predicted because the front end hardware did not come with a stop to prevent the turning radius from slamming into the gas tanks. An additional piece was used and welded into place and we were ready to go.
The trike with front end mounted is now 11 feet long.
The trike is as wide as a bug in the rear but not in the front. The turning radius is limited, particularly for left turns, so no U-turns on this beauty. However, there is a reverse gear on the VW motor so three point turns will be no problem.
On to the motor...
The original German VW manufacturer for classic Beetle parts went out of business years ago. These days if you want an old style VW motor you have to get one built in Mexico or Brazil if you want original VW parts and something new. Lots of places in the states make their own versions of bug parts for Bajas and whatnot, but original German parts are hard to come by. We chose a less expensive route. The boys had an old '74 Baja motor just laying around. It had been out in the elements for years, but the core was still good and the engine was not cracked.
It definitely had some vintage parts on it to piecemeal it together. When I took it to the mechanic for the rebuild he laughed at the age of the carburetor. It is that square double flap valve piece on top.
You can see a better angle from it here. The mechanic was from Germany
and has been rebuilding VW motors for over 30 years so when he said he'd
never seen something that old I knew it must be really old.
On the
rebuild he used a Bocar instead, which are also no longer made so if it
goes I will have to go with something Brazilian or Chinese but he said
the Bocar was far superior and the boys agreed we were lucky to get it. It is so pretty and shiny. The tins are painted a flat black, as are other parts of the motor.
This is what is known as a turnkey motor with clutch. You can buy motors in three stages: short block (which is the part of the motor below the headgasket and above the oil pan), a long block (which is a short block with the cylinder heads, gaskets, valves, valve train, and camshaft), or a turnkey (which means all you have to do is bolt it down because it is completely assembled). Since Ry and I had spent time over winter and spring rebuilding his bug motor up from a short block I had the basic knowledge of the parts and mechanics. I also knew how many hours went into building it up stage by stage. Additionally, since they had all the parts laying around to build a complete turnkey that is what we had rebuilt.
With the turnkey completely assembled and the clutch already mounted and installed all we had to do was slide the motor into the transmission, and bolt it down in four places.
We got the hardware in place to make sure it was handy for the transfer.
It is not quite as easy as snapping Legos together, but it is way easier than putting in the axles by far.
Ta-da the two are now one. Due to the fact that in a normal bug there would be a car body between the two parts it is much harder to get all four bolts tightened down on a complete bug than on a trike.
This is what the back end of the trike looks like at this stage. We still need to do the electrical wiring. We need to figure out what we are going to do for seats and handlebars. Once we know where the seat for the driver (me) will be mounted then we can mount the pedals. This trike is going to have all foot controls (gas, brake, and clutch) like a bug, and not hand brakes or clutch like a motorcycle. To help us get a visual I put an old kitchen chair over the frame to start to imagine what it will be like...
You can't see the full front end but you can start to imagine what it is going to be like. Or you can even picture yourself here...
Of course the front view will be different once there are handlebars, but this gives you an idea. Next step, electrical or steering/handlebars. I'm voting electrical because it is lots of little parts. More as we have it.
