hahahaha I bet all you fawkers were getting set to flame some newb. :flipoff2:

anyway, been working on this contraption for a while, thought Id finally post a build thread. Its hardcore Jeep because the drivetrain is mostly all Jeep, and obviously this isnt something you see everyday, so I had to custom fab every part of it.

Basically...

A 1968 VW beetle body on a 1976 CJ7 frame. I bought the Beetle last spring and it was stock, I fabbed up some drop spindles for the front and cranked up the torsion bar in the rear. Took the fenders off, bought some generic 30" mud terrains. Beat the crap outta that thing, jumped it, etc.. Held together pretty damn well...gotta give them germans some credit. As a joke, Id go trail wheeling with frineds a lot, but they actually have rigs that are capable. For what it was the Beetle did well, but I wanted 4 wheel drive, and I thought a 4 wheel drive beetle would be pretty rediculous so I built one.

Id seen many beetle body's hacked onto Jeep or Sami frames before, but I wanted this one to be seamless. Beetles arent supposed to have engines in the front, but every "4wd beetle" ive seen all had an engine somehow crammed up front, hacked up "firewall", no driver leg room, holes in the hood for air, etc. Fawk that my engine is going in the back!

The CJ donor was a 258/th400/quadratrac, so it worked perfectly because both axles were offset. It took some thinking to flip everything around in my head and make sure it would work... So I flipped both axles upsidedown, so now they are all driver offset. Then I flipped the engine/trans/xfer case around 180* so now the q-trac outputs are flip flopped from the pass side to driver side. Front output drives the rear axle and rear output drives the front axle, and because the axles are flipped, I still go forward and dont have 3 speeds in reverse. :grinpimp:

Both axles are narrow track, which fits perfectly in the beetle width/fenders. I had to cut the knuckles off the front axle and flip them so the ball joints wouldnt pop out, its got disc brakes front too, bling. Welded them back on and called it good. Flipped hte backing plates on the rear axle so the wheel cylnders were on top, welded the rear diff, and welded the tubes (AMC20) so they wont break and spin.

I didnt want to run a 258, no power, long, heavy etc... Im a chevy guy so I chose a 4.3. I went TBI because I didnt want carb and I hate spider injection and wanted something that only needs like 3 wires to function. The radiator is from an Astro van, cooled with a Taurus fan. The motor mounts are custom from steel I had lieing around. I had to buy a GM TH400 case and swap all the AMC TH400 guts into it. AMC TH400 obviously dindt have the GM 90* bolt pattern, and the GM TH400 didnt have the goofy 10-spline output that the quadratrac xfer case needs. Fabbed a whole custom crossmember, clocked the quadratrac case a bit, and called it good. Had to make some custom driveshafts too, out of various CJ driveshaft parts. Rear driveshaft has a double cardan joint too.

Up front to counter the weight of the rear/mid mounted engine, battery, fabbed up gas tank, firewall, pedal mounts, and brake booster. I went with hydroboost because hydroboost kicks ass. :flipoff2: Hydroboost from a Chevy HD, and front disc brakes on a 2800lb beetle = stops in about 5 feet from any speed. Steering is the stock CJ variable ratio power steering box, attached to a Chevy K30 steering column and column mount shifter because I hate floor shifters. Eventually a winch will go up front too. I made all new wiring harnesses etc to tie everything together, and made a little guage panel where the beetle radio used to go.

The frame is mostly stock, I had to fab up some body mounts for the beetle, hack off stock CJ body mounts, build some extra crossmembers, and I had to extend the rear of the frame a bit and build a new rear crossmember and shackles. Front springs are stock CJ, axle is moved up a bit so my approach and departure angles are pretty good. Rear springs are custom built from various leafs a buddy had lieing around. I had to completely build the floor and interior from scratch; as you know, beetles are "not really unibody but not really body-on-frame". If you pull the shell off they ahve no floor. I didnt want to keep the stock floor pan on because that would have made it stupidly tall, and I wouldnt have had room for a tranny tunnel etc... Bought a sheet of 16 guage steel and went to work. I wish we had a brake, otherwise the bends in the floor sections wouldnt look like shit. I just clamped it to the side of a bench and beat on it with a hammer to put bends in it. The front section is 1/2" lexan that I scavanged from a hockey rink that was being renovated. Gas pedal is from an astro, brake is modified from a chevy HD van. Seats are comfy, I only have one installed now, but I got both them for 100 bucks. Little bit rice, but I like 'em, and they have holes for my harnesses. I have an internal cage for it too, just havent put it in yet. Still need to figure out how to make a doghouse for the engine.

Tires are 34x10.50x15" super swamper TSL's. I got them for 420 bucks with rims, 98% treadlife remaining, couldnt pass up that deal.

Anyway, Ill shaddup now and post some pics. Its goofy yeah, but its definetly one of a kind, so I like it...cant wait to get it finally wheeling..just need to finish up some details, finish building thje rear bumper, and it'll be good to go. :D

BIG thanks to HeepJeep and MadisonJam85 who gave me a hand with some stuff on it!


http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/DSC_0047.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/DSC_0050.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/DSC_0054.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/DSC_0061.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/DSC_0133.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/DSC_0129.jpg


hope all those pics work, Ill keep this thread updated with more pics as I get closer to being done.

ben

more pics.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/DSC_0146.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/DSC_0162.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/DSC_0135Large.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/DSC_0033Custom.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/DSC_0038Custom.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/DSC_0078Medium.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/DSC_0085Large.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_0034Large.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_0024Large.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_0009Large.jpg

ben

Looks kinda :massey:

I think it would look really :grinpimp: spring under, or with about 3 inches less lift.

I love the skinny swamps, but it just looks too tall.

Besides that, its great. The damn thing should stop on a dime and give you change with the light weight body and hydroboost:eek:

Good luck with a unique build!

yeah I agree it is tall, I built it that way initially just to make sure I wouldnt have clearance issues. I really dont want to hack the fenders because I hate the "baja beetle" chopped fender look. Those are narrow track axles so maybe if I found some wt axles I could space it out a bit and do SUA.

Once I get it completely done and wheeling, Ill see how it goes then decide whether I want to lower it. The body is slammed on the frame as far as it will go; theres no body lift or anything, basically its just the SOA that makes it tall.

The drivetrain is pretty low so weight distribution and CG is pretty good for how tall it is.

ben

Keep the fenders! It really helps with the look. The narrow-track axles look good too. It looks like there is plenty of room (bump stops are your friends), but pictures can be deceiving.

---How are you going to do a cage? Please do an internal cage. It would be difficult to maintain the lines with an exo.--- My reading compression skills bring the suck. You say you have an internal cage in your thread.

More Pics!

BTW - Can I start it?

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l235/gyoung13/classic.jpg

Nice Jeep...errr Beetle uhhh... Beep?? :D

Love that you went through the trouble to make it rear engine :beer:

Haha, it's about time you put your piece on Pirate Ben. It looks awesome. I have to agree though lower that damn thing......or maybe some bigger tires???

I'm laughing, but in a good way.

Right on. Cool build. Definitely NOT cookie cutter stuff here.

That thing freakin rocks! :smokin:I mean all the effort you put into this, rear engine, flip axles, and change the trans, etc. I forwarded this to a few VW purists i know and they even said it was about time someone did this right.:beer::beer::beer:

It looks great. I like the look alot. Did the wheelbase match up with the beetle or did you have to move the springs? Try posting this over on vwvortex.com lol :D

hell yeah!!!! Subfreakinscribed!!!! Lovin' it! :beer::beer::beer::beer::beer:

"Beep" that's friggin hilarious! :D

this may be the first car body on a truck type frame creation that I actually like.

bonus points for makin it rear engine to

Nice Jeep...errr Beetle uhhh... Beep?? :D

Love that you went through the trouble to make it rear engine :beer:

HeepJeep nick named it the "astrojeetle" because I pulled the wiring harness, ECM, radiator, and hydroboost unit from an astro, so I guess its got a decent percentage of astro parts too. :laughing:

Keep the fenders! It really helps with the look. The narrow-track axles look good too. It looks like there is plenty of room (bump stops are your friends), but pictures can be deceiving.

---How are you going to do a cage? Please do an internal cage. It would be difficult to maintain the lines with an exo.--- My reading compression skills bring the suck. You say you have an internal cage in your thread.

More Pics!

BTW - Can I start it?

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l235/gyoung13/classic.jpg

Oh ya internal cage for sure. No way on the exo. I figure even if I roll it, its not like beetle bodies are hard to find, it would be simple to bolt another one on. Im going to reuse the cage that I had in the beetle originally, its not a really hard core Class 11 cage, I bought it from Chirco Racing for cheap. But it was better than nothing and completely bolt together, all prebent and welded. Im going ot just put that cage back in and brace the hell out of it. Actually that beetle has been rolled once already; HeepJeep was doing high speed donuts in the parking lot (when it was still a complete VW), and it being a swingaxle rear (IRS wasnt till 1969), he hit a little pothole, it tucked in/under a wheel and did a little barrel roll. We were able to bang the body out pretty well, the drivers door doesnt have that nice smooth easy VW "door shut" quality anymore, but oh well.

yeah you can start it if you reconnect my power steering lines first. :D
Running the lines all the way up front was a PITA, but I guess that gives the fluid a chance to cool down some. As of right now I have a single feed and return line, but I had to "T" the return from the hydroboost and PS box together......and so the freakin PS box having a higher return rate, backfeeds into the hydroboost so the brakes are always semi-self applied. :mad3:

I tried orienting the "T" so the PS box return was the "straight shot" part, but it still doesnt work right. Oh well guess its time to run 2 return lines. The engine was from a half ton chevy, so the PS can doesnt have the second return built into it for hydrboost, so Im going to have to add another return. Its a huge PITA pulling the box on that engine, looks like you have to remove that whole driver side accessory bracket (the one with the alternator and stuff), so I may just try adding a return with the box in place.

Anyone have any better ideas for fixing this power steering issue? What if I got a low pressure check valve (say .5psi cracking pressure) from mcmaster-carr and put that inline with the hydroboost return, before the T? Would that prevent the box from backfeeding without damaging the hydrboost unit?

Ill get soem videos of it running and driving around. Its really loud because I havent figured out how to fit an exhaust in there. Its basically just two "downpipes" from each manifold. When I built the motor mounts I didnt realize you could flip them side to side like an sbc....after the engine was all in I realized it (flipping the manifolds around backwards would have made an exhaust a hell of a lot easier), it was too late because the motor mounts dont clear the flipped manifolds. I might redo the motor mounts because they are shitty though. Im just working on getting the stock speedo hooked up as well. I wanted to keep the stock VW speedo for looks, and I even reused the indicator warning lights that are in the stock VW speedo; the old "generator" light is now the battery charge light, and the old "oil pressure" light is now the check engine light. :grinpimp:


ben

It looks great. I like the look alot. Did the wheelbase match up with the beetle or did you have to move the springs? Try posting this over on vwvortex.com lol :D

actually....I thought I was going to ahve to do tons of hacking and shortening. I was thinking of starting out with a CJ5! ..when I trailered the donor CJ7 up to our shop and got out the measuring tape.............the wheelbase between the CJ7 and Beetle was within 3 or 4 inches, and the width was within an inch. Front springs are stock location, but I moved the axle up a couple inches. Rear crossmember was all rusted out on the CJ, so I built a new rear crossmember/bumper/shackle mounts. Went with some longer springs; the forward spring mount is stock CJ, I just made my own rear shackles. Slid the rear axle back about 3" total. Basically tho, everything lined up surprisingly well.

did someone say "Beatlejuice" three times?

Ben... I have a D44 and AMC20 outta that 85 waggy if you want them... In the bed of my truck right now... ready to drop off ;)

Ben... I have a D44 and AMC20 outta that 85 waggy if you want them... In the bed of my truck right now... ready to drop off ;)


hmmmmm might be interested in the D44...what do you want for it?

HeepJeep nick named it the "astrojeetle" because I pulled the wiring harness, ECM, radiator, and hydroboost unit from an astro, so I guess its got a decent percentage of astro parts too. :laughing:

Yeah there's astrojeetle splooge all over the shop floor...

No really, thing's pretty cool, just needs some finishing work.

Ben, secret plans for new axles from that offer????:D

Ben, secret plans for new axles from that offer????:D

mmmm maybe.

Im gonna get the shifter working first, then worry about that.

I want dirt for them...

Literally just enough from them to buy sand bags to replace the weight :)

Oh, and that AMC20 is the one piece shafts... and I have no real use for it

Haha this thing is freakin sweet Ben :smokin:

And this is why I love PBB.

That is just Funny (in a good way).

Like someone earlier commented: X2 on doing a quality Car/4x4 conversion.

That is way cool!

UPDATES!? MORE PICS!?

yeah I completely redid the whole wiring harness/built one up from scratch, used a real fuse box from an early 90's Chevy half ton so now the thing is road legal with blinkers, tail lights, brake lights, horn, headlights/parking lights, etc.

Basically only thing left to do before I can really drive it and wheel it is rig up some shifter cable...its kinda tricky to run one because of the column shift and backwards tranny. Ive been really busy with other more urgent projects so this was on hold for a bit, but this weekend Im gonna start crankin on it again and hopefully get the shifter cable and other odds and ends done..........

ben

played around with the VW for the first time (kinda) today. Didnt get to do much because I need to put a trans cooler in. Im also trying to fix some issues with the TBI. Got the cage somewhat back in so now it has seatbelts. Needs an alignment I think but it does go down the road nice (a lot better than I thought it would), doesnt wander or anything. Steering is vauge/loose, but I think most of that is because I dont have the bearing installed on the end of the steering column/intermediate shaft.

Hydroboost is amazing. I could probably endo the thing if I stomped on the brakes hard enough.

It was dark out but I wanted to try flexing it out a little, does OK I guess. I need to put some spacers in the rear, or add bumpstops because the rear tires rub a bit on the frame. All of the tires tuck into the wheel wells nicely and dont rub on the fenders; only on the frame.

Going to the DMV monday to get the registration updated so I can drive it on the road. Its legal with the only exception being a lack of e-brake.

crappy pics, ill get some better ones tomorrow.

ben

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_0264Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_0266Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_0267Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_0269Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_0270Large.jpg

more pics.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_0271Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_0273Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_0275Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_0276Large.jpg

ben

I was just out messing with the rear suspension trying to figure out my flex situation. I also started making new shackles for the front because the stock ones on there are sketchy, and one of the nuts snapped off.

Anyone have any ideas/advice about the rear? Bumpstops or wheel spacers?? I really dont know...

ben

I would try some poly bumpstops before going with spacers. Although I have used spacers in the past with no negative results.

I like the build. Very cool that it is rear engine. :grinpimp:

AWESOME!! haha I love it.

In the last pic, it looks like the axle is mounted way forward of the wheel well. is that the case or is it just the photo?

just the photo.




how does it handle with no motor up front? street?

are you going to firewall the cabin?

very nice job

AWESOME!! haha I love it.

In the last pic, it looks like the axle is mounted way forward of the wheel well. is that the case or is it just the photo?

The axle is mounted SLIGHTLY forward, that photo exaggerates it a lot.

Thats a "new" custom spring back, the originals were sagging obviously due to teh weight of not being designed to hold an engine in the rear. Found a bunch of random misc leaves and made up a pack that works really well.

I would have moved it another 1 or 1 1/2" rearward, but I had made the driveshaft too short because the original rear spring pack had the rear axle wayy far forward. The CJ [7] is actually a few inches shorter than the beetle. I made the spring perches and stuff so that down the road if I re-do the driveshaft, moving the axle back is just a matter of unbolting the u-bolts, sliding the axle back, bolting in the new driveshaft, and tighten the u-bolts.

I have to make a doghous type thing to cover the engine/separate it from the passenger compartment.

As far as handling on the road, I have no complaints at all. Goes down the road nicely, other than the loose/vauge steering. Its really not as rear-engined as it seems. Its very close to, if not 'is' mid-engined. The harmonic balancer is almost directly above the axle tubes/diff housing.

As far as how much of a up/down slope it will climb before getting sketchy, I dont know, Ill have to ask my buddy (who has a billion times more wheeling experience than me) what he thinks.

ben

kick ass build.

If Herbie is the "love bug" this is the "Im gonna rape yo mouth bug"?

I would say timbren bumps. Progressive, and 30 bucks.

I think anything more than a one inch spacer is going to look funny with the rear being wider than the front.

some pics, basically the same, except in the daytime so you can see a little better.

I drove it around a lot today and I think the ECM is learning, its running much much better.

I also got the full time/part time working properly, I THINK. Not 100% sure tho. Instead of using the stock "emergency drive" vacuum switch, I used some vacuum electric solenoid valves off a early 90's toyota pickup, and plumbed the vacuum lines into those, so I can switch the xfer case from part time to full time 4wd with a 12 volt lighted switch on the dash.

ben

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_0264Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_0266Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_0268Large.jpg

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http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_0272Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_0275Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_0279Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_0280Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_0283Large.jpg

holy crap !
my dad had the exact same thing going.. cj 7 frame 66 beetle body... ended up ditching the jeep frame cause it was rotted or something..
its on a 88 s10 blazer frame now.. getting CLOSE to movable..

Looks good !

holy crap !
my dad had the exact same thing going.. cj 7 frame 66 beetle body... ended up ditching the jeep frame cause it was rotted or something..
its on a 88 s10 blazer frame now.. getting CLOSE to movable..

Looks good !

but is his engine still in the back? :D

Let me know if he wants any advice on how I did certain things, id be happy to email you some more detailed pics of things.

ben

needs ton's, 40's, and a sawzall :flipoff2:, way to be original. Good luck with the build.

needs ton's, 40's, and a sawzall :flipoff2:, way to be original. Good luck with the build.

yeah yeah I know...Ive been looking for a narrow width 14 bolt with an offset diff housing but cant find one anywhere! :laughing: :(

but in all seriousness im not sure of any axles stronger than the amc20 in this particular axle configuration..

ben

It's not mine.... wish it was though.

From what I remember it's on a blazer frame and he's running a sbc 350 which is in the rear of the bug. This pic was taken at a small fairground expo last year. I don't remember if he was on smaller tires during this pic or not but at the same expo this year he was running 40" boggers and a dana 60 front. I think he runs a 60 rear too but I don't remember. I know he was using some sort of air bags in the front that he could adjust somewhat while wheeling. Sorry for the hijack, but I thought it fit in nicely with your thread.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c228/sodapop_yj/100_1386.jpg

darn guess my rear engined idea wasnt so original afterall :D

thats cool tho, I like it, thanks for posting the pic. Not hijacking at all, if anyone else has any beetle creations post em up too...im curious to see them.

Wonder how he did it on his? There arent many xfer cases that have both outputs offset or rear axles that have the diff offset.. :confused:

Early 70's J-4000's will have an offset semi-floater Dana 60 that is 35 spline. It will also be 5.5x5.

You guys crack me up.... I must be getting old. I have seen 50 converted beetles in the day.... But it is still pretty cool when one pops up

Cool build. In my reading/scanning I didn't see any mention of axle oiling. When you flipped them upside down they won't oil like they should. Overfill and offroad a lot, at least compared to the street driving.

looks really nice, almost like it was designed that way

You guys crack me up.... I must be getting old. I have seen 50 converted beetles in the day.... But it is still pretty cool when one pops up

Ive seen many too, but never any rear engined ones.

Cool build. In my reading/scanning I didn't see any mention of axle oiling. When you flipped them upside down they won't oil like they should. Overfill and offroad a lot, at least compared to the street driving.

yeah I thought about that, I just overfilled them. Im not that concerned; if it works it works, if it doesnt, dana 30's arent that hard to come by.

ben

Any mid to late 70's jeep Wagon that came with the Q-Tech case will have offset Dana 44's in the rear with a 6 lug 5.5 bolt pattern

darn guess my rear engined idea wasnt so original afterall :D

thats cool tho, I like it, thanks for posting the pic. Not hijacking at all, if anyone else has any beetle creations post em up too...im curious to see them.

Wonder how he did it on his? There arent many xfer cases that have both outputs offset or rear axles that have the diff offset.. :confused:

I can't even remember the guys name but I'm pretty sure he's friends with the guys who run Drive Train Specialists in Ionia, MI. If you want to ask him some questions, I bet if you call DTS you could get an email addy at least... here's their contact info.

DTS Custom Service
4052 South State Road (M-66)
Ionia, Michigan 48846
Toll Free: (877) 874-7327
Phone: (616) 527-0722
Fax: (616) 527-0744
dtscustomaxles@msn.com

Hi there! Pretty nice this conversion! So, what´s made of the 68? Is it running everywhere, mud bogging or crawling? I´m from Brazil and I´m also wandering wether I go this way too...I am about to get a VW 76 and I already have 2 narrow track D44 axles, an in line six GM 250 C.I.D engine, Spicer 18 T-case a 3 speed tranny ( not a lot of opcions down here )...let´s see what will happen!

Well...just thought I would give a little update.

project "herbie's" motivation is getting an overhaul. Enough of this V6 nonsense. Time to give it some Gen III GM small block balls. :grinpimp:

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG00106.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG00104.jpg

drive by wire (no stupid 14 foot long sticky throttle cable), 8 coilpacks instead of 1, 8 fuel injectors instead of 2, and 295 horsepowers instead of 170, and a real OBD-2 ECM instead of a 4-function calculator. I like it. :smokin:

Ben

That thing is going to be able to do wheelies. :smokin:

With all that power you are going to need bigger axles, 4 link front and back and coil overs. Just an idea. :D

I thought for sure it would be getting a Duramax. As much as I have seen you around over at the dieselplace. This should be plenty for the old bug though.

ok a little update, I did get the 4.3 out of the beetle. Im working all by myself so its kinda slow/difficult moving things around, but im making progress. As you can guess, pulling the motor with the body basically still on is a huge PITA!!

I basically had to lift up the ass end of the body with the tractor, hack off the rear apron/valance, and pull the motor out through the back. Because I couldnt lift the body up high enough, I had to put the engine hoist through the rear window, then bring the motor back until the chain hit the window frame, then support it, shuffle the hoist around, etc...

so its sitting right now with no engine right now, hopefully I can get a buddy or two to come down and help me maneuver the longer and slightly heavier V8 into place. Motor mounts (to adapt from the "traditional" small block mounts to the LSx mounts) will be very easy, just some 1/4" plate with a couple holes drilled in it. Radiator might have to move back, but im not sure. Tranny obviously bolts up to the LSx motor. Im pretty good with wiring and tuning so that shouldnt be hard...

crappy camera phone pics.

ben

Nice, Had me a baja bug and wheeled it for a while. Fun little car to drive and I'm sure yours will be with that big old V8 under the back. That will probably require a new spring set though.

actually I think the springs will be fine with the weight. I custom built those spring packs and they had no problem holding the 4.3.

LSx engines have aluminum heads. The 4.8/5.3 LSx V8's are only ~75lbs heavier than the iron-headed 4.3. ;)

ben

ok more pics...the V8 is in place. I still need to make some plates to adapt the SBC/4.3 mounts in the beetle to the newer LSx 4-bolt style motor mounts. But that will be really easy. Some 1/4" flat plate with a couple holes drilled in it.

Im found a guy who is interested in trading my drive by cable stuff for his drive by wire stuff, which is sweet because I actually want drive by wire. :flipoff2:

Driver side exhaust manifold fits fine, passenger side is going to be very tight; im not sure if it will fit without modifying the motor mounts, or maybe even building a new passenger side manifold.

I dont know about NA gas stuff...in a "stock" performance application, how critical is it for both manifolds to flow identically? IE, am I really gonna mess stuff up and risk burning the valves if I use a factory manifold on one side and a cob 'n custom manifold on the other side???

The spacer/adapter to go from the LSx flywheel to the TH400 converter is on order, it should arrive today. The LSx truck oil pan comes very close to the pinion of the rear diff...I will have to watch it closely the first time I flex it out and probably add some rear bump stops. Other than that everything is looking good so far...

ben

more crappy camera phone pics.

Ok more pictures...now I basically have everything I need to get it running. :D

The wiring is going to kinda be a PITA, but oh well. Better than spending 500 bucks for someone to mod my [factory] harness when I have no problem doing it myself. Im basically cutting off the emissions stuff, and then integrating it into the beetle's existing body harness/fuse box/ignition wiring.

Im keeping the transmission wiring on the harness just in case I decide to go to a 4L60 or 4L80 in the future...

I got a sweet new smaller diameter steering wheel, not like I need the leverage of a big steering wheel when I have power steering and no motor weight up front. Its from a simplicity lawn mower. :grinpimp:

I need to mod the drive-by-wire pedal assembly a little bit so it will fit properly. Wiring, radiator, accelerator pedal, mount the ECM and TAC module, put the body back on, and it should be basically ready to go.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_7764Custom.jpg

new steering wheel

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_7768Custom.jpg

drive by wire (ETC) pedal assy.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_7769Custom.jpg

ECM harness

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_7772Custom.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_7774Custom.jpg

custom home-brew small block chevy/4.3 to Gen III LSx conversion/adapter motor mounts. Basically just welded the 3-bolt rubber mounts to a piece of 3/8" plate that we drilled in the LSx pattern.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_7775Custom.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_7777Custom.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/IMG_7779Custom.jpg

ben

can you swap the manifolds w/ no modification?

Definitely gangsta :smokin:

Keep it up

can you swap the manifolds w/ no modification?

yes. the left and right heads are identical, just like all the other small blocks/big blocks/4.3's....you can flip the manifolds no problem. There is a slight clearance problem with the left side manifold flange hitting the power steering pump can, but 2 seconds with an angle grinder fixes that.

Interestingly, as complicated and new/different as the duramax is, it too uses identical heads; those manifolds can be swapped as well. So basically right now, my motor mounts, tranny mounts, and exhaust manifold mounts are all setup so I could easilly drop a dmax right into it in the future if I wanted to. :grinpimp:

so I could easilly drop a dmax right into it in the future if I wanted to. :grinpimp:

Now that's something I'd like to see.

Cool build! I'm surprised the stock AMC 20 2 piece axle shafts haven't broke on you yet.

Well it runs!!!!! :grinpimp:

Fired up on the second try. It only runs for a second before it shuts off due to the anti-theft but im just about to go out and reflash it with EFILive right now so it will stay running.

Need to do the radiator, clean up the wiring, mount the PCM and TAC module, and finish the exhaust.

Also need to bolt the pedal assembly onto the firewall...I love drive by wire. :smokin:

Ben

I touched your motor when you weren't looking...

I have been warning him about that AMC20 for a while, but it's still in "one piece" hahah oh I crack me up...

Rockwells or go home.

Blasphemy.

I touched your motor when you weren't looking...

I have been warning him about that AMC20 for a while, but it's still in "one piece" hahah oh I crack me up...

Rockwells or go home.

You're screwed now, Ben. Dave touched it, it will blow up. :flipoff2:

mmmkay heres a video of it running.

I dunno about you guys but think it sounds pretty nasty (at least for a VW beetle) with my "custom" cherrybomb dual exhaust. :grinpimp:

I need to make an intake still, and mount the radiator. I only run it for a few seconds at a time obviously because theres no coolant in it.

I have a separate oil pressure sensor for my dash gauge hooked up but I have yet to get the correct oil pressure sensor for the ECM. Using the 2003+ PCM, harness, etc IMO is a lot nicer than the early 99-02 stuff.

2003+ vortec's have Drive by wire, integrated PTO capability (onboard air??), ECM-monitored oil pressure, ECM controlled starter (so you can just bump the key and it keeps cranking by itself until it starts, and wont let you grind the starter if the engine is running), better/more advanced heated O2 sensors, better/more advanced engine protection features (if I lose all coolant it goes into a severe reduced-power mode and cycles which cylinders fire every couple seconds and enriches the mixture a lot so you can drive for something like 50 miles with zero coolant!), smarter processor, and a bigger 1mb flash instead of the 512k of the 2002 and earlier PCM's.

Even without a proper intake and no CASE relearn, you can see on the Tech 2 screen that it still settles down for a really nice smooth idle. With an intake and ECM CASE relearn it will run even smoother and quieter. :smokin:

YouTube - VW Beetle 4x4 V8 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d-jpH6DmK0)

Ben

Ive been driving it a bit up and down our [dead end] road. I found out that a TH400 will not shift out of 1st gear with the vacuum modulator disconnected, that took me a while to figure out that problem. Duh.

I also found out that a 10amp fuse for the headlights works fine on low beam, but will quickly blow if you switch to high beam. I was driving down our road late at night, everything working fine, and for whatever stupid reason I decided to flick my high beams on...nothing wrong with the low beams, they are PLENTY bright. BOOM, headlights went out as I was going around a sharp corner at 35mph. I slammed on the brakes (thank-you, hydroboost and 5 point harness) just as I flew off the road. I had a maglite with me that was mostly dead, so I leaned out the window and drove a mile or so back to my house using that as a "headlight". We live out in the middle of nowhere so theres not even a yellow centerline on the road to follow.

I fixed everything else up and drove it a little more today. The motor runs perfectly cool with the 4.3 radiator. It has awesome oil pressure runs way cooler than the 4.3. ECT never even went above 180, with the [ford taurus] fan on its slowest speed. Now that its learned the fuel trims and everything I cant believe how smooth and quiet it is once it goes into closed loop and settles down...and I still havent even done the CASE relearn. Id say its hardly even louder than my dads tahoe (5.3) at idle. Of course once you get into it it makes some cool noise though.

I have yet to go above 60% throttle even when trying some launches...a power-braked 4x4 launch feels like a 1.80 60 foot, no joke. Too bad the TH400 doesnt have lockup, but IMO its plenty fast enough for most anyone as it is with a completely stock tune. Oh and I love drive by wire...its so smooth.

But its back up on the lift again, the shifter broke. It was kinda a ... rigged setup to begin with, but now its broken completely. The shifter cable is about 12 feet long and I really could have done a better job fabbing it up. The shifter on the column moves but the little lever at the base of the column doesnt move. Something stripped out somewhere in the column.

And a little FYI, if any of you have to do a service or rebuild on one of the generic ~1970-93 GM steering columns, (with the exception of replacing those tilt pins that ALWAYS break) dont even bother taking it apart. Save yourself hours of headache and just go buy another one from the junk yard.

I found what had popped out of place in mine and was able to get that back together, but after fiddling with the stupid cam/lock pin/key switch assembly for 6 hours, and losing some important parts that went flying off into a corner of the shop, I finally just said "DONE!!!", smashed it with a 5 pound sledge, and threw it out the door.

Im going to go to some junkyards tomorrow and see if I can find a new one. I DONT want a tilt column or one with the intermittent wipers widget so I cant see a junkyard wanting more than 50 bucks for it. Once I get that in, the shifter re-connected, and the passenger seat in, it will be pretty much done.

Id like to have it completely done by this weekend because theres a huge VW Beetle/Bus show this weekend in long island that one of my frineds is taking his beautiful '53 beetle to, I think it would be a hoot to bring my beetle as well. :grinpimp:

ben

another video of it all together...shifter works very well now. :smokin:

YouTube - VW Beetle 4x4 V8 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyDUXeAkf3E)

I found what had popped out of place in mine and was able to get that back together, but after fiddling with the stupid cam/lock pin/key switch assembly for 6 hours, and losing some important parts that went flying off into a corner of the shop, I finally just said "DONE!!!", smashed it with a 5 pound sledge, and threw it out the door.


I like your style. This is a sweet, clean rig. I like it. I want to see a wheelie, but keep up the good work.

is that steering wheel off of a simplicity ??

Oh and my Dad's is till not done.. hahaha

is that steering wheel off of a simplicity ??

Yes it is. :D

Its actually a cool steering wheel. Perfect diameter, nice grippy rubber rim, and has the two "bumps" at 10:00 and 2:00 like a racecar steering wheel. :smokin:

Oh and my Dad's is till not done.. hahaha

any pics of it in progress? Id like to see it.

well apparently the ECM tunes for the 4.8's/5.3's have had changes over the years. The biggest difference is that the 99-01 (?) had significantly smaller injectors then the later 4.8's/5.3's.

I didnt know about this; Im running a 1999 engine on a 2004 ECM and tune. It kinda felt a little dead in the upper midrange, so it occurred to me that maybe something was different. I plugged in the original '99 PCM and read the tune out of it with EFILive. Then I opened up my 2004 PCM tune beside it and compared the couple hundred or so tables. I was surprised to see the VE tables, spark, MAF, injector trims, O2 calibrations, etc were significantly different. So I copied all the 1999 tables into my 2004 PCM tune and reflashed it. WOW what a difference. Its REALLY scary now.

It does 4x4 burnouts, and thats with tall swampers, 3.55 gears, and the TH400's fairly high 2.48 1st gear. You dont even need to power brake it...just mash it from a stop and all the swampers howl for a second and then it just takes off. :smokin:

The off-idle throttle response is awesome, I dunno why everyone complains that drive by wire has lag...mine certainly doesnt. :flipoff2:

The yellow light in the speedometer was originally a low oil pressure warning light for the beetles, but I turned it into my check engine light. The check engine light is on because I dont have a VSS hooked up yet.

YouTube - VW Beetle 4x4 V8 4 wheel burnout (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHyc26f0owE)

ben

:grinpimp:
Your bug was cool with a 4.3...it's now officially badass with the 4.8LSx :smokin:

I might play with tuning...I dunno what superchips/hypertech does...copy the high octane spark tables into the low octane maps?

I would imagine the truck tunes are pretty conservative.

I figure with the "high performance" exhaust and intake its more or less at stock 5.3 hp levels now, which is plenty...but then of course Ill always want more... :D

ben

Yes it is. :D

Its actually a cool steering wheel. Perfect diameter, nice grippy rubber rim, and has the two "bumps" at 10:00 and 2:00 like a racecar steering wheel. :smokin:



any pics of it in progress? Id like to see it.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q128/Muddinguy/Trucks/Dads%20Bug/100_0633.jpg

it's on a S10 blazer frame shortened 6" its taken a lot of cutting on the body to get it that low on the frame.. 4.3 is up front sorry.. but we're aiming to keep it under a stock hood.. Rad is gonna be in the back.. we used a big chunk of the blazer floor pan too ..
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q128/Muddinguy/Trucks/Dads%20Bug/100_0635.jpg

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q128/Muddinguy/Trucks/Dads%20Bug/100_0633.jpg

it's on a S10 blazer frame shortened 6" its taken a lot of cutting on the body to get it that low on the frame.. 4.3 is up front sorry.. but we're aiming to keep it under a stock hood.. Rad is gonna be in the back.. we used a big chunk of the blazer floor pan too ..
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q128/Muddinguy/Trucks/Dads%20Bug/100_0635.jpg

cool! I like it. Keep us updated on the progress of the build.

I really wish my beetle had the pre-67 front fenders with the "sloped" headlights like yours does...I hate the "upright" sealed beam headlights of the 1967+ beetles. Stupid DOT regs...

ill trade ya front fenders! :D

ben

ok heres some more videos of me driving it on the road. The acceleration videos are kinda rolling into it slowly, no boosted launches or mashing it right off the line because I dont wanna blow up my rear axle. I let off around 55mph because it gets to be a handful driving with one hand (the other is holding the camera) above that speed. Without a boosted launch or anything fancy, it seems like its about 6 seconds flat 0-60, I guess. Not bad considering the gearing and huge tires. It looks slow in the video but when you are riding in it, trust me its fast.

Tranny could use a shift kit...shifts are kinda loosey goosey. Then again that could also be because I dont have the kickdown solenoid (remember this is a TH400, there is no TV cable) hooked up???

Also, I dont have the brake or clutch pedal position switches hooked up to the PCM, so it thinks the brakes are always applied, and the clutch pedal is always pushed in (I know my beetle is auto, but im using a manual trans calibration in the PCM). So its also pulling a little bit of power due to those things/confusion...

YouTube - Beetle V8 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ncMy7tYz0I)

ben

that thing looks like a blast to drive. good job!

:laughing:
so what are the tyre size on the brown bug? i´m planning to do my own rear engine bug, I already have a 1993 model and i´d like to be close to normal, i´m thinking in 27x11.5 tyres, but the question is the engine-axle clearance... and the looks! of course.
please some help would be nice, I have very little space for error.

WELP....that was fun while it lasted.

Totaled it this morning. Coming around a corner on our road and a tire went soft and it started getting squirrelly....the steering on it is so vauge and has zero on-center feel (basically steers like a fork lift) so its pretty much impossible to do any sort of emergency steering corrections...that and for some reason turning left results in a quicker ratio than turning right???

And no shocks + SOA....

started sliding sideways at 45+mph on the sandy pavement and all I could say to my cousin who was in the passenger seat was "hang on keep your hands in!!!"

Caught a rock on the edge of the road, got airborne for a second, basically landed right on the a-pillar and rolled 5 times down the road before landing upright in a ditch on the side of the road.

Engine was still running fine (its a GM LSx, why wouldnt it be still running fine :D ) when we landed and no fluids spilled anywhere. Battery was anchored down properly, no shit went flying, which was good.

But it is completely totaled. This was not a "crawling up some rocks and flopped over" accident...this was a ford-exploder-firestone accident!

tie-rod is bent in half, frame is completely twisted along its horizontal axis, leaf springs twisted, shackles bent in half, rear pinion hit the (cast aluminum) oil pan, driveshaft smashed the tranny pan. Body is totaled. Steering column is really loose (I held onto it the whole time, luckily I didnt put my hand out the open window).The hood and left front fender are still good! :D

But we are OK...little shaken up and jumpy, my cousin had a cut from the glass, and I hit my head on something and Im a little sore, might have been the cage, but im fine. The actual rollover was kind of a blur (thats when you know it must have been good!), I just remember thinking "well this is it...now we're just along for the ride".

Dragged it back to my house with the dmax, chewed up my nice swampers, and the driveshaft/pinion spinning broke a hole in the oil pan. Im going to be replacing it with a oil pan from a corvette or camaro or something lower-profile than the truck oil pan that was on the motor originally.

The 4-point simpson harnesses were perfect, im glad I went overboard when fabbing up the anchor points for the harnesses.

The cage is pretty tweaked (after we got airborne the full weight of the beetle landed all on the passenger side a-pillar) but it did its job very well IMO. Its nowhere near a full cage (basically just 4-point), but if it wasnt there the roof would have been pancaked and we would be in the hospital, or worse. We still had all of our headroom inside the cabin when we landed, but when I rebuild it im definitely going to do a full-all-out cage this time.

Im fawking pissed, really shitty now that its just getting nice outside and I was really ready to do some wheeling, but at least we were able to unbuckle our harnesses, open the doors and walk away...... :(

pics to follow. :flipoff2:

ben

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_8145Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_8147Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_8148Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_8149Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_8151Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_8153Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_8154Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_8157Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_8129Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_8133Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_8135Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_8136Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_8138Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_8139Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_8141Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_8140Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_8142Large.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_8144Large.jpg

and before....

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/penguin1494/beetle/IMG_7906.jpg

glad to see you and your cousin walked away.
i really liked it, i just read threw the entire post. that was a total shock to end on. i was thinking it was goin under the knife and getting bigger.... oh well time to start over. you made it kick ass the first time make it even better the next time.

Glad you guys walked away! I'm sorry to see that, I always liked that bug. Are you going to start over with a new chassis and body?

yep.....little sore this morning, lump on my head but its all good.

It will be like 'the 6-million dollar beetle', except not really.

"we can rebuild it, we have the technology" :D

Im thinking TJ frame, linked, and maybe not one-ton full width, but somewhere between [CJ] narrow-track and full-width. Narrow track is too narrow to be stable. :eek:

The good part is all the 'expensive' and 'complicated' and 'tedious' parts of the beetle are salvageable. My custom wiring harness, motor mounts, dash, brake booster, power steering lines, coolers, radiator, fuel tank etc....

Motor, trans, transfer case will all be carried over.

Basically just have to get a TJ frame and link stuff, and find a decent Beetle shell/body. Shouldnt be too hard, they only made like 20-someodd million of them!

Ben

Good to hear, I look forward to v2.0, I like projects that take bugs and turn them into things they were never ever intended for. Here is my roommate's baja bug he built:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/dtcb70/Motor%20Swap/photo.jpg

Good to hear, I look forward to v2.0, I like projects that take bugs and turn them into things they were never ever intended for. Here is my roommate's baja bug he built:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/dtcb70/Motor%20Swap/photo.jpg

nice! I cant really see in the picture...is it still stock VW drivetrain??

That held up really well considering the speed and how many times you rolled. I look forward to the new build.

nice! I cant really see in the picture...is it still stock VW drivetrain??

Ya, it's got a mildly built VW motor. Down the road he wants to put a Subaru 2.0t in it.

I was wanting to do pretty close to the same thing. Any tips of the rear mounted engine?