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Thanks jimbo. That is actually all the stuff i have to go in the garage. So it should stay like that until i tear the Bug apart. I actually dont like the hood. I talked to a company (VW fiberglass specialist) and asked if they would make a custom fiberglass hood and they said not without the car. They are 1000 miles away so its not going to happen. Did you see the new wing in the back? I'm not too sure about it either. But both hood and wing are formed around function not looks so its going to have to work!
As for the front end, have you considered one of those simple bar bumpers? If you placed it at the same level as where you cut the hood horizontally, it would hide the cut hood, not block air flow to the radiator, and give you some classic vw aesthetics.
As for the front end, have you considered one of those simple bar bumpers? If you placed it at the same level as where you cut the hood horizontally, it would hide the cut hood, not block air flow to the radiator, and give you some classic vw aesthetics.
Sorry but no bumpers for me! I just don't like the look of them. I have been trying to find someone to make a customer fiberglass hood and have them take care of the ugly nose section, but I can't find anyone. I myself am not the best at fiberglass work, so I won't be attempting it.
As for an update on this project, since it has been quite a while....
- Exhaust is redone and connected again. Had to change it all up since I moved the motor.
- Rear suspension is done...again
- All the rear frame is back together and tacked in place.
- Car now looks like it is done and ready to drive but its not even close.
- Fiberglass trunk lid should be here next week
- Hoping to get my axles here next week too. That is a huge hope... It has been over 3 month since I ordered them and a huge lack of communication is not helping. (will touch on this subject later)
Long story short, after I get my axles and make sure they fit, it will be time to tear the car down to a bare chassis. Then more bracing and welding. Then paint and back together for its final assembly!
If no bumper, which is perfectly understandable, then maybe just reshape the opening.
Try make it more oval in shape. Trim the hood to match. Where you have a straight cut at the nose, make it concave, the opening being "taller" in the center, if that makes any sense.
You make perfect sense and that is the plan. If you look very very very closely at the last picture, you can see sharpy lines where I was thinking of rounding it. I am going to have a bit of trouble doing it though. I can only round it so much before the body underneath starts to show the front compartment. I will see if I can take a picture tonight to better describe the problem.
If you don't have enough coverage to round the opening like that of the ac cobra, then maybe leave the cut/edge straight and make the opening more of a rectangle with rounded corners... Almost pill shaped. That would still hide the edge better, and make it look "on purpose".
OR, make a scoop similar, yet maybe less pronounced, to the one on the front of the fittipaldi bug pictured in post #315.
Last edited by DavidBoren; Aug 6, 2015 at 11:23 AM.
In all this talk about the silly radiator grill, I think I forgot to tell you how truly badass your bug is.
I love the lime green on your dashboard.
Your home-built suspension and smooth belly pan are awesome.
The little supercharged four banger is a good choice, and should do wonders in that lightweight chassis.
Oddly enough, I dig the larger than life 911 turbo wing. And I normally am adamantly opposed to wings on anything that doesn't fly (you should see my rants about wings over on the sn95 forums).
Hopefully your trick axles come in soon (and fit properly), because I want to see stupid nasty burnout videos.
Blueracer15 - It better scoot when its done! That is the plan at least. I am actually hoping it makes more power then I think. 400hp and I will be more then happy. (1800lbs + 400hp = ) The engine itself is probably the first of its kind. It is pretty much 3 different Ecotecs combined and using a LS1 throttle body! If I could have fit a LS in the Bug, I would have for the easy power.
David - I guess I am going to drag the hood issue on for a while. I have no idea what I am going to do. Too many options. I will get back to it when I start on the body work. As for the green you see, there will be plenty more of it. Black and green is the paint scheme I am going with! Don't forget about the carbon fiber either! A lot more of that to come too.
Last edited by CBM Motorsports; Aug 6, 2015 at 05:39 PM.
Not sure if the shape would flow with the bug, but the lower mesh insert from a cts-v front bumper is about that size. You could probably find any other large grill opening, Mercedes comes to mind, the cts-v, any grill that extends to the chin splitter or bottom edge of the bumper.
I'm on my phone, otherwise I would Photoshop (MS paint, lol) some pictures of what I have in mind.
Are 1970's beetle hoods exceptionally hard to find?
Seems like the easiest route may just be to start afresh, make version numba two.
But, I personally think that the one you have now is more than salvageable. Pay attention in parking lots, look at other bumper openings and grills.
Last night at target, I was walking past a 4runner, probably early-mid 2000's model, and it's front bumper had a ~18"W X 8"T opening with one or two large louvers. And I thought about your project. Take the center section of the bumper, graph it to your bug. You could make the top edge of the bumper section meet up with the cut edge of the hood. And the bumper has depth, so you could contour it to be flush in the front.
David - Lets see some of these ideas drawn up! I can send you over any angle you need so that you can chop and crop my hood. I am curious to see what you mean with the CTS-v grille.
Tipsy - I will have to check in to that. Boat people do love there fiberglass. I wonder if they could clone my hood plus add in a new nose section? I will see what I can find out.
Thanks for all the ideas guys. Keep them coming! Bug tear down will officially start in 2 weeks or less! I think my official project name is going to be the Frankenbeetle!
I will draw something up at school tonight. ITT has legitimate Photoshop, and I kind of know how to use it. It's not going to be a rendering, by any means, but it should give you the idea.
I should be able to use the pictures you already posted. I will edit this post with my Photoshop picture(s) tonight.
Sweet! I am trying to get a CAD file of a Bug so I can change things up on Autocad but can't seem to find one. Photoshop is the next best thing but I don't have it!
GrabCad doesn't have a 1970 vw beetle model? You could always be the first. Assuming you know the dimensions of your car, which you can get by measuring your car, you could literally trace a picture of it in cad and scale it to size. Start with a straight on side shot (profile?), extruded it to the proper depth (however wide the car is)... You probably know how to use cad, so nevermind.
I didn't even know GrabCad existed! They have plenty to choose from. Thank you. I will download one tonight and see if I can figure out how to modify it. I am not a professional when it comes to Autocad but I know the basics. Enough to make parts at least. I am about 1/2 way done drawing up my chassis. Lots more to learn....
Here are some quick stupid MS Paint pictures, but it gets the idea across.
Here is a "happy face" from a newer Miata:
Here is an "angry face" from a CTS-V:
Hope that helps. Just keep your eyes open for lower grills you like the looks of. The 2010+ Mustand grills with the fog lights are pretty baller, too. Maybe section it to make it more narrow, yet keep the fog lights. Sorry, no pictures of that (lazy).
David - In your modified pictures, are you thinking that I should leave the hood how it is and just add a different grille below? Or kind of pop the grille outward to match how far out the hood sticks? Or completely cut the front section below the hood out and then flush mount the grille to match the hood?
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) The engine itself is probably the first of its kind. It is pretty much 3 different Ecotecs combined and using a LS1 throttle body! If I could have fit a LS in the Bug, I would have for the easy power. 
