Hot Wheels 2 - Pine's new Buggy build thread

[Pine]

On the topic of lights - I have decided to stick to only the two headlights, with no additional spotlights like HW1 had as in the pic below. Yes, the illumination was excellent at night (2 main lights on bright, 2 spots on), but that was only because I drove HW1 in conditions that required it, including the time I worked in Lesotho and a midnight drive through the Karoo en route to the coast. But I am stepping away from the 'rally car look' with HW2.

Interestingly enough, HW1 did not have the spotlights on at the time of the accident. I had taken them off a few months earlier when I replaced the front bumper and suspension, and gave them to Pepsicola for use on his Beetle. If you look carefully at the pic below, you'll notice the front bumper to be a little skew. That was because of a bent front suspension, in a near-fatal accident I had in 2005 between Potchefstroom and Bloemfontein. Returning from the Aarklop Festival, a oncoming truck overtook another truck on a blind height, and I had to swerve off the road to avoid a head-on collision. I went through a very bad hole next to the road, and to give you an idea of the damage, I had to adjust the steering wheel afterwards about 60 degrees on the steering rod to get it straight again...



As for the tail lights, there will be only one type - two chromed <68 Beetle lights

[beetlefanatic]

Personally, I like the 4 lights. It looks cool and you can never be too careful at night. Ask Suzie about cows at night.

[Pine]

Additional spotlights? Fine for the Monte Carlo Rally, but not my choice for HW2

[dubster]

Pine how long did you drive the buggy like that with the bent front suspension,cause i bent mine when i hit the garage wall and also just adjusted the steering control rod,what im trying to say is,is it safe enough to drive like that for a while till i can get another one...

[Blitzkrieg]

I think if you ride with them on at day time, it will almost look like an Audi R8?

Funny you should mention that. Latest trends is for all the ricer boys in their Hondas and boy racers in the Golfs wire up daytime running LEDs. I can't see what the point is

*wonders how the LEDs would look on a Fastback *

[Pine]

Pine how long did you drive the buggy like that with the bent front suspension,cause i bent mine when i hit the garage wall and also just adjusted the steering control rod,what im trying to say is,is it safe enough to drive like that for a while till i can get another one...

The front suspension got one helluva knock, but only bent slightly, you could barely see it after it was taken off the chassis. I drove it more than two years like that and only replaced it cause I wanted a dropped suspension.

[Pine]

Update 01/12/08

Well after a (nother) fruitless weekend - hangovering on Sat and toyfairing on Sun - I do not have a lot to add to the tread, but let's try nonetheless.

Got the bullet side mirrors from Badbug in 'Maritzburg, I am very happy with them, thanks! HW1 had (one) similar mirror on the driver's side, and I might just put only one on HW2 again - but we'll see. Hell, in the 'era' I want to base HW2 on, namely late 60's, early 70's it was quite rare for any car to have two side mirrors. I am also not sure if the angle from the driver's POV will allow one to actually see the passenger side mirror?



Also got the chromed altie stand and aluminium filler from Calooker and with the help of Hitlers Revenge, thanks guys!



This is a small old petrol tank I bought at a pawn shop a while ago - I reckon it takes about 750ml of petrol and was probably fitted to a weed eater or somethng. It was very filthy, so I soaked it in the caustic soda solution for a few days, and took it out tonight. I wonder if I can convert it to a breathing box? Basically a rubber pipe running from the filler neck to the bottom of this tank, with a breathing filter on top. Mount it against the 'fire wall' in front of the engine, and it'll be fine, right? Any suggestions?

[Bugger]

Update 01/12/08

Well after a (nother) fruitless weekend - hangovering on Sat

right? Any suggestions?

]

Ye stop over the weekends and you will be getting some where

[Pine]

So how about an update on the Squareback mr twentyfoursevenalltimesober Bugger, since it seems like your are insinuating it is your

WATER CAR??

[Tony Z]

if you use a rubber pipe, make sure its oil resistant.
Run the hose into the tank from the bottom, so that any oil caught can run back down once you have finished abusing things.
Dont forget to run breather pipes from the rocker covers too, otherwise you are wasting your time.
Put some sort of foam into the tank. kinda like the foam air filters....
I would ideally like to also cut the tank open and put a small mesh element into the top third of the tank as an extra oil catcher.

[Pine]

Thanks T_Z for your valuable contributions, as always

Keep in mind that HW2 will run a standard 1600 t/p engine - no performance modifications intended. The purpose of the breathing box will only be a substitute for the (original) Beetle 'breathing box/oil filler cap' as fitted to a standard filler neck.

I had one of those cheap Speed 'n Sound breathing filters on the original filler neck of HW1, but it got blocked quite easily, resulting unneccesary compression in the engine where I didn't want it.

I thought of squeezing some of those 'rough' net-like steel wool or pot scourers with the large holes in the box, like those your mom used to clean pots with.

[Tony Z]

yea, goldilocks pot scourers will work fine.
But if you are only running from the filler to the tank, what is the point? Why not just run it to the atmosphere like stock?
If its coming from the tappet covers too, with the chance of oil overflowing into the tank, then you need the tank, but from the filler, its just gas...

[Pine]

I was under the impression that microscopic oil particles are contained in the 'gas' - and that is why by law, a vehicle needs a 'closed circuit' i.e. the gas returned to the engine or combusted and released with the exhaust fumes?

I once read in an off-road manual that during cranking a vacuum is formed inside the crank case, sucking dust through an (unfiltered) breathing inlet?

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Am I starting to sound like Merlin or Blitz with all the questions and 'I once read' comments....

[Tony Z]

that could be true, if you crank with your throttle closed. But are you shure being offroad, with the angles their cars go to that the cars were not dry sumped - that would make a lot more sense.

Yes, cars should be closed circuit, if your car was bought with a closed circuit. But you are still not performing this.... a closed circuit is where the crankcase gasses are passed into the air inlets and burned during combustion. If thats your aim and your engine is still stockish, then run the hose straight to the inlet, without the tank

[Pine]

Thanks Tony, I think the idea of the breathing tank for HW2 is hereby dropped. I still wonder what the tank was used for originally? It had a small 'reserve' tap at the bottom, but as I said its capacity is very small.