Aircooled VW South Africa

As can be seen in my other thread, unfortunately HW2 had to borrow its IRS gearbox to the Khaki Cruiser - but lets just call it a trial and evaluation period for testing Buggers' gearbox building skills



Not a lot has happened with HW2 since the end of December/early Jan, as it was in storage because I had to move houses twice sofar this year (long story), but I am glad to say that HW2 is with me again, albeit sans the gearbox, but the build can carry on.

Currently waiting for the bodyshell, and once it is mounted I can continue with the electrics, seats etc.

Stay tuned!

Ja robbing Peter to pay Paul again arnt we Pine....
We are watching you

Well since I OWN both Peter and Paul, it is not really a big issue...

So did the Vatican where the term comes from

Eagle-eyed Forum members would have spotted recently that my avatar has changed from an orange to a blue buggy

After some careful consideration, it was decided to make HW2 a BLUE buggy, the main reason being that there is a brand new blue Lolette shell available at Volkspares, and it has my name on it!

HW1 was originally metallic blue when I got it, and during the repaint, it was discovered that the original gel coat was a lighter shade of blue, so the choice in colour is not that far off. I restored HW1 to match this battery-operated model Manx I had for some years, and I am sure I got pretty close to it.



But there will always be only one HW1, and to be honest I think I have tried a bit too hard to make HW2 a clone of it, and that will never be possible. One of the prominent features of HW1 was the fibreglass canopy, which was the same as the model Manx, whereas HW2 will have an easily-removable vinyl soft top. Then there was the Karmann Ghia passenger grab handle, the 411 sedan rear chrome number plate cover, the VDO foot-operated window washer, to mention a few parts I will most probably never get again. Volkspares have also popped several orange Lolette shells out of their moulds the past few months, and although it is still one of my favourite colours for a buggy, I want HW2 to be a little bit different from the others. This water cooled orange buggy was at Modderfontein on Sunday:



I have the plain and simple 'classic 60's-look' in mind, almost like this pic below - but without the enormous Beetle steering wheel (the new shell is almost the same shade of blue):



So expect a few updates WAY different from the initial ideas in this thread, as the HW2 build goes on. This weekend I marked out a draft idea for the positioning of the gauges in the dash, but then decided afterwards that I will stick to only 3 gauges - speedo, tach and fuel gauge. (After all, I don't want the dash to look like the cockpit of a stealth bomber).



I have however injured my left knee at Modderfontein on Sunday (jumped over a closed gate), and can only see the orthopedic surgeon on Thursday. Hope they won't need to operate on it. I am currently on crutches, and driving is extremely difficult and painful. But if all goes well, the new HW2 bodyshell and roll cage will be home towards the end of this week, and some long overdue progress can be made on the project

I told you not to go into that farmers field and upset the bull.

When will you learn!!!

lol HR!

Pine,blue or orange,it will still be Hotwheels and I for one,can't wait to see how it turns out!

hitlers revenge wrote:I told you not to go into that farmers field and upset the bull.

When will you learn!!!

No bull - but one helluva sexy cow

UPDATE 25/03/2010

Something old, something new
Something borrowed, something blue

Several old parts, some new ones
a borrowed trailer (thanks Bugger! ) - and a brand new blue SWB Lolette body for HW2!!

The HW2 project took one 'giant step for mankind' today, when the new bodyshell was finally put on the chassis. More pics to follow tomorrow

Thanks to Bugger for his assistance today, and for accommodating hop-along-Cassidy/Pine

Awesome......wow!

It looks great!

Congrats Pine.

Hello Gorgeous!

Wayyyyhayyyy cool

Wow Pine it looks great!!

This is when a buggy looks the best.


With out comparison it could pass as a Toy.

Thanks guys, I can imagine what Vincent van Gogh felt like when he stood in front of a blank canvas...

It will break my heart to start drilling holes, but it is unavoidable (perhaps I should just enjoy the virgin shell a little bit more first?)