Aircooled VW South Africa

hey pine, i didnt read 49 pages for nothing. chin up

farhaad.sonday wrote:hey pine, i didnt read 49 pages for nothing. chin up

Comment of the month!!!

That says it all Pine, get busy

It hasn't been a successful day so far. The weather is terrible, it is raining all the time, so working outside is not possible. So much for polishing the Khaki Cruiser today for the Potch Show on Saturday...



I wanted to start trimming the 60's Beetle tail light housings to fit the shape of the rear fenders (in standard shape they don't fit flush to the buggy body) but it seems like I have damaged my angle grinder when I used it with one of those large wire brushes to clean the chassis prior to the welding. The bearings are not running right, making the angle grinder vibrate too much to be used safely... well, I guess it is time for a new one

I have also given some attention to giving some thought to a more serious problem, probably one of the major hicups in the whole project. To cut a long story short, being an South African design - the standard Lolette shell was never made to be used on an IRS chassis. They have made a very nice battery box in the rear, right behind the driver - and a 630 Beetle battery fits in there perfectly...



...but underneath it is a different story. The battery box is in the way of the right IRS trailing arm, and will be struck by it on the slightest move of the suspension upward. As this pic was taken, the rear suspenion of HW2 is on its furthest out (I still have to adjust the spring plates a bit lower again), and there is almost no clearance between the battery box and the traling arm - note the distance it can still travel 'up' before it hits the bump stop



After some careful consideration, I am left with basically 3 options?

1. A body lift conversion (adding a spacer of around 100mm between the bodyshell and chassis, lifting it up, and giving more room for the trailing arm to move.

2. Going back to normal swing-arm suspension (making the whole IRS conversion a waste).

3. Trimming the battery box, lifting the battery 'higher', and out of the way of the trailing arm.

Option 1 and two are 2 of the question, so then it will have to be 3 - I need to trim the battery box, and raise the bottom of it out of the way of the trailing arm. This will mean that the battery won't sit flush with the rear top part of the bodyshell, but unfortunately I have no other choice. I will construct a nice 'box' in the rear, with a lid, so that you won't see the battery. Sorry, no rear seat then!

I just looked outside and realised again: it never rains, it pours!

i realise this will mean a lot of work... but cant you cut the box out and turn it 90 degrees and move it a ball hair or 2 forward? Surely that should clear the suspension

You can lift the box and then put a seat in with a recess that the battery wil fit into.

thats a great idea tony. cut a square hole out and turn it 90°.

Pine, before I give my 5c's worth, how high will you have to lift the battery, or how much shallower must you make the box so that the suspension misses it?

I'd say I need clearance of about 120 mm?

BUGGOFF wrote:thats a great idea tony. cut a square hole out and turn it 90°.

its a good thing the hole for the battery isnt square...

Thanks guys for the ideas, I had a look tonight and took some measurements - but the battery won't fit if it is turned sideways, and it will still not be out of the way of the trailing arm.

how about relocating it to the passengerside footwell??

Damn 120 mm is to much for what I had in mind.

The HW2 looks great! Another idea....forget the battery and go back to the good old days and have a crank handle




Sorry not much help!

Can't it be moved to above the gearbox?

All those options are possible, but the battery box it such an integral part of the bodyshell, I would like to keep it in that location. I'll go for the option of making the battery box a bit more shallow, raise the battery, and cover it with a nice box in the rear, that can also double as a luggage compartment.