High Performance Beetle Pan

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BARON
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High Performance Beetle Pan

Post by BARON »

Here is something for you speed freaks

He claims a beetle pan can be used for a high performance Porsche bodied kit car.

“Hi I am only new to the Covin scene but had an interest in them since the 80's. but can someone correct me if I am wrong but a Covin is basically a VW with a fiberglass body and slightly shorten chassis. And I know the answer is yes. So why does everyone say that a Covin is for looks and not performance I may have missed something but I have been racing VW's for many years and we get them to handle and out perform lots of current performance cars.
I currently run a VW with a 1997cc type 1 engine which is turbo charged with Porsche 5 speed and puts out around 32ohp at the wheels and this car out handles and out performs lots of v8's and jap performance cars, we were even asked not return to the Porsche track days as we out performed many of them. So I intend to build a similar race car to my present one but this time rebody it with a Covin fiberglass body and maybe subaru sti motor and gearbox on a Vw chassis with mods such as full roll cage ball joint front and irs rear and I will keep you all posted here. The reason I am setting up this post is because some here said it would laughable for me to do such a project so we will see what the out come is in good time.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YeeW7XTx6Q&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmj9hPEz ... re=related

cheers baron
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Ron&Gill
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Re: High Performance Beetle Pan

Post by Ron&Gill »

When I mooched around on the Covin website some time ago, I read that they are either a 6" shortened beetle pan, or a T3 pan (also shortened, I assume) or a seperately constructed chassis which takes a T1 or 3 transaxle and a T1 and 3 front suspension. They had a drawing of the chassis, and it's not a pan. :wink:

So the answer he so smoothly put in there, is not yes...

I followed a build which was on a T3 pan.


http://www.covin.co.uk/home_page.htm
1964 T34 - The Razor: viewtopic.php?f=23&t=10290
1956 T2 1b - Gill's bus: viewtopic.php?f=23&t=10948
1967 T316 - viewtopic.php?f=23&t=10931 & viewtopic.php?f=23&t=15977
2000 beach buggy - viewtopic.php?f=23&t=10915
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BARON
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Re: High Performance Beetle Pan

Post by BARON »

Hi Ron

The question is ;- Can a Beetle pan produce good handling with say 150-200 bhp without tubing reinforcement
Covins were produced with three options, a purpose made tubing frame ,T3 floorpan or Beetle pan.
Now the tubing frame can be designed and build to handle although the Covin one is not that good and its much more bulky than the vw pans .
The t3 pan in my opinion is to flimsey to handle that sort of power but can the beetle pan do it.
You can build a tube frame and bolt the v/w pan to if for bluff but thats not the idea
Im thinking of standard suspension parts modified rather than replacing it with wishbone systems or all round mc pherson system
Covin purpose build pan for t3 components

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cheers baron
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