The Life and Times of Karmann Electra, Part 5

Some assorted details.

Adjustable double Volvo mirrors.

 

 

Adjustable seat brace.

Homemade switch panel with cover over the start and ignition switches.

Serious bracing on the cage.

The tach goes  to 11!

The drivers door latch.

The Life and Times of Karmann Electra, Part 4

Because I get real busy during the summer, I didn't start working on Karmann again until fall. The cage was all done, but there was still no electrical system, no fuel system, no brakes, and no seat.

The gas tank area needed to be rebuilt, and it needed some sort of crash protection.

 

I made brackets to bolt some square tube to what used to be a body mount.

Then I welded in some flat bar to reinforce the right side.
When I rebuilt the pedal cluster, I reinforced the gas pedal and made an adjustable stop. We will have so little power that we will be pushing on that thing as hard as we can!


I cut the old cage pieces up to make a bumper. But after I was all done, I realized the bumper was only 12 inches high, so I had to make some upright nerf bar sort of things.
Put in some triangular braces to make the front tow points.

 Got the window net mounted using some old belts after I read about that method on the Chumpcar forum. 

Made brackets to mount the sway bar I made previously for my A-Mod car, but wasn't using anymore.

The Life and Times of Karmann Electra, Part 3

The old cage that has to be replaced.

We started working on the car, but the dude who started the whole thing only showed up once, and then he just drank beer without helping. When I told him it would not get done unless he helped, he said he had more important things to do. The guy who road raced before quit because he said I called him fat. Maybe I did, he's heard me say worse things than that. So, with 2 guys left, we gave up for 2010.

Talking about working on the car.

Our first new part, some 14 inch wheels.

The Life and Times of Karmann Electra, Part 2

Awesome Hillbilly fuel cell! 

You think you have rust?  

 

You don't know what rust is. 

 The previous owner cut out the part that holds the gas tank!


The Life and Times of Karmann Electra

Last spring most of my car buddies were building chump cars for the Spokane 24 hour in July. I was interested, but not enough to get myself on a team. A few months before the event, one of the guys from the VW club finds this Ghia on Craigslist.

This is the same guy who in 2008 says to me "We should enter a car in the 36 hp challenge at Bonneville"!

http://www.saltflats.com/36_HP.html
 
Now the way THAT turned out was that he dropped out and never helped at all, but my other buddy and I built the car and had a great time. We beat the record we went there to beat, the engine held together even after something like 7 measured mile runs at 14 lbs of boost.Here's the car/engine.





I asked one of my buddies who road raced many years ago if he wanted on the team, and he said yes. The President of the VW club wanted in, so that was our 4 people. So the guy whose name shall never be mentioned went and bought this car. He paid $300 for it thinking it was worth that much for the rollcage. I brought it to my place and we started working on it. Worst choice for a Chumpcar ever!
The cage turns out to be 1.25 tubing when it needs to be 1.5.
This car is the biggest pile of rusty crap I have ever worked on.
The previous owner has taken a torch to the suspension and bent it for more camber on the right side. That all has to be replaced.
The body is actually at least 4 different cars (sort of) welded together.The doors are skinned and welded on.
This thing has been sitting in a field for at least 10 years.