Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 First of all let me apolgise for having this post in the WSSC ... very much off topic I know (I don't have the know how to get me own build site up ) and thought you guys might be interested and helpful too The rebuild is gonna take as long as it takes - although it would be nice to exactly replicate an original Spyder, this in reality is going to cost a fortune and I would never recoup the money - however I shall try to recreate an authentic period look within reasonable spend The car currently although looks good from the outside is rather shabby and poorly built - the seating position is truly awful (literally within seconds of getting in I am in agony) due to the seat design and clutch pedal - the car also has no usable rear view mirrors So really the job over the next few weeks is to get the seats sorted - buy some mirrors - and checkover I am in the process of removing the from fuel tank cover and the rear engine cover - this is purely to see what I have let myself in for and to do a full safety check and sort some easy to put right bits sorted and do the dodgy electrics which I have spotted already Depending upon how bad it is will decide as to how and when I go about the build If it's bad - well, bodywork off and go from there it it's okish - well put it back together, use the car for the rest of the summer and start when winter sets in If any of you local guys have experiance of beetles, I would love to pick your brains, tea - coffe - beer in good supply in the garage If you can point me in the direction of the best UK forums and some decent VW beetles suppliers that would also help (I am a total novice with the dub) - if you know of any local beetle specialists great I shall post some pictures up soon, showing the state it is in, rather than the nice pictures as seen below which makes it look uber cool gawd help me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Looks good to me. It has period mirrors and the pedals will be floor mounted. You'll just have to move the seat to fiit you. I think its 90% getting used to the period seating position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted July 18, 2009 Author Share Posted July 18, 2009 the interior mirror is unfortunatly shagged - the side mirror needs just a bit of tweeking due to the leg room and high sides on the seats, it forces you to have your knee splayed out to the side anyway trust me, unless you have a leg in the shape of a bananna you would need to do something with the seats - just not sure what yet the clutch pedal is about 2-3 inches higher than the brake pedal - wierd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slater Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 you will find that you can only have one mirror on the ouside ie the drivers side, the correct period mirror is either a talbot Berlin which you apear to have a copy of or a 41/2 inch durant mirror. Because of the driving possition it is almost impossible to get a nearside mirror that you can see out of. One of the best forums is www.ddk-online.com/ I think they have a section for the spider. Driving possition one of those things that you may have to live with lewis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Keene Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 Not a clue mate, but shout if you need a hand with anything. I'd love to have a closer look at it. I've always had a hankering for a Chisel 356 rep, but maybe I have been lusting after the wrong Porsche replica... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perksy Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 Talking of Beetles Saw this thing at Cholmondley pageant of power V8 Powered, Made a Nice Noise and Wasn't Slow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted July 19, 2009 Author Share Posted July 19, 2009 Martin ... pop over any time m8 for a look ... just drop us a pm and I will supply me moby Slater ... thanks m8, gonna check out that site now let me rephrase my problem with comfort in the seat - it's the seats fault, not the driving position --- the seat because of its high sides with narrow bum room only allows your legs to come out pretty much straight ahead, well that's where the steering wheel is ...OUCH That bug is wacky is hell above - it was the bug jam at santa pod this weekend, unfortunately I could not make it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
housebeautician Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 hi cleggy sounds like your getting nervous already Breathe deep and count to ten Keep smiling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share Posted July 20, 2009 not had time to get in the garage yet m8 - me chums from Newcastle go back today, so you can guess where I will be tonight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 Cleggy, I think that's a beautiful little car, my Father and I have been admiring them the past few years at Stoneleigh I see nothing wrong at all with non Westfield rebuilds on the WSCC, always interesting to see different cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share Posted July 20, 2009 Thanks old bean I am looking forwards to a good session in the garage tonight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spence Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 Absolutely loads of sites but have been told this is good one that seems to sell everything. Never used them before but the prices seem reasonable. http://www.machine7.com/ Like i said before get yourself 'How to keep your Volkswagen alive' By John Muir. If it's not in there then it's not worth bothering with and explains things as if your a complete idiot, got me out of a lot of problems. Think this is one of the biggest forums although I've never used. http://www.volkszone.com/ Hope that helps for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slater Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 these people will have everything you will ever need, but sometimes can be expensive so shop around for basic bits. www.vw-online.co.uk lewis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
housebeautician Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 i dont think you will be in the garage mate, or is that what they call the rub a dub now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share Posted July 20, 2009 thanks spence - registered for that forum already, and stumbled across machine7 too Cheers Lewis, will go check that one out Much better search results if you search for air cooled Tony, I have let myself in for some fun Steering column touching fuel tan - needs moving over which will help with centering up the wheel no end look at the special bracket that has been bespoke made to hold the fuel tank in place --- OMG although the chassis looks in pretty good nick ...the foot wells are rusted but firm ... TBC on renewing these much of the wiring is comical - would not go anywhere without a fire ext at the moment please note loose unfinished wires and wire used to tie the loom to the steering column ...AARGGHHHH N/S front is way higher than the other, I have read of gismos called sway adjusters that allow height adjustment, or is there an underlying other problem? this post by the way will be going up on a really good Dub site - so hopefully will get some great help from these experts and the last of the hills to overcome at the moment is the air filter, despite it having a miniscule filter it is still catching on the underside of the bodywork If you guys have got any comments - post away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.