Manx Club

Yes we started a new project... We got our hand on a registered clean Super Beetle that ran and started to prepare it to receive a new Manxter body.

You may be asking why we started with a Super? That's a legit question but up here in Quebec where salt covered roads pretty much kill any chance of finding a donor that's not going to require a ton of rebuilding. Not to mention that people with Std Beetles want to finance their next Bugati with the sell of their rust buckets.

We started with a running 1973 Super. This car needed a lot of TLC. The drive home was about 100km and you did not really steer it, you more influenced direction... The tierods were shot and the floor pan were pretty bad.

We have yet to place our order for the Manxter, still somewhat undecided on color but working on it.

Arrived home save and sound


Started stripping it


Seperation complete


Got the floors removed - Saws-all make quick work of that




Test fitted the new floors


Cleaned up the read area


Got the remaining of the floor removed with a zip air gun


Stored 'till next week


Next we'll get the pan sandblasted and cleaned up. Then we'll chop the frame head and replace a new BJ frame head.

A word of caution, this may be a multi year project.

Got to wrench in the garage this week-end. Dad and I spent some time repairing a customer's Maple Sirop vacuum pump (and made a mess on the floor with the used oil)...

Super to Standard week-end

Tackled the frame head and started the conversion. I'm taking my time to make sure everything is 100% aligned. I still have some tinkering to do but getting close.

Enjoy the pictures:

Saws-all worked great. Could have used the cutoff blade on grinder but I don't like spreading sparks everywhere in the small garage and I find I have more control with it.


I'll be replacing the fuel line with a new one. Will try to find a nice Stainless Steel line.


Took my time and measured all the key points to ensure I get a good fit later.


First dry fit to see how close I got.


Found out that the Super conversion is going to leave me with an airscoop! Maybe I can re-route this as A/C or engine cooling?! lol


The frame head still needs some alignment before we weld it in place but I test-fitted the floors to see if we're in the ballpark.




Next, we'll tweak the alignment 100% and then it's sandblasting time. I also want to start a parts list of stuff I need to buy...

Tom is correct this is going to be a Subaru powered Manxter. I need to do some homework on what the rear suspension will need (axles, brakes, etc).

Thanks for looking, more to come next week-end.

Not much progress this week-end. Still got around to get 20' of 5/16 steel line. I also filled the heater vent lever slots and tweaked the frame head. We're very close to being able to weld it in place and then we'll media blast the whole frame.

Vincent,
Looks like you have a good start there. I did not know about the differences you are finding at the front of Super Beetle tunnel with it being deeper (sits lower) behind the frame head.
I do know Super uses a different master cylinder then a STD Bug with bolt holes at a angle instead of being straight across.
Have fun with the build.

Anyone ever consider a FR-S D-4S motor in a Manxter?

Got a little more done on the pan... Dry fitted the front beam to make sure I had all the right parts.

Thanks to 2 great friends (Vince and Paul), these crunchy torsion arms made it home.


As you can see, they needed quite a bit of elbow grease. We also replaced all 4 ball joints as they were completely shot.


They'll get a nice coat of POR-15 once we media blast the other parts.


The cleaning was pretty messy...


Mocked-up the front beam and everything fits. I used dropped spindles I had on hand.


The white stuff is spay on grease I used some time ago to prevent surface rust.


Once the temperature warms up a little, we'll drag the pan to the main shop and get it aligned and welded.

Slow progress but progress nonetheless...

Got the fuel lines routed.







Still need to order the rubber grommets for the frame horns. Thinking these are the ones I need?

Yes just remember to drill them out for your larger fuel lines before you try and put them in

Thanks for the info Brad.

I'm getting ready to place another order for parts. We're going to be running the short 21-3/4 rear torsion bars. Since this Manxter will have a Subaru engine, should I go for the stiffer 28mm bars? I can get 26, 27 or 28.

I'm also trying to find a seller of these billet caps I used on the Kick-Out:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/ ... id=1235293

If anyone has any ideas where I can source them, that would be great. Thanks.

vincent9993 wrote:Thanks for the info Brad.

I'm getting ready to place another order for parts. We're going to be running the short 21-3/4 rear torsion bars. Since this Manxter will have a Subaru engine, should I go for the stiffer 28mm bars? I can get 26, 27 or 28.

I'm also trying to find a seller of these billet caps I used on the Kick-Out:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/ ... id=1235293

If anyone has any ideas where I can source them, that would be great. Thanks.

JCL Do some nice covers, I seem to recall EMPI had some like the pictures a few years back.

If you are going Subaru on a short bar just remember that it will be a bit harsher than with the long bars. If it is a street car and you want to have rear passengers or loads then I would go 27 with stock trailing arms. The 28's will be a bit to stiff if you are just going with a 4 cylinder and side mounted radiators.

Vincent, have you thought about going with the Mendeola front and rear?

Yes thought about it but then I looked at my bank account and came back to my senses.


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LOL. Yeah not cheap. What transaxle are you going with?

73SpeedBuggy wrote:LOL. Yeah not cheap. What transaxle are you going with?

If I bought it today, I would go with a Subaru 5sp reverse rotation. Similar to the raffle KO. I'm still considering using a Bus tranny... I'm meeting the powertrain importer next week to discuss availability and options. That will help me decide.

You'll probably find me under your car at Carlisle studying how yours is setup.

An upgrade to the Subaru gears 5 speed is in my future. Just not sure how soon