"beetle doesn't suit you" they say...

[PachezZ]

Well... not much happened, summer activities got in the way


I painted the side pods, not a best job but f*** it...




Recieved brass press-fit thread inserts and fitted them in


and test fitted on the car



It still needs a black paint inside, then they'll be finaly fitted


Another 3D printed prototype parts tested




Finished my sequential side markers with 3D printed trim

Back to the center console...
Decided to go with 1 cup holder.


3D printed, glued, welded, filled, sanded. I am finishing the paint these days, Same black with hologram glitter as the heater/Stereo console


The top ring will be machined from Aluminium to fit the rest of TT parts



Recieved the TT dash from UK version (I need the center part so it doesnt matter)
I planned to cut it and weld it to the Beetle part... bud there is like 10mm of soft foam on the outer side...
So I 3D scanned it and will print it from solid ABS...
3D scanning process


Got some measurements


Scanned and simplified mesh


Reverse engineered center part



Trying to design some overfenders but I am not really sure if I want to go this way. so just thumbnails

And this is how it looks now...

[white out]

Please make the exhaust come out the left fog light.

[PachezZ]

well no 1) its dual exhaust and I would need to find out another place for fog/reverse lights 2) I dont like it 3) They will be right in the projektzwo bumper cutouts when its finished

[PachezZ]

So... its 2 weeks to local VW fest...
Finished center tunel paint



Painted the TT handbrake too and transplated it to car.


That means I only need to paint 3D printed cupholder, one cover I forgot about(under handbrake handle...) and Shifter surround
And wait for my custom Aluminium cup holder ring...

Also finaly mounted Wing side pods and I love them. Some say it reminds star trek ships gondolas






Replaced New Beetle shifter assembly with TT ones just for offset of the handle, but Its actually improvement as the TT one is in much better shape. I needed to replace mounting bracket and cable ends with beetle ones as the TT one was propably taken from 6spd gearbox...



With the exhaust of the car, replaced center muffler section for straight pipe...


We also installed underglow (please, bring back underglow ) unfortunately on this day my phone was completely discharged so no photos from install. (mismatched wheels as I am getting 2 new front tires mounted on monday...)



two dice

Óh... and I bought new daily... 2001 Toyota Previa, I may just sneak some of it here, It wont be build. just wheels and few little optical changes, no lowering etc. (well, at least not yet as I want to enjoy its practical volume...)

Already bought these for it, Proline PS 8x18 - got great deal on them, didn't planned to buy similar wheels to beetle ones 5 wheels with 4 ok-ish tires for 150$... not bad

[Asshole Bicycle]

I like the wing, but I do think it would look better with black uprights with yellow wing and side pods.

[PachezZ]

I may redo it over winter. It would be better cause of different shades of yellow...

Look what awaits me at post office, I mays start to assemble interior today, yey )

[PachezZ]

Remember the design?


Came home and polished the trim ring


Then I used press fitted thread inserts to it - same principle is used on the shifter trim from factory and mounted it together with anodized bolts - I also used them for shifter trim




et voilá... (my name's not Kyle though)



superhappy with the results, not perfect but completely custom and made from scratch, the cup is 3D printed and the ring is machine made from my CAD model...

[white out]

Can't wait to see the interior finished.

[mgpdoc]

Can't wait to see the interior finished.

Agreed. It will look really nice. And what is more, you can trim some of it in alcantara, or suede for more cost effectiveness to both cover imperfections, and make it look nicer at the same time.

Cheers

Mike

[PachezZ]

So with the upcomings show I started to assembly the interior... Not gonna lie, at some point I had to admit I can't do it all till them and decided not to rush it and make it worse...

Cutted out all the holders preventing me from central cage install, no way back at this point...


installed the rubber shift boot


Printed small parts like underglow-switch and unit holder inside TT central compartment and small usb outlet for a place where "airbag off" light used to be...




And started assembly...

Tunel part was quite straightforward...


For the center cage I made new brackets from stock ones, god bless nutserts, I love them


I still dont have the central part with vents and buttons. Working on it right now. This where I am




another little bit of glitter. Now I need to order headlight switch with brushed aluminium knob...


When I admited I wont be able to print and finish all of my bits till our local shows, I ordered replacement clear turn signals to replace my mismatched ones (thanks dear Bambi...)


And finally painted front calipers to match the rears..



And then we were kinda ready to attend these shows and make some trips. Finally I enjoyed the car a little bit more








And I fitted new shoes to my "daily/tripvan"
you remember how they looked when I bought them?


It was all matter of proper cleaning


Now it looks like car




Next step - we need to cut, notch and weld up the front wheelwells where it rubs in lock... Probably also the upper part to gain some space to go lower...

Interior vise I need next to finish that center console piece, paint the lower dash matt black and upholster the door cards. I also have lupo dash to fit, but that will be winter project...

But I guess its time to enjoy it a little, so nothing major to keep it driveable

[PachezZ]

it's been a while.
Not much happened with car, right now I focus on different things, mainly making my life better But here is a little update to keep this alive

Our annual beetle meet was rally themed, so I was trying to figure out some easy to make livery, in the end I ended up with buying 3 roles of vinyl and spent 2 hours with scissors and some freestyle sticking it to the car Probably gotta add a 91 number (which I recieved at the meet) to the doors to complete that "racecar wannabe livery"






Also decided to make some splitter/cannards-ish things to make front fit the rear wing more...



And went for the meeting. 700km drive with 50km blind rally which made my floor pan and front subframe really unhappy... but we survived


Then I had to remove a wing because of safety concerns, the thread inserts got ripped out and it was held in place mostly by tension cables. I gues all these are a thing when you are that low static... My windshield is also cracked in the corner...
I need to mount it different way, already working on it

When you dont have a drone for aerial shots



And my friend recently took some pics with her dlsr...

[poondobber]

Those graphics are pretty sharp. Looks so much better without the wing though.

[Miroteknik]

I **** to be that guy, but would you ever be interested in getting some OZ's and going this direction?

[BB's Original]

OMG i honestly have never been a huge fan of the new beetle but man, you've done such an amazing job on this one.

I love how you took care of the smallest details but the one thing that's genuinely blowing my mind is that open roof from the ka.

Did it ever leak? I cant believe how well it fits tbh, great job!

[PachezZ]

I **** to be that guy, but would you ever be interested in getting some OZ's and going this direction?

nah sorry...

Did it ever leak? I cant believe how well it fits tbh, great job!

The roof doesnt seems to leak, but the car itself leaks somewhere... But from what I tried to inspect under the pillar trim etc. it looks like it comes from floor pan or doors or whatever... not sure...

And now for progress...
Well, there is no progress right now, I am waiting for my fender flares so I can take measurements I need to make new hub spacers etc...
But the package seems to be lost, I already got my refund... so I guess I'll 3D print segment of the flare to make the measurements so my guy can make me these spacers... I need to get the rear hubs around 100mm out... and more camber O

Meanwhile I'm playing with 1/18 scale one...

This is how the rear should sit...


Also printed my MAEs in that scale (lips are metal)


And replaced stock seats with ferrari F40 ones - close enough to my OMPs



Finished printing the center piece just to find out it doesnt fit...



Back to the drawing board, printed half to see the fitment... still not so good


Another change - now it looks it will fit well.


So now I need to print it from ASA which should make it durable and easier to print than ABS which warps as f*** with these high thin prints...


Meanwhile my friend is repairing my Projektzwo bodykit. Should be done in week or two...







Also I need to repair the wing, not decided between keeping the shape same, making it same style but lower or going swan neck mounted (that will probably win), also I am looking for someone who can code the Lupo cluster to work right with beetle and then there will be another challenge to mould the dashes together... yay - why am I doing this? why I cant just use the car?



And few pics just for fun, made "91" decal for doors, goggly eyes, christmas lights...