The initial phase of our build is now complete, which included: All of this took around one month, from a standing start of really not knowing what needed to be done, plus ordering parts, and finding the spare time to do the work in a freezing cold garage. The photo…
Today we fitted the anti-roll bar, or sway bar as called by some. This should help reduce roll / lean under cornering, especially if we are adding weight to the front with a large battery pack. As is often the case with classic cars, installation was not quite as straightforward…
Today we took advantage of the good weather and did a little bit of spray painting. We are going with the original Silver Beige (L466) colour and managed to get a really good rattle can from Wolfsburg West. After a good sanding down, we hung the parts from the pergola…
The new steering column arrived today from Egypt, curtesy of eBay. I managed to track this one down, which is off an Oval Screen Beetle (circa 1958), as I wanted to match the original 356 steering column setup; including the horn mechanism. Upon first inspection, I thought that the seller…
As part of the overall vision, we have always wanted to have the original stud pattern for the 356, which is a 5×205 pattern (i.e. 5 studs at a 205mm diameter). The donor chassis came with upgraded front spindles and brake discs already fitted (no calipers), but were the narrower…
The rear IRS a-arms have now been completed, with the exception of the drums themselves. The new wheel bearings, oil rings, etc. have all been installed, along with the brake backing plate and shoes that we completed the other week. The end result looks really great, it will be a…
The chassis that we bought came with swing axel, which we were ok with, but having thought it all through, we have decided to convert to Independent Rear Suspension (IRS). The main reason being, without knowing the final weight over the rear wheels (i.e. batteries, AC motor, DCDC unit, etc.)…
After a lot of research, we decided that our 356 should have what were known as ‘comfort seats’. These may not be your typical Speedster seats, but think that they will suit the overall style that we are aiming for. The downside of this decision is the price, with a…
The donor chassis did not come with a gear link rod, so we have had to source one from somewhere else. There seemed to be a complete lack of available stock for a ’70 Beetle, but we thought that we tracked one down from Galway, Ireland. The item was relatively…
Part of our overall vision is for a Left Hand Drive (LHD) car and whilst it may have been easier to buy a LHD chassis, we are always open for a challenge! Our donor car was a RHD Beetle, which we have managed to convert to LHD, using a mixture…